#unclear major character status

[sleepyiswhumping]

A New Supervillain In Town

Content: Violence, Death, Living Weapon, Whumpee-Turned-Whumper, Multiple Whumpees/Caretakers, Kidnapping, Unclear Major Character Status

This is an idea I've had about a pre-existing OC, but I've no names for the others. Working on that.

~~~

Hero 1 laughed with her team as Youngest cracked another joke. Hero 1 and Youngest were the newest members of the team, yet they already felt at home. The rest of the team were amazing, and Leader had made sure the missions they went to warmed them up to the job, instead of tossing them into the thick of it right away.

Youngest continued as they flew to their next mission.

"-so anyway, that's how I got kicked out of a Red Robin."

Hero 2 snorted, incredulous. "Wait, that was a true story? Jesus, Youngest. You've gotten up to some shit."

"Hey, I like to have some fun!" Youngest chuckled, dismissing the absurdity of the story.

"Hey, hey, focus up." Leader said as they approached the location. "This is a different call. It was urgent, and the caller sounded terrified. We need to be on our A-game here, got-"

Leader trailed off as they saw what had happened.

The first thing that caught everyone's eyes were the bodies. Policemen's corpses had been flung across the road, through the shop windows, and the recognizable bodies of another team of heroes lay motionless, strewn out, twisted and broken, in front of an unmoving figure. A hulking figure, almost nine feet tall, its flesh a mass of scar tissue, the countless bullet wounds not seeming to affect it.

"What the fuck?" Hero 3 blurted. Everyone else remained silent in horror and awe.

The figure turned toward the team, hearing Hero 3. It began to walk toward them, stepping on the bodies in its path, crushing them underfoot. Approaching them languidly, its grin glinted in the sunlight, pointed teeth shining like polished steel.

"Stand back." Leader whispered, stepping in front of the team, then they called out to the figure.

"Stop! You are under arrest! Do not resist!"

The figure continued its lazy approach, grin widening.

"It's real cute you think you stand a chance against me. I mean if they-" it motions toward the broken corpses of the other heroes- "didn't, what makes you think you do?"

The creature's voice sounded like gravel and broken glass as it taunted the team.

Leader hesitated, taking a step back as the figure reached the team, hulking over even Medic, the biggest member of the team. Its eyes glanced over the team, before coming to rest on Youngest, a malicious glint noticeable in them.

"I like them." It said, pointing at Youngest. "Give them to me."

Youngest cowered behind Medic as Leader and Hero 3 stepped in front of the two protectively.

"Yea? And what makes you think we'll just hand them over?"

The figure's arm lashed out faster than a bullwhip, its speed seemingly impossible for its size. Grabbing Hero 3 by the throat and lifting him to its face, it began to squeeze.

"Give me them or he dies, and then I'll kill you all the same way and take them anyway."

After moments of no movement except Hero 3 hitting and kicking at the figure and trying frantically to shake their head, the figure sighed.

"No? Oh well. His blood is on your hands."

With a squeeze and a twist of its wrist, it snapped Hero 3's neck and tossed their limp form to the ground.

"Now. Who's next?"

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Actually could we put some light on the class difference clash epel is experiencing in school. The situations looks a little weird to me. Cuz in epel's robes vignette it starts with the other pomefiore students asking him about carpet brand preference and he has no idea what to answer. They end up having a misunderstanding that never clears up. Epel proceeds to make a table manner mistake which Rook helps cover up with a lie so epel won't be embarassed (rook can probably sympatise) while vil is more strict. It is in this vignette we see that instance of vil first making epel lie about his favorite food for unclear, debated reasons.

In Epel's labwear vignette we hear some of the NPC students whisper about him and they seem to be asuming he must also be from some rich family due to the clothes he wears (which vil gave to him and makes him wear) and maybe also because he's in pomefiore. I know that it's just like vil to give people clothes he thinks will fit them best,and some of it might be so epel blends in pomefiore better, but could Epel actually be more likely to get picked on if he was perceived as from a lower class? NRC is a prestigious boarding school but it's not like he's the only character with more...average circumstances. Compared to the literal royalty and celebrity attending.

[Referencing this post!]

Mmm... I mean, aren't the mobs (in the Labwear vignettes) already bullying Epel because they perceive him to be of high social status? I don't think it would make a difference if they knew he was of a low social status since the mobs were already bullying him (again, under the impression that he's rich) to begin with. What I'm saying is that bullying would have occurred regardless of Epel's socioeconomic status. It's not necessarily nice, but it seems to be the norm for NRC students to verbally bash one another.

I don't really recall other major or frequent instances of middle class (Trey, Jack, Ace) or low-income students (Ruggie, Deuce) in the main cast being bullied. In fact, Trey and Ruggie are pretty well-liked and respected within their own dorms despite not being as wealthy as the majority of their peers are. (In this post, I go over how roughly 75% of the main cast come from at least upper middle-class backgrounds.) The bullying seems to be centered mainly on Epel, and I think that's probably because his peers perceive him as being small and cute--and therefore delicate, meek, and easy to push around. Epel just seems like the ideal target from a quick glance. Notice how B-kun comments on Epel’s face first:

I think it's also worth noting which dorms the bullies in Epel's Labwear vignettes come from: B and C are from Savanaclaw, and A is from Pomefiore. Savanaclaw mobs are notoriously belligerent and are usually the go-to mobs to pick fights with their peers for what are very minor things. The Pomefiore mob bully seems to be an outlier; most other Pomefiore mobs, at least as depicted in Epel's Ceremonial Robes vignettes, are polite and refrain from this type of behavior.

Importantly, (Savanaclaw) C is the one that calls Epel a “little rich brat” and (Pomefiore) A says Epel is “daddy’s fancy little lad”. This wording makes both sound resentful of the rich, thinking them spoiled—so it makes me think maybe A, B, and C are actually not rich themselves and are the less privileged picking on someone they think is wealthy but unable to stand up for themselves.

Now, within Pomefiore itself, it does appear that many of its students are upper class or at least sticklers for appearances. Their knowledge of brands and aesthetics itself is not damning evidence (anyone of any class could know this too; there’s also lots of non-rich people who obsess over brands). However, the fact that all of Epel’s first year peers already seemed familiar with how to handle a full set of cutlery at a formal meal does indicate high socioeconomic status, as the common man would not know how the heck a salad dork differs from the fish fork. (Most people use 1 fork or 1 spoon for the entire meal, and forget about having courses.) Buuut we shouldn’t assume that this one vignette is representative of all Pomefiore students, just as we cannot assume the one mean Pome A is a good example of all Pomefiore students, since there are limitations with the game. (Another famous game limitation is all Savanaclaw mobs being beastmen and every other dorm having zero beastmen mobs; in the manga, we see humans in Savanaclaw and beastmen in Heartslabyul. Riddle also verbally confirms that Heartslabyul has a cat beastman in the second Beans Day event.)

I think there’s definitely intersectionality at play as well. There’s something to be said for a culture clash in addition to a clash of classes. Epel is the only one in the main cast from a decidedly rural area where there isn’t much to do (ie no brand name shops) and everyone is close and casual with one another (ie there is little in the way of formalities). This likely contributes to the disconnect between Epel and his Pomefiore peers.

Now, where is this all leading to? Am I claiming that bullying based on socioeconomic status doesn't happen at NRC? Of course not! I have no doubt that it happens, but I don't think it's specifically the rich-on-poor type. In Epel's case, it seems to be the poor-on-(perceived to be) rich kind, but the opposite also occurs (in book 1, Riddle insults Yuu's pitiful education, something which is typically associated with the lower class; magic and magic education in particular is associated with the upper class). And, of course, we have the middle ground of people of similar socioeconomic status going at each other (for example, Leona and Malleus's rivalry). What's sort of sad is that the environment at NRC is conducive to animosity and no adults ever intervening because: 1) the students are so prideful, who would actually have the guts to tell an authority figure they were being picked on? and 2) the students tend to try and retaliate or get into fights instead, which only escalates the situation.

At NRC, I get the impression that class is one thing you could get bullied for, but that power and/or connections are much more important factors. Let's revisit Ruggie, who is the most impoverished of the main cast. If we assume that the less well-off students are predominantly the ones who get picked on, then shouldn't we have many examples of Ruggie being bullied? But he isn't. In fact, the big, burly Savanaclaw mobs (who are known to be combative) seem to defer to him instead of bullying him. Leona even leaves Savanaclaw in Ruggie's care while he is away in book 6, fully expecting that the mobs will listen to Ruggie. Why? Well, Ruggie is not physically or magically strong, but he has Leona's backing. It's through this association with the powerful Leona that Ruggie gains the respect and the following of the others in his dorm. This is something we consistently see in other characters, including Epel's own dorm leader. Because Vil beats him in combat, Epel agrees to listen to what he says even if Epel dislikes it. We see mob students bend the knee to the main cast once they've gotten glimpses into their power or abilities (Leona versus the Savanaclaw mobs, Idia versus the Ignihyde mobs, each in their respective Dorm Uniform vignettes).

Circling back around to the concept of Epel being bullied! Would the Pomefiore mobs turn on him if they realize he's actually not wealthy? Maybe...? We don't really know enough about the individual personalities of the mobs to judge for ourselves. If they did bully Epel for that though... I feel like those mobs would be in for an ass whooping from Vil (and Rook) for being so petty, vindictive, and disregarding decorum. Vil can rub people the wrong way with his demanding and stern attitude (I'm one of those people sometimes), but he wouldn't stand for such "ugly" behavior. It sullies the good name of the Fairest Queen and the dorm made in her image that he oversees. Those are my thoughts on the topic! I apologize if I ended up straying a little from the initial ask (I felt like I wasn't even truly talking about Epel for half this post ashdbsadlbayw).

[stygiusfic]

Timeline: Bhaal's return & Durge's birth

There is a lot of content about Bhaal and the city of Baldur's Gate in Forgotten Realms lore— including several adventure modules set around the same time as BG3 that feature both. Of course, The Dark Urge doesn't feature in them, as that character was a later addition to the city's history made when BG3 was created... so it can be hard to reconcile Durge's BG3 canon with pre-established Forgotten Realms canon. 

Unless, of course, you become obsessed with making it make sense, and fall into a rabbit hole of lore research and speculation for weeks on end. Which is what happened to me!

So here is my best approximation of a timeline that would integrate Durge within their world, without breaking either BG3 canon or pre-established Forgotten Realms canon (as far as I know, anyway... D&D lore is a tangled mess). Spoilers for BG3 abound, of course, and some for BG1 and BG2 as well.

Big shout-out to @nonbinaryeye for bringing this subject up in a fic comment and motivating me to finally put all this together!

(You can just scroll to the bottom of this post for an abridged version of this timeline, or keep reading here to get the detailed version!)

First, a brief recap of Bhaal's whole situation leading up to the game:

Baldur's Gate 3 takes place in the year 1492 DR. 

Well over a century before the game, in 1358 DR, Bhaal was killed at Boareskyr Bridge by Cyric, who took his portfolio as Lord of Murder. But Bhaal had foreseen his own murder, and he prepared for it. He spread his essence by impregnating a score of mortal women (many of them his priestesses) to sire the Bhaalspawn. 

These murderous children grew up to kill each other, with the winner usurping from the loser their share of Bhaal's essence, and consolidating his power. The wise Alaundo's prophecies about the Bhaalspawn said that Bhaal would be reborn from his spawn. The one who won out over all others, who had collected his scattered essence, would be a conduit.

The Lord of Murder shall perish, but in his doom, he shall spawn a score of mortal progeny. Chaos will be sown from their passage. [...] The deaths they bring shall awaken the father, and through them he will rise.

(The statues leading down to the Bhaal Temple say a bit of the prophecy! There's also an account you can find of someone quoting Sarevok's old journals.)

The "through them he will rise" bit was believed to have been foiled by the protagonist of BG1 and BG2, Gorion's Ward. He was the Bhaalspawn who eradicated all his evil siblings, and chose to be good and resist Bhaal. He rose to prominence in Baldur's Gate as Marshal of the Flaming Fist (with Ulder Ravenguard, Wyll's dad, serving directly under him) and a member of the ruling Council of Four. 

But in 1482 DR, a decade before BG3, during a speech in the Wide (the market in the Upper City), Gorion's Ward was attacked by another Bhaalspawn who had somehow escaped the purge, and the winner gained all of Bhaal's essence in that moment. They were overtaken by that essence and became the Slayer, slaughtering many of the citizens gathered there. 

Thus, Bhaal was at last reborn as Lord of Murder.

...Okay, but what does that mean for Durge?

Well, let's look at what we know about them. 

Durge's exact birthdate is unclear. However, we can safely assume that it happened within a few decades before Bhaal's rebirth in 1482 DR. I estimate it to be in the 1450s, no later than 1458-ish. 

This is because we know Sceleritas Fel found them "at the age of majority" (which doesn't necessarily correspond to real-world majority, but we'll assume it's in that ballpark). Sceleritas is canonically already with them in 1477 DR (the year that Larian's browser game Blood in Baldur's Gate takes place, which the butler features in). So Durge must have been, at the very least, 18-20 years old when that game takes place. 

That said, the vibe I get from Blood in Baldur's Gate is Sceleritas has been with them a while by that point, so I imagine them a few years older. 

But they could be entire decades older, too, if you prefer. Bhaalspawn do not age at the same rate as other members of their apparent species, so they could look youthful regardless of how many years they've been around. Gorion's Ward, a human, was pretty spry in 1482 DR, at around 130 years old! This trait would be even more salient in Durge, who is not just a Bhaalspawn but a titan, a demigod born without a mortal parent.

Durge was not born from Bhaal's seed, like all the Bhaalspawn before them, but from his flesh and blood. Sceleritas tells us as much in the game.

Going back to my Bhaal recap, in 1358 DR, Bhaal was slain on the Boareskyr Bridge above the Winding Water, a river that flows down to the Sea of Swords some distance north of Baldur's Gate. 

Forgotten Realms lore tells us that part of Bhaal's divinity and his blood spilled into the Winding Water when he was slain. So the most likely explanation for Durge's birth "from Bhaal's blood and gore" is that this gore gathered in the eddies of the river over a long period of time, and eventually its inherent divinity gave rise to a titan: baby Durge!

Though it's on the younger end of the spectrum, it's fun to imagine Durge was born from this gore in 1458 DR, a perfect century after Bhaal's murder. Poetic!

Durge "wandered" for a time before Sceleritas found them. The Winding Water runs relatively close to Baldur's Gate in the map, but immediately nearby there's not a whole lot of civilization. And Bhaal loooooooves Baldur's Gate! 

Ed Greenwood, who crafted a lot of Forgotten Realms lore around Bhaal, tells us Bhaal's lingering essence within Gorion's Ward drew him toward Baldur's Gate, instead of his native Candlekeep where he'd retired after his adventures. So it's easy to assume that this same impulse moved baby Durge to travel to the city, and along the way (or perhaps once there) acquire the "unique" skills they possess that aren't a direct result of their lineage (essentially, their D&D class). 

Durge was taken in by a family of humble means in Baldur's Gate, and eventually was compelled by Bhaal's influence on them to murder that adoptive family.

We see that in a flashback in the game (if Heal is cast on Durge either before being freed of Bhaal's influence by Withers, or after accepting to become Chosen). They seem to have been quite young when this happened; it was perhaps the first manifestation of the Urge within them.  

I have to assume that this was a traumatic experience for them. (Trauma would not be a hindrance to their indoctrination into Bhaal's worship—in fact, traumatic experiences are used to strengthen bonds within cults in the real world. But that's a long post for another time.) In any case, at some point, Sceleritas reveals himself to them and starts to lead them along the path Bhaal wants for them.

Whatever Durge's fears and misgivings, by 1477 DR, they've embraced their murderous inspiration, at least enough to follow its call a good handful of times. 

In 1477 DR, Durge commits a series of shockingly grotesque murders in the city, as shown in the browser game Blood in Baldur's Gate. They are never caught, as the player character investigating (Tav, as named in the game) is killed by Durge themselves.

At this time, by the way, Gorion's Ward is already Marshal of the Flaming Fist. We know he rose to that position after the previous Marshal was killed in a coup by Duke Valerken.

(No exact date is given for this coup, mentioned in the adventure module Murder in Baldur's Gate, which revolves around Bhaal's rebirth. But from information given within the module, we can place the coup between 1440 and 1460 DR, at least a decade and a half before Durge's murder spree).

So Gorion's Ward did not recognize the work of a fellow Bhaalspawn. Perhaps he thought the curse of the Bhaalspawn had been ended through his own victory over the rest!

It is unlikely that Durge was in contact with Sarevok's cult of Bhaal in the city at this point.

The reason why I think this is because the lair that the investigator Tav is led to for their murder at the end of Blood in Baldur's Gate is not the Temple of Bhaal, but rather seems like a personal dwelling in the tunnels of the city. 

I like to imagine that Durge committed those murders to impress and prove their value to Bhaal, guided by Sceleritas Fel's advice. It's possible that as a result of proving themself so, they became known to Sarevok's cult, and established contact that way—but that would be the earliest likely moment of contact. 

Wow, this is long! If you're still here, go stretch and drink some water! 

Okay, great. So, this post all came about because I had Gortash in my Hall of Wonders heist fic wondering how come Durge could be a Bhaalspawn, when all Bhaalspawn were supposed to have died out at Bhaal's rebirth in 1482, to return his essence to him.

(This is the question that was driving me mad before I lost my mind and many many hours of my life to the research you just read.)

The math, as I see it, is:

Bhaal gives out his "essence" ("his seed") via fathering a ton of Bhaalspawn with mortal women. You know how people are 2/3rds water? Let's say 2/3rds of Bhaal is the seed he gives out. He did get busy.

That leaves the 1/3rd that's his actual body. Which is where Durge comes from (his blood and gore).

So the "essence" that Alaundo's prophecy talked about, that had to be gathered again for Bhaal to be reborn, is those 2/3rds, the seed, the original Bhaalspawn.  

So Durge exists outside that math!

Presumably, Bhaalspawn with a very diluted degree of his essence could be excluded without the resurrection failing. (If he's missing 0.1% of what he gave out, well, it's not a big deal, right?)

This does also mean that Sarevok's Bhaal essence must have gone back to the Throne of Blood when he got killed by Gorion's Ward and the gang in the first game. His bit of essence got added to Gorion's Ward's at that point. 

This would explain why Sceleritas is such a hater about Orin's legitimacy as a "Bhaalspawn". She would have the dregs of Sarevok's dregs—but Bhaal's favor since she was a child, when she killed her mom, may have accounted for the bulk of her bloody obsessions. 

And there it is! Believe it or not, I did cut out some stuff because I couldn't face the length of this post. So there will probably be more, because this is where my brain lives now.

[the-eeveekins]

The Witch From Mercury: Tying Up Loose Ends

A look at the state of different characters, organizations and plot points after the epilogue of The Witch From Mercury.

Earth vs. Space, and Earthian Inequality

The crux of this conflict was the growing inequality between Earthians and Spacians, and that Spacians were exploiting Earthian labour and resources for their gain, while also pitting them in proxy wars. When Miorine dissolved the Benerit Group, all their assets were placed into Earthian hands, including all the resources the plundered from Earth and presumably a number of weapons. With this, the main driving force of the conflict is resolved, although tensions very likely still linger, especially among those who lost family and friends to the Benerit Group.

While it may not be a perfect long-term solution, it has definitely helped in the short-term. Gund-Arm Inc. has survived the transfer and we see Miorine working with Earthian protesters to solve lingering issues. And we even see that Sedo is now getting an education. Clearly, Miorine’s actions havehad a positive affect on Earthian lives. Suletta & Miorine changed the status quo in a far greater way for the better than many Gundam main characters manage to do in their own worlds.

The Benerit Group

The Benerit Group was dissolved, and all of the political and military might it wielded as an entity was destroyed. Obviously many members of the group found ways to continue working, and many will have had some assets stashed away not attached to the group, but they would lack the combined strength that the group wielding before.

We see that Delling and Sarius are under investigation in the epilogue, so even if they're still free as of the epilogue, they may not be so for very long. And for Delling, who formed the Benerit Group as a means to enforce a tyrannical "peace" upon the world, his life's work was destroyed by his daughter, and all the power that came with it.

We do see the Peil Ladies, who seem to have slinked away to some sort of retirement home in the aftermath of events. While some see this as a good ending for them, keep in mind they had just double crossed the BG in a play to be the next major power in the business world after the SAL wiped them out. Instead, they were left with nothing. No power, no super company. You can see how miserable they look in the epilogue.

The children of the Benerit Group all seem to have found a future, one way or another. Gund-Arm Incorporated is still around, with all it's Earthian and Spacian employees. Elan, Secelia and Guel are still kicking and running their own businesses, though it's unclear if they found positions with the new owners of their old companies or started over.

GUND Technology

The Prologue started with showing GUND as a means for humanity to travel into space, as well as conquering various other physical disabilities. The work of the Vanadis Institute is now continued by GUND-Arm Incorporated, which we see in the epilogue is producing medical technology to aid those with disabilities, like Petra and Ericht.

Shaddiq

I have talked about this a lot in the past, but Shaddiq doesn't have a bad ending. His goal was to dissolve the Benerit Group and transfer their assests to Earth to balance the powers, and Miorine successfully achieved his goal for him. Sabina and company came away from everything with their freedom and now work to better Earth. And as a cherry on top, since Shaddiq was already under arrest for Plant Quetta and Asticassia, he also took the fall for Quiet Zero as well, to protect Miorine’s new family.

Mercury & The School

We don't actually see Mercury in the series itself (except in a flashback of the Lfrith hanger), but we don't really need to. The planet itself doesn't have any relevance to events, and Cradle Planet (which does take place on Mercury) makes it pretty clear there isn't anything of interest out there anyway. And while Suletta is from there and wants to build a school there, she never once expressed a desire to return. We can pretty safely say that Suletta built her school there, based on the line "You're going to build another school here?"

Lingering Questions

The Space Assembly League

Quiet Zero not only shook up things in space due to the dissolution of the Benerit Group, but also the revelation that the SAL was directly supporting Earthian resistance groups and helping them carry out attacks against their own citizens, not to mention very publicly trying to wipe out millions of it's own citizens with a giant space laser. Presumably this caused a massive shake-up within the SAL, and between that and the Benerit Group dissolution, the entire political structure of space very likely changed significantly, but the epilogue doesn't really give much of a hint about what that looks like.

The Lfrith AI

A plot thread in the Prologue that completely disappeared afterwards. While I'm not personally convinced it was ever meant to be a plot point beyond the Prologue, I was convinced it was worth bringing up. It was meant to overcome the Gundam Curse and allow people to pilot Gundams without negative permet damage. However, by all accounts, it never succeeded. The show very heavily implies that Ericht's unique ability to coexist with the Data Storm is what allows her to connect to the AI and pilot a Gundam without harm, and it's never brought up again. Not to mention the Darilbalde used a new advanced AI that could pilot a mobile suit with pilot input at all, but not even that was seen as a solution to the Curse for the Schwarzette.

Elnora and the Covern

We know Suletta was the key. It was necessary for someone to pilot Aerial because Ericht couldn't. Whether it was Ericht's permet resistance that Elnore needed, or maybe just a close bond family bond to push permet scores, the solution she found was to clone her own daughter. Through context we might assume this isn't exactly unheard of in Ad Stella, given the lack of surprise about her origins from Suletta’s friends. But what about the Coven? We see that by the time Ericht "dies" and she is uploaded to the Aerial, Suletta was already born. Were they made before or after Suletta. Before implies they were clones that tragically could not survive and Elnora desperately uploaded them to the Lfrith to save them, unable to bear more loss. Afterwards implies that they were necessary for control of the Gundbits. Where they more repli-children uploaded, or did Ericht simply copy her data into clones to handle the bits more easily? There are so many questions about what Elnora did to make the coven.

Notrette

The woman of mystery. We never even see her face. Depending on who you ask, the mystery is a good thing and any more information would ruin it. We know she's from Earth, that she wanted to apply the evolutionary mechanics of plants to humans, and that Quiet Zero was the key to her plans. And that, for whatever reason, she left a backdoor into it for her daughter based on the genetic code of her tomatoes. Why did she marry Delling? What was her original goal with Quiet Zero and what did she intend with it? How exactly did she die? Did she have a love affair with Prospera that saw her help Elnora create a clone of her daughter?

The Future of Gundams

Perhaps the ultimate sequel hook: we do not know what the future holds for Gundams after Quiet Zero. The Ur is presumably still around, and even if it remains a forbidden technology, we've seen that there are those willing to sacrifice lives to use that power. On the other hand, is the original goal of GUND-Arm Inc. a possibly? Can GUND Format equipped Mobile Suits be operated safely and for the good of humanity, instead of as a tool for war?

Asticassia

With help from Guel, Elan and Secelia, Asticassia survives 3 years later. But what is it's purpose? Is it still a training ground for the spacian elite to train the next generation of oppressors, or has it found new life as a technical school that takes in students from anywhere, without prejudice.

The Three Kids

In the epilogue, we see Suletta playing with three children in the wheat field. Are these children that Suletta & Miorine adopted? Or simply some local kids who Suletta likes to play with? Due to the fact that they seemingly disappear for the rest of the scene, I'm inclined to believe the latter.

[mateushonrado]

To describe Claudia from The Dragon Prince right now

Status Post #11257: By right now, I mean from the recent season Book Six: Stars and as confirmed at SDCC today, next season will be titled Book Seven: Dark, which will conclude the series as well as phase three, which will be a trilogy is in the planning stage (pending approval from Netflix), though it's unclear if it'll be either three more seasons of the show, a spinoff set before or after the show or a film trilogy.

I'd say she can be compared to these four characters in question.

Willow Rosenberg / Dark Willow

Due to reaching a despair event horizon and turning to darkness.

Cassandra

Due to being the daughter of the first major antagonist.

Karone / Astronema

Due to being the main female antagonist with a heroic brother and a conflicted alignment.

Sasha Waybright

Due to being friends with the main protagonist as well as having a bit of an aloof personality, before and after her face heel turn, not to mention being bi coded.

[iaf]

Listen– listen to me. Kenji and Ben are foils to eachother's character.

Let me explain, you have this kid who was neglected by his parental figure for the majority of his childhood. He was given too much "freedom" and materialistic possessions to keep him busy and away. This kid hides behind a facade of cool confidence and constantly feels the need to prove themselves to someone.

Then there's this other kid, who had a present parental figure that insistently urged them to branch-out. A kid that was fine with hiding from the world and living in their own comfort zone. An honest kid that is also easily frightened. He was uncertain with his abilities and not intrested in proving he was "cut-out" for the outdoors.

And as the story progresses, they go through different experiences. They change as individuals but ultimately remain as foils to one another.

Everyday, Kenji becomes more uncertain with who he is as a person. He begins to question who he is without money and status. He wonders what real family means. His loyalties are questioned and tested. This boy no longer knows what it is that he wants. Kenji is held back by the past (his father) and scared of what the future holds. It's all too confusing and unclear. He doesn't know where to go and what to do.

However, with everyday Ben also changes. He becomes more certain with who he is as a person. He accepts the new him, someone free of socialtal expectations. He gains confidence in himself and recognizes his abilities. He holds his ground and states what's on his mind (staying with Bumby). Ben let's go of the past and isn't afraid to embrace whatever mystery the future holds for him.

See season 1 for example. Kenji doesn't want to admit how scared he is, so he tries to act cool and take the lead. Ben however is sharing his doubts and is jumpy but he's honest about how he feels. The last two episodes of the season completely flips the script. Ben takes the lead and does something brave, suppressing his fears. But once Ben is gone, Kenji facade fully disappears. He's honestly states he doesn't know what he's doing.

There's also season 3. Kenji's taking more responsibility. He seeks leadership roles and starts thinking more collectively. Ben is still very much part of the group but is less of a team player (due to inner turmoil). He thinks more independently and silently struggles connecting with the others again.

This is probably why they butt heads so often, right? It's clear Kenji and Ben contrast eachother but they are not complete opposites, at least that's not how I perceive it. You see, these two boys are on the same journey of self discovery and I believe that they recognize that in eachother. Even if they struggle to stay on the same page most of the time, they still get along and one can only imagine how much more solid and understanding their relationship became post-rescue.

[watermelons-dont-grow-on-trees]

Force of Nature - Masterlist

other stories

"He suddenly stopped and Carter bumped into him eliciting a soft growl. The vampire wasn’t too keen on being touched by humans, even if it was an accident and especially if it was her."

Carter used to be the heir to a prominent hunter family, helping to protect their territory from the parasitic creatures of the night. To her misfortune, not all her encounters with vampires go as smoothly as planned. One time, she misses the target with the stake, and the creature stays alive, granted he's pissed off and takes his revenge on her. It's a tragedy through and through, read the warnings.

Content warnings: vampire whumper, human whumpee, blood drinking and associated gore, depression, mind control, minor and major character deaths, unclear character status, unhappy ending

First Part

1 - Ray of sunshine (Julius & RJ)

2 - Fall (Julius & RJ)

Monster (Julius)

3 - Forever cold (Julius and RJ)

--- interlude ---

Thrill

Second Part

Chapter 1

Bite me!

Burn

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5 pt. 1 | pt. 2

Alternate endings (to be posted)

vampire!Carter AU

Resolution

The Theseus curse (mythology AU)

Out of character AU 18+ (honestly just ignore this)

Art:

Julius

Julius and RJ vibes - song - picrew

[areyouafraid]

banal thought from earlier: so these 2 characters represent 2 of the major groups of echinoderms. i think before the series ends they shouldtry to cover the rest of the 6 (5?) major groups mostly to humor me specifically and no one else

urchins have appeared throughout the series basically serving as like wild animals, specifically as an equivalent to rodents / "pest" insects. an urchin was a sentient creature like one time in that episode whwre patrick had a beard ehich i only remembered after reading about it on the wiki i forgot about this episode

im kind of unclear rn on whether or not sand dollars constitute their own group. last i knew they were just an order of urchin but a lot of people bother to single them out. i dont feel like rehashing everything ive ever read about echinoderms for a dumb spange post

they as far as i know have never tackled brittle stars (closely related to starfish but genetically distinct... as far as we know) which would be probably the easiest one for them to do

and i also dont think theyve ever done a crinoid, unfortunately i feel like if they did itd probably be relegated to the status of a "plant" or MAYBE a nonsentient animal but i dont think anyone has ever tried to do a sentient crinoid that's like unexplored territory. This could be huge guys this could be like their new mascot character. especially given tgat the humble crinoid is like every american child's favorite marine animal

(i almost added apongebob to this post because i misremembered sponges as being echinoderms for some reason. theyre not and i kind of feel stupid as fuck for thinking that now bc i actually took marine science classes #failure)

[serickswrites]

Heroes and Villains One Shots

Heroes and Villains

I'd like to think that's forever--Hero and Heroine discuss love

Married?--Hero and Heroine are married

Skirt--Hero and Lover's wardrobe discussion

Hate--TW: kidnapping; beating; drugging; enemy to caretaker (sort of), could probably argue this is yandere

Only For You--TW: temporary character death, blood and gore (mention)

I Don't Know Why--Hero and Villain are lovers

Sun--TW: major character injury, caretaker and whumpee

Heels--Villain's wardrobe

One Last Kiss--Love wants a kiss before Hero goes

Bed Time--Villain doesn't want to go to bed

Excuse--Villain lies to Supervillain

Fire--Villain's unrequited love

Water--TW: drowning; water torture; major character injury; unclear character status

Mad--Hero and Villain and work

Run--Civilian and Vigilante interact

Distracted--Villain and Supervillain in Lair

Witch--TW: injury; blood; mild depiction of gore

Beauty--Supervillain and Villain discuss beauty and brains

Caught--Sidekick goes to Villain

Smell--Hero feeds Villain

Fix--Villain breaks something

Collapse--Superhero fears for Hero

Sorry--TW: mcd; blood; death

Think--Hero, Villain, and Supervillain have a conversation

Friends--Villain thinks about friendship

Ice Cream--Villain tires of fighting

World--Sidekick is disheartened

Legend--Civilian stumbles upon Supervillain

Brightest Idea--Villain and Sidekick are out of ideas

Mess--Base is in a mess

Unknown--Civilian stumbles upon something

Destroy--Supervillian and Villain have a conversation

Pin--Villain bares it all

Shut Up--Hero is an anxious mess

Honey--Supervillain catches up to Hero

Mystery--Sidekick hasn't been using their powers

Participate--Hero refuses to participate

Weird--Mail time at Base

Naive--Villain laments

In Another Life--TW: blood, knife, stabbing

Miracle--TW: threats of death, implied future violence

Drunk--Hero and Villain get intoxicated

Rules--Hero and Other Hero talk

What it is--Hero and Villain have a bad day

Choice--Sidekick isn't a first choice

Meeting--Hero and Villain meet

Not going to happen--Sidekick wants to throw a party

Go There--Hero and Villain have relationship issues

Drama--Villain loves drama

Do It--Hero and Villain talk

Forget--Villain doesn't want to remember

Your Bad--Superhero lectures Hero

Funny--Right Hand is incompetent

Know That--Hero catches on to Sidekick

Be Real--Villain levels with Hero

Don't Like--Hero and Sidekick sneak into Lair

Please Kiss Me--Villain wants a kiss

Zoo--Supervillain needs a day off

Sure About It--Superhero catches Sidekick

I Got This--the smallest hero stands up

So Dramatic--Villain is very dramatic

Get You--Villain is weird

My Fault--Villain is blameless

Public--Hero finds Villain in public

Shut Up--Sidekick is loud

Stupid Face--Hero is self conscious

Joke--Villain cannot take a joke

Fool--Hero feels the fool

Secretiveness--Villain fears their secret will get out

Need--Hero feels unwanted

Messy--Lair is a mess

Go Home--Civilian just wants to go home

Not Allowed--Movie night is a bust

Dog--Villain misses their dog

Immortal sidekicks request--TW: referenced torture, referenced captivity, referenced emotional manipulation, hurt/comfort, hurt/recovery, hurt/aftermath

Hero is supposed to kill Villain request--TW: physical violence, blood, weapons, blade, betrayal

Swallow It--TW: captivity, restraints

Villain rescues Hero request--TW: restraints, captivity, blood, wounds, rescue

Whatever--Sidekick feels invincible

Real--Superhero belittles Hero

Screaming--Supervillain is angry

Bye Bye--TW: self-sacrifice, implied character death, blood, injury

5 croissant anon ask

Standing--Sidekick the eavesdropper

Supervillain toasts Superhero

Sick hero request--TW: infection, illness, hurt/comfort

Hero escape the hospital request--TW: injury, broken bones, hospital

Hero boasts--TW: emotional abuse

On the Floor--TW: gun, robbery, threats

Give Me a Kiss--Hero to the rescue

Awful Job--Villain is awful at their job

This is the End--TW: threat of death

[transmasc-wizard]

Gabriel's from bad things happen right? What's he like?

ohoho. im glad you asked

Gabriel is from BTH, yes. he's the opening POV character and there is something deeply wrong with him

they are 19, pronouns he/they, last name shaw, gender: transed, sexuality: yes, status: in a fucked up toxic little relationship with @lychniscitrus's oc Max Gray

they were kicked out of their home for being trans when they were 16. he has ptsd, bpd, major depression, and tourette's, and i will probably end up making him autistic on accident because i do that. he is always very very tired and it's unclear whether it's disabling or not (it will become disabling).

ex-evangelical. PETTY BITCH. gabriel hates everyone he doesn't love and is terrified of being alone. loyalty is everything to him, he will stay by your side until you're literally killing him and even then he may come back. the only person he will never go back to is his father. they never wanted to be part of any of this. they just want to go home. he doesn't know what home is anymore. he is a skater boy. he said see u later boy

im love him <3 i will introduce his wip. soon. soooon

[aphelea]

Jobs within the Elven Nobility

For the Reading Rumble Round 4. A look into the structure of the Nobility, and the division of roles—based on ability—of Emissaries and Regents.

@camelspit @arson-anarchy-death

To enter the Nobility, one must graduate the Foxfire Elite Levels, for which a special ability is required. (The members of Team Valiant are the exception to this rule, as—excluding Wylie—none have completed their Elite Levels yet.) Members of the Nobility are considered to be of a “higher status” than other elves, and they hold more power over the Lost Cities. Typically, they hold the title of Lord or Lady, though those who work at Foxfire may hold different titles depending on their position.

The main purpose of the Nobility is to assist the Council in their work. Emissaries and Regents are both intended to carry out tasks for the Council, with Regents having lower rank than Emissaries. Besides this difference in rank, it is unclear what the difference between the tasks given to the two jobs is. 

Beyond Emissaries and Regents, there are a few more named jobs in the Nobility—although it is likely that there are more that have not appeared in the series yet. Quinlin Sonden is named as Chief Mentalist, a job that is similar to human therapists. It appears that one elf can hold multiple Nobility positions at a time, as Quinlin is also said to have been a Probe—alongside his Cognate, Alden, who was a Keeper. The positions of Probe and Keeper seem to be both official positions and general terms for skills a Telepath may have—Prentice was considered the “Keeper for the Black Swan,” though he did not work for the Council in his real life, while Fitz refers to his Mentor saying that “[he] should be a Keeper someday.” So, the term seems to be used both generally and to refer to a specific position with the Nobility.

Curiously, we see three Telepath skills considered jobs in the Lost Cities—Keepers, Probes, and Washers. (Washers are unclear, as the term seems to refer more often to the skill rather than the job; however, Councillor Kenric was said to be a Washer, and Damel Kafuta states his job to be a Washer. Damel had yet to graduate his Elite Levels, so it would be highly unlikely for him to have been a Noble, but still technically possible. It seems most likely that Washers, while a valued job, are not only Nobility members, although they carry out the Council’s work. Why this would be is yet uncertain, but it is possible that, since Washers would rarely be needed, they wouldn’t be considered a full-time job as such. And, with Kenric being able to wash the Washers’ minds, there is no real need for Washers to be members of the Nobility.)

The three jobs mentioned are skills that only Telepaths can hone; however, since a majority of the Nobility are not Telepaths, it stands to reason that there must be other ability-specific jobs within the Nobility. For example, Della, as an Emissary, was given the task of spying on Alden. Perhaps this means that there are specific types of Vanishers trained mainly in espionage. This explains why Della is consistently shown to evade the senses of even the strongest of characters throughout the series. Vanisher spies would also fulfill a part of the Council’s duties, in spying on the Neutral Territories, rebels, and other species. 

Another curious thing to note is that it seems that few elves with elemental abilities are in the Nobility, or, at the very least, few are interacting with Sophie. Based upon treatment of Tam and Linh’s abilities, there does seem to be some general prejudice against elemental abilities as a whole—perhaps that they are more wild, and less “refined” than mental abilities such as Telepathy and Empathy. However, we see many more Ancient or near-Ancient noble elves with elemental abilities—perhaps suggesting that there was once a time when elemental abilities assisted the Council, but now, they do not as much. I would think that this is because the Lost Cities must have taken time to build—centuries, even, which would require elves with elemental abilities to assist in their construction. But now, after the sinking of Atlantis and the completion of most construction, there is much less of a need for elemental abilities. Likely, of course, this pairs with the banning of pyrokinesis resulting in distrust of elemental abilities as a whole. 

Beyond elemental abilities and Vanishers, we also see plenty of Empaths in the series, and especially in the Nobility. The only real role that the ability seems to serve for the Council is the ability to detect lies, which Oralie does. Cassius, however, is sent on Emissary missions much like his fellow Telepath emissaries—so, there is clearly more than one use for Empaths in the Council. Perhaps one of these such jobs is the equivalent of Elf Lie Detector, used mainly during Tribunals and other important interviews. Then, there may be another Empath job—Cassius’s job—which is of more use out in the field. 

As for the overall structure of Nobility jobs, I propose that “Emissary” and “Regent” are merely overarching titles for groups of smaller, ability-specific jobs. Keepers and Probes, for example, are types of Emissaries, who specifically focus on mind-breaks and mind-searching. Vanisher spies would be specific types of Emissaries whose job is to gather information on certain subjects. An Empath Lie Detector may be a type of Regent—not Emissary, as their job would not require as much classified information as an Emissary’s would—who serves in Tribunals to ensure honesty.

 Overall, I propose that each ability that is represented in the Nobility has certain ability-specific roles within the overarching framework of Emissaries and Regents, in order to better serve the Council and their needs. 

[spitblaze]

More Braindead Panic 1 thoughts heehoo

I'm percolating! Thoughts are percolating! Nothing is set in stone I'm just brainstorming here.

So like. I DO wanna pare down the roster now that we don't have to get Every Single Camper in there. We can at least like more easily relegate some characters to background status. Elton doesn't need to be here all the time. Nils is barely ever relevant. Its fine. They don't have to go they can just have greatly reduced roles.

Anyway like. Idk. Everyone is at a university probably, how they are brought together is...slightly unclear. Maybe they're all in the same Psychic Studies class, maybe they're in the same dorm building, maybe they're in an extracurricular together, maybe they're all participating in experiments for the psychic science program (willingly, like psych undergrads), maybe they're brought together by happenstance. Whatever. What I'm sure of is that it's not because they all have the same major. Koschei is undeclared (maybe history or wildlife management actually?), Rue is botany/biochem, Not Vernon is doing something in either English or film. You get it.

So what's the plot. Good question! Like I mentioned before my brain took some stuff from Gideon the Ninth and ran with it but I didn't really have much else until I got back into octopath and started thinking about Cyrus Albright's story again, which. I will not spoil but has influenced my ideas here

So there's either an old psychic studies building or a door in the current building/labs that nobody ever opens, right? It's always closed, it has a sign that says 'do not open', and as far as most of the students and faculty are concerned, the sign is put up because there's something maintenance or campus IT will yell at them for messing with otherwise. The only people who would suspect something is fishy are those who notice the door is lined with something to prevent psychic observation and interference in an area other than the labs.

And then one day one of the students goes missing. A psychic one. A lot of rumors abound- did they drop out without telling anyone? Did the stress of college get to them? Were they kidnapped? Was it a hate crime? Nobody knows. And nobody knows until Koschei finds himself on the other side of the door a few days later. Idk why he's there. Maybe he was invited to a trial, maybe it was open late at night and their curiosity got the better of them, doesn't matter. The point is that what's on the other side of the door isn't a maintenance room, or a server room, or anything else sensitive but normal. It’s a staircase into a huge underground facility full of weird labs and archive and test chambers. And in one of the labs is the desiccated husk of that missing classmate. Someone notices Koschei and he barely makes it out alive. But like- holy shit, what WAS that?? What can he do??? Who will believe him???? He could go to the campus cops, but he knows they won't do shit. He could tell the faculty of the university, but would they believe him, or would he invite further danger on himself??

So he ends up telling his two closest friends (and maybe study partners? [Who will become his Romantic Partners over the course of the story]), Rue and Vernon (new name pending). And then it becomes a whole thing, going on expeditions into the facility to find out what happened to their classmate, what's being studied down there, and why other psychics around campus are disappearing as well.

[yusuke-of-valla]

"Fans noticed one character missing" actually I noticed 4 and all of them have pretty decent reasons NOT to be there. Akechi's status is currently unclear, Sumi is not a Phantom Thief, Zenkichi is a cop from another precinct, and Sophia... not sure why she's not here but I'm sure Ichinose and her are off doing their own thing. Not every Persona-User has to be present in every game we saw what happened in pq2.

It’s not even like you have to dislike Akechi to see a problem with complaining that he’s not in the P5X trailer, there are several reasons he wouldn’t be there such as:

1) if Goro is in the game it makes no damn sense to put him in a trailer since, you know, he’s a character of major plot importance and is also presumed dead at the moment so it wouldn’t make sense for him to cameo because *why would he want people to notice hime*

2) I don’t think we know yet the extent to which the other Phantom Thieves are in this game and if they’re not more than cameos who also show up in the OP to cement the tie-in then Goro certainly wouldn’t be there

3) Why on EARTH would you want something as plot important as Goro finally coming back to be in a *Chinese spin-off mobile game*

4) Goro would not care about these new Phantom Thieves unless the originals were somehow involved and we all know this. If he’s at the point where he’s like “huh new Phantom Thieves? I’m going to help them for reasons” that’s major character development that would have happened off screen because *GORO IS NEVER ALLOWED TO INTERACT WITH ANYONE OTHER THAN JOKER*

5) “well he doesn’t have to be in a plot important capacity” I refer you back to point 1 he is *presumed dead* at the moment and if We can see him Joker can see him which is the thing he is avoiding at the moment for reasons that should maybe be disclosed in a game getting a worldwide release

Just because a character was important in the game doesn’t mean they have to be the center of fuckign everything do you WANT Star Trek Picard/Rise of Skywalker/*insert bad series that made everything revolve around this one super cool character to the detriment of everyone else*

Goro got a good amount of character focus in both the original and Royal, it’s why Scramble giving Haru, Yusuke, and Ann any attention was so welcome, he doesn’t need to be the center of everything

And anyway this is a pointless discussion because IF HE IS IN THE GAME HE WOULDN’T BE IN THE FUCKING TRAILER

[whileyoureinschoolidothisallday]

please dump zacharie lore bc i trust your input on sexymen as a onceler sans enjoyer And Also jfc the image is so tiny on mobile i can't even tell who that guy is

ohhhh you've done it now.

-rubs hands together- lemme dive into the archives hold on.

so to start, here is some larger fanart of Zacharie I got from my Something Seems OFF tag! (links to the full art post)

Now to get into the character. (there WILL be OFF spoilers)

So, I said he was pre-Sans not only because of his look, but for a variety of reasons, including that Toby said himself OFF was an inspiration for Undertale. I personally like to refer to it as, "If Undertale's genocide route was a standalone Horror game".

Zacharie and Sans share many traits. He is the merchant of the game and breaks the fourth wall A LOT. Multiple characters in OFF seem aware that you exist and are controlling the Batter, but Zacharie specifically seems to know it's a game and makes a lot of tongue-in-cheek RPG comments. Because of this, he does not seem to give a shit about anything, and is often portrayed as a lovable bastard. That cat mask? He wears it to replace the Judge character for awhile,--who's a cat with a cheshire grin--because you killed the Judge's brother previously and he is busy mourning him (which is heartbreaking btw). It's unclear whether or not Zacharie does this to mock the Judge or support him.

The only time you get a genuine response out of him is if you follow his instructions to find the secret boss, Sucre, and kill her. Even then, he only says, "...It's better like that" and then in the next breath continues to give you the best weapon in the game.

The biggest similarity between him and Sans is derived from a largely accepted fan-theory based off of some official concept art of Zacharie where he has angel wings and a sword:

There is also a story you can read in the game called, "The Frog King and the Masked Man" that heavily implies Zacharie killed the oppressive Frog King. The mask he usually wears is that of a frog face.

So, from all of this, fans came to the conclusion that Zacharie was supposed to be a final or extra secret boss as a final means to stop you and the Batter, much like Sans, but was scrapped in the end. I don't think this was ever confirmed officially, but it was pretty much adopted fandom wide as canon.

They released an album of scrapped songs for OFF that included a song called "Hip2-2". Most people believed this was supposed to be the boss battle theme.

(Adding my own personal evidence, all the major characters in OFF are named after Biblical characters. 'Zachariel' is an archangel, and while we never get a real name for the Batter, he would fit into the Satan role quite nicely)

I think a BIG reason behind Zacharie's sexyman status, besides his smug attitude and design, is alllll the mystery behind him. Like most things about OFF, hardly anything has ever been confirmed about him. What's the significance of the Frog King story? Who is Zacharie that he could just kill that guy? Why was Sucre so important to him? And if she was so important, why does he rat her out? How does he know this is a game?

The only thing that HAS been confirmed is that he is human, but that only adds more questions. This is a post-apocalyptic world where we see one other human, and they're basically God. Why and how is he presumably one of the two only humans left in the world? And again, if he's human, and only a merchant, how did he kill the previous king?

All of this also attributed to him being shipped with the Batter HELLA, which I think also might be why people don't remember him so much as a sexyman because he had two very popular ships, so people were thirsting somewhat less than they were shipping.

(Please note: people were also thirsting after the Batter HELLA, but I think that was less of a sexyman thing and more of a villainfucker thing)

I'm gonna sign this off by saying that, if you liked all this and you hadn't heard of or played OFF before and wanna know more lore, I highly recommend this fantastic 1hr30min analysis that was actually recently posted!!!!!!!!

OR

Alternatively, you can watch my favorite animated summary, still on youtube after all these years. Which is 100% accurate exactly what happens in the game trust me.

[auspex]

(gehenna-calling) OK not sure if you've already been asked any of these but: 2, 11, 34 for mark. 7, 19, 38 for pory!

<3 thank you!!

How easy is it for your character to laugh?

Mark's little snarky sardonic professor laugh is pretty easy to get out of him. Mark also has a tendency to say “Very Funny.” In a deadpan tone. It’s not hard to hear that :) lol. 

A true laugh out of him isn’t so easy. Not now anyway. He’s feeling pressured and stressed constantly, and somewhat depressed. He doesn’t feel happy very often at all. And definitely not lighthearted. 

He and Sampson had similar sense of humor but lately Sampson’s humor, when it happens, is incredibly dark. 

If Mark wasn’t feeling so bad, I would say it’s like. About average difficulty to get him to actually laugh. But right now, and for the foreseeable future, it’d be really really hard to get a true laugh. The mask is up and its STRONG. (So the sardonic laugh comes pretty easy, but not the real one.)

Though i think he actually laughed somewhat recently at Sampson’s grand opening party for his bar at least :)  

How do they cope with confusion (seek clarification, pretend they understand, etc)?

Depends on the person. Early on in his life as a kindred he tried to pretend to understand far more than he does now. Now that he has the basics down and he trusts that his questions aren’t totally stupid and giving himself away as a baby fledgling, he will tend to ask for clarification. Of course, asking questions can be dangerous in kindred society so like… it just really depends. If he doesn’t feel in danger he’d definitely seek clarification though. He is curious and likes to learn  :) and feels fairly confident in his intelligence. 

34 was answered! 

-

7 was answered! 

What is their favorite number?

Five because she feels it is an important number because it is the size of her cabal. She would think that is important to her fate / her cabal's fate.

See, it’s not 7, the classic lucky number, because she makes her own luck now :) 

What memory do they revisit the most often? 

Oh definitely memories of the mysterious statue that helped a mage ascend to archedom/connected their cabal closely/made her remember an alternate reality (or be transported to a different one, it’s unclear). Figuring that out is a major mystery! And changed her fate a lot. 

[kasunex]

I have to say, I have noticed a major shift in Love is War between Season 1 & 2. Of course, one of the reasons I like Love is War when I normally hate this genre is that the show builds on itself rather than remaining stagnant. But one shift in particular is bugging me: Shirogane.

Shirogane was my favorite character in Season 1 and for a pretty simple reason: he was born into poverty and worked his way to the top of the social ladder at a prestigious school through sheer grit and hard work, yet still struggles with feelings of inadequacy and imposter syndrome. His character isn't anything groundbreaking, but it's a very compelling, relatable, and even motivating portrayal.

Here's the issue, though. By Season 2, the all important imposter syndrome that kept his character balanced is just kinda...shoved to the background, if it's still there at all. Shirogane at this point is just a chad, and for the most part, he knows it. In Season 1, Kaguya was always planning twenty steps ahead, but both Kaguya and Shirogane were clearly invested in their little war game. At that time, the two of them couldn't even ask each other for a pity ride home without making it a cat-and-mouse game. In Season 2, Kaguya is still like that, but Shirogane...just kinda isn't. Take the moon episode, he just casually starts throwing his arms around Kaguya and cuddling her like it's nothing. He's embarrassed about it a bit after the fact, but how this sudden confidence fits in with his imposter syndrome seems unclear at best.

Hell, take the intros. The Season 1 intro was always clear to mirror the two, if Shirogane blushed so did Kaguya and vice versa. The Season 2 intro on the other hand is just Kaguya simping over Shirogane while he stands just shy of telling her to "begone, thot." It might not be so bad if Kaguya was upping her game as well, but she's about at the same level as she was in Season 1. There's no war anymore, Shirogane wins, regardless of who confesses, Kaguya is a blushing mess and Shirogane is smooth as can be.

Ok, character development is always good, but it feels so off. If Shirogane is suddenly so confident around Kaguya, why is he still holding off on a confession? The explanation for why he's waiting for her to confess is supposedly that he's self-conscious about their status gap, reasonably so perhaps, but at this point that self-consciousness doesn't seem to manifest in any other way.

To be honest, I entertained the thought Shirogane was just supposed to be on a total ego trip for a while and was maybe just toying with Kaguya. But then his rejection of Ai (best girl cough) Hayasaka made clear he's still loyal enough to Kaguya to turn down a hot as hell girl directly coming onto him. He still has his morals and isn't lost to ego, and if the temptation is even there it's not apparent.

At this point, Shirogane's character just feels confused. The plot is trying to hold onto the last semblance of Shirogane's former inferiority complex to keep the central conflict unresolved, but the rest of his personality has just ascended to demi-god. He comes off as borderline flawless, but the story is desperately trying to ignore this conclusion and insist that no, Shirogane is still self-conscious.

Take the election arc. Shirogane, who has nothing but his academics and student council work fitting him into such an elite academy, practically throws half his lead out of pity and kindness towards his opponent. How do they reconcile this with his supposed lingering imposter syndrome? They make it abundantly clear that Miko is a clown who doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hell. It all but completely dodges the potential character dilemma.

Even when Shirogane is occasionally revealed to have something he isn't perfect at, like with the singing episode, he's one Chika montage away from being the best like no one ever was.

Honestly it's all pretty ironic. Shirogane's goals and actions are the central driving point of most of the story at this point, yet his character motivations have for some reason completely fallen by the wayside. I feel like someone reading this is gonna "laugh in read the manga", but whatever the case, it's really jarring how much Shirogane shifted between seasons, especially when the rest of the characters feel more or less the same.

The writing wants to have its cake and eat it too, to keep the character built up in Season 1 without actually reinforcing Shirogane's character flaws. What we're left with is a character who comes off one step shy of Jesus, yet is still supposedly too self-conscious to confess to his crush. Perhaps this could make for a somewhat fascinating character, but as stands it feels totally disconnected.