#why does the wiki straight up lie

[vh-rasz]

I 🫀 world War i yaoi

reblogs>likes Please!!!!!

[cosmerelists]

Shallan’s Murders: Ranked by Level of Disturbing

Shallan-murders-feature requested by @nerd-in-distress

[Major spoilers for Stormlight Archives!]

I’ve already ranked Kaladin’s dramatic entrances & the awesomeness of Vin’s kills. Next up we’re looking at the many deaths that Shallan has enacted, directly or indirectly. Since Shallan’s murders tend to be Trauma Personified, I’m going to rank them by how disturbing I found them.

#10: Bluth

We’ll start with the one that I find the least disturbing--in part because I think it’s the least attributable to Shallan herself. Technically, Bluth is inspired by the “Ideal Self” that Shallan draws of him, a drawing which motivates Bluth to join the fight against the bandits and die. So it is true that if not for Shallan, Bluth would not have been in that situation and likely would not have risked himself. But it is framed as a redemption, and I don’t find it particularly disturbing. 

#9: Her own alters

In particular, I am thinking about the Battle of Thaylen City, during which Shallan keeps an entire Thrill-infected army busy by constantly creating illusions for them to kill. Every time one of these illusions die, Shallan feels it, as though she is sending out parts of herself to be murdered, over and over again. I’m not going to lie--this scene has made me cry, and I do personally feel a sense of creeping horror imagining Shallan simply sending herself out to be murdered hundreds and hundreds of times. But I suppose these deaths aren’t exactly real, so I can’t rank this too highly on the disturbing scale. 

#8: The Coachman and his Parshmen

Shallan has a bit of a rocky start when it comes to being Veil and infiltrating the Ghostbloods. During one such incursion, she hires a coachman to bring her to a meeting and then makes him drive away without her to trick the Ghostbloods. Later, she finds him and the Parshmen murdered and his coach burned. Here again, it’s not like Shallan murdered them with her own hand...but she does cause their deaths, insofar as they wouldn’t have been in danger if not for her. But this is really the fault of the Ghostbloods, so I rank it as less disturbing in terms of what Shallan herself does. 

#7: Her Mom’s “Friend”

I have honestly always been unclear about whether Shallan or Shallan’s father actually kills this guy, but the wiki says it was Shallan, so I’ll go with that. This is our first real person who is killed directly by Shallan’s hand--and honestly, I find it to be the least disturbing of actual-people-murdered-by-Shallan. I mean, the guy was a Skybreaker trying to suppress the return of the Radiants by murdering a kid, so I really feel like Shallan was acting in self-defense here. I mean, it is disturbing for Shallan, though, so that counts for something.

#6: Tyn

Speaking of murders in self-defense...Shallan does directly murder Tyn, but this one is once again purely self-defense. Tyn was trying to kill Shallan at the time, and Shallan summons her Shardblade in a desperate act of self-defense. There is still a level of horror, though. Tyn was sort of Shallan’s friend, and Shallan’s Shardblade is Trauma Personified at this point in the story--I believe this is the first time we ever actually see it. I don’t remember if it’s confirmed whether the Blade is Testament or Pattern, but there’s an extra layer of horror if it’s Testament, aka the spren that Shallan killed and is now using to kill someone else.

#5: Ialai

Now, here’s a murder not in self-defense at all. Radiant just straight up murders Ialai and hides this fact from Shallan. This is after Shallan, Radiant, and Veil vote on it and decide not to murder her...but then Radiant does it anyway in order to protect Shallan from having to do it--and from having to know about it. Unfortunately, this doesn’t so much protect Shallan as it does cause her intense mental and emotional distress, as now Shallan thinks there is a spy among her friends. This is partly why Formless becomes such a big threat in this book. So while I didn’t feel particularly upset that Ialai died, this murder did end up being disturbing in its implications--especially the idea that one of Shallan’s alters could do such a thing without Shallan (being willing to?) know.

#4: Her mom

Shallan’s mom was trying to kill her at the time, and baby Shallan summoned a Shardblade and killed her. Shallan then became convinced that the sword was her mother’s soul, which was locked in a safe behind a picture in that very room. For a very long time afterwards, Shallan would believe that safe was glowing with her dead mother’s soul. That’s all pretty disturbing--from attempted daughter-murder to actual mother-murder to just heaps of trauma. It was still self-defense, but that doesn’t help much with how disturbing it all was.  

#3: Testament

The Stormlight Archive books are FILLED with mentions of the Recreance, that day when the Radiants betrayed their oaths and killed their spren. Of course, we eventually find out that the decision to break the oaths was mutual, and that the Radiants and their spren agreed to take this action (for reasons that are still not clear...). But there is one spren-killing that occurred long after the Recreance and that was not, so far as we know, a mutual decision: Shallan’s murder of her first spren, Testament. This is the spren whose blade killed Shallan’s mother, an act that so traumatized Shallan that she broke her oath, turned her spren into a deadeye, and then repressed all off the memories. Later Shallan meets Testament in Shadesmar for just an extra layer of trauma--her murder victim is still walking around. Maybe this will get less disturbing if a way of saving deadeyes is discovered, but for now, I find this one very disturbing.

#2: Grund 

Grund is the street kid from Kholinar that Shallan tries to help by giving him food, only to later discover that Grund is being forced to do this by the gangs, who then murder Grund in front of her while he uses his dying words to declare how much he hates her. Even though this is not a death caused directly by Shallan’s hands, I find it to be one of the more disturbing deaths attributable to Shallan--because it’s a kid, because he dies of head trauma which I find disturbing, and because he uses his dying words to blame her, which is a pretty big helping of trauma to add to Shallan’s already large pile.

#1: Lin Davar

Listen, Lin Davar is the worst, and I am a fan of him being dead. Nevertheless, I find this to be far and away the most disturbing of Shallan’s murders because of how it happens. First, Shallan uses the blackbane her brother gave her to poison her father. But it doesn’t work. Her father wakes up, and Shallan has to murder him a second time, this time by literally strangling him to death with the necklace he gave her while singing the lullaby he sang to her after she murdered her mother. And strangling is not fast--she has to persist and sing until he is finally, finally dead.

So congratulations (?) to Lin Davar for being Shallan’s most disturbing murder victim! 

[skaruresonic]

The more I watch Breaking Bad, the more I stan Skyler White. It's clear she's the shrewder of the two and Walter absolutely cannot stand that shit lmao

Even the wiki describes him as feeling "emasculated," which, well, kind of ties into the overall point BB makes about the corrosive influence of toxic masculinity on men's psyches (Hank suffers a blow to his pride after becoming traumatized and later disabled and takes his frustrations out on Marie by berating her, so it's not just uniquely a Walter thing) and the effect the glorification of violence and capitalism have on the family.

The framing of Skyler as "controlling," the head of the household, being something that inherently "emasculates" Walter just makes the mischaracterization of Skyler as this unreasonable, all-domineering bitch out to bust her husband's balls even more alarming.

On a first watch, we all go "aw ain't it sad that Walter won't be able to provide for his family after his death," which is part of the Saw trap. Why does Walter need to be the provider? Why does the onus lie on him when he is literally terminally ill? Because he's the man, and The Husband(tm)'s role is to provide for the family (in order to reinforce his masculinity)? Why do we particularly think that? Furthermore, as The Wife(tm), why do so many then abide by the follow-up assumption that Skyler needs to shut up and support him in whatever he does, up to and including manufacturing meth? Especially after he basically put himself in a precarious situation by refusing to suck up his pride and accept Elliot and Gretchen's help?

I feel like something seriously got lost in translation if you watched six straight seasons of Walter emotionally blackmailing his wife and came away with "yeah but she didn't support Marie through her kleptomania though so she's just as bad." bruh

I'm not saying Skyler is perfect or hasn't done morally dubious things like smoking while pregnant, but I mean, come the fuck on, man. You're really gonna read her for filth for "not supporting her sister" when all she wanted was an apology Marie refused to give? Meanwhile, Walter the Lying Liar who Lies over here cannot go two seconds without flexing his ego or mentally scarring those around him

[mahomadjicks]

Im not gonna lie this is the nail in the coffin for me with clash…

So uh, nahhh. Im good

Between being not too fond of the manager worship in the fandom and the clash team lobotomizing their own game, in my eyes im just done.

Rather than becoming bitter or anything like that, I’m putting this blog on ice indefinitely. if you like me or my art in general, regardless of toontown, look at these;

Main Blog (Random stuff I like/reblog)

https://www.tumblr.com/softpopdrink

Squirrel and Hedgehog related blog (current fandom/art I draw)

https://www.tumblr.com/weaselfactoryex

I still like the idea of Toontown. I may like a few posts here and there going forward. I may or may not finish Greening Sideshow. We’ll see. I’m a small blog, so me leaving wont make a huge difference.

See yall later.

(Below is a rant section, so please ignore if you dont care for that.)

Is it just me, or does it seem like the clash team is bending their own backs to cater to the more ravenous, clash manager obsessed sides of the fandom? Being a fan of normal cogs, or TOONS for that matter sucks. Godspeed if you like anything besides Clash in general. Rewritten fans are just that, written off and not as noticed as their clash counterparts. You can see the interaction disparity just by looking on the tumblr tags. It literally took a ‘manager-like’ update with the new department heads for the game to get any sort of traction.

If you’re a fan of a server like ODS/Realms/literally any smaller server then god…I dont know what to say. I’m so sorry. What little attention you get for that hard work, and the small teams that are still holding on despite being brushed aside CONSTANTLY. You all are certainly strong. It must be absolute HELL to constantly be told to use your talents for clash or rewritten. Or to be told that your work would be great (as a feature for a larger server)…

Corporate Clash itself seems to be buckling under the swaths of new fans only arriving for the manager cogs. A lot of the updates and lore changes post 1.3 just seem to further weaken and break the game. Mechanics wise, the clash team seems to think that making manager fights hellish or straight up impossible to beat unless you do very specific character builds or strategies is a good thing. SPOILERS!!! Its not. Sure, you pat the back to anyone who unhealthily studies the game or looks at the wiki, but to new players who just wanna casually go through the story? They get chewed up and spit right back out by some out of nowhere cheat for the umpteenth time—

Looking at lore is a shaky subject in Corporate clash, so i understand wanting to tweak things. Alas, the clash team seems to want their cake and to eat it too…by wiping away 90% of Pre-1.3 updates without acknowledging the massive gaps in lore that opens up. Its not like they can’t look back and reference lore either. If a lowly fan like myself can piece things together then why cant the staff of literal game? They claim that old lore is confusing, when it literally takes a couple google searches to find what they’re looking for! The clash managers LITERALLY are the results of actions and events in Break the Law, aka, pre- 1.3 lore. To remove that removes their point of existence. Removing The CJ’s prior existence in the game, as well as him quitting, LITERALLY removes the reason why the CLO, and the Litigation Team exist in the overall story. Absolute nonsense.

Okay. Something slightly more positive.

I can understand why they wanna distance theirselves from Coach Z. Having a character associated to a homophobic old man sucks. I’m not too mad about that.

I understand why the Clash team thinks their choices are beneficial. Regardless of how much I stomp and whine, going forward, the clash manager cogs are the ‘blueprints’ of success for Toontown servers going forward. All of them are great challenges (when not constantly buffed) and breathe life into a 20+ year old game. Each of the managers are great characters in their own right, i just wish the fans didn’t treat them as the center of the universe.

At the end of the day, the clash team isn’t getting paid for all they do. They do all this stuff, updates for free, and that’s amazing. It’s just not for me anymore.

(Rant section over)

[spacehostilityy]

NNT Rewatch s2ep7-12 !!

(Still from my drafts! Just moved back to college yesterday and today and classes start tomorrow. Wish me luck! My schedule sucks this year so I'll need it lol)

man this is flying by!! but lucky me, the druids’ holy land arc is one of my favorites

King learning throughout this season that not only does he need the other Sins, but they need and love him is so sweet. I just love the character development they all go thru this season

draw him like one of your french girls ~~

I love that Matrona has purple eyes like Diane, the small details really make it

I actually NEED to know what Monspeet and Meliodas’s relationship was prior to his betrayal. “I can’t believe HE’S the one who sensed us” ?? Whats that about🤨 also zeldris and monspeet seem to have been in good terms, like were they all friends?

I don’t know how its possible, but Monspeet’s voice is even hotter in spanish

I love that despite galand not being able to lie, they still don’t believe his stories lol

KAJSDKWUDFL I forgot how shocked i was with the reveal that Merlin stole Mel’s power i just love the druid training arc sm

theyre so silly i love them

do we know why jenna and zaneri don’t have wings? are they just hidden with magic or something??

okie so apparently they’re just inhabiting human bodies and their real bodies had wings. found this on the wiki, do we know where the info comes from?

WAIT do jenna and zaneri know elizabeth?? Like KNOW her?

HAHAHA this part always destroys me

ngl the best thing seven deadly sins as an narrative does is portray the intense agony and trauma from mel and ellie’s curses

anyway... the fact that Meliodas and Zaratras were of equal rank when they met is kinda funny

the absolute horror on meliodas’s face when he hears liz is just PERFECT

liz is so slay she’s everything i want elizabeth liones to be

King: uhh hey jenna...🥺 what are you planning to have us do in there😓

Jenna: isnt it obvious??? 🤨 rigorous training ���😤

the way they cut btwn scenes of meliodas abt to lose it and him and liz being happy is just so well done

I love that they were trying to get Meliodas to abandon his emotions to keep his rage in check and then when he actually has no emotions we find out that he’s straight up evil and much, MUCH worse than before lol

the tears pooling on their insanely pointy chins always gets me lol. but also mel just violently sobbing and then suddenly being fine. Mans has serious issues with repression that can def be drawn to his daddy issues

BAN/ZHIVAGO ARC😭😭😭 a few observations: Ban is very clearly influenced by Zhivago’s style, like the clothes are so similar, the fact that they sent Ban to Aberdeen prison and his favorite is Aberdeen ale makes me think he associates it with his dad, Zhivago was hot, Ban mirrors Zhivago’s words to him to Elaine, Zhivago tells Ban to never trust humans and the only humans he ends up trusting are Escanor and Jericho, zhivago has lived in misery about the deaths of his children for almost 40 years :(

idk why this is one of my fave arcs it’s literally just angst lol

gil and howzer as boyfriends. Discuss.

seeing gowther fight hand to hand is actually pretty cool, i had assumed he was weak like king but he can hold his own

how did king not clue in when galand literally opened with “Meliodas its been such a long time” like BABE CMON

BAN TELLING JERICHO SHE’S HIS WALLET 😭😭

meliodas just mocking king for his lack of wings is always funny. nothing like a dick joke to make you feel better after Zhivago’s death

I HAVE to do a meliodas self hatred/relationship to being a demon post, i have so many thots

I LOVE WHEN HE GOES TO SEE THE 10 COMMANDMENTS HES SO BADASS

monspeet shielding Derieri from the rocks with his cape🥺

melascula is so sassy i love her

estarossa is my deranged babygirl i love him. that fucking freak

I JUST KNOW TAIZOO AND THAT LITTLE TWINK ARE FUCKING

taizoo is a bottom.

meliodas somehow has 15 year old rizz. like the fucking blond boys.

(not so) fun fact: Elaine is my mom’s name so its a little weird

nakaba’s size kind seriously needs to be studied

ESCANORRRRRR

okie doke that’s it join us next time !!

[leschanceux]

☕✨ memes from the tea room: variety version ✨☕ feel free to change pronouns where necessary!

maybe it’s my stripper name

glad to know we have a balanced team but what the fuck guys

oh my goodness, martha stewart, eat your heart out

YOU CAN DO IT. TAKE BACK CONTROL. CONFRONT THE STORM WITH ANGER, SQUEEZE LEMON IN ZEUS EYES IF YOU HAVE TO

she did a variant of it for me but this one grabbed me by the throat, licked my face, & told me it owned me

for the record. you know who else has a huge height difference? a lion and a honey badger. know who wins?

hydrate or die straight

I WILL NO LONGER PUBLICLY SHAME YOU

WHERE DID YOU COME FROM

we-haw

... i'vehad too much sugar today i'm putting myself in timeout

Wiki said I’m dangerously cheesy

Any language that forces me to math can go fuck itself

sometimes you just have to celebrate the rollercoaster that is intimacy

The Himbo Has Done a Stupid alert

Yeah no my mini wine advent calendar serving isn’t going to be enough for this

2.5 raccoons worth of pleasure and pain

I don't get the reference but I appreciate an animal with a blunt force object

that I've recently been ravaged by a stronger than usual hurricane season and am two seconds away from inhaling bath salts

we do love needy bastards in this house

shoutout to my fbi agent for seeing my google results of 'what does sleep paralysis feel like' and 'what does it feel like to be strangled' it was for the sprint

it's not my fault i have a midas curse and everything i touch turns to angst

“american horse pirates”

log in & fight me, I'll win

I however use fuck like I’m seasoning chicken so I had to get creative

I’m not feeling full angst today. Only partial. No wait, I just burnt my tongue. We’re in full angst mode.

Did I just compare [ name ] to a mostly feral dog yes I did. And I have no regrets because I'm right.

i got the good bath salts  NOT THE ONES THAT WILL GET YOU HIGH THO

those hips don't lie but they sure do clickety-clack

oh my god they were tombmates

this conundrum is brought to you by Duolingo

Of course shit went sideways and I fucked up a perfectly good OC. Look at her, she's probably got trauma now

I stared into the abyss and [ name ]'s open tabs stared back

I'd love to go to space, bean me up scotty

SEND ME TO MARS

I FOUND A FULL SIZED UNICORN SKELETON

wow I thought I seriously fucked up in that sentence

English: it's great except it's not

Sometimes you just gotta let the battery die. Remind it who's boss

sorry I've been screaming about chow mein for the last 15 min, lemme get my shit together

BITCH WHERE'S MY BELLS

Colonel Mustard is that you? Why are you carrying a pipe?

My mom asked me if I reflected on my year and how I can do better and I think fighting god is on the path of better

my mom says i can fight god if your mom says you can

'you pompous udon' sounds like an insult from Gordon Ramsey

english is a bastard language that assaults other languages in dark alleys and rifles through their pockets for spare participles

Perish with me, it's what friends do

I don't need you to sow a field of fucks; I need you to snag one, put it in your basket, & give it out when appropriate

that delete button will not save you

i have a parasocial relationship w fictional characters, i know everything about them i was there at birth, i named them

[geographerdose]

Leo risings, pt. 2//Libra Moon

Scorpio-Pisces Moons will be a separate post since I have been doing the “celestial screenshots”, not looking at the specifics of each chart is difficult. Also the whole Heliacal rising wore me out, not gonna lie.

⏰Descriptions clockwise in order starting with top left

Emma Stone, Julianne Nicholson, Betty Grable, Maya Angelou

🔥 Just straight out the gate with Aries Venus, guys; FIERCE. Look at Maya —> she is absolutely BEAUTIFUL, it radiates from within her. I will not stop with the Aries Venus beauty adoration (post to come later with my hypothesis as to why this is the case) {also saw she had an exalted Aries sun conjunct her Venus}

🌷Libra Venus (Emma), Scorpio Venus (Betty) and Cancer Venus (Julianne, also no relation to Mr. Jack Nicholson far as I could tell)

🏛️I could not help but notice Betty and Maya were both born in St. Louis

✏️Alright calling myself out here on my mistake: I looked at Maya’s Venus sign wrong: she actually has a Pisces Venus (exalted) BUT it is within less than 30 degrees of the Sun:

🙄How is that any different than a sign being in a neighboring house and by definition NOT aspected, one might ask?

🧐Valid question, I would say. The Sun is special (how Leo of it🕶️) in that any planets within 15 degrees of it are “under the beams” and thus hidden. There is something called Heliacal Rising that occurs when planets are more than 15 degrees (but less than 30) away from the Sun. The idea is that once the sun stops shining SO bright that it’s blinding {within 15*} that it shines and makes those within the 16-30* EXTRA visible and it is actually quite a fortunate aspect to have.

🪩 “Venus is just as bright as the Sun”

📺 In this analogy, Brutus is under the beams of Caesar via his giant big feet. {Brutus is Gretchen in the gif, and Regina is Caesar} Cady would be Heliacal Rising in that she is able to shine extra bright. [in a super simple logic] Brutus is the planet caught under the beams of Caesars massive BLINDING BRIGHTNESS

⚜️ the planet may have to fall within 16-30 degrees of the same sign but that was not my understanding of the material {and unfortunately Google is no help here, which is frustrating and gratifying at once)

🎁 What a gift to find this new learned concept “out in the wild” again. But also (lmao)…

📣it makes my statement about Aries Venus less wrong because Mayas Ascendant Ruler is the Sun (in Aries) and her Venus is being “glowed up” so to speak by the concept known as Heliacal Rising

👑It is especially fortunate since BOTH Venus and Sun are exalted.

🎀 Alright enough time and space wasted explaining why I was not actually wrong and arguing with no one but myself….

🎤 it’s me, hi. im the problem, it’s me 🍵

🌚 Earlier I made a post and in it the Native was born during a New Moon so their Lots of Spirit and Fortune fell in the first house.

🌝I could not help but notice Ms. Angelou was born during a Full Moon and so the opposite is true: the Lots of Spirt and Fortune fall in the seventh house.

👗I almost decided to change this into a Maya Angelou celestial screenshot post but, my goodness, the material available on her is overwhelming. I simply wanted to find proof of the career+love intermingling with both Lots in the same house (particularly in the seventh) but it appears that there is not a lot of information regarding her marriages.

🎼🎹My theory as to WHY that is the case —> her seventh house is ruled by Saturn. Sun is at 14 Aries, Jupiter at 16 Aries both applying to Saturn at 19 Sag via a superior trine (sun+Jupiter in superior position). What does this mean? It means that the ruler of her seventh is under the beams and thus the details regarding this topic are hidden —> little information regarding her marriages

📚I imagine I could find more if I dug but I have four books currently in rotation at present and so anything not findable within a five-min Wiki glance is out of the question. {not including my procrastination and own scrolling ofc; productivity-wise….}

🦙 I intended to do the Leo Rising/Libra-Pisces Moon but then the Heliacal Rising happened, and the Full Moon came out (after discussing New Moon earlier) so I just had to go with it. When synchronicities call, you answer.

🤫I won’t lie and say I’ll come back to editing it to match the intended title because that is just not who I am as a person ✌🏻

🐏 Notice how Aries took all the attention again?

🤹St. Louis used to have a football team known as… wait for it: the RAMS. What a fitting ending to the St. Louis Native with strong Aries influence that took over this post… I blame Aries but it’s probably just me.

[linskywords]

Taylor Swift Meets Hockey RPF: Advent Calendar Day 24

The 2nd ficciest Taylor Swift song of all time is…

Song: I’d Lie Album: Unreleased Year: 2006 Lyrics: https://taylorswift.fandom.com/wiki/I%27d_Lie#Lyrics Ficciness Rank: #2

Okay, so this one is probably actually a deep cut. If you’re following along with the playlist, you might notice this isn’t in it, because it was never actually released and (as I realized to my great surprise when I started working on this ranking) Spotify doesn’t have it. I’m not actually sure why a studio recording exists? But it does, and it’s SO FICCY. It’s the passenger seat from “Fearless” times a thousand:

I don't think that passenger seat Has ever looked this good to me He tells me about his night And I count the colors in his eyes He'll never fall in love He swears, as he runs his fingers through his hair I'm laughing 'cause I hope he's wrong And I don't think it ever crossed his mind He tells a joke, I fake a smile But I know all his favorite songs

Is this not a tortured closeted gay boy pining for his seemingly straight teammate? You don’t need to answer because it obviously is.

Here I go, about to quote almost every lyric from this song:

He looks around the room Innocently overlooks the truth Shouldn't a light go on? Doesn't he know that I've had him memorized for so long? He sees everything in black and white Never let nobody see him cry I don't let nobody see me wishing he was mine …And if you ask me if I love him I'd lie

It’s a secret love that feels glaringly obvious and needs to stay totally hidden at the same time. It’s a guy walking through his locker room and feeling like everyone must be able to tell that he’s different and somehow also feeling that they’ll never be able to see who he really is. Praying to be noticed and wanting desperately to hide. It’s the agony of being closeted on an NHL team.

But this friendship with his teammate–it’s wonderful and unbearable, real and solid and yet with this huge secret at the middle of it. Our main character takes in every detail about him as precious and wants that to mean something about what their relationship is, as if he can memorize his way into this guy loving him back.

Fortunately, because it’s fic, he doesn’t need to.

Pairing I’d assign to this song: I’m gonna say Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Connor is our piner here. He’s so incredibly visible, the highest-profile player of the current decade, everyone sees him–but he can only see Leon. He’s terrified that someone will see him looking, and at the same time, how is it possible no one’s noticed? How is it possible Leon hasn’t noticed? Connor feels like he’s breaking the rules in plain sight every day, and he can’t decide if it’s glaringly obvious and Leon’s just not saying anything to be polite or if he’s really managing to keep this a secret from everyone he knows. Which is almost worse–he doesn’t want anyone to see, obviously, but how is it possible that he’s dying inside and no one can tell?

He manages to hold it together until February, when the Oilers do a retro Valentine’s Day celebration for Instagram where the players give each other those cards from elementary school (note: this sounds awesome, and a hockey team should do this). Connor finds a note in his on folded-up notebook paper: “Do you like Leon? Y/N” with little boxes next to the Y and N. Connor manages to hide it from the camera while he has a full-on freakout about someone knowing his secret. He thought he wanted to be seen but it turns out he DOES NOT. He’s self-conscious every time he’s around anyone from the team. He starts avoiding Leon, not looking at him except when absolutely necessary, and he can tell Leon’s noticed and is hurt by it but Connor just cannot deal. Finally Leon manages to corner him and invites him over, and Connor feels bad enough about all the avoiding he’s been doing that he says yes. At least if they’re at Leon’s place no one else will be watching Connor’s reactions. He gets there, and Leon seems unusually nervous. “So,” he says once he and Connor are sitting on the couch, looking at the TV screen, “I guess you didn’t like my note?”

Lyrics to title this story: Holding Every Breath For You

Masterpost Playlist

<Prev | Next>

[diavolosthots]

This got really long so i put it under a cut and I'm totally going backward with this series but i cant help myself. I HAVE to start with my husband. Most of these are my own headcanons but please read the warning.

Warning: some of these are confirmed in lessons/devilgrams. If you dont want spoilers, don't read the ones in red. (Also Note: I remember reading all of these either in the game or on the official wiki page but I could not find all the in-game sources if you asked me to. Still, they are tagged as spoilers.)

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾DIAVOLO Life Headcanons☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

Diavolo’s dad, the Demon King (whom I Headcanon to be named Daemon. I could write headcanons on that guy too?? Lemme know what you guys want) loved Diavolo’s mom dearly and Diavolo was thus a product of pure love, not necessarily just to have an heir. That’s just a bonus. 

Sadly Diavolo’s mom died in childbirth, leaving only the Demon King and Barbatos to take care of him. 

This caused the King to begin resenting his son and Daemon grew cold. Barbatos was, more often than not, the one who took care of little Diavolo, although Diavolo tried desperately to win his dad’s affections, never truly understanding why his father would hate him. 

Diavolo was a rambunctious child and caused a lot of trouble, much to his father’s dismay, and he found himself in trouble a lot. 

On top of that, Diavolo is also highly emotional and it wasn’t until much later that he learned that tears won’t get him anywhere. Barbatos used to give him sweets and tea every time he cried, which was a lot thanks to his dad.

Although the butler did stop this at some point, that’s definitely where Diavolo’s love for tea came from

Barbatos is definitely, and has always been, someone he confided in, and he found it hard to view him as nothing but a ‘servant’, per his dad. It’s not even that his father hated Barbatos or thought of him as lesser than, he just didn’t like that Diavolo confided more in him than anyone else. 

Diavolo definitely had a rebellious phase as he grew up. The mixture of his absent-father’s non-existent love and the responsibilities put on his shoulders from a very young age got too much for him at some point and let’s just say…. Diavolo had a lot of ‘oopsies’ in his ‘teenage’ years. 

If you know, you know. They are no longer among the living. R.I.P. 

People used Diavolo a lot because of this, though. The lack of care and love at home caused a young Diavolo to be naive and trust too easily, getting hurt in the process

Which is why Barbatos now has a torture chamber for the enemies of Diavolo (or people who just want/use him for the wrong reasons)

When Diavolo didn’t try to escape the castle for some love, he found comfort in art and unbeknownst to both his father and anyone else working at the castle, Barbatos helped him build a mini art gallery up in one of the towers where Diavolo still goes for some relaxation or just to think. 

A lot of people backstabbed him as he grew up and even he himself backstabbed a lot of people as well. At some point he saw the hurt he caused and decided to never lie again, and now he’s always telling the truth, albeit he can beat around the bush a lot, and knows for certain when someone else is lying to him. 

At some point, his father forbade him to treat Barbatos as more than a trusted servant and that pretty much solidified his dislike, not hatred, for his father. 

As he grew up into the man he is now, he started to see his dad as more of an authoritarian ruler that works for his own political gain rather than the well being of everyone. The Devildom was never in shambles, or anything, but one could feel a clear hierarchy and there was definitely tension with the other two realms 

His father was actually the one is (somewhat, if not fully) started the war against heaven (not to be confused with the celestial war that the brothers were part of)

Now, he never hated his father, truly. To a certain extent, he actually understood why his father was the way he was. He lost his beloved wife for a son he had to grow a new relationship with. Diavolo never thought his father hated him, either, but one could tell that their relationship was filled with grief, heartache, and even a sense of regret. 

Diavolo never blamed his father, though, and as he grew older, he took certain aspects of his father’s character into his own: loyalty, ambition, and honesty. 

That’s why his father stepped down, but not fully since Diavolo hasn’t been crowned yet. The Demon King is tired; tired of pushing through the days, and Diavolo understands. 

The situation with his parents is also the reason why Diavolo refuses to settle down so easily. He’s scared of both A.) trusting the wrong people again, like he had many times before, and B.) of having the same fate as his father and mother. 

That and Barbatos is highly protective of him lol Good luck getting past the butler if you want to be with the future King. 

One of the main reasons Diavolo keeps up the naive and himbo attitude is also because he never got to be a kid. His father pushed him straight into royal life once he was old enough to comprehend things. 

This does not mean, though, that Diavolo is actually a himbo. He’s quite intelligent and there’s a reason for everything he does. 

Diavolo doesn’t believe in coincidences and is a firm believer in fate; that everything happens as it should and for a reason (A/N: homie is a determinist and that lowkey makes me happy lol)

That’s why he’s perfectly fine taking his time and doing his thing. He likes to have a certain sense of control, of course, but not to the extent that Lucifer does. He’s cool going with the flow as well. 

Speaking of Lucifer, the reason he views him as a best friend and even family is because Diavolo believes he can relate to the absence of a father that’s supposed to be there no matter what

That and because Lucifer is brutally honest. He doesn’t take Diavolo for granted and he certainly doesn’t want Diavolo around for the riches and fame. Diavolo appreciates that a lot. 

Diavolo gets along with pretty much everyone; he’s very adaptable because he has to be. However, that doesn’t necessarily make him an extrovert. As a matter of fact, he’s actually more of an introvert and likes to keep to himself or with a limited group of close friends

Speaking of friends, Diavolo doesn’t have a lot, if any, outside of the brothers and Barbatos. It’s hard to know who to trust when so many people just want to use him or rob him, even strip him of his title. 

Diavolo is very lonely, as a matter of fact, and he hopes, prays even, that he could find a bond with someone, anyone, like Lucifer shares with his brothers. In a sense, he may even be jealous of the seven. 

Although his life was less than peachy, even if he did have everything anyone could ever wish for, Diavolo craves true emotional connections, which is why he clings to Barbatos and Lucifer. 

This, however, doesn’t mean he is helpless. He’s very much an independent, intelligent, and ambitious man, and he is excited for the future, whatever it may hold. 

[newvegascowboy]

i think deacon’s idle voice lines reveal a lot more about him as a person than anything he says during affinity conversations, and here’s why

get ready for a long meta post about deacon that nobody asked for, because we’re deep diving today.

okay. so Deacon’s a liar, everybody knows this. He tells you straight up that he does and WILL lie to you, and will praise you if you call him out, but i think his idle voice lines are more honest about himself than he would have you believe. 

Personal Life

i first noticed stuff he says in idle conversations when we were taking rad damage and he said, “Great. I didn’t need to have more children.” (0:58 for anyone interested) and “Guess there won’t be any little Deacons scurrying around in the future.” The above video doesn’t include it, but I have heard him say it in game. Unfortunately, I can’t go digging around in the game files to find it, so you might have to take that one at my word! 

I always take his affinity conversations with a grain of salt because, well, it’s Deacon, but given how angry and upset with a dismissive Sole Survivor he becomes, I’m willing to give him a little bit of leeway and believe that Barbara either was or is real, and she’s no longer in his life. Plus, given what he says about them “trying for kids”? It’s not unreasonable to think that he has or had children. If he ever did, they’re not in his life anymore either. 

(the reproductive ability of synths is debated. i couldn’t actually find any information on the fallout wiki, but there were a few forums discussing the topic where the general consensus seemed to be “no”, but if synths are 100% biologically human, then i don’t see why they technically couldn’t. it’s kind of a YMMV thing.) 

Plus, it’s pretty consistent that he gets freaked out when up in high places. (:44) here to listen to his voice lines about being up in the quarry, and here to listen to his dialogue during the Railroad aligned quest Red Glare. Safe to say this man is honestly afraid of heights. 

"Alright. You got me up here... let's go down. Now?"

At the top of Trinity Tower. 

The Railroad

Not going to spend a lot of time on this, since his voice lines about it are minimal, but it is of note. 

Game files and terminal entries hint at Desdemona believing that Deacon is “John D”, the sole survivor of an attack on the Railroad back in 2266. Post 2273, there is no more mention about “John D”. Admittedly, this is pretty weak evidence considering it’s in-game conjecture, but Deacon mentions knowing Desdemona as a green recruit, finding it hard to take her seriously at times.

Even if his claim about being the real leader of the Railroad is bullshit, he’s obviously one of the eldest members of the Railroad, confirmed membership going back at least 12 years to 2275. He could very well be the oldest surviving member of the Railroad. 

Hidden Depths

this one is pretty well known, so I’m not going to say too much on it either. 

the man knows a lot of stuff about the pre war world! Don’t know why! He never offers any reason for why he’s so familiar with the pre war world. It’s very clear that he either had a much, much more thorough education than most Wastelanders, or he was around people who did. University Point was a pretty major settlement until the Institute wiped it out, so I suppose it’s possible that he could’ve been schooled there, but I find it unlikely. He never makes any mention of his childhood other than an obvious joke where he says, “I grew up just over there. Lot of fond memories by that...thing.”  (this link is a compilation of voice lines, so it may take a moment to get there.) 

Obviously there’s the famous Proust line, indicating he’s pretty well read, though, oddly enough, he doesn’t have anything to say about Henry David Thoreau’s cabin! You’d think he would. In addition to Proust, he has the combat voice line, “Insert something Shakespearean about your death and inevitable doom here,” indicating he’s familiar with Shakespeare. 

He also mentions knowing and wanting a talk radio show. I mean, the Charles River Trio exists, but it’s a stretch to call that a talk radio show. He also mentions having read “a few textbooks” and asks if we were planning on an invasion of mathletes. This hints at nothing, but i do think it’s funny that he knows the word mathlete, but refers to pre-war objects as gizmos. 

Involvement in other games

It’s canon that Deacon has been to the Capital Wasteland, and based on his dialogue, may have been VERY involved in the goings on there. 

The events of Fallout 3 take place in 2277. The wiki tells us that sometime in 2275, Deacon was kicked out of the railroad by then-leader Pinky Thompson because Pinky was "sick of the lying, face-changing son of a bitch." So maybe unlikely, but very possible for Deacon to have been in the Capital Wasteland during the entirety of the events of Fallout 3. Though this pretty much kills the idea that Deacon was the Lone Wanderer, that’s a headcanon i love and probably one that I want to do something with in the future. 

He also seems to have quite a history with the Brotherhood of Steel and seems familiar with them and their actions in the Capital Wasteland, going to far as to say that they did good work in the Capital. Not only that, but he mentions “Code Violet”, part of Harkness’ override code from Fallout 3. It’s possible that Deacon could’ve been a runner for escaped synths heading for the Capital Wasteland sometime around 2277, which could be why he’s so knowledgeable about Capital-era Brotherhood and President Eden. 

Deacon talks about winning something from Robert House in a poker game while chatting with Deezer in Covenant. (1:26) Also interesting to note - he mentions “Being a soldier in the west” (17:43) at one point, hinting to possible involvement with the NCR (or possibly with the Western chapter of the Brotherhood). 

of course it’s possible that Deacon is bullshitting. He���s a liar. even if he doesn’t have a “reason” to lie, that doesn’t make every random word that comes out of his mouth the truth. simply - this man knows a lot. Knows things that, arguably, he shouldn’t or would be very hard for him to learn without some dedicated poking around. 

in conclusion? 

is there more? most definitely. what does this mean? well...not really anything. part of why i believe that his idle voice lines are more truthful than anything he says during his affinity conversations is because during those conversations, a lot of the time, he’s lying to try and prove a point. 

"But I had a point here. A lesson, if you will. There're other organizations out there. And, in time, I'm sure they're going to spoon-feed you their own patented form of bullshit. Ignore the verbage and look at what they're doing. What they're asking you to do. What sort of world they'd have you build and how they're going to pay for it."

I believe a lot of Deacon’s lies are meant for himself. To run from himself, to comfort himself, or simply because he doesn’t want to be affiliated with the man he was when he was younger. To me, his idle lines are him “thinking out loud”. Grumbling because the Sole Survivor dragged him into an irradiated hell hole, or freaked out because they’re standing on top of Trinity Tower and by god, he can feel the building swaying. 

Maybe his honesty is completely on accident. Maybe he’s just hinting at a personal life with a max affinity Sole Survivor because this person is his best friend and despite everything he’s ever tried to teach himself, he trusts this person. Or maybe it isn’t honesty at all, and he’s just bullshitting to bullshit. It’s impossible to know for sure. 

Either way, we’ll never truly know the real Deacon. 

[ironwoodprotectionsquad]

Wow um wow. I have no words. Just a heads up a non apology after doing the shitty thing really does absolutely nothing. You ask about discussing privately and then immediately start spamming my post in replies which is truly the most obnoxious way to post a long reply and makes it about a million percent harder to reply to. So thanks for that @akiakianna (Dripping sarcasm their. Fucking reblogg the post if you're going to have such a long thing).

Let's just start off properly by saying that you declaring you and your wiki article are not ableist magically does not make it so. The words used and the way it was written is ableist. Full stop. The point is, Salem, Cinder, Adam, and Watts all just had informational pages with just the facts, it is your page and yours alone that threw around opinions and moral declarations. Yours is the only one to declare he deserved death. That is a problem Wiki articles are supposed to contain facts and information, not PERSONAL OPINIONS AND HEADCANNONS as yours did.

You also oh so conveniently forgot to make any mention of the multiple straight up lies you stuffed in said article. You claimed James tried to bribe Roman with Atlesian tech to get him to talk. He never did. You claimed James didn't care about anyone, then immediately contradicted yourself in bringing up be cared for Winter. You claimed that James threated Jacques which surprise surprise is another lie. Jacques is the one who repeatedly threated James but you have a narrative to sell and you want to demonize the triple amputee with PTSD every opportunity you get truth be damned.

Regarding your "Tyrians arc isn't complete" nonsense, neither is Cinders or Salems but they both have articles that also just contain the facts of the character, no declarations of death, no "they deserved it" like the James article does. They are still alive and kicking and it is especially a confusing declaration given you've also said Tyrians ranking is decided despite his arc "not being done" and you also imply both Hazel and Emeralds rankings are also decided and in the "good" range despite their arcs also not being done and both being actual murderers which is the sole thing you use to condemn James despite all the good he had done previously, you even going out of your way to try and downplay the good he had done while insisting Emerald and Hazel are "bEtTeR" somehow.

You also justify this mindset by insisting worse characters get redeemed so its fine. What characters are you referring to when you claim "their are characters who do worse or similar with less resources who get redeemed" WHO ARE YOU REFERING TO IN RWBY? Cuz the only redeemed characters are: Ilia, Emerald and Hazel. That's it. Of that list Emerald and Hazel are by far the worst given the sheer body count they have which is also significantly higher then James's. Yet you declare with your whole ass the able bodied murderers "will never count as" Pure evil your exact words. Despite killing people which is why you claim James "DESERVED DEATH" again your words. Different people writing the articles is truly the most pathetic excuse I've heard trying to justify your ableist language and acts within the article. Different people where able to not be ableist in their writing. They didn't make repeated moral declarations sounding like a child pleading for people to agree with their opinions about an ableist, racist and sexist cartoon.

If we're playing the game of looking at other media outside of RWBY (which is absolute horseshit when analyzing the characters in the media they're in but fine we'll play your game) the diamonds in SU slaughtered an entire planet of people and got redeemed. Darth Fucking Vader got redeemed. By that standard James was not too far gone to be saved and picking the conveniently able bodied people to be not too far gone while the disabled person is irredeemable, is ableist.

You acknowladge the existence of Mettle and even admit it is possible Mettle took away some of his ability to have complete agency over his decisions you back peddle hard and pretend it doesn't matter because he's just so evil which again, is ableist.

Yes, disabled people can be villains, but when disabilities are used as a shorthand to make them villains, it is ableist. When you declare a person to far gone to save because they are "as monstrous on the outside as they are on the inside" while also insisting someone who has done far worse and far more heinous acts will never be considered evil, It. Is. Ableist. You outright refuse to see what Salem and Cinder did to James, how the mains literally declared their intent to commit treason when he was triggered and was trying to escape with as many lives as he could. You refuse to recognize the morally difficult situation they found themselves in and how their was no right answer with fleeing vs staying to fight.

The story was ableist in how it handled James. Your article is ableist because you shove your ableist takes into the article and lie about the character to try and make him worse to try and justify said ableist takes. Even putting him into the near pure evil category in itself is ableist I would argue. James was a villain for two days. TWO. DAYS. He spent 7 volumes being a morally gray good person trying to save people and stop Salem. But two days of being a villain and suddenly he is pure evil while two days of being a good guy compared to 7 volumes of murdering people makes the able bodied murdered a okay and never evil ever whatsoever.

You are ableist. Your article is ableist. Your feelings being hurt doesn't make you magically not ableist, and you declaring someone cannot point out your ableism is just pathetic. You are clearly not mature enough to be in charge of an article and clearly wrote James's because you have a hate boner for him and cannot be a mature adult and not shove lies and headcannons into said article.

So I have been asked about the Near Pure Evil Ironwood article by a few people and it's full of ableism and lies but I wanted to highlight for now this one section.

And um....it's got some red flags for me for sure. In a show that has redeemed other murders no questions asked....why does James "Need" death? What other reason besides blatant sexism and ableism?

I hoped (in vein) other murders would be in the Near Pure Evil category as well....and well....

Nope. No Emerald or Mercury who helped bring down TWO kingdoms and killed a lot of people nor Tyrian or Hazel who slaughtered an entire kingdoms hunters. I thought maybe their was a pure evil category and hoped once again in vein they would be their.

The able bodied and able bodied female mass murders somehow are not in this category despite killing more people then some of the other people on either list. James is declared too far gone to be saved and they even pretend they are his judge, jury and executioner and call for his death which is just. Yikes.

I FINALLY found Salem by straight up googling what the hell her alignment was and thankfully she's in Ultimate Evil (and is the only one their from what I can find), however their is no discussion of her redeemability or any declarations she deserves death and her page is....tiny. It feels like it is trying to skim past her bad stuff to try and pretend they can change her morality to be better even though she is far worse then anyone in the show.

Meanwhile doing the same search for Emerald leads to no results at all which is extremely suspicious and enraging all at once. I did a quick read of the other wikis and....James's is the ONLY one that declares he is irredeemable and deserves death and it's....distressing honestly. The tripple amputee with PTSD is the only one who gets the death sentence. The woman who abused and killed people doesn't have any sort of moral declarations on her page like this. It screams of a hatred of people with PTDS and its frankly disgusting. I am appalled such ableism was allowed like this.

[preemshots]

johnny + the nomads lore

alright, i know this is a screenshots blog but i'm going to go ahead and start dropping some juicy lore tidbits as i dig them up. part of what i'm doing outside of just photo diarying is shard hunting, and BOY is there a lot the game likes to hide in those little shards for idiots like me who like to read so we can write unnecessarily accurate fanfiction! 

full disclosure, i know jack shit about the TTRPG/cyberpunk 2020 rulebook except what i read in the wikis. 

so here’s my lore roundup so far of everything i know about johnny joining the nomads

we know johnny likes to narrate v’s quest objectives. here’s the first mention where he says it himself: 

during the voodoo boys quest "transmission" there's a shard in the maglev tunnels beside the ice bath, presumably from brigitte's research into johnny in the first place:

okay, so the timeline is this: johnny joins the nomads after trying and failing to rescue alt. johnny hides out in the badlands for some years. then he and rogue come back to night city and nuke arasaka tower��help alt escape the arasaka subnet by uploading liberator to their network once and for all.

this ultimately makes sense. in alt’s flashback, we meet santiago, who is a nomad/connected to nomads, joins rogue and johnny when they're trying to get alt back, and eventually becomes the leader of the aldecaldos. 

part of santiago’s TTRPG lore is that he, johnny, and rogue have to lay low in the badlands with nomads after they storm arasaka headquarters (i am aware the game takes many liberties with the original lore so who knows the full accuracy of anything from the original rulebooks)

ENDING spoilers: in the rogue+johnny storming AHQ ending, it's revealed that rogue has a son while they're prepping for the job. if you eavesdrop on her calling him while you're at the afterlife, you hear her tell her son to (paraphrasing here) "pull over and look at the stars", which immediately made my brain go to: nomad, badlands, santiago = dad? maybe. (santiago also canonically has a son according to the TTRPG lore)

this immediately reminded me of another interesting shard that i believe you can find in multiple locations around night city: “"what REALLY happened in arasaka tower?“

i love this dang shard. at first i thought it was just a cute conspiracy with some juicy gossip (and i love how 99% of the shards that mention johnny in this game are reminding us that he's not a real rebel, he's a poser) but it brings some interesting shit together

one: it tells us where johnny got his hands on the nukes! he and the nomads jumped a militech convoy and jacked some bombs! 

which is never directly explained, even as saburo arasaka is interrogating him shortly before using soulkiller. very nice of johnny to protect his homies like that. 

...or maybe he didn’t. saburo emphasizes that the dead don’t lie like the living do, and we don’t know what exactly arasaka did to johnny’s construct in mikoshi. 

it also explains why the obvious media narrative is that militech nuked arasaka, a nice neat political bow to the end of the fourth corpo wars, which is an entire section of the TTRPG lore that makes my eyes cross when i read it. 

it also makes the star/nomads ending extremely interesting, because i originally believed it was the ending where V’s journey deviates the most from rewalking johnny’s path... which also has weird implications if the johnny’s nomad era is being kept from v. 

(this also leads into my belief that the star ending/the devil ending are narratively two sides of the same coin, but that’s a WHOLE ANOTHER POST for another day.)

TWO, just straight up the fact that they turned the raid where they actually obtained the nukes into an action flick BD that pretty much ANYONE could watch. who the hell was doing that?? 

well, who else other than the guy who johnny (optionally) punched the shit out of for filming alt's death: thompson, media guy, and according to rogue, “bad luck”. because you know, recording your crimes is straight up evidence that can be used against you.

during the alt flashback we meet thompson, and just after that in cyberspace before meeting alt, johnny tells v that he has no idea what happened to him and that they never worked together again. 

oh, johnny, you lying bastard man

this is blatantly untrue, and if V even had two braincells and better memory than a goldfish they'd know this--in the first flashback sequence where johnny and rogue nuke arasaka tower, thompson is on the comms as they ride the AV towards AHQ, questioning their plans and use of violence. 

which leaves me with some questions, like where the fuck is thompson, why does johnny keep lying about this, why doesn't johnny say almost anything about how you interact with the aldecaldo clan nonstop throughout the game when he himself may have been a member of the family for some time?? is he continuing to protect the nomad clan that saved his ass? we know that a lot of his flashbacks are unreliable at best, that johnny changes shit up as desired when presenting V with his memories.

in 2077, you can also find that there’s a remake of “badlands raid” in the shard “new release braindances” that is pretty much everywhere. that shard doesn’t add much, but does mention something along the lines of “many people don’t know the ending of the original” which probably means johnny punched thompson out for filming again, or something. 

my running theories: rogue ditched santiago and the aldecaldos with johnny and thompson to nuke arasaka tower, and when johnny died she was stuck looking for (heavily implied by johnny here:) corpo sellout ways to survive.

adam smasher obviously has something to do with this since johnny/rogue's vendetta against the guy isn't entirely clear beyond the smokescreen of "he killed johnny and he sucks". i have done 0 research into this though i'm tired of typing okay

i obviously cannot be certain i have found everything related to this in the game as i’m not even done with this playthrough where i’m trying to pay attention, but i hope this is fun for someone else to dig into. 

enjoy, fellow silverhand freaks

EDIT: additional findings

ALRIGHT I HAVE DONE MORE DIGGING AND I AM BACK WITH MORE NOMAD/JOHNNY FINDINGS. these ones are kind of a bummer but VERY interesting.

there’s a shard called “excerpts from a history of the nomads by bb pires” that goes into detail about how nomads came to be

there’s an interesting quote in it: It's hard to imagine a group less inclined to wandering than farmers, but in fact they were the ones who sparked the age of nomads. Natural catastrophes, crops ravaged by bioplagues, armed conflicts and martial law allowing corporations to speculate and privatize land - all this forced them into a life on the road.

when you ask johnny why he wants to take down arasaka, he begins by referencing this himself!!

it’s a little awkward to imagine a nomad V doesn’t also know what he’s referencing, but hey, V is the fool because we are as players and that’s only one life path... so sure.

johnny also has unique dialogue during this scene about a nomad origin V, telling them that he’s been trying to understand how V thinks, and came to the conclusion that “their family was a crutch” and essentially made them stupid because they always had a safety net (lmao johnny calling v privileged basically)

BUT this also may reference why johnny would find it confusing as hell that V doesn’t immediately share the views he does when nomads, in terms of values, seem to be more aligned with johnny than V is. but once again V is the fool for a reason and this is all my own speculation so YOU KNOW.

MORE IMPORTANTLY, at the end of chippin’ in, when you ask johnny what he meant by letting down his friends... santiago is named directly

i thought this was interesting since the only glimpse of their relationship that we get is seeing johnny meeting santiago via the alt flashback for the first time.

so now it’s obvious that while johnny and rogue were with the nomads their friendship developed, and johnny went on to disappoint santiago in some way by being his normal dickhead self

but HOW? how did he disappoint santiago? is santiago even still alive?? did smasher kill santiago and is this why rogue mentions during chippin’ in that she wants smasher to “settle a score” moreso than avenge johnny??

the only additional hints i have are from this shard, which you can find at the aldecaldos camp: “nomads at ground zero”

i’m just gonna transcribe here and bold for emphasis:

It was no secret that Night Corp offered generous pay and, in some cases, free cyberware and biomonitor upgrades to anyone willing to help clean up the crater of radioactive rubble at AHQ ground zero. Some firsthand accounts recall the incessant ticking of Geiger counters, like the loud buzz of cicadas in summer. In retrospect, we can only guess how many "crater cleaners" lost their lives to radiation sickness shortly thereafter. Both the city government and Night Corp have claimed casualties were kept to a minimum, while providing no official statistics to substantiate the claim. That being said, they have never been under pressure to release such figures. After all, most rescue, engineering, and rubble cleanup teams were not local Night Citizens, but nomads. Surprised you didn't know? Don't be. It is a fact many history courses tend to overlook. The city employed hundreds of nomad mercenaries, primarily from clans in Aldecaldo nation. These nomads were hungry for gainful work and the city needed experts who were not only experienced but brave enough to knowingly put their lives on the line - all so Arasaka could one day erect another tower in its place. But history is not without its sense of irony. These nomads, who so deliberately live outside our so-called "system," came to its very rescue. Not for the first time. And not for the last.

a main theme we find in this game is the idea that the system of corps and exploitation cannot be stopped by grandiose rebellious gestures--no amount of samurai songs, assassinating mayors, or even planting nukes in towers will change things. yet johnny, his friends and mercs at atlantis in the 2020s, including rogue, chose to rebel any way they could, thinking it better than not. johnny criticizes her lack of rebellious spirit CONSTANTLY in 2077.

but ultimately, johnny, trapped in mikoshi, didn’t get to see the outcome of what detonating the AHQ nukes did to night city’s fragile ecosystem. rogue, however, did--and likely watched their former allies, the aldecaldos, be forced to take dangerous work at AHQ’s ground zero (from lack of other opportunities as detailed in this shard), then die from radiation sickness throughout the following decades, all as a result of what she and johnny did to try and fight the system. and she also watched all the former mercenaries of atlantis be hunted down by arasaka.

so rogue sees firsthand what the cost of rebellion is and johnny doesn’t. and nomads, considered the most free of any of the factions we encounter in the game, are the cost.

[lavellander]

hello im feeling extra “touch the stove”-y today so. i was looking for any dialogue where solas just straight up lies and (of what i could find online/transcribed, obv) i didnt find anything that was 100% untrue. he’ll completely avoid the question, change the subject, give part of the truth, etc etc etc, but nothing was just Entirely A Lie

what really gets me is that there’s a handful of convos where someone infers something from what solas says, and he will even point out that he didn’t directly say that. like, he tells people how to see through his shit, lmao

here is an embarrassingly long ass list of examples, all sorted by what kind of not-lying he’s doing lol, just bc i am unhinged<3

*note that some of these are cut from longer bits of dialogue or have been split up from one conversation into different categories*

literally just Not Answering The Question lol

Dorian: How much “will” do they have? They’re amorphous constructs of the Fade. Solas: Hmm.

Dorian: Solas, have I offended you? Solas: If you have, why would it concern you?

Dorian: Solas, what is this whole look of yours about? Solas: I’m sorry? Dorian: No, that outfit is sorry. What are you supposed to be, some kind of woodsman? Dorian: Is it a Dalish thing? Don’t you dislike the Dalish? Or is it some kind of statement? Solas: No.

Dorian: Let me get this straight, Solas. Dorian: You’re an apostate – neither Dalish nor city elf – who lived alone in the woods studying spirits. Solas: Is that a problem for you?

Solas: [has a whole tactical moment about the red jennies lmao] Sera: Where d’you get all this, then? Solas: Do you wish to be unnerved by another tale of my explorations of the Fade? Or do you wish to learn something?

Vivienne: You must be pleased with what was revealed at the Temple of Mythal, Solas. Solas: Why should those ruins please me, Enchanter?

changing the subject before he backs himself into a corner

Gatt: I don’t see any tattoos, but you’re carrying a staff. Are you from a Chantry Circle? Solas: No. And I would prefer not to discuss it.

Solas: I find the fall of the dwarven lands confusing. Varric: What’s so confusing about endless darkspawn? Solas: A great deal, although that is a different matter.

giving the truth, but not the whole truth

Blackwall: Skyhold. How did you find it? Solas: I looked. Blackwall: Now you sound like Cole. You looked? Solas: This world is full of wonders for those who seek them.

Blackwall: You spoke of seeing death and destruction. Did you fight in a war? Solas: There are struggles across Thedas at any given time. I doubt you would have heard of it. Blackwall: An elven skirmish? Solas: In a manner of speaking, yes.

Cassandra: Solas, have you always lived alone? Out in the wilderness, as an apostate? Solas: For the most part.

Cassandra: Have you ever encountered templars before? Solas: Only at a distance. I am an apostate, after all. Cassandra: And they never caught you even once? Solas: I am a very careful apostate.

Dorian: We found elves, living ancient elves, at the Temple of Mythal. Does that bother you, Solas? If Inquisitor allied with the Sentinels: Solas: I am pleased we were not forced to kill them, if that’s what you mean.

Iron Bull: You’ve got an odd style, Solas. Your spells are a bit different from the Circle mages or the Vints. Solas: That comes from being self-taught. Solas: I discovered most of my magic on my own, or learned it from my journeys in the Fade.

Vivienne: So, an apostate? Solas: That is correct, Enchanter. I did not train in your Circle.

Solas: You are a man who made a choice... possibly the first of your life. Iron Bull: I’ve always liked fighting. What if I turn savage, like the other Tal-Vashoth? Solas: You have the Inquisition, you have the Inquisitor... and you have me.

from cutscene at beginning Inquisitor: [mentions the anchor closing a rift] Solas: Whatever magic opened the Breach in the sky also placed that mark upon your hand. I theorized the mark might be able to close the rifts that have opened in the Breach's wake – and it seems I was correct.

from cutscene at beginning Solas: [to a Dalish Inq] You are Dalish, but clearly away from the rest of your clan. Did they send you here? Inquisitor: What do you know of the Dalish? Solas: I have wandered many roads in my time, and crossed paths with your people on more than one occasion. Inquisitor: [Crossed paths? dialogue choice] Solas: I mean that I offered to share knowledge, only to be attacked for no greater reason than their superstition.

from “I’d like to know more about you” convo in Haven Inquisitor: What made you start studying the Fade? Solas: I grew up in a village to the north. There was little to interest a young man, especially one gifted with magic. But as I slept, spirits of the Fade showed me glimpses of wonders I had never imagined. I treasured my dreams. Being awake, out of the Fade, became troublesome.

actually telling the truth but no one picks up on the gravity of it

Solas: [...] I believe the elven gods existed, as did the old gods of Tevinter. But I do not think any of them were gods, unless you expand the definition of the word to the point of absurdity. I appreciate the idea of your Maker, a god that does not need to prove his power. I wish more such gods felt the same. Cassandra: You have seen much sadness in your journeys, Solas. Following the Maker might offer some hope. Solas: I have people, Seeker. The greatest triumphs and tragedies this world has known can all be traced to people.

Cole: No, inside. I don’t hear your hurt as much. Your song is softer, subtler, not silent but still. Solas: How small the pain of one man seems when weighted against the endless depths of memory, of feeling, of existence. That ocean carries everyone. And those of us who learn to see its currents move through life with their fewer ripples.

Cole: You didn’t do it to be right. You did it to save them. Inquisitor: Solas, what is Cole talking about? Solas: A mistake. One of many made by a much younger elf who was certain he knew everything.

Solas: Empires rise and fall. Arlathan was no more “innocent” than your own Tevinter in its time. Solas: Your nostalgia for the ancient elves, however romanticized, is pointless.

Solas: Our people used to be here. Sera: Pfft, you say that everywhere. Solas: It is more true than you want to believe.

Vivienne: You must be pleased, apostate. With the Templars dissolved, your rebels will be most difficult to pacify. Solas: My rebels? Am I an agent for their cause, whispering poison into the Inquisition’s ears? Solas: How comforting. Vivienne: You enjoy seeing yourself as a villain? Solas: No more than any other clever man who wonders what he could do if pushed.

Vivienne: [about the Temple of Mythal] Now you know the elves were once a mighty nation. Solas: I always knew, Enchanter. The Temple of Mythal is just another reminder of what was lost.

(in the Emerald Graves): These forests have changed much since I was last here.

during the Fade!Haven cutscene Solas: It seems you hold the key to our salvation. You had sealed it with a gesture... and right then, I felt the whole world change. Inquisitor: [romance option] “Felt the whole world change?” Solas: A figure of speech. Inquisitor: I’m aware of the metaphor. I’m more interested in felt. Solas: You change... everything.

pointing out that people assume he means things he did not directly say

Cole: There is pain though, still within you. Solas: And I never said there was not.

Solas: You may well become fully human, after all. I never thought to see it. Cole: When did you see it before? Solas: I did not say that I had.

Iron Bull: We’ve got the alliance with my people. Given how much you love the Qun, I figured... Solas: I might scold you? Berate you for your decisions? Iron Bull: Hey. The Chargers died as heroes for the good of the mission. Solas: I never said otherwise.

Sera: Don’t you start. Solas: I’m reasonably certain I said nothing.

Vivienne: [talking shit about grey warden mages] Solas: I never claimed mages should be above the law, Enchanter. Vivienne: No, darling. You merely implied it, while offering no viable suggestions for improvement.

after infamous “side benefits” dialogue Warrior Inquisitor: You find my muscles enjoyable? Solas: I meant that you enjoyed having them, presumably. Warrior Inquisitor: Ah. Solas: But yes... since you asked.

diminishing things he does actually know by saying he he “believes” or “thinks,” or that things were vaguely “said” or “told”

Solas: I say what I believe to be true, even if it gives offense to those who prefer the lie.

Dorian: That orb Corypheus carries... are you certain it’s of elven origin, Solas? Solas: I believe so. Why do you ask?

Solas: It is said that we lived at a pace that sustained us for... ages.

making it sound like he’s talking about something/someone else, but it’s just him lmao

Cole: Do you know a lot about wolves? Solas: I know that they are intelligent, practical creatures that small-minded fools think of as terrible beasts.

Solas: No man can kill so many people without breaking inside. To survive... those you fight must become monsters. Iron Bull: The ones that kill innocent people, yeah. The rest... I don’t know. Solas: The mind does marvelous things to protect itself.

during In Hushed Whispers Inquisitor: I’m glad you understood what he just said because I’m not sure I did. Solas: You would think such understanding would stop me from making such terrible mistakes. You would be wrong.

misc

this one i wanted to include because it’s the only circumstance (that i came across) where someone directly asks solas to lie and he literally says he can’t

during the fucking crestwood breakup scene Inquisitor: [angry option] Tell me you don’t care. Solas: I can’t do that. Inquisitor: Tell me I was some casual dalliance so I can call you a cold-hearted son of a bitch and move on! Solas: I’m sorry.

*also note that most of these are banter transcriptions from the wiki; some are cutscene / other dialogue posted by either @/daitranscripts or u/karinini on reddit; it’s not all his cutscenes obv, but I’m not about to look up every single one individually sdlkfj*

[hundredsspoons]

I don't know that Gold Mask is really trying to eliminate free will in his ending.

According to the wiki, the Golden Order was established by Marika when she separated Death from the rest of the Elden Ring.

Gold Mask is specifically a Golden Order fundamentalist. Again, according to the wiki, and I think taken from the two law incantations in game:

"Fundamentalism is based on two concepts: the law of regression, the pull of meaning and the yearning to converge; and the law of causality, the pull between meanings which links all things in a chain of relation."

This definition is pretty confusing to me to be honest, but two things to note is that fundamentalist incantations require intelligence, as well as faith, and that Death isn't actually mentioned in the definition of fundamentalism.

However, hunters of Those Who Live In Death also call themselves Fundamentalists, suggesting that Marika's removal of the death rune is a core tenant of Fundamentalism. On the Litany of Proper Death incantation, the description reads: "The role of the hunters is to stamp out defiled reason — all for the perfection of the Golden Order." It might be the case that Gold Mask's Perfect Order, then, is related to Marika's original decree that the Rune of Death remain sealed off.

Gold Mask explicitly challenges the hatred that hunters have for Those Who Live In Death, however. On the Order Healing incantation, the description reads: "The noble Goldmask lamented what had become of the hunters. How easy it is for learning and learnedness to be reduced to the ravings of fanatics; all the good and the great wanted, in their foolishness, was an absolute evil to contend with. Does such a notion exist in the fundamentals of Order?"

He is questioning whether Those Who Live In Death are evil, and whether evil even exists at all here. Despite seeming to outsiders like a complete Fanatic, who doesn't even wear clothes that offers any protection from the elements, wears a very strange mask, and doesn't speak- instead spending all his time thinking about his religion - Gold Mask calls those who use violence to crush opposition the real fanatics. I'd like to think that this means he is also against the genocides and religious persecutions members of the Golden Order take part in, but that isn't explicitly stated. If Gold Mask truly believes in the literal definition we have of Golden Order Fundamentalism- that is about the law of regression and causality only - then it could mean Gold Mask considers all the abuses of those in power done in the name of the Golden Order to be the imperfections, or at least the result of the imperfections.

Furthermore, he questions Marika herself. He doesn't understand why Radagon is so important in the Golden Order, when Marika is supposed to be the One True God. He notices an apparent contradiction at the very heart of the Golden Order- and he voices it (figuratively). After you tell him that Marika and Radagon are the same person, he eventually creates the Rune of Perfect Order. He believes that the imperfection of the Golden Order is ultimately due to gods being just as fickle as men. This is a conclusion so heretical to other Golden Order Fundamentalists that Corhyn straight up kills him over it. Considering he had this revelation after discovering Marika and Radagon's lie, I think it's safe to say he is including Marika and Radagon in his definition of gods. Besides them though, is he only including the demigods? The outer gods? The Greater Will? I have no idea.

If he is including everyone BUT the Greater Will, then you could very well say he is trying to create a world with only one religion. If this is true, then it would be an attack on free will- not in the literal sense, as he isn't giving the tarnished, or advocating for, any mind manipulation that we see elsewhere in the game- but it the more real-world sense of religious persecution. Again, considering he seems to have sympathy for Those Who Live In Death (who follow a religion in direct opposition to the Golden Order as established by Marika) though, I want to believe this isn't the kind of world he wants.

If he IS including the Greater Will, then I would say he is actually attempting to create a world similar to the kind Ranni wants. One where gods don't mess everything up all the time lol. His rune is still a way to mend the Elden Ring, however, so you have to wonder how effective it can be working within the system created by the Greater Will itself.

On the other hand, we still don't know if Ranni's moon is a god or not. If Ranni is just taking the Lands Between from the Greater Will to give it to a different god, then I wonder if it really will lead to more freedom for the Lands Between. To be fair, I think that's a very uncharitable reading of her ending. But I do wish we could learn more about the moon.

Also interesting to note, he wears a mask in the shape of the sun- not an Erdtree, which is the established symbol of the Golden Order. I might be wrong, but I don't think the sun is an image of the Golden Order at all? Aside from the fact that it is gold. The dlc has sun symbolism, but it isn't really for the Golden Order. The sun, as the opposite of the moon, would put Gold Mask as the opposite of Ranni. But it is also a symbol of how his Golden Order differs from the one that has already been established. It could be that he stands as a foil to Ranni, not in the sense of good and evil/freedom and oppression, but in an ice and fire sense. Two different approaches to solve the same problem.

I just feel like, if we read both the Stars ending and the Gold Mask endings in the most optimistic way possible, as the results of two people trying to create a better world in the best way they know how, I still have problems with each.

I didn't like that Ranni abandoned Blaidd, because I have a hard time believing she didn't know what was going to happen to him (though perhaps she really didn't). I don't like that she sacrificed Godwyn to free herself from the fingers (though we don't even know much about what Godwyn was like). Maybe there truly was no other way. Sacrifices must be made and all that.

And I don't like that Gold Mask's ending requires becoming Marika's consort, when she is so cruel to those she deems unworthy. I don't like that we're still using the Elden Ring, a tool given by the Greater Will.

I just wish.......... there was some way.....

....to combine the best aspects of the two endings, emphasizing the need for love and compassion for the Other.

Elden Ring dlc spoilers under the cut

I was anticipating that Miquella would be a morally grey character since he was described as having god-like charm that people couldn't resist, but I was expecting something a bit more subtle?

I mean, as it stands, the logical conclusion of what the dlc shows us is that Miquella either directly or indirectly led to the scarlet rotting of caelid, depending on what Radahn and Malenia knew about his plan, right?? He abandoned his followers, outright enchanted people into serving him, etc. Even if he's trying to create a gentler world and it's the old 'the end justifies the means' bit, this is far too extreme.

It's a shame because he could have been an excellent foil for Ranni and her ending. A lot of people, myself included, have questioned if her ending is the "best" ending for the people of the Lands Between. She seems to be trying to completely remove the influence of the gods, allowing people to freely live their lives on their own terms. Great, but there are so many violent factions and monsters, even excluding the gods and demigods, that it's hard to imagine the average person living in anything other than absolute terror all the time. Wouldn't it be better if there was a strong, but kind leader to guide them? Enter Miquella, who is trying to do just that. And we see what such a world would be like. If Ranni's world is free, but dangerous, Miquella's world would be safe, but devoid of freewill. He has to literally charm, manipulate, or kill and reanimate 🙄 everyone into following him. Because when people are free to do what they want, there will inevitably be conflict over beliefs, resources, and incompatible goals. Of course, both of these are extreme philosophies. The best answer would probably be somewhere in between, but you know. Video games.

Aside from that, I think it was interesting that his plan was to use the body of Mohg and the soul of Radahn to create the perfect Elden Lord consort. It's not completely dissimilar to Ranni killing her body and killing Godwyn's soul. I wonder if her original plan was to take Godwyn's body for herself, but something went wrong. After all, she was trying to get rid of her Empyrean flesh, and he wasn't an Empyrean. Miquella, on the other hand, needs to remain an Empyrean, so he would have no reason to use his own soul or body. Who knows.

I've always been very interested in what the endings mean for the future of the Lands Between. It's a shame I don't think the dlc answered my most pressing questions: Is the moon a sentient being that would take the place of the Greater Will? And, When Goldmask says gods are the problem that needs to be solved, is he including the Greater Will?

Also, I realized while thinking about the endings again, that Brother Corhyn has to read Goldmask's fingers like a Finger Reader of the Two Fingers! I totally missed that. I think that's a neat detail for a Golden Order fundamentalist. Just call him Ten Fingers. Five times as cool as the Two Fingers lol

[sunder-soul]

you make most of it up? That's amazing. Could you maybe share your method/thinking/resources for someone who also wants to write believable class stuff in the hp fandom? Thank u very much

Yayaya sure!

Short answer:

So I'll pull details from the HP wiki, and if I need a random plant name or potion ingredient and can't be fucked making one up (or I don't need it to be something symbolic etc) I often use this random generator and either use those names straight out, or tweak them a bit before using them.

Long answer:

Well I'm a huge fan of soft worldbuilding (where you don't outline all the rules and details and instead have a sort of immersive description that leaves a lot unsaid) because I feel it makes things more realistic, like you're glimpsing little parts of things that are utterly normal and therefore don't need explaining ya kno. So when I write classroom scenes or any kind of 'lore' I try not to explain it and rely instead on characters reacting to things to convey its importance, normalcy, or strangeness.

I do this alllll the time but I did it HEAPS in white dove. When Tom is in trial and he gets a 'tier nine' cell (which I made up) I don't bother writing something like "oh my gosh tier nine is the worst and most intense type of cell you can get and it has these rules and these horrifying conditions" bc I don't need to. The whole room reacts with gasps and horror and even Tom looks freaked out (tho that's mostly bc he was expecting a sentence of a specific amount of years and was confident he could just outlive it bc immortal and that's the moment that he's like oh fuck, but the point still stands).

So the emotions/reactions of the people tell you everything you need to know without me having to outright describe it. You don't need to know what a tier 9 cell is, you get that it's fucking baddddd. In fact, it's sort of even better than explaining it bc our imaginations find the unknown even scarier than something horrifying described in detail.

In the same chap a bit further down, I make reference to a 'peeping charm' which I made up on the spot. Same deal but different context, it makes sense that magic users have a spell that'll act like a peephole in their doors, there's no reason to say 'this spell will let me look through the door without the person on the other side noticing so I can see who it is before opening it' because this would be a totally normal thing. So I just wrote it like it wasn't a big deal bc to this character in this context, this wouldn't be a big deal.

On the other hand you can also totally introduce something new that DOES need some detail/exposition. At the beginning of this same chap I say that Tom's lips and cheeks are flushed, that this a tell-tale sign of veritaserum poisoning, and that they've obviously given him heaps of the stuff. I made this up just bc I wanted there to be something the MC could visually and easily see from across the room that would establish that Tom's been given a SHIT TON of truth potion so that for the rest of the scene, the audience in the room with him AND the audience reading the chapter knows he's being forced to tell the truth. It just added to the tension of the moment and made sense for the context (a trial lol). It also gives the scene some layers - Tom was fairly brief and controlled when he actually speaks in that scene, and I wanted it to be unclear if this is because he's being super self controlled by choice as he's normally prone to being, if he knows that he'll be unable to lie and doesn't want to let on any more of his secrets, or if he knows honesty will destroy the picture perfect tragic image the newspapers have made for him if he's TOO much of a monster.

I'm rambling but the point is, if you're going to introduce details or concepts it's really important to have an understanding of who would know that stuff already, who would find it commonplace and who might be totally unaware of it. Sometimes everyone in the scene would know about it already but the AUDIENCE doesn't, and that's when you can use like casual conversation/questions between characters to give more info whilst also showing that this is all very normal.

Having a character not know something is an easy way to have another character explain something to them but there has to be a solid reason as to WHY one would know it and the other doesn't.

An example of a time I've used this is in Mimicry when the MC knows troll blood will ruin Tom's potion but Tom doesn't. Normally we'd be like 'wait what, why would a nerd-ass know it all like Tom not know this,' but it makes sense to my understanding of the character that he's the sort of person who got a recommendation that 'Zoological Potions Ingredients' was the BEST textbook on ingredients and went off and fucking memorised the whole thing and didn't think that anything could have changed in the 70 years after it was published (Tom strikes me as the sort of person who chases 'the best' and doesn't think much past that is worth considering). Hence why he didn't know that the classification for trolls changed and that further research was done, since he also strikes me as the sort of person who would consider reading up on the social status of trolls to be a little pointless lol, but surprise bitch it wasn't.

So I made up most of that except for the existence of Bundimuns and trolls - I went hunting on the wiki for some obscure substance I could reference in passing for a potions ingredient (and found Bundimuns), and honestly I can't remember how much about them I made up and how much is canon (I think they're mentioned to be used in cleaning products canonically...?)

But the point is more that this scene doesn't just flesh out the world, it tells u stuff about the two characters and how they interact. It tells you that Tom is very studious but doesn't like to revise his opinions, it tells you that the MC knows their shit, it tells you that Tom is suspicious (he instantly challenges them by referencing the textbook not saying what they're telling him), and it tells you that MC is a good bitch who would help out a dick like Tom just bc it's the right thing to do. It also shows Tom's flaws - his disregard of learning about other creatures/beings/people and the way they're treated in society tracks with what we know of his character, and I always think it's important to demonstrate (either directly to him within a scene or to the readers) that this is a stupid thing to do. In this case, his lack of interest in the struggles of others nearly fucked his own potion, he's only saved because MC 1) cares enough to read up about it, 2) sees the importance of revising formally formed opinions/understandings, 3) steps in to help him even though he probably wouldn't have done the same.

So that's soft world building, ya know, using these things to tell you about the characters, using knowledge and lack of knowledge, reactions, etc etc. Most of the details I make up are there to serve a purpose for the plot, but honestly that's just bc I'm writing short super condensed stories that don't have a lot of space for proper world building. In Seven Devils (and Mimicry to a lesser extent) I have a lot more of these details there to create an emotion/sense of the scene just for the sake of setting that scene, but that's for bigger works with more room to breathe.

Hmu if you want to know more but damn I DID write an essay huh 😅

[natsumiheart]

I look at a lot of stuff on Pinterest and one of people's reasons on why Oumasai is toxic is because Kokichi made Shuichi want to kill himself? Something tells me this is wrong but I'm not sure what proves it wrong. (I mean they also point out that Kokichi mocks Shuichi for mourning Kaede-) I'm asking about this because its been eating at me and trying to prove that it isn't toxic.

Hooo boy this is gonna be long so buckle up! I’m sorry I couldn’t make this shorter I just really go all ace attorney mode when it comes to this type of stuff.

Sorry if there are any mistakes or some parts are too confusing my internet might go soon so I can’t proofread and edit anymore!

I think what they’re referring to is how Shuichi got really depressed after discovering that the world had ended, but how can it be Kokichi’s fault? He literally wasn’t the mastermind, he didn’t make all that stuff up. Heck, he was the first one to even see that motive and on his own it was way worse to deal with. His behaviour was so out of line that Kaito got fed up with him and punched him for the nonsense he was saying.

The motive was supposed to make everyone fall to despair, it’s purpose was legit what happened to Miu where she NEEDED to go out to help out the world before everyone was gone. The motive was MEANT to be seen to make the game “More interesting” but Kokichi didn’t let the others see it until he finally convinced them that he’s the mastermind. If he didn’t the Mastermind would find a way to show it to them in a different way and there’s no knowing what could happen, and if he showed it to them himself they’re bound to believe what he’s saying considering the fact it’s obvious he already knew about this. He took that motive to basically make everyone give up on trying escape by killing each other, since as the mastermind he said “The game’s over now! There’s no point.” to prevent another murder from happening. AND IT WORKED, for a long while no murder took place but of course the actual mastermind couldn’t just sit idly and let the game be “boring” (Which was Kokichi’s goal) So they made a flashback light that Maki ended up seeing and calling the others to see, and the flashback light made everyone including Maki believe that Kokichi was a remnant of despair. They wanted to get rid of Kokichi for messing with the game and taking over their position, and this was their way to do it.

So, after all that, if others see that KOKICHI was the reason Shuichi wanted to give up for a second there. Then I really don’t know what to say. Shuichi has went through so much already because of the killing game and Kokichi’s attempt to stop the killing game is not the reason he wanted to give up. It was because he lost a lot his friends and because the world was most probably all gone. At that point he had nowhere to go back to and everything he has worked so hard for was for nothing because there’s nothing left. Kokichi didn’t do anything to Shuichi for him to be the sole reason he suddenly wanted to die. His depression got the best of him after being all alone with his thoughts for a couple of days, not eating or moving just sleeping the entire time. If anyone is at fault it’s the mastermind for making up such a cruel lie that even made Gonta commit murder to “save” the others.

And for the mocking him about Kaede’s death part (Which is literally one line after Shuichi removed his hat) Kokichi at that point had witnessed that the killing game was real and it was going to get him eventually. He wasn’t alright either and he had already started to make everyone hate him, acting more hostile and annoying so they all stay away (since anyone who groups up everyone or brings them hope will end up like Kaede did) He didn’t want to be the next Kaede or Rantaro. It started with that line but in the end he cut off all ties he had (if he had any) in chapter 4 so that they have no doubt that he is only full of malice and that he is indeed the mastermind.

“But how do you know that he has been devising that plan since back then?” Remember the “horse a” message? the first letters were added to it right before the next morning after the first trial where Shuichi entered the dining room without his hat. If you don’t believe me, here’s a paragraph from well written wiki!

Sometime between the end of the first trial and the morning of the next day, Kokichi would begin to devise of a plan to get everyone to think that he was the mastermind of this killing game, willing to be seen as evil for the sake of ending this madness. To begin this plan, he would leave a subtle message in the courtyard "Horse A", which he would later fill in with more letters as the killing game continued.

And here’s the source if you wanna check for yourself: Click here!

If it wasn’t already obvious, Kokichi is a LIAR. And his biggest lie of being the mastermind started after he saw the deaths of Rantaro and Kaede. That first chapter affected Kokichi a lot, he lied and lied to hide it but he was shaken up by the sudden death of Rantaro and was devastated by Kaede’s death. Though all he could say at her last moments is that she wasn’t boring. Because he knew, if he was truthful? Eyes would be on him immediately and he would be in danger.

Kokichi did his best to be the person he would hate the most, he lies so much yet says he hates liars, then says that’s a lie. Making everyone confused as to what the hell is right or wrong in what he’s saying. But he couldn’t keep up his facade forever especially when he was starting to get interested and even attached to Shuichi. In one completely optional scene in chapter 3 he legit says that he doesn’t want Rantaro to be the one who gets resurrected (Though he probably was more interested in him because he obviously knew more than he let on in chapter 1. Asking everyone about the Ultimate Hunt when no one else remembered it until they say the flashback lights, his fight with Hoshi, and how he was so sure that he WILL end the killing game. Kokichi even had his effigy in his room because he saw it as a clue or evidence that can help later, he needed to know what he was hiding and what his talent was.) and despite all that when Shuichi asks why he doesn’t want Rantaro to be the one, he says “Because you’d rather have Kaede back.” Of course he writes it off as a lie, but then right after that he SHOWS Shuichi his interest in Rantaro saying he might be working for the mastermind. The exact lines are:

Kokichi: “What if Rantaro was working for the mastermind? Bringing him to life might be a bad idea.” 

(Trying to make Shuichi believe that he really did lie there about his reason why he didn’t want Rantaro to come back by making him believe that THIS was the real reason. I don’t know exactly if he entertained the idea or not, but he most probably did not believe Rantaro to be the mastermind here. He might have even made up that killing game anime he was talking about. Its’ real for us but might not be for them.)

Shuichi: “N-no that’s idiotic! Rantaro couldn’t have been working for the mastermind...:

“But is it really impossible? We only knew Rantaro for a short time. He did seem as though he was kind of used to the killing game”

The “used to” in that sentence was highlighted. THIS was Kokichi’s intention, to make Shuichi realise that Rantaro knew more than he let on. Which reinforces Kokichi’s interest in him. But Shuichi fell for Kokichi’s trap earlier and didn’t notice at all that he slipped the fact Rantaro would give more information.

It’s confusing I know, Kokichi’s thing is mind games after all. But what I’m trying to say is that for Kokichi’s goal to figure out this killing game and how to end it Rantaro would be most ideal to bring back but he just wanted to tell Shuichi that he’d rather have Kaede instead just so he’s happy. The evidence for that is how even after he says its a lie he lowkey shows Shuichi he’s more interested in Rantaro instead. It reminds me of those scenes where he says “WAAAHH I THOUGHT YOUD KNOW I HATE COFFEE” then right after he’s like “I’m tired of all that crying can I have a cup of coffee please.” Or “I actually can’t taste anything!” then “anyway my faves are spice and sugar!”

Kokichi did say something insensitive when he said “Is it cause Kaede died or whatever?” but it didn’t bother Shuichi at all he just brushed it off since he saw how he acted in the trial earlier. It wasn’t a surprise to him. Kaede’s death affected Kokichi too, and that line doesn’t match up with what he said about bringing Kaede back.

You never know what’s the truth and what’s a lie with Kokichi, everything he says contradicts each other. So how is it that all these people who hate Kokichi and call him toxic take his worst lines or moments as the truth when the context of his entire character and motive says otherwise. When he had to crush Shuichi the most so he believes that he is full of malice without a single doubt. To make him believe he was really the mastermind immediately, so he doesn’t go all detective on him like he usually does.

Kokichi’s actions were terrible yes but they were LIES he did it for a purpose that’s what makes him a grey character when in a KILLING GAME. It’s shown in salmon team that under normal circumstances the two would get along and Shuichi would want to learn more about Kokichi and his true self.

TLDR; Leave these children be, they were in a killing game. No ship is toxic unless it’s shown that person was terrible / messed up from the start and would hurt whoever they’re with. Those users just obviously don’t like Kokichi and hate seeing him with anyone XD and it’s obvious with how they blame him over a motive Monokuma/ the Mastermind has created and straight up ignoring the intentions behind his actions.

Now without evidence and stuff, truly speaking from my heart from here with full on bias XD

I get hating a character or a ship but oh my god can you not spread misinformation for others to feel obligated to agree? Toxic is such a strong word and I hate how people keep associating it with every ship they dislike. Making others feel bad for what comforts them! If Saiouma was so toxic how come it makes so many people happy? How come it makes people literally calm down,  stop crying, and feel warm. Saiouma is one of the most adorable and realistic ships out there... Don’t ruin it for everyone else just because you don’t agree with how we feel. Just say you’re not a fan and move on!

Anyway don’t worry your ship is very valid! You can continue supporting them without feeling any guilt and if anyone calls it toxic they can see me so I break their kneecaps.