#which i would be interested to see become a larger part of his character

[ursaribbon]

i love how phineas canonically had an awkward fashion phase in middle school

[phantomwitch16]

Recently I've been thinking about Hypnos and his position in Hades Hades 2. I've been seeing a lot of posts about him lately so I really want to talk about him cause to be honest, other than Zagreus, Hypnos is my favourite character in both games.

From what I've seen from Nyx's family, Hypnos seems to be the odd one out and too be fair, he quite literally is. Most if not all of his siblings are reclusive, quiet and don't keep in contact, similar to how it was with Nyx and Chaos. But Hypnos is the opposite, being quite sociable, talkative and wants to be around his mother and brothers as much as possible. In fact, that's possibly why he works at the house, likely to be closer to Nyx and his brothers. Which really makes sense, since out of all of his family, he never sees any of his other siblings save for their Nyx, Than and Charon and that was largely due to their obligations to the house. But despite his easy going demeanor, Hypnos is probably one of the most powerful gods in the house, save for Nyx given that he was able to put everyone in the house to fall asleep.

Which I imagine it was quite isolating to be doing his duties, especially since most of his siblings, notably Than, were off doing something else. At least with Than, he had the opportunity to see Nyx and Charon whenever he had the time. Which makes sense since other than sleep and death being two sides of the same coin, there isn't much else that keeps Hypnos connected with his family and its likely what made him want to take a job as a receptionist, despite how bored he generally is at it.

It's sad looking back on first game when he's being talked down to by Than and Nyx for having a difficult time to get the hang of doing essentially two full time jobs. Thankfully by the end of the game, he's managed to become much more capable in managing both jobs and having a better relationship with his family.

But this has made me wonder if working as the receptionist had a drastic affect on him in the second game. He's practically in a comatose state and has been like that since before Chronos attacked, since Mel was a baby and it's one of the biggest questions of the community.

I have a few ideas what could've happened to him and the possibly larger role he many have within Hades.

I haven't watch the technical test and frankly i don't want to know too much until the game comes out on the switch, but i think Hecate was down at the house was partly due to Hypnos' condition and maybe to see Mel as well. Because frankly it would be a large part of concern for everyone to come across Hypnos and being unable to wake him up. So she comes to examine him and while there, Chronos escaped, leading her to escape with Hypnos, Melinoe and the portrait.

As for what could've put Hypnos into that sleep, it could've been possible that he was doing so well before the events of the Hades 2. There could've been a large influx of souls and some additional preparation for Melinoe's birth that caused a lot of tension in the house. Or else, he received a terrible vision. In Greek Mythology, Hypnos had a great connection with handling the visions and prophecies. Mainly delivering them from Apollo or other Gods to prophets such as the Oracle of Delphi, alongside his sons. It could be possible that Hypnos received a vision from someone that influenced him to go into a deep sleep.

With him being asleep since then, it's likely that he's only been sleeping. However, it could be possible that Hypnos could be aiding those who were left behind or helping Mel and the others in the Crossroads? Such preventing other enemies to spawn alongside Chronos or putting those left behind in a deep sleep so that they won't feel pain or be controlled by the Titan.

What i find most interesting is his connection with Melinoe. From the get-go, we're already well aware that Mel looks up to Hypnos and finds him fascinating which makes sense. In mythology, Melinoe was not only had a connection to Hecate and ghosts, but one with sleep, specifically bringing about nightmares and madness.

With this connection to him, Mel could possibly interact with Hypnos in her dreams or wake him from his slumber. Or if those who were in the house were under his control, Hypnos could lull them into a sleep and Mel could wake them up by inducing a terrible nightmare that could shake off whatever control Chronos has over them.

I don't know if Hypnos might still have his old job by the end of the second game but considering with Mel could intercept dreams, I think that he would get a promotion by overseeing her duties or training her in those aspects of her abilities, probably punishing those worthy of those nightmares or aiding him in handing out prophecies.

I highly doubt that all of this would be used in the game but its a nice idea.

[kikokus]

Lucci and Kaku: An Analysis

I haven’t done long analysis/meta/essay-style posts in a while, but after seeing a comment that amounted to “every time Lucci’s shown an interest in something that doesn’t have to do with killing, Kaku’s involved” it made me think about whether or not that's true and, more specifically, whether or not there’s been sufficient build-up to justify what happens in Chapter 1111.

So let’s explore, shall we?

First of all, basic disclaimer that I’ve been heavily into One Piece since 2008 and Water 7 has been my favorite arc since the first time I read it that summer. Kaku, in turn, has always been one of my top characters in the entire series for various reasons…but this isn’t about him (at least, not entirely), so all of that is just to say that I’ve thought about these characters a lot over the years.

And I think what always struck me about them is that not only are they so fundamentally different, but that realistically Lucci should not tolerate Kaku at all. He’s pretty much everything Lucci’s not, and they’re more-or-less a perfect example of the ‘someone will die…of fun!’ meme in a lot of ways (and honestly it’s what I think of every time I see this card, but I digress):

At the same time, what happened in the latest chapter didn’t surprise me, because there’s been hints all along, and I’ve personally been waiting years for it to pay off…even though part of me thought it never would, or at least not in the way it did!

Still, how did we get here?

But First, A Bit About 相棒

So. Why is the fact that Lucci calls Kaku his “相棒” (aibou) so significant? Mostly because of the…individualistic meaning of the word. It literally translates to ‘partner’, but not in a romantic/life-partner way (not to say that it has never been used like that, but it’s not the inherent meaning of the word).

Unlike words such as 友人 (yuujin), 友達 (tomodachi), and of course, with Luffy, 仲間 (nakama), aibou generally only refers to one person. You can have many friends, teammates, crew members…but only one aibou. So by calling Kaku that, Lucci’s already placing him on a different level to anyone else in CP9 or CP0 and acknowledging openly that Kaku’s important enough to him to have earned that distinction.

Which is why a lot of us were very excited about it, since this is not a common occurrence where Lucci’s concerned.

That aside, let’s get to the actual canon content.

Water 7

Obviously at the beginning we find out they both work at the shipyard, but that in and of itself isn’t entirely significant…until you consider that, since Kalifa is pretty much with Iceburg all the time and Blueno’s running the bar, the two of them are working in much closer proximity to each other than to the other CP9 members in the city. 

The first real indication we get regarding their comfort level with each other comes in chapter 327 when Kaku gets back from examining the Merry and goes to sit down to explain what he’s discovered. Paulie’s the closest to him, but he actually ends up stepping past both him and Lucci in order to sit directly beside Lucci on the same level.

It’s quite a while before we see the two of them alone again, and it doesn’t happen until chapter 339 when they’re speaking with Robin. Of course at the time we’re not supposed to know it’s them, but there’s really nobody else it can be since this is happening at the exact same time that Blueno’s talking with Franky and Kokoro at the bar. So, as will become fairly common, the two of them are again acting as a unit of their own within the larger group.

And then, of course, we get the infiltration of the mansion prior to The Big Reveal (which I’ve spoken about before because for me it’s still the single greatest reveal in the entire manga because of how carefully crafted it is, right down to Kaku’s limited dialogue in this section being completely devoid of his usual speech quirks in the original Japanese text). Once again, Blueno and Kalifa are doing their own things while these two are working together.

This panel has always been interesting to me because immediately prior to this Lucci says he can’t let Paulie live, and then he decides to just restrain him instead. In Luffy’s case it makes sense because they gave their word to Robin not to harm the Strawhats, but he has absolutely no reason to spare Paulie, and the little lines of shock/surprise beside Kaku imply that he hadn’t expected Lucci to do that, either. The ‘why’ is still unclear, but it’s interesting nonetheless, and it’s also…noteworthy that it’s the only thing Lucci asks Kaku to do. All of the actual damage Paulie takes comes from Lucci and he never asks for or expects Kaku to harm him.

I never connected these two panels before but it’s obviously very deliberate to have Lucci telling Iceburg that feeling emotions is a sign of humanity followed immediately by Kaku…demonstrating exactly that and thanking Iceburg. It’s important to establish that part of Kaku’s character, but keep in mind Lucci’s lack of a reaction here because it’ll come back later.

Again, very tiny moment, but there’s a lot of examples of Lucci deferring to Kaku or letting him take the lead without any hesitation, and I like this because Kaku’s noticed something that Lucci hasn’t and Lucci just goes with it immediately.

I’d forgotten about this but Kaku’s also the one that decides to take Usopp with them, first by recognizing him as one of the Strawhats and then going through with it even after finding out he doesn’t consider himself a part of them anymore. And Lucci just…stands back and lets him give out orders to the others while doing so.

Okay so this is what I was referencing earlier. Kaku shows actual emotions with Iceburg and Lucci’s silent, but the moment Kalifa gets even slightly happy about completing the mission he’s berating her instantly. Kaku’s expression here is interesting too because he looks absolutely haunted and it’s very telling.

And also another visual representation of Lucci and Kaku being equal to/on the same level as each other.

I didn’t include the panel but Kaku was ‘sleeping’ when Corgi was giving them all of the information about Nero while Lucci was (seemingly) wide awake, and yet Lucci has no idea who he is and relies on Kaku to have all the information. Which he does.

Kaku being the one to take charge again and direct the others even though Lucci’s standing right there. They do this more than I’d realized at first, especially since Lucci always seems to be looked at as the unofficial ‘leader’ of CP9.

Enies Lobby

We’ve made it to Enies Lobby, which is the first glimpse we get of these two interacting with the full CP9 group outside of any sort of ‘mission’ environment.

Mostly it entails Lucci being more combative (especially with Jabra) and Kaku being more annoyed, but again I can’t really imagine anyone else taking this tone with Lucci and getting away with it while Kaku does it fairly often and Lucci never retorts or gets angry with him.

And while Kaku’s not immune to taking Jabra’s bait in the right circumstances, his typical tendency is to de-escalate situations if he can and here he’s refusing to engage despite being deliberately called out…and Lucci, without being asked, immediately takes his side and defends his choice.

This is practically the next panel and while both Lucci and Jabra are kind of equally at fault for this little display, Kaku only berates Jabra for it while Kalifa’s directing her comments at both of them.

Now that I’m actually looking for these sorts of things it’s becoming more obvious, but again we have Lucci and Kaku in an equal position to each other at the front of CP9.

This isn’t just to Kaku since Kalifa’s there as well, but Lucci’s still encouraging them to eat the fruits and I have to believe it’s coming from a place of good faith because he’d know whether or not being able to swim is that big an issue in their profession. I also want to note that Kaku echoes Lucci’s ‘it’ll be fun’ line when he actually does eat his fruit, so obviously that resonated with him.

I’ve put these two together because they both highlight the same thing, that being in both of these sequences we get almost all of CP9 giving out their individual thoughts/comments on what’s happening but Kaku’s statement both times is a direct reply to what Lucci says, so again the two of them are paired off in a way that doesn’t include anyone else there. 

The only other thing of note in this section is that while Robin’s talking about what happened during the Buster Call on Ohara, Kaku and Lucci are the only CP9 members to kind of…break formation and actually look at her while she’s speaking, which is interesting.

And for the rest of Enies Lobby they aren’t together so there’s not too much more to say here other than Kaku of course being the one to have the actual key to Robin’s cuffs, but it’s never made explicit who came up with that plan or handed out the keys so…if I ever actually do the thing and write a full analysis of Kaku’s character we can talk about it then Lark you’ve been saying you’ll do this for years IF I EVER--

Interlude - CP9’s Independent Report

Besides the fact that this is still one of my favorite cover stories, there’s a couple of noteworthy things here, the first of which is that Kaku again is taking the lead. Even though he’s the only other CP9 member other than Lucci to be injured badly enough that he can’t walk on his own, he’s still the one directing them where to go.

Other than that, I love seeing all of them just…interacting like friends and being very relaxed and casual, and pretty much every panel where Kaku and Lucci are together they’re directly beside each other so I’ve included a bunch of those here.

Dressrosa & Egghead

The next time we see Lucci and Kaku is at the end of Dressrosa, where they’ve been promoted to CP0 Oda can we please get some explanation of how this happened and let me tell you, I remember this vividly because the spoilers at the time just said that Lucci was talking to ‘someone’ and when the raws came out you can bet I went right to the dialogue to see if it was Kaku because his way of speaking is so telling.

But even in this little scene, we can see they’re having an equal conversation and there’s a major difference between how Lucci’s speaking with Kaku and how he addresses Spandam mere seconds later.

After this we have the Reverie/Levely/what-even-is-this-thing-called arc where they get all of a single panel together and while it’s the first time we actually ‘see’ Kaku after the time-skip, nothing really interesting regarding their relationship happens, so let’s move on to…

The end of the colored manga! And Egghead.

We start with a very familiar situation: Lucci asking Kaku what’s going on, and while Kaku this entire arc seems more outwardly annoyed with Lucci than he ever was in the past (which is never really explained but then again, Lucci spends a lot of the arc doing things he’s specifically been told not to do, so maybe it’s understandable…), he still has all the information and relays it.

Though Kaku’s also much more comfortable letting his real personality show despite them being on a mission while before he was always completely serious after the Water 7 reveal, especially around Lucci. It came through with Zoro and Jabra but during the cover story he’s smiling and laughing a lot with Lucci right there so it makes sense he’d be more willing to let his guard down even ‘on the job’ by now.

So here’s the first real instance of Lucci showing concern for Kaku, something which escalates pretty quickly throughout the arc. It’s subtle, and though he’s framing it as a suggestion to Stussy, if he didn’t care at all he wouldn’t have said anything. 

At this point it’s fairly obvious that Lucci and Kaku don’t really have any authority difference between them and Kaku spends a lot of time in this chapter especially telling Lucci to Not Do The Thing. Anyone that’s ever lived with a cat knows how well this works.

I’ve always found this bit of dialogue particularly interesting because Kaku’s very openly…praising Sentomaru for choosing his loyalty to Vegapunk over assisting the government, and there’s no way Lucci doesn’t hear him say this but he doesn’t say anything in return. There’s no real evidence that Lucci knows about Kaku willingly giving up the key to Zoro or how conflicted he was about Paulie and everyone else, but this seems to imply that at the very least, even if he doesn’t share those sentiments, he wouldn’t think less of Kaku because of it.

Putting these two together since they’re in the same scene but at this point it’s not even subtle concern anymore, Lucci’s genuinely worried for Kaku and you can tell this caught him off-guard.

Kaku’s the first one to suggest working together but Lucci immediately backs him up and goes with the idea. It’s logical in the sense that it’ll give them the biggest chance to survive, but willingly working with pirates isn’t exactly the sort of thing that Lucci, especially in the past, would have so easily done regardless of the situation.

So at this point it’s becoming clear that this whole 4-v-2 section is supposed to be the most…light-hearted thing going on right now and a lot of it is played to be comedic, including Lucci’s inability to lie, but yet again there’s almost nobody else that could get away with scolding him the way Kaku’s doing here.

…And then we skip ahead a day and things happen that I really hope get explained at some point because they seem important, but while Lucci’s never going to have impeccable bedside manner, he’s very concerned with getting Kaku to rest and while Kaku’s trying to justify what happened Lucci really doesn’t seem to care about that. It’s a big departure from him being willing to write off anyone he deems ‘too weak’ and it’s a nice character moment.

I’d mentioned on my liveblog that some of the things Lucci was doing after this point were confusing, but if you look at them through the lens of him wanting to protect Kaku, it makes a lot more sense. Yes, he’s deliberately keeping him out of the loop, but Lucci I think has decided that he’s going to throw caution to the wind and act alone since if Kaku can’t prove he knew about the plan, he’s probably safer being left with the Strawhats, and if the Marines show up he should be safe anyway or so Lucci thinks…

When this chapter came out, I’d said something about Lucci being a hypocrite considering what the rest of CP9 did for him when they could have easily just left him at Enies Lobby, but given what happens almost directly after and likely what he’s trying to do with this entire fight, these words feel even less genuine…

And that brings us to this. The moment that I’ve been thinking about for almost an entire week now. The moment that, looking back at…oh, wow…almost 3000 words of analysis maybe shouldn’t be as surprising as it was for most of us, but it does feel like the payoff for a long, long buildup that’s taken nearly twenty years to reach. Because really, there’s no other way to describe them other than ‘partners’, and probably hasn’t been for a long time…and I’m so glad that Lucci acknowledged it.

To summarize, I think what surprised me most about re-visiting all of this is how much the manga has framed them as equals since the beginning even though it was never explicitly stated between the characters themselves. Lucci’s always been far more lenient with Kaku than with anyone else, and Kaku in turn has never had any fear of Lucci even if he wasn’t really expressing his true self with him for a long time.

The cover story being the turning point makes perfect sense, and the progression throughout Egghead of Lucci being more outwardly willing to show his concern and Kaku not hiding his emotions at all seems like a natural progression of their relationship and their level of comfort around each other.

And the fact that Oda is never really…hitting us over the head with any of it until that final moment when Lucci says everything so plainly because Kaku’s life is the most important thing to him even when faced with a literal monster… It’s so effective. 

I don’t know where we go from here. To be honest, I’m kind of scared of where we go from here. But regardless of the outcome, I hope this little essay has been at the very least interesting and perhaps allowed you to look at these two in a different light.

Thanks for reading.

[shalotttower]

A Heart Deceived

Title: A Heart Deceived

Fandom: Far Cry 5

Characters: Jacob Seed x Reader (female)

Summary: AU where soulmates share the same marking and Jacob doesn't have to brand you any further.

Word count: 2900+

Notes: soulmates, yandere!Jacob Seed, Reader is not the Deputy, captivity, violence, emotional manipulation, dub-con kissing, scars and injuries description: Reader has a mutilated ear and facial scars from a wolf attack and is not happy about it, a mild form of Stockholm Syndrome.

His fingers are surprisingly gentle. You don't expect it from him, the gentleness, Jacob is not kind or caring. Jacob is not warm, not nurturing, not indulgent. Yet his thumb skims across your jaw with quiet focus. Down the side of your neck, up your chin to follow the slanted line there, then it repeats the whole procedure on a different scar. They had long healed by now and turned into uneven ridges of mismatched tissue.

It hurt when the damned wolf bit you, the next day, and for many following days; the effective and precise killing machine aimed for the throat, and if you didn't twist the last moment, would have succeeded.

Jacob never punished the wolf, it was serving its purpose, while you, you were supposed to think before acting and understand the possible consequences.

The pain could be endured and later forgotten, what could not was the humiliation of lying on the dirty ground and the shiny view of Jacob's boots growing larger until they stopped in the line of your vision. A moment of painful awareness: the escape attempt which failed so abruptly and so brutally had become laughable. Jacob grabbed your hair and shook you like a disobedient puppy. "That's on you, sweetheart. Be wary of the quiet ones, they say."

Those last words sounded as if he were talking to himself, rather than anyone else.

"I warned you."

He did.

Jacob is right, not in everything, but in many things. One can try and deny it, another can scoff, but the bottom line is the same: Jacob is right in many things, and at times it's better to listen. Even despite an involuntary gagging reaction.

Your heart hammered and every single beat of it brought to the surface what you already knew — there would be no other attempts. The paleness from fear or perhaps blood loss must've shown on your face, because he let go of you and crouched down. "Pathetic."

It lacked genuine heat, disappointment, or any emotion. Being disappointed would mean that Jacob expected something in the first place. He pulled off his jacket and pressed it to your face, stemming the bleeding. The ground seemed more interesting than ever, dry soil dotted with rocks and grass blades scattered everywhere, trampled by people's feet.

You don't want to look at him or acknowledge the touch to a small sword on your wrist, identical to the one above his left elbow. The mark is a clean reminder and a binding claim for life. You don't want to see it or remember how Jacob's face twisted when he realized just who you were.

Like someone had slapped him.

A lot has happened; Montana turned different from what you saw on TV and the world suddenly shifted under your feet, rearranged from a little road trip across the states into his territory, his commands, his people. A part of you — a foolish, soft part — wished you could've met under different circumstances, in a different place and you told him once about it in a moment of weakness. Jacob stilled at first, but then kept cleaning his gun. "We're here, sweetheart. Nothing we can do 'bout it."

Could've beens and never happeneds weren't worth wasting thoughts on.

Now Jacob is tracing your scars. He's not handsome, not really, there's too much roughness to the lines of his face, dark circles and untrimmed beard, but... you frown. You don't know how to describe Jacob Seed or why you even bother trying. It's odd to think about him this way. Weird.

Jacob catches your eyes. "What?"

You close them. "Nothing."

He makes a noncommittal sound, then leans in. The kiss to your forehead is unexpected and brief. A lot of them are — quick kisses on your temple when Jacob thinks you're asleep, on your nape when he leaves the bed before dawn. They make you wonder just what he wants from you.

He never expects affection back.

Doesn't try anything further, and you both are suspended in this limbo, neither being the first to break it, nor acknowledge its growing significance with every passing day. One part of you craves it, to yield in a different way, not because it is required, but because you want, yet Jacob doesn't ask, so perhaps it's for the better.

Another gets nauseous. He breaks people. Like dry twigs, discarding the pieces when they have no more use. You've seen his Chosen training until they begged, cried and crawled, their pride crushed along with the body.

There are days you can't bear looking at him.

***

Sometimes, sometimes, you wish him dead and gone from the world, then the mark on your wrist aches like a fresh wound.

"When will you take off the chain?" You ask and wiggle your foot a bit. It's long enough to reach the bathroom, to wander around the quarters, but not to walk outside. Jacob doesn't look up from his book. The cover is worn out and you suspect he read it many times already, military stuff. Strategy. Survival tactics, you have no idea.

"When I know you've learned your lesson."

So, not today.

You sigh and roll onto your stomach. "It's stupid."

He doesn't respond.

It's annoying more than anything. Reason — you're his soulmate, not some runaway cow ready to get lost in Montana wilderness — didn't help and only gained you a blank stare followed by a lock click. The chain rattles with each movement, loud and distracting; Jacob just keeps reading as if nothing happens.

Sometimes, sometimes, you catch yourself thinking that this isn't so bad after all. He treats you well for a cult leader: fed, clothed, clean, sheltered. Compared to the cages his future Chosen sleep in, you don't get to complain. You have a comfortable bed instead of cold dirty floor, normal meals rather than a chunk of raw meat, privacy and silence without old school music 24/7.

You frown. No, it's not nice. It's Stockholm Syndrome, plain and simple. You should be free, away from this place.

"Are you angry?"

Jacob turns another page. "No."

His room smells of pine wood and gun oil, with an undertone of metal. The furniture is scarce and practical. A wardrobe, a desk with a radio placed on top, one bookshelf. Bare walls except for a giant map pinned opposite the bed; you've memorized all the markings on it during your stay. The areas which got liberated by Deputy are red, his outposts are circled in blue. Jacob doesn't talk about Deputy much, but the way he clenches his jaw over the radio frequency makes you think they must be a real pain in the ass.

Secretly you hope they blow Eden's Gate HQ to pieces soon.

What would it mean for you?

These are questions, vague and inappropriately timed, coming to mind. What if Deputy happens to eventually tear the Project apart? They escaped John, escaped Jacob and you were to personally witness his foul mood for two days straight. You overhear bits and pieces of conversations, the Chosen talk if they think no one listens — Deputy is strong and clever. Persistent and cunning. Maybe that's the reason Jacob's so obsessed with them.

What if...

You glance at him from under your eyelashes and rub the mark. They say there's a connection between soulmates. If one dies, another experiences it on a physical level. Jacob said that was bullshit. His brother didn't confirm or deny when you asked him after a sermon.

Joseph Seed unnerves you. Not just because he believes himself to be God's vessel. There is something in his voice, quiet and soothing like the distant rolls of thunder, it raises goosebumps when he starts preaching and you're forced to sit through it. Something in his eyes behind yellow-tinted glasses sends shivers down your spine, very little to do with his religious fanaticism.

What would you feel if Jacob died?

The thought creates an unpleasant twist in your stomach, unwanted bond or not, it leaves you queasy. You curl on the bed. Jacob has reading glasses, you barely held back a snort the first time you saw them propped up his nose. He shoots a flat look from above the pages but doesn't comment on your inquisitive stare.

By now you know when to speak and to remain silent (mostly). He dislikes unruly ones and finds satisfaction showing them just how insignificant they are, how mistaken in every single sense. Weak. That's why you annoy him mildly when feeling particularly brave or in need of interaction, but never play soldier or power. It triggers something which is best avoided, gets people punished, then shot in front of others. Or sent for trials, you're not sure which is worse.

Jacob marks a page and sets the book aside. "What?"

"What 'what'?" You ask back, fiddling with the hem of a grey camouflage shirt. It's way too big on your frame, Jacob likes the look of it, judging by how much of your wardrobe consists of his stuff now that you don't leave the room.

"I can hear the wheels in your head turning, spit it out."

"What would happen to me if something... happened to you?"

You're afraid of saying 'if you die' because it's final, even though Jacob seems invincible most of the times. A mountain against hurricanes. Yet everyone dies eventually and the Deputy keeps winning against all odds set before them.

"Nothing. Joseph takes care of you."

This is news, and frankly not the answer you hoped for.

('You'd go free' was. He didn't say 'I won't die' either.)

Tension seeps into your shoulders without a conscious thought. "Why? I am nobody to him."

"You are my soulmate," Jacob replies, simple as that, like it explains everything. Perhaps in their cult world it does, but not yours.

"So?"

He pats his thigh.

It's a gesture without much interpretation required, but you stay rooted on the bed. Cautious. You've grown familiar with each other after living together for months — sharing a space tends to do this to people — still tonight is different, full with awkwardness you haven't felt since that time he walked in on you changing.

Jacob's stare is intense. Heavy, cold blue eyes linger on your wrist where the sword surrounded by flames peeks from under the long sleeve. You swallow a lump in your throat and get up on unsteady legs.

"So he will do it out of memory. You're family, pup, whether you wish it or not."

With the same caution you sit on his lap, war memories written in pink-red skin decorate his face. Just like yours, you think, the only difference is the place and origin. There's something intimate about being like this. Jacob holds you in place once you settle down, not comfortable, but not exactly uncomfortable either.

"Never took you for a cuddly type," you say to shield yourself from growing unease. "Why the change?"

Jacob's thumb presses to the corner of your lips. "Got tired of those puppy eyes staring at me the whole evening, sweetheart. You can have a closer look."

"I don't have puppy eyes. And maybe I like looking from afar."

"Yeah?"

His beard has a prickly feeling to it.

You know your face will never be the same after what happened. From his point of view, Jacob can probably see where the scars begin in the hairline, then continue downwards only an inch away from your eye; small miracles and such. Half of your ear is missing, a good solid chunk. It's not a nice look.

"Don't touch them," you mutter.

You don't mean to share your thoughts in such an abrupt manner, but these intimate moments become a source of discomfort, like a sharp, twisting knife. Jacob doesn't flinch at the sight, he probably saw worse things, still it feels humiliating being reminded of your shortcomings and the fact that this is your face — permanently marked.

Jacob doesn't stop.

"Beauty dies fast, darlin'," he says slowly. "This here... this'll stay."

He never sugarcoats anything. Never lies to spare feelings, ruthless and pragmatic with a clear understanding of what matters and what doesn't. Only the weak need empty reassurances; his words. You hate this side of Jacob just as much as admire it on occasion, right now you wish he said something else. Beauty dies fast.

"Thank you Jacob, very comforting. Top ten phrases you should tell someone who got mauled by a Judge." You cross your arms, wondering why the hell are you talking about this. With Jacob. The worst choice possible to bring up sensitive topics, or maybe the only one, since there's not a lot of people around anyway.

"I ain't here to stroke your ego, sweetheart. This," he traces a scar, "is a lesson to remember. Next time when thinking 'bout running — think again and think good."

There will be no next time regardless of how he phrases it. The chain rattles every night when you shift under the blankets and falls down with an annoying bang as soon as you get up. There's nowhere to run too, the Whitetail Mountains belong to Jacob, he rules them like a king would rule his kingdom, with iron fist and strict order, and who knows what the local Resistance will do to you if they catch you first.

If they figure out whose soulmate you are.

You're trapped between the Deputy destroying outposts and Jacob hunting them across the region, like a mouse stuck in a corner while cats keep prowling around.

The sky outside has an orange-pink hue, casting Jacob's face into soft light and deep shadows. He takes off his glasses, setting them on the book's cover, then wipes a stray tear from the corner of your eye. "You gonna cry over looks?"

You sniffle. "Yes. I wish I never met you."

He stiffens. For a second you worry it might have pushed a wrong button. Jacob never hurt you physically, still there's a healthy dose of fear, not necessarily born out of past experiences. At times his presence just radiates off in silent waves so thick you can feel them crashing into yourself before he walks away and doesn't return for days, leaving you alone with the Chosen stationed behind the doors to watch over and report back to their Herald.

Jacob leans closer until your foreheads almost press into each other.

He doesn't initiate touch often. Once in a while he lets you sleep on his arm instead of a pillow or allows you to sit closer than usual during meals, but that's it. There are boundaries set, most of them are unspoken rules which you picked up along the way: you can ask questions and be generally yourself within reason — as long as it doesn't border on disrespect, Jacob will tolerate occasional attitude in very small doses; you can request certain items provided he approves; he prefers silence during breakfast.

Never challenge him publicly and don't talk bad about his siblings.

This confession can't be taken back, nor do you wish to, because it's true. You regret meeting him, and it was much better to wonder and guess, create images of a faceless man somewhere in the depths of your mind and fantasize about possibilities. How does one even go back to normal life after this?

(Not that any chance of doing so exists in the foreseeable future.)

"I figured, darlin'," Jacob says finally. His voice lacks anger, as if he expected those words one day or another, Jacob isn't naive or stupid and is surprisingly aware of himself in a lot of matters, of the fact that very little would want to end up where he dragged you and being imprisoned under the heavy metal chain doesn't add to fond memories either. "Fair enough."

In all months you two lived together, sharing food and space, in all months, he never kissed you.

Now he does.

His lips are chapped, dry and slightly rough.

You find yourself going rigid at first, unsure what to make out of it. It's different from what you imagined, the fantasy version seemed more... violent and harsh, less intimate and private. He breaks the kiss briefly and then resumes it again.

Slow-slow-quick, Jacob steals your breath away bit by bit until your head spins, until your hands feel clammy and then, when you think you can't take it any longer, he pulls back.

"Won't apologize 'bout the scars, pup. You deserved a lesson."

Your throat feels parched.

"But not of this kind. Never wanted it for you."

It doesn't sound apologetic, neither regretful, but it is what it is, probably the closest to it Jacob will ever be capable of. His hand strokes the back of your neck in slow and repetitive circles, and in an odd way, it does seem soothing.

He takes you to bed minutes later, maneuvers you closer under the sheets and turns off the light. The window is open letting in the sounds of evening wildlife: crickets chirp loudly nearby, some owl hoots in the distance; Montana smells different than other states. Sharper, wilder. You lie like this for a bit, curled against his side and he's always so fucking warm, a human furnace incarnate.

"The moment I saw the marking — I wished you never met me too."

[humornaut]

An Analysis of Foreshadowing in Omori's Prologue

Hey everyone!

With the Omori manga's first chapter's release, one thing has been made clear: They are FLYING through the game. Unless they are doing something weird, the entire prologue segment has been moved to right after the Aubrey fight, a move I can only believe has been made so that the real world characters appear in the first chapter. I won't be making any judgements until I see how it all fits together (and maybe I won't make many judgments in general, I don't really consider myself a judgmental person for better or for worse), but it did get me thinking about how well Omori's prologue works in general! So today, I'd like to take some time to talk about that!

The Sidequests

The first things I want to mention are the side quests! I've mentioned it before (or maybe I haven't, I don't remember everything I've said), but nearly all the side quests in Headspace are symbolic on a meta level. A lot of people dismiss this as boring repetitiveness (perhaps true), but the vast majority of the side quests are about finding a lost item or individual. This is, of course, echoing the larger Headspace plot of Basil going missing. However, there is something about this concept that I'd like to point out using one of the sidequests!

In the quest "Whereabouts of Duckie Jr.", you are tasked with determining the whereabouts of Duckie Jr! Crazy, I know. Remember how I said that most of the sidequests are reminiscent of the quest to find Basil? Like 2 seconds ago? Well, this one is good for actually illuminating what is going on with that questline overall! Duckie Jr. and his family are references to a famous optical illusion in which a person can see either a duck or a bunny. Take a look at the house that the family lives in:

They live in a present! Now take a look at this!

"SUNNY won't leave the box, so KEL put a food bowl inside. I guess this box will be SUNNY and MEWO's new home."

So that's interesting! Add in the distant demeanor of Duckie Jr's father, as well as Mari's statements about Duckie having his head in the clouds and comparing Duckie to Omori, it becomes clear that Duckie in this situation is a reference to Sunny, not Basil. What does this mean? Well, it means that we should rethink the Headspace quest all together! The quest to find Basil is much more a quest for Sunny to re-find himself.

Now this (as well as the quest for the character Daisy that I have mentioned previously) is interesting, but it isn't exactly foreshadowing. For that, I would like to draw your attention to the sidequest Stick in the Mud.

In this quest, you must go around Cattail fields to find Mr. Scarecrows three crow friends, and have them return to him. In order to do this, you have to use Hero when interacting with the three crows.

I personally believe that this is a bit of foreshadowing to the Sunny route. Hero's maturity is necessary to bringing Sunny, Kel, and Aubrey back together and bringing them to Basil. I also choose to see Mr. Scarecrow as an analogue for Basil rather than Sunny due to the coloring of Mr. Scarecrow's sprite (Blond hair, blue eyes, green clothes), and Hero doesn't actually bring Basil specifically to anyone (heck, Hero doesn't actually ever talk to Basil in the real world segments of the game)

I also want to make clear: I'm not trying to imply that this is symbolism on the part of Sunny's mind, like a lot of the things that I talk about on this account, rather that this is a bit of meta storytelling foreshadowing how the real world plot will turn out. This will go for everything else that I talk about here as well.

Captain of the Space Pirates

Now that we've talked about the sidequests, I'd like to draw your attention to the main questline of Otherworld. As a reminder, once the gang gets into Otherworld, we are introduced to Captain Spaceboy, who is bedridden and depressed following his break-up with Sweetheart. In order to solve this problem, we have to go through the junkyard to find his mixtape. We aren't the only ones looking for it, and while there, we meet Rosa, a Sweetheart super-fan.

We get the mixtape back, bring it to Spaceboy, at which point Kel plays it, triggering Spaceboy to start his boss fight.

The argument for this all being one large bit of foreshadowing goes like this:

Spaceboy would be Basil (purely from a narrative perspective, not in any kind of character-sense). We go to the junkyard and dig through the trash to find the mixtape, just like we eventually get the photo album by digging through Aubrey's trash. Rosa in this case represents Aubrey, attempting to take care of the mixtape due to her personal connection to the item, revealing that Spaceboy is the one that threw it out in the first place, echoing how in the real world, Aubrey takes care of the photo album for four years due to what it means to her, despite how Basil (from her perspective) destroyed it originally.

We bring the mixtape back to Spaceboy, and just as Kel is the one that kicks off going through the photo album with Basil, he is the one that rushes to put the mixtape into the boombox, triggering the memories that set off Spaceboy, causing the fight.

Admittedly, things get a little cloudy here, as the fight between Sunny and Basil isn't directly caused by the photo album. You could even say that the Spaceboy fight represents the fight with Omori (or even both the Basil fight AND the Omori fight) due to Omori's fight being due to Sunny's mind reacting to memories of the past, better mirroring the Spaceboy fight. But hey! Spaceboy's hair turns green and his eyes turn red so who can say. :P

Then, after the fight, we get a few things! We get an eyepatch (goes without saying), a train pass (representing how Sunny will be moving after the conclusion of the game), and a sno-cone ticket (yeah I don't think this one represents anything).

And, just like the Sunny route, the prologue ends with an early look at Memory Lane, and the dream ends, with Sunny waking up.

There's probably a lot more I could talk about regarding Omori's prologue, so I might update this later! I hope you enjoyed reading this! Within the game, I feel like the prologue is one of the strongest bits of Headspace, and I've always wanted to talk about how I believe it foreshadows the rest of the game! This is a topic that I'd love to hear more people's opinion on!

[merakiui]

Mera your new event is so <3333 menu events are always such a cute idea

I'm here to put in my order, can I please have assorted macaroons and lacy lingerie from the miscellaneous menu? With Malleus and Azul, with sea salt caramel and lemon squares from the midnight menu?

Please and thank you (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)

yandere!malleus draconia & azul ashengrotto x (gender neutral) reader cw: yandere, nsfw, dub-con, drugging/aphrodisiac use, unhealthy behaviors/relationship, obsession, delusion note - thank you for checking in, dearest guest! enjoy your order! [lunar love hotel]

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ ᴍᴀʟʟᴇᴜꜱ ᴅʀᴀᴄᴏɴɪᴀ

☆ Malleus adores you more than words can possibly describe. This love he feels is sugary and all-consuming; when he’s with you he feels whole. He feels as if the stars are aligned, as if nature has brightened and grown ten times more lush, as if he was meant to meet and cherish you from the very beginning, as if, even if the two of you were to be separated, he would still find you in another lifetime, drawn to you like a bee to flowers. So perhaps words can describe these feelings, if only in the most poetic of ways.

☆ Malleus knows he differs from human partners. For one, he’s much larger and he has two cocks that are inhumanly shaped. He knows you’ve held off on intimacy with him because you’re nervous, and truthfully he’s avoided it as well. Not because he wants to, but because he fears harming his beloved child of man. You must be properly prepared for such sizes. He only wishes to see your tears if they are tears of pleasure, after all.

☆ He’s very patient with you, and he doesn’t feel the need to rush into sex. He’s content with reaching the various bases at a pace that’s comfortable for you. In fact, he finds great enjoyment in exploring you, learning just how wonderful it is to hold your hand or to snuggle up to you late into the night, holding you close and hearing you whisper interesting stories. 

☆ But even with this patience, Malleus finds himself distraught. He wants to love you in more ways than one. He wants to do all that lovers do. He wants to experience every side of this love: the sweet, the comfortable, the pleasurable, the pleasurably painful. Perhaps he has found himself enchanted by the romances he has read alongside you, where he envisions the both of you in the place of the main characters in the story. These characters connect in the most bodily of ways. Malleus would like that.

☆ He has been content to tell himself that kissing and holding hands is enough. That the occasional lustful tryst late into the night is enough, where wandering hands only stray so far, but there is an itch that grows increasingly persistent with each day. He thinks of how glorious it would be to consummate your relationship of nearly one year with you, the both of you virgins in love. He tries to broach the subject without appearing forceful or awkward, but you tell him you’re just not ready. He understands. He does. But even so...

☆ Malleus has heard that aphrodisiacs are powerful. In a way, it feels insincere, almost as if he’s cheating. But he reassures himself with the thought that this aphrodisiac will help you to be more pliable, to help you loosen up and take him, inch by inch, until he’s completely buried inside your tight warmth. This will help you; it won’t harm you.

☆ Though the drug turns you into an insatiable mess, Malleus thinks it’s endearing. The way you cling to him, asking him so innocently if doing this will help. Of course it will. You’ll feel much better when he satisfies every urge that you’re still too hesitant to act on. Malleus will take care of you; he always has. He spends so long between your legs, lavishing every part of your body with soft, loving touches. He’s going to prepare you well so that he won’t cause you any discomfort when he slides in.

☆ Even in this state, you still become very nervous when you see his size. The thick head of his cock kisses your hole, which has been properly stretched and lubed, but even with the preparation you’re still terrified. You squirm anxiously under him, squeezing his hand so tightly, asking him if you can try this another time. You’re scared, and your fear has Malleus frowning. You have nothing to fear. It’ll be okay. He tells you to look at him rather than what’s happening below. You’ll feel much better soon; he’ll be gentle. All these assurances gradually melt your fears, and you think part of that is due to the aphrodisiac. 

☆ Even though you aren’t entirely confident or accepting of this, you trust Malleus. Though maybe that’s also the aphrodisiac. It’s twisting your senses, making you crave both of his cocks even though you and Malleus know you’re in no state to take both, no matter how lust-drunk you may be. 

☆ And when he pushes in so slowly, thick inches stretching you wide and filling you so snugly, the final bits of hesitation ebb away, quickly replaced with a euphoria so delicious it has you raking your nails across his back. Malleus is pleased to be marked by you, a symbol of this love, but he’s even more pleased to be inside you. You’re just as warm on the inside as you are on the outside, as expected. You’re truly the only one he could ever love to this extent. 

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ ᴀᴢᴜʟ ᴀꜱʜᴇɴɢʀᴏᴛᴛᴏ

☆ Azul likes to consider himself patient, but this is his first romantic relationship and so you can’t exactly blame him for his excitement, no matter how overwhelming it may seem. He tries to hide his eagerness, but it’s obvious he’s immensely pleased when he gets to do all of the wonderful things couples do. He’s only ever dreamed of sweet moments like that, so the fact that he gets to experience all of it with you, his most beloved angelfish, makes him the happiest octo-mer alive. 

☆ Almost all of it. He’s only been dating you for six months, which is a world record by his standards, but in that time the both of you haven’t gone as far as he would have liked. He’s kissed you hundreds of times, the both of you exchanging breath and saliva in the alluring privacy of his VIP room, and each time it feels as though it might become something more you stop him. He's a gentleman, so naturally he respects your boundaries, but he can only enjoy so many handjobs and blowjobs before he starts to want more.

☆ Azul is greedy; this is a fatal flaw he recognizes well. He’ll mask his greed behind pleasant smiles and charms, always handling you with such kind consideration. He’s a gentleman, so he won’t ask to stick it in outright, even if that’s all he can think of when he watches you take his cock in your pretty, warm mouth. He suspects your hole is just as warm and welcoming. What he’d give to be inside you... To have you bent over his desk, to have you folded into a mating press in his bedroom, to have you fucking yourself on him as if he’s the only man in the world. 

☆ As shady as he can be, he’s still your boyfriend and he cares for you so much. Azul would never do anything to hurt you, and since you can’t use magic you’ll be unable to sense the aphrodisiac he’s mixed into your tea. This is no ordinary aphrodisiac; he’s taken his time crafting it in solitude in the alchemy lab so that the desired effect will be much stronger. It won’t hurt you; if anything, it will bring you and Azul closer together! This is the push you’ve been needing!

☆ Azul acts as he normally does, happily chatting with you over tea and a board game. He occasionally glances at you the deeper into the game you get, watching the way you slowly but surely succumb to the effects. He asks if you’re okay, the question spilling from his lips so smoothly, and you insist that you’re fine. But you’re fidgeting in your seat, awkwardly looking everywhere that isn’t at him.

☆ When you’re completely overwhelmed and unfocused, he stands from his seat and easily walks around his desk, lowering to his knees in front of you. He rests his hands on your thighs, smiling up at you so fondly. If you wanted to play other games, you should have just said so. You try to push him away from the spot between your legs, insisting that you’re okay and that it’s his move for the game. But Azul doesn’t want to play it anymore; he looks you in the eyes and asks if you love him. And you do; you love him a lot. So then you’ll trust him to take care of you, right? 

☆ You can’t possibly say no to such a pretty face, even if it’s all you’re trying to do. But the aphrodisiac muddles your mind, twisting your apprehensions into acceptance. You let him have his fun between your legs, your fingers curled in silvery locks, and he has you crying in your seat, working you through a total of three orgasms before you manage to push him away, panting wet, hot breaths.

☆ Azul helps you stand on shaky legs, lowering you onto his desk, all while whispering the sweetest of praises to you. He calls you all the things you love to be called. You look up at him through bleary eyes, nerves alight with ecstasy, and when he’s slicked his cock up with lube and the head prods at your hole you grab his hand, shaking your head. “Not inside,” you mumble, but Azul knows you don’t mean that.  

☆ He leans in to capture your lips in a chaste kiss. “Just the tip,” he promises, all lovestruck smiles. “You’ll feel so good, angelfish. Just trust me.”

☆ And you do, but this lust-induced trust has you arching your back against the desk when he slides all the way in in an impatient thrust. You gasp out little moans and lust-drunk mumblings of how you like it, how good it feels, how big he is, how you want him rougher and deeper... And who is Azul to deny his angelfish of such perfect pleasures?

[welcometothejianghu]

Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 沙海/Tomb of the Sea/Sand Sea.

Sand Sea is the 2018 installment of the DMBJ/Lost Tomb franchise, which tells the story of the search for an ancient desert city, a fight against a secretive assassin family, the raiding of more than a couple tombs, and a whole bunch of other action-packed bullshit.

Have you ever watched an anime adaptation that outran the as-yet-incomplete manga it was adapting, necessitating it throw together a largely befuddling ending based on the available clues? That's Sand Sea. At time of production, only ~75% of the Sand Sea novel had been written. As I am making this post, that's still all of the Sand Sea novel that has been written. I finished watching the show and had a lot of questions about its loose ends. I read the book. It didn't help.

So, I'm not going to try and summarize the story, much less try to sell you on the show on the strength of the plot. What I am going to try and do is convince you it's a good time anyway.

As I mentioned earlier, it's part of a larger franchise, but you shouldn't let that stop you from diving in here. Most of the DMBJ shows and books are narrated by Wu Xie, the series' special little birthday boy. Sand Sea takes a different tack -- your main POV characters are completely new to the world of the tombs, meaning that the show explains things to you while it's explaining things to them. Wu Xie's still a major character, but you're seeing him through the eyes of a befuddled teenager who wasn't even supposed to be here today.

I'm going to give you five reasons to watch this series, and all five of them are relationships. I'm pitching it to you this way because, as was the case in my rec for Reunion (one of the other tomb-raiding dramas), I'm assuming you have zero familiarity with DMBJ, which means that any appeals to the larger franchise or its twists and turns will have no impact. Instead, I am here to sell this to you on the strength of character interactions. If you're interested in what the characters are doing, the plot will come.

1. Dudes Rock

The aforementioned teenager narrator is Li Cu, a too-cool-for-school underachiever who lives with his abusive father and has no direction in life. He comes with his two best (and only) friends: earnest pushover Su Wan and neighborhood bully Yang Hao.

They're a trio of problem children who cannot succeed by the metrics of society at large: Li Cu and Yang Hao are both from family circumstances that have hampered their ability to perform academically, while Su Wan, bless his heart, is just not that bright. They do, however, all do well when put in situations that play to their strengths and given appropriate mentorship. (Alas that all of their mentors are terrible people; see point 4.)

They're set up as an intentional next-generation parallel to the Iron Triangle, which is the term DMBJ uses for Wu Xie and his two closest people. Normally, the Iron Triangle would be the core of a DMBJ story -- but since that threesome is broken by Circumstances at the moment, these boys become the substitute triad whose friendship is one of the main bonds holding the narrative together.

They have such teenage boy dynamics, it's great. They're stupid about girls and alcohol and money and homework and all the other things teen boys are stupid about, while also being stupid enough to get themselves entangled in shadowy international conspiracies. Huge parts of the plot are fueled entirely by their dumbass decisions. But they also barely have any competent adult supervision in their lives, so you know, when you're seventeen and basically feral, renting a warehouse so you can beat a bunch of frozen snakes to death actually sounds like a good solution to the problem at the time.

It's not all comedy, though. Li Cu and Yang Hao in particular are deeply traumatized young men even before the story starts, and events of the series make it worse. They're definitely the "feelings are for girls!" type of young men, and they need Su Wan there as their eternally bippy buffer. When he's not, they can get mean.

What's also charming about this trio is that they're all pretty darn straight. In a franchise chock full of (unintentional?) homoeroticism, these three manage to keep their platonic dude dynamics pretty platonic. I mean, I myself come at most things with slash-colored glasses on, and even I'm of the opinon that they're befuddled heterosexuals struggling with how the entire tomb-raiding industry's gay. And even if you assume everyone in this entire show is straight, these boys are still going to get a bunch of real-time lessons in how to love other people, whether they like it or not!

So if you like a Teen Boy Squad of goobers who don't want to admit they're close or have emotions or anything like that, right up until they're all each other have, this may be just the thing for you.

2. The Only Good Het in the Tombs

DMBJ is not known for its high-quality heterosexual romance, to put it mildly. Most of the time, it makes the smart decision to not even try. When it does, you mostly wish it hadn't.

Therefore, you cannot imagine how shocked I was to find myself falling head-over-heels for the incredibly weird canonical love story between horny hot mess Dr. Liang Wan and emotionally constipated 80-year-old virgin and arsonist Zhang Rishan.

Their relationship goes a little something like this: He needs something from her, so he contrives a plan to ask her out. She declares him her boyfriend. He continues the relationship in order to continue getting things from her. She thinks he's hot, so she's fine with that. He warns her that continuing their relationship will involve messing with some very bad members of the Tomb-Raiding Industrial Complex. She's like, again, you're incredibly hot, so that's not a problem. He makes her memorize maps and sends her to a desert. She dresses up like him and pepper-sprays him. And somewhere in the midst of all that, he falls for her and she gets sick of his shit, and they wind up for-real dating as equals.

Part of what's so delightful about their relationship is how awful they are to one another. It'd be bad if that awfulness were one-sided, but man, they each give as good as they get. He's heartless and exploitative, and she's neurotic and insecure. She makes constant demands of him that he's almost too confused by to refuse, and he keeps putting her in situations no sane person should want to be part of. He comes from a cutthroat world of complete bastards, while she wears her heart on her sleeve whether she wants to or not. They're extremely good for one another, because he trusts her competencies and is going to make her demonstrate every one of them, while one of her chief skills is calling him on his bullshit.

It is at this point I need to sing the praises of Liang Wan, hottest of the hot messes. She's one of the principal POV characters for the novel, where she's just as boy-crazy (though for a different boy, because Zhang Rishan's not in this book) and just as far in over her head. The adaptation has absolutely done her character justice. What makes Liang Wan so charming to me is how much she absolutely refuses to let herself be stopped by being completely out of her depth. She doesn't know what the hell is going on most of the time, but fuck it, she's rolling with it. She's just also going to be applying moisturizer and anti-aging serum the entire time, because you know what, sometimes when your whole world is falling apart around you, the one thing you can count on is your skincare routine.

Zhang Rishan is surrounded by people so cool, butter doesn't melt in their mouths. He can be balls-out naked in front of them without batting an eyelash. It is her thirsty disaster charms alone that have set fire to his frozen heart. I love them to bits.

3. Enemies to ... ???

This is Sand Sea's Wu Xie. You're not going to like him at first, because he spends the first several episodes tormenting a teen who only mildly seems to deserve it. What you find out as the show goes on is that Wu Xie is having a bad time -- more than that, he's having a straight-up bad decade. He has taken a lot of psychic damage and decided to cope with it by being absolutely insane. He's a bitch with no sense of self-preservation living in constant gremlin mode. He is no longer under the active supervision of his husbands, and he's going to make that everyone else's problem.

The show chooses to start out by inflicting Wu Xie on a bunch of strangers through an arc that's bizarre, lengthy, and mostly completely unrelated to the larger plot. It does introduce a few elements that will matter, though, and one of them is Su Nan.

When Su Nan appeared as the badass head of a mercenary outfit, I was braced for one (or both) of two things to happen. Thing one, I figured she'd die or otherwise leave the narrative after the first arc, which made me not want to get attached to her, if she wasn't going to stick around. Thing two, I was all but certain the show was going to try and make her Wu Xie's love interest, which made me make such a face, because [see last point].

Neither happens. Su Nan is still around in the final episode, and what she becomes to Wu Xie is much, much more interesting.

They're not friends. They're never friends. They can't be friends, because they absolutely can't trust one another. Except sometimes they have to trust one another, and in return they have to allow themselves to be trustworthy.

In the last relevant chapter or so of the novel, Wu Xie gets his throat cut and shoved off a cliff ... and because the novel isn't finished, we have no idea why that happened or who did it. The drama decides that when he goes over that cliff this time, throat unslit, Su Nan needs to go with him. This means they spend much of the later part of the series depending on one another for survival, getting real vulnerable, sharing trauma, and occasionally fucking one another over anyway, because they are both bad and untrustworthy people.

And they're ... kinda into one another? But because it's not textual, it winds up being great. If the show had tried to write their romance, I would have hated it. Instead, it chooses to leave things fraught and unspecified, with the two of them obviously having a lot of feelings but not even knowing themselves what all those feelings are, much less how to react appropriately to them. That is delicious. Pour that right into my mouth.

I also choose to interpret Su Nan as being transfemme (complimentary), if only because that's the most charitable explanation for her dedication to keeping her tits out and her lipstick game sharp even in wilderness conditions.

4. This Man Should Not Be Trusted With Children

As I mentioned before, all members of the Teen Boy Squad wind up paired with adult men who act as their mentors. Li Cu and Wu Xie are the main duo, since they're the main character of this show and the main character of the entire franchise, respectively. Yang Hao winds up in an even more abusive dynamic with a bitch of a man who takes advantage of Yang Hao's capacity for rage. But precious baby Su Wan is lucky enough to be adopted by, well...

If you read my rec for Reunion, you will recognize him as the guy I called "this giant fucking loser" with all the affection in the world. Hei Xiazi is both the worst and the best, which makes him the perfect man to take care of the tender soul that is Su Wan.

Su Wan's a poor little rich boy who is happy to be bullied by his friends, because it means he has friends! He's a dipshit because he's sheltered by his family wealth, and he's also a dipshit because he'd be a dipshit no matter how much money he had. He needs someone to kick his ass in a way that builds him back up again and helps him make the transition from doormat to functional adult.

The circumstances that bring these two together are so batshit, they're not worth recounting here. Suffice it to say that as one adventure arc ends, Hei Xiazi is tasked with taking Su Wan home. Su Wan expresses interest in whatever Hei Xiazi's whole deal is, and Hei Xiazi responds by offering (in a roundabout way) lessons in what exactly his whole deal is.

Hei Xiazi is a terrible teacher, but he's a perfect teacher for Su Wan, who is the kind of boy who would go find the nearest dictionary if you told him the word "gullible" wasn't there. They're preciously weird at one another. The work so well together because Su Wan believes the best of everything, which leads him to see right past the parts of Hei Xiazi that other people (correctly) find inscrutable and offputting. With Hei Xiazi's questionable guidance, Su Wan finds for the first time in his naive, privileged life a goal for himself that is both achievable and worth the effort.

Later books give evidence that all three of the boys eventually go to work for Hei Xiazi, which I think is great, especially since he is somehow the least toxic and terrible of all the mentor characters. ...Man, though, that bar is low. It's a miracle anyone in DMBJ survives into adulthood.

It's also cute to think about how the boys are no doubt context-appropriately homophobic, because it's so easy to picture their respective reactions to finding out that their strong, terrible male role models are queer. Cue Li Ci and Yang Hao's respective no-homo freakouts, while Su Wan just has a million slightly offensive but ultimately well-meaning questions about how bisexuality works.

And I'm just going to say, if you watched the Untamed and loved Xue Yang? You owe it to yourself to see that actor suddenly become the sweetest little butterscotch muffin ever. ...Yes, if you didn't recognize him earlier, that's Wang Haoxuan, and he turns in an incredible comic performance here. Su Wan is consistently one of the funniest characters onscreen. The bit with the saxaphone kills me dead.

Anyway, unlike the first three relationships I've talked about here, this is one you have to wait a good long while for. Su Wan shows up in the first episode, Hei Xiazi appears about a dozen or so episodes later, but it takes their storylines much longer to cross. It's worth the wait, though, knowing that eventually you'll get to see these two weirdos bounce merrily off one another.

5. Everybody Loves Pangzi

This is the Iron Triangle I mentioned earlier. Obviously there's Wu Xie in the middle. The perfect boy in the hoodie is Xiao Ge, who is at the time of this series slightly stuck in what's basically a giant time-lock safe, so you're only ever going to see him in flashbacks. (Xiao Ge is trapped, so you can't have Xiao Ge.) And then, over there on the left is the man whose nickname translates to "fatty," Wang Pangzi.

Hold on to your butts, because I am now going to wax poetic about how much I love this fictional man.

Pangzi is the best. The best. He's funny. He's kind. He's got terrible taste in men and only slightly less terrible taste in women. He's a gentleman. He's the party shock absorber. He's prone to making things explode. He's impeccably dressed. He's charmingly superstitious. He's not subtle. He's got an excitable little stammer and an atrocious Beijing accent. He's a flexible fat man. He's the most fuckable person onscreen no matter who's onscreen with him.

He's also usually the DMBJ everyman character, except Sand Sea has a ton of everyman characters for a change, so he winds up filling the role of a badass insider instead. His job is basically to hold down the fort while Xiao Ge's indisposed and Wu Xie's off being insane. In the absence of both his beloveds, Pangzi's going to do what needs to be done, and he's going to be incredibly hot while he's doing it.

Usually, DMBJ shows serve up a huge amount of Pangzi and Wu Xie interaction. Sand Sea only puts them in the same room near the very end -- but they're collaborating throughout. In fact, the only way the whole story works is if they're basically so much in each other's back pockets that they can function as a single unit even across great distances. The record will show that I read them as husbands -- but more importantly, they're good friends who understand and trust one another completely. As much as it pains me that they're apart for basically the entire thing, they're never really apart, you know?

However, because Wu Xie is physically elsewhere for so much of the show, Sand Sea provides a unique chance to see Pangzi interacting on his own with other characters. Wu Xie is the special little boy who always takes up all the oxygen in the room -- and of course Pangzi doesn't begrudge him this, because Pangzi loves him. Without Wu Xie around, though, we get to watch all the other relationships Pangzi has cultivated over the years.

One of the best is with Xie Yuchen, a.k.a. Xiao Hua. In other series, we see the two interact, but only in the context of having Wu Xie around. Sand Sea presents us with a little window into what is clearly a longstanding friendship. From the tiny bit we get of their interactions, it's obvious they hang out on a pretty regular basis. They're chilling and having spa dates while their husbands are out there getting sandy and fighting snakes, proving that these two urbanites are absolutely the brains of their respective marriages.

...Hold up a second,

I hear you say,

IS this show actually gay? Because you keep using words like "husbands" and talking like it's intentionally, onscreen, boys-kissing-boys gay.

On the one hand, no.

On the other hand: Is Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid gay? Textually, taking it at face value, and especially considering the context in which it was made, no, it is absolutely not gay, nor was it meant to be gay. But when you step back and realize everything it's doing, you kind of can't avoid the really romantic implications. Maybe Butch and Sundance never smooch, maybe they don't even want to, but they're each other's other halves. We would instantly recognize what they are if one of them were a lady. In a narrative setting where gayness is unthinkable, nothing they can do can be gay, which loops around to making everything kinda gay, and ... look, I'm just saying, if Pangzi were a woman, we'd know immediately what she is to Wu Xie (and holy fuck she would be so hot). If Xiao Hua were as female as the opera characters he plays, we'd have no questions about her relationship to Hei Xiazi. Keep everything beat for beat, line for line the same, and there'd be no missing it.

This is something you get a lot with stories about men written by men, this unintentional homoeroticism from male authors who don't realize their misogyny has actually poisoned them against heterosexuality. Remember what I said earlier about DMBJ's regrettable het? So much of it stems from the assumption that getting a girl and a boy together will inevitably to romantic feelings from at least one of them, so there's no reason to bother spending time giving either of the participants any actual reasons to like one another. (Sand Sea does this too! Just with a character I haven't mentioned here, because I'm trying to talk about the good dynamics.) This kind of thinking treats women not as people, but as as basically interchangeable desirable objects. But men are people, which means the male characters' feelings are worth discussing in the narrative! So what you get is these well-developed, intimate relationships between men described in loving detail, sat right next to perfunctory heterosexual couplings -- and we're supposed to believe that one is romantic and one is not based solely on the genders of the participants? Yeah, no, I call bullshit.

And -- if you'll permit me to loop back to the boys for a minute -- we now have a model for how a straight Iron Triangle would behave, and it is not the way the actual Iron Triangle members are about one another. Those teens love one another in a way that is fierce and strong and not what Wu Xie, Pangzi, and Xiao Ge have going. Maybe it could become that, but it's not now. It's not better or worse now for being what it is, but it is different, and it makes by contrast some things very clear (and very queer).

So that is why I feel justified in referring to them as husbands and will continue to do so despite the lack of explicit textual support.

Anyway, back to Pangzi!

Where were we? Right, Xiuxiu!

Pangzi's always at his best when he gets to be a knight for someone he cares about. This time around, that's Huo Xiuxiu, who who only shows up after you've met several of her matriarchal family's other members, all of whom would be at home in a Tank Full Of Dangerous Ladies. Xiuxiu is not a fighter like they are, but she does have an object that means everyone's out to get her, and as such she relies on her Pangzi to keep her safe while she's trying to survive the fucked-up games her family is playing.

And Pangzi clearly loves it. He absolutely thrives on being the big brother/bruiser figure for her. He loves how cool it makes him look to her. He doesn't have Wu Xie around to be a tank for, so he's going to tank for her. In fact, he's even going to bring in reinforcements to help him do it. (What's the deal with the cute Tibetan boy? Look, shh, just appreciate that you've got a cute Tibetan boy.)

Then there's his dealings with the rest of the Tomb-Raiding Industrial Complex, who are a bunch of shady dudes with impressive family pedigrees and expensive suits, all of whom are trying to play twelve-dimensional chess with one another. There's going to be lots of names dropped, of families and of individuals, and the show is going to act like you're supposed to be impressed. And if you're familiar with DMBJ canon, yeah, you could be impressed! Or you could be like Pangzhi, who rolls up in his amazing Holstein shirt, not giving a single fuck what any of these rich bastards think about him.

This is actually some character development for Pangzi, who has in the past been cowed (pun unintended) by the wealthy, mostly due to his own financial situation. That stage of his life is over now. Honey badger has ceased to care. The cool, pretty people are going to try and give him shit, and he is impervious to it. You better believe the Iron Triangle trashed this fancy restaurant the last time they were in here, and if you give Pangzi half the chance, he'll fucking do it again.

No wonder Zhang Rishan likes him. A pair of little firestarters.

Don't let me oversell you on how much Pangzi is in Sand Sea, because he's not. There's maybe a dozen of the 52 episodes that have any Pangzi content, and he's only in small parts of those episodes. Pangzi is a rare and precious event, like an eclipse. Cherish the Pangzi moments and all the wonderful interactions contained within.

caveat: You call that an ending?

Buddy, if you'd seen how most other DMBJ series end, you wouldn't be asking me that. But because I'm assuming you haven't: Yes, I call that an ending, because it actually attempts to do a winddown and conclusion, instead of just wandering off on a cliffhanger. The ending isn't wholly satisfying, but it is an ending. There is a narrative, and that narrative concludes. Does the conclusion make sense and tie up all the loose ends? Absolutely not! But it does follow basic story structure and resolve the action semi-competently.

As I said about the sweet disaster that is Psych Hunter (which was also directed by the guy who did Sand Sea!), I think knowing in advance that an ending sucks makes the ending suck less. It removes the disappointment factor and lets you enjoy what is there, instead of making you grumpy about what isn't. No, you're never going to understand a lot of things. That means whatever you want to be true can be true. The book is unfinished. The series is nonsense. Canon has no hold on you. You are free.

As compensation, here's a picture of Xiao Ge without his shirt on.

Are you feeling like it's Tomb Time?

There are a couple places you can get this one! Try Viki, WeTV, this YouTube playlist (which is missing the first episode for some reason), or this YouTube playlist (which has the whole thing). Note that subtitles vary in quality from place to place. The YouTube versions also have the bizarre, amazing in-character commercials, and it's up to you if that's a plus or a minus for your viewing experience.

I love this bonkers show. It is balls-to-the-wall weird, to a point that will make you question the translation. I got to the part where Zhang Rishan explains that ancient people worshipped fish with snakes in their eyebrows, caught the fish, took out the snakes, and implanted the snakes in their own human eyebrows -- and I thought, surely that's not what he's actually saying. Nope! The subtitles are accurate. It's the show that's off its rocker.

Anyway, once you've watched Sand Sea, scroll down to the bottom of my rec post for Reunion and find out how you can get even deeper into said tombs! Trust me, there's a lot down here.

As those other posts would indicate, this would not be my first choice for how to get into DMBJ. It is, however, how a fair number of people have gotten into DMBJ, so what the hell do I know! Or maybe this post has convinced you that Sand Sea is worth watching, but you'd rather build up to it than go into it raw. That works too! Whenever you get to it, it'll be here: under a bunch of sand, tattooed and inexplicable, and extremely gay whether it knows it or not.

Go to the desert, they said. Find Gutongjing, they said. Solve the mystery, they said. Fuck it, we nap.

[minnarr]

REFERENCE POST: very minor characters of Word of Honor

I originally gathered these blorbos together for a presentation called "Writing in the Margins: finding story in the minor characters of Word of Honor" (sometimes, in a pinch, I title slide deck party presentations like a paper because it's easy). My criteria for this presentation was that I wanted to highlight characters to whom a lot of people's reaction would be, "Who?" So characters like Gu Miaomiao and Gao Xiaolian and Deng Kuan, while my beloveds, are not here because they are just a bit too present in the story.

Why should you click through and read? Well, honestly, I'm adapting this as a resource for fellow fic writers who just want some folks to help flesh out the world. This post is divided into three sections: Chengling's Generation, Tianchaung's Orbit, and The Previous Generation. There's so much just going on in the background; let's take a look.

Chengling's Generation

Mu Yunge

Introduction: Episode 5* Suggested Episodes: 5, 7

* by "introduction", I mean the episode in which their name card appears, officially introducing them; for some characters, as with Mu Yunge, their first appearance in the show happens before that point

Mu Yunge is an interesting inclusion because I don't like him. He's pretty much there to suck, and then die. He's here for two reasons. One, he does a lot to flesh out his world; two, he's in the boyband in the concert they did after Word of Honor wrapped, and that is my favorite part.

I'm really only going to address the first one here. Oh, Mu Yunge. He's there to show how the Department of the Unfaithful operates, and how very present the violent misogyny they address still is in his world. He's also (to all appearances) a young man in good standing in the martial arts world. Deng Kuan is close enough to him that he's selected as one of the friends to take part in the deathmatch in his name. What does this say about the young men of that generation? And his death also has echoes in the background drama in the show: Mu Siyuan (his dad) becomes a loud voice against the ghosts and later Gao Chong.

Zhu Yaozhi

Introduction: 3 Suggested Episodes: 7, 14, & 24

Zhu Yaozhi is fascinating to me because he is such an encapsulation of what Word of Honor does with its larger plot. Because, like, there's all these moving pieces and a lot of them are moving in the background and the main characters don't really notice or give a shit, but they're definitely moving along arcs that make sense from their point of view.

This guy is a disciple of Yueyang Sect, Gao Chong's sect (along with Deng Kuan); we see him multiple times just doing kind of grunt work/investigation for them, most notably when he follows up on the guy Gu Xiang beat up for harrassing musicians and then is apologetic and embarrassed for believing his side of the story (episode 7). He's also buddies with Mo Weixu, Cao Weining's shixiong, and teases Cao Weining to him. (See this gifset for part of the scene in question, from episode 14). Early Zhu Yaozhi is a goofball who's just doing his job.

After Gao Chong's disgrace, he goes searching for Gao Xiaolian and we lose track of him until he turns up again in ep 24 being menaced by Mu Siyuan. Mu Siyuan wants him to say his master was evil and colluded with the ghosts, and Zhu Yaozhi refuses and tries to punch him. It's great. It also gives us Shen Shen to the rescue in the middle of his own loyalty/figuring out how to be truly righteous arc. I have a lot of feelings about this. He's such a useful character for showing us what Yueyang Sect is like and what becomes of it after Gao Chong dies.

Song Huairen (L) & Xie Wuyang (R)

Introduction: SHR: 5 / XWY: 8 Suggested Episodes: SHR: 5 / XWY: 9, 17

I've paired these because they're both Xie Wang’s competition, young men who also call Zhao Jing yifu. They are both disciples of Yueyang Sect; Song Huairen is supposed to be a favored disciple of Gao Chong. Xie Wang eliminates him the same night we meet him and plays it off to Zhao Jing as the shell game with the Glazed Armor going wrong.

Xie Wuyang meanwhile starts off as a character who makes Zhang Chengling’s life at Yueyang uncomfortable—up to and including whipping him during training. Very satisfyingly, Gu Xiang knocks him out when he’s giving Chengling a hard time in episode 11. Later on, after Zhao Jing has settled in at Yueyang, Xie Wuyang serves him in his private rooms doing stuff like giving him manicures. 

Mo Weixu

Introduction: 14 Suggested Episodes: 14, 26-28

Mo Weixu is the son of Mo Huaiyang (Cao Weining's horrible shifu) and Cao Weining's da-shixiong. When he first appears, he scolds Cao Weining for having no ambition but then shoos him off to check on Gu Xiang anyway, and we see this mix of sternness-as-concern and indulgence continue. He's kind to Gu Xiang, and helps guide her through greeting their shishu Fan Huaikong properly, but he also warns Cao Weining that she might not be everything she appears. He's kind of the level-headed ballast to Cao Weining's naivete and worries about him.

Mo Weixu is not at Cao Weining's wedding. Mo Huaiyang says he had to cleanse his sect because his disciple and shidi were bewitched by Gu Xiang. However, in episode 36, Xie Wang specifically says that they never found Mo Weixu's body, even though they definitely found Fan Huaikong's. Fellow fic writers: you know what that means.

Tianchuang's Orbit

Bi Xingming (L) & Cheng Zichen (R)

Introduction: 31 Suggested Episodes: 31

Disciples of Siji hidden in Tianchuang! These two were both taken as disciples by men within Tianchuang and took their surnames; Bi Xingming’s first shifu is Bi Changfeng, the guy who took the nails in episode 1. Cheng Zichen's is a guy called Cheng Xiu. They show up in like one episode but I’m obsessed with them. They lead the party of Tianchuang ducklings who rescue Zhou Zishu and then get inducted into Siji as Zhou Zishu’s disciples. Bi Xingming is specifically shown to be very eager about this, but is told he’ll have to wait to have a ceremony about it till his shixiong Chengling comes back.

Princess Jing'an

Introduction: 1 Suggested Episodes: 1

Talk about one-scene wonders—Princess Jing'an left an impression on me. What kind of past interactions does it imply that she calls Zhou Zishu Zhou-shixiong, but he doesn't know she and Jiuxiao were in love? I have questions and I want to answer them. Also even in her like 2 minutes of screentime we see her sharp and defiant and angry and it makes me want to write her SO bad.

Qingluan

Introduction: [N/A] Suggested Episodes: 30

She is literally mentioned in like 1 or 2 lines in episode 30 so she’s less fascinating for her Word of Honor appearance than for how she is mentioned here paired with her role in Qi Ye (the novel that's the prequel to the novel SHL is based on): In Qi Ye, Su Qingluan (originally named Su Cui'r) is a beauty who becomes part of the crown prince party, gets caught working against them, and is confined to a house as Helian Yi’s concubine for the foreseeable future.

In Word of Honor, she’s one of the people (the list also includes Zhou Zishu, Yunxing, Qin Jiuxiao, and Jing Beiyuan) who swore together in her courtyard to make Jinwang emperor, which implies a much more active role in their party than in Qi Ye. We also know she killed herself before the events of canon (or at least as far as Jinwang knows; in the same section, Zhou Zishu says that Jinwang poisoned Jing Beiyuan to death with a straight face). This seems to be part of the whole party splintering over time. Once more: implied story, free real estate (jazz hands).

Jing Beiyuan's six siblings

At one point Jing Beiyuan justifies being called Qi Ye (Lord Seventh) by saying he's the seventh kid in his generation. (There's a different, much more absurd, justification in the novels). I take him at his word just because that's the funniest option. I don't have more to say beyond just:

Six

SIX!!!!!!

are they worse than him? are they normal?

just

SIX

The Previous Generation

Qin-furen

Introduction: [N/A] Suggested Episodes: 12, 24

SIDEBAR: the moms. The dads have SO much narrative weight in the story in ways that most of the moms really don’t—they’re often nameless or fully invisible—so I leap at even the tiniest mentions of what they’re like and think a lot about them. Qin-furen’s the only one who really lands in the sweet spot for this post: enough info to play with and not make a total OC, not enough screentime that I expect to find many fics with her.

This is the wife of Qin Huaizhang, Zhou Zishu’s shifu. She’s mentioned in just a handful of lines and unnamed. She rescued rabbits and apparently was fearsome with her husband about it. She was friends with Chengling’s mom, who had a similar dynamic with her husband, according to Chengling. In episode 12, Zhou Zishu says, “I wanted to practice martial arts when I was a child. Sometimes, when my master forced me to play, I would seek help from his wife. She always stood by my side and criticized my master.” I have spent a truly stupid amount of time looking at her gravestone trying to glean info, and I’m still not really sure what we should be calling her.

Yue Feng'er

Introduction: 19 Suggested Episodes: 19

The eldest disciple of her generation at Healer Valley and the wife of Rong Xuan. She rough-houses with Shen Shen and is known by her own title as well as being the eldest of the Three Heroes of Healers Valley. She’s presumably well-known in the martial arts world, and woven right into the web of friendships that started off all this tragedy. And she also loved her husband so fiercely that when he was poisoned she used a forbidden technique and took the heart out of a living man to try to heal him. She’s a powerful healer and at least as much a monster as he is and I like her so much.

[averagewriter-inthedark]

A Dragon Does Not Bow Down 🐉 | HOTD Imagine P.2

GOT/HOTD Masterlist | Part 1

Characters & Pairings: Targaryen/Lannister!OC—Daerra Targaryen x the Greens (platonic) & the Blacks (platonic), slight bi!Gwayne Hightower x bi!OC

Content Warnings: follows episodes 7&8 of S.1, fluff (between oc and kids), suggestive content/implied smut, bi!oc angst, murder (Vaemond), blood, violence, dysfunctional family dynamics, eventual B&C, slight canon divergence | female!OC (she/her) | wc: 4k

Premise: The House of the Dragon is an impenetrable force when standing together. Bound by love, duty, and sacrifice. But when sides are drawn between kin, not even the glue that holds them together can withstand.

Note: okay so part 2 would've been too damn long so this is going to be 3 parts. 4 at the most, but idk if it will get to that with what I have planned. Also i'm already missing HOTD sundays can 2026 hurry up fr :(

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

The brewing feud of what became the Greens and the Blacks only heightened with the loss of Prince Aemond’s eye the night he claimed the mighty Vhagar as his mount. Putting a larger rift between the families. 

Shortly after Rhaenyra took her family to Dragonstone, Daerra had been away to Oldtown, visiting Daeron on the request of Alicent and Viserys when the news broke of Lady Laena Velaryon’s death. Having only just arrived, she sent a raven to her cousin Rhaenys to apologize for her absence and offering condolences to the family for their great loss. Promising to visit Driftmark as soon as she returned east. 

Daerra had fond memories of Laena. A bright girl, only a few years younger and had once flown their dragons alongside Rhaenyra before their marriages to Laenor and Daemon. Often roaming the grounds of the Red Keep when the Velaryons were present at court. Gossiping among themselves and watching tourneys. Laena suggests handsome Lords and Knights to Daerra, and her refuting them with a playful nudge. Always having a laugh. 

They hadn’t seen each other for years, not since Laena had her daughters and went to Pentos. A sad realization, prompting Daerra to take her grief and release it to no one but the Gods as she stared up at the night sky. The moon glowing in its full form, marking the beginning of its cycle. 

Her chambers overlooked the city, which was in full swing as knights and residents strolled the pavements. Filling the taverns and brothels to their full capacity. Lord Ormund Hightower was kind enough to host Daerra upon her arrival. Setting up the guest chambers in the ancestral home in accordance to her liking. Daeron was very excited to see her. Leaving his post immediately to greet Daerra as she dismounted Cannibal. He’d grown so big since the last time she saw him, the boy nearly threw her off her footing when he collided into her for a hug. 

He was everything Daerra hoped for. Sweet, kind. Ambitious yet benevolent. Strong with a caring heart. All the qualities Aegon grew out of and what Aemond was slowly losing. Opposed to her hard work to keep them pure. The Hightower poison Otto left Alicent with to taint her children ran deep. Leaving only Helaena and Daeron free from its darkness.

Leaning against the ledge, Daerra closed her eyes as the wind brushed past her. Sending her silver curls away from her face, bringing a chill to her cheeks. 

“Thought I'd find you here,” a voice interrupts her peace. One she knew all too well, making her brows knit and shoulders drop. 

Daerra doesn’t turn to greet him, keeping her eyes closed, “ Ser Gwayne.”  

If any of the servants heard her tone, they’d believe Daerra would rather become food to her dragon than be in the same room as the honorable Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Ser Gwayne Hightower. Then again, they’d have reason too. Daerra’s known distaste for the Hightowers was as known as that of Daemon’s. She’d only in the last fifteen years since the birth of Aegon displayed camaraderie. 

It was really Otto she despised. Alicent was an interesting case. They’d been somewhat friends as young ladies before her marriage to the King. Then Daerra became basically a second mother to the children while she was off doing her duties as Queen. Although sympathetic to Alicent for being a pawn in her father’s game for power in the royal family, Daerra’s opinion of her soured with how she treated the children. Focusing more on her bitter rivalry with Rhaenyra than showing love and affection.

And while Daerra may be that maternal figure for the royal children, nothing compares to receiving love from the one who birthed them. 

On the matters of Gwayne, their friendship was best described as two people who stood on opposite sides of a balanced scale. They were an unlikely pair. Bickering like an old married couple, fighting like scored lovers. Holding mutual respect and admiration. Not afraid to call the other out on nonsense, but also confide together when they needed an outlet. 

They spared and gossiped. Judged from the shadows. Daerra cheered for him at tourneys when he came to court, and granted her favor. “ I wish good luck, Ser Gwayne. Do come away unscathed for the lovely ladies would be heartbroken to see that pretty face of yours bloodied.” Gwayne her knight in shining armor at feasts, pulling her away from Lords she desperately wanted to get away from, “ Come, my Lady, the cakes this evening are marvelous. I thought I saw your favorite when I passed by.”

Many Lords and Ladies suspected the two had a secret relationship. Waiting for the day Otto announced their betrothal. Daerra knew there’d been a time the Hand thought about it. Before the rumors of her missing prospects came to light. And she even considered it, believing Gwayne to be the best choice of a suitor if she desired. They were friends--- and dabbled in more close relations-- they could have a union filled with respect, friendship, and platonic love. Surely if they married it would further bring the two houses together. But deep down both knew no matter what bonds or marriages were forged between House Hightower and House Targaryen would be enough. 

And especially now with what news Gwayne had for her.

His footsteps echo, coming to a stop beside her. “ Oh please , do not get so excited to see me, my dear Lady.” The sarcasm in his voice incited an intrusive thought to throw him over the edge. But alas, she simply sighed and opened her eyes to meet his gaze. 

“What do you want? What brings you to my chambers and disturb my solace?”

Gwayne drops his usual posh stance, bringing his body to match hers. “A raven has arrived from King’s Landing.” She perked up, concern etching her face by the way his demeanor shifted to one of seriousness. “The King and Queen request you return home on the morrow, rather than your original departure date.”

“Did they say why?” She’d only been in Oldtown two nights, planning to stay for another three. Enough for her to spend time with Daeron, attend his first tourney, and observe the progress of his lessons. To call her back so soon meant something happened. 

“An accident occurred between the young Prince Aemond and his cousins. The boy has lost his eye at the hand of Prince Lucerys.” She gasped, bringing a hand to her mouth in horror. Unable to process what the knight was telling her. 

Lucerys cut out Aemond’s eye? What in the Seven Hells could have possibly brought about a horrifying assault? Millions of questions swarmed her brain, trying to grasp the reality of it.

“I--I cannot fathom,” she lacked the words to find, a wave of nausea surfacing she fought to hold down. “Did the message say anything else? What led to such a thing?” Hand going to her forehead, the other to her stomach, Daerra paced the opposite direction before turning back. “There had to have been more.”

Gwayne shook his head, visibly upset by the news and worried for his nephew. Jaw tightening as he looked out to the city, “I assume his and her Grace will inform you upon your return. Detailing the gruesome event might have been too much for my sister.” Her nod was seen in his peripheral vision. The knight licks his bottom lip, adding, “I understand this comes as a shock, but I can’t help but wonder what it means for you.”

Daerra drops her hands, placing them on her hips as she regards him, “What exactly are you implying, Gwayne .” He stands straighter, now facing her but keeps the right side of his body leaned against the stone. 

“Tis’ not unknown your affections for my sister’s children, and those of Princess Rhaenyra. You are a prominent figure in all their lives--have been there since the day they were born,” Gwanye gave a knowing look, “and you love them like they’re your own --my niece and nephews more so.” Letting out a light scoff, Daerra simply shrugged at the comment.

“I admit my frustration with the King and Queen’s… neglect per say, has not been properly concealed as it should. The King lost interest in them early on,” her tone takes a softer tone, laced with disappointment in her cousin. Recalling all the times she witnessed the children receive breadcrumbs worth of affection from their father. “And the Queen… she did her best .” Daerra was careful with her wording. Understanding this was his sister and to speak ill of her was to not be tolerated. 

“And Rhaenyra’s children?” 

Daerra lowered her defenses, waving a hand as she explained, “Her sons are lucky. They got to grow up in an environment filled with love and affection from both parents . And--,” she points a finger, “the love of others. As you said, I’ve been there since the beginning. My cousin the King dots on them--far more than he does his own children. The Velaryons--and before he was sent away, Ser Harwin Strong showed them devotion.” Daerra caught the way Gwayne’s expression shifted, but did not comment.  

Guess rumors spread far beyond the Keep. Alicent made sure of that.

“You still haven’t answered my original question,” Gwayne’s tone was neutral, not accusing nor defending. Simply curious. “You and I are not blind to the.. unpleasant standings between our houses and those who head them.” By them he meant Otto & Alicent vs. Rhaenyra & Daemon. “Sides are being drawn with each day, Daerra. Unlike myself, you fall directly in the center because of your love for the Princess and the King’s children.”

Daerra swallowed, turning away to not meet his eye. He was right and she knew it. Gwayne was a Hightower. A sworn knight and brother of the Queen. Set to become the heir of Oldtown upon the death of his uncle who had no living sons. By obligation, and blood, he’d support his family no matter if they were right or wrong in a war. 

But Daerra? Her blood would be the war.

A sickening dread consuming her stomach. “Are you asking what side I will choose?” 

Gwayne did not lie, “ I am.” Part of her hated him for thrusting the reality upon her. The other part understood. They were friends, but even that cannot breach through war when their kin are on opposing sides. 

All must choose .

“Why?” Daerra murmured, still not looking at him. “Why must I?” She felt his gaze, not having to see the pity in his eyes to know it was there. “They cannot expect me to betray one to support the other.”

“They will.” Gwanye tells her softly. “And your devotion to both sides will have them question your loyalty regardless of who you choose.”

“ My loyalty is with House Targaryen!” She finally snaps, the fire unleashing. Gwayne doesn’t flinch, however, having experienced Daerra’s temper on multiple occasions. Both receiving and witnessing. A huff leaves her, bellowing out her cheeks. “Viserys is my cousin-- Rhaenyra is his blood. As are his children by your sister!” 

Gwayne felt for his friend. Observing the turmoil in her visage, a visible picture of the battle raging in her mind. To love people on both sides of an impending brawl had to be emotionally draining. 

“I cannot simply lean to one side!” Her exclaim echoes, likely alerting the guards and servants. Who will no doubt run their mouths at any given chance. A thought that had the knight briefly glance inside her chambers for unwanted guests. “Not when the foundation of my house is at stake. Do you not realize, Gwayne,” she faces him, unable to contain the worry in her eyes. “What a war between dragons can unleash? Spreading blood and fire across the realm---no man, woman, or child safe from the flames.” It was a horrifying image. Bathed in bloodshed with no escape. King’s Landing on fire. Houses torn apart. Friend fighting friend and foe aligning.

She will not see it happen.

“I am doing everything in my power to prevent it-- but your father and sister ,” her voice comes out in a hiss, full of anger, “are making it so difficult.”

Gwayne runs a hand through his hair, then brings it down to rub his temples as his face hardens. Processing Daerra’s implication which would have any other Lord running to accuse of treason. But the knight knew how deep his father’s ambitions were. His desire to keep Alicent close to the royal family when he brought her to court all those years ago. Leaving him in the care of his aunt and uncle.  

“What you say….” Daerra cut him off, frantically waving a hand, “Do not lecture me. You know as good as I why your father was removed as Hand. Ever since Aegon came into this world, he has had but one goal.”

“Aegon is the King's first-born son , Daerra.” 

“And yet he has not been named heir,” she scoffs, shaking her head. Moving away from the man to pace once more. “Believe me, Gwayne, I’ve questioned my cousin’s judgment. I’ve brought my concerns to him, but he remains relentless .” Breathing through her nose, Daerra taps a finger to her bottom lip. “This whole Greens and Blacks faction that has seemed to form since the Princess’ wedding, would be put to an end if Rhaenyra’s claim was affirmed. Aegon does not wish to be king--.” she spins around, extending a hand to emphasize. “You should see him, Gwayne, he is a lost boy who is not fit to handle the responsibility of the crown. He’d rather drink himself to an early grave and fuck as many whores along the way. It’s Otto and Alicent who’s driven this idea he must rule into his head!” 

Now Gwayne was fearful, "I don’t doubt you, Daerra,” he hushed her, peering around to ensure no witnesses were around. Coming closer to rest his hands on her shoulders, easing her fire. “I’m well acquainted with my father’s schemes. I grieve for my sister experiencing it firsthand. But you cannot speak this to anyone else. You know what will happen to you if this reaches my father’s ear.” 

She relaxes against his touch, but her expression remains tormented. “So long as my cousin lives, I will be fine. Right now my influence has done its job, but I realize it will thin once the illness takes him.” Which could happen at any moment. Viserys grew weaker each day. It was a miracle he lasted ten years after the first signs. “Until then I must prepare--and pray to the Gods for guidance.” Her chuckle lacks humor, tilting her head slightly, “though I doubt they will answer. Not with the sins I’ve bestowed under them.”

Gwayne snickers and steps away, but not before offering a comforting squeeze to her shoulders. “Good things come to those who wait, my friend.” A brief silence occurs, the tension coming to a halt. Leaning back against the stone, Gwayne’s expression turns to a mock frown, “I must admit you leaving us so soon saddens me. I’d planned an excursion for your last night,” his frown turns to a smirk, making Daerra cross her arms over her chest, eyes now suspicious of the knight. “Guess we’ll have to wait until your next visit.”

“And what, good Ser, did this excursion entail?”

Gwayne’s face turns innocent, far from what was brewing in his mind. Of course Daerra knew what it was, but she wanted to hear him say it aloud. “Only that I had taken it upon myself to reserve our favorite companion for some quality time.” Daerra lets out a ‘mmmph .”

“When you say our favorite , do you really mean your favorite or my favorite?” Her smirk was playful, body language relieved all prior tension it once had. The thought of pleasure was too enticing to remain distressed. “Because as I recall, it was your favorite who joined us when I was here last. And while I love his presence dearly, I’d be saddened if we passed on my beauty when it’s been so long.”

Gwayne bit his bottom lip, lust surfacing as the memory of that night played in his mind. Blood traveling down where it desired most. “Fear not, my dearest, you will be pleased with the choice of company. She was excited when I spoke with her, anticipating the occasion greatly. But unfortunately I’ll have to inform her you were called away….unless, of course, I call for her now.” He grins at her physical reaction. “If you so wish to have her tonight, as the King and Queen await you on the morrow.” Daerra uncurled her arms from her chest, letting them fall slowly to her sides, not missing the way Gwayne watched the movement intently before trailing his gaze slowly up to reach her eyes. Where he was met with the same look of lust and desire. 

“Well then, lead the way my good Ser. I’d hate to keep her waiting .”

Six Years Later

The Red Keep was buzzing the moment it was notified Rhaenyra’s ships were approaching the docks. Servants rushing to get the rooms ready. Guards on alert. 

Daerra was dressed in her best attire. Deep black with scales on the shoulders to mimic Cannibal’s. Wildfire green trimming and silver chains attaching her black cloak to the leather chest plate. Her trousers tucked into her boots. Whip and blade attached to the belt, where a buckle of dragon’s head with emerald gems as eyes stood out against the material.  

It was a beautiful day. Despite the darkness looming around the corner. For the noble Lords of Westeros were to gather the following day as witnesses to the petition of Prince Lucerys Velaryon’s claim. Brought on by his uncle Vaemond, brother to Lord Corlys. 

The heat of the sun met Daerra, gliding down the steps toward the ship with a small smile on her face. Brightening wider at the sound of a shout, “ Aunt Daerra!!” Two figures possessing deep brown hair raced off the dock. Sprinting to meet her in the middle.

“My boys!” Her arms shot out, welcoming Jace. The boy flinging himself into her arms while Luke slowed down and stopped to await his turn. “My, my, tis’ only been a year since I saw you last and you’ve grown nearly as tall as I.” Letting Jace go, Daerra greeted Luke, who was just as excited to see her. “You’ll be knights in no time.” He stepped into her embrace, their cloaks flowing from the wind. 

Luke groaned when she ruffled his mop of hair as he pulled away. Then his expression took a more serious one. “What’s going to happen, Aunt Daerra?”

‘ What’s going to happen to my claim?’ He wanted to say. 

The woman sighed, patting his shoulder as they all moved to greet the rest of his family. “Vaemond will speak, then your mother. Once both parties have been heard and assessed, the verdict will come from the Hand. ” Her voice was strained at the last statement. 

Otto Hightower. Her main nemesis in the Keep. Fueled with power now that Viserys was bed ridden, allowing Alicent to rule in his place, and her father by extension. This decreased Daerra’s influence in court greatly. Barely managing to combat against the Hightower's when they made decisions in their favor rather than the future of the realm

“Cousin,” Rhaernya grinned, holding Joffrey’s small hand in her own to help him step off the docks. Daemon follows behind, with the young boys held by maids. 

“My Princess,” bowing before the woman, Daerra smiles, “It is an honor to be the first to greet you all.”

“Yes,” Daemon murmurs, observing the area unimpressed. “I noticed as we docked the absence of His and Her Grace.” Narrowing a suspicious eye at his cousin, Daemon steps in front of Rhaenyra despite her silent plea, “What of my brother’s condition, Daerra?”

Knowing this was coming, the dragon rider let out a weary sigh. Leaning so the three were huddled together, the children were unable to hear, Daerra glowered, “His Grace’s illness has worsened. Tis’ a miracle by the Gods he still breathes, and you will understand once you see him.” Her shoulders tense, expression turning dour, “Unfortunately I have not been permitted an audience with Viserys in quite some time. By order of the Queen and Hand.”

Rhaenyra frowns, glancing between Daerra and Daemon. “That is absurd. You are the King’s cousin .” Sensing Daemon’s anger, the princess speaks for the both of them. “You should not be denied visitation. How is that even allowed?” 

Once again, the Lady sighs, shrugging her shoulders in defeat, “I’m afraid my guidance amongst your father’s council grows thin by the day. His condition has uplifted the Hightower's, pushing me into the shadows. Now my duty resorts to making sure your siblings are in line.” She pauses to scoff, recalling moments she nearly became a kinslayer . 

Like discovering where Aegon took Aemond on his thirteenth name day. The first time she ever threatened to feed the boy to Cannibal. 

“Honestly if Otto Hightower had his way, I’d be on the next horse back to Casterly Rock.” The frown turns to a small smirk, “ Yet here I remain . Which will not change so long as the King and myself are breathing.” 

Rhaenyra’s worry increases despite Daerra’s words. Thinking about what it meant for her claim. The Hightower's managing to remove Daerra from the council proves they were holding more power than she had anticipated. 

Nodding her head before gesturing to the castle, Rhaenyra cleared her throat. “Shall we then? I should like to see my father immediately.” They depart with haste, Daerra picking up Joffrey to hold him on her hip. Leading the way to the carriage that will take them inside the Keep.  

The boys talk her ear off the entire journey. Luke and Jace update the woman on their current progress while Joffrey plays with her chains. Their studies, their training. Their bond with their dragons they’ve now successfully ridden. 

“You must be parched from the journey, and in need of food,” Daerra announces when they arrive, exiting the carriage with Joffrey holding tightly to her hand. “Come, boys. Have some lunch while your mother and step-father visit the King. Then you may explore the grounds until it comes time to gather for dinner.” 

Bidding goodbye to Rhaenyra and Daemon, the four enter the dining room to an array of food. Daerra takes claim to the seat at the head, helping Joffrey into the one next to her while Jace and Luke move to the opposite side. Their conversations from the carriage continued over the meal. Once finished, the boys thanked Daerra and departed, while she escorted Joffrey to the babes chambers reserved for the little princes. By the time the moon took claim to the skies, Daerra emptied an entire pitcher of wine. Enough to rival Aegon’s record. 

It’d been a long day . Filled with minor insults thrown from uncles to nephews. Tensions between the Queen and Princess enough to suffocate the entire castle. Viserys’ condition was worse than Daerra predicted. As Daemon informed her and didn’t shy away from insinuating her lack of prevention. Citing her closeness to the ‘ Hightower offspring ’ as he called them. Otto held a meeting with Vaemond, which Daerra caught near the end and immediately had suspicion. 

Gods, had it really once been like this for ten years?

Stress and exhaustion coated her, sleep calling her name. Yet as the warmth of the fire filled her chamber, Daerra’s mind failed to relax. Recalling the night in Oldtown with Gwayne. 

“Sides are being drawn with each day, Daerra,” he told her. Reminding her of the challenge she faced having love for both sides of the coin. 

All must choose.

The voice in Daerra’s head screamed that her decision would be determined soon. Either on the morrow or in the days to come, Daerra Targaryen would pick a side. 

A side that will forever alter the course of history. 

[vinelark]

Hi I feel like you always have the best batfam fic recs, so I was wondering if you have any recs for any Dick and Tim bonding fics (especially fics that deal with the fallout of Dick giving Robin to Dami)?

hi! so glad you like the recs, i'm always happy to give them 🥰  every time a friend expresses even a passing interest in one of my fav characters i have to stop myself from like, creating a fic rec spreadsheet on the spot.

that said, i got stumped by the second part of this one. i was like oh yes definitely, i totally have read fics for that, and then…could not dig any up from my brain or my bookmarks. i feel like there's a fic on the tip of my tongue, but in the meanwhile, if anyone has any tim & dick red robin reconciliation recs (holy tongue twister, batman) i too would love to see them!

and here are some tim & dick recs in general:

🎄 only you will have stars that can laugh by silverwhittlingknife

set early in tim’s tenure as robin; dick realizes tim is about to be alone on christmas, and they end up spending the holiday together. i love how tentative both dick and tim are about this for different (and at times similar) reasons, and how heartwarming and cozy it ends up being. lots of reflection on family in all its forms and a really good tim & dick dynamic.

🚗 I’d Fly Far Away From Here by Sohotthateveryonedied

in a somewhat similar vein, a oneshot set during tim’s robin era in which tim hitchhikes to blüdhaven after a fight with his dad. dick and tim are two people who technically aren’t brothers yet by law but already are at heart, which doesn’t make it any easier to navigate conversations about tim’s home life or either of their relationship with bruce. (they make it work, though.)

🩹 Not So Large But Definitely In Charge by dottie_dc

tim and dick get tossed into an alternate gotham where there’s no batman or justice league, but find their way to bruce and alfred anyway. this has great tim-under-pressure pov, and the amount that he and dick care about each other even through their arguments is palpable. there’s also a fantastic (and at times gut-wrenching) sequel by JackHawksmoor focusing more on dick & the bruce of this different world. (cw for: past major character death aka alternate universe dick grayson)

🤖 Very Pleasing to My Optical Sensors by waffleelrond

another early robin!tim fic, in which tim gets injured and dick steps in to translate bruce's bruceness about it. it's tentative and sweet and a little silly, and a great bite-sized fic to read when you want to see the two of them just starting out as brothers.

🌌 To an Athlete Dying Young series by SonoSvegliato

at a glance from the summaries this appears like a tim & jason + tim & bruce series (and it is!), but the tim & dick scenes land it on this list for sure. i'm a broken record here with the early-robin!tim & dick recs but man i love them here; in the second fic there's a sequence where dick is teaching tim how to grapple across rooftops that sticks in my mind as one of my top favorite bonding moments for them. (heads up that the series currently ends on a cliffhanger—it's not finished yet!)

🦉 the once and future robin by AstraEllis

and as proof that i can in fact rec something other than early-robin!tim, here's an au where instead of becoming batman's robin tim ends up adopting a talon!dick grayson from another universe as his older brother. and becoming his robin. and then finding his way to the batfamily. i'm fascinated by the tim and alternate-universe-talon!dick relationship in this, and the questions of identity/personhood that it tackles by virtue of the story it is telling. plus, talon!dick's connection to robin as a concept despite the alternate universe aspect is really sweet.

also circling back to red robin reconciliation, i do have these two longfics open in my many tabs to read/finish; both tackle the post-rr era and the dick & tim of it all in their larger plots, so i'll toss in Extant by Kgraces and The Return by lurkinglurkerwholurks to check out too!

[utilitycaster]

Would LOVE that essay on combat in dnd because full agree. But not even just for people watching live play, like, combat is an essential feature of dnd as a game system and it endlessly frustrates me when i see dms be like “yeah combat is just too complicated and no fun so i dont do it in my game :)!” Like i guess thats your right, but any non-caster class is gonna be miserable in your game. I saw a video recently talking about how dnd has kind of become the default ttrpg and is marketed as the perfect system for everyone and any style of play which is just. So not true. Combat in dnd is equally as integral as roleplay is and theres really no argument otherwise. Very valid if you hate dnd combat, it sure isnt for everyone, but in that case maybe play a different ttrpg where the characters arent constructed around combat abilities, i promise you’ll have more fun.

So this is one of those things that touches on maybe 99% of my feelings on Experiencing Fiction in general and actual play in particular; I apologize in advance for the length and digressions within this response.

Here are the reasons I have seen or I surmise why people don’t like D&D combat, either in actual play or in home games:

It can get crunchy and involves a lot of rules

There are long stretches in which individuals do not necessarily act (not exclusive to combat but I think this is a factor)

It contains violence

There is a potential for character death

Now, it’s fine if you aren’t interested in D&D-style combat, for whatever reason, when you play ttrpgs. It’s just that this is a core feature of D&D. As you say, this is what the martial classes are structured around - and, frankly, no small number of casting classes/subclasses as well. By avoiding it when you play D&D, you’re avoiding the bulk of the game, and there are plenty of ttrpgs that permit open RP that aren’t combat focused that would probably fit your needs better (eg: PbtA and Savage Worlds are both generic systems that can support a heroic fantasy like D&D without the emphasis on combat skills). I happen to love and prefer D&D, but that is specifically because I love combat, and yeah, there are other games and people should seek out those games if they don’t like combat.

When it comes to D&D actual play though…skipping combat is just straight-up stupid. And to be clear I mean fully skipping it and not watching it at all; while this is piggybacking off my post about spoilers, it’s fine if you are the sort of person who needs to know how combat ends in order to enjoy it! That’s just a personal preference that I respect even if I don’t share it.

D&D combat isn’t just an inherent part of the game; it’s an inherent part of the story. The idea of D&D being split into combat and RP is a false dichotomy. There is RP and crucial story within combat scenes, and you simply do not achieve the same effects by reading an after-the-fact summary. To use examples from Critical Role, consider one of the most famous RP moments from Campaign 1, when Scanlan uses his 9th level counterspell in the Vecna fight. The weight of that moment derives from mechanics and from the fact that it is in the midst of combat and well into a climatic final battle. Or for lighter examples, there’s a ton of Beau/Yasha and Fjord/Jester mid-combat flirting running through much of Campaign 2 that informs those relationships. Molly’s death? Caleb going into a fugue state when he kills humanoids with fire? Yasha destroying Obann? Fjord dying mid-deep scion fight? Those are all moments that have deep character weight and meaning that are within the context of combat, and you cannot divorce them from that context and hope to retain the same effect.

This is what dovetails into a larger discussion of Experiencing Fiction which is a (in my opinion) worrying tendency among some people to truly believe that you can cut up media into the palatable bits and pieces and push all of what you see as icky vegetables to the side of your plate. I fucking hate this. I think it’s what drives a lot of things including a distaste for combat. This is how you get, for example, people who dislike combat because Violence And Death Bad, which, do I think that in the real world violence is most often a thing to be avoided? Do I think that in the real world death is heartbreaking? Yes, but this is fiction. There’s that great Brennan Lee Mulligan quote about how TTRPGs like D&D allow people who usually must be conflict-avoidant in real life to let out their anger and frustration in a place where it is safe and harmless, and I believe that whole-heartedly. I want stories about death because I want to know I'm not alone in how I feel about death. I want stories in which people can express their rage in ways both healthy and unhealthy, because big same. (I also think it’s absolutely not coincidental that people who believe they are ‘protecting’ people by circumscribing what is acceptable in fiction tend to be strongly associated with either bigoted, violent policies in real life, or harassment and doxxing online; maybe enjoy a fucked up movie, as John Waters once said, and you'll calm down.)

This idea that you can cut up media and only consume what you like is also what I think is behind some of the really ill-considered and overly granular timestamped content warnings I’ve mentioned previously. It is fine if there are things you don’t want to watch or which will be upsetting or even triggering to watch! It’s fine if you as an individual don’t like violence! But I think there’s a problem when people believe they are entitled to be able to watch whatever they want and have it mold to their exact wants and needs (and that it’s a failing if it doesn’t), rather than taking on the responsibility of seeking out media that already fits the bill. Actual Play D&D will nearly always have violent encounters. If this will be an issue this is not for you. It is not gatekeeping to say “you can come through this gate, but the gate is in fact here for your specifically requested protection"; and yet people think that instead, gates should be placed around everything else. So (to give an example) this is why the warnings for D20’s Neverafter strike me as a symptom of this larger problem - if you have discomfort with violence towards animals and children, that’s fine, but you are watching a D&D horror series in which over half the player characters are either animals or children. This is not something where you can skip a few seconds of a flashing gif that might be a migraine or seizure trigger, or a case where an exceptionally rough scene of gaslighting can be read instead of watched; this is inherent to the show, and if this is not for you, you need to go elsewhere.

To give one last example, I was looking for fanart for Worlds Beyond Number, and came across a picture of Suvi with a caption of “Suvi but without the imperialism” and like…Aabria has said in interviews that this engagement with the empire is extremely deliberate; that Suvi is intended to be tied into the political structures of this world as an intentional contrast with Eursulon’s status as an outsider and Ame’s role at the smaller, community level. Suvi without imperialism is not identifiable as the same character and it throws the entire story off-kilter; she is of this empire and that is the fucking point. Any story worth telling is not just items thrown haphazardly into a bowl; they are combined and mixed. Someone is giving you a plate of brownies and you are acting like it’s physically possible to take out the cocoa powder without fucking the end result, and buddy, it’s not.

(Truly, I was not joking when I said this is like, the load-bearing pillar of most of my complaints about fiction consumption patterns in general. This is about how people will deny the flaws in characters even though any reasonably intelligent ten-year-old, and I know because I fucking was one once, understands that person vs. themself is one of the core conflicts and overcoming one’s flaws is in many cases the entire story and if you start out perfect there is nothing to be said. Like…I think a lot of people genuinely just want to watch a nonstop Monterey Bay Otter Cam of their sufficiently sanitized, focus-group-tested blorbos baking cookies together, and are affronted when people with the tiniest sliver of empathy and/or curiosity want a story with plot and character growth, which in turn require conflict.)

Anyway. I think the takeaways here are that there’s this awful entitlement people have in which they think that they can simply consume anything and it is the failure of that media if it doesn’t cater specifically to them, rather than a failure of them to seek out that which they would enjoy (and I could go on this rant indefinitely; it is truly the most constant theme among Takes I Think Are Dumb); and also I really want to bake something right now, given my choices of metaphor. Combat is part of D&D as a game and as a storytelling medium, and it is incumbent upon people who do not like combat to find something that doesn’t have D&D combat, rather than try to pull out the vital organs of the story.

[bg3-npc]

If you remove Wyll's relation to Ulder from the situation, I think immediately exiling Wyll was not only harmful but fucking stupid. Imagine Wyll's exact scenario but with the child of a separate politically important person.

Ulder returns to Baldur's Gate and a politician's child is now owned by a demon. They cannot speak of the extent of control said demon has over them, and there is no evidence to verify their testimony of events. There is very little to see and at first glance the scene is pretty damning.

Now if you look at things for two additional seconds, which honestly any politician should default to doing, there are many things wrong with the picture being presented.

The first one being the politician's kid has never displayed any behavior to make someone believe they are anything but good. The child was raised by a well respected, level-headed person, and they have a spotless record free of evil tendencies. This child loves Baldur's Gate, wants to make it a better place, and was doing everything in their power to become a worthy political heir. For them to suddenly align themselves with evil is inconsistent with their history and completely out of their character.

The next factor being the demon herself. Demons cause harm both directly and indirectly. They are infamous for not only lying, but manipulating the truth to make something look like the opposite of how it truly is. Demons are evil entities that know how to make you see what they want you to see.

Another factor is total lack of any evidence. It would be one thing if there was proof contradicting the child's testimony, but there is NO evidence AT ALL. This child is known for their honesty yet there is nothing to verify their story. This makes it appear they're lying, but there is also nothing proving they are. Additionally, they DO have proof in the form of scars and a newfound disability. They acquired them somehow but oddly enough there is nothing that explains them either. Finally, when you ask for details about the demonic contract, they physically cannot make words detailing anything come out of their mouth.

Look at everything we discovered from not jumping to conclusions! Combine all these factors and the once simple scene is more complicated than you first thought. Now to be fair, the result of the mystery scenario is still the main problem. The politician's child is now a threat to the city, and that issue needs to be resolved. With everything to consider however, could the best solution be made quickly?

Once again, there is a demon involved. Regardless of how straightforward a scenario may seem, is one involving a demon not always suspect? What if their goal was to get the child exiled? Maybe making a politician's child a threat is part of a larger, more dangerous plan. Even if the politician's child is the threat, isn't any threat involving a politician's child also a threat to a politician? Is a threat to a politician not also a threat to the city? Isn't any threat that involves a person with political power a threat to the city too? Is a threat involving the city not a threat that needs to be assessed before determining the best solution? A solution that might not be as easy as throwing the child out?

Ulder is anything but irrational. He analyzes and considers all possible angles of anything. Ulder wants to make the right decision, the best decision when it comes to the well-being of the city. He is not quick to come to a conclusion or decision unless necessary. Is it not in the best interest of the city that something involving a demon and a politician's heir is to maybe take a second look? To slow down and consider other potentials? To look at things objectively? To maybe get input from a third party? To perhaps reevaluate the situation?

Is that not part of the duty he carries out everyday? Is that not how he regularly handles situations? Is that not his typical thought process? Is a thorough investigation not the best for the city he swore to protect? Is that not standard practice? Is that not the most rational thing to do? Is there not a million different factors to consider? Why does everything and everyone else need consideration unless they're Uder's son?

[bumofthewild]

what are your shadowbringers thoughts so far 🥳

too many.........! i mean it like a lot. more than i get to in this post. also i did the final trial of post-shb ytd actually so spoilers for both shb and post-shb (up 2 the end of that fight)

i think it was different from what i was expecting from the pre-shb parts... like i really enjoyed what immediately happens after the yotsuyu trial where alphinaud plans to go to garlemald and gets stranded in the burn (one of the coolest locations in the game) and the really dire feeling from your friends falling unconscious around you and a voice calling to you in this urgent but poetic way; i was really into the feeling of this unknown threat closing in all around wol. when finally alisaie falls (i liked the development she was getting and how blunt she is abt caring abt her loved ones) and wol gets transported to the first i was like whooooaaaa but then i actually think the story kind of lost me for a bit bc it loses that pre-shb momentum setting up the first as a location. not to say the opening parts of shb aren't well-written or interesting bc they def are but i found myself kind of wanting to go back to that intense direness (rather than the resigned-to-danger feeling of life in the first after the flood) and also i had this idea of shb being this visually darker expansion probably bc of the title and the garlemald cutscenes so its funny its the exact opposite. i rmb i also thought the shadowbringers would be the ascians but they really made you think that on purpose smh bc the shadowbringers are actually.....you....! (i think)

still i really like the idea of overwhelming light and how it just leads to stasis of all things. shb has some truly weird ideas but in a really fun way like the idea that the echo is something that can be evoked within sundered beings by having them experience a starshower like how the fuck do you come up with that. just some truly esoteric things like elemental imbalances and the shattering of the source into thirteen shards and all that like im genuinely a big fan of the ffxiv world lore. it was cool how all this stuff was set up pretty well too with the warriors of darkness from post-hvw like i really liked how they put those guys back into the story. and i always enjoy when the driving force in a story is like a hunt for mini-bosses (the light wardens). i think what was kind of making my interest fray at times though was again just establishing a new setting which i was less interested in than the overwhelming light plot stuff. particularly eulmore, probs bc i went there first fresh after all the urgent things were winding down but also bc it's so detailed a location it feels almost separate from the game to me so i felt a bit distracted. i really wasn't expecting that initial confrontation with vauthry to extend into him and his army becoming such a large part of the story, but i did like it regardless, like that cut-scene with kai-shirr where you save him from vauthry was so dramatic its even giving me chills remembering it. the fatphobia regarding vauthry's character was weird but im just. like ok. well i just had to say it

i really like the new locations too like il mheg definitely was made for me to spend hrs in there wishing it was real but everywhere too was really fresh and unique. i like mord souq a lot and i liked seeing the beast tribes be incorporated into the societies as opposed to whatever eorzea is always doing wrong. i also liked the attention put into things like developing relationships w ppl from the diff areas like helping with the trolley and the talos at twine--i always like stories where places are revitalised. like smaller-scale hopes being restored amongst the larger actions like bringing back the night and showing how these small things can be equally as important. i liked the effort that went into establishing the unique lifestyles of denizens of the first also. and seriously everything aboug il mheg plus urianger hanging out with fairies is one of those things that feels directly plucked from the self-indulgent recesses of my brain. i was actually sad when you lifted the mist bc the place felt a lot more enclosed (i like enclosed things i love an enclosed atmosphere which is why i wanted shb to feel less like it was opening up a story) and dreamy but oh well i can always just ng+ the game and never find urianger's house and frolick in misty il mheg forever

going back to how each area is really fun i also really like that idk thing stories do where you encounter a diff person at every diff location. like that all your friends were at different places on the map idk how to explain but i thought that was a fun way to have wol explore novrandt that makes sense. and how these new places recontextualise the scions who have been with you since arr was interesting like seeing them in a new light. i do feel like the game doesn't develop urianger and y'shtola as much emotionally compared to the others (THANCRED IS THE MAIN CHARACTER OF THIS GAME?) bc idk they're smart or smth so they're usually playing Mr. Exposition roles but i was grateful that at least you finally FINALLY spend a lot of time together as a party and build your relationship. probs one of the things i enjoyed most about shb. like you obvs don't see them in hvw bc they're all missing--just generally urianger isn't hidden away in some library thancred isn't skulking around some imperial stronghold somewhere y'shtola isn't being placed in a coma for the millionth time and the twins aren't otherwise engaged with logistics/combat. like everyone was finally together and striving towards the same things together. i could finally feel the bond between the scions rather than be told they're close thru sparse interactions they have with wol individually.

i also really like what they did with ardbert, the moments w him all felt so poignant. i used to find him silly in post-hvw calling himself the warrior of darkness and smirking at me all the time until the moment he goes back to the first w urianger's help..then i was like my bad i wasnt aware of your struggles.... i like how they complicated his char a lot and his narrations were so fun. his char is a good example i think of how shb did a good job of being both heartbreaking and pretty dark without being hamfisted or unnecessarily cynical

i feel like im going to have to spend so much time processing shb bc i blasted thru it but also bc i was so distracted by the crystal exarch like the moment i saw him i was like is this not just g'raha bc of the male miqote mouth (and that he has you go to the crystal tower but mostly the mouth) and this like proceeded to distract me to an insane degree up until the very second his hood flew back at the climax of the game and revealed it was actually him. i was even telling my sister like i hope he doesn't reveal his face himself i hope some stray wind or w/e blows the hood down...so i won that interaction. idk how i managed to avoid spoiling that considering i used to see fanart of him often bc he's so popular but i am not ungrateful bc even if its obviously him that would have sucked bc needing to know it was him like being right was possessing me

uhh what else............ regretfully emet-selch is now one of my fav characters. in the whole game. which is crazy to me.... i used to see his name around as well but what i rmb specifically is this one time i saw like a tweet complaining abt ff fans who are really into the imperialist ideals mention him and i was like eww guess im never gonna like this emet-selch guy if i play hahahaha. and i had this weirdass vision of him in my head as this brooding black robe-wearing guy w mid length grey hair or smth (just the impression i got from his name idefk) bc i had no clue what he looked like. and then solus shows up for the first time and i was like wow this guy is really interesting like whenever he shows up the plot really starts gripping me bc i just find the shit to do with the ascians soooooo super interesting. like the fact that they're very openly present but such a large threat. it's interesting to me that as enemies they make themselves so known to the main cast and could be anywhere at any time--i find that sort of impasse really fun. like a tense atmosphere nobody on either side breaks until the final moment bc they're not sure what the retaliation will be. also when emet-selch admitted that as ascians they'd all been tempered by zodiark like HUHHHH THATS SO INTERESTING

i think definitely the part after mt.gulg trial was where i was really understanding why i see a lot of ppl say that shb is the best expac bc how much the plot ramps up the stakes all of a sudden compared to the level of danger you get used to is crazy. and it really gives you things to think about beyond wuhhh good and evil bc like after you incoporate all that light into you, you're the threat now...? like what do you do? when you open the windows and the light has come back to the world after you gave everyone this hope the night sky could come back... that level of fucking up really surprised me. and the whole time emet-selch is shadowing you really only feels at most like a vaguely concealed threat and i feel like i don't usually get caught like that but i was genuinely shocked he was such a serious threat all of a sudden. like i genuinely forgot even though all of his interactions felt like being on the edge of a deal w the devil. and it was well done too i like when everyone is honest abt their intentions more or less the whole time but theres still a lot of intrigue -> danger

i usually roll my eyes at ig simplistic overtures about sympathizing with or even at least understanding your enemy but i have to say i really was unfortunately taken in by the fact that emet-selch was very genuine about his interest in the main party, and it was even better to me bc of how precarious their interactions were. i just love weird and hard-to-put-into-words relationships between ppl who know of each other but are essentially strangers. and compared to the other ascians you've met so far how he makes his appeals more human/emotional rather than with the stiff otherworldly-being logic of his comrades i find interesting, and again it doesn't come off as simplistic or try to provide any thoughtless concrete answers to me bc although the main party at least feels enough towards him to feel pity/considerate/betrayed, which i like bc that's just what ppl do, they just can't accept him (obviously) and they remain at that standstill. like they understand each other but they will never agree. not getting into how he invites wol who is turning into a monster personally to his underwater lair bc i want to seem normal secret recesses of my mind i just always like characters that seem cool or capable or operate in a way that seems very (almost "nobly") focused but its actually something of a farce, and they're really being spurred on by some intensely personal emotion. like shinobu from kny or sekigahara from 13 sentinels who are some off my fav characters. i did feel like the way he was rejecting the party at the end (before you fight him) was kind of excessive, like they were playing up his villainy a bit so it would make more sense you have to kill him or smth, but in my mind it's like of course you have to kill him no matter what. and i don't mean all of this in some woobifying way where i feel bad for him like nooo poor emet more like i just like when someone is really driven by emotions idk lemme try to find the words. the way the grief like bleeds out of him... like he creates a giant city of memories that he wants someone to understand so bad. i like that kind of mishandled pain...like an inability to contain something.

but as much as what the ascians strive towards/how they go about it/most things to do with them fascinate me i do have an iffy feeling about smth very specific that i think really solidified itself with amaurot. i find the conflict that is the sundering really interesting but how it's conceptualized is really................hm....the ascians having a normative standard of what it means to be a "proper" or fully-fledged or whole being = being worthy of life, so that killing the "malformed" beings that are the non-ascians doesn't count as killing.... that they have this idea of a "true" type of person. does that not seem like couched in really blatant ableist (and other things but im just a fool on tumblr) thought about what it means to be considered a person. i was just fascinated bc they're the villains so I GUESS it's meant to be "wrong" the way they think, but theyre still also sympathetic chars (and imperialists) so ok. this is also the acting logic of eorzea disposing of the ixal and the kobolds and the sahagin etc etc like killing beastmen is like swatting flies. the beast racism. like you know the amount of stock ppl put into worthless concepts like "reason" as if its some immutable law and not socially constructed and thats whats good and virtuous and deserving of life. it was just interesting? (HAHAHAHAUUUGHH) to see that represented in this hyper-rational and streamlined city/society of the ascians. the hard edges and the carefully tended charmless cement rows of tree plots and organized lines for licenses and taking pleasure in an organised and rational debate with my fellow ascians at the debate hall. like the perfect and complete world the ascians are killing themselves to bring back is bureaucracy???????? i actually was so stunned i wanted to laugh. idk it just makes so much sense to me that the way square enix apparently pictures some lost utopia "lesser" beings cant achieve would be in this sort of fake-conflictless way. it feels otherworldly of course in comparison to the rest of the worlds and i enjoyed that section of the game a lot but. like good lord

i had like no thoughts about g'raha until post-shb for some reason maybe bc idk what i could say the game hasn't already abt his personality but i'm like fascinated with how taken he is with wol bc i almost don't get it. i actually kind of mostly enjoy it in a really one-sided way where he is enamoured with wol as a fantasy figure out of his reach and it just stays that way forever. he interests me bc it feels like he's not really alive....and i said in my post about stormblood that i really like characters who feel like they can't see a life for themselves in the future beyond some goalpost they strive towards..but g'raha feels a bit different, he doesn't feel dead inside or empty he just feels like. he's not alive like he's not living. idk like he's not a human person but a symbol (the crystal exarch). ig it's his solitary focus on salvation bc even though he bakes lyna a cake for her bday and it turns out badly i like struggle to imagine him doing anything mundane or anything that isn't crystally or exarchy. i have to rotate him more idk. how he's also self-serving despite thinking so lowly of himself is interesting to me too. and i like how all of this is symbolised by how he'll have to reconcile this current version of himself with his past self, that is reimagine himself as a living flesh and blood person, in order to get out of the crystal vessel (symbolism?) hes currently inside of. whether he does idk yet im still playing post-shb so plz dont say.

i think im running out of space rip my thoughts on elidibus and the final hades fight (they should have just made it emet-selch, hades carries too many preconceptions so it felt random to me but maybe im just greedy and i've spared too much thoughts abt this guy already)

oh shit i also wanted to talk about how the more i learn about the ascians the more i'm convinced the imperialism in this game is just a waste of space and time and effort in this game but well. huge tangent. i genuinely just pretend its not there

last thoughts i'm convinced the finality of so many of the events is like.... was this supposed to be the final part of the ffxiv story..... the cinematic fight with hades/ how you beat him using the power of friendship/the heroes gauntlet duty where everyone you've helped in the first comes to your aid/fight against the original warrior of light....? etc. like it definitely all feels so final. why are there expansions after this......................like why bother.......shb did it all

[pinkeoni]

The Importance of Lonnie Byers in Season 5

After much theorizing and consideration, I am confident beyond a shadow of a doubt that not only will Lonnie be present in season 5, but that he’s actually crucial to the main plot of the story.

I’m going to first explain why I think his appearance will be important from an objective storytelling point of view and then theorize what I think his role is actually going to be.

TW: Discussions of child abuse.

Lonnie’s absence has created major unresolved conflict with both Will and Jonathan

I wanna start by saying that I’m looking at this from an objective storytelling point of view and not in the context of real world situations.

Lonnie has only appeared in season 1 and has not made an appearance since. In fact, he hasn’t been mentioned by name, only indirectly mentioned majority of the time by Jonathan. Will and Lonnie haven’t even shared a scene. This creates a huge hole of unresolved conflict between Lonnie and his sons. In fact, the only member of the Byers clan who has resolved their conflict with him is Joyce.

When Joyce is in an emotionally vulnerable state, Lonnie shows up and she clings to him, despite how much he belittles her. Eventually Joyce stands her ground, defends herself, and then demands that he leaves. We can see that Joyce has finally moved on from him once she has moved on to different and better romantic partners in later seasons. She hasn't even mentioned him, not in the way that Jonathan has.

In each season, Jonathan has brought up his father through dialogue. It usually revolves around Jonathan's inner conflict of fearing that he is becoming like his father, and that his father has affected who he is today.

And given that this has been brought up in every season, we see that this hasn't been resolved yet. Lonnie returning would be a good opportunity for Jonathan to come to some kind of self realization.

In the case of Will, it's pretty unclear how he really feels about his dad. Aside from a few lines of dialogue from season 1, we don't get much in the way of Will's point of view. However, I do think that Will misses his dad. I think this could also create interesting conflict between Will and Jonathan; Will is highly receptive of their dad coming back and Jonathan is not. Jonathan and Will have never really had any conflict before, so it might be interesting to see them fight about something. If everyone is on the exact same page about Lonnie, and there was a simple resolve, it wouldn’t be interesting to watch.

Again, as stated above, I want to be clear that I'm looking at this from a fictional storytelling standpoint. I don't think that abuse survivors need to confront their abusers in person in order to find closure, however when discussing fictional characters and character arcs, leaving the show without any confrontation from either Jonathan and/or Will would leave that conflict open.

Lonnie's absence tells me that they are holding out on something big from him

The fact that Lonnie has not shown up in the past three seasons informs me that when he does show up, he'll likely be the catalyst for a major plot point. Think about it this way, if Lonnie were connected to some kind of major plot twist (such as Will's powers) then it would make sense to not bring him back until the last season, because doing so prematurely could set in motion some of the larger set pieces that needed to be saved for the ending.

I think if Lonnie were truly unimportant to the future plot, then they could have wrapped up his arcs with Will and Jonathan earlier. I think he could have easily fit in to season 2, especially with the focus being so heavy on the Byers family in that season. But no, they are holding out on him until the very last season, which speaks to the importance of his role in the main plot of the story.

Lonnie is likely connected to Will's powers

Now that I've explained why he is important to season 5's plot, now comes the part where I theorize about what his exact role in the story will be. Namely, I believe that he is connected to Will's powers.

I'm not going to go into all of the theoretics involving Lonnie and Will's powers, that would just make the post even longer than it already is. I've made a few posts in the past exploring Lonnie's possible connection to the lab, which I think is highly likely. You can read them here, here, and here.

I have another large theory post where I discuss how Lonnie may have even been the trigger for Will's powers here, which relates to another long theory post I made regarding Will's childhood memories here.

There's a lot of different ways this could go, but either way, I think Lonnie is a major part of Will's powers and is likely connected with the lab. Will doesn't remember this very well, but seeing his dad again could likely jog his memory.

Lonnie could likely die, following a pattern set by the show of abusive figures dying

I've theorized about how this could go in a number of different ways, but the ending is still the same. If Lonnie were to die, it would be the third in a pattern of abusers dying that started with Billy's death and was continued with Papa's death in season 4. There also seems to be a string of deaths involving father figures, starting with Bob and season 2 and again continued with Papa in season 4. Either way, Lonnie Byers your days are numbered.

Here's a rough timeline of my prediction of how I think the season could go:

Lonnie returns very early on after the time skip. He claims to be there to make amends with and spend time with his boys.

Joyce and Jonathan are weary of his return and intentions but Will is excited to see his dad again.

Joyce decides that Will's feelings about his dad should be up to him, while Jonathan is more combative. This creates tension between Will and Jonathan.

Unsurprisingly enough, Lonnie is there for his own personal gain, probably connected to the lab. Most likely sent in by Owens

As Will discovers the extent of his powers throughout season 5, his childhood and the extent of Lonnie's abuse will likely be revealed to him, forcing Will to contend with the fact that his father is a monster

The above bullet is a mirror to El's arc last season with Papa. Except now, Will will likely be horrified to learn this information and will want to see his father as good as much as possible.

There is a final confrontation between Will, Jonathan and Lonnie which is likely the climax of whichever episode it's in, likely episode 6 or 7.

Lonnie's arc ends with his death.

I know that a lot of the details are a little loose toward the end, this is something that I'm still theorizing about and putting together. Regardless of specifics, Lonnie's importance and likely appearance in season 5 is something I'm still highly confident in. Let me know what you guys think, or any predictions that you have!

[grifff17]

Audiodrama Sunday 4/14/24

Here I go again doing one of these writeups at 11:30pm on Sunday evening. Anyways, here's what I've been listening to. I started a new show this week, and caught up with another show, and there were new episodes of several shows.

Starting with the new show, I started listening to Mockery Manor from @longcatmedia. This is a really cool show and I'm hooked. I love the setting, it reminds me of the cartoon Dead End Paranormal Park which I was a big fan of. The overarching mystery really grabbed me, which is hard to do in audio fiction. I'm 4 episodes in and there's so much going on.

The show I caught up with is @kingmakerpod! I don't know quite how to put it into words, but the setting of Kingmaker feels so full. The worldbuilding is so rich that it feels like everything happening is part of a larger world. Also, the season 2 finale was great, Telesphore killing a trained sniper with cinnamon powder is possibly my favorite moment in the show yet.

There was a new @worldgonewrongpod this week. Great episode, I think that Jamie's dad is my new favorite character. I love him so much. Also, I found myself automatically trying to memorize the ways to check for a body-snatcher, as if that knowledge would ever be useful to me.

@midstpodcast continues to be incredibly fucked up. This week it was a repeat of season 1 in a way, with someone trying to threaten Weep and it not turning out well for them. This show has been revealing a lot of backstory recently, with Lark a few episodes ago and now Weep. Is this going to be the last season? I don't actually know. Also, Phineas is unemployed now. I get the feeling that's not going to be good for his mental health.

Arc 3 of @worldsbeyondpod has begun! There was so much that happened in that episode, but the standout to me was Steel's "Geas + Modify Memory" plan. Suvi choosing to become a sleeper agent really shows how deep the Citadel has its hooks in her. I'm ready for so much drama next episode.

I've reached up to episode 12 of Skyjacks: Courier's Call. I love the tone and themes of this show. It was interesting to see more magic appear in the setting, so far its been fairly low magic. I'm very curious if we're going to learn more about the bathhouse and what "cursed water" is. Also, the cast realizing halfway thru a scene that they are encouraging kids to start forest fires and frantically backtracking was unintentionally one of the funniest moments of the show to me.

[waddlehekk]

Can you talk a little more about how Goemon is intended to be mixed race? I read the manga but never picked up on this; was it lost to translation, or is it extremely subtle (or just a headcanon)? Also, do you have any idea why his race was changed in the Pilot film (if it was at all)?

Though it is never outright stated, there are clear details in Goemon's design that I believe are included to suggest he is mixed race, being part Asian since he is still the descendant of the original, Japanese, Ishikawa Goemon, and part something else, which I'm thinking is part White. The themes presented in the Lupin manga and in MP's other manga of racial freedom coincide with this too.

It's important to also understand the context of the themes that surround Goemon's character, being raised under strict Eastern culture, but despite being naïve towards Western culture, he does not reject it in the way his masters do and is even curious about it.

Before I begin, I'd like to make it clear that MP is not the most consistent when it comes to his designs, especially in the earlier manga where he is still working out what he wants of the characters. It doesn't help either that he had to rush to meet deadlines for the manga. With that being said though, I will be focusing on Goemon's consistent character traits that become more concrete in Shin Lupin.

An obvious detail to Manga Goemon's design is his cleft chin. This is usually drawn in more western-like characters (for instance, he draws Yankee from Bakumatsu Yankee with a cleft chin but not Okita), so it's really interesting how MP chooses to show it in Goemon. MP drew it more obvious as time went on, but it did exist since his first appearance.

Also, notice how Goemon's hair is not fully inked black as MP does with other characters. Generally, aside from artwork for promotion of the anime, anime ost album covers, and artwork made after the manga's completion, MP would color Goemon's hair as blonde-ish brown. I've seen people refer to it as possibly being ash blonde, or dirty blonde, but I'm not sure.

I'll post examples below. If you've seen them before, please read the rest of the post! I have a lot more to show.

It's a shame though that in some instances, publishers tried to hide this by recoloring MP's artwork, even if it wasn't meant tor the anime at all. Likely this was done to appeal to the larger amount of fans for the anime, and much of MP's later artwork after the manga's completion would alter other parts of Goemon's design to resemble it too, such as by changing his facial features and removing the pattern on his kimono. If you look closely below, you can see how the publishers weren't perfect at covering it up.

You may have seen how in my other post, with the artwork of the English Conversation book, or in a small amount of MP's other drawings, that Goemon's hair is instead colored as grey, silver, or not colored at all. I think MP tends to do this to save on color, and you can even see this in how his clothing is colored only white and grey.

That's also why though Fujiko appears blonde in the covers of that same book, she is also colored with grey hair in its pages inside of the book. Notice how the color of her dress changed too to save on color.

There's a similar case of Fujiko's hair originally being portrayed as blonde in the manga, but MP coloring it as brown or red in some artwork to match the anime. It didn't seem to be as much of an issue though considering how inconsistent Fujiko's design already was in the anime and early manga, and with how the changing hair color does not suggest as much about Fujiko as it does for Goemon and his race.

Goemon's manga design already does not resemble his anime design, so to make it even more different by having a different hair color would certainly bring more confusion from the anime audience. Goemon in the anime is strongly associated with being Japanese in comparison to the others, so it makes sense why his hair color is not a blonde-brown when MP draws for the anime.

Unlike fully blonde characters like Fujiko though, MP tends to draw Goemon's hair with many lines. I notice that when MP isn't rushing to draw Goemon, he draws certain areas of his hair having more lines condensed together and other areas having empty space.

(This is kind of hard to explain so I hope the drawing below makes it clear)

My own interpretation for why he draws his hair this way is to show areas with more denser lines being a darker brown, while the less dense areas show the lighter blonde parts of his hair.

It's worth noting Jigen's hair gets drawn with lines too, but there are more lines to show how much darker it is, and it also lacks any lighter areas. Perhaps Jigen's hair is still meant to be black, with the lines added to show detail in the strands of his straight hair, but what if it was meant to show color in his hair too?

Part 3, the Lupin anime with character designs that resemble Shin Lupin's the most, makes the decision to color Jigen's hair dark brown to show this, despite it always having been depicted as black in the anime.

But back to Goemon, I've seen a few people believe that maybe his hair is dyed/bleached. I can understand this notion, given that when he is first introduced he is dating Fujiko who seems more knowledgeable in this, and we do know that Goemon is an open-minded person when it comes to new things despite his old-fashioned upbringing. I disagree though, in part because some of the more detailed color drawings of him give me the impression it is natural. His sideburns also appear to have color in some close-ups of them.

There is something that he cannot change, however, and that is his eye color. It also happens to share the same color as his hair, more proof that his hair color is natural.

If you look at this magazine cover, you can see everyone's eyes colored in as black, but MP specifically did not do that for Goemon. Perhaps he wanted this detail about Goemon to stand out to readers.

There are many smaller details too, like his fluffy hair that curls at the ends, and his body hair.

And I can't forget the sideburns either. Though having sideburns obviously isn't a genetic trait, it's more western-like design that MP uses. The point of Goemon having sideburns may be to help you picture a more western person from him.

Compare all this to Anime Goemon, who has straight black hair and smaller eyes with black pupils, no sideburns, no body hair, and a regular chin. There is a very different intention between what the 2 characters are attempting to portray, and it's obvious when you look at them side to side. These different intentions are the reason why the anime is so stubborn when it comes to incorporating parts of Manga Goemon's design.

You may be wondering, is it unusual that Monkey Punch would make a character like this?

Not at all!

We know for sure Lupin is mixed too.

"I don't need a passport because the whole Earth is my country!!"

"Everywhere on this Earth is my home, even the middle of the ocean."

The character Inspector John Starmow, who admits to Fujiko that his childhood memories are filled with him being bullied by both other children and adults because he has Indian blood in him.

MP's other work, "Western Samurai"

And of course, MP's "Bakumatsu Yankee"

Looking at the designs of the two friends, it almost seems like Goemon is a hybrid of the two that each represent the East and the West. Okita's fully inked in hair and Yankee's hair with hardly any lines, while Goemon has hair drawn with many lines. Also, Goemon's face resembles Okita's, but he has a chin like Yankee. A little off-topic but I've always thought that Goemon's personality was a mesh between the two: Okita's cheerful attitude and Yankee's calm demeanor.

Now onto the rest of your question, why was this not carried into the Pilot?

If you haven't read my old post, please do read it as it explains my theory on why Manga Goemon was not adapted to the anime, and how Anime Goemon was created: https://www.tumblr.com/waddlehekk/711176903837483008/a-theory-on-the-creation-of-anime-goemon-and-why?source=share

Essentially though, the Pilot and Part 1 very clearly wanted a fully Japanese character out of Goemon to clash with the rest of the cast who are very American.

In the Pilot, Goemon is portrayed with a much darker skin tone rather than being very pale like he is in the Part 1 and nearly every portrayal onwards. Additionally, Mystery of Mamo pushes against Part 1's famously established design, bringing back Goemon's original skin tone and also changing the color of his hair to a dark brown.

At first I thought this dark color was chosen so that the artists could show lighting in Goemon's hair and give it detail, and that therefore it was still meant to be black, but even looking closer his eyebrows were colored too. Fujiko, the only other member of the gang that doesn't have black hair in this movie, is also the only other one to have colored eyebrows.

I read a post recently saying that he's mixed because of this, but to be honest, I disagree. There are many people in Japan with the standards that being very fair-skinned and having black hair is what makes you beautiful, but that doesn't mean all Japanese people are just born like this, and some even try to hide it. If anything, I think the reason why Goemon is depicted like this to go against these beauty standards and show that Goemon is still just as much a good representation of a Japanese samurai. The teams still wanted to depict a message about racial freedom in Goemon, and I think this is in part why the Pilot and Mamo understand the tone of the manga much better than other adaptations.

On a final note, I'd like to add that if Manga Goemon is supposedly mixed, and these themes do exist throughout MP's manga, why not then see characters like Jigen, Fujiko, and Zenigata as being just as racially ambiguous? For all we know, Lupin and Goemon could be a combination of more than what I've said here. I'd love to hear any headcanons.