#i really do love that passage because it says so much and implies more

[ach-sss-no]

I feel weird giving out unprompted permission statements because I'm making a big assumption that anyone's going to want to use my work. That said I also know people do like to build on other people's art and can't always work up the nerve to ask, so: Anyone is free to use this design if they want to for any reason- I don't own this character anyway. (Although I am hopeful that you do not, you know, monetize it, because i cant do that and if you do that its not fair ;_; ) Feel free to remix, improve, use as basic inspiration, etc. I would appreciate a tag/mention if you use it so I can see what you did!

This design has evolved a little since I first started drawing it, and I will see people reblogging the original design notes and think 'oh no! those are out of date and I don't have new/accurate ones!'

Reblogging the old one is still an honor- and the first take on a design just sometimes has a different appeal because it's less refined and more chaotic (especially with a character that should be chaotic), so I suspect some people will just prefer the older drawings & they'll still get shared, which is great! But I felt as if the project was a little bit incomplete without an update, since I think I've reached the point where if you see that old post & then come to my blog and look at my current content, there's a noticeable difference.

Also I kind of like making design notes.

If anyone's wondering why things changed, the answer's really simple- 90% of it is just the result of him settling into having more consistent anatomy and facial structure so that I can keep him looking accurate across different angles and poses. If you look at the old drawings you may notice that Gollum has an inconsistently shaped squishy head. That's fine for a concept post but doesn't work as well for maintaining him across different comic panels or in an animatic, at least not the way I work.

In the same vein, while my art is still & will always be heavily stylized, I started giving him more structured semi-sorta-realistic anatomy so that he wouldn't look entirely out of place next to less bizarre-looking characters such as Aragorn. (I feel that's also helpful in nudging Gollum into the uncanny valley where he ought to be, rather than leaving him so abstractified that there's a risk you won't see anything wrong with him having noodle arms.) He also acquired the new-style 'garbage bag' outfit because I found a reference in LOTR to his arms and legs being bare/exposed (it's in one of my favorite passages, the 'an eagle would think Gollum was dead if it came by right now' passage in The Two Towers):

Not even an eagle poised against the sun would have marked the hobbits sitting there, under the weight of doom, silent, not moving, shrouded in their thin grey cloaks. For a moment he might have paused to consider Gollum, a tiny figure sprawling on the ground: there perhaps lay the famished skeleton of some child of Men, its ragged garment still clinging to it, its long arms and legs almost bone-white and bone-thin: no flesh worth a peck.

#long post #blobart #lotr #lotr gollum #lotr fan redesign #i really do love that passage because it says so much and implies more #sam and frodo are sitting there invisible because they are being protected by the gift of love and honor galadriel gave them #gollum who has been busting his butt to hide all of his life #issplatted out there like a frog entirely exposed. he has nowhere to hide and no protection- not even proper clothing #and even a carrion bird would think he was 1) dead 2) of no value #...and then we have tolkien drawing the allusion to a starved/abandoned child #it's eerie and deeply empathetic at the same time #It's also funny. why would there be an eagle here pondering gollum #same energy as 'a fox wondered why these hobbits were bobbling around in the woods' and then the fox disappears forever #also same energy as 'there was a thrush nearby. bilbo was in such a bad mood that he tried to kill it' #body horror #eye horror #unsanitary/ #bones?.... #tw: gollum #there #I will be doing a morning reblog of this because i only do this once every two years so postblock it if once was enough

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about Jesper Fahey and religion.

Whilst we know that Matthias follows Djel, Inej follows the Saints, Nina was raised with the Saints but is atheist because of her understanding about Grisha, and that Kaz and Wylan adopted atheism based on their childhood experiences, we don’t get a lot of information about how Jesper feels about religion. We know he was raised with the Saints and that when he swears he says “Saints”, as does Nina, where Wylan says “Ghezen”. It’s notable to me that Matthias and Inej either rarely or never invoke a name in vain; I think Inej may say “Saints” in that context the odd time I can’t remember, but I’d argue in that case it’s probably because she isn’t specifically naming them to do so whereas Matthias would have to but I’m working off memory there so please feel free to correct me. But Jesper’s actual relationship with the Saints is arguably quite ambiguous, with no particular passages that point us in either direction. (Show!Jesper is highly implied to be atheistic in season 1 when Inej asks him what he thinks about Alina and he says he doesn’t care whether she’s real or not so long as they get paid, but there isn’t really anything like this in the books to my recollection) I think that might be because he has a far more complex and painful relationship with religion than we see on the surface level, and this has particular links to Nina’s belief that the Saints were possibly real people but were simply powerful Grisha not religious saviours/martyrs.

When Jesper was a child, his father would read him bedtime stories “from his Kaelish book of Saints”. At the same time, Colm was unintentionally damaging Jesper’s view of Grisha power and of himself by forcing him to hide it and telling him “that’s what killed your mother. That’s what took her away from us”. Alongside the self-hatred this cultivates in Jesper, seen mostly in Crooked Kingdom since he’s most open about it in the beautiful, heartbreaking chapter 24, I think it may have also impacted his relationship with religion. To be told as a child that these people are worshipped and valued for the things they could do, the same kind of things he saw his mother do and that he could be capable of, but that his power is a curse and a shameful secret that has to be hidden from the world is so damaging. It effectively raises the question: If it’s different for me than it is for them, what’s wrong with me? Why am I less worthy of love?

When Jesper already had these feelings growing inside him, feelings that went on to massively impact all the relationships in his life (most notably his relationships with Kaz and Wylan but I would also argue his relationship with Inej is affected by this as well) and actively endanger him when he began to try and fill the void he felt with gambling, to emphasise these emotions with something that could have been so beautiful and given him so much comfort by turning it into something that can be used against him by labelling him as less than others is so heartbreaking and honestly painful.

Obviously this is just an interpretation or a theory but this is how I feel about it when I reread, if anyone else has thought about this please feel free to add anything or contradict it with your own interpretation I’d love to read it.

#grishaverse #six of crows #crooked kingdom #leigh bardugo #inej ghafa #kaz brekker #jesper fahey #wylan van eck #nina zenik #matthias helvar #Wesper #jesper my beloved #soc jesper #jesper #six of crows jesper #jesper and inej #jesper and wylan #jesper x wylan

[saltiestgempearl]

Today is the day! At long last, I can talk about my absolute favorite headcanon about Dr. Seward with you all.

I'm writing a new post about it instead of just reblogging my post from last year because that post is not spoiler free. That is, I posted October 22 of 2022, so it does mention things from entries that have not happened yet in the 2023 Dracula Daily.

That said, most of it is still fine now that the September 3 entry has arrived, so I have put together a slightly edited version that does not touch on anything that happens after the September 3 Dracula entry:

It starts out with this passage from today's entry:

How can he'—and he pointed at me with the same look and gesture as that with which once he pointed me out to his class, on, or rather after, a particular occasion which he never fails to remind me of—'know anything of a young ladies? He has his madmen to play with, and to bring them back to happiness, and to those that love them.

The thing is, that's not exactly the wording in the original book. In the original book, it says “He has his madams to play with, and to bring them back to happiness, and to those that love them.” Many people write this off as a typo to the point of changing it to “madmans” or “madmen” in some versions.

But what if it wasn’t a typo?

The word “madam” implies an older woman, like anywhere from middle-aged to elderly. And at the time, it was not at all uncommon for women in this age group to be sent to asylums to recuperate. Sometimes it was just a way to get female relatives you didn’t like out of the way, but sometimes it wasn’t.

You see, many Victorians (men and women alike) unironically bought into the “delicate woman” narrative. People really, genuinely thought women were just psychologically more predisposed to mental instability.

Anyway, the headcanon is that Seward actually started out as a relatively low-level psychologist at an asylum, primarily working with middle-aged to elderly women. And being the inquisitive man he is, he interacted with the patients in a less-than-conventional way, letting them talk about things that would normally be considered signs of imbalance by the contemporary medical community (e.g., “sometimes I wish I’d never had my children,” “sometimes I just want as little to do with my husband as possible,” “honestly those suffragettes make some good points,” etc.). This isn’t to say he was some feminist icon mind you; he didn’t even necessarily agree or legitimize these ideas. But he didn’t shoot them down either—he just listened. And by engaging with the women in this way, he was essentially exploring some of what we now call talk therapy, which was very much not a thing at this time. He may have also tried to be supportive of their hobbies, which while not unheard of (institutions like Bedlam set a precedent for this), was not the most common thing either.

So he did this for a while, and surprise surprise, it actually helped these women quite a bit. He quickly got a reputation for being someone who was unusually gifted in turning around cases of “nervous disorders” that were so common with these delicate womenfolk.

But then some higher-ups decided “oh, well if he’s good with this, he must be good with insane people too.” So despite being a 29-year-old budding psychologist in a very young field, he suddenly found himself the head of an asylum with a very different sort of population to treat.

Given why he was put in this position, Jack naturally continues using the methods that helped his former patients recover so spectacularly. The issue is, of course, that people who are dealing with psychosis or other more serious conditions generally need a different approach than neglected women with anxiety. Basic talk therapy isn’t going to cut it with someone like Renfield.

But again, this field is very young, so Seward is actually relatively limited on how much he can research this. So he continues with his talk therapy, but then adds things like straightjackets into the mix when his patients have meltdowns because that was also a relatively accepted solution at the time (though not universally so; even in Bram Stoker’s time, there were some professionals in the field who had figured out that this type of manual restraint was not helpful and honestly not humane.)

It’s also possible that Jack might have had some criticism early on for not being firm enough with his more “difficult” patients, so he might have overcompensated for that by using the straightjacket solution more often when things got out of hand.

And finally, Jack also has his mad scientist tendencies that he openly grapples with in his diary—you know, the sort that caused him to make wildly irresponsible decisions like “let’s let Renfield escape, but supervised, and see what happens.” And since Jack was the head of the hospital, no one shot down this obviously ridiclous idea because they probably didn’t have the authority to.

TL;DR: The headcanon is “maybe Van Helsing did mean ‘madams’ because Jack started off wildly successful in treating older women with anxiety, and as a result was catapulted into a much more powerful position he was neither properly trained for nor mentally ready for.”

#dracula daily #jack seward #john seward #headcanons

[starsurface]

Your writings are very good, they make me happy! Would it be possible to write Shang Tsung from the 3d era taking care of an age regressed reader that uses diapers?

Awh, thank you!!! I'm so glad that they make you happy!! <3

I will admit, i know incredibly little about this character!!!! :D (I tried to do research, but do call me our or dm if I wrote some things wrong, I can totally redo or make a pt 2 or something!!)

Like, . . . I know he’s evil. And has an island. And works for Shao Kahn. And is one of the more first big boss fights?? And that 3d is like, Deception, and Armageddon, and Shaolin Monks (the cutscenes only version of that game is so funny, the storyline is so fast).

And not even zesty evil!!! But like, actually evil. :(

Small Warning (?): It just kinda feels like there are some darker undertones in these?? Not exactly yandere like, but mildly possessive, and little to no hesitation to hurt others for you. It’s not implied that he’d kill, but it is implied that he’d use them as experiments (which I can totally change if anyone gets uncomfortable with!!!)

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

CG 3d era Shang Tsung w/ Regressor That Uses Diaper Hcs

🐛 I know I said he’s evil . . . but I think he adores you

🐛 Your his baby, how could he not love you!! He’s cruel and a villain, but your his Precious, he couldn’t just let you go <3

🐛 While a man of evil and Shao Kahn’s sorcerer, he would never make fun of you for using or needing padding

🐛 Babyspace regressor? You’re very tiny!! Of course you might need some help, and that’s okay!!

🐛 Toddler? Well, accidents happen all the time, and he’d rather be safe than sorry anyways

🐛 Big kid? Well he’d still classify you as a baby, but whatever you say <3

🐛 Middlespace regressor? Everyone can use diapers!! Whether for medicine or comfort, that’s your regression, and no one else’s

🐛 And if anyone were to magically tell you otherwise, well, they strangely disappear!! :O (and maybe end up in Shang Tsung’s lab)

🐛 Might get a bit grumpy if you wake him up at night, but almost any thoughts of anger or upset wash away when he sees how upset you are

🐛 . . . Although he’s also super tired and might put on your padding backwards

🐛 It is literally not his fault, it’s two am, and he has work tomorrow

🐛 Although he’d rather you wake him up than sit sobbing in bed, work or no work, you’re his first priority

🐛 He’ll also get some of those potty mattress protections, just in case you may or may not have an accident again (but only if your cool with it)

🐛 Magic show distractions!!!

🐛 He could give you something to fidget with during the process . . . Or he could use his super cool sorcerer powers and make a little light show to distract you

🐛 From what i’ve seen in almost every Shang Tsung, they have a way with words

🐛 So it’s not him buying your regression supplies, it’s Shao Kahn <3

🐛 Shang Tsung works for him, how could he not also supply for his precious baby that he gets very little time with because of how often he has to work and prepare for the tornoment?

🐛 ^ Lies, Shang Tsung can and will pause any type of working if you regress and come for him

🐛 Maybe unless he’s in the middle of an experiment, but he’s left his studies many times before

🐛 Your not really allowed to talk to Shao Kahn though :\ (Shang Tsung’s worried Shao will be mean or cruel to you in your headspace)

🐛 But you get much time with Dada!! :D

🐛 He’ll make a little regression area in his laboratory!! It’s Shang Tsung’s Island, who would tell him he couldn’t put a secret passage way into a small regression area just for you?

🐛 ^ No one, that’s who, so of course he does it!! (and Shao Kahn gets the bill for it >:3)

🐛 He does make sure to put it more where the potions or his study books are and not where his experiments are (he doesn’t like you seeing them in your headspace)

🐛 Don’t you dare ever try to touch his potions, he will get incredibly upset and you’ll get in trouble

🐛 They’re for big kids and big kids only, plus you could get seriously hurt and Dada might not be able to help you from some of them

🐛 Or you could just regress in Dada’s room, which is much comfier anyways

🐛 If you end up having any type of accidents, he’s very gentle about the process, gently shushing and comforting you, drawing you a nice bath and picking out some comfy clothes

🐛 His clothes to be exact, what could be better?

🐛 If you’re ever embarrassed about using padding, he’d call you silly

🐛 There’s no reason too!! Whether for comfort, or medical, or just because, if it works for you, then he’s more than happy to help with the process

🐛 Your his baby after all, and he’s going to make sure you have the world <3

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

I like the Caterpillar emoji, it's cute. :3 (also they didn't have any potions :\)

#age regression #agere #sfw age regression #mortal kombat agere #sfw agere #age regression headcanons #mk agere #shang tsung x reader #mk shang tsung #shang tsung #cg shang tsung #caregiver shang tsung #mortal kobmat deception #mortal kombat armageddon #< Those two are 3d games #Right??

[n0phis]

alright boys. big post incoming.

DISCLAIMER: it is 3am upon writing this all down and i am also not a writer

–

i’m gonna start with the more lore-based stuff and add the little physical details as they come! so let’s fuckin explain this, shall we

in the world of this design/my personal hc techno isn’t so much the blood god as he is his champion and/or successor of some sort! partially through birth but in a fated sort of way, where he was just inevitably going to achieve the things required of the champion within his lifetime and thus was blessed from a relatively young age without need for some monumental trial. the blood god’s mantle was granted– the cape he wears– and is of a beast that was essentially the manifested will of the blood god. now i do want to say that i’m unsure whether a lot of techno’s physical features also came from the blessing or if he was born with them; i’m leaning towards born with them to an extent, and imagine him as a similar/same species to that of schlatt and tubbo in my hc! nondescript, varying ungulate features with techno only being half blooded (and lacking the strange sclera & tusks initially, as those do fit with the blessing).

before i get into what the mantle does i’ll talk about the beast itself, because i absolutely fucking love it it’s my squinkly little mythic pig

tales of the boar describe it as a hulking, monstrous creature that could dwarf any hoglin and was covered head to toe in blood-red, serrated quills; suffice to say the mantle itself implies it was more likely to have simply been a mutated hoglin, a rare subspecies, or some sort of thick-furred, primal ancestor. the bushy mane of the mantle is very rough and sharp, but fades into a much softer coat further down the cloak– though it does have hints of red here and there, so perhaps not everything was an exaggeration.

the most pressing question is whether the entire thing is just folklore– if the mantle came from a real beast that existed at all or if it was just such a common tale told by the worshippers of the blood god that he himself heard and manifested the trophy into existence. 

there really is no way to tell, unless you ask a certain old bird.

true or not, the boar’s story is that of an honourable plague. an animal that destroyed everything in its path and always, without fail, won. no matter how many of the world’s finest warriors sought it out, the beast never fell– never came close to falling. it lived a long and prosperous life, ruining others’, and the blood it spilt is said to have given the crimson forests their colour. it died old and happy as its tusks bore through and into its own skull, the crown on the mantle is representative of that– with the added flair of an article of holy clothing, that is. a crown of emerging tusks, not a trophy because of symbolism of some hero overcoming an impossible foe, but of a beast who lived life to the fullest. the unkillable imbuing its own virtue upon the wearer.

the mantle doesnt give so much as it exacerbates, though, granted only to those who, by their own merit, would inevitably live a life like the boar’s.

essentially while the blood god’s blessing doesn’t best the passage of time, it’ still kickass. and techno wasn’t given his chad nature by some god, he was just recognized for it.

the blessing– again, at a young age– also gave him his very striking eyes and tusks! the eyes are inspired by those of a bearded vulture, where their actual function is flushing blood into the sclera to intimidate other animals (which is just so incredibly perfect). it technically isn’t permanent, but is attached to such a minute increase in heartrate that unless he is incredibly bored his sclera is nearly always red. it’s a good way to tell if he’s sleeping, at least? that is if you can’t pick it up from the closed eyes, blanket, and snoring. 

the tusks came in gradually as he aged, and on the topic of physical features his hair is dyed!

the voices (chat) were passed to him along with the mantle, which essentially functions as a selkie style half-pelt that fuses to him, grants him strength and heightened susceptibility to the aforementioned Chat (tm). he’s not a monster by any means when ‘fused’, but behaves slightly more like a big silly dog. or wolf, i guess, given the times he tends to use it. it’s actually the form he’s most comfortable in given how much more durable he is (hence boar guy in his reading glasses chilling up there) but over time without breaks from it the voices grate at him more and more. he kinda took a break from using it after doomsday.

he’s about 6’3 as a humanoid, but closer to 7’ fused with the mantle! it fuses from his chin, down his spine & shoulders to the tail, and finally down his legs.

his forearms, stomach (& most of his back) and neck are almost entirely unchanged minus the scale and build being a little altered! the cape/fabric part actually entirely disappears, and while the action of donning it is a very physical ‘putting it on’, taking it off is more of a mental thing— which poses a challenge when the voices have cause to be particularly loud and he just wants out but can’t focus.

the last few things i’ll touch on is the reception in canon to this, and the effects of the attempted execution.

so nobody but phil and maybe the rest of sbi truly know much about this, it’s actually generally assumed around the server that it’s just whatever strange sort of creature that techno is. 

the stories– and the blood god himself– exist primarily in the nether, and techno rarely ever met with people without the mantle fully equipped and fused. it certainly contributed to his reputation, to the point of others being baffled upon seeing his ‘human form’ after assuming for so long that a bipedal, prickly hoglin was just this freakazoid’s default. he didn’t mind; the less vulnerable the better. and it allowed him to wreak havoc a hell of a lot easier, with a hell of a lot fewer voices telling him to tone it down as opposed to his beta male humanoid form. if the butcher army had known to make him take it off, things could have turned out quite differently. but they didn’t, so they can suck it.

lastly, slightly anticlimactically, and a wee bit differently to the art (which, again, was just the rough design after having these ideas marinating in my brain sauces for 7 months with no outlet), the effects of the totem! there arent veins running down him or the mantle’s face as cool as that would be, because, y’know, practicality, but all of his tusks (since he was fused at the time of near-death) have cracks in them that have been mended with gold! he also has a striking, golden lock of hair directly around the impact site on both forms, and fancy gold irises that compliment his freaky deaky sclera wonderfully.

and there’s my techno shit! i’m probably forgetting a lot, or i just havent thought about it yet and will come up with my answer to any questions immediately upon being asked and no sooner but YOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! if u read this far ily parasocially

#technoblade fanart #tagging that bc look it may be a repost of my fanart but #technoblade #dsmp technoblade #headcanons slash analysis #tham talks #tham talks so fucking much here oh my GOD

[earlgreytea68]

Do u have any twin skeletons thoughts/analyses?

SO MUCH. BUCKLE UP.

I looooove this song and I think it is the most raw and brutal song about the disintegration of the Pete/Patrick relationship in the entire discography, I really do.

Patrick jumbles his use of lyrics up time-wise, he plucks them from all over their chronology, but I don't think he would write this song today, and I don't think he would write the lyrics up in this song today. Like, the lyrics are brutal, but the song they're in are worst, the way he arranges them, the way he sings them.

BUT THEN HE ENDS IT IN HOPE. THIS SONG.

I feel like there is this vague trajectory to the lyrics that Pete writes and the way that Patrick arranges and sings them. When they're both young kids, the lyrics are more straightforwardly melodramatic and self-pitying, the way kids are, and Patrick sings them that way. Which isn't to say they're not still complex, but yeah. As they move toward the hiatus, I feel like the lyrics actually get less bitter and more longing but Patrick starts arranging them and singing them more viciously, so that lyrics that could have been love songs become angry songs instead. Post-hiatus, Pete's lyrics take a distinctive pining turn that he's never entirely left, although they're not always about relationships (they never were, really, which is what I love about him) but about the passage of time and the way everything is yearning ambivalence for things you can't even define as you get older. Patrick in the beginning of the hiatus still arranged these lyrics in songs that felt defiant but by now the lyrics get put into love songs and lose some of the irony in the way Patrick sings them.

That's kind of a tangent.

Anyway, I don't actually think they dealt, lyrically or musically, with a lot of the emotions of the hiatus until AB/AP. I think they wrote SRAR almost carefully. Some of the songs in it feel almost like Patrick designed them to try to be at a remove, they feel kind of impersonal, aiming for the kind of heterosexual drama that FOB rarely hits in their songs because Pete rarely writes lyrics like that. But I think about a song like The Mighty Fall or Death Valley or Just One Yesterday or Young Volcanoes -- and there is A LOT to all of those songs, too, of course, and I love them -- but they're easy to read as just, you know, typical radio play stuff. (The notable -- REALLY notable -- SRAR exception is Miss Missing You, of course, and maybe that was as much as anyone could deal with at the time lol.)

But AB/AP, to me, is FULL of working through the hiatus baggage. There's "The Kids Aren't Alright" and there's "Fourth of July" and there's "Favorite Record" and THEN THERE'S THIS SONG. To me, this song is all about a relationship -- a partnership -- that's supposed to be perfect breaking completely to pieces right in front of you, and the way it devolves into recriminations and accusations.

The chorus, revolving around this titular room where everything went down. I read “shares our fate and deserves our pity” to imply that this room has been somehow ruined, too (sharing our fate) and that’s such a huge pity, like, this isn’t how it should have happened. There’s deep regret in this chorus: I don’t want to remember it, and what they don’t want to remember is the things the promised. The promises you make to the people you love and when it all goes to hell and you end up not keeping those promises, you don’t want to think about them.

EVERYTHING about the description of the relationship in this is some of Pete’s most vivid lyrics. This is one of those songs where every single line is absolutely crystalline. When Taylor Swift said once that she wanted “Blank Space” to be like a Fall Out Boy song where every line is a zinger, this is the song I think of, because the way this relationship is described, the way it unfurls through the song, every single line carries an entire story within it, it’s all so vivid. And the thing is, this could be read to be about sex—dull the pain, strip down to skeleton, saint swimming our sins—sure, it’s all sexy, but I don’t think any of it is actually about sex. Stripped down to our skeletons, that’s not how you have sex, that is way more revealing, way more vulnerability being shown than just taking off your clothes. It has to be read in the context of the image on their Greatest Hits compilation, those twin skeletons, dedicated to each other even in death, like, it’s just not about sex. Sure, sex can be read as sinful, but there’s a multitude of sins out there in the world for them to be swimming in. And the line that really smacks me over the head: “’til we’re twins again.” You…don’t have sex with your twin. I mean, unless we’re getting into some really weird narcissistic thing going on in this song. The twin thing is so…Patrick-coded hahaha. Because who is Patrick? The person he has twin-speak with. This whole thing is in the vein of Pete’s pining language to be honest: I MISS YOU SO MUCH. I JUST NEED A LITTLE DOSE OF YOU. I MISS HOW WE USED TO BE. I MISS WHEN WE WERE SO OURSELVES WITH EACH OTHER THAT WE WERE BASICALLY SKELETONS, THERE WAS NOTHING TO HIDE BEHIND.

But the way Patrick sings these words, the melody he gives them: It doesn’t sound pining. It sounds biting and cruel. If he sang this song in one of his piano arrangements, I bet these words would kill you with how much longing is in them. But that’s not how he sings them.

And then we get to that jet black crow, droning on and on and on, up above their heads, droning on and on and on. The way that droning line repeats, the way Patrick sings the on and on and on so that it sounds like a drone, it’s cleverly done, and the jet black crow always feels like this bad omen to me, this thing hanging over them, that they can’t escape. I MISS YOU SO MUCH, PLEASE STAY HERE WITH ME, but there’s that droning of foreboding hanging over their heads. You’ve got to keep making trouble until you find what you love, he’s not done yet, he wants to keep going, he needs a partner in crime AND YOU SHRUG. I never can decide which of them is speaking there, who looked to the other for their partner and didn’t find him there, and maybe it was both of them, because they were mutual destruction, maybe that’s the point.

Then we get to the second verse, one era dying and the next being born, showing up just to fade away, calling an end to the whole thing – and hating it the whole time (“I wanna throw my hands in the air and scream”). “I can just die laughing on your spiral of shame”: the way Patrick sings that. That is another line that I’m not sure who it’s meant to be referencing, and it could just be both of them. Honestly, the cruel things you do to the people you love when there’s a jet black crow droning on and on over your heads. But you get through the wreck and you pull yourself together enough to survive, even though you’re barely holding yourself together with a string.

But. BUT. THIS BRUTAL, BRUTAL SONG that Patrick takes Pete’s lyrics and puts together here. The way he has the pining of the first verse devolve into the vicious backlash of the second verse in the wake of the indifferent and painful shrug is so good and then the narrative retreats into: Hold on. Hold on, hold on, hold on. At the end of the song he repeats “hold on” EIGHTEEN TIMES. That’s how much he wants Pete to “hold on.” This song about the complete disintegration of this relationship ends with Patrick begging, over and over again: Hold on. Hold on. It’ll be okay. Hold on. That jet black crow drones on and on and on twelve times. Patrick asks us to hold on many more times. And he never sends droning as he does it. He packs multiple notes into the ons. The jet black crow is gone by the end of the song. I made promises. Just hold on.

#long post #fall out boy #fob #peterick

[reel-fear]

Henry And Norman's Canonical [and unexplored] Friendship and why it needs more focus in canon and fanon

An essay by me~

So I've talked a lot either in tags or in other posts about Henry and Norman's implied friendship in the canon of Bendy, however implied isn't really the right word, unexplored is more accurate because despite the fact we've never seen them interact, Henry and Norman having been friends is entirely canon with a lot of proof for it!

Don't believe me? Well let me show you why I am obsessed with this duo~

So first we're starting with the games since they are the ones most barren for this implication. We only really have one line in BATIM to go off of in terms of this, but they are interesting and important ones. Specifically we have one line from alice and an achievement to look at. [EDIT: I forgot a note written by Henry! I have added it now below]

Just from Alice's line we know she was under the impression Henry and Norman were friends, which not only shows they were in fact friends but close enough that others knew they were friends. Combined with the theory that Alice created the projectionist [one that is slightly backed up by BATDR confirming she was the one who mutilated the butcher gang] her teasing tone here could be rubbing in the fact such a horrible fate fell on someone Henry was close to...

It's an idea I think fits really well with Joey having created the cycle specifically to torment Henry too, why not make his friend one of the most mindless and horrible monsters down there just to make him feel worse. So close yet so far from one of the friendliest friends he knew.

The other thing I want to draw attention to is the Norman's Fate achievement, this is the Only time the projectionist is referred to as Norman and it comes from Henry's POV. It's a bit of stretch but I think it could be Henry refusing to dehumanize Norman by calling him the projectionist instead calling him by his name. A detail I think is very cute and could show Henry's sympathy towards his friend's suffering... and fate.

EDIT:

However we have another great indicator on how Henry feels towards the projectionist in particular and that's this note left by him on level 14.

Level 14 is the Projectionist's level, one full of the corpses of his victims and where he hunts Henry relentlessly, but Henry still questions The Projectionist being nothing more than an enemy. Their friendship seems to have meant a lot to him, and it seems to be on his mind, even after seeing what Norman has been twisted into. This could also be because the Projectionist literally fights the ink demon too. Who is far more antagonistic to Henry. Either way, I find it very sad but also a nice way of subtly touching on what Henry and Norman's friendship means for how Henry thinks of the Projectionist.

This is also a bit of a stretch but when Norman/The Projectionist peeks into the miracle station Henry is hiding in, in chapter 4, he doesn't seem super threatening, just curious and it even somewhat emulates Sammy's motions when commenting on Henry's familar face. Was there a moment of clarity for Norman there? Seeing his old friend hiding in there? Maybe, it's a little too vague to really dwelve on here but it is something to think about...

But time for us to get into the meat of their relationship, with the books, the media that elaborates far more on Henry and Norman's characters and has the lines from Norman confirming their friendship.

I absolutely LOVE these passages they show off so much more about Norman's character and expand on the idea he and Henry were friends in such a nice way. Norman talks about Henry in a way so unusually positive for him Dot feels the need to point out how much of a compliment it is for him to say he's a decent fellow with a lot of talent. He also speaks with a lot of sympathy towards Henry's blight and the abuse Joey made him endure, doing this all with his feet on the table holding up a projector, a smile on his face and a mug in his hand. He speaks somewhat vaguely and with mystery not exactly with Sammy's theatrics but with his own ominious air.

He also recognizes Henry leaving wasn't personal and that Joey likely held a grudge over it, plus when Dot comments on how odd it is for Norman to speak of someone like this, he doesn't refute it, just agrees with a laugh.

These passages are one of the reasons I think the books are some of the best media to come out of the series and I hope soon others realize what untapped potentional the books hide.

But...

Sadly despite all these interesting implications there's not a lot of canon or fandom content showing Norman and Henry's relationship and even less that attempts to develop and explore it. But for me it's one of the most interesting relationship's we have in BATIM [a series that is rather lacking in implied friendships or relationships between its characters]

Hell Henry's wiki page even mentions their friendship but Norman's page does not, which is strange since he has the most to speak on their friendship in the books. At least it's strange to me

So why is this relationship so fascinating to me? Just because of the dynamic it presents to us and its potentional for fun interactions!

Norman is portrayed constantly as a strange mysterious and almost intimidating figure, he sees everything, he goes to investigate strange noises under his booth with nothing but a light to find out whats making a horrid noise at night, and when Buddy [a 17 year old delivery boy] shows up at the studio and asks where Joey is Norman tells him he's DEAD. Which Buddy can only pick up on as a joke when someone else comes in to tell him Norman's sense of humor is strange, all while Norman bursts into chuckles. He's also pretty easy going esp in comparision to Sammy's dramatic nature.

Henry however is such an every man, a soft spoken and hard working animator who just wanted to have a better relationship with his work and wife. He's always so calm and just a usual guy. How did he come to form a friendship with such a strange and bizzare guy? Did he enjoy Norman's strange sense of humor? What were their interactions like?

There's so many interesting things to do with such a dynamic and that's not even getting into the tragedy of the Projectionist and Norman's fate. I want to see Henry heartbroken by his close friend's fate and death, I want to see more stuff exploring interactions between the Projectionist and the artist.

Whether it's canon or fanon that does it, I want to see more content on Henry and Norman's relationship. Romantic or not, I just want to see more people talk about it! Because it's one of the most interesting relationships in a series that tends to lack a lot of character relationship drama, pushing for more content of these two might be the bridge towards getting more content from canon that generally shows us how these characters all feel about each other.

Something I don't think is an impossible idea too since Meatly straight up asked us what characters we wanted to see interact, showing interest in these two could be a big W for us I'm just sayin [yes that is me down there]

I know I am very biased as a big Norman and Normry/Moving Pictures/Heman fan but I hope this post could show just a few more people the potential of this duo and we get more content of them in the future. Esp since fans have done a lot more with pairings in this franchise with far less content or implications of friendship.

Fingers crossed for a Norman novel where we can see them interact!!

And more content of these two in general <3

#batim #bendy and the dark revival #bendy and the ink machine #bendy #batdr #norman polk #the projectionist #henry stein #normry #heman #moving pictures #like I said not purely shipping here #but i wouldnt mind if this fuels more shipping of them in the fandom >w> #either way hope people read this and hope people like this #I always love making little essays on my passions and this is a topic I absolutely love #these two live in my brain SO much #and now I hope they live in the brains of others too <3 #ramblez

[snailpastaenjoyer35]

Every snipbit of Soriel in Undertale/Deltarune (spoilers obviously)

This is just a collective post with every “soriel” moment, but I’d like to say first that soriel can just be them being platonic friends or romantically invovled, it’s really up to how you interpret their dynamic. Keep in mind that I could be missing some more obscure things that are outside of the games and such, but I did try to be as extensive as possible. 

-

    - Before anything else, I’d like to mention Toriel’s joke book in the RUINs, which has a joke passage cirlced of skeleton jokes and the game reads you this one:

“Why did the skeleton want a friend? Because she was feeling BONELY.” 

    -   Next thing to talk about is Sans’ dinner story at MTT Diner, where he recalls how a lady answered his knock knock jokes at the RUINs door. Sans talks about how he’d go there all the time after that. Sans also mentions during his talk with Frisk that he gave a promise to Toriel that he’d protect them on their journey, even though he doesn’t really do promises. 

Full scene:

    -   Some one-note remarks are throughout the game as well. For example, it can be implied that Toriel was giving Sans cooking advice to some degree because of 1) the “weird quiche” that Sans out-of-the-blue tried to make at home and 2) the snail pasta that Sans bought.

     - There’s also the fact that Sans “hasn’t been around much” at Grillby’s, but this doesn’t necessarily mean it has to do with Toriel, but it could if Papyrus is anything to go by.

Now to the endings.

    -   Near the end of the true pacifist route, there’s Toriel and Sans’ apparent in-person meeting before Flowey comes in which you can watch below. They recognize each other’s voices and introduce themselves, Toriel says Sans told her a lot about Papyrus while at the door.

    -   After the player beats the game on a true pacifist route, there’s a TON of dialouge with Sans and Toriel, so watch the video below to see all of it:

This video also has all of Toriel’s text messages in it, a lot of with are with Sans as well, some of which I’ll put here but there’s a lot more in the video (they start at 9:15)

    -   There’s also the neutral route with Toriel and Sans ending up living together, or the “Exiled Queen Ending.” To get this ending, you have to kill Papyrus and leave Undyne alive. In the phone call, Sans talks about how Undyne banished Toriel back to the RUINs after Toriel tried inacting a ‘no killing humans’ policy and Sans ended up going with her. Sans brings her books from the library and says she’s a “good roomie.” (Time stamp: 12:56)

    -  In the opposite of that, if you leave Papyrus alive and kill Undyne, Toriel stays ruler and Sans and Papyrus visit her in the castle. He talks about how they play games and read books together, and even convincing her to leave the castle a couple times. (Time stamp: 14:11)

    -  If you kill Toriel in a neutral route, Sans will talk about how he doesn’t get a response when he knocks on the RUINs door anymore and says the she might not be feeling well. If you also kill Papyrus in this route, he’ll say: “Or maybe she’s not feeling anything at all. . .? You’d better watch yourself, kid. . .”

Here’s a video where you can see all of this:

   -   In Deltraune chapter 1, when you talk to Sans about who he should be friends with and pick Toriel, he says: “Too late, I already befriended your mom last night. She’s great, came to the store to buy chocolate kisses. Said she’s gotta lock her door to stop you from eating ‘em.” 

     -  In Deltarune chapter 2, there’s a scene where Toriel goes into Sans’ shop to get eggs she left on the counter and they share a lot of egg puns. Toriel leaves though when Asgore comes in with possibly the funniest joke ever. Also I love Asgore calling Sans bone man. I cannot do the scene justice, it’s one of my favorite things from Deltarune, you can watch it below.

-

  -   Moving on from games, Undertale had a cancelled alarm clock app that had a lot of dialouge from characters, but it can all be found on the undertale website. There’s a lot of moments with Sans and Toriel, but I’ll fit what I can. Here’s the website if you want to look for yourself: https://undertale.com/alarmclock/

 -  In the first winter Undertale newletter, there’s this:

-   In the 5th Anniversy stream, they have a commerical for some Undertale merch and I just thought Toriel wearing Sans merch was pretty cool.

Well I hoped you enjoyed my rambling but that’s it for what I have. okay bye i hope you enjoyed my delusion

#undertale #sans #undertalesans #sansundertale #soriel #toriel #undertaletoriel #undertale toriel #idk #I just needed to do this for some reason #let me know if I forgot anything because Im sure I did

[telltaleangelina]

TC tag game Thank you for the questions and for tagging me @renaultphile Rules: Answer the questions and tag other TC fans

"He would not fucking say that" only they did and it's canon. When/who?

I don’t think I’ve read it enough to have a sense of something like this. I really disliked Laurie’s scenes with Adrian though. So it’s not so much ‘he wouldn’t say that’ as ‘I would prefer to ignore the fact that he said/did that.'

2. Did they kiss in the study? Yes/no + why you are 100% correct about this.

I think they did. The first time I read it, I didn't really wonder if something had happened, only what had happened: I didn’t know if they’d only kissed or done anything more. Later, it seemed to be confirmed by Ralph’s letter that they’d not done ‘anything more,’ I just assumed it was a kiss, and I don’t really think the dialogue following the ellipses makes much sense without anything having happened. “Now you see what I mean, Spud. It would never have done, would it? Well, goodbye.” What could Laurie have seen if there was nothing besides a hug or handshake or something? What would never have done? Why ask him to ‘come here’ at all?

3. Mandatory question about Ralph's alleged tattoos.

I really don’t think he’d have any, but if he did I think it'd probably be something nautical.

4. 53 vs 59 edition: quote a line or paragraph that is better in the edition you like the least.

I don’t know which of them I read and I definitely haven’t read another addition, so I can’t answer this. Apparently, the earlier one had more detail and dialogue, so if I haven’t I’d love to read it

5. Which TC character would feel right at home here on tumblr dot com?

Sandy, I think he'd be great on here.

6. Tag yourself at Alec's birthday party.

Laurie reading a book or Laurie just at the beginning, sitting around awkwardly, listening to people’s conversations and wondering how on earth he ended up there.

7. Post a TC meme

The first I ever saw (on the Mary Renault tag) and still the funniest to me, I think because I understand it perfectly

8. Easy to talk about who deserved better. Who deserved worse?

Straike, I hate him with a fiery passion. The man had a dog put down, not because he was sick or anything but simply because he couldn’t be bothered to care for him. Vicar? Ridiculous.

9. You can break the fourth wall (at any point in the novel) and say a single sentence to our protagonist, Laurie Odell. What do you say?

'This is not Ancient Greece, stop being weird,' at the exact moment Andrew is telling him his traumatic life-story and Laurie is preoccupied worrying about Dave. Also related to the question, but not really asked for: if I could I’d also tell Andrew he doesn’t have to feel ashamed of how he feels about Laurie. Well, more accurately, I’d give him a modern copy of ‘Quaker Faith & Practice’ and have the relevant passages highlighted, so I know he won’t miss them. It makes me very sad for both Andrew and Dave that their whole lives could've been very different (and much happier) if they were born four or five generations later.

9. What's a question you have about TC? One you haven't found an answer for yet.

I can't think of any, besides wondering how Mary Renault could've written it because it's so good. I love the use of subtext, the way she describes emotions you've felt before but never would've been able to put into words on your own. In terms of characters and story, I do have a random question about Bunny: was it supposed to be implied that he was a perpetrator of sexual assault? I got that idea when I was reading the car scene between him and Laurie but I was unsure.

I don't know who to tag! I think all of the Charioteer accounts I know have already been tagged, but if anyone hasn't and wants to, I'd love to read your response!

#mary renault #the charioteer #tag game!

[jellolegos]

Oh say more about Rojascorp queen.......

I am going to try and articulate my feelings on Rojascorp in a way that is coherent and intelligent (honestly those words have never been used to describe my writing in my entire life) BUT here goes.

What I think I really love about Rojascorp is the tension derived from the dynamic of "I love you, I hate you, I will always be a part of you" and the way that those phrases act in a fluid state throughout the course of their decades long relationship.

I think that dynamic is very much heightened by the fact that the bond between Lena and Andrea occurs in their teenage and early adulthood. It feels like a rite of passage as a queer woman to have a homoerotic friendship with someone in your teenage years that simultaneously destroys you and shapes the way you view all of your future relationships. If I can push a little further and consider the topography of Lena's life, Andrea enters at a period where she has first lost her mother but not yet had her relationship with Lex distorted by his evildoing. This means that she would (if we are to just engage with them hypothetically as romantic partners/girlfriends/whatever), likely represent a first heartbreak and first true betrayal for Lena. There is something so uniquely tactile with the combination of first love and first heartbreak, especially for a character like Lena and I find it totally fascinating! Much the same could be said about Rhaenicent.

I also think a parallel that you could draw between Rhaenicent and Rojascorp is the way that class and rank could act as further strains on a budding romantic relationship (beyond just the boilerplate misogyny and homophobia). For Alicent and Rhaenyra the restriction is very clear, they are royals who need heirs. To engage in a relationship with another woman would disrupt the social fabric in a way so devastating that they could never recover. The way these women contend with this fate is one of the main strands of the show. Rhaenyra is able to find companionship with a man and Alicent, unable to do so in a similar capacity, retreats further into her religious zealotry and role as a mother (I LOVE show!alicent, please don't get me wrong, but I think it's hard to deny the way that her religion offers a clear escape and in many ways a form of self-punishment -- I could go on and on about Rhaenicent, I love them. BUT I don't think that is what you were after)

Where this gets a little more tricky to see clearly, in part because of the CW's awful writing and in part because of the very American romanticized ideal of a self-made millionaire/billionaire, is with Lena. If we are to believe that Lena is the sole inheritor of an aristocratic legacy as a billionaire, that imposes an entirely different set of social constraints on who she could involve herself with romantically. The CW (in my opinion) does a very bad job of portraying Lena as a wealthy person (her clothes, her offices, just the general ways she lives her life are so horribly distorted from the true level of wealth she is meant to have). But if we are to even bring a fraction of the physics that apply to the normal billionaire class, you again encounter the same issue: you need an heir. Just for reference, if you look at a list of the top 10 wealthiest women, all of them (sans the Waltons for hopefully pretty obvious reasons) have children who could act as dynastic inheritors. This would further complicate the potential for a romantic relationship with a woman. Although Andrea is likely of the same class (we get hints of it when we see her with her dad and obviously she's at the same Andover/Exeter/Trinity-coded boarding school), she is a woman which I would argue imposes the exact same restrictions as it does on Rhaenyra/Alicent, especially if we are going to dive into the WASP vibes that I think are implied with Lillian/just the American aristocratic class in general. This would heighten the taboo nature of the relationship, and make the realization of the weight of queerness all the more impactful (maybe I'm just too far into my reread of Oranges forgive me if this is not making any sense).

I think these two layers of first love/heartbreak and first bite of (for lack of more eloquent wording) the forbidden fruit, are so compelling and would be so informative about Lena as a character if they were applied. Her cynicism and general guardedness would have been seeds sewn not only by her mother's death but by the subsequent tragedies and betrayals she felt with her first romantic partner. Her overreaction and decision to create a tool that would force people to tell the truth, and only the truth, would hold so much more weight if paired with a B-plot that introduced her early heartbreak and parallels to Kara's betrayal. I am a horrible fiction writer, but if I were ever to write a character study of Lena in the form of a ficlet, Andrea would have to be a part of it purely as there is just so much to explore with her as a character alone and in Lena's early adulthood.

(One last thing then I will shut up I promise haha)

In a meta sense, I think what becomes clear to me is that Andrea seems to demonstrate how not canonizing supercorp was just as much about the "corp" as it was about the "super". I think I was always under the impression that the CW kept from canonizing supercorp as it would "endanger" (sorry, I hope you get my point here) their titular character. The risk to the network was in making their main character queer, not in making Lena queer. I think Andrea really offered them an easy out in this regard. Supercorp was well established as possible among the fans, and Lena had broken up with James for a number of episodes. Inserting a new romantic pairing would be easy and introducing Andrea as a former fling would be an easy way to make Lena queer (and hopefully appease fans [I know, I know. But let's think like a showrunner here]) but still make her unavailable for pairing with Kara. Andrea's lover could have easily been swapped with a brother, paralleling Lena's own fractured relationship with Lex. Lena would do anything for Lex, just as Andrea would do anything for her brother including betraying her girlhood fling. I guess in that sense it felt like such a natural way to simultaneously please the network and the fans who (obviously, rightfully) were frustrated at the overall romantic coding of two ostensibly straight women. Alex or Sam could have also presented viable options, but I think neither fit as smoothly into the position of "Lena's-fling-turned-ex-turned-fling-and-guess-what-she's-now-evil". I was really peripherally tuned into the show/drama pre-2020 so obviously I could be missing something but I guess that felt like a very obvious missed opportunity. The only thing I can really conclude is that they valued Lena not being queer just as much as Kara not being queer (maybe two queer female couples was too much? I'm not sure).

TLDR: I love supercorp with my whole heart AND I think Rojascorp is an incredible pairing and dynamic to explore. I think they have a lot of fanon parallels to Alicent and Rhaenyra (I could go on and on about Rhaenicent/HotD/ASOIAF but I think this is too long of an answer already, haha). There are a few Rojascorp fics/fic writers that I cling to with my entire heart and soul, I love you guys <3

#ramble #misc #asks

[fromkenari]

Waterloo Letters #2: You are a dark sorcerer

You are a dark sorcerer Henry [email protected]                6/8/20 3:23 PM to A Alex, I can’t think of a single other way to start this email except to say, and I do hope you will forgive both my language and my utter lack of restraint: You are so fucking beautiful. I’ve been useless for a week, driven around for appearances and meetings, lucky if I’ve made a single meaningful contribution to any of them. How is a man to get anything done knowing Alex Claremont-Diaz is out there on the loose? I am driven to distraction. It’s all bloody useless because when I’m not thinking about your face, I’m thinking about your arse or your hands or your smart mouth. I suspect the latter is what got me into this predicament in the first place. Nobody’s ever got the nerve to be cheeky to a prince, except you. The moment you first called me a prick, my fate was sealed. O, fathers of my bloodline! O, ye kings of olde! Take this crown from me, bury me in my ancestral soil. If only you had known the mighty work of thine loins would be undone by a gay heir who likes it when American boys with chin dimples are mean to him. Actually, remember those gay kings I mentioned? I feel that James I, who fell madly in love with a very fit and exceptionally dim knight at a tilting match and immediately made him a gentleman of the bedchamber (a real title), would take mercy upon my particular plight. I’ll be damned but I miss you. x Henry

Re: You are a dark sorcerer A [email protected]                6/8/20 5:02 PM to Henry H, Are you implying that you’re James I and I’m some hot, dumb jock? I’m more than fantastic bone structure and an ass you can bounce a quarter on, Henry!!!! Don’t apologize for calling me pretty. Because then you’re putting me in a position where I have to apologize for saying you blew my fucking mind in LA and I’m gonna die if it doesn’t happen again soon. How’s that for lack of restraint, huh? You really wanna play that game with me? Listen: I’ll fly to London right now and pull you out of whatever pointless meeting you’re in and make you admit how much you love it when I call you “baby.” I’ll take you apart with my teeth, sweetheart. xoxo A

Re: You are a dark sorcerer Henry [email protected]                6/8/20 7:21 PM to A Alex, You know, when you go to Oxford to get a degree in English literature, as I have, people always want to know who your favorite English author is. The press team compiled a list of acceptable answers. They wanted a realist, so I suggested George Eliot—no, Eliot was actually Mary Anne Evans under a pen name, not a strong male author. They wanted one of the inventors of the English novel, so I suggested Daniel Defoe—no, he was a dissenter from the Church of England. At one point, I threw out Jonathan Swift just to watch the collective coronary they had at the thought of an Irish political satirist. In the end they picked Dickens, which is hilarious. They wanted something less fruity than the truth, but truly, what is gayer than a woman who languishes away in a crumbling mansion wearing her wedding gown every day of her life, for the drama? The fruity truth: My favorite English author is Jane Austen. So, to borrow a passage from Sense and Sensibility: “You want nothing but patience—or give it a more fascinating name, call it hope.” To paraphrase: I hope to see you put your green American money where your filthy mouth is soon. Yours in sexual frustration, Henry

McQuiston, Casey. Red, White & Royal Blue: A Novel (pp. 202-205). St. Martin's Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

#waterloo letters #alex claremont diaz #henry fox mountchristen windsor #firstprince #red white and royal blue #casey mcquiston #out of credits

[aroace-polyshow]

This is the fic i was reading: defining love by tinkonka. have i finished it? no. apologies if it takes a weird turn. however, i present two pieces of YEHFDKSKJKLFJSDLKFS: 1. implied arospec rui and 2. the most BASED emurui takes ive seen in my whole entire life.

and for completionist's sake, here's a few more fics i have bookmarked, in no particular order!!

poor communication kills by HakaiEve: THE og aroace wxs fic. also recommend their other wxs works too because they get them. (also i think they have a tumblr with some aroace wxs art, if you haven't seen it yet!)

ikanaide by Gummysaur: maybe im just a sucker for sick fics and poetic language but. they all just care about their idiot troupe leader so much.... there's another one by them with the reverse plot of tsukasa taking care of emuruinene too that i remember relating to quite a bit!

the study of the sky, the sun, the star, and the moon by JadeMeraki: MY FAVORITE SERIES OF ALL TIME THE LANGUAGE THE HEADCANONS THE ABSOLUTELY UNFILTERED RAW TAKES i love this characterization and have accepted every word into my personal canon. i love this.

and by the same author, with hope: rui writing letters to his future self. im genuinely not ok reading this fic. the crossed out lines. the language. the despair and the hope that defines rui's core. this fic inspired me to write my own journal.

polysho nails by nonchalantatall: to be perfectly honest i do not remember this fic but 1. miracle paint reference 2. acey's favorite band reference (ajr) and 3. i must have saved it for a reason so now you will figure that out

How to Be Free by SkylerHyrule: VBS FANTASY AU (featuring the one and only tenma tsukasa and co). looooooove the way this is written and also this author understands vbs so well. really fun akian interactions too, a rarity in the field. If you like vbs i would also recommend their Misadventures of VBS's Clothes!

Infinity Spectrum by kjcoded: mizuki focused fic! the way this author describes gender stares directly into your soul and gives feelings you didn't even know you had a voice. i think about some of the lines in this daily.

Disparate Threads by MiyoatThePineapple: a little tsukasa-focused poem on creation and loving your friends a whole great deal :) (i am a sucker for poetic language)

if you're ever tired of being known for who you know (you know, you'll always know me) by dizzi_dizzy: like it says on the tin, tsukasa through ichika's eyes. it has been a while since i read it but again. bookmarked it for a reason. i think it had some great language on the passage of time?

july 27th, 2015 by anonymous: i left a comment here about dragonfly symbolism and characterization. i think that's all i need to say about it actually. yeah. loved it.

that was... a lot more than i thought i had. lol. anyways. book club!

ourgh saving all of these to my marked later thank you so much acey i will have so much to read. if i remember some bookmarked fics in particular that i really liked i will recommend them to you as well. book club!!!!!!! :3

#asks #to read later #aura tag ☆

[tobiasdrake]

That was a complete unmitigated disaster. Good job, everyone. We're heroes.

If he dies, I'm hitting you with my beatstick.

Not because I blame you or anything. You stuck your neck out to help us and I really appreciate what you're doing for us. I want you to know that.

No, I just mean that if he dies, I am going to be an absolute emotional wreck and am liable to start lashing out at whatever's nearby. Zale already knows to get out of the way. This isn't a threat, it's a caution warning.

My life, your life, I'll throw this whole goddamn village under the bus if I have to. I know what my answer to the Trolley Problem is and I'm not ashamed to say it.

And so we somehow wrap right back around to "We will either burgle this powerful wizard or rob them; Let's roll those dice!"

This is a bit of a pattern with you, isn't it Captain Cliche?

That just sounds like ordinary sibling drama to me. I think all siblings are like that.

Oh, that's convenient. We might have some moral qualms about this if she was the good or neutral one. I mean, as mentioned, if I had to beat her to death with a stick to save Garl, I'd do it either way. But if she's the evil one, then I can sleep easy tonight even if this burgla-robbery does go south in the worst possible way.

Oh shit, is he going to charge us in obols? Because all I have is gold. And not much gold, since I spent all of it on an incredible piece of gear that is currently in Garl's possession, goddammit.

Look, if I made good lifestyle choices, I wouldn't have come to this island voluntarily and with full knowledge of what I would find here.

Oh, she has a real name now. Well, welcome aboard, Cap'n. You will continue referring to me as God-Empress... whatever I fucking said when we met, I have no idea.

Oh god, you have to talk to him in rhyme. Do we get free passage if we can beat him in a rap battle?

Well, fuck. He beat us in the rap battle so Cap'n had to get desperate.

That answers my questions about how the Coin gets used. You do not have to be sneaky about it. If you hand it over to the undead entity, they are required to accept your business transaction.

But it doesn't enslave them or anything. You get one transaction. Nothing more.

Such a fascinating artifact.

So much for buying the Vespertine with it. But honestly, that's for the best. Like I noted earlier, the Captain of the Vespertine was thrown overboard so it's not even his ship anymore.

Well, we're here. And we aren't going back without proper payment this time. We have a necromancer to burgle (or rob) and a green flame to locate.

Yeah. Uh. I'll keep that in mind, inexplicable Victorian Gentleman.

And might I just say, I appreciate the civility. Not every undead is as polite as you. Which may or may not be related to the recent rise in broken kneecaps among zombie servants.

Like these guys. Nobody with a tongue like that ever has good intentions. Those guys are getting their kneecaps broken.

But you and I? As long as things stay civil, we're cool.

...I already miss Garl. He was very good at keeping us all well-nourished.

Oh, it's you again. If you aren't on guard patrol then what are you? Like, her secretaries or something?

Yeah, if I wanted to design a place that screams "Necromancer's Lair, enter at your own peril", this is what I'd go with.

Oh, this guy is a guard; He was just being lenient earlier. Okay, guess we can add a couple more kneecaps to the list.

Oh shit, I think the pirates were talking about this guy. The Dweller's mansion used to be his.

Y'know, if this island is a duchy then that implies the existence of a kingdom that this duchy is a territory of. I wonder what king or queen Aventry served under?

Questions later. Kneecaps now.

WHOA HO HO HO That is a huge skull-hammer. I love it. I'm going to take it off your corpse after your deanimation.

It's even color-coordinated for me already.

That's what I thought. Between me and my cinnamon roll is a bad place to stand. I'm glad we're on the same page about that now.

Oh yeah, by all means. We'll be over here. Giggling. Because Zale got old off by a zombie for not being quick enough.

Teehee.

I can't believe you managed to make a friend out of the security guard whose kneecaps we just broke. During the robbery in progress. I'm genuinely awestruck by your socializing abilities.

#sea of stars #drake plays sea of stars

[paradoxcase]

@korla-the-kenku:

As yet unsent is the short story that takes place in the middle of the book

Oh, is this going to explain what Camilla and Corona and Judith were doing on that random planet?

@wellhappybirthdaytomeiguess:

So it’s implied I think that Pyrrha always made sure her eyes were not seen when she took over Gideon’s body. For example, when she was dallying with Wake-in-Cytherea, she never turned around to face Harrow…

Sure, but Harrow spoke face-to-face with both of them during and after the incinerator incident, and she would have noticed if their eyes had changed, wouldn't she?

@eye-lantern:

I think the packet Pyrrah mention is the one with the cigarets. There is a theory about Gideon not smoking, and that every time he does, it's Pyrrah. It would explain his nod after the diner where he got exploded.

That would make sense based on the fact that Pyrrha was the one who smoked, but I don't think there's enough information right now to say that Pyrrha would have done that little nod but Gideon wouldn't have. Like, I don't know. Gideon was only around for this one book, and for the most part we don't know for sure which things they did were him and which were Pyrrha, and for most of the book they were acting under orders from John anyway, and they both seem like they'd kind of be don't-rock-the-boat kind of people. I'm assuming Pyrrha gets more development in the next book, but do we ever get a good sense of what kind of person Gideon was? And if that was Pyrrha, then I think the other Lyctors would definitely have noticed the eye color change if there was one

@wellhappybirthdaytomeiguess:

The passage about the fight between little Gideon and little Harrow reminds me how, despite how unlikeable Harrow is in Gideon, how miserable her life has to be to contemplate suicide at ten years old. :-(

Yeah. And the way Gideon is talking about it there, it sounds like maybe she is feeling guilty that she might have made Harrow feel that way because of what she said

I THINK the bit at the end with Harrow in the tomb is intended to imply she is putting herself in the same place where Gideon spent time in her mind. And she knows the magazine isn’t real because she knew the mags Gideon got. She talked at one point about them being really bad. Methinks she protests too much :-p

Why would the Tomb feature in this fantasy, then? Or is it just sort of the implication that Gideon hanging out in her head for the whole book added some stuff to Harrow's mental space, or something like that?

@racefortheironthrone:

@wellhappybirthdaytomeiguess Regarding the magazines, I've seen a couple different theories, all involving Harrow secretly perusing them under the guise of some official function: one theory is that Gideon was getting the mags via tampering with requisition letters and that Harrow was aware of it and signed off of the titles anyway, another theory is that Harrow regularly searched Gideon's cell and would just "confiscate" the stuff under her mattress, etc.

A+ theories, I love it

@wandering-minx:

Re John's eye color in the 21st century. It actually has an explanation in Nona. Re: Harrow's knowledge on dirty magazines there is a theory about how she could have this knowledge but it deals with spoilers from "The Unwanted Guest" short story to be read after Nona.

Ok, cool, I'll be interested to get to that

@eye-lantern:

Also yeah the dramatis personae from Nona is the key change that while it is still the same song, you are going to see a lot of new things

I can't wait for this, either. I know I've seen a few different names that looked BOE-like, but the only specific one I can remember right now is Hot Sauce

#the locked tomb #harrow the ninth #korla-the-kenku #wellhappybirthdaytomeiguess #eye-lantern #racefortheironthrone #wandering-minx

[imaginarydaydreams]

Picking Flowers on Devils Point: Prologue

Fandom: Persona 2 Eternal Punishment (ft. Innocent Sin) Concept: “A bouquet for the boy who loved too much. That way, you never forget the sin you committed.” A retelling of Persona 2 Eternal Punishment, but Tatsuya Suou has hanahaki disease. A retelling of Persona 2 Eternal Punishment, but Tatsuya Suou has Hanahaki disease. Heavily implied Tatsujun but this ain't about them. Date Written: 7/22/2023 Thoughts: Welcome…to the Sky Museum—Thunderdome. Welcome to the Thunderdome. This is the first part in what I hope to be a multi chapter fic that I will actually finish. Thank you to my collaborator, @thatrandomlittlegirl, for being my enabler and most importantly, helping me fact check everything because god knows my memory in terms of events that happened in Persona 2 IS and EP is shaky at best, despite us playing the games together. AO3 Link | Tagging: @pieuteu

"You know what? I'm glad we met again. Next time, you're gonna join my band, got that? It's a promise; don't forget." "Chinyan, darling...remember me, no matter what. I love you..." "I won't forget; not my sin, not you, not anyone. We'll meet again, and together, we'll save Maya. So I won't say goodbye, only...thank you." "I shall always watch over you from within, and pray that you break through the unwritten laws of destiny and remember each other...Farewell." Farewell.  That was such a finite word, Tatsuya thought as he watched his friends leave one by one through the portal connecting the new world to the old, into the new timeline they had created. With each tearful goodbye, each back turned on him, he could only stare silently while they disappeared into the void, the memories reclaimed after years apart melting away in exchange for a hopeful future where their big sister figured lived once more.  But was that not such a steep price to pay? They had only just found each other again. Saving Jun from the clutches of a demented god; clearing up the misconceptions from ten years ago; fighting for humanity’s future with the power of the friendships once forged at an unassuming shrine so long ago… A mere few days wasn’t enough when the world sought to fall apart around them before they could even play catch-up. Especially when a majority of that time was spent ignorant to the truth and each other’s identities.  Tatsuya clenched his fists at the unfairness of it all. He didn’t want to do this—to forget his time with his beloved friends. He had only just gotten them back. It wasn’t fair that they were so cruelly taken away because of a stupid bet between gods and a cheating prophecy that they couldn’t ever hope of beating.  And yet, he didn’t really have a choice in the matter anymore. Eikichi, Lisa, Jun, and he had all made their decisions immediately. Their memories as payment for Maya’s life. To go back on his promise now was to trample the hopes and dreams they carried for this new world. One where humanity’s dark wish didn’t follow them and bring to fruition a future of ruin. He didn’t have a right to step back on that decision. But that didn’t mean that he wasn’t upset about everything. Heaving a sigh, Tatsuya took a step towards the portal, readying himself to pass through and lose everything, when he was stopped by a hand roughly grabbing the sleeve of his blazer. “And just where do you think you’re going?” The voice was as distorted as ever, but he recognized it all the same. He turned around and came face to face with his shadow, its bright red eyes gazing back at him with scorn, just like back in the Leo Temple. Tatsuya unconsciously moved to flick his lighter, but the comforting feeling of metal clasped between his fingers was nowhere to be found. Ah, that’s right. This was the passage between dimensions; if he was going to move on, then in this new world, he and Jun technically would never have met—never would have exchanged their personal treasures with each other in front of that shop once upon a time. It made sense if he was already being stripped of everything that connected him to this side.  The loss of yet another precious memory burned in his chest.  Instead, Tatsuya shoved at the hand still holding him in a vice grip as irritation began prickling at his skin. His other hand, still seeking out the cool metal of his once prized possession, clenched and unclenched at his side. This only made his shadow laugh, the harsh sound carried through the vastness of the void around them.

“What? You think I’m stepping out of line?” His facial features twisted into a cruel grin, eyes practically gleaming with derision. “I’m only telling the truth, Tatsuya; after all, that’s why I’m here in the first place. “I’ve told you before, you self-righteous hypocrite, your weakness is a sin. What makes you think that you can take on the necessary burden to save the world? “You couldn’t even save the life of your beloved older sister figure.” At those words, Tatsuya grabbed his shadow by the collar, arm poised at the ready to strike. However, his shadow didn’t even bother gracing him with a flinch, as if expecting this of his other self. Rather, he only looked unamused, eyes watching Tatsuya like a hawk, waiting.  "If you really want to go to the Other Side, go ahead. Strike me down. Forget about your friends, your memories—all of the things you did, here and now. Your other half isn’t here to shelter you like before. So let's see your resolve.”  Tatsuya’s fist shook with barely restrained anger.  How dare he. Was he not already proving his resolve by choosing to give up everything for this slim chance at a better future? Was he not already showing how strong he was—giving up the sliver of happiness he was denied after ten long, long years of loneliness and isolation? He didn’t have his friends by his side for so long yet, through a chance meeting, met them again… only to have them ripped away oh-so suddenly because some god decided he wanted to win a stupid bet that damn badly? And now his shadow of all things was saying that he didn’t have the strength to move on?  He could kill his shadow right here and now with his bare hands. Prove his resolve and leave this doomed world behind. All he had to do was let go of everything holding him back.   But as his mind filled with the last words spoken to him in the Sea of Souls, he hesitated. He thought back on everything that happened—the impromptu Joker game at Sumaru Prison leading a ragtag group on a wild goose chase throughout the entire city; finally getting closure for the Alaya Shrine incident; and reuniting with people he thought he would never see again. Could he really give all of that up? It was such a short amount of time they had together…  “I don’t…I don’t want to forget what happened. How could I forget…?”  Tatsuya’s fist dropped, his grip on his shadow’s collar loosening ever so slightly.  His shadow sneered. "Oh you can't? Figures. You’ve never been able to make decisions for yourself, always relying on the strengths of others. Pathetic, aren’t you? You can't do anything, the way you are now. 

“And this is why you don’t deserve this second chance.”  The split second hesitation was all that was needed as hands shot out and wrapped themselves around Tatsuya’s neck, squeezing and constricting his air flow immediately. The crushing weight of the memories that clung to him like a vice felt suffocating in the grip his shadow had around his neck. Tatsuya tried to scramble to break the hold on him—to shove his shadow away, kick him, bite even, anything to just breathe—but his shadow was relentless. The fluttering of his heart pounding incessantly against his rib cage spoke to the very real part of him that didn’t want to die yet, fear crawling down his spine. Was he really going to die here? Was he really not going to be able to fulfill his promise? After a few moments, the grip loosened and Tatsuya fell to the floor, lungs burning and coughs racking his body as he tried to take in the oxygen he was deprived of.  His shadow looked at him, disgusted. “Whatever. In the end, you’re free to continue to cling to those damnable memories of yours. But—“ Hands immediately pulled Tatsuya back up to his feet and every nerve in his being seized up on instinct, moving his arms sluggishly to protect his throat. His body was pulled forward with such force that he stumbled, face to face with red eyes that glowed with an ethereal anger. “—just know you can never outrun the guilt of your sins.” With that, a rough shove propelled Tatsuya backwards and he fell through the portal. A darkness unlike any other began to overtake his vision. Right as he was carried to the new world, Tatsuya could have sworn he heard muttered words in the distance. “For your sake, I can only hope the consequences of your actions come back to bite you.”

——————

When the world came back into focus, Tatsuya was lying on a dark checkered tile floor, marble pillars positioned in a semi-circle reaching into a starry sky. Glowing runes floated around him, undulating with magic that seemed to keep the entire place together. He slowly sat up, taking in his surroundings. He was back in the Sea of Souls. But why? Didn't he just come from there, or some extension thereof? And where was Philemon?  However, before Tatsuya could stand and start to look around, the sound of loud clapping and thunderous laughter reverberated through the space, bouncing off the shadows that enveloped him. "Let's give it up for Tatsuya Suou, Philemon's beloved champion! The boy who doomed the whole world with his selfishness!” From the darkness, a sharp click was heard before a tall figure stepped out, the edges of a Sevens uniform coming into view and fluffy brown hair illuminated by the runes that surrounded them. A gleam caught Tatsuya’s eye, a familiar sight of a metal lighter held between the figure’s hands.  For a moment, he thought that his shadow had followed him across universes to perhaps finish him off—his muscles tensed in the case of a fight breaking out—but the golden eyes that stared down at him with contemptuous condescension spoke to who it was that greeted him. The creature wearing his face gave him a mouth-splitting smile, the corners of its lips curling impossibly far as it delighted in Tatsuya’s shock. “Don’t you think this visage suits me? Or, perhaps—“  A blinding flash of light forced Tatsuya to close his eyes and, when it was once again safe to open them, he found a mockery of his best friend, eyes closed and a sweet smile on his face, standing in its place. A silver watch adorned his wrist, catching the light as if to further taunt Tatsuya on what he couldn’t have.  “—you’re more inclined towards his face, hmm? After all, this is your beloved, the one you yearn to see most.” Even the voice was the same. Yet the distortion underlying the words served as a reminder to who was truly in front of him.  Tatsuya immediately lunged at the cruel god, the burning embers of rage licking at his veins as hands readied to rip him to shreds. He already played his asinine game; no way in hell was he going to let this farce continue for even a second. Not on his nor Jun’s honor.  However, inky black hands sprouted from the floor below, grabbing onto his limbs and pinning him down with an inhuman strength. The pressure was enough to force Tatsuya in a kneeling position no matter how much he struggled. A smile began to slowly spread across Nyarlathotep’s lips at the sight of the proud lion reduced to a mere docile kitten.  “Ah, ah, ah, watch that temper of yours, Sun Arcana. You wouldn’t want to hurt the face of the one you hold dearest, no?” Another haughty and malicious laugh echoed through the void as Tatsuya snarled but didn’t make any further movement. The nails digging into his skin served as a well-needed distraction because, loathe as he was to admit it, Tatsuya couldn’t bear to attack any version of Jun. 

Even if that version was currently a monster wearing his face. Swallowing his pride, Tatsuya just bowed his head, hiding his eyes behind his bangs. At least this way, he didn’t have to witness this disgusting display before him. Nyarlathotep resumed his closed-eyed fox smile, head tilted in contented glee as he circled Tatsuya like a predator to prey. “In the end, you chose to forgo the parameters you yourself decided and kept your memories in an act of pure selfishness. You pushed all the pain upon your friends, yet retained your memories…you claim that I’m evil, but I would say you’re just as heartless as you say I am."  The footsteps stopped directly in front of Tatsuya but he refused to look up. Nyarlathotep instead bent down at the waist and hooked a finger under Tatsuya’s chin, forcing his head up so their faces were leveled with one another. “So tell me, how does it feel to sit upon your throne of lies and broken promises, knowing that everything is and was futile in the end?”  Tatsuya flinched at the words. The Crawling Chaos cackled.  “What will you do now, hmm? Doom this world like you did the other, on account of your selfish wish? Start over again anew? You had your one chance and yet you squandered it, all in the name of the tepid things you humans call bonds.” From his spot, Tatsuya began to curl into himself, fists clenching tighter. He hated this. He hated the fact that he had done the one thing he swore he wouldn’t while he was still battling with uncertainty towards the decision to start the world anew. And in doing so, he had betrayed his friends’ feelings. And for what? Because he himself didn’t want to let them go so soon? Maybe his shadow was right about him being a hypocrite… “No need to feel bad—this is what you humans wanted after all. But perhaps you wish for some comfort? A shoulder to cry on? You’re looking for the wrong person if you think I can provide that. But maybe…” The monster knelt down in front of Tatsuya and slowly reached a hand out to touch his hair, fingers tracing down—past his bangs, the curve of his cheekbone, under his chin—before settling back against his cheek in a tender caress. It felt cold. Tatsuya closed his eyes.  “Tatsuya…” 

No… “Tatsuya, it’s alright…”

Anything but this… The hand cupping his cheek was so achingly gentle. The telltale distortion marking the cruel, faceless god had disappeared, the voice calling out to him light and soft, so much like the voice he was so familiar with. Flashes of memories exploded behind his mind’s eye—small touches here and there, a dazzling smile, bright laughter, and the scent of floral notes mixed with a mild perfume… He should know better. He should know better, but a part of him wanted to give in, to chase after the siren’s song that lured him in. Even though Tatsuya knew—knew that behind those closed eyelids awaited, not the beautiful brown irises he loved, but a cold, unfeeling golden glare—it was the closest he could ever be to his beloved in a world that pegged them as strangers.  But still, Tatsuya remained quiet. Silence passed for a beat or two and, ever the hopeful one, Tatsuya thought that perhaps Nyarlathotep had given up on this charade and gotten bored. However, the sound of feet shuffling closer and a body shifting positions gave the answer. “It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything, Tatsuya. I’m never leaving your side…” Something soft pressed against his forehead.  The tender dissonance of the action caused Tatsuya to jerk his head to the side, away from the offending figure, biting down on his tongue as his body shook with unbridled rage. He thrashed against the hands holding him down but they didn’t let up. This only caused the figure—brash, cold, and threatening; nothing like the soft and sweet memories of his Jun—to cackle. "Now, now, don't turn away. You and I both know that this is the one face you could never deny," ‘Jun' opened his eyes and instead of the warm browns that Tatsuya knew and loved, they shone gold, glimmering with malice. “Brilliant. Look at that expression, teeming with desolation." “As much as I would like to keep you here to torment for eternity, that’s not what I’m here for.” Having said that, the fake doppelgänger stood up. With a snap of his fingers, a crown of red flowers materialized into his hands. It seemed to pulsate, swaying in an invisible wind as a few petals dropped to the floor like droplets of fresh blood. Between each bloom, the same inky hands that held Tatsuya down linked together in a mass of writhing limbs, forming a monstrous Mobius strip of sorts.  “A gift for you, Paradox Boy. The first of two. I think you’ll find it quite thoughtful.” Nyarlathotep chuckled as if proud of himself. “A crown for the king of fools May it serve as a testament to your greatest sin, the reminder of the point at which this world was doomed by your own hands.” Another silence rang out in the Sea of Souls and Tatsuya peered up cautiously, bracing himself for whatever that monster had in store. He could still see the image of Jun—‘not Jun,’ he reminded himself; the unnatural gold staring coldly down at him shattered all illusion he could have deluded himself into—looking at him with an expression he never thought his Jun could have.  “I won’t give you an explanation for what this does. That would ruin the fun. But considering all the time you’ve spent with my previous pawn, you’ll know what these mean.” Bending down slightly, the Crawling Chaos placed the flower crown upon Tatsuya’s head.

As soon as the crown touched his brow, a sharp pain coursing through his body caused his sight to become blurry, body quaking and writhing from the shock. Tatsuya wanted to scream, cry, curl up onto the floor–anything to get away from the pain assaulting his body—but the hands still gripping onto him kept him upright. At least there was the comfort that they loosened enough to give him back mobility in his arms, even if it was slight. An involuntary cough left him, shaky as the breaths he tried to take in through the hands that covered his mouth. When he pulled one hand away, Tatsuya could barely make out the blobs of red that coated his fingers. They smelled slightly floral with a hint of iron.  He could only stare bleary-eyed at the god in question. Said god only huffed in response. “Oh don’t worry. This won’t be enough to kill you. After all, this is meant to be a punishment. There would be no fun if I just allowed you to simply die. “No, no. I want you to remember your sins with every breath you take and have carved into your heart the reminder that no one can escape Fate so easily. “That is my final mercy to you, Paradox Boy,” Nyarlathotep said, his voice still distinctly Jun’s but now carrying the power of the monstrous god behind it. “And one that is far more kind than anything Philemon could ever give you.” As the Crawling Chaos dissipated into the shadows, the echoes of maniacal laughter leaving Tatsuya alone in the Sea of Souls, he swore he could see the faint, weak fluttering of golden butterfly wings in the corner of his eye.

——————

At the front of an unassuming train station, six strangers met for the first time.

#persona 2 #persona 2 innocent sin #persona 2 eternal punishment #persona 2 spoilers #tatsuya suou #implied tatsujun #stories weaved from the stars

[demonscantgothere]

Just in theory, what do you think, if Galadriel accepted the offer to rule with Sauron, married etc, soon or later would Sauron think about an heir? Or does he love power so much that he would never give it even to his child?

It depends how far into the lore we get with this question! If you want to be hardcore about the lore, technically the only other time a Maia ever married an Elf was when Melian married Thingol, and some say it's implied they may have needed special dispensation for that because Maiar aren't meant to get involved with the Children of Ilúvatar. I can't recall a passage where it was ever clarified, though. Maiar are like angels in this world, while Elves and Dwarves and Men are just people. So, it's like Michael or Gabriel going to God and asking for permission to marry a mortal if you want a Christian example by comparison. But is permission even needed? I don't recall a passage where Melian sought permission to marry Thingol.

Tolkien doesn't really get into procreation with Maiar, so exactly what allowed Melian to have a child with Thingol isn't directly addressed. Considering we don't have any examples outside from Melian of Maiar having a child, this is murky. That gives us breathing room, but also begs the question: even without permission, why don't any other Maiar have children outside of Melian?

Then again, Tolkien liked marriage coming before babies even with his villains, so I'm not going to read too far into that.

I think, however, if Sauron is already open to the possibility of marriage, then he would also be open to the possibility of children coming from that union. Typical power struggles between children and parents arise when you know one day the parent has to pass on for the child to take up the mantle, so I don't think that applies here with him being immortal. Any child he has would be more Elf than Maia with just a touch of his blood and power, and to me, the idea would remain pretty strong that they would be below him on the totem pole regardless. Unless said child planned on trying to kill/destroy him, I don't see how or why he would have to share power with any child he might have, so it would be a moot point to Sauron unless they raised a knife to him one day.

#saurondriel #sauron x galadriel #galadriel x sauron #haladriel #galadriel x halbrand #halbrand x galadriel #the rings of power #rings of power #trop