#somewhat serious lore speculation

[chaotic-nart]

!!! SOTE SPOILERS!!!

I always thought Miquella was weird. Not evil, just weird. And maybe a little creepy.

Forgive me if this is incoherent rambling, my adhd meds are still kicking in as I type this. This is also half shitpost half actually serious .

Don’t get me wrong- I don’t think he’s evil. But his character was definitely not “assassinated” like some people believe.

In the base game, they give hints as to his actual nature pretty regularly. Calling him the most fearsome of demigods and the bewitching branches, to his soldiers blowing themselves up in his name, to the Albinaurics we see cocooned in Elphael and tortured in Castle Sol.

They laid it on hella thick; his power/side effect of being an empyrean was making people love him. Malenia’s was her rot. Ranni’s was her cold, freezing nature and her moon (i have so many thoughts about this goddamn space rock)

Every item description about him being this kind, universally loved polymath made me have a wave of almost uncanny revulsion. I really don’t know how to describe it other than as someone who comes from a background of discrimination, it sets off alarm bells because I -personally- will not trust the person EVERYONE loves. Especially if they have never experienced any sort of hardship/discrimination yet want to “save” everyone by becoming their ruler.

Miquella’s intentions are good, but his execution is absolutely terrible.

For instance, Miquella claims to want to protect and save those who were turned away from the Golden Order such as Omen, Albinaurics, Misbegotten, and now Hornsent.

Well, Mohg was an omen. And he was willing to not only manipulate him into loving him, but also to humiliate him further by having him killed by (us) to use his corpse as a vessel for Radahn- someone is 1) in good graces with the GO, and 2) a warlord who also did not want to become his consort. Ansbach, a man who fully dedicated himself to Mohg, tried to educate Miquella and was instantly charmed by him.

The Hornsent claims that Miquella apologized to him on behalf of his mother for the war crimes committed against his people (I have big thoughts about the Hornsent but I’ll save that for later), however the absolute moment that the charm is broken, Leda is compelled to eliminate him and/or Ansbach. The two men tied to discriminated parties under Marika’s reign, simply because they don’t deserve to be in Kindly Miquella’s presence because they don’t absolutely adore him :/

His Age of Love would’ve just been a new form of oppression considering his consort is a warlord and his power is making people love him. Even if war continued, or if injustices still took place during Miquella’s reign- no one would be able to challenge him. Like Ansbach (and even us, the Tarnished), they would be rizzed into silenced.

Essentially, bro had a good idea but my god he fumbled as soon as he got his Great Rune.

Fat L + Ratio = Age of Stars better🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️ LMAO

[twilightofthesandwiches]

Okay, so one thought I had rattling in my head for a bit now is that the Dark Sanctuary of Deltarune Chapter 4 really reminds me of Undertale’s Waterfall.

I mean, the Dark Sanctuary doesn’t really have the water theming but… they are both the darkest parts of the game, both in a literal visual sense. With a mostly darker color-scheme and puzzles themed around darkness

and also in the narrative sense, being the most serious, solemn and grim part of the game. While Waterfall has its moments of levity and, y’know, Temmie Village, there’s a lot more focus of scenes of melancholy or fear compared to other parts of the game. While Undyne can be a very silly character, she only shows that side of herself to the Human during her Boss Fight right at the end and she’s otherwise a quiet and no-nonsense antagonist.

Deltarune Chapter 4 is the darkest chapter of Deltarune so far. It also has it's funnier moments but… The Church Dark World concept leads itself to much more serious theming and designs for the backgrounds and the enemies, it has some of the most serious exploration of our main characters' personalities and arcs, and has a lot of emphasize on the fact the stakes have been raised and Shit Just Got Real.

Plus, both Chapters deal heavily in the lore written on the walls of that area

Including a Prophecy

(well, in Deltarune it's exclusively a Prophecy, in Undertale it focuses on History and also includes a Prophecy)

And on a larger scale, both of these writings introduce the idea that the information we/the characters had before on the Lore is not the full picture.

And y'know, Gerson, who is present in both areas but also…

As the Hammer of Justice he also serves as a very heavy parallel to the Boss Fight(s) against Undyne in Undertale, both in visual design and gameplay (the Green Soul Mode).

Also, y'know, Piano Puzzles...

The thing is just… I didn't quite know what to do with this comparison. I mean, speculating on the idea the next Chapter would somehow be a Hotland Counterpart feels incredibly silly considering we already had two Dark Worlds that are very Hotland-like…

Which is when I realized, what if Deltarune Chapters correspond to Undertale areas but in reverse?

The Dark Sanctuary is like Waterfall and before it, TV World is a lot like Hotland, focused on TV-themed minigames controlled by an attention-hungry rectangular Game Show Host.

Cyber World would be the CORE, as the most high-tech themed areas in their respective games

And Queen and Spamton both including elements of Mettaton EX/NEO

Including Spamton NEO having the Yellow Soul Mode.

And Card Castle is the counterpart to New Home. Since these areas are both meant to be, well, a castle and it's surrounding area.

And King obviously being kind of a dark thematic reflection of Asgore.

…That would make Chapter 5 a Snowdin parallel to some degree, then Chapter 6 as a Ruins parallel, leaving Chapter 7 to do something totally off-the-rails and unique and unpredictable… Question is just what would that mean for Chapter 5 to be a "Snowdin Parallel"?

Since the Dark Sanctuary didn't really have water and TV World didn't really have magma-stuff, I don't think that would mean Chapter 5 would necessarily be an ice world, and indeed the only real hint we have to Chapter 5 right now is about a garden.

… It could be a somewhat more light-hearted Chapter after the huge drama-bombs we just had, since Snowdin is probably the most light-hearted and friendly part of Undertale… but there's also plenty of ways for it to be just as lore-heavy and serious and filled with revelations. Since the two things Snowdin was known for is the introduction of the Skeleton Brothers and it's Holiday Theming.

[pillowbugs]

idea: submas au(?) where pre-battle subway, both of them were already somewhat known on the internet, but for different reasons. maybe not super famous, but definitely notable in their various circles.

let's say emmet has a blog / vlog (iamemmet) where he and a couple friends (elesa, burgh, etc) just mess around and battle and stuff (think online / showdown battle videos on yt except they're actually irl). he does talk about trains sometimes, and is visibly excited whenever he does, but most of his fans are there to watch him battle more than anything.

meanwhile, ingo runs a train blog (Conductor I) where he posts long and detailed writeups of virtually anything to do with trains. he is known to be quite passionate, and has gotten into various extremely heated arguments with other railfans on internet forums over the merits of certain trains and railfan etiquette. maybe he collabs with other blogs covering other topics run by his friends (e.g. trains vs planes annual debate feat. highflyinggirl (skyla), starlight express review feat. spectralscribe (shauntal), etc). overall, though, he's fairly guarded regarding his personal life, and most of what people know about him, excluding his train-related opinions, is from whenever he collabs with other people.

they have collaborated with each other before, so people absolutely know they're twins. there is a running joke about how emmet's fans might actually know more about ingo than his own fans, simply because emmet is much more open with his personal life and inevitably that includes a lot of stuff involving his brother.

so one day, they both announce that they're taking an indefinite hiatus from their blogs because of a project. after almost a year of speculation - oh, look, there's a new battle facility in unova! wait, these guys look familiar... and it does happen to be a facility integrated into the subway...

so of course, their existing fans congratulate both of them on their new positions, everyone's celebrating. both of them do return to posting on their blogs after things have settled a bit more (albeit less frequently than before the hiatus, because they have a job now). however, with their newfound mainstream fame, comes a gigantic new wave of fans from the battle subway.

and this is where things get incredibly messy within the fandom. maybe less so on emmet's end - he's quite open on his blog about being a subway boss, and vice versa, and he acts more or less the same way on both accounts, so within his fanbase, the question is just "when did you find him?" because he's been the same throughout. he is emmet. that's it. though, there is of course still a bit of fan elitism from those who found him before the subway and know all the "deep lore" about him.

ingo's fanbase, however, is an absolute bloodbath. there are actual factions. the two most notorious are the subway-onlies, the ones who are most likely to be called fake fans by the rest because they're only interested in his persona as a subway boss; and the conductor purists, who only enjoy his blog and forum presence but not his irl job, and think he has gone downhill after achieving mainstream success. in fact, many of the subway-onlies don't even realise ingo has a 'personal' blog, or any social media presence besides his official account as a subway boss, while the most diehard conductor purists have disavowed the battle subway because in their minds, it's taking attention away from the blog.

a big reason for the divide is that ingo gives a very different image on his blog and as a subway boss; a passionate, friendly railfan who can be quite verbose especially in roasting people online, versus the professional, polite facility head with a serious demeanour. many fans who found him through the subway are surprised at the content of his blog, even if most of them also love seeing this side of him. a certain subset of the fandom is very insistent that the blog shows his 'real' personality, while his being a subway boss is entirely an act.

in short, big fanbase = problems. many people looking in are genuinely terrified and confused as to whatever the hell is going on in there. there is Drama. get the popcorn.

[blind-alchemists]

sorry, Zagreus, I've had your sister for five hours and I already like her more than you.

anyway! I did treat myself and bought the game early and. it's just very good!

in somewhat chronological order, my thoughts after yesterday's session

the music! the music is even more amazing than in the first game and if I'm done, I need to listen to the whole OST on loop

the art!! also even better than in the first game!!

Melinoë is a great protagonist

it's incredibly funny the first god we encounter is Apollo, because Apollo is the guy people modded into the first game years ago

... boy, I wonder what the speedrunning meta will look like for this game (I have very obscure knowledge about Hades I speedrunning meta)

I love the little backgrounds that pop out with the art

oh, right, I jumped into the Hades I EA late, so I never saw the place holder graphics in-game before

the environments!! beautiful.

I shouldn't have played the first game last week. It's fucking with me. where's my second dash??? Why do we start with 30 HP??? where are my death defiances??? weapon mechanics???

of course there's a fishing mechanic again.

I like Hecate's design.

saluting??? what's the lore behind that?

OH. this tone of the story isn't ... quite what I expected. A lot more serious. a lot more severe.

Melinoë doesn't remember her family??? Hello??? what the fuck???

and she keeps talking about her task with such a dutiful determination ... no, I'm not crying. But. That's such an interesting conflict.

NEMESIS!! She's holding her sword aspect!! her design!! her resentment!! her vengeance!! her rivalry with Mel. how Mel calls her Nem. please. tell me she's a romance option. PLEASE.

oh, hi odysseus.

hey, there's hypnos! ... why's he sleeping??? (funny thing is, I got the Charon dialogue that implies he's more useful this way lol)

I cannot. Take. Skelly serious. It's worse because Mel does.

I like Moros' design. The long hair going over the horns? Yeah, that's good.

Mel gets an AXE??? a heavy, double-bladed axe??? (I love women wielding heavy weapons, and as long as the rail doesn't make a return, I'm good with anything after enough time)

I like the new art sprites for reoccurring characters!

ahhh, the good old "we don't trust Olympus so we're not telling them everything" line. understandable, but I figure that's going to blow up sooner or later.

I love Mel's bond with Artemis and Selene and the implication that both helped raise her.

... and I like the predominantly female cast so far

Nemesis can show up in Erebus???

BABY MELINOË omg

why does every chthonic goddess / titaness sound like they have a thing for Persephone. Nyx already had a few lines like that in the first game. Why does Hecate also have these kinds of lines.

the Hecate fight frustrates me to no end, because I'm very used to more dashes, more health, and more death defiances, and very different weapons :( (I have bet her twice in total so far)

unrelated, but I didn't know I needed a sheep in the Hades art style but it's so damn cute and I want a large art print of it

Archane!! I love how her silks change Mel's avatar

Oceanus is beautiful

... except for the traps. Really not digging the traps. or the maps.

CHAOS??? why are you holding your old form's head??? and why is there an embryo coming out of it??? why do you have wings??? why do you wear a suit??? the new design unfortunately checks all the boxes but upon reflection that is because it fits into that very niche character design trope I've seen in manwha recently and I couldn't put a name on it if I tried

on that note, I also adore Aphrodite's new design!!

not quite sure what I think of the gathering / farming mechanic yet

I do like the incantations, magic, hexes, and arcana though!

HERMES! I also adore his design.

wait, what? Mel's going to Olympus? You're telling me one part of the game is descending into the House of Hades and the other is climbing to Mount Olympus?? (that's my speculation, at least.)

god, I hope the cast of the first game is alright/alive. :(

I hope we also get to see Athena, Ares, and Dionysus at some point :(

on that note, I can't wait for Mel to meet her brother and realize he's the opposite of her lol. I love siblings and mirrors.

[spicybylerpolls]

yeah, that underage doubtful anon about minors filming spicy scenes... that just seems like another kind of byler doubt to me, except rather than being about byler getting together at all, THIS flavour of byler doubt is byler sex doubt! Hahahahaha

we dont need that at all!! byler sex is speculative and somewhat far-fetched, and even though I believe it has serious potential to show up in the show, its still the wacky cousin of the byler community who showed up with some beers and a boombox. it's so fun at spicy byler tumblr, and if we start bringing classic Byler Doubt TM in, we're just going to ruin stuff! cos sex isnt guaranteed here anyway, so why doubt it? we've only just got through the gauntlet of the underage issue, please let's just have fun now for a bit lol

also im going to add my own tangential poll to this post: for me, one of the biggest 'evidences' of spicy byler times incoming is that noah and finn (noah in particular) react in a certain kind of blushy/secretive way during press/social media that does not merely speak to me of their characters getting a simple romantic ending, or just a kiss. i can completely understand why many people don't take anything outside of the show itself as evidence, and i wish i didnt, but i just can't help it. cos shows are fiction and made to manipulate you as a viewer, whereas real people, even actors, have tells. im not claiming to know finn and noah's personal tells, but for me, as two humans, their body language does not lie!

noah especially gives off the vibes that he will have to portray something extremely giggle-worthy (and thus spicy) next season. that tiktok at penn where he almost gave spoilers? 'there's some crazy stuff, some iconic scenes in there' and his smile was GUILTY AF. yeah, crazy stuff could be a showdown with vecna or a lore reveal. but would that make him BLUSH???? and it could be *just* a masturbation fantasy scene (would love that for the narrative too), but then we also now seeing finn blushing furiously and flickering his eyes around during press like he's in an interrogation room whenever s5 is mentioned. it just screams 'two friends and coworkers who know they have to get it on on-screen' to me.

so has anyone else got finn and noah's behaviour as good evidence for spicy byler incoming?

yes all the way! though i try not to think of that and focus on byler themselves/the narrative clues

yeppers peppers and i love to see it! add it to the pile of proofs hehe!

no, everything is meaningless but the show you FOOL! (affectionate)

no, i notice their blushing but i dont think it relates to the show. maybe theyre in lurrrvvvveeeee

finn and noah are blushing a lot cos it's hot in whatever room theyre in and means nothing lmao

one day we will all die so none of it matters or makes sense and who is byler?

Please note that the purpose of this blog is not to be creepy or to make anyone uncomfortable. That's why I created the #spicy byler tag (I will tag all polls with this). If you don't want to see this blog or anything related to it on your feed, please block that tag. Not everyone is comfortable with this sorta stuff, and that's okay.

[ccaptain]

I need to address this thing that we had in the Genshin lore for so long- but the fact that Kaeya was put in solitary confinement along with Klee right as he was about to head to the Charm cannot be something of a casual concidence.

Judging by what we, as the Traveler, have found in the Chasm, I have two theories that both include Kaeya getting both himself and Klee grounded that day was intentional. These theories being the following:

A much simpler and less angsty one is that Kaeya had studied the Chasm, its environment and enemies prior to its opening, perhaps has judged it too harsh for an expedition made only of him and Klee. He knows about Klee's potential and strenght, but the poisonous miasma and complex enemies might have been too much for them to take on together- not to mention that they could have risked some sort of serious poisoning, without the proper equipment- and the proper equipment warranted more researches and investments, which they didn't had at the time. He was not willing to break Klee's enthusiasm over this and risking of undermining her position as the Spark Knight... so he had to cause a bit of chaos and get them both grounded in order to stop a potentially dangerous expedition. He kept Klee distracted all day in her room as they were both grounded, and the Chasm problem was swiftly forgotten. Another victory for Kaeya!

Now, for a much angstier possibility: Kaeya knows of the connection between the Chasm and Khaenri'ah. There's no way that this is obscure to him, a person who loves to investigate every single nook and cranny of places. An old headcanon of mine that I almost ditched is that my Kaeya, while being very little when the Archons wrecked havoc in his homeland, was able to see the horrors just as his father and the little group of runaway survivors was able to escape to the surface of Teyvat. There's a thing that he was that kept shining even among the Anemo-infused flames... and that was a Celestial Nail. Perhaps multiple, judging by how much the heavenly principles wanted to punish Khaenri'ah for their arrogant sins.

He also had an hunch that the Bough Keeper was nosing around the same environment, and no desire to meet him, along with little to no informations about the time of his visit- so he took no risks, rather getting punished and nullifying the expedition with a good grounding all together.

The Serpents are people that have, very possibly, seen him- and could have somewhat recognized him, evoking the image of a little child with a distinct color of hair and mismatched eyes from the depths of their conscience. Worse, they could have sensed the Curse of Khaenri'ah on him- and he would have had a lot of explanations to give to Klee, afterwards. 

Not to mention that there's the Curse- what would have happened if the distruption caused by the Abyssal Order was able to affect him at the same moment him and Klee were facing a powerful enemy? Poor Klee would have been left alone to fight and terrified as to why Kaeya was close to screaming in pain, doubling over and clutching his eye so hard...

It's very possible that Kaeya has considered all of these options, and picked the best way out of this.

So far, my Kaeya has yet to visit the Chasm.

Why? Both of these speculations are options he could have taken! We'll just never know BECAUSE HOYO DIDN'T EXPLAINED THIS FURTHER.

:)

[furbtasticworksofart]

Part Two: Where The Hell Has Henry Been?

(Part One, Part Two)

*Warning for alleged casting leaks, and terminal Copium. This textpost is heavily focused on Henry Emily, a character who has not been officially confirmed anywhere. It is at best a connection of loose strings and at worst based on things that will be entirely disproved the moment we get an actual trailer or a plot summary. *

(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ 𝑯𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒎𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒇 𝑰 𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅. ♥

Okay. My first post was mostly just baseless speculation on things, but we at least had the first movie to use as a reference point. This is fully in the red string completely un-proveable area, and is functionally fanfic. But if MatPat can get away with saying Ballora is Mrs. Afton because it can make a somewhat compelling narrative, I can speak my truth.

To begin, we must ask ourselves a question: Why wasn't Henry in the first movie? This isn't meant as a jab or criticism, but an in-universe question.

There's a lot of potential answers, and a lot of valid reasons for him not being involved. One of the primary ones, from a meta context, is that he simply wouldn't add much to the first movie's narrative, or would overcrowd and over complicate things for it's first outing. Hence why it's a good idea to save him for the sequel!

*(Semi-unrelated, but the way I would retroactively acknowledge that one line in the training tapes about "the genius (singular) who created Freddy Fazbear's Pizza" is by just saying or implying William does all of the marketing. And Henry doesn't really care who gets credit for the idea of their business because he doesn't want to be perceived. This idea is very funny to me.)*

Now, that leads to my big sticking point, and the actual meat of this lil' theory. And it ties back to (alleged) leaks. So, allegedly one of the very first things filmed was a scene of someone driving a car near a prison.

Yep, we're going there. ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧

There are countless ways to interpret this. I'm going to select this one possible outcome because it makes me insane to consider. So, just for funsies, let's just let this idea play out.

I think they're gonna go with Henry being framed for the MCI, or at least, him being heavily suspected of it and publicly considered the perpetrator. It gives the audience an explanation of why we never saw him in the first one, and makes adds a little spice of evil to William for killing a mans daughter and then pinning either that murder or other crimes on him. The drama. The tragedy. The complete upheaval and reversal of the Scream (1996) dynamic.

So from there, the question would just be is he just behind bars this entire movie or (more fun option) he was recently released after new evidence came to light thanks to Vanessa and they're gonna have some fun tension there.

Mike, our humble protagonist, could uncover the revelation of the nature of Henry's imprisonment, and it could be a sort of red herring for him. The movie could even frame Henry as a potential accomplice or shady suspect, leering at the camera and standing ominously staring at people for what turns out to be just a serious case of Resting Bitch Face. It wouldn't fool any diehard fans, but that's not really the point: the point would be how it affects the characters and the story.

Again, this is all baseless speculation! But if I'm right... mmmmm the character conflict,, so delcious.

TLDR: Henry's absence in the first movie could be explained as him in prison for the MCI or some other crime connected to it, and him being framed will be a point of both character drama and lore. Whether he's still in prison or recently released will determine how much screentime and character development we get from him.

[that-rackin-frackin-varmint]

#56 — 08/02/2022 11:19 PM

Toon Lore Worldbuilding hcs

This thread covers my thoughts about how Who Framed Roger Rabbit is inspired by the Looney Tunes, and introduces discussion about the lore implications of the, at the time, recently released Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers movie -- specifically covering the relevance of Dip, how Dip could've played into Mickey's meta-character development in this history, and how it corresponds to his character becoming progressively sanitized.

(Adding the read more tag here because this post is hefty. All the text proceeding this is my live commentary from back then)

I like how this movie is technically a disney movie, but toontown is very undoubtedly inspired by the looney tunes. And Roger himself has a mantra that abides by a looney tunes’ centric disposition.

It’s so strange cuz it was the epitome of american cartoons from that era. And in that time period, the looney tunes was just so obviously influential to the gags, Roger’s character, the nature and worldbuilding of the movie… Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers honestly felt like an unintentional response to BiA

Two broken up famous toon pairings having to rebuild their relationship and we explore it outside of the context of their respective shorts/show.

Except Chip n Dale are basically unrecognizeable from their established personas in the og show (I confidently assume)

Which… if I were to use their movie as further worldbuilding for the nature of toons, would bring even more cool speculations…

CGI animation is surgery for them… and sometimes is done in an attempt by washed up toons to become “relevant”.

It is currently considered somewhat taboo. Most of the looney tunes seem to be opposed to it. With exceptions being Daffy (who seems indifferent to it in SJ2 and with his appearance in Daffy’s rhapsody). And implied (conjecture ik) — are Elmer, Sylvester, Granny, Tweety, Road Runner, and Wile E Coyote. As they have all appeared in 3D shorts before. Wait are those 3D shorts similar to being CGI animated?

Idek… so like, maybe that last paragraph is null… and Bugs (and some of the other tunes) are against CGI, but fine with being 3D. Which avoids complications like 3D rendered game models and such.

Chip and Dale definitely watched Space Jam 2 btw. I don’t make the rules… So I’m doing heavy hc-ing that the rest of the disney cast also watched that movie. Oh, and that dip, as well as toon trafficking are serious issues in their society.

Present day thoughts: I'm not as invested by Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers' addition to toon lore. The whole "characters are born in this world and go through school" overcomplicates things as it leads into questions like "can toons procreate?" "do toons simply age like humans?" "are toons just like us?" -- these kinds of things feel like they take away from the fantastical nature of cartoons and animation. Toon lore, for me personally, has the toons originate directly from human creators. Their purposes being predetermined and their relationship to humans being inherently subservient added dark implications to the environment of Who Framed Roger Rabbit's universe, which had the toons and humans' relationship serve as an allegory for racial segregation... The existentialist nightmare of a toon's existence feels too important of a concept to be rewritten out of the fabric of that world. Tiny Toons actually expands on the aging logic for toons, but that discussion is for another ramble...

[thorn-amidst-roses]

Okay I’ve tried organizing these thoughts and predictions, but it’s not going to happen in any sort of coherent fashion...so...unfortunately, here’s my thoughts on BotW2, now Tears of the Kingdom.

(Well actually, mostly my thoughts on BotW and how it may apply to TotK)

1. The Seven Heroines - these depict the Seven Sages, this isn’t speculation. Their bases say so directly, when taken from Gerudo script. This means the statue off to the north implies an eighth sage - and don’t you “but, Zelda” me, Zelda is one of seven, not the eighth.

-additionally, the ring is clearly missing one, rather than it just being a weird extra statue (which the game makes pretty clear, tbh)

NOW THEN-

2. If you look at the first TotK trailer, in the first looks at Dehydrated Ganondorf, there’s the spike with the Ghost Hand, and then additional spikes around him. If you count the spikes around him and assume they’re symmetrical to account for shadows, there are seven (including Ghost Hand’s spike).

I took this as an implication that there were originally more spirits sealing him, but the Ghost Hand is just what’s left of the last one.

Unless there’s an eighth spike unseen, my guess is that this is where number eight fell out of grace.

Alternate Theory: There is a spike we couldn’t see, and Hand is Number Eight, for some reason erased from history.

3. Speaking of erasing history, let’s talk about the Zonai.

No - I’m serious.

So, throughout their lands, the Zonai have three major motifs. The Dragon (courage), the Owl (wisdom), and the Boar (power). The Dragon and Owl statues are in pretty good condition, accounting for their age, but the Boars are ruined.

My theory here is that the Zonai revered all the Aspects of the Triforce. The “Balanced Triforce”, basically - all sides even for the sake of the whole.

Then Power did what Power does in this game and threw the whole thing out of whack. Consequently, the Boar fell out of grace for their civilization.

This is the Ganondorf we see in the trailer:

(”But he was a Gerudo!” -Yes, there are two ways around this: 1. Even though viewed through a Zonai lens, the Aspects themselves weren’t necessarily Zonai, or, more likely - 2. He was what is identified in present-day BotW as Gerudo, which back then was more Gerudo-ancestor).

4. For present-day stuff: just to put a little bit of order (and speculation) to the trailer - when Zelda takes her little tumble and Link grabs her, she does the classic “falls anyway but takes his glove with her”. After this is when the hand abandons Operation Seal Ganondorf and rushes over to Link. The hand does *not* make Link drop her.

Couple thoughts on this:

A. The Hand, as the remnant of an ancient Sage, must protect Zelda - being the bloodline of Goddess Hylia, Zelda’s power is matrilineal, so she’s a Very Important Person

B. And/or the Hand, as the actual center of the sealing circle, *is* Zelda’s direct ancestor.

We know the hand does some time control jank. I think shortly after the trailer, it swoops Zelda to safety. She’ll be just fine and probably not even separated from Link for long.

5. Now, the gameplay loop is where I’m struggling. I’m not sure whether we’re actually going to be playing in the distant past, or a strange kind of “oops we’ve restored Hyrule to its flying phase” situation. The end of the first trailer suggests the latter, although the Hand clearly has some time control abilities. I think we’ll definitely explore the past somewhat, even if just in the form of the Hand giving us some history lessons.

Anyway, regardless of who made huge chunks of Hyrule go back to the sky, clearly this has unearthed a lot of old tech. Neat, I don’t have a lot to say about that, so back to...

6. Ganondorf! He actually explains a lot of BotW lore, I mean, of course Calamity Ganon keeps coming back - he’s still alive and projecting malice. This is a surprise to no one. But if he’s been underground since the Zonai era (the Hand is clearly Zonai), how is there any concept of him as a human?

Well...there isn’t, really. The only real in-world mentions of it are from Gerudo Town (to explain their cultural taboo against letting men into the city) and Sheikah tech. Sheikah being the inheritors of Zonai tech, and on that note...

7. I think the Zonai were probably the original Skyloftians or their immediate descendants, which later split into the various (at least humanoid) races of Hyrule. Why did everyone go their separate ways after Power’s betrayal? I think we’ll find out - it seems like that history will be a large part of the game, whether we play through it in-depth or just get an overview before being sent to deal with Ancient Ganondorf.

8. Lastly, it’s interesting to me that the Sages existed in the Zonai era, but not the BotW era. The Champions aren’t really it, being only five in number (with Zelda) -  but it may be a case where they would have been Sage-Candidates if Hyrule remembered their lore. Possibly they were just too weak without their full number.

9. This is pretty loose speculation, but Hand is either Zelda’s direct ancestor, or Eight. Given Skyward Sword and Hand’s place in the sealing circle, I’m leaning towards Zelda’s ancestor.

I wouldn’t be too shocked to see modern Sages in TotK, however I think we’ll see something of the Ancient Sages, even if only a la Twilight Princess. We’ll almost certainly get Eight’s story as well.

I have a lot more thoughts on this that I can’t really put to words right now, so feel free to ask questions/debate!

[kara-knuckles]

The announcement of GudaGuda 5 rerun with Case Files still being in Limbo reinforces my theory that they are waiting for the second season, which was supposed to be ready earlier, but got screwed by Covid. And the reason they will wait for the anime is because they plan to add a character from the next arc as a limited Servant.

I think there are currently four candidates in Case Files series that can be used in FGO without being a Pseudo-Servant shoehorn (or, well, two of them can be pseudos, but they actually have reasons for that).

I consider Ergo the least likely option, because a). he is too recent and we know it takes a long time to create a Servant; b). not all identities of the Gods inside of him are known, which also means that c). our knowledge of his abilities is limited; and d). unlike Meteo, Sanda isn't a part of FGO regular writting team, so his series doesn't have the same benefits as Requiem.

Faker somewhat has the same problem in that the anime watchers won't know the full scope of her powers until the last arc. However, her series is finished and she is female, so I can see her being implemented... But that won't explain the rerun delay, unless they plan to make her a Pretender (I doubt that) and the reason we haven't gotten the rerun is due to Avalon Le Fae.

My second most likely guess is actually something I have been joking for a while about, namely Zepia as an Oberon pseudo. "But we just got Oberon!", no, hear me out. First of all, the Oberon we got isn't quite the actual Oberon. Of course, the writers may pull some retroactive bullshit, but let's not think about it right now. Next, Case Files Material teases some sort of connection between Zepia and Oberon. He took the name of the fairy king, and it is specifically pointed out that this is a serious business in the world of magecraft. You know where else the same plot point plays a major role? In Lostbelt 6, with Vortigern. Finally, there is the last Servant teased back in February, whose silhouette looks suspiciously like Zepia. So, if we presume that Zepia is being added, the delay is easily explained because you need Avalon Le Fae to be out to know the other Oberon, the Atlas arc of Case Files to be announced to know he is a part of that series, and, hell, you can even speculate that he will be a DLC in Melty Blood and there will be some lore tying Fate and Tsukihime backstories together, somehow. No wonder they would delay things so much, it's like waiting for the stars to align! "But why would we need two Oberons in the first place?" Because it would be funny to get two Oberons who aren't actually Oberons, and we all know that the jokes are the deepest lore.

But, of course, the most likely option at this point is Kay. He is already mentioned several times in FGO, and they could have recorded his lines alongside Add's. I always thought that he would be less likely to appear than Faker, but, as I mentioned before, with the current situation he seems to fit the bill the most.

Now watch the new Servant actually be the Corpse King...

And here is a bit of a bonus speculation that is more like wishful thinking on my part. You know how the past Halloween events are presented as something like flashbacks in the current one? It will be really cool if Mnemosyne is used as a framing device to rerun Case Files alongside some other events (Accel Zero Order and Da Vinci's event would probably make the most sense).

[tartagliadevotee]

ah yes now that I finally posted what I wanted to after three days time to ramble on the latest archon quest (we will be reunited) 

also my mc is Lumine so when I talk, Aether will be the lost twin

spoilers under the cut!

First of all let’s talk about the things that are now officially confirmed: 

Dainsleif is from Kaenri’ah which was already speculated (the star eyes are a dead giveaway, sorry Dain...) 

The 500 year theory. 

I’m still not over it, it was insane. Mihoyo seriously fed us with this one, though I was expecting, hoping to see Kaeya at some point. I’m glad no one died so far, well if we don’t count the treasure hoarder. I wasn’t expecting it to take such a dark turn, like I already felt bad when beating up the hilichurls now I need to feel bad about Abyss mages too?? 

I feel like at the end we would try to break the curse that was put on the people and Dain. I think that’s what Aether is trying to do. Speaking of Aether, I do find it unfair that Dain is to be blamed for all of this when literally gods destroyed  Kaenri’ah, what was he supposed to do? He’s suffering as much buuut then again since Aether met Dain waaay before we did, I suspect Dain betrayed Aether. If that’s the case he’s probably going to betray us as well. 

There’s some serious time mambo jumbo shit is happening here. Basically my thought is Aether lived everything we are now playing as Lumine. At least that’s what I felt with his dialogue:

“I have already traveled this world once. Once you reach the end of your journey as I did, you will see for yourself the nature of this world.” 

Which at least to me means that Aether already live it all, he saved Dvalin, saved Liyue and looked for Lumine. In my mind this makes sense game wise too, we can pick both twins because they both are destined to live the same things when they awake in Mondstadt. Of course this is just speculation. My gut is also telling me they’re trap in some kind of time loop? Maybe? At the end of out journey, according to the trailer, the last place we go to is Kaenri’ah and their we’re going to see this unbelievable truth that makes us side with the abyss (rightfully so) my theory is at the end we actually witness the destruction that happened 500 years ago and maybe go back in time? or for those who watched Tenet, they somewhat relive the same thing over and over again as a loop. 

Of course this also raises questions about Kaeya. To those who unlocked all his storied we know he’s a spy but  Kaenri’ah was destroyed 500 years ago. Did Kaeya also just woke up then like the twins? ghh as paimon would say “Paimon’s head hurts!” 

Also was Zhongli there during the destruction? From what I read so far Venti probably wasn’t there? but I could be wrong. I can imagine Zhongli hiding a bunch of shit but Venti seems different but I might be biased  

I probably misinterpreted lot’s of stuff and forgot a bunch of lore feel free to correct me and talk about it because I love talking about the world of genshin impact <3 

[dailyfantastic]

IT’S ONLY FOREVER: THE ETERNALS RECAP PART 4

JUST THE GIRL: ETERNALS ISSUE 4

Jack Kirby had a type.

I don’t mean the gruff, down-to-earth, hardworking types like Ben Grimm and Oberon that feel somewhat inspired by his actual persona. I mean, Jack Kirby had a type, in the “ooh, Jack Kirby likes a girl!”  kinda way.

We know a lot about Jack Kirby’s relationship to Roz Goldstein, and how she served as the inspiration for Big Barda. That says a lot, honestly, and is why I speculate that Jack Kirby just really liked tough, confident, powerful, fun-loving women. 

Depicted: Big Barda fits into my favorite category: women who could absolutely kill me with minimal effort

I would argue that Jack Kirby was right about a lot of things and boy, this sure is one of them. This kind of character is a wonderful archetype in every story it appears, and also, real people who are like this are also wonderful. This describes Barda to a T, and I’d argue it also describes Sersi in The Eternals.

And this is why Sersi is the only good Eternal...

We met Sersi in the last issue, clad in her signature one-piece bathing suit getup, and reminiscing about how much she misses the parties of Ancient Greece. This is, of course, a huge swerve from the rest of the first three issues, which contain extremely self-serious lore and Ikaris knocking Margo unconscious because her dad told him to.

Depicted: Eternals show up in the most unexpected places, like one of the most populous and diverse cities on Earth(?)

In this issue, we learn more about Sersi, specifically that she loves rearranging the atoms in things to turn them into other things. Such things include “doing close-up magic to impress Merlin” and “turning all of Ulysses’s men into hogs” because yup, she’s that Circe. 

(Aside: Margo is told that Sersi’s name is spelled that way because the Greeks spelled it wrong, which doesn’t explain either the fact that the Greeks use a different alphabet than we do and the other fact that Margo had not seen Sersi’s name written down so wouldn’t realize it was spelled differently)

Sersi is fun, a breath of fresh air in a fairly stuffy series. Building off of what was discussed in the last installment of It’s Only Forever, she’s the only character in this series who feels like a Marvel protagonist. Honestly, she plays with a trope Marvel wouldn’t really return to until She-Hulk.

Depicted: This is Sersi’s reaction to turning Deviants into lizards and folks, I love Sersi

Sersi isn’t largely important to the main plot of the Eternals. She acts as Margo’s bodyguard in this particular storyline and then kinda just appears to be a flirty, chaotic-good force throughout the entire run. She sticks around, because  Jack Kirby clearly likes her a lot. I’m glad she does.

(Aside: Sersi will be played by Gemma Chan in the MCU Eternals movie, which feels like a good choice. However, you may remember she previously played Minn-Erva (That One Kree Woman Captain Marvel Fought in Captain Marvel), and folks, I am not ready for jokes / fan theories / fan works about this fact. I’m just not strong enough. Wasn’t Chris Evans Johnny Storm enough??)

Sersi’s not the only way this issue marks an improvement for the Eternals (a series I already liked, but still). The plot really picks up as Kro sends all of his devilish hench-Deviants to attack Manhattan. We don’t get a ton of superhero action; it’s more of a sci-fi B-horror movie as devils menace cops and Kro laughs maniacally about it.

Kro’s plan is that if he can convince humans that demons have returned to Earth (from outer space), they’ll start panicking and lash out at anything different from them, which will get them to attack the Celestials. (You’ll remember that Kro and his Deviants hate the Celestials because they like doing crimes and the Celestials don’t want that.)

Depicted: Folks, I think I like Kro as a villain???

I’ve been listening to a lot of the amazing podcast You’re Wrong About, which spends a lot of time discussing the real-world Satanic Panic. (You should listen to the episodes on Michelle Remembers if you want more context). It’s fantastic that The Eternals is playing around with the same idea, tying fear of the abstract evil of Satan to escalating fear of anything and anyone unusual. This is where, despite all the sci-fi weirdness, the series finally seems like it’s trying to comment on real-world issues, which is always where comics excel.

Also in this issue, Ikaris gets knocked unconscious by a BRAIN MINE and then gets sealed into a torpedo and shot into the ocean, so that’s a positive as well.

Depicted: he deserves it

The Eternals might be just the series I was looking for after all.

And coming next time: what do Eternals do for fun? It’s not what you expect. I promise that.

[ngame989]

Starco Fic Recs

Disclaimer: This list is largely curated to my own personal preferences (minimal feelings angst, minimal AUs, character development >>> plot) and has a fairly high bar for quality in characterization, etc. There will likely be many popular/beloved fics that I really don’t think highly of at all and therefore don’t make the cut. Feel free to DM me things you think I should consider adding, but I make no promises.

And of course I’d be flattered if you gave my own works a chance - stop by my About Me section for links! Thus far I’m particularly proud of the post-canon series I just started in collaboration with an awesome team, The Greatest Gift.

(Updated 9/26 - I decided to redo the list since people might appreciate seeing it in the tags again. To anyone whose own work is featured here that I haven’t personally responded to - I’m a tough critic with a lot of strong personal preferences so PLEASE do not take my gripes as condemnations of your skills - if they make the list at all, I think they’re worth a read!)

See below for the very thorough list!

Bolded titles indicate must-read.

Italicized titles indicate work is incomplete (in the case of continuous stories).

Asterisks indicate new additions from last update (3 for brand new, 1 for status update).

I’ve VERY loosely organized the categories by personal priority order this time around, but read the descriptions and decide for yourself!

Must-Reads

Forevermore - A Starco wedding story (with a bit of Jantom as well). Simply one of the best fics I’ve read in the fandom. I have no meaningful criticism to give it, and that’s the highest praise I can possibly give something.

Monarchs of Mewni (+ Traditionally Lovingly Yours) - A series of chronologically disconnected oneshots set years after the show. The backstory is very dated given how long ago it started (Jarco was kinda serious for a few years, Tomstar v2 never happened, etc) but overall it’s lovely. Has a bit of plot, a bit of Jantom, a lot of other character interactions, and a boatload of Starco - plus a Starco kid who is a decently developed character but also doesn’t just take over and crowd out Star and Marco themselves! That alone deserves merit.

Ruined - Aftermath of a hypothetical return of Monster Arm. Angst with a happy ending (and one of the few angsty fics that gets my seal of approval), so read this extra early if that’s more your schtick than mine.

study buddies - Y’know what, fuck it, I’m putting this here. It’s a short ball of Starco fluff but it’s one of the sweetest and fluffiest fluffballs I’ve seen in a long time and it’s very emotionally immersive and y’all needa read it.

*When Two Worlds Collide - One of my favorite postcanon series thus far. I admit I’m really not big on “magic returns!” plots in postcanon (which this has), and the sections that focus on that are hit or miss for me, but overall it has some of the funnest and cutest characterization and gags I’ve seen in any SVTFOE fic, ever. Absolutely worth following (and it has a fair amount of art to go along with it!)

***Star Chef - Oneshot (two chapters, so twoshot technically?) set in the same universe as Starlight Justiciar (see below) and is just a day in the life of Star and Marco. Goes absolutely above and beyond at emotional immersion and little nuances and details to bring the world and characters to life, which elevates it to something special to me.

Light of the Sun and Stars - (Promoted to Must-Read!) One of the few heavily divergent AU fics I care for. Marco is an orphan raised by monsters, and meets Star after running away. Just finished its “first season” and I've loved the recent chapters, am very excited to see where it goes.

*Don’t You Let Me Go - Wonderfully fluffy post-Cleaved Starco, one of my favorite oneshot “epilogues”.

i want to tell you (but i don’t know how) - Post season 3 fic detailing the growth of Star and Marco’s relationship. It’s spectacular writing and shows off a lot of the true depth of Starco beyond just being cute.

Adult - NSFW warning, non-explicit (aged-up characters). It’s a story about the journey towards Star and Marco’s first step into adulthood together -  it’s not graphic and way more focused on the emotions involved, but it still is definitely more explicit than your average FFnet rated-T fic. If sexual themes ain’t your thing, I totally respect that, but this is a charming and funny piece of writing.

Lawchan’s various oneshots - There isn’t a great compilation for them right now so the best I can do is give you her tag for it and you can comb through it yourself. I like some more than others here, but they’re all very well-written - my only gripes with some of them are my own tastes in subject matter, so have fun perusing this on your own.

I Will Always Be There For You - A really pure and wholesome Starco oneshot. Very well-written.

Post-Canon Series to Follow

I figured with the show being over, and so many people starting their own series, I should include a lot of them here even if I’m personally not the biggest fan just to help gather them up so people can decide for themselves. Little bit looser on judgment here.

*Life on Earthni A to Z - Non-chronological postcanon slice of life oneshots, Starco and some Globclipsa and Jantom. Overall really good so far, one of my favorites in terms of direction.

*When Dimensions Cleave (sequel - Unforgettable Getaway) - Another postcanon series hellbent on bringing back magic queen lore, but it has some solid Starco fluff still. Credit where it’s due, the “Star constantly freaking out over what a horrible person she was” bit that I called preachy in the prior rec post gets somewhat less preachy and does end up actually going somewhere as part of character development, but I’m left scratching my head at how they all act sometimes. The good parts are certainly good, though, and in terms of quantity of lovey dovey Starco, it really can’t be beat (especially the sequel) and that’s worth something by itself. 

We’re a Miracle - Extra adorkable postcanon fluff. Lighter on the “but ACKSHUALLY MAGIC IS BACK” stuff compared to the others, but it’s there, like almost every postcanon fic in existence.

Star vs the Sands of Time - Heavy politic/lore postcanon fic, not my fav but if that’s more your thing then great. Has some casual Starco too.

Goodbye Isn’t Forever - More POV dives into Cleaved.

Fake Proposal - Some decent jokey but cute fluff

The Stars Above - Some exploration of Earthni

New World - A bit over-the-top meta, but fun fluff

The Starlight Justiciar - Four years after canon, some social change plot stuff and some decent Starco. Not the biggest fan of some of the plot stuff but check it out for yourself!

Starco vs the Forces of Evil - Another collab fic/art thing. Fair warning, I really am not personally a huge fan of a lot of the characterization and plot decisions here (see my notes on Sign of the Moon waaaay down below) but decide for yourself, don’t let my pickiness dictate your own preferences!

Ready For The Future - Technically a oneshot (with some Starco) but sets up some Mina plot, if you’re interested in more give it a follow/review.

Worlds Together - Some Starco and exploration of Earthni.

Epilogue -  Some Starco and exploration of Earthni.

***A Dark Horse - Has a few really nice lovey dovey Starco bits but also lots of superdrama with politics stuff. There’s a lot of fics here that I honestly just windowshop the scene I like for a quick fix of dopamine every now and then and skim at most otherwise, and this is one.

Revolution - end of canon AU where Moon is as anti-monster as Mina, dark as fuck. Only putting it here cuz some of y’all angstlords might like it.

Shorter Works/Oneshot Collections

I’ll Carry Your World - Big ole’ ball of wonderful Starco fluff with an important moment between them (written before end of show so a bit divergent).

***LoveIsTheStrongestKindOfMagic - Very short and basic fluff.

Starco Week 5 (Hugs Included) - Some of it is postcanon Earthni oneshots and others are from the Light of the Sun and Stars AU (see above). Great author, fun as hell writing style.

Fragile - Star worries about keeping her boyfriend Marco safe.

Complete - An older Star reflects on her past and present. Short and sweet.

Knighthood - Simple fluff piece on if Star and Marco got together after Storm the Castle.

Too Hot to Move - Star and Marco try to survive a heat wave on Earthni. Also funny fluff.

Marco Make-out Mayhem - Star really likes kissing Marco. Funny fluff.

Cleaved Together - NSFW warning, non-explicit (aged up) - Star and Marco’s first time. Very very overly focused on the whole purity/sacredness of first time thing, but still pretty cute.

Like Us - Really nice, sweet casual reflection on her life with Marco from a future Star’s POV.Toothpaste Kisses - Short fluff about its title.

A Friend’s Memento - Starco fluff with some reflection on the results of destroying magic

Plum Pie - Some goofy antics and hurt/comfort.

Not Losing You - A little dive into Marco’s POV at the end of Cleaved. Also adds a kiss.

We Belong Together - More speculative slightly angsty comfort/fluff.

Enough - A nice study of the emotions and thoughts during the last scenes of Cleaved, adds some depth to it.

Heartless - A bit of angst over magic going away with some sweet Starco comfort.

Together - Post-Cleaved Starco megafluff.

My Prince - Starco fluff set in a world where they were together before Cornonation.

Dancing with a Star - Starco fluff from alt S4.

Love in the Time of Pancakes - Written hours after my last update of the list, another little ditty based on the pancake promo.

Pancakes - Fluffy S4-promo-based little oneshot.

Hers - Hurt/comfort/confession-y fic, has some really nice moments and shows off a lot of how much they care about each other. Nice to see after such a drought.

Someone to Stay - Another hurt/comfort fic, nice and simple.

A Viola, a Violin, and a Butterfly’s Sword - some nonlinear oneshots about Starco. Some kinda weird directions gone in with the “plot” but it’s pretty good overall.

Falling - One of many, many fics from throughout the fandom’s history about Star and Marco getting together. Short and sweet.

forget about white horses & once upon a time - Drabble collection of various moments scattered throughout Star and Marco’s lives. Cute fluff.

The One Where I Thought I Lost You - Post-BFM fic where Marco realizes his feelings for Star earlier. Very wholesome.

christmases when you were mine - Established relationship fluff.

lightning in your veins, thunder in your heart - Post-season 3 established relationship fluff (slightly divergent, written before 3B).

once upon a december - Established relationship fluff.

Flags - Alternate rendition of the episode “Flags” with Starco.

Spells and Hot Chocolate - Wintry fluff.

5 Ways to Say ‘I Love You’ - Post BFM with some events in Star and Marco’s lives.

You’re My Wish Come True - This is just indulgent Starco trash. I won’t even argue for the characterization/writing quality, this is just a straight-up guilty pleasure.

Wands and Nachos - ^

The Princess and the Safe Kid - ^

A Day in the Life of Starco - ^

A very Starco Xmas - ^

Could It Be -^

All the times Star wore Marco’s hoodie - ^

Protect Me, Squire - ^

Crushed - Star and Marco both get turned down by their respective crushes and find comfort in each other.

Stay - Cuddly fluff. There’s another Stay out there which I frankly can’t stand with will-they-won’t-they melodrama out the wazoo, so don’t get confused.

Longer Series

*The Inescapable Us - Really tropey miscommunication will-they-won’t-they type of thing. Not my fav, especially now that the show is over and finished that leg of Star and Marco’s story once and for all (I’m personally WAY less interested in things that redo something canon already did). However, where it’s at now has some really good Starco moments. Fully admitted that I hella skimmed most of it until the parts I enjoyed, but And if you’re more fine with that type of thing then you’ll probably really like it, it’s well-written otherwise.

Together We Fall - Throwback S2 AU fic where Star and Marco go to the dance together instead and Toffee makes moves earlier. Gets kinda dark but has a lot of nice Starco along the way.

Safer, Sorrier - A recent rewrite of an older fic, Better Safe Than Sorry, where Star has to leave early to become queen and Marco is alone for a few months before they reunite. A very dated premise (post season 1 ish) but quite good.

Sugar and Spice - NSFW warning, non-explicit (NOT aged-up characters). In this fic, Star and Marco have gotten together after BFM, and a spell gone wrong leads to Mewberty relapses with obvious consequences. This fic has adorable Starco moments, but what I love this for above all is the other character interactions (especially Glossaryck and Star’s parents). This is probably a controversial add-on to the list, but I stick by my decision - if the subject matter isn’t your thing, then by all means avoid it.

Beyond Dimensions - Plotfic + established Starco where some ancient sorceress has to trap Star to escape and try to take over Mewni. Maybe y'all are more into plot stuff than me but the Starco that’s there is quite good regardless.

Starfall - NSFW warning, explicit (aged-up characters). Probably the most popular one to make the cut. Star and Marco are forced apart and have to find their way back together. Very old fic, lot of dated stuff here, and the narration and plot itself can get kinda questionable sometimes, but it has a lot of good Starco and some interesting plot elements that make it, in my opinion, worth a read despite a lot of flaws. A few epilogue chapters contain rather explicit sexual content, so be wary of that (and the epilogue itself after Ep 6 kinda transitions into a nextgenverse, so maybe just skip that entirely).

The Star Butterfly Effect - The sole fic on the list that is purely plot-based, with very little actual Starco development whatsoever. I can’t even really explain it, just give it a shot and see what you think; I was rather engrossed by the plot, and that’s rare for me.

The Princess and her Knight, Return of the Empire The former fic in this series is way more character-based, while the latter is very heavy plot stuff. Pretty decent character writing with some fluff. There’s a third that I honestly can’t recommend because I completely dropped it because it was just a nonstop war story.

Experimental - REALLY heavy, dark AU where Star and Marco are tortured and corrupted. It’s pretty decent.

Blood Moon Blitz - Alt BFM fic of Marco going to fight Toffee with Star. unfortunately dropped without completing, but what’s there is pretty solid.

Read at Your Own Risk…

The Sign of the Moon, The Dance of the Stars - Starts post-3A, involves the growth of Star and Marco’s relationship as they take on foes in and out of the castle and learn more about the Blood Moon. This series is rather… melodramatic, and there were some chapters and character interactions I flat out did not enjoy reading. But some people aren’t as strict on character interpretations as I am and would love such a long plot-based Starco fic, so overall I still will at least list it and let you decide for yourself. There might be a third entry in this series now, but I dropped it before then.

Photos - I hesitate to include this one here because the “Tom is a perfect angel who must sacrifice his love for Star” thing pisses me off. But just skip all that (and ignore the random “a part of me will always love Tom” line) and it’s a really nice post-s3 confession fic.

[bazz-b]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

My muse is:   canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless /

Is your character popular in the fandom?  YES / NO.

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK.

Is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK.

Are they underrated?  YES / NO.

Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO.

Were they relevant for the main character?  YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG.

Are they widely known in their world?  YES / NO.

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL.

How strictly do you follow canon?  — There’s a lot of freedom when you write a character with as little screen time as Bazz-B. I adhere strongly to everything known about him, and embellish the rest as I can. Some canon facts are a bit contradicting so we make do with what we can.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.  —  Bazz-B is what happens when you cross punk with a volcano. Wronged as a child, betrayed by his God, he began a 1000 year crusade to infiltrate a holy army and kill God. Along the way he takes names and kicks ass, while balancing the burden of his secret goal and cultural obligation to aid his kind. 

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).  —  The dude held a grudge for a 1000 years, pushed away the only person who cared about him, and then whined that he was betrayed. An ego bigger than his eccentric hair, he’s twice as obnoxious as he is loud.

What inspired you to rp your muse?  —  How dare you make me admit my secret shame.. When Bazz-B was first revealed in the manga, I snagged him in the group I was RPing in. Grimmjow was already so popular, and a lot of writers I looked up to were writing him, so there’s no way I was trying my hand at that. But this new fella reminded me of a Quincy Grimmjow. I WAS VERY WRONG AND I’M GLAD I WAS BUT THAT’S MY SHAMEFUL ORIGIN STORY.

What keeps your inspiration going?  —  I think it’s stupid how much I love Bazz-B. I went away for a while due to health reasons, but I never stopped loving him. Fleshing out everything that could have been, should have been, is and was-- any opportunity to talk about this man reignites my passion for him.

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO.

Do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO. (not often enough)

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES / NO. (Bazzard and Zorn’s All American Tour)

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day?  YES / NO.

Are you confident in your portrayal?   YES / NO.

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO.

Are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO. (IT DEPENDS? I’M NOT EASILY OFFENDED BUT I’M SOFT)

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?  —  God okay I thrive off criticism. Genuinely, it doesn’t need to be positive. I prefer negative criticism. I’ll only ever improve if people tell me what I suck at. I can be better, help me pls.

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character?  —  I drool over that shit.

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?  —  I'd definitely be interested. Headcanons, I think, pertain to each persons portrayal, so if someone disagrees they must believe it’s inherently out of character. I’d love to discuss that!

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?  —  I’d love to discuss that EVEN MORE THAN HEADCANONS. If someone thinks Bazz-B should be behaving differently, or acting differently in scenarios, I’d love to listen to why. If anyone loves Bazz-B and has thoughts you come to me, you sit me down and I will listen so raptly you’ll think I’ve frozen in time.

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it?  —  To each their own! I know a lot of people aren’t a fan of Bazz-B, he’s very in your face, and I know a lot of the stoic characters are super popular. Wont make me love him any less.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?  —  Oh God, please do. My biggest peeve is when I repeat words too often. Be my little microsoft word paperclip!!

Do you think you are easy going as a mun?   —  I think I’m terrible at continuing out of character conversations, as I’m always worried I’m bugging people, but other than that I am very easy. Unless you say “I wish to offend you” I’ll naturally assume you’re not trying to offend me. We all come across differently, I just assume everyone is here to have a good time.

That’s about it, congrats for filling out!

Tagged by: @hirako5hinji & @zombiequincy

[out-of-this-dimension]

Some Star Fox Command Dialogue Analysis

Hey all, I was looking over some SFC dialogue for fic purposes and I stumbled across a few lines that kind of rocked my world.  It’s been pretty much a decade since I’ve played Command, so a lot of the details in the dialogue were a little hazy.  So I figured I would share some neat re-discoveries with you guys along with some speculation.  

The first one is if you go to Fichina.

SLIPPY: That doesn't sound like the Lucy I knew! FOX: She was a real tomboy! Always wanted to become a pilot. FOX: But I guess she became a teacher instead.  SLIPPY: Wasn't she good friends with Krystal?  SLIPPY: She might know how to track her down. 

This is actually kind of interesting because, given that Lucy’s debut is Command, we don’t really have much to go on with her interactions with the team members.  I definitely LIVE for the idea of Lucy and Krystal being best girl buds, though.  Imagine them sipping mimosas and roasting Fox.

There’s a little bit more on this after the mission “Oikonny Strikes Back”

LUCY: So, Fox, let's talk about Krystal. You really screwed that one up! FOX: Um... SLIPPY: Oh, by the way, Fox... Lucy and Krystal got to be pretty good friends. SLIPPY: Maybe I should have warned you... LUCY: Yes, Papa thinks of her as a second daughter.

So a few things here-- 1. Peppy pseudo-adopting Krystal is adorable af.  2. Lucy and Krystal as somewhat sisters is great.  3. It seems like their closeness happened after Fox booted Krystal from the team, which makes sense especially if Peppy sort of took Krystal in. 

This next bit is if you stick with Lucy and do the Corneria defense mission (the Lucy and Krystal ending route).

LUCY: Krystal! You've come to help us out! KRYSTAL: Let's see what we can do together! KATT: Pleased to meet you, Lucy! I'm Krystal's partner. KATT: My name is Katt!

Honestly, when I was digging through the dialogue, I was looking for interactions with Katt and Krystal because I realized I remembered virtually nothing about them meeting.  I actually backtracked pretty much the whole game from this point to see if the two made any appearances together and... pretty much there’s no otherwise context on this route of the two being partners or whatever that means.  I’m still sifting through dialogue at this point, but honestly I can’t... recall anything else about these two ever being partners in any of the other timelines.  I mean, Katt seems like she’s bopping around by herself otherwise and Krystal is either with the CDF or with Star Wolf, so I find it curious that they’re “each other’s partner” and I wonder to what context Katt is referring to (I’m assuming it’s probably not intended to be romantic due to the game releasing in 2006 and Nintendo honestly not being historically super progressive when it comes to stuff like this but honestly, my heart screams for Kattstal validation.  As a note, Krystal doesn’t seem to be with Star Wolf in this route and while she’s dating Panther in certain routes that have her with the CDF, it’s possible she isn’t dating him in every route, if that makes any sense).  I wonder what the context of this is?  Is this Katt and Krystal being over Falco and Fox respectively and just like... doing their own thing?  I’d be so down for a game focused on those two’s shenanigans tbh.

This next bit is more or less humorous to me because I’ll admit I’ve been pretty harsh on SFC’s dialogue in the past but this interaction with Slippy, Fox, and Peppy cracks me up.

SLIPPY: Oh yeah? Well at least I have a girlfriend!! PEPPY: Slippy, that's the most ridiculous thing-- FOX: It's true. Slippy's fiancee is on Aquas. PEPPY: Are you serious? My goodness!

I can’t believe Peppy lowkey roasted my boi like that.

This next bit is an exchange between Bill, Falco, and Slippy.

BILL: Now, I don't know all the details about what went down between her and Fox... BILL: But is seems she was pretty shocked. Hurt, too. FALCO: Fox, you idiot... BILL: I heard that she started datin' someone else. BILL: Fella's a part of the original Star Wolf team. SLIPPY: Star Wolf?!

Mostly pointing this bit out because Bill calls Panther part of the ‘original Star Wolf team’, which is blatantly not true.  I’ll have whatever Bill is smoking.  This coupled with the next dialogue Krystal says is why I think a lot of people take SFC’s dialogue with a grain of salt as it directly clashes with past games along the same timeline.

KRYSTAL: After Andross fought you, he dedicated his remaining days to planet Venom. KRYSTAL: He wanted to leave some sort of legacy. That's all.

First of all, I will never stan the idea of Krystal defending Andross, who is pretty much implied to have destroyed Andross.  I found that bit really weird and I’m not sure if this is like details falling through the cracks between studios developing games or what the deal is.  I also find it really weird that Andross is implied to have survived after he fought Fox?  Unless she’s referring to him as a ghost between SF64 and Adventures?  But I wouldn’t... necessarily say in Adventures he was dedicating himself to Venom-- he seemed to be dedicating himself to revenge if anything.  So this entire section just feels weird and like the writers just wanted Krystal to argue for the sake of arguing.

The next bit is a lore piece I didn’t know, so yay!

ROB: We will soon arrive at the Parlak Sector.

ROB says this when arriving to Fichina as he and Fox search for Star Wolf.  Apparently Fichina is located in the Parlak Sector.  Neat!

This is from a mission on Solar with Falco, Fox, and Wolf.

ZOLDGE: You! Who do you think you are? WOLF: We're Star Wolf!

This... is pretty much a direct callback to Star Fox 64, where, as the Carrier boss is dying, he says, “Who are you guys?” and Fox replies with “We’re Star Fox!”

Next is a one-liner from Octoman on Aquas.

OCTOMAN: Mighty Zako! Destroy the puny humans!

Note, this is in reference to Amanda and Slippy, who definitely... are not humans.  The next line literally calls them frogs as well, so I’m... not sure what was going on with writing that scene.

Anyways, that’s a wrap on some things I found interesting.  I really wish I could find my DS charger so I could play Command again.  As zany as some plot points are and as bad as some of the dialogue gets, it’s... not actually a terrible game.  But I’ll write more on that later.

If you want to experience Command’s story without playing the game, I would suggest looking at this site, as it has all the game’s dialogue written out.

[sparda3g]

Gintama Chapter 679 Review

I know I was asking for answers, but I think I will be fine if it doesn’t result to a cruel ending. Sorachi somewhat surprised the fans with a new backstory that leads to Gintoki’s discovery. The problem is that it’s clear that we are in for a dark and possibly depressing outcome. This chapter ignited a gripping story of master-disciple bond on a quest with inducing fear. This is not going to be easy...

It’s no wonder that we have plenty of comedy earlier. This chapter leaves nothing to laugh over; maybe with one panel of a kid falling on the ground hard, but outside of that, it’s downright serious. It’s too early to call, but I got to say, this backstory is perhaps the darkest one so far. It’s the culmination of father-son, master-disciple, and a man with a hard hitting temptation to end his heavy burden.

The beginning already starts off with the dark vibe with Gintoki in the flashback left on a journey to find something important. It’s the first time to see him looking extremely determined; it’s quite surreal. He asked the Inugami Maidens, Ane and Mone, to give him the pinpoint locations of every Dragon Holes. I admire Sorachi’s writing for using those two in plenty of significant plot points, even at this point. It goes to show you how his writing works. Whenever the character appears for an arc or so, they will hold a relevant contribution to exploit.

One of the sisters explained a newly informed detail of the Dragon Veins; even the lore gets expanded this late. There is no actual count on how many Dragon Veins are in the world; not even the Maidens can grasp all of them. Not only there are countless of it, but the size can differ from many. It can be the size of golf ball hole and it would be considered as a Dragon Vein. This does explain why Gintoki took a long time to resurface; at least in terms of reconnecting with old friends. There’s another reason why he took 2 years, but we’ll get to that soon.

The Maidens warned him that it can take forever, which already sound impossible because human nature, but without an actual response to them, rather to himself, he was hell bent to find “it;” even if it does take him decades. It’s astonishing how much he has spent his 2 year journey, going across Japan searching for every single one until he hits jackpot. The scary part is he would have left Yorozuya behind possibly forever. Could you imagine if he didn’t find it in 2 years prior? That’s how unbelievable his determination was. Thank God, he found it as early as he can get.

I thought the flashback ends there, but it’s only for momentary to unveil the grand revelation: Utsuro is alive. It’s no surprise for fans to guess, but it is undoubtedly a huge deal for the characters. After going through many hells he brought in, knowing he’s alive only brought the mood down further. Gintoki recovered Utsuro’s heart after 2 years, though it is left to speculate on whether the latter will resume his reign of terror or somehow, a miracle will bring Shouyou back. This is trivial since it can go to many directions with the heart in presence; not yet form a body. It could be a brand new Utsuro for all we know. It’s kind of freaky to even think on what to do if they cannot kill it.

I’m glad Sorachi shed the light on how Gintoki came to his decision to split up Yorozuya, though it came with an enthralling yet disheartening result. Gintoki proves to be smarter than what his image usually portrayed in comedy routine since he recalls Utsuro dropping himself into the vortex of the Dragon Vein. Because of it, he thought the possibility of his body being vaporized by the Altana in which he was originally born from it. In other words, how could he died by what he was originated from, let alone being his source of life. He describes with simple yet good thinking analogy with Utsuro to Altana and water to an ocean.

What grasped his attention were Utsuro’s final words as he was falling down into the vortex. It finally cleared up on why Gintoki went hasty to catch him. While he did want to stop him from escaping in a sense, he was compelled by his words, which is why he was really upset when he failed. It’s why Kagura and Shinpachi picked up his hurtful tone. It’s those words that gave Gintoki a purpose; to reunite with Shouyou somehow, someway. Could it be possible to save him? I was moved by his ambition as a loner. It is no longer for the sake of humanity and he’s not going as a Yorozuya; it’s Shouka Sonjuku’s Sakata Gintoki, going to put an end.

Back to the flashback and once again, it’s intriguing how much Sorachi continues to explore more of its lore at this time. There is one Dragon Hole that is enshrined for generations; even Ryuujin (Dragon God) dwells inside. That basically mean that hole is worthy of attention. The only question was whether Utsuro came out from there. Once the old man began to describe the story of a strange phenomenon, it was clear that Gintoki hit the jackpot. It’s a good thing the image of a mass of meat wasn’t fully displayed because it sounds rather disturbing.  What shocked me is Utsuro was a baby.

It’s not just because the fact he was once a meat and somehow turned into a baby without medical logic. What truly startled me is if Utsuro was a child in the flashback, why the hell was Gintoki carrying his heart now? That gave a serious bad vibe; believing that he would kill a baby to remove the heart. The chapter wasn’t over, but I was freaking out around that point. It felt like it was building up that it was just Utsuro’s organs, but with a newborn baby, the end path was looking very grim.

While the ending is arguably the main spotlight, the page of one night with the baby is up there. It’s probably the grimmest display this series has offered. The protagonist Gintoki has the baby that once led a life of murders and destruction. He had the chance to put an end to the baby’s life, even though he probably could return later on. Even so, the train of thought drove Gintoki to approach the baby with a small sword and had the range to put it end. This was heavy stuff.

I was clinching my teeth. Sorachi got me believing that Gintoki ended it there. The paneling is excellent in this one page; how it shows his temptation to go through with it. His eye roared with anger, inch by inch to the heart, almost ending his suffering. Sorachi will get the protagonist’s hands dirty. It may not paint a bright light for inspiration, but for the sake of deeper storytelling, it should be done.

The next page was a huge sigh of relief that he didn’t do it. It’s crazy to imagine how it would feel if he did do it. Although he’s not doing it for the world, he technically did carry its fate by letting him live. If Utsuro does return, vicious and all, it would be his fault. If he did kill him, it would paint him as a disturbing image. The other risky part is who knows what the baby will grow up to. What if it was going to be Shouyou? It’s amazing how this one scene could have leaded him to many possibilities, but not worth feeling satisfied.

It’s jarring that after raising the baby for a bit, Utsuro has grown into a child, presuming the same age as when Shouyou met Gintoki for the first time. It transpires to a short but really nice father-son/master-disciple bonding scene with those two. To think, the role has been reversed as the two’s journey along the way. I feel like Sorachi is being cruel to have Gintoki experiencing in his master’s shoe and later, harbor another hardship end. That said it does create a very appealing backstory.

It does draw us fans closer to Gintoki’s character. He truly cherished his master more than anyone, so even though he was bothered by his presence, he can’t bring himself to kill. He would rather risk raising a child that could bring horror back than killing with a gamble. As funny as the line, “I feel like I’m raising a final boss” is, it holds many truths behind it. I felt his sincerity when he remembered Shouyou, connecting with how he probably felt as his master. It’s really touching to say the least; the most heartfelt scene of the chapter. That is until the end happened.

The parallel is so striking. Not only it told us how the role has been reversed but it was the trigger for Utsuro to speak for the first time. Every single line from him gave me crazy chills. It’s haunting how he can remember a lot as a child; detailing everything that answered Gintoki’s question. Those words keep on coming and it draws closer to the grand twist. The look on Gintoki’s face is very telling; you know how tensed it is when he’s awestruck by his words alone. It could play off like a horror film; unable to comprehend the scene. The message is clear: Shouyou has returned.

Honestly, it’s early to say if that is really the case, but it would appear that he was at least on the polite side as of that moment. It could be Shouyou, Utsuro lying under a false presence, or someone else entirely. It’s very tricky, but that’s what makes it gripping. It was such a heartfelt scene that unfortunately reminded me that this was all in the flashback. Why does Gintoki now carry the heart? What went wrong? Does it have to do with the request? It still leaves more questions but I am thrilled to learn more.

This was a strikingly emotional chapter that Sorachi has outdone himself once again. Just because the series is ending doesn’t mean he is burnt out of writing. He continues to deliver a rich story with plenty of outcomes that is nothing but dark. The shivering tone of that one night was so intense I thought my eyes were fooling me. I did read it in the early morning, so you could imagine how I reacted. The storytelling has been excellent so far and the ending was touching but possibly alarming. We have a long wait for the next chapter. Damn you and your timing, Gorilla!