#like these are just MY interpretations that are entirely and heavily formed by my life experiences and understanding of my identity

[aroanthy]

Besides Anthy what other characters do you are aro- or any kind of a-spec?

All Of Them.

on a more serious note, im very partial to the following aspec readings of characters:

aroace/aroace lesbian nanami; one thing to know about me is that i realised i was aromantic because of two things. the first is that i wrote a 55k word fanfiction about two side characters from the 2005 bbc political satire 'the thick of it' that was basically just me airing my fundamental discomfort with romantic relationships, and the second is watching her tragedy and the romance of the dancing girls for the first time. Yeag.

aromantic nanami is profoundly important to me and i really just resonate with her character on a personal level. like shes so me. i dont get it. i too have convinced myself of all kinds of taboo and 'weird' affections and feelings because i Dont Understand Romance (just as a side note: i understand why some people take the cold turkey 'nanami never considered romantic feelings for her brother!!' reading, but for me personally. i think it's important to consider nanami considering those feelings, specifically because they make her feel uncomfortable, alienated, etc. there's also lots of interesting things to be said about how incest can affirm heteronormativity (and how it can't!! but that's more of a kaoru twins can of worms)).

and there's other stuff but we needn't get into that. i love when other people feel able to talk in-depth about how their personal expereinces shape their responses to rgu, but im not quite at that point with certain things. i do also just really like reading nanami as an aroace lesbian bc i find her connection with utena specifically to be soooooo. gah. delicious. fascinating. devastating. and also i love aroace lesbains they are the best

asexual utena; i just think he's neat :} sometimes i feel hesitant to read characters as asexual if theyre teenagers or if they have sexual trauma and funnily (not) enough, utena is both! having said that, i recently decided 'fuck it' and have been thinking about this interpretation of his character more and more. like, my aromantic identity is partially political, partially trauma-informed, and i feel quite strongly about queerness in part being one's choice to define (or not define) themselves on their own terms, be they 'contradictory' or 'inaccurate' or whatever the hell else.

i also have a fondness for asexual masculine characters. me personally i read utena as butch and transmasc and i think it's really interesting to think about how that queer masculinity can be expressed outside of allosexuality, especially considering what rgu as a show tries to do wrt that matter. dont ask me about my feelings on ikuhara and false dichotomies of love and lust in his works or i WILL explode ok sarazanami is The aroallo show and im soooo normal about it all tbh

i have this kind of vague arospec touga reading that im always knocking about in my head but kind of scared to talk about online because like. it's quite a lot to get into and, as an aroallo person, i dont want to get into discourse about if it's problematic to read a character like touga in that way. bc like. i dont think it is. but that's because i'm basing this reading off of my own lived experience and understanding of what aromantic allosexuality can look like. to be honest, if i really had to stick labels on them (bc labels are a shorthand to me that never fully express the complexity of identity that i want to personally (writer disease)) i read anthy as an aromantic lesbian and touga as aromantic and gay. but normally you would have to waterboard that out of me because im terrified of how people who aren't aroallo respond to aroallo conceptions of like... Anything. lol.

i think the tldr of Why im compelled by those similar readings of their characters is. something about how terrifying and constraining and rigid and incomprehensible and inaccessible romance feels to me as a concept. and something else about how important sex is to me as a concept, and kind of. this radical sex positivity that is so essential, imho, to beginning to unpack the issues baked into our hetero- and amatonormative conceptions of romance and sex, and thus reclaim human connection as we please. blah blah blah wah wah wah body as a bargaining chip or whatever (guy who is mildly terrified of talking about these things for Reasons).

that's it for specific readings i have of specific characters, but i will say that i do find it hard to put myself in the shoes of certain characters if im thinking of them as alloromantic. like i think juri probably is but i dont not understand her conflict with shiori and why it agonises her so much. but tbf, most of my focus on juri as a character is her struggle for self-acceptance and her fascinating gender troubles. funnily enough, that's also kind of how i feel about saionji. they are just both so genderfuck self-hating gay plagued by the power dynamics and i love that for them.

anway yeag :} rejoice, aromanticism be upon ye

[local-diavolo-anon]

i'm back!

ok so 2/3 days ago i found this youtube video where op turned Springtrap (or well, William Afton) into a fully build DnD character, and if i say so myself: things got out of hand fast

so here is my take on DnD Springtrap and specifically on that build (adding more infos under the cut for who is interested, i suggest to watch the video first)

starting with saying that unless you're playing in a scifi setting, this build is either not for you or to be modified, since in later levels spells are heavily centered around technomagic and electronic devices; personally when i will play him i will probably tinker around with the chosen spells and cantrips to make him less violently niche and/or more versatile

which kinda saddens me because it takes away not little of the characterization but, given most dnd stories take place in a medieval fantasy or high fantasy setting, a cantrip like On/Off or a spell like Remote Access are NOT particularly useful; so i will go for more psychic damage or necromancy oriented abilities, maybe i might take more than just 4 levels in artificier as well (especially given that again, all of those warlock spells at later levels are all technology oriented) but i need to see what those offer

however it is a kinda tank-y build given that with a shield on you can get up to a 27 of Ac, so even with low damage and not much hp you would not struggle too much to stay alive, and i like that!

as for the character himself, i put too much effort into my interpretation not to share it, so if anyone wants to play this guy as well, i fabricated a possible backstory that might come useful:

The character goes by the name "Dave Miller" (or whatever variant you want to use), and was originally a human artificier who created constructs for a living, mainly with the goal of offering aid to who needed it for whatever reason.

There however he ran into an issue, that being that a robot need a power source, and his own heart and lungs could not sustain a whole robot by themselves.

After losing part of his family to some kind of accident he became terrified of death, so with age he started replacing his own body parts with machinery to delay his last days (which made him a cyborg), until the point where he was very very close to become just a robot.

(This part may or may not involve a pact with a deity of death, this entirely depends on how you want to play him but it would make sense since the build is an artificier/warlock hybrid)

Through particular and very much not illegal experiments tied to necromancy he discovered that the life force of a living being could be shared, and used as a form of fuel. (possibly: age lived of the creature used= amount of extra months you get)

Here comes the second problem: this only worked with intelligent creatures, and more specifically, it worked best with creatures of your own race, which meant that he either went around murdering people or he found another solution. Non same-race creatures worked as well but not as good and there were not easy to find in the middle of a city and with a shop tied to your name.

And here is where and WHY he'd join a party of adventurers: after some time, his reserves or fuel were running VERY thin, and running into a group of adventurers was a god sent because by joining their party he essentially got a free pass to kill whoever he wanted, and reduce them to a dried raisin after sucking some life force out of them. Doing so you learn that the mowe powerful the creature is, the more energy it produces as well.

Your goal, that you as the player are following, when role-ing your character? essentially slay whatever powerful BBEG your Dm throws at you and suck all of that juicy fuel out of them, so that you can return to your little shop in the middle of the capital and return to create and sell whatever weird construct, doll, or robot comes to your mind for another few decades undisturbed.

And this is it. I think this might be a good backstory that could fit pretty much any setting you want to play this guy into, be it classic dnd or some scifi futuristic thing.

of course you don't NEED to use this one line per line, make up your own without looking back if you don't like it lol, dnd is the "make up shit and have fun" game after all!

Edit: also no his outfit makes no sense, i just went with vibes and decided a tanktop dress shirt, a twin tailed gilet and suspenders OVER said gilet was a good choice.

[christnarr]

jeb and phobos relationship interpretation/analysis

sorry if its a bit aimless its rewritten from several discord messages from the past few years

all of this provides screenshots of canon evidence to back it up

overall warning for abusive situations and heavy themes

first i want to get into the way nexus scientists as a whole were treated:

theres a few things that stand out to me here, on what scientists are expected not to do:

"-any interaction with outsiders", implying nexus scientists are either heavily monitored when they interact with people outside the nexus or theyre just not allowed to at all

-they cant have "unusual feelings of rage, hostility, depression". pretty self explanatory

the tower guards also have no problem using physical force against you in the cutscenes

if employees are fired or quit, they are killed:

phobos only refers to jeb with his first name in the professional setting rather than christoff, adding to the lack of respect phobos has for him

(as much as this often goes both ways with jeb using "phobos" when hes mad, i bring this up as a point in the piling evidence suggesting the dynamic between them is built on control, disrespect, and dehumanization. if you ask me the contexts of phobos using "jebediah" vs jeb using "phobos" are completely different in their own way, but i wanted to say that anyways to clear it up)

just from the science tower cutscene alone we see how much degrading language phobos uses towards jeb too

^= if you want to get into theory territory, theres also the flavor text for postfall jebs labcoat:

"ablating damage from harsh language" huh

another two lines that are super important to me:

1. phobos says that jeb does as he says until the day phobos releases him to the other place, essentially saying jeb is under phoboses control for life, until phobos decides to kill jeb himself.

2. phobos says he picked jeb up from the wastes of nevada and set him on his path. this line will be brought up a lot later for different reasons

this establishes the amount of control phobos really has over jeb and the other scientists, the way he treated/punished them, and what working at the nexus means; its a lifelong commitment thats meant to be your purpose, and for a lot of people it wasnt even a choice. its implied that ultimately this was the case for jeb, given that employees are killed upon termination of employment. jeb may have been passionate about his work, but he still wasnt allowed to leave. he deserved the choice, regardless if he would have taken it or not.

with this in mind i imagine that jeb himself was labeled as "defiant" given how much of a control freak he is, how he speaks up about his grievances with phoboses decisions and any idea he doesnt agree with;

thus making him much more isolated from the general society than the rest of the scientists. in my mind this is why we dont see him in nevada central during arena mode like we do crackpot and hofnarr. jeb has more restrictions placed on him since hes perceived as more likely to reveal company secrets, rally people against the nexus, etc.

so this amount of control, pressure, isolation was particularly harsher for him. which gets into my next point:

phobos played a hand in shaping "the savior"

i think phobos in some way planted the seeds for the future motives of every head scientist we see. he plays a very strong narrative force in mpn even after his death, which is what i like about him.

in jebs case its the expectation of being nexus city/nevadas savior. his intentions from the very beginning were to save the world:

jeb and the other scientists were put on a pedestal in the form of propaganda to the city

he genuinely feels above people and that its his purpose to save them because thats what he was told his entire life.

and jeb was given significant pressure to be perfect and not to make any mistakes

"do whatever it takes, jebediah"

i like to think that outlook stuck with him

jeb had this idea that his purpose is to save the world instilled into him for years. not only that, but he found out that it was all for nothing. being the person he is, of course he would want to take matters into his own hands. be the savior he was always meant to be. trying to claim hes broken free of the past, when subconsciously hes shaping his identity around it. whether he likes it or not, his time at the nexus clearly carried into his present worldview. he still holds onto the belief that his purpose is to save nevada.

and with all the pressure he had, he has this aversion to accepting criticism or accepting that he failed. you can hear this directly in his death voicelines. if he fails, he has no purpose anymore. to this day jeb is averse to criticism and deflects it. when doc tells him project nexus is still alive, he refuses to believe his efforts were for nothing and he snaps at them.

jeb also takes after phobos in his mannerisms and speech patterns. even uses of specific phrases like calling the main three "gentlemen" and using the same animations.

hell, jeb even has the binary sword, which he took from phobos, as his main weapon. he literally uses something belonging to phobos to enact his self-proclaimed purpose. that in itself symbolizes how deeply intertwined jebs newfound purpose is with what phobos expected of him. you just cant separate the two. jeb now embodies someone he swore to destroy.

and with the way jeb uses hofnarr and sheriff to further his goals, whether theyre good-intentioned or not, it can be seen as a trauma cycle. once jeb spirals into this savior mindset, other people are just gears in his plan to save nevada. jeb very often reflects the actions and mannerisms of phobos, and with the context that jeb was under phoboses control for most of his upbringing, it becomes clear that phobos was the one who imprinted on him. it obviously doesnt mean jeb isnt responsible for his own actions, he most certainly is. but its fun to shed light on where this all could have stemmed from.

overall to me jebs a pretty interesting example of how unhealed trauma and abuse can shape you into a bitter, terrible person if left to fester (definitely not always the case, of course v_v;;). jeb doesnt want to heal and refuses to look inward and see his flaws because of his bad experiences with making mistakes, so he only gets worse as the series progresses. its cool to explore what that does to someone and theres a lot of potential on the dynamic between jeb and phobos that i really love. i hope you like my post too, its been years in the making ^_^

[athenaeum-of-the-herald]

I've talked a lot about priest/ priestesshood on my blog recently as well as my journey as a priestess in training for Lord Hermes. (I promise I'll post other stuff as well this has just become the forefront of my life recently and I enjoy sharing my journey!)

With that in mind, I wanted to share what it's like deciphering card pulls with Hermes, particularly when it comes to tasks. As I've started in a couple of previous posts, tasks are basically your training and given to you by your god to strengthen your skills with them and teach you how to work under them. It's similar to job training.

The Cards

Before I ask for my tasks, I like to ask him if he has any messages for me, typically a 1 or 2 card pull. I was immediately given the Sword card.

The card represents birthright and purpose. I had taken this as another small confirmation that priestesshood was the right path for me (as I had done a small tarot reading for myself earlier saying something similar). I had no clue that he had drawn the card for a meaning I would only figure out later, but with that now in mind, I moved on. I asked for my next task for him and drew the following cards:

I was a little surprised to see 2 cards from my last task reappear (the fields and the cottage in the woods) and at first glance of the cards I assumed it would be another Demeter message (as it is winter it would make sense for her to be particularly active). But the crossroads stumped me. The crossroads are typically associated with Hecate, not Demeter. Additionally, I didn't draw the Herald card (Hermes's card), so I wasn't entirely sure if this was a message to be delivered. Did Hecate want to speak with me directly? But why draw the Pair card? Hecate is a trio goddess.

Epithets

The cards stumped me for a while and I ended up leaving the task incomplete, deciding it'd be best to revisit with a clearer head (I was dealing with a lot yesterday).

As I woke up this morning, I looked to my references to find a suitable epithet of Hermes to pray to this morning. And while looking, I noticed one specifically that piqued my interest. One I wasn't aware of before.

Hermes Trikephalos.

Hermes of road-intersections. Hermes three headed.

Hermes has a crossroads association.

Suddenly my cards started to slowly piece together. The crossroads card was never about Hecate, Hermes is the god of travel, the messenger of gods. ALL gods, including the chthonic. I didn't need the Herald card, he had represented himself using an epithet he wanted me to learn.

Interpreting the Cards

I had learned from my previous task that Hermes doesn't always use the cards' intended meaning when giving me my tasks, so I always observe the cards themselves and the picture they create before interpreting them individually. I almost exclusively use this deck for Hermes because it's a panoramic deck, meaning when put together, the cards can form a much larger image:

While naturally everything doesn't line up perfectly, it does create a scene. A pair (which I immediately considered lovers) overlooking a field and home in isolation. Across from the home (a little distance away), a goddess statue points to a crossroads. I'd already established that the crossroads card signified Hermes, but it was more than that. The crossroads represent the intersection between our world and the gods' and are heavily associated with the chthonic gods. It represented a goddess at the crossroads, her back turned to a lonely field that she overlooked with her lover.

Suddenly, it all made sense. The cards spoke of Persephone, leaving the mortal fields of her mother's (hence me drawing both cards of Demeter's from my last reading) and making her descent back into the Underworld. My task was not a message to deliver, but a study session.

The Completed Task

I had learned a new epithet oh Hermes, had learned how to read my cards without using the actual meanings of them, and learned how to read them as a vision/ story. Sometimes, my duties as a messenger will involve me needing to not observe the strict meaning of the cards and instead interpreting them as a vision. Similar to skrying.

I was fully prepared to run around trying to figure out what message to give to who, but this was an absolute blast to decipher. Hermes's tasks tend to be criptic and very much as a combination of games. Clue, Guess Who, word association, puzzles, riddles, etc. He makes you have to think critically and outside of the box and purposely tries to stump you. Things won't mean what you think they mean, and it turns into a battle of wit, and if he can successfully outsmart you. And your job as his underling is to not let him. Honestly, I think if I were using any other deck, I'd be pulling my hair out.

I revisited the Sword card from earlier and realized it had a whole new meaning. It wasn't just confirmation. He was telling me to be sharp, and to always be ready for his tricks and games. And I'll be moving forward with that in mind from here on out.

This is what it's like, training under Hermes. And it's the most fun I've had in years.

[clemymimi]

Do you think Koku regrets accepting Muzan’s offer?

Okay first of all: thank you so much for asking that question. I still can't quite grasp that anyone would want to hear my perspective on these matters so I'm genuinely touched that you sent me this! Hence I'm going to try my hardest to dive into this question as deeply as possible (because this is a VERY juicy one and the answer is VERY complex)

The short answer is no

The long answer is much more nuanced of course.

This question is very much one of the roots that make up kokushibos character so there are multiple ways to interpret this question.

Let us first take a look at kokushibos dying thoughts:

Right off the bat it's quite obvious that kokushibos dying thoughts are quite abstract! They're not heavily focused on the present moment (the fight against gyomei, sanemi, genya and muichiro) he instead thinks about themes such as legacy ('why can't I leave anything behind?' 'Why can't I become anyone known?''why does your breath still remain?' *with a panel showing tanjiros face, yoriichis successor*), about yoriichi and their dynamic(the sun symbolism -> that strongly implies yoriichi unintentionally emotionally neglect once more: 'yearned for you and reached out their hands yet our only option was to writhe and suffer') And a deep existentialism ( 'yes nothing. I obtained nothing.' 'Why on earth was I even born?')

Kokushibos primary focus here is sacrifices he has made throughout his life.. and how in the end none of them meant anything. That's what makes him fall apart. All he has ever sought in life was meaning ('why on earth was I even born?') He wanted to find the answer to this question. Why was he doing all of this in the first place? For what? He has sought meaning in suffering because ever since he was a child he has worked hard, so hard until his hands literally bled

There are multiple instances in the manga that showcase michikatsu working hard, that show him enduring suffering without question and with immense resilience (for example when his father hit him for spending time with yoriichi and michikatsu reacts by reassuring yoriichi with a smile and a hand-carved flute) and there are multiple instances where the 'barrier called talent' separates michikatsu hard-work from yoriichis sheer talent and ignorance of the world's cruel societal standards (I can't find the manga panel about the talent barrier comment rn but it's an actual remark in the manga)

Michikatsus entire strive is based on the premise of wanting to find the meaning in his own suffering, in the world suffering. That he did not suffer without reason, that his action mattered, that what he has created mattered (and that thought is also connected to his legacy and lamenting that he failed to pass on his legacy whereas yoriichi once more effortlessly did something michikatsu failed at. Because yoriichis entire existence makes michikatsu question the reason for his existence. ('Why on earth was I even born? Tell me. Yoriichi.')

When kokushibo sees his reflection in sanemis katana he notices just how far he has strayed from his original intentions, a doubt that has been planted in his mind due to the discussion with gyomei during the battle + the presence of kokushibos descendant muichiro. Kokushibo has always been an introspective person who does a lot of self-reflecting. It is little wonder that he would analyse the flaws gyomei has pointed out and that one look at his reflection of his final form would send him into an existential spiral and make him realise how far he has gone in his desperate search for meaning. Has he really eaten all of these humans in pursuit for this? Has he really struck down his descendant like it's nothing? Those are the thoughts of a person that realises that they went too far

And yet.. I can't say michikatsu necessarily regrets accepting muzans offer. Michikatsu accepting the offer was not motivated on wanting to grow stronger, not primarily. Michikatsu himself states: 'the path I wanted from the bottom of my heart lay before me. I was released from all my obligations'

Those are not the thoughts of a power-hungry individual. These are the thoughts of someone who is emotionally drained from the emotional weight he bears, from all of the responsibilities he has been forced to bear. The manga also basically confirms that kokushibo viewed yoriichi as one of these obligations. Michikatsu canonically accepted muzans offer to be released from yoriichi as well.

Michikatsu has also never struck me as a person that liked having their future or life dictated by external forces (shown when he leaves samurai society and abandons his wife and children to become a demon slayer) and the demon slayer mark was arguably one of them.

The official fanbook also states that kokushibo has no intention of betraying muzan, that he gets along with muzan and that they worked together in the past. And judging by the genuine loyalty kokushibo harbours towards muzan in both kimetsu no yaiba and kimetsu gaikuen it is safe to say that kokushibo seems to genuinely like muzan.

Based on all of these factors... does kokushibo regret accepting muzans offer? He can't exactly regret it because he knows he WOULD do it again. Not because he likes killing humans. Not because he likes eating them. Not because he would want to spite yoriichi or the demon slayer corps but because michikatsu Tsugikuni is allergic to having external forces control his life.

Michikatsus primary regret lies in how he abandoned his values, how far he strayed from his original intentions, how far he went In general. Not muzans offer in on itself.. and not being a demon in general. (He does make a remark about how he 'abandoned my humanity ' but the only real difference between his duties as a samurai and duties as upper rank one was eating humans, everything else was kind of the same so... and kokushibo makes a point to question the eating humans part so... )

I hope this answer is satisfactory! I had a lot of fun so thank you for asking! ♡♡

[atamascolily]

I've been obsessing over this rendition of the Law of Cycles as a kinetic sculpture for a long time, so it's kind of embarrassing to realize there are actually ten witches here, not nine. (In my defense, one is so washed out, it's really hard to tell that there's anything there.) Fortunately, the Rebellion Production Note comes to the rescue again with Inu Curry's original artwork, which is even more interesting to me than the versions that made it into the movie.

Here the "constellation" of witches is juxtaposed with the organ in Oktavia's orchestra. Clockwise from upper right:

HN Elly the Box Witch (also known as Kirsten) from Episode 4;

Sayaka's witch Oktavia's crown made of swords

Nagisa's witch Charlotte's doll silhouettes from episode 3

Patricia (spider witch with the clothesline webs from Episode 10)

Albertine the Scribbling witch (who doesn't appear in the show, but Sayaka fights her familiar Anja in the alleyway before Kyouko turns up in episode 5)

Elsa Maria the Shadow Witch whom Sayaka fights in episode 7

Gertrud the Rose Witch from Episode 1-2

Roberta the birdcage witch that Homura encounters in a flashback in episode 10

Suleika- another witch who never appears directly in the show but Mami dispatches her shadow lion familiars at the beginning of episode 3

Izabel the Art Witch who ensnares Homura in episode 10

None of this is explained in the Rebellion Production Note, by the way; for the designs of the sigils and other information that doesn't appear in the original series, you have to go to the corresponding production notes in the official guidebook "You Are Not Alone Anymore", which somehow I had never seen before. As someone who generally believes works should stand on their own without requiring further research, I am mildly annoyed at once again having to comb through supplementary artbooks in order to interpret this diagram, but such is life as a Madoka Magica fan.

Suleika's name and sigil don't even appear in the guidebook, to the point where the only reason I figured it out was by the process of elimination and the fact that it's a flashlight making the same star-shaped shadows as the lion heads (which are called Ulla). Talk about hidden lore!

Anyway, these ten witches are the ones that I think are most likely to show up in Walpurgis no Kaiten in some fashion or another, with preference given to those who have the most screen time in the original series (Gertrud, Charlotte, Oktavia, Patricia). Those who never appear on-screen in the original series or who only have a very brief appearance, like Albertine, Roberta, and Suleika, are probably less likely to be featured in a larger role, just because the average audience member who doesn't have a PhD in Madoka Studies might not know/remember who they are, but we'll have to see; if nothing else, Inu Curry loves a good esoteric reference.

This is not to say that there won't be witches from other spinoffs in Walpurgis no Kaiten, given that fans have already spotted multiple Magia Record witches in the witch book in the second trailer, but blink-and-you'll-miss-it freeze frame Easter eggs for hardcore fans are an entirely different kettle of fish from meaningful roles. That said, Doroinu Curry directed the Magia Record anime, so, uh, suffice to say that they really, really like Magia Record and it's not surprising that they'd try to slip in as many references as possible. TBD. Patricia was also heavily featured in Magia Record 2x01, which is one reason I ranked her so high on my list.

One thing that's really fascinating about this "constellation" is that Walpurgisnacht is not present in the movie version, even though her elephants appear to pull a pumpkin carriage when the Law of Cycles comes to take Homura away. However, she is present in the artwork in the Rebellion Production Note in the form of the lace curtain above the organ, making her the "stage" upon which the performance takes place. Alternately, the curtain here could refer to Homulilly, who is also associated with lace and curtains, as most of Rebellion takes place in her labyrinth.

Metaphorically, Walpurgisnacht is the dark mirror to the Law of Cycles--both are conglomerations of witches represented by a single entity, but one offers salvation/relief/death while the other offers death and destruction. Given Madoka Magica's tendency to make its metaphors literal, I suspect the two are more closely related than we know, though the mechanics of how exactly that would work remains to be seen.

Another fun tidbit: the captions in the Rebellion Production Note suggest that the "spokes" connecting the witches to each other represent links by fate or some kind of other link that makes them compatible with each other. Thus, Oktavia is linked to Elly/Kirsten because Sayaka fought and destroyed her; Sayaka and Nagisa are partners on the mission to save Homura, but I'm very curious about the other connections there. What do Suleika and Izabel have in common?

Also, I know I've said this before, but wow, does the constellation echo the isolation field that Kyubey puts Homura's soul gem in, so there's something especially poetic about the one being used to destroy the other.

It's still incredible to me I've been in this fandom for four years now and I'm learning new things about Madoka Magica every day!

[helmador]

Hello :D, ever since I saw the mentioning of Chains the Underdogs, as well as your comment about the dynamic between Silver, Turnbuckle, and Scroop, I have been very interested with how you interpret these characters. Is it okay for me to ask:

What are your headcanons and/or character analysis of Turnbuckle as well as your interpretation of the Zirrelian’s culture?

Hello! I actually have the most information for Zirrelians and Turnbuckle,, they’re my favorites, lol. I’ve been wanting to talk about CtU, but I haven’t been drawing lately xd. Here’s my headcanons for both (under cut) (I also didn’t proofread this so ignore the mistakes):

Zirrelians

According to the art book, Zirrelians are an octopus-based species, so I imagine they share many traits. The most prominent traits they share are the following:

Color changing - Originally for camouflage, it is now considered more of a traditional art form and extremely important communication device. Their color changing ability develops early in life as result of their diet. If a young Zirrelian had a good diet, their colors will be very vibrant; but if they had a poor diet, their color changing ability will be very dull or not even visible. Young Zirrelians use their colors to communicate personality and emotions to each other, making the skill extremely valuable to a young Zirrelians development and socialization. Radiation from solar winds can also cause defects in Zirrelians colors at any age, lessening their ability and colors as a whole- many Zirrelians in the Navy (aka, Battle at Procyon) have very dull skin for this reason.

Venomous bite - Like a majority of octopi, Zirrelians have a venomous bite. This venom is not fatal however, it is more of a paralyzing type, its effects were worse early on, but have died down since they found more “sophisticated” ways to hunt. Their venom is highly utilized in their society nonetheless, specifically for medicine, much like how rattlesnake venom is used for medicine.

Familial - Like female octopi, female Zirrelians are extremely overprotective of their young and defend them with their life. Naturally, Zirrelians are more on the solitary side of social practices, and when young Zirrelians reach their early teen years, they become independent.

(I also imagine that baby Zirrelians are very small, much like baby octopus, lol, someone depicted that here!)

For their home planet, Zirrelians are native to a (unnamed) oceanic planet. There is not many large land masses here, just islands scattered everywhere across the world. The terrain has many cliffs and the climate is Mediterranean based: arid-wet in most places with a handful of dry-desert islands. Due to the geography of the planet, they were originally a mostly aquatic species, but due to technology advances, they’ve now become more semi-aquatic.

Zirrelian culture is heavily based in Spanish- especially Southern Spanish- and Mediterranean culture (totally not projecting lol). Their architecture is very ostentatious, and they limit environmental damage as they hold nature at a high standard. Zirrelians are probably most well known for their cuisines, they are omnivores and their food is composed of mainly fish, insects, and native plants. In the film, I imagine the “Zirrelian Jellyworms” Sarah serves in her diner are a delicacy for the Zirrelians. Aside from food, they are a very creative species and utilize their color changing abilities in art. In general, their art history is very rich and they are definitely one of the more “colorful” societies.

Now, with that out of the way, here’s how I imagine Turnbuckle:

Turnbuckle

Backstory: Yoel Turnbuckle (full legal name oh ehm gee) was the only child of his mother, he is also unaware of who his father is. He grew up in poverty, and never developed his colors as a result of poor living conditions, leaving him a dull green color his entire life. This caused him to be isolated from other Zirrelians since he could never properly socialize with them without colors. Growing up, he felt very lonely and ended up forming a very strong bond with his mother.

After a few years, him and his mother eventually moved to a new planet since they could not afford much. This is where Turnbuckle ends up staying most of his life: Pelsanor, a prairie land planet covered in many small water sources (think the midwest region of the US in a way).

Unfortunately, his time with his mother was cut very short on this planet. Pelsanor may be a nice place, however, its poor society has resulted in much crime. Turnbuckle was separated from her after being perused by poachers in the reason (as Zirrelians are commonly poached for their color changing coats and venom). He never saw his mother again after this, and her whereabouts still remain unknown. He assumes she’s dead, as much as he doesn’t want to.

Being left with no one at such a young age really wrecked him, for most of his teen years he offered to aid sailors and was an engineers mate on a train. From his minimal cabin boy years, he learned how the helm of the ship works along with steering and galactic navigation, as an engineers mate, he learned basic properties of solar power and how it’s utilized on both trains and ships. Turnbuckle was never able to gain a ship of his own though, and being with practically no income or stable home, he was unable to get a real job. It wasn’t long until he resorted to stealing, at least this way he had some source of income and food, and as some of the others on Pelsanor, he became another bandit in the region.

Fast forward a few years, John Silver had been exiled from Ironbeard’s crew and had fled on a longboat after his old crew and Captain essentially thrown him out via attacking him . The longboat he’d fled on had been damaged in the process, where he soon crashed on Pelsanor.

Turnbuckle was the first one he met on this planet, he found Silver wandering the plains a few hours after his crash. They started off as strangers, Turnbuckle only bringing Silver to a nearby town so he could at least eat, but the two started staying near each other over time. One had what the other didn’t: Silver was a strong leader, savvy, brave, and had good charms and wits. Turnbuckle was loyal, introspective, cautious, and cynical.

With neither having a ship, they became a bandit duo Pelsanor, notorious for robbing many trains.

-

Overview: Turnbuckle was definitely and still is more fond of Silver than anyone else in the crew, that is why he was chosen as his First Mate (that and being the first one Silver fully trusted). However, Silver is too hellbent on finding Treasure Planet that he doesn’t acknowledge Turnbuckle’s presence commonly. Turnbuckle isn’t focused much on the actual Treasure Planet, but what will come after it: Will Silver abandon his crew after he finally finds it? Will he continue his piracy? And most importantly, how will this affect his “need” for his crew? After all, they spent the past 20+ years finding this place and this place only.

Turnbuckle wants to stay with Silver, the Ursid was the first being that Turnbuckle had become attached to aside from his mother. Being isolated his entire life hadn’t done a good deal to him at all, and now, if the man he’s spent what is practically most of his adulthood with leaves him for some riches, what then?

It was something he’d approached Silver about multiple times, but he never got a defined answer. Silver’s greed was slowly growing over him as he aged, he wanted Treasure Planet at all costs, which had caused his relationship with Turnbuckle gradually lose some of his closeness. In fact, Turnbuckle was even neglected by him at some points. Despite Silver’s worsening behavior, Turnbuckle still remained heavily loyal to him.

-

Film (and some Battle at Procyon):

Turnbuckle willingly agreed to Silver’s plan to pose as a crew, relieved at the thought of their search finally being over after all these years (note, they were roughly in their mid to late 20s when they met. Canonically in film time, they’re both in their mid 50s).

However, as the events of the film progress, it doesn’t take long to realize that Silver is softening up to Jim. Understandably, Turnbuckle is upset by this. He’d been with Silver since the beginning, never had Silver ever softened up to him in such a way, but now he’s softening up to some random boy he’d just met? Turnbuckle never acts on his disdain for Jim (unlike the other pirates, especially Scroop), if they were to finally reach their goal, why would he want to possibly risk his relationship with Silver becoming more distant? And after all, maybe this was just a temporary relationship his Captain and Jim built.

As the voyage progressed though, more tension did arise. Turnbuckle never liked Jim- he was jealous of his relationship with Silver. Silver could recall more touching moments he’s had with Jim in the past few months than he did with Turnbuckle in the past 25 years. And this became surprisingly obvious during the mutiny- Silver refusing to shoot Jim after he got the (fake) map, and Silver trying to stop the canon that was aiming to shoot down the longboat Jim, Amelia, and Delbert were all escaping in.

Come the actual Treasure Planet, when Silver tried to push away his care for Jim, it was right back to the original thing that he neglected Turnbuckle for- his greed. Essentially, he was too infatuated with the actual physical treasure that when the planet started falling apart, he was more concerned for all the Treasure being destroyed rather than half of his crew literally dying.

Now, I know Turnbuckle technically died, however, I accept all events of Battle at Procyon canon. So, he survived Treasure Planet (also this because I’m biased and he is my fav character lol), but in my canon he has many injuries that are not depicted in BaP.

I imagine he originally visited Silver in the Procyon prison to break him out. Treasure Planet was finally over, he could be with Silver again- just like they started out. But no, Silver’s only concern now is Jim, and he gives Turnbuckle the Dark Matter clump to warn Jim of the ironclads.

Turnbuckle reluctantly agrees to this, maybe after THIS then they’d finally be back together. Of course, Turnbuckle risked his freedom to deliver the Dark Matter to Jim, and was arrested. At this point, I imagine Turnbuckle escaped prison, but guess what? Silver is dead. He died SAVING JIM. So what now? Turnbuckle is back to the beginning, most of the crew is dead or has unknown whereabouts, now he’s back to being lonely.

-

There is so much more I could say about Turnbuckle as I have so much ideas and headcanons for him (as well as the Zirrelian species), but I believe this bit should answer your questions!!

[howdoyousleep3]

Rating: Explicit (E) Word Count: 4.7K Notable Tags: Dom/Sub AU, Heavy Power Imbalance, Non-Con (from characters other than Steve and in the past, no major detail), Daddy Kink, Age Difference, Sex Trafficking, Human Trafficking, Submissive Auction, Angst With a Happy Ending, Depressive Thoughts, Depressed Bucky Barnes, Slight Stockholm Syndrome, Crying, Subspace, Blowjob, Face Fucking, Orgasm Denial, Cock Cage, Size Kink, Size Difference A/N: This was originally supposed to be published in the last Kinktober I participated in under my Age Difference day. I've only read one story that was in the Dom/Sub AU and I was so taken with it, it's all I thought about as I wrote this. It's a universe where, kind of like Omegaverse, everyone has a designation of Dominant or Submissive. I didn't dive into it too heavily, but I left it totally up for my interpretation so...don't mind me lol. Compared to what I usually write, this one is kind of twisted and dark. Please read the tags and don't continue reading if it makes you uncomfy. ❤️

Read here on Ao3.

The lights in this room are much more dim than the ones in the showcase room they’ve just performed in. He feels the line of his shoulders relax at the sight, be it merely a smidgen, heart still hammering against his rib cage. His limbs continue to tremble unpleasantly, his head pounding, his hole wet and aching to the point of pain. 

He is used to this happening when he’s used without completion, climax other than his own being robbed from him, when he isn’t used for his purpose. He does as they’ve trained him though— he ignores his tender emotions and his body’s biological signs of unfulfilled submission. 

Bucky barely has half the mind to take in his surroundings, to lift his chin and glance around the room he’s quickly being shuffled into. It almost looks like a study, someone’s personal office or library. It’s deceivingly cozy with its maroon walls and moody lighting, a fireplace lit and in use on one end of the room, bookshelves lining the opposite wall. He’s slow to take in the bed in the center of the room, one that seems entirely out of place yet perfect in this setting, large and cloud-like and luxurious. 

The exhaustive ache that Bucky feels deep down to the center of his being yearns to curl up in the center of that bed like a kitten, to not be roused for hours on end. Instead he’s ordered to his knees on the rug next to it, the command settling unpleasantly on the nape of his neck like they always do. 

He looks down at himself, his nude and flushed form, eyes locking onto his hands bound and curled together in his lap, and he wonders how this is where he ended up in life. 

“Listen to me,” the handler tells him, voice unharsh yet still grating, the command one he’s forced to listen to. Bucky’s never enjoyed his designation, has rarely ever been comfortable being a Sub, but these moments are the ones he hates the most. He despises not having a choice, has a special kind of hatred for being commanded against his will, his body listening before his mind can fight against it. But he’s quick to respond, quick to mumble, “Yes, Sir,” because that’s what they’ve spent the last three months training Bucky to do. 

“You no longer belong to us,” the Dominant handler states without emotion, and even given the circumstances, relief kicks up into Bucky’s chest. “Your personal possessions are in this bag, your Dom will handle everything else once your bond is initiated. If it is initiated.” Bucky flinches. “You understand the reputation we hold here and the standards we’ve instilled in you, yes?” 

Bucky bites out another, “Yes, Sir,” before the handler is done moving purposefully around the room, coming to stand in front of Bucky. He doesn’t raise his head, just as he’s been taught.

“Good. I advise you to keep those in mind once you leave this place. You haven’t been the easiest Sub to deal with, James. I’d hate for your Dom to send you back here because you did not meet expectations. He won you fair and square with the highest bid; don’t make him regret that.” 

The severity of the situation Bucky’s been put in, the past few months, hits him in the solar plexus when he hears these words. He isn’t sure why his brain decides to catch up in this moment, why he decides to feel the weight of the past weeks here at the feet of his handler in the very last moment they’ll see each other, but he feels his chest constrict painfully. His hole aches in waves, mouth watering in preparation for what it thinks is coming, desperate, and Bucky bites back his whimper when he feels his dick wish to fill out. 

He never gets what he wants, what he needs, is always left feeling unfulfilled and purposeless. They’ve had to increase his dosage of meds they give him each day as a result of how affected he has become from touch after touch leaving him emptier and emptier. A Sub shouldn’t live like this yet here he is, having been picked up off the streets and trained to be the best of the best on such evil touches. 

He’s going to be so fucked up because of this place. 

Having been put on display in every possible way in the performance room during his shining moment, he wonders if this is the last time he’ll feel so used and hollow. Will his new Dom continue to leave him feeling so empty? Will he make Bucky do things he doesn’t want to do, use him against his will, take advantage of him and his designation? He feels so low in this moment he can’t see anything but that happening, of being owned and living this life of misery. Surely Bucky won’t survive. 

His handler doesn’t even say goodbye, doesn’t acknowledge Bucky as he leaves, and Bucky hates how much that hurts. He’s once again betrayed by his biological needs, betrayed by the intrinsic need to please and to obey, and even given the piss poor treatment they’ve put him through here, Bucky wishes his handler would leave him with more positive words, with the praise he so desperately craves. 

When he hears the door close behind the Dom, he can’t help the whimper that bubbles up and out of his mouth. 

His eyes don’t leave the floor because no one has told him he can raise his head, and even though he no longer belongs to this establishment, he can’t will his inner submissive to look up. Instead, his eyes lock onto the cage around his dick. He despises this thing. Before he was lured in with promises of a warm meal and an even warmer bed he had only heard of cock cages being utilized in either the most severe of relationships or for fun, no in between. He had never worn one until his training. 

He hates it, has tried taking it off on his own multiple times before his harshest of training had set in. He hasn’t come once during his time here, can barely remember what his own climax feels like. 

“Your pleasure no longer belongs to you, James. Your orgasms are not your own; they belong to your Dom.”

It’s ironic yet devastating to Bucky that all of this training, all of this pain, was pointless. Bucky could be a good Sub for someone, he knows it. He could give the right someone all of the things his training had brought out without the misery he’s gone through for these people. He could give his mind, body, and soul easily over to the right person. This line of thinking shifts into the only thing that brought him comfort each night; the only thing that helped him get the little sleep that he did— 

His Daddy. 

Well, hopefully his Daddy. 

If he’s the perfect man for Bucky, he’ll be his Daddy. 

And his knight in shining armor, this perfect Dom, his Daddy, would come one day to take him away from this hell. That’s what he dreamt about each night, that his Dom, strong enough for the both of them, big enough to easily cradle Bucky’s not entirely petite form close to his chest, would whisk him away from this place and give him everything he could ever need. His Dom that can teach him how to cook his favorite meals for him, his Dom that is patient, his Dom that is proud of Bucky. Every night when he needed comfort to sleep, this man would be the comfort Bucky needed to finally rest. 

Bucky wonders what his Dom is going to be like, what he’s going to look like, but most of all Bucky wonders if he is going to like Bucky. Surely he is attracted to Bucky if he got into a bidding war with someone else for Bucky, if he paid damn near a million dollars for Bucky’s bond, for his life. There is a sliver of hope that the highest bidder’s intentions are pure.

Bucky is so exhausted, right down to the bone, that he doesn’t even startle when he hears the door to the room open once more. He doesn’t lift his head, as he’s been taught, but this time he does it because of the onslaught of nerves that wrack his body. This is it, this is his new Dom, the one he’ll have for life, the one whose bond will be initiated tonight. With one last unmated deep breath, Bucky sends a wish out into the universe for his Dom to be kind, for him to show Bucky the love he’s never been given in life, to love Bucky. 

The sound of steady footsteps reach his ears at almost the same moment a sense of calm washes over Bucky’s being. It hits him in waves, drips down his spine like warm honey, a sensation so pleasurable his chest shakes with his caged sob. His nostrils fill with the scents of cinnamon and vanilla and a bonfire deep in the forest. His eyes well up with tears as he continues to look down at his hands, mind racing in disbelief at his body’s immediate reaction to his new Dom, a reaction he’s not experienced before.

Hope begins to seep into Bucky’s limbs as a pair of sleek, black boots come into view.

“James?”

Oh. 

He doesn’t realize he’s holding his breath until his next exhale comes out as a choked sob. Upon hearing that voice the hope in his body bursts, shatters, into something more fierce, something that has him responding with a quiet and thoughtless— 

“Daddy?” 

He doesn’t look up, doesn’t let his eyes leave the floor, those expensive boots. He feels his hands tremble in his lap, can almost hear them do so. He isn’t given enough time to panic about addressing his new Dom by a title that wasn’t approved by him, wasn’t given permission to use, because his Dom is responding confidently. 

“Look at me, please.”

Bucky’s eyelids flutter upon hearing the gentle command in such a soothing, rich voice, and he takes a deep and shaky breath before listening like a good boy…

And immediately begins sobbing in full.

It’s the faceless man from Bucky’s dreams, he’s sure of it. He has kind ocean eyes, an otherworldly physical presence. There’s experience etched into every part of his being, from his graying hair to the wrinkles around his eyes to the calmness that sweeps off of him in waves. He smiles down at Bucky and it makes him feel like he’s the most precious creature on the planet. 

“Oh, my angel…”

This is the man that is going to save his life.

This is his Daddy. 

With his eyesight now blurry because of his tears, he doesn’t see the hand coming down before it cups his chin. There’s a strength in this grip that Bucky knows will soothe him, hold him, love him for the rest of his life. A thumb swipes at his tears, wiping them from his cheek. He can’t remember the last time he felt such comfort from another human being. Even before he was forced into this facility, through all his sexual encounters, gentleness and softness were not things he experienced. He’s almost forgotten what it’s like, to feel a reassuring touch. 

“James,” his Daddy reverently murmurs, stroking his thumb over Bucky’s trembling bottom lip. “Why are you crying, sweetheart?” 

He swallows thickly, his eyes roving over his Daddy’s face, taking a few seconds to selfishly drink the older man in. His body reacts to its Dom’s presence like it knows its Daddy is finally here, its biological needs taking over all other needs, roaring to life within him. Bucky’s eyes fight to not cross when he takes in the size of his Dom’s denim-clad thighs, how he fills out his cozy sweater. His Daddy’s so big. He wiggles his hips where he sits, chin in his Daddy’s big hand. 

“I’ve just…I’ve…I’ve been waiting for you for so long,” is what Bucky ends up saying quietly, sniffling, and his Dom’s smile is slow and sweet, like he enjoys Bucky’s answer. 

“I’ve been waiting for you forever, James.” 

Those words feel like pure sunlight.

But Bucky shakes his head without thought, stops himself abruptly after two shakes. He’s reminded then of his handler’s words, that he was a difficult Sub. He can’t take the risk of being anything but the best Sub. He’s already afraid to lose his Daddy; he has to be good. 

But his Dom has caught his defiance. 

“What is it, James?” 

“Nothing, Sir.” 

His Dom doesn’t miss a beat. 

“No, sweetheart— no lies, no holding back, no unspoken feelings. I always want to know what you are thinking, what your feelings are. So tell me, James. What is it?” 

Christ. Bucky can’t help but sniffle again, unable to get his tears under control. His Dom is perfect. 

“B-Bucky,” he mumbles. “I go by Bucky. I don’t…I don’t like James.” 

His Dom’s smile is warm, his fingers that squeeze around Bucky’s chin reassuring. He repeats Bucky’s name, practicing it a few times, each one sending Bucky melting further into his head and surely into the floor. 

“Of course, sweetheart— Bucky. My name is Steve,” he tells him, and Bucky’s insides warm with more of that sunlight Steve is bringing into his life. 

Steve. 

A strong name for a strong man, a name that belongs to a man that gently commands attention. It’s the perfect name, or so Bucky thinks.

“But you can call me Daddy, Bucky.’

That’s the best name, the perfect name. 

Hands still tied together in his lap, dick still in its cage, Bucky turns his head and nuzzles his cheek into his new Daddy’s palm, the warmth and sheer size of it making him lightheaded. It takes him a moment to recognize that this is the beginnings of him going under, of finding that sweet space within. He’d gotten so used to being forced there, his designation being used against him to put him under, that he’d almost forgotten what it was like to be sent there willingly. 

His whimpers seem endless even to his own ears. 

“Look at that,” Steve marvels from his place above Bucky, voice the most soothing of tones, a sensation in and of itself. He allows Bucky to nuzzle his cheek further into his palm, even as Bucky gives into the urge and desire to press kisses to his fingers. Such a forgiving Dom.

“I knew it the moment I laid eyes on you, that you’d be everything I’ve dreamt of having all to myself.”

Bucky sobs. The emotions that one sentence brings him is enough to beg Steve to not go any further. But Bucky is selfish, he is admittedly greedy. He’s been given nothing while being here, before this. He has continuously poured from a deserted and infinitely empty cup and has been given nothing when his heart, his mind, his body demands it, needs it, in order to survive. 

“Your tears,” Steve murmurs, interjecting his own shared line of thinking. “Are they good or bad, Bucky? Please tell me.” 

A request yet a command. A tender one. One Bucky must answer, is finally willing to answer. “Both,” is what he decides to admit. 

“Both?” 

He nods his head within Steve’s grip. “Yes, Daddy. Bad because…because I am sad for my past self. That I was never given a chance to be good and then said chance was forcefully taken away from me.” Before Steve can speak to those words, Bucky quickly continues. “But good because you’re here…you’re finally here. And I…I get to be so g-good for you.” 

Steve’s exhale is heavy, laced with a sound of pleasure that settles over Bucky’s own shoulders and neck. Bucky’s dick strains against its cage, his mind slipping from himself further. 

Steve sticks his thick thumb between Bucky’s lips and Bucky nearly sobs again, hiccuping around where he purses his mouth.

“You are extraordinary,” Steve tells him and Bucky truly believes it given his reverent tone. “The moment you stepped on stage, I knew it. I’ve been coming here for years. Did they tell you that? Years, Bucky.  I’m their hardest client to please, the one they couldn’t wait to be rid of. Money is of no importance, my preferences vague. Kept telling them I’d know when to bid, when the right Sub would be coming home with me.”  

Bucky sucks on Steve’s thumb harder, grateful to have something in his mouth as his Dom showers him with praise. 

“They even told me they’d go out of their way to find someone that fit what I was looking for, that we could forgo an auction altogether. I told them no.”

His Daddy is so powerful. 

Bucky slips further into his head. 

“Never once did I question myself; I knew you were out there. And when you stepped onto that stage with those legs and that mouth and those eyes…oh, kitten— you were made for me.” 

Bucky sways forward, head dizzy with need and relief curling together, tightly wound. Steve wraps his other fingers around Bucky’s chin, holding him steady. 

“And you’re going to be the sweetest, most affectionate boy for me, aren’t you? This is everything we’ve both been waiting for, isn’t it?”

Bucky nods his head frantically, laps at Steve’s thumb and sucks it into the back of his mouth. 

“You’re going to bring us so much joy through your submission, aren’t you? You’re going to bring us the purpose we’ve been craving. Together.” 

Bucky doesn’t know how to communicate that his feelings are terribly overwhelming, that he doesn’t know what to do with himself because of it. The force of his emotions leave his body trembling where he kneels. If Steve’s thumb weren’t in his mouth his teeth would surely be clacking against one another with the force of his tremors. His head spins in less of the dizzy way he’s been experiencing these past weeks and more in a euphoric way he’s always dreamt it could. 

His body already trusts its Daddy, leaning towards him and into his touch, loosening up further and further. The line in his shoulders softens, the tension in his thighs diminishes. Even with Steve’s thumb in his mouth, the tightness no longer residing in his jaw is obvious. 

Even as Bucky spent his nights dreaming of this moment, weeping for this moment, he never imagined it could be this perfect. 

But then Steve is reaching for his belt buckle with his other hand, the button on his jeans, and Bucky wonders if he is in fact dreaming. 

“Let Daddy give you something else to suck on, sugar. You look like you need it,” Steve purrs, reaching into his now open pants and pulling out his cock. Weeping nearly as much as Bucky has been, Steve’s cock is impossibly thick and deliciously heavy. It has Bucky’s hips wiggling once more, his vision going blurry as he’s presented with his Daddy’s cock for the very first time. He can’t stop the onslaught of sniffles and weepy eyes as he reminds himself once more that he’s so goddamn lucky Steve waited for him. 

He opens his mouth as soon as that cock is above him, letting Steve’s thumb pop from between his lips, whining as he does so. He can smell Steve from here, his warm scent with an added muskiness to it that has Bucky unabashedly groaning, tongue out. 

And then Steve pulls his balls out too, and Bucky nearly asks to be pinched. 

“Daddy…” 

“Gimme a kiss, sweetheart. Let Daddy feel that precious mouth.”

The moment the fat head of Steve’s cock lands on his tongue, Bucky feels the closest thing to submissive bliss he’s ever felt. It’s euphoric. The taste of him, this Dom, his Daddy, blooms on his tongue, bursts through his being. The taste of his excitement, his precome, forces another ragged noise from Bucky as he sucks Steve further into his mouth, savoring every inch of him. Steve’s thunderous and drawn out groan feels like a climax to Bucky.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Steve exclaims through an exhale, Bucky barely tethered to the earth. “That’s it. Show Daddy how much you’ve missed him, show him how perfect you are.”

In the three months he’s been here, servicing a Dom has not once felt like this. In his time before this, his time on the streets and beyond, he’s never felt solid within his submissiveness. The stretch of his jaw, the hot slide of velvet wrapped steel on his tongue and down his throat, the feel of Steve’s large fingers sliding through his hair; it all brings him a sense of purpose he’s failed to receive all these years. 

And he can’t help but sob around his mouthful. 

“I knew it, I…fuck, I knew you were made for me, Bucky,” Steve tells him, voice full of awe and dripping with lust. “I can’t wait to see how far you drop, how far I can push you. You’re gonna let Daddy push you, aren’t you? You’re gonna let him learn all about you?” 

Bucky confirms Steve’s suspicions with another loud, garbled noise around his cock, one of obvious enthusiasm. He’s dropping hard now, wants to tell his Daddy he’s barely holding on, but then Steve’s hands are moving, holding Bucky’s head in place as he pulls his hips back. 

Using Bucky. 

What little headspace Bucky has left reserved for himself is used to marvel at how easily, how purposefully, it was for Steve to step into this role as his Daddy. 

He’d give Steve the world. 

He’ll give Steve whatever he wants, whenever he wants it, all the time. 

This is his life’s purpose now, being used for his Daddy’s pleasure, serving his Daddy. Being owned by his Daddy.

He’s left with no choice but to cry. 

Bucky opens up his throat as his eyes begin to close, leaning forward on his knees, letting Steve fuck his mouth. With an easy and sharp noise, Bucky immediately knows that Steve wants his eyes open and on him. He does just that, looking up at Steve as he sticks his tongue out obediently, moaning at the fullness of his mouth. 

“That’s it, that’s a good boy,” Steve murmurs, voice melting down Bucky’s spine as Steve’s fingers dig into his hair. “You’re so good, you’re already so good for your Daddy. Look at you, look how much you love sucking on your Daddy’s cock. You perfect baby Sub.”

Bucky’s head grows fuzzier, his dick aching, his core aching. He slurps around Steve’s cock but it does nothing to slow the trail of spit dripping down his chin and sliding towards his neck. Steve is a dream, an absolute dream. Bucky needs a communicator, needs someone who will listen and who will talk to him, especially when it’s filthy. Bucky wants to be talked dirty to, wants to experience that side of sex, especially when it’s praise. Especially when it’s from Steve. 

Without warning, Steve kicks his hips forward, a noise akin to a growl falling from his lips, his fingers tightening in Bucky’s hair. It’s a slip of his obvious control, his inner Dom breaking through, impatient. Bucky meets him full force with his own submission, moaning around his Daddy’s cock, showing him he can take it. 

“Yeah, you know what that is, don’t you? Your Sub knows a Dom when he feels one, doesn’t he?” 

Bucky’s whine is damn near desperate. 

“You know how hard it is for your Dom not to take you right here on this fucking floor, sweetheart? Makes me feel feral, the way I want to make you mine. Mhmm, your Daddy doesn’t want that though. Your Daddy wants to take you home, take you away from this place forever. He wants to treat you right.” 

Bucky swallows around his mouthful.

He can feel Steve’s groan all the way down here, down in his toes.

“Here’s what we’re going to do, sweetheart,” Steve tells him, his hands holding onto both sides of his face. He pulls his cock out of Bucky’s mouth just enough to where Bucky can only suckle on the tip of it given the restraint Steve has put him in. The connection of their eyes, the way Steve looks down at him, strikes a chord deep, deep within Bucky. 

He whimpers as he suckles on the big, swollen head of his Daddy’s cock as he listens. 

“I’m going to give you what you want. I’m going to give you my cum, fill your pretty belly with it. I have a hunch that’s going to send you right under, which is perfect. You’re so perfect, angel.”

Bucky whimpers again. 

“And then Daddy’s going to take you home. And when we get home, I’m going to give you a bath and play with your little body until you’re nice and loose and ready to take my big cock.” 

Bucky whimpers again. 

“And then I’m going to fuck your little hole until it sends you right back under, until you come all over my cock, until our bond snaps into place and we finally and officially belong to one another.” 

Oh. 

Bucky sniffles as he lets Steve use his mouth, tears trailing down his cheeks and mixing with the spit smeared on his chin. He wasn’t sure if the person who bought him would want to bond so quickly, if they’d want to bond at all. It’s been implied to him since he got here that he was too difficult of a Sub to become bonded. To hear that Steve wants to take him away from this dreadful place, to their home, in order to bond with him is a dream come true. 

It’s what begins to send him under. 

“That’s it, kitten,” Steve pants, fucking himself impossibly deep into Bucky’s mouth. “That’s it, baby. Oh, I can almost feel you slipping from me. Have you stolen my heart already? Have you tempted my bond already, Bucky?” 

Bucky’s vision begins to grow fuzzy around the edges, his mind pulling in on itself, hypnotized by the drag of Steve’s cock in and out of his mouth. In and out, in and out, in and out. Blessedly not rough, but intense and all-consuming. His jaw nearly aches at the stretch of Steve’s girth and it’s— 

It’s bliss. 

Daddy’s hands in his hair, Daddy’s cock in his mouth, Daddy’s praise in his ear, Daddy’s eyes on his face, Daddy’s come on his tongue. 

“Daddy.” 

“You’re mine now, Bucky. No one is ever going to hurt you, never again. I’ll give you everything you could ever want as a Sub and as a boy. You’ll never wish for anything now that I’m your Daddy,” Steve tells him as he shoots off down Bucky’s throat, hands in Bucky’s hair, petting him as he pumps his hips.

His Daddy’s voice is steady and strong, full of promise and love. And as he kneels there at his Daddy’s feet with Steve’s warm come settling into his belly, his Daddy’s cock still in his slack mouth, Bucky finally, finally lets himself sink.

[sunderingstars]

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✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ EIDOLONS ⌝

sampo analysis m.list

— what the stars reveal: interpretative analysis, heavily aha!sampo

— word count: 3k (can you tell i'm an english major? :3)

— overview: (as of 2.3) hello and welcome back to sampo theory time! this time, i’ll be looking at his eidolons, their names & art, and how they might factor in to his overarching identity and story. there will be a few conclusions i reference in this post (like eidolons progressing in a linear narrative), so if you want more on that, i highly recommend reading my eidolon names as narratives and eidolon art as facets of character posts first! it’s not required reading though (god i sound like a professor) — otherwise, enjoy!

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To begin, I would like to humbly say this post will likely be the most nerdy thing I’ve ever posted in my life. I have written entire paragraphs about two singular words for this. Two words. And I have even more I can say about them! But anyways, just a heads up, this is the type of thing you’d probably see spoken by a stereotypical “nerd” archetype in a high school movie. But without further ado, let’s get started!

(Yes, I am sad that I still only have him at E2 despite pulling every time he’s on a banner. And both of these are from event character selectors :))

My main thesis for this analysis is that Sampo’s eidolons follow a similar narrative structure to other eidolon sets in that they start with his backstory and progress to the present (and open-ended future) of where we are in the story; additionally, the placement of these names with the facets of his eidolon art add to further implications for his personality and development. This can lend itself to multiple of my theories — the main ones I will be interpreting for are Aha!Sampo, Emanator!Sampo / Functional Aha, and Dual Consciousness!Sampo.

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ AHA!SAMPO ⌝

Starting with Aha!Sampo, I interpret these eidolons as beginning at his “rise” to Aeonhood, then following through to him “spending” some kind of cost in the present/future for whatever his plans are. 

“Rising Love,” his E1, has two important components — “rising” and “love.” “Rising” seems the most obvious to me, as Aeons have been referenced to “fall” before, so it makes sense that they would also be able to “rise.” Additionally, Himeko has explained that Aeons “ascended from the form of intelligent beings” (Parlor Car Dialogue); beyond “ascend” being a direct synonym of “rise,” this shows that Aeons can come from physical and perhaps even humanoid beings. In fact, Aha’s lore in the data bank, while not explicitly stating that Aha used to be mortal, implies the “climbing” of the tree of existence and laughing, which is a very human act. (However, it is good to keep in mind that this is a parable told by the Masked Fools, and given the nature of Elation factions may not be entirely truthful.) In this way, “ascend” and “rise” may be interchangeable, and the “birth” of an Aeon could also refer to the “rise” of a mortal to Aeonic status.

Next is “love.” For this we need to think not as followers of a Path, but as an Aeon Themself. While it may be easy to think “If he’s Aha, it should say rising elation” — 1. That might be a bit too obvious from a writing standpoint and 2. From an Aeonic perspective, Aha may very well view “Elation” as “love.” They may view spreading Laughter throughout the universe as the ultimate form of love, and as such “rising love” could refer to the rising of a being capable of dispersing “love” (Elation) on a wide scale throughout the universe.

After the ascension, or “rise,” to Aeonhood comes Sampo’s E2, “Infectious Enthusiasm.” This is one of the more obvious ones in my opinion, as “infectious” implies a status capable of imposing itself on others — influencing them in ways that are perhaps beyond mortal comprehension — and “enthusiasm” is closely linked to “Elation” both in wording (starting with the letter E) and in connotation. “Enthusiasm” and “Elation” are both high-energy words, carrying the idea of excitement and even mania. I would view this as “Aha proper,” in which Sampo has come into his full identity as an Aeon and is thus capable of dispersing “infectious enthusiasm” onto others (Pathstriders). (Aha is also directly described as having “infectious enthusiasm” in the Simulated Universe!)

“Big Money!”, his E3, is particularly interesting to me because it seems like an intrusion — a departure from the other, more grounded names. The exclamation mark especially lends itself to the exact kind of “infectious enthusiasm” present in his E2, to some kind of encroachment on his previous mortal existence. This ties into my compulsory existence theory, in which Aeons by nature live in a sort of compulsive state, needing to adhere to their given “concept” just by virtue of existence; this is heavily influenced by the game’s discussion of “Primum Mobile”s, or the idea of “restrictions” that come from existing as an Aeon. Aeons that ascend from mortal beings would experience the brunt of this, as their previous state would essentially be overwritten by this eldritch, compulsive concept. 

I think “Big Money!” could symbolize such a change in Sampo. After ascending to Aeonhood from a potentially mortal form, intrusive thoughts of Elation encroach on his very being — the feeling of momentary thrill, of “Big Money!” — likely leading him into his next state: “the deeper the love, the stronger the hate”.

I’m not going to lie, I’m absolutely in love with the name for Sampo’s E4. It links back to so many aspects of his character in a way that sets up an amazing juxtaposition between his outward appearance and inward feelings in so few words! For me, “The Deeper The Love, The Stronger The Hate” highly relates to compulsory existence. As we see in Aha’s splash art, the smiling masks — the Elation, the “Love” — are always at the front in the spotlight, while the frowning masks — the sadness, the “Hate” — tend to be obscured in the background by shadow. 

In a compulsory existence, I can’t imagine how horrible it must be to constantly be forced into performing a singular emotion or concept. In all likelihood, these negative emotions are barely able be felt at all, leading to extremely repressed layers of fear, anger, sadness and, yes, “hate.” “The stronger the love” — the stronger the Elation — means more repression, more hiding, a stronger fermentation of despising one’s own existence lingering in the background like shadowed masks — “the stronger the hate.” In this way, I believe Sampo’s E4 may convey this dual existence, of an existence where one side is so deeply, powerfully out-of-proportion with the other that any emotion from the other side is left to fester unchecked below the surface. 

(Note: The name could also be referencing the talent level-up, which would show the self-aware aspect of his character. This would apply to his E5 as well.)

This hate, of course, is then covered up by “Huuuuge Money!” (E5), because we can’t have those feelings swirling around in a being of pure Elation, can we? they must be taken out with the trash, overshadowed with yet another encroachment of exclamation marks and the thrill of sudden gains. After Sampo’s rise to Aeonhood, it must’ve been a constant battle between these underlying negative feelings and his compulsory, Elated existence — and given the linear progression of most eidolons, this must’ve been a pattern that repeated for millennia, over and over and over again, one he can never escape or solve. Perhaps it still is. 

Which is why, in his E6 “Increased Spending,” I believe Sampo may be “paying a cost” to try to alleviate this issue. Whether by becoming mortal, sectioning off his power to others, passing along his title, or any other number of potential solutions I don’t know, but I feel like he is turning his compulsive nature of Elation to the thrill of the “cost” in the hope of changing some part of this ever-chaotic, ever-stagnating existence. Either that, or it is to further a master plan we the audience don’t know about.

Overall, in terms of Aha!Sampo, I interpret these eidolons of tracking his rise to Aeonhood through his compulsory existence and fermenting self-hatred, all the way to “increased spending” trying to find a way around this problem.

Now, let’s take this a step further and add his eidolon art into the mix. This is where I’ll start to get into some of the conclusions I discussed in my eidolon art as facets of character post.

E1 (Rising Love): Keeping in mind “rising” as potentially referring to the rise of an Aeon and “love” as potentially referring to Aha’s idea of Elation, I see this figure as an ascending or untouchable silhouette; “walking” (or perhaps more aptly, climbing) into a new role. It also creates a distance between a potential “past” mortal form and a “current” Aeonic or ascended one.

E2 (Infectious Enthusiasm): I find it so interesting that “Infectious Enthusiasm” was chosen for the eye-centered eidolon. Since “Infectious Enthusiasm” is so, well, Aha-coded, this matches with the conclusions of first impressions and inciting incident from my eidolon art post. I believe this eye is meant to represent the first true “glimpse” of Aha people get — it is very close to the face without being too personal. It also spotlights Sampo’s unique facial features, mainly the almost condescending furrow of his brow. However, the eye itself has deep shadows, most likely referencing the dual hate within his being. This would be the “inciting incident” of Sampo in his Aeonhood proper, at the height of his power.

(Note: “Infectious” + the focus of an eye may further imply the presence of a “gaze” and the ability to distribute power in an Aeonic way.)

E3 (Big Money!): E3s are by far the most character-specific eidolon, with each character interacting with an important object to them. I feel like money is only fitting for Sampo, since it matches both the eidolon name and his obsession with making money. It very much leans into the “con-man” aspect of his character, and would make sense as the way acquaintances or those he keeps at arm’s length would view him (probably his customers).

I also find it extremely interesting how he is looking down. We see this a lot throughout his mannerisms and idles, with him always seeming to have a condescension that looks “down” on others below him. While this could be just another facet of his character, it also matches up with the way an Aeon may view the mortals around them — no matter how close They get to someone, that someone will always be “below” Them. It’s not even a conscious decision, just a natural byproduct of Aeonic existence, much like casting Their gaze down to bestow power on Pathstriders. Whether Sampo has become truly mortal at this point or not, it’s probably a bad habit to kick regardless. (I would also love to point out how him looking down at the money is also reminiscent of this (albeit more nostalgic and “loving”) face he makes towards Sparkle, a whole human being:)

E4 (The Deeper The Love, The Stronger The Hate): Here, we zoom in even more on his personality. Beyond the superficial impressions people get from seeing him at a glance, we have now entered a more complex emotional understanding — his eye, unlike in his E2, is more faded and shadowed, the hand scratching his head and his smile pointing towards a sort of “act” he puts on for others. This shows multiple dimensions of him: both the charismatic, smiling con-man, and the hatred lurking beneath that façade’s surface. This would be in a more present timeline, highlighting his “fake” and mysterious nature as well as how he is portrayed to people who know him better like friends. It shows a clear dissatisfaction with the façade he has to put up; whether the “love” is also a true emotion to him is up for debate, but either way this eidolon has him balancing between these two sides of his being (potentially balancing between an eldritch and mortal consciousness, or dealing with the aftermath and residual power of a past Aeonhood). (He also seems to be looking down at the spot the masks would match up with if the silhouette was looking down in Aha’s splash art — it is possible that this “hate” refers to the hate he has for his power or the power of the masks. Or, perhaps, this looking down is a general way to symbolize a being of higher power looking down on those below them like Pathstriders.)

E5 (Huuuuge Money!): This eidolon is more casual and comfortable than the others — there seems to be no dual-sided hate, nor does there seem to be as prominent of a focus on obsessive moneymaking in the art itself (the name is a different story). Instead, the main focus is drawn to Sampo’s outfit, the moniker of his existence in Belobog. The upper half of his face is still cut off, but the art seems to be hinting at a potential comfortability in Belobog, as well as the future mystery of his true identity (and if he will choose “Sampo Koski” as his real self). I actually love this combination, because it shows how Sampo may be at his most casual in Belobog; it’s clear he’s made real connections with the people there, and regardless of his motives, it seems to be a place he deeply cares about. This would be his appearance to close friends, most likely those aforementioned connections in Belobog like Natasha or Seele. (However, the looming encroachment of “Huuuuge Money!” still hangs in the air, perhaps signaling a bigger issue with Aeonic consciousness persisting despite his best efforts.)

E6 (Increased Spending): Finally, we get to the core essence of Sampo’s being. This is him at his most vulnerable, his appearance to only a select few special people. His head is tilted, his neck bared, showing clear trust and confidence in this position. The main thing of note here is the similarities between E6 and Aha’s splash art — the same pose and build with a different tilt.

This would mean that Sampo’s identity as Aha is his most vulnerable form of being — the fact of others knowing who he truly is, of wading through his personable exterior to reach the truth at the core of him, is a privilege only a trusted few get. This most likely points towards the “cost” implied by “increased spending,” the idea that, for whatever reason, Sampo’s true identity being revealed at the wrong time or too soon would put him in a less-than-ideal situation. As such, it is something he holds close to his chest (at least in Belobog) either willingly or unwillingly. (Note: This could also reference a past identity as Aha, it does not necessarily have to be something he experiences currently.)

It also shows that the silhouette in the splash art is the “core essence” of either Sampo, Aha, or both. Beyond the masks (much like Sampo’s façade) lies a deeper, truer version of who Aha is. The true Sampo is not the masks or the smiles or the laughs, but the shadowed figure beyond them, the silhouette that holds the hidden emotions of an Aeon.

I would also like to point out that, on the whole, Sampo’s eidolons (and kit in general) focuses on damage over time. Interpretations can be varied, but I personally like to think this further references the idea of “cost,” and that staying in mortal form as Sampo may be hurting him over time just like his DOTs affect others!

Overall, the art for these eidolons paired with the names create a fuller picture of who Sampo might be and what he might be hiding. There are a lot of hidden clues and implications that can be applied to several different interpretations, and I tried to account for multiple in my analysis! The standouts for me are his E2, E3, and E6, but that’s just because of personal preference. Before I conclude, I want to briefly interpret these eidolons for some non-Aha!Sampo theories.

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ ALTERNATIVE INTERPRETATIONS ⌝

There are other interpretations to be had, namely Emanator!Sampo and Dual Consciousness!Sampo. Many of the points I made for Aha!Sampo can be applied to Emanator!Sampo, as we know Aha is both capable and willing to give others entire mastery over Their path for shits and giggles. It is possible that Sampo, as either an Emanator or a “functional” Aha or both, could have a similar “rise,” “infection,” and compulsory existence as a result of Emanator status. Additionally, any kind of dual consciousness where Aha is trying to impose Their will on Sampo could contribute to the constant push-and-pull of two schools of emotions — even minds. We could read this as a more literal encroachment of Aha on Sampo’s mindspace, quite literally trying to force Elation into his brain while Sampo’s consciousness fights back. In this way, the “love” and “hate” mentioned could refer to more of Sampo’s feelings towards Aha as a separate or encroaching entity, rather than himself or his own existence.

(Note: This could also work for Aha!Sampo where Aha’s power & status is passed down or won like a sort of crown or title — a “mask” if you will — and Sampo is the latest inheritor/receiver of it. The eidolons would then track from a more recent experience of receiving power and dealing with the encroachment that comes with it. I think it would also lend to much more fear and confusion as this new existence would be a stark departure from Sampo’s previous mortal life.)

(Note 2: Electric Boogaloo: This could also work with a “transformation” theory where Sampo’s more human form and his eldritch-Aha counterpart have two distinct mind spaces, and the “encroachment” of “Big Money!” and “Huuuuge Money!” could be indicative of the literal mental change that happens when he transforms, leading to increased spending (or the “cost”) of him trying to stay in human form as much as possible because he doesn’t like what he becomes when he changes.)

(Note 3: I promise this is the last one: It is also possible that Aha has sectioned off these feelings of “hate” into a separate being — i.e. Sampo — and “The Deeper The Love, The Stronger The Hate” shows that how despite being separate physical beings, Aha and Sampo share an emotional space in which the “love” of Aha directly influences the severity of the “hate” in Sampo. Just a thought.)

Anyways, I find these eidolons super cool! I love how Sampo flips through his bills in his E3 and how his E6 mirrors the silhouette in Aha’s splash art. Even if the Aha! or Emanator!Sampo theories don’t end up being true, there’s some really cool psychological stuff going on that could speak broadly to his relationship with money, gambling, and his own self-image.

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.𖥔 ݁ ˖ જ⁀➴ if you read this far, thank you for doing so! it means a lot to me when people take the time to listen to my silly little theories, so yes, thank you! if you have anything else you want to add or if you just want to talk about these theories (which i am happy to do at literally any time) my askbox is open! hope you enjoyed my nerdy rambling :3

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© analysis by sunderingstars. do not copy, repost, translate, modify, or claim my work as your own.

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

Can you explain your thoughts on the Aizawa critical stuff? Why you agree?

Another disclaimer: No teacher in any anime is a good one really and as such I tend to have always over looked that because of the fact that if any teacher was a good one the kids wouldn’t get involved in half the bullshit they do.

That being said: Aizawa in canon is a shit teacher more fond of fucking with his students and scaring them then teaching. He suffers heavily from being the author’s mouth piece in regards to Bakugou which has led to me having to headcanon heavily things to make it make sense.

As a concept- Aizawa is supposed to be the tough teacher who has a heart of gold. He is supposed to be Kakashi in MHA but Kakashi works in Naruto because they’re part of a military dictatorship where teaching kids is a duty of his he hates and purposely fails people. I’ve always held to the headcanon he passes Team 7 solely because of Naruto only for him to fail horribly because he isn’t a good teacher.

Aizawa is supposed to be the guy introducing reality to his students. Quirks don’t matter, creativity and skill does. Except he doesn’t show that. At all.

He favours Bakugou in many ways (only a scolding for the battle trials, defending him when he could have ended the fight with Uraraka fast, how he placed him with Izuku during the final exam, refusing to see the animosity in favour of seeing what he wants- list goes on) and is very hands off.

Now, as much of the teaching aspect of the show isn’t there as we are focusing on the fights I’ve always disliked when people say he just sleeps the entire time. We don’t actually know this. Maybe he is a very engaging teacher. He just sleeps when others are involved in the class as a whole. (iE: Midnight and her class on hero names)

Then again we don’t know. So it is up to interpretation in the end.

The aspect of favouring Shinsou also comes up. For me, I’m reminded of the fact homeroom teachers in Japan actually are supposed to be third parents. They don’t really teach and are more there to help with the day to day life of students.

That being said- I think him personally teaching Shinsou is a bit of what the fuck moment when we don’t see him devoting similar time to others, and I can understand the frustration towards both of them due to this. It’s why I develop the headcanons I have so I can explain this in my fics.

The fact I have to do this though is bad writing.

I’ll admit if I took it at face value Aizawa looks worse than he does. He is supposed to be the tough mentor with a heart of gold who is traumatized by the loss of his friend as a teenager.

What we get is an asshole who the few times he is involved in a lesson he’s asleep, he favours a guy we know torments the main character, personally trains another outside the class and seems more interested in casting Izuku as a trouble maker then not. Who routinely harms his former students by placing black marks on their records which severely harms their futures.

This is Horikoshi trying to make a Kakashi 2.0 without thinking of how it works in his world. It works in Naruto. It doesn’t in MHA.

This is bad writing.

You can have it Aizawa fakes the black mark. But he doesnt in canon, so thus he is harming kids he thinks just needed a scare in the long run.

For me I love his fanon version. The actual mentor with a heart of gold. I don’t always agree with how some people show this (IE: he is the only one who knows how to help Izuku, All Might bashing, the demonization of Inko despite my own thoughts on her and so on) but I do love the idea of what he could be.

For me, I am slowly exploring him more as a man with pride and deep flaws. He doesn’t read the files because he doesn’t want a bias, but forms them himself sadly. He believes in his own way he is one of the few people who knows how demanding heroics can be, and views people with more traditional Quirks as slackers. He then misses how someone like him (Shinsou) has also relied on his Quirk.

With Bakugou and the favouritism… honestly I see that as Horikoshi using him to much as a mouth piece to excuse why a teacher isn’t stepping in. Which makes him way OOC.

This is why again I have to headcanon stuff to make it fit what Aizawa is supposed to be.

This is still bad writing.

So to answer: Canon Aizawa sucks because of bad writing and trying to fit him into MHA when it doesn’t quite work. As a concept he is interesting more so when you explore him from the mindset of a man who is unaware of the harm he brings people because he’s so focused on his own bias.

Aizawa is biased, illogical and a man who is hurting.It would have been so much fun for canon to explore him in the manner of ‘this is a man set in his ways who realizes he is fucked up and keeps fucking up’ by having him forced to realize where he went wrong and address it. To have him become the mentor with a heart of gold who gains the hope he once lost back.

We don’t get that though because in the end MHA just reinforces the status quo. Sure some changes have happened but everything is back to normal.

And that’s sad.

[herefortheships]

please, if you could asnwer me this...After the movie and it interesting end, what do you think happened? Lydia really married BJ?

You mean if she truly married him at the end of BJBJ?

I talked before about what I think the ending means in this other post, but in short I don't think she did. That said, upon rewatching a clip of the scene, I think that if Astrid, Delores and Wolf wouldn't have interrupted, there's a chance she would have gone through with it. This is just my personal interpretation, but think about it, did Lydia say or try anything to fight off Betelgeuse or try to banish him before the end of the dance number and Astrid's intervention? I wish I had the movie with me to rewatch the entire scene instead of a TikTok clip to verify this, so correct me if I'm wrong, but other than looking scared, I don't think she did anything to fight Betelgeuse away. // EDIT: I was just clarified that neither Lydia nor Astrid could say his name as per the contract. I just totally not remember the contract's full terms lol. But I think this still stands in the sense that we don't know if she would have decided to go through with the contract instead of going back on it this time. // She got into this arrangement herself fully knowing what it meant, and she wasn't backing out until Astrid pointed out the contract was null. Would she had been left completely alone with Betelgeuse, would she have acted differently? That's an interesting question.

I talked in the post linked above about how Lydia subconsciously doesn't truly want Betelgeuse gone; there's a part of her that wants him around, and that's why I think he's still hanging around her in the end, despite her sending him away. Her secret desire to keep him around is what continues to invite him into her life. He's in bed with her trying to communicate with her just like at the beginning of the movie, where she couldn't really tell if he was there or not. This time though, she fully knows he is. It's why she looks to the empty space next to her (and why she's totally sleeping at her side of the bed and leaving a side open for him, as I said, subconsciously wishing he was there and she wasn't alone lol Anyway that's just my interpretation).

If the story continues with a third part, I think she will end up marrying him (and I always say "for better or worse", because thematically that wedding has to happen, but we don't know what Tim Burton, et al, will choose to do with it. Considering the increased support for Beetlebabes after this movie and how much Winona, Michael, and definitely Tim love the couple, I think it should be a good outcome). Even if the story doesn't continue with another movie, the ending is open-ended enough that we can imagine what happened next. It's heavily implied BJ is still around, not letting go of Lydia, so we can easily conclude they'll continue to have some form of relationship which could eventually become a friendship or even a romantic relationship down the line. Lydia doesn't have to be afraid of Betelgeuse anymore; he has a dark af sense of humor, but she's seen he cares about her and wouldn't harm her or Astrid.

[firesofdainix]

solarballs fics masterlist

A collection of ALL my solarballs fics, all 44 (and counting) of them! I don't even know how I wrote most of these in a month; most of these fics are part of the same universe, an alternate universe heavily relying a lot more on fantastical lore and complex characteristics of each character rather than scientific accuracy. Most scientific theories have been handwaved or explained differently. I'll be posting them in chronological order to better understand the entire series.

some of them will be labeled on whether or not they're AU-adjacent or something that can be read without them.

Spacetime Continuum AU

Spacetime Continuum Extras

Extra scenes, headcanons, concepts, prompts, and designs of my Alternate Universe. Used as a companion piece for the main series as a whole.

As The Years Go By

Uranus reckons his past relationship with Jupiter as he deals with his present feelings for the largest Gas Giant.

(A/N: This is a Jupiter/Uranus story first and foremost, with other relationships like Jupiter/Saturn, Saturn/Planet X being in the background. Because this is set in a nebulous, pre-canon era, all of the characters are based on my interpretation of what they were like.)

Ouroboros

Ouroboros: a circular symbol depicting a snake, or less commonly a dragon, swallowing its tail, as an emblem of wholeness or infinity.

Jupiter experiences the same day over and over. The main constant is he always gets killed, lost, or mauled in the end.

Better Off Dead

Hades kills Jupiter. This changed everything. This changed nothing.

or; a canon-divergent ending of the first chapter of Ouroboros.

History is a Story Told By the Winners of the Fight

Jupiter commits murder, and he's in bad shape to even think about anything else. Uranus and Neptune help plot his schemes.

Ursa Major

Callisto's creation and what comes after. Featuring some Jupiter and Callisto father daughter bonding!

Pride Cometh Before The Fall

Saturn and Planet X find out Jupiter's best-kept secret and undermine his authority.

The Consequences of Our Actions

Five times Earth and Theia are warned about their sharing of orbits, and one time the warnings ring true- but it's already too late.

Moons Should Know Their Place

Luna has recently formed from what he believed had been space debris; yet why are some planets looking at him like he'd committed a crime?

After the Battle

Jupiter and, additionally Saturn, did something bad a few billion years ago. Just how bad was it?

Masterless Cattle

After kicking Tyche and Planet X out of the solar system, the giants along with the remaining planets talk about dividing their spoils of war, such as paraphernalia of the deceased and banished planets, the moons, and new orbits, along with some emotional confessions along the way.

A Name Forged From His Skin of Sins

The beginning of Ganymede.

(A/N: This one is more of the fanon interpretations of the character and its origins. It's for the plot I swear!)

Still Living The Same Life

One shots covering Ganymede's new life.

Nature Abhors A Power Vacuum

Jupiter and the VOICES.

Remember My Name

Planet X's ejection, the aftermath of it, and the begining of their fall from grace.

Seeds of Love Planted in a Faux Gift

Saturn finds out about Jupiter's less-than-stellar vision. He helps in his own way, not predicting the consequences coming with it.

Lamentations of a False King

Thousands of years after the conflict that had shook up the entire solar system, Jupiter and Saturn talk about their regrets and understand each other a lot better. Meanwhile, Saturn's promise to Planet X continues to break down.

Tsunami

Neptune's capture of Triton in egregious, gory details.

(A/N: Because of the new episodes, this fic will be considered divergent from the Solarballs premise of Triton's origins. More eldritch and messed up things happen in this fic.)

Accidentally In Love

Jupiter confesses his romantic feelings for Saturn, who reciprocates; not before discarding a terrible secret that will haunt him for eternity.

Everyone Knows

Jupiter tells everyone that he and Saturn are together. The reactions reaped are mostly positive with... a few odd ones out.

It Starts With Sorry

Saturn apologizes to Jupiter for the things he'd done to him during the Proto Era, letting himself be honest about his feelings just this one time. Jupiter forgives him, because of course he does.

When the Paint Dries

The seventh planet's views on his artistry over the eons.

Break The Cycle

The Giants find out about the revolution, but instead of becoming angry, they realize they are perpetuating the same mistakes as their Sun.

(A/N: This is canon divergent and doesn't really happen. This is a simple "what if.")

You Must Be Haunting Me

The planets are haunted by the ghosts of the past. They aren't actually ghosts, of course, ghosts aren't real, but no one is going to tell them that.

If You Need To Be Mean

Mercury thinks about the past often, and how so many things have changed in the past four billion years. Not for the better, according to him.

Saturn's Moons Hanging By A Thread

In the aftermath of the Moon Revolution, Saturn's moons return to their planet and back to their old lives. However, one insult against Titan goes too far, and he finally lets all his feelings over being their main punching bag out in the open.

(A/N: This fic and the next two fics are canon divergent from the episode "Saturn Gets His Moons Back!" But The Moon Club will still happen, although Europa and Ganymede will be included.)

Galileo Figaro

Following Titan leaving his orbit after a spat with his fellow moons, he ends up in Jupiter's orbit talking to familiar faces, who end up, surprisingly, sympathizing with his situation.

Moon-Eater

Saturn uses his power to give his moons a stern talk and a fair warning about the consequences if they ever take things with Titan further than normal. Titan finally gets an apology from one of the moons.

Mars, God of War

Even Mars once had an ocean on its surface. Even the red planet was given the chance to shelter life before it led to its destruction.

(A/N: No longer canon! This one-shot is a what-if conspiracy theory is true, thus I wrote it.)

Take On Me

A collection of moments in time covering Mars and Earth's very tumultuous relationship. Includes copious amounts of codependency and pining from both sides as they struggle to pretend they're not at their wit's end.

That Organic Kind of Love!

Earth gives Mars a gift for Valentine's to showcase how much the red planet means to a planet teeming with life. Mars tries to be thrilled, but Earth's gift is rather... unconventional.

I Need Someone To Remember Me

Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars talk about the planets they've lost during one of the rare times they hang out. Surprisingly, they're acting civilized for once; as civilized as they can be.

You Didn't Know?

Planet X returns to the solar system, not only to gloat at how he is still alive but also to enact the first part of his revenge: to tear Jupiter and Saturn apart with the only promise Saturn had broken.

(A/N: Canon divergent for the future Planet X arc.)

Aftermath

The return of Planet X has ever-lasting consequences on the dynamics of the solar system. The Giants are the first to feel its effects.

(A/N: Canon divergent from the Planet X arc.)

I Want You All The Time

Saturn and Planet X finally have their long-awaited fight. It goes about as well as you'd expect-- Saturn being an asshole and Planet X being delusional.

Antithesis

The Iris and Earth are complete opposites in both action and concept. They talk about it.

(A/N: Canon divergent from the Planet X arc, and focuses on a crossover for plot.)

You Got Mail!

The Sun and Jupiter, trapped in powerless human forms, face a deadly challenge never experienced before: surviving a beast-infested Earth, and trying to make their way back home while meeting familiar faces. Along the way, the two must overcome their deadliest hurdle to return to space: their eons-long grudges against each other.

Yorick's Skull

Earth and Iris get a rematch on fairly equal terms. Someone dies this time.

Scorched Earth

After Earth defeats the Iris, he and The Sun have a short conversation over the things that happened within the solar system.

Mania

Earth has had enough of humanity taking advantage of him and destroying his resources, so he retaliates by making their own home planet their biggest mortal enemy, forcing them into submission. Three hundred years later, Astrodude is sent as an ambassador to convince the Earth to stop his massacre of human lives.

(A/N: Canon divergent and futuristic fic. Not actually compliant to the main story as a whole.)

You Want What You Can't Have (Ooh Girl That's Too Damn Bad)

Planet X is allowed to return to the solar system, and is struck by how in love Jupiter and Saturn are- because it had been them and Saturn first.

Lucifer Morningstar Had Once Been Beautiful

Planet X is self-conscious about their appearance, and Saturn notices, trying to do something about it, despite the wounds they've inflicted on one another.

War and Destruction

Planet X has been dealing with their feelings since returning to the solar system, but these violent emotions often come to a head when they are alone. Mars is tasked to help them through it, due to their destabilized relationship with the Giants.

Non-AU-adjacent fics

And I'll Be Yours Until the Stars Fall From the Sky

Iapetus believes Titan has bewitched him, making him fall ill when he is around the other moon. Dione thinks he just has a crush on the least popular moon of Saturn.

Let My Soul Bleed

Jupiter is an excommunicated vampire hunter-mage with a nihilistic outlook on his life and himself. Uranus is a vampire hunter with a penchant for causing more trouble than it is worth. And Saturn is a vampire that had been slumbering for hundreds of years until two stupid people happened upon his coffin.

[COMING SOON] Pierced With Nitrogen and Methane

[COMING SOON] Solarballs x Chainsaw Man AU Part One

NSFW fics

you guys are going to be sane about this, right?

In the Likeness of His Image

Earth and Mars's journeys over learning intimacy, through the years.

[COMING SOON] Take Me Down (A Little Bit Harder Now)

[deadn30n]

portrayal notes: luo binghe

a collection of short snippets pertaining to my particular interpretation of Luo Binghe from SVSSS. list is subject to change and be updated periodically

as i've mentioned in previous posts, I write the version of Luo Binghe you see in Proud Immortal Demon Way. the arrogant && cruel Emperor with a harem of wives spanning in the hundreds. he's the man that Shen Yuan was a fan of throughout the entire novel.

it's possible that throughout the events of Scum Villian, this version of Luo Binghe did not exist until the system 'created' him as a measure to mete out punishment to Shen Qingqiu for losing all of his B Points. which means that Shen Qingqiu might just be responsible for the accidental creation and implementation of an alternate dimension that is Proud Immortal Demon Way. there's no telling if this was the case or not, but per my interpretation, i like to think that the original story didn't have it's own universe until Shen Qingqiu fucked up so badly it created the violent version of Luo Binghe to teach him a lesson

this version of Luo Binghe is charismatic and easy to get along with, especially if you are a woman ( he has a soft spot for them ) but his patience is thin when it comes to being tested. yes, i do think Luo Binghe enjoys the act of killing ( there was no denying he thoroughly reveled in the deaths of all those he believed wronged him ) but i do not believe he kills without purpose. if someone dies, it's never just on a whim or 'for fun', there is always a reason behind it.

though he is charismatic and charming, Luo Binghe is also permanently damaged due to the abuse he suffered from his fellow sect mates, as well as his own master. he does an excellent job of hiding it for the most part, but he has PTSD and struggles with hallucinations / night terrors brought on by said trauma.

his demonic sword Xin Mo is also heavily to blame for this as well; it's influence and attempts to conquer his mind exacerbating the already weakened parts of him. he's done a good job of keeping control on the weapon, but there may come a time when he is no longer able to do so

Luo Binghe has what is called 'the invincible protagonist's halo', which was written into his story by Shang Qinghua ( author of Proud Immortal Demon Way ), making him immune to death, and causing his enemies to become 'dumb' and 'easy to defeat' when faced against him. i won't be enforcing this on your character in interactions without your permission, but you do have to respect that he is immune to death nevertheless.

this doesn't mean he's immortal though. in fact, in my mind, Luo Binghe is very much mortal in spite of his heavenly demon blood, and will only live to be around maybe 200. in the present timeline, he's in his early 50s.

Luo Binghe has a number of special talents unique to himself, but one of the most prominent is his ability to control the dreamscape. he can willingly enter the dreams of others and even torment them through visions of their past, or worst memories. this was a skill he acquired from the demon Meng Mo who took him under his wing at a fairly young age and passed on his powers so he would have a host to cling to when he got too weak to maintain his form. they have a parasitic relationship with one another but it works out well in both of their favours.

he might seem like he has everything someone could ever want but it's also heavily hinted at that Luo Binghe is dissatisfied with it all. it's even mentioned in the novel that after taking his teacher's life -- arguably the worst offender for all the crimes committed against him -- rather than feeling complete, Luo Binghe still felt... unhappy. as if the revenge wasn't enough to remove the burden of his memories from his shoulders.

it's also hinted at in the novel that Luo Binghe is destined to 'one day fade away into obscurity, alone and forgotten.' as if all of his accomplishments meant nothing, and he was unable to escape the hollowness in his heart.

he does not trust easily and is extremely paranoid. it's difficult to get close to hi m, and even a number of his wives struggle to get anything beyond sex out of him. he is emotionally closed off from everyone and everything, and becomes doubly so once his cycle of revenge is complete.

i do very much think he loves his wives -- or did, at one point. he may not have had a deep connection with a good portion of them, but for those he was closest to ( Liu Mingyan, Sha Hualing, Ning YingYing ), he definitely loved them, even if that love may have faded in time. it was of no fault to those women that he fell out of love. the fault rest entirely in the instability of his mind and his inability to escape the past that haunted him.

i headcanon Luo Binghe to have thick brown curly hair which he often keeps half-tied up in a pony tail.

he takes great pride in his appearance and has a rather excessive grooming routine that he goes through each and every day. he smells very good and only uses the most expensive products when cleaning himself.

while Luo Binghe is very much a flirt, your muse does not have to reciprocate his advances. he's a charmer, and he's definitely accustomed to people tripping over themselves to sleep with him, but a little rejection now and then would do him some good i think. that ego of his needs a little popping ( but if your muse is into the type of guy he is, then by all means ).

also lmao this is completely self-indulgent and i'm NOT sorry but for a dude who conquered all three realms, i headcanon Luo Binghe as bisexual. and while he doesn't sleep with men as openly as he does with women, i definitely think he has his own little harem of twinks that he indulges in. he loves his ladies to be sure, but he also loves his twinks and isn't ashamed.

speaking of all three realms, that's an important point to mention but Luo Binghe is the emperor of all three realms ( heaven, earth, hell ) which he forcibly combined using Xin Mo by splitting apart the spaces separating the three, and then glueing them together as one. this is just one of many examples of how terrifyingly strong Luo Binghe actually is. he's a prodigy with many talents in both immortal and demonic cultivation.

he does still carry his original sword Zheng Yang with him, but tends to use it very rarely, if at all.

[kataraslove]

I just stumbled across your acc and I gotta say, I agree with alotta ur takes

Ur sooo well spoken and I really enjoy reading your thoughts and opinions

Katara is one of my favorite characters and it makes me really happy to see someone appreciate her and her writing

Ngl a lot of atla fans r lowkey braindead so ur acc is pretty refreshing

Thanks for posting!! 🩷

thank you! 🩷 your words are too kind. i appreciate it.

i did mention this before, but this blog stemmed kind of entirely out of spite. i was sick and tired of fandom on here telling me that there was only one way to interpret and enjoy my favourite character, dictating who i could or could not ship her with and how much of a stan that made me. it’s not an experience just unique to the atla fandom, of course. it’s becoming something more apparent nowadays especially, the ways in which multiple readings and interpretations of a character is heavily discouraged by fandom in favour of just one.

it’s baffling how, for so many years, there was a strict binaric interpretation of katara’s character, with 0 being non-canon and 1 being completely in favour of all things canon. either you had to vehemently agree with everything that bryke wrote for katara’s within atla and post-canon, to the point where i have seen people defend the lack of statues of her as “oh, she probably didn’t want one anyway,” (NO!!) or you had to have deep-rooted anger and rejection for all things that were done to her story, in the guise of katara deserving better.

katara does deserve better narratively, but NOT in the ways that the tumblr fandom thinks she should have. not in the ways that she should be ambassador to the fire nation, or become firelady (a racist depiction in fanon and nothing but a decorative title in canon) and live out the rest of her life by zuko’s side, serving and prioritizing zuko’s nation.

“but wouldn’t it be empowering if katara sat on the throne of her oppressors and got to dictate - “ no. it’s not. stop advocating for that type of ending for women from oppressed and marganized groups. stop acting like that is the ideal future that katara wanted this whole time, that ruling as part of a foreign monarchy that decimated your people and your culture is the ultimate threshold for liberation.

i’ve seen people who claim to take a doylist perspective for critique of atla (read: kataang)’s writing completely lose all comprehension when it comes to critically assessing post-canon zutara. by that i mean, if we continue with the writing direction that we saw for all of the female atla characters in the sequel series, a zutara endgame would position katara in a worse outcome than she got narratively. but you tell anyone that and it’s an instant “zuko would have given her 10 statues!!”

but most importantly, nothing has radicalized me more over this year than seeing the “katara deserves better (in the form of zuko)” crowd, the same crowd who is currently dreading any form of fixing or retcons from avatar studios in upcoming content, defend the hell out of natla katara’s writing. the very same people who were praising katara’s arc to the stars, stating that it was nearly complete until the two grown men decided to pair her up with aang and ruined all at the end.

well, what about the group of zutara shippers in the natla writer’s room who handed her everything in the narrative, who removed her flaws, her anger, her compassion, who stripped her down to everything except hope, all in the name so that she wouldn’t appear unlikable to audiences. i mean, that tremendously backfired for them, because now the young actress who plays katara is getting hate spewed at her for failing to portray katara interestingly, when the problem has always been the shit writing.

anyway, i appreciate this message! glad i could be of service and it’s nice that you’re a zuko fan who ships kataang! lots of people who love zuko do.

“a lot of atla fans are braindead” LMAO you can say that again!!!

[semi-sketchy]

Alright, since I'm at that episode, I'm gonna elaborate on my actual problem with Dark Sonic:

To be honest, I don't think there's anything really wrong with Sonic during the episode. He's angry his friends have been hurt by a villain, so he harnesses the power of the fake Emeralds (which he has a physical negative reaction to) and smashes said villain's testing robots to pieces.

I never really considered this a problem. Sonic can get angry, be antagonized, the SA2 Shadow fight in Green Forest springs to mind.

Plus, Secret Rings has Darkspine Sonic, which is about as close to Dark Sonic as it gets. Sharha just died, trading her life for his, he absorbs the Rage, Sadness and Hatred Rings and transforms.

Even after he leaves the transformation, he still seems pretty pissed at Erazor Djinn, with killing Sharha at the top of the list.

So, yeah. It's not 1:1 and I'm not claiming these are the same, X is obviously more exaggerated, but I don't really have a problem with the concept. We can talk about how Eggman comes in, tells Sonic he needs to be better and not let his emotions overwhelm him, but frankly I think that's more of an X!Eggman issue than the transformation itself.

No, my real problem is, and always has been, how the fandom interpreted it. That's it. I've read so many fics, seen so many posts about Sonic just "turning dark" when angry, as if any transformations have ever been purely emotion without an external power-source. (Super requires the Chaos Emeralds, Hyper the Super Emeralds, Darkspine was 3 of the World Rings, Werehog was Dark Gaia energy, Excalibur Sonic was the sacred swords, Wisp transformations needed the Wisps, Super Sonic 2 was Chaos Emeralds + Cyber energy....you get it.)

The way I've always saw it, is yes, Sonic is upset, but he also is being affected by the fake Emeralds.

This is the Discotek translation, I don't know enough Japanese to say how accurate it is, all I know know is "warui" means bad/sick depending on the sentence. An older translation (and the English dub) points to him feeling physically sick around them.

Far as I can tell, he's already reacting bad to these Emeralds on top of being antagonized, so he uses power that's at his disposal does what the villain wants: fuck up his shit.

If the fake Emeralds didn't exist, this transformation wouldn't have happened. Additionally, since X ended and the only fake Emerald in the games was blown up in SA2, it can't happen again. (Unless you write scenario where someone makes fake Emeralds, but that requires writing for the form instead of just slapping it in à la characters in IDW.)

Perhaps I'm being too hard on a lot of kids that never really interacted with the source material and just wanted to write Sonic fanfics. I've read so many that made it quite obvious that the author didn't know anything about Sonic besides he's fast and I'm not really out here trying to say Sonic shouldn't inspire people to create. Never said I hated reading those fics, I got a good deal of entertainment out of them. It's simply this misconception has stretched so far, it's like the original context has been entirely erased.

And that's the part of Dark Sonic that bothers me.

I've seen plenty of arguments for why the transformation was a poor choice and I don't entirely disagree with them. For me, I could take it or leave it. It was a one-off short transformation in an anime where Sonic pretends to be Star Trek for a season, it just exists to me.

Although, it's been awhile since I last saw discussion of Dark Sonic, as a whole it seemed to be a bigger thing in the early 2010s. Possibly because now we have more recent Sonic shows and movies, it's not just X being the latest thing anymore. I certainly don't read fics like I used to, so I'd be surprised if it is still as heavily used as it used to be. Maybe if I get some time, I'll look up some fics and find out.

[herashifts]

LABYRINTH DR.

Details below the cut!

Ok so! This is a DR based mostly on the 1986 Jim Henson movie Labyrinth, but I pulled inspiration from Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, and even a fic on AO3 that has stuck with me ever since I read it lol

In the movie, the Labyrinth is a sprawling landscape that surrounds the castle of the Goblin Kingdom, but it’s more than just a maze. There are entire sections nestled within it, like the Bog of Stench, the Goblin Village, and the Junkyard, to name a few. It is, frankly, massive, and yet nothing else in the movie hints to what else is in the Underground, the supernatural dimension that the Labyrinth calls home. So that just means I get to play around in it >:3

I once read a fic that leaned into the fact that Jareth’s title is the Goblin King, not King of the Goblins. In the fic, he is what’s called a “greater goblin.” It is explained that in ages past, the fae used to hunt the goblins, so the goblins had no choice but to evolve somehow to ensure their survival. This was done in two ways: One, evolve to visually resemble the fae enough to blend in and evade suspicion. Two, become so hard to kill that they’re nearly indestructible. Jareth is the first one and the other goblins you see in the film are the second. This is the interpretation that I am using in my DR. As a result, this leaves a whole sandbox to play with, narratively. If there are fae and goblin kingdoms, what else are there? I’m glad you asked!

Just as there are fae and goblins in the Underground, there are also elves, pointy-eared immortals prospering in their own kingdom, the Valyrian Freehold. If that sounds familiar, that’s because I was heavily inspired by the lore of Game of Thrones, namely Old Valyria. (….I borrowed quite a bit of lore hfjfhfjfhg)

The Valyrian Freehold is a thriving empire ruled by a king and a council representing the 39 other noble families. (The nobles often have the silver-gold hair that you see on the Targaryens in Game of Thrones.) The Freehold is known for its stunning architecture, beautiful art, flourishing peace, and, of course, its dragons.

Ah, yes, the dragons. As if I could resist the urge to have a dragon in a fantasy setting!

The Valyrian Freehold’s reputation of being ruled by dragonlords is not without reason. Its capital, Valyria, and the other closest cities are surrounded by a ring of volcanoes known as “The Fourteen Flames.” The caves and caverns served as perfect nesting grounds for dragons. Dragons are fire made flesh, and the lava served them well before the ancient Valyrians bent them to their will. Millennia ago, the forty noble families used blood magic to make them and their descendants able to tame dragons.

In modern times, the dragons are still plentiful, though they are kept mainly by the upper class. (The cost of eggs and upkeep is no joke!) A dragon and rider are bonded usually in one of two ways. An egg can be placed in an infant’s crib or given to a child/teenager, or an elf may approach a dragon and try to prove themselves worthy of being a rider. (How a dragon deems someone worthy varies from dragon to dragon.) Once a bond has been formed, nothing can sever it except death, and it is forbidden to kill a dragon that is bonded to someone unless absolutely necessary, and even that is severely discouraged. Dragons are magic given form, they are almost sacred in the Freehold.

I’m sticking with the canonical dragon design from Game of Thrones for mg DR, aka dragons have two hind legs and two wings that double as front legs. Other features can vary, but the number of limbs remains constant. They possess intelligence equal to a human, they are just incapable of speech. Dragons age quickly at the start of their life, growing to a rideable age around the fifth year, but do not age beyond adulthood. They either remain as they were at their prime or grow larger, maintaining their strength. Dragons cannot die of old age, same as their riders, only from injury or illness, the latter of which being rare.

Their bonds are for life, and sometimes they can communicate with their riders without the riders speaking at all. When a rider dies, the dragon may choose another or simply return to the wild. They experience grief just like anyone else would, and they choose how to cope.

Shifting topics here, magic is a big aspect of my life in this reality. In the Freehold, there are mainly two categories of people who use magic: pyromancers and alchemists. Pyromancers are those that use fire magic and tend to dragons, among other things. Alchemists are those that create potions, carve runes, and assist in creating the breathtaking architecture that Valyria is known for, just to name a few aspects of their craft. I, however, am neither of those things. Instead, I am what is known as a mage.

Both pyromancers and alchemists get their powers through years of study. Mages, however, are elves born able to use magic. They are rare and, within Valyria, considered unnatural, maybe even vulgar. When a mage’s powers manifest, their parents usually send them to become pyromancers or alchemists, as both communities are fairly insular. (Out of sight, out of mind, and all that.) Fortunately, I was spared this fate.

My grandfather is king of Valyria. My mother will inherit after him, and then my brother after her. If I were to suddenly vanish from the public eye, it would be noticed immediately. So, I remained with my family, though under strict instructions to never use my powers. As I grew, however, it became harder and harder, to the point that my father gave me a magic-suppressing necklace to wear at all hours of the day. It can’t block my magic completely, but enough for me to get my magic under control before I bring attention to myself.

My magic is blue, nearly indigo, and very powerful, though I don’t know this yet. (I’m basically just the Scarlet Witch but blue— yes it’s OP but it’s my dr, I want to be OP hehehehehe) I have yet to tap into my true potential, considering the whole “never use your magic” rule.

But I mentioned having a dragon, didn’t I? Of course I did! When I was about the elven equivalent of a 10 year old human, I asked my parents about dragons. They each had one, my brother had one, when would I get one? My father, not wanting me to have one due to me being a mage, tried to convince me that I wasn’t ready yet, and would need to grow some more before looking into bonding with one. Later, when we were having family dinner, my grandfather asked my parents when I would choose a dragon. My father, having not told anyone that I was a mage, argued the same thing that he told me, that I wasn’t yet ready to become a dragon rider. My grandfather nodded along, but after dinner, asked me to stay behind to help him with something and shooed the rest my family from the room. When it was just the two of us, he scribbled on an official notice from his office— it was a signed declaration from the king that I was allowed into the dragonpits to find the dragon meant for me. He winked as he handed it to me with a smile.

In the days that followed, I waited for the opportunity to sneak away from my parents and go to the dragonpits. I made it there without issue, and the pyromancers hesitated allowing me entrance only for a moment before I showed them the document from my grandfather. After that, they were more than happy to help guide me. We passed many eggs and riderless dragons, but none really caught my eye until I saw her.

She was a fairly young dragon, maybe about 25 or 30 years old, and a beautiful shade of blue with some purple on her wing membranes. There was a crown of horns around her head, and she seemed built for speed. Her eyes were bright and keen, watching me intently as I stared at her in awe. The pyromancers guiding me quickly tried to shuffle me away, saying that since this she-dragon’s intended rider died before they could properly bond, she had refused all others, snapping and growling. Strangely, though, she had rejected every opportunity to return to the wild. Even as they spoke, I knew she was meant for me. I took a step forward and she stood, watching. The pyromancers watched, ready to defend me if necessary. I stepped closer. The she-dragon lowered her head so our eyes were level. In High Valyrian, the language all dragons understood, I said to her, “You’re blue, just like me,” and made a spark of magic light up my eyes, hidden from the pyromancers behind me. The dragon blinked and examined me for a moment before turning away. I was sad for a moment, before I realized that she was offering me her saddle. The pyromancers gawked as I climbed onto her back, but knew that there was nothing they could do to stop me at this point. They guided me to the exit meant for riders, and the she-dragon’s wings spread. She leapt into the air.

Now, remember the part when I said that, when bonding with an adult dragon, you have to prove yourself? Yeah, this was no different. Unfortunately for me, this dragon’s way of testing me was to buck like a bull. She performed complex aerial maneuvers and sharp movements intending to throw me, but I held fast. Eventually, she deemed me worthy and leveled out. I guided her to the palace, and when I dismounted, I introduced the she-dragon as Meleys, named after an ancient goddess of war. In that moment, was prouder than I had ever been in my life. So was my grandfather, when he found out. My father? Less so. While he knew that there was nothing to be done about the bond now, he made sure I knew how furious it made him. (Secretly, my brother congratulated me on having the sheer *audacity* to go to the dragonpits alone. He was very impressed.)

As I grew up, my bond with Meleys grew ever stronger. She was the swiftest dragon alive, and I never felt more at peace than when we were in the sky. She became my closest confidant, my secret keeper, my dearest friend. All was well.

And then the letter came.

It was from an emissary of the fae kingdom, meant to be delivered to my father. The letter implied that the fae kingdom would be willing to establish a trade agreement with the Valyrian Freehold if my father did a little something for them. They had heard rumors of his daughter being unable to have children (something I script into every DR), along with other whispers (meaning my magic). The letter implied that if he were to marry me off to the Goblin King, who was seeking a spouse, then it would benefit both kingdoms. Jareth’s line would not continue, and my father would get me out of Valyria. Like I said, out of sight, out of mind.

My father proposed this engagement to my grandfather, but only with the argument of forging alliances between nations, never mentioning the fae kingdom’s proposal. My grandfather thought on it, and after some deliberation, approved of the match. A princess can hardly marry worse than a king, after all. Of course, he did demand to meet Jareth first, and stipulated that there was to be a period of courting before the wedding. My father agreed. A letter was sent to the Lord of the Labyrinth entailing the offer of marriage. A response was delivered not long afterwards, saying that His Majesty would need to meet me in person before agreeing to anything. Arrangements were made, and the palace began to prepare for a visit from the most mysterious monarch of the Underground….

My FC inspo:

Meleys is the blue dragon below but with the horns and frills of the second one.

Valyria: