#[ she's very close-up-- very personal. which fits many other elements of her character in my opinion-- except. /except/. the obvious. ]

[babocka]

... This is such a little detail that no one will go looney over like me, but she drags her scythe across the floor as she rushes in.

[loraluna]

Rating Rune Factory Wedding Dresses (Because I have some opinions)

Rune Factory (1)

10/10

I honestly think this dress is top tier in terms of design. The snowy white with pops of color, the scalloped flowy sleeves, the barely exposed shoulders, that lovely subtle headdress and veil, it's all so pretty and elegant to me. I believe it suits all the girls in RF1 beautifully, though I do feel like Tabatha (center) and Rosetta (right) are standouts~

Rune Factory 2

6/10

It's a very lovely design overall though I do think it creates a bit of an odd silhouette. There are still many elements to appreciate, like the lacey detailed edges and the bold but uncommon use of green. I also give them bonus points for containing a dress sprite of he/him character Ray (right) in the game's data (Trans RF character confirmed?) I think the dress best suits curvier girls like Yue (left) but it's also a real treat to finally see Dorothy's (center) lovely eyes~

Rune Factory Frontier

2/10

This dress really doesn't do it for me. I can tell they were going for more of a ceremonial robes vibe rather than a traditional wedding dress and from a distance it almost works but the outfit up close is just bulky and unflattering. Maybe if they fixed the headdress or gave the robe some really pretty accents or beading it could work, but as it is, it's probably the last thing I'd wanna be virtually married in. The one thing I do like is that it gives most of the girls a unique updo for their wedding day.

Rune Factory 3/RF3 Special

3/10

This used to be my least favorite RF wedding dress before that honor went to Frontier. The more I look at it, the more I realize that most of my disdain lies with the headdress and not the dress itself. The actual dress is fine, in fact there are some parts I really like, the sheer material on the upper arms for one, or the shawl, I just don't think it particularly looks like a wedding dress. That headdress though...oh boy, it looks like someone just glued a bunch of random sh*t they found to a headband and called it a day. It's just very cluttered and doesn't scream 'wedding' at all. If I have to pick a stand out it would probably be Raven (center) since her pose and hair color hide many of the design fails. Also Daria (right) because it seems like the sort of chaotic outfit she, herself would design.

Rune Factory Tides of Destiny/Oceans

5/10

This game didn't get the usual character portraits so the images aren't great, but my opinion on these dresses was very so-so, I definitely wouldn't call them ugly, and I do love the colors and rare use of a real bouquet, they just didn't seem to stand out all that much. Especially in terms of RF costumes. They seem a little bulky on the models but I honestly think they could have fixed that by just having character portraits. Not bad. Not great. Just middle of the road dresses. As standouts I'd pick Sonja and Electra (left and center). Their hair colors complement the dress and Electra is already suited to the poofy ballgown look anyway.

Rune Factory 4/RF4 Special

8/10

RF4's dress has a very ethereal, almost fairy-like look to it, which I personally find very gorgeous. It's pretty busy like many of the previous dresses, but unlike those, I feel like the elements here actually work together. The long flowy veil and blue rose accents are just beautiful, as is the detailed corset and neckpiece making up the torso. I'm not personally a huge fan of the flower petal looking design on the hips, but it does fit well with the whole aesthetic. As for standouts, It looks tailor made for Frey (left), but I definitely think taller, long haired girls like Dolce and Margaret (center and right) look amazing in it as well.

Rune Factory 5

9/10

I think this dress is beautiful as a whole, a bit more traditional and subdued than previous wedding outfits but personally I love it. The silhouette is flattering on everyone and the color scheme is unique among the other dresses by sticking with only warmer colors as opposed to the cool blues and greens of past games. I also love how the tint of the roses changes slightly depending on who's wearing the dress. All in all it reminds me a lot of the subtle elegance of RF1's dress and that makes it a win for me. For standouts I think Fukka's (center) complexion and hair go beautifully with the dresses colors. Ludmilla (right) also looks divine with the rosy aesthetic~

What's your favorite wedding look from the RF series? Who wore it best? Comment or tag if you feel like dishing some opinions of your own (Or just answer my poll ;)

[thesharkbaitspellbook]

Sigyn

Norse Goddess Fidelity, Greif, Sharer or Burdens, Loyalty, Mothering, Gentle, Compassion, Mercy, Devotion

Intro

It probably doesn't come as a surprise that like many other deities in Norse myth, we know very little about Sigyn. We have one main story that includes her and really that's it. That story is referenced across sources so I have always taken that as it does play a major factor in her character. Throughout this breakdown, I will be marking where upg and spg inserts begin with her. And hopefully I get across how amazing Sigyn can be and what she can aid with, not just in my own praxis, but others as well.

To get a sneak peek before continuing to read I will say that Sigyn is very nice, gentle and comforting with that softer strength. Like, I don't know how else to summarize her. She's quieter and reserved as she balances Loki's boldness. A wonderful and loyal presence to those she cares for. She like the mom friend that is in your corner no matter what troubles you find yourself in. Sigyn is the grass we all need to touch sometimes. The gentle hand that runs across your forehead and tells you everything is going to be OK.

So let's go on a journey of exploration together 💚

Epistemology

There a little bit of a debate on what Sigyn's name actually means or what it stems from. The common interpretation right now is: "its first member Sig° would reflect a variant in composition of ON sigr ‘victory, battle’, the outcome of PGmc. segiz- ‘id.’ (Goth. sigis ‘νῖκος’, OE siġe) and PIE ség̑ʰ-es- ‘overcoming’ (Ved. sáhas- ‘violence, force’; PIE seg̑ʰ- ‘overcome’; cf. Ved. sáha-te ‘overcomes’); its second element °yn would be the outcome of earlier °vin ‘female friend’ (cf. ON vinr ‘[male] friend’), the reflex of PGmc. wenjō- ‘id.’ (PIE u̯enH- ‘love’; cf. Ved. vánas- ‘desire’, Lat. Venus ‘lovegoddess’). Sigyn (Sig-vin) would therefore either mean ‘victory-friend’ or be the feminine derivative of a masculine personal name Sig-vinr ‘victory-friend" … "On the strength of it, a new interpretation for Sígyn will be advanced, namely as the reflex of the weak stem of PIE sei̯k u̯ -én-ih2-/-n̥-i̯éh2- ‘she of the pouring’, a devī́- derivative of *sei̯k u̯ -eno- ‘pouring’ (: Ved. °sécana- ‘id.’), whose semantics would closely correspond to Sigyn’s main role in myth; exact and partial matches for this analysis may be identified in Ved. °sécanī- ‘pouring, pouring ladle’ (sei̯k u̯-én-ih2-) and in the Latinized C3ltic river-name and theonym Sēquana (sei̯k u̯-en-eh2-), respectively" From this paper

I like the second interpretation better as it follows Sigyn's character in myth more closely. But ultimately you can decide which fits best for you!

Kennings

Historical:

Wife of Loki

Delight of Loki’s Hall

Incantation-Fetter

Meinsvarra: "The cargo of the arms of the harm-woman"

Modern:

Lady of Staying Power

Lady of Unyielding Gentleness

Lady of the Unconquerable Heart

Mother of Narvi and Vali

North Star

Victory Woman

Lady of Loyalty

Loki’s Treasure

Devoted Mother

Lady of Endurance

Goddess of Constancy

Goddess of Victory

Goddess of the Heart

Goddess of Neglected Children

Goddess of Comfort

Healer to All

Mother to All

Beloved of Monsters

Balm for the Broken

Hearthkeeper of The Flame

Myths

Prose Edda: Gylfaginning [33, 50], Skáldskaparmál [1, 23, 30]

Poetic Edda: Voluspa [35], Lokasenna [64, 65]

The most famous appearance is this part of Loki's story:

"Then Skadi took a venomous serpent and fastened it up over him [Loki], so that the venom should drip from the serpent into his face. But Sigyn, his wife, stands near him and holds a basin under the venom-drops; and when the basin is full, she goes and pours out the venom, but in the meantime the venom drips into his face. Then he writhes against it with such force that all the earth trembles: ye call that 'earthquakes.' There he lies in bonds till the Weird of the Gods." -Gylfaginning, 50

Aspects and Relationships With Other Deities

Loyalty and Fidelity

Sigyn, in her stories, exudes loyalty to Loki. She stands by him in his most trying times. I think that is pretty obvious. But I want to talk about her marriage here.

UPG INCOMING: Regarding Loki Loki is a complex character that is largely misunderstood in some modern circles. (I won't dive into that here but… I can in a future post if that's wanted 😉 ) But Sigyn is mentioned in his kennings… often. Often enough for me to conclude she was important to them. Even with the titles like "Burden of Sigyn's Arms". It gives my the impression Loki fully appreciates and even might feel guilty for bringing that entire situation onto her. And keeping the label as a reminder to himself and others. And vice versa I think Sigyn truly cared and loved Loki simply due to standing by him when the rest of Aesir hated him. Divorce was an option for her (look at Njodr and Skadi). But she chose to stay. And I think that says a lot about her. I believe this tells us that she supports the many faces and sides to Loki, and understands that he has many roles to fill for different reasons. Sigyn provides the anchor to Loki. she provides a warm heart and open arms. She provides Loki the opportunity to raise children, to be a father, to be grounded. I love love LOVE the images of her being the softer, blushing, reserved person matched with Loki's boldness. Personal impact: I resonated a lot with this relationship in my personal life. I rave about my husband a lot because he is great lol but he is also kind of misunderstood and not always liked in a similar way to Loki. He can be loud in asserting himself (especially about me to others) and setting up boundaries, came from the oil field and can be vulgar, is a big body builder and brown which people perceive as "scary", can be angry and frustrated…. so I fully related to Sigyn loving and being devoted to a perceived "difficult" husband. Yet like her, I love my husband more than anything. Okay, this got sappy but you get it.

More UPG incoming: Regarding Loki and Angrboða I have never felt there was a relationship between Sigyn and Angrboða beyond a mutual respect. In modern terms, I see the three as a polycule. And this plays into the sentence I said earlier: "I believe this tells us that she supports the many faces and sides to Loki, and understands that he has many roles to fill for different reasons." Angrboða provides Loki something different but that he also needs. Sigyn knows and supports that. (Queen Queer Ally of Norse Mythology, For real! ) Without rambling too much I want to show the difference: Angrboða could not be more different from Sigyn, but is equally as important. Angrboða allows Loki to be a mother, a way for him to provide the world with things it needs most, care (Hel), hope (Fenrir) and protection (Jormy). Her relationship with Loki isn't what you would call conventional, but it isn't an affair, she isn't a mistress or a side piece. She is an equal in a 3 part equation. She is loving and caring, but in a very different way. She isn't the cuddle at home, watch a movie kinda gal like Sigyn would be. She's more the 'lets go get tequila and fuck shit up' kinda gal. Now some could and would say this isn't really important, and maybe they are right, but for some it is, Some of us grow out of that, but some of us need that. Which, I think, Loki does Personal Impact I wasn't going to touch on this but for sake of complete-ness, I will. It's not a secret I'm cis/het and want to be the best ally I fucking can be lol. Sigyn, honestly, has helped in that so so so much. Honestly I role model for me in that area. Granted we don't know a lot about her… but I feel that similarity in being the wife and accepting the person she loves with zero question or hesitation. idk I just really love that little insert. And not one I see talked about enough.

Mothering

It is only briefly mentioned that Sigyn and Loki had two sons. And due to the UPG above^^ she also has at least three polycule children. So, she was a mother and can be given this association rather easily.

UPG INCOMING Regarding her and Loki's children Look at these kennings: Devoted Mother, Goddess of the Heart, Goddess of Neglected Children, Goddess of Comfort, Mother to All, Beloved of Monsters, Hearth keeper of The Flame… This told me that collectively many could agree that Sigyn did care and probably helped care for Loki's other children with love and compassion. I've considered suggesting Sigyn as a good deity for someone like a foster parent, or parents looking to adopt because she just exudes this energy of willing to take in anyone that needs a home to go to. Just so caring despite everything she has had to endure. I admire that about her. Truly, think she is a good one to reach out to if you've struggled with a mother figure, or if you need a loving mother figure in your life. Personal Impact Unironically, both my pets were given to us by farms and people who did not want them. (can you believe my 90lb puppy was the runt of the litter??) Me and my husband took them in because honestly it was us or the pound and we couldn't let that happen when we knew we could make it work. Kinda what we are known for now lol After bringing Sigyn in to my hearthcult, I side eye that action as a nod to her.

Greif and Sharing of Burdens

In the stories, we see Sigyn lose her home, her sons killed, her polycule children ostracized and bound, and her husband tortured. I honestly can't imagine the grief Sigyn carries with her. She is known as the sharer of burdens because of the image around her holding the bowl up with her arms for Loki. She does so with seemingly no hesitation.

UPG INCOMING When I picture the scene of Sigyn holding the bowl over Loki, I see Sigyn with tear filled eyes and trying to hold it together after watching her sons be murdered and her husband in agony. And I personally think that sadness stays with her. But omg, to me that makes her seem like an incredibly strong as a woman. And that she is willing to be there and help others bear their hardships when they can't. I picture her as the one that will hold your hand and sit with you in the darkness simply so you aren't alone. And when you feel like you just can't keep going, she holds you up on her shoulder and helps you trudge the rest of the way. Even if you're both shedding tears as you do so. This is what I meant by "quieter strength". She is so strong without needing to show it through muscles or even words… Personal Impact Surprise, I have depression. And sometimes in life it is worse than others. Sigyn's strength honestly inspires me a lot. and helps me…. And even though I might have recognized it until recently, she's exactly what I hope to be. I want to help those around me not feel like I did/do. I can hold your hand if you need me to and be there when you just need a friend. Like, imagine Loki coming home from an adventure that he both started and finished and needing to just vent about it. Sigyn has that listening ear. I vent to her too over coffee lol.

Inner Child healing

With both of the above aspects I don't see why going to her for some inner child healing/ childhood healing isn't more common. Personally I think she'd be a great healer in that way (has been for me). This is where I place her a healing type. Literally heals with love and kindness.

Binding Magic

I bet you were not expecting that title lol. After everything I just said about how caring and wonderful Sigyn is… There is one very mysterious kenning of Loki thought to be about her in Eilífr Goðrúnarson’s Þórsdrápa, which is an early skaldic poem. Now, I am not a language expert and I am relying on others expertise here but "farmr arma hapts galdrs" : "burden of the arms of the captive of magic" or something like that, it’s a little difficult to unpack… this is the “incantation fetter” comes from. It’s not clear why this would refer to Sigyn. And it's likely due to some story lost to time. To add to this, another kenning given to Loki in Eilífr Goðrúnarson's Þórsdrápa is: The cargo of the arms of the harm-woman. Now some people associate this with Angrboda. However Falkes' translation comments that it actually might be in reference to Sigyn because as far as we know when referencing Loki being a burden to someone's arms, it implies Sigyn. Now, one very important thing to note is snorri, saxo, and other scribes writing down these stories had major biases… and a big thing they tried to do with varying degrees of success is erasing the magical traditions. I mention this because if Sigyn had some historical association to magic it was likely erased from the books. And that is an unfortunately reality for us heathens lol

UPG INCOMING Okay so realistically, how much can we get from a kenning that isn't even Sigyn's? Well, here's my little insert on it. As stated, I can heavily relate to a lot about Sigyn. So I can easily imagine with her love and devotion in her life… comes with protection of her own kind. "Binding magic" can be expressed in various ways but the one that stands out to me is binding someone in the way of like, freezer spells. where the idea is to bind someone temporarily to learn a lesson. Now, the "harm-woman"…. Honestly I think of hexes and baneful magics. If she had some some of binding idea attached to her, i don't see why a hex and other baneful working are out of the scope of probability. (A girl after my own heart, truly lol) I know when people come after my family I instantly think "no you need a time out." which is exactly what binding something can feel like. Could it have a more sinister background and could go deeper? sure. of course. But with the image of Sigyn being a gentle parent to me, I could see her using time out in more than one way lol

Correspondences

💚 Symbols: Bowl, Cup, North Star [I've seen this one around and honestly don't know where it came from, I like it as like a symbol of hope and guidance], Keys, Stars 💚 Colors: Green, Yellow, Browns, Grays, Pink 💚 Animals: Red Fox, Serpent (for me specifically yellow ones), Wolves, Does, Green Moths 💚 Misc Things: Pearls, Dolls, Stuffed Animals, Rose Quartz, Beads, String 💚 Offerings: Mead, Meat, Honey, Grain, Bread, Yogurt, Sheep Milk, Cheese, Apples, Sweets, Cakes, Chocolate, Sweet Wines

[all-things-gothic12]

FAV GOTH CHARACTERS

For my fifth post I  want to share some of my favourite gothic characters in the media (shows, comics, movies, etc).

For the first character in this list I wanted to touch on one of my favourite characters if not one of my fav gothic films of all time. The Crow is an amazing film and of course, so is the main character: Eric Draven. As you can see from the picture below in his iconic outfit; the coat, the latex pants, the belts, the wire. Not to forget his makeup, the white base and the edgy black lips and eyes further correlating to gothic aesthetics. Everything is put together absolutely perfectly to fit the overarching darker aesthetics of the film itself and also his character. For a brief explanation of his character, he’s driven by a primary form of revenge, hoping to avenge someone close to him who perished. He gets help from a ‘crow’ obviously that’s where the title comes from lol. Other than his exterior appearance, Eric Draven shows a ton of other gothic elements as a character, the darker drive, the darker emotions and the darker reasonings that all fit seamlessly into the category of goth-ness within the media itself!

For the second character in this list I wanted to touch on a character a lot of people probably know of, Marla Singer from Fight Club. A great character with tons of flaws, she definitely stands out in a film about two (one) men lol. Now, many people have varying opinions on whether or not she’s goth. But I chose to include her in this list because she definitely presents a tone of gothic elements within both her aesthetic and her outlook on life. As seen below she wears all black, has ratty hair and wears black centred makeup. All making up a great aesthetic that definitely plays into a certain gothic element. Her personality is also super telling, where she has again, like Eric Draven more darker views/aesthetics on certain topics. And although being goth does not mean that these views are absolute. Within media a lot of the time these sorts of characters are presented more inclined to darker viewpoints because of their gothic disposition as not only a plot point but as an aesthetic.

Thirdly, Lisbeth Salander, again probably one of my favourite characters in all of media but also one of my favourite more gothic inclined characters. Being introduced from the book ‘The girl with the dragon tattoo’, I’m going to be more so pulling elements from her on screen performance in the movie version starring Rooney Mara. As shown below, you can see that her hair, piercings and overall aesthetic definitely play into, again, that gothic vibe. Not only do her looks represent that gothic aesthetic but also her job (lol) and style of life. I should also mention that like The Crow, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo has a tone of different goth-industrial songs, which totally pushes the gothic agenda/vibe that they’re going for!

Fourthly I want to bring up an iconic comic and recently show character. Morpheus or more commonly known as The Sandman. A character directly from the mind of Neil Gaiman and others. To begin, from his comic appearance it’s obvious that he’s goth. From his hair and dark clothes his aesthetic is reminiscent of Robert Smith’s looks from the 80s. Not only that but this iteration of the Greek god Morpheus, God of Dreams is much darker with a larger emphasis on the, again, goth aesthetic lol. His on screen appearance is also just as goth, with the show including tones of gothic undertones, his voice, his appearance (of course). And the overall setting that he himself is placed in. (On a separate note, I recommend watching the show as it’s pretty short and on Netflix).

Lastly, I want to spiel about a gothic character very dear to my heart in relation to the source material she comes from lol. Saki Hanajima is a goth character from the animanga Fruits Basket. Probably my favourite manga of all time lol. In regards to Saki, she herself dresses in total black at all times, never once is she seen wearing any other colour (other than her mandatory school uniform). This fact plays heavily into her goth/edgy vibe. She also wears a ton of clothes that take direct inspiration from victorian/romantic era goths. Not to forget, one of the gimmicks she has is she’s able to send telepathic waves/vibes to others, primarily negative. This ability also plays heavily into her aesthetic as a goth character. (As something super popular within goth media is ghosts, communication with them, etc.)

Thanks for reading my blog, down below are some honourable mentions that appeal to that certain goth aesthetic but because this post is already to long I won’t talk about them.

Re-L (Ergo Proxy) , Uta (Tokyo Ghoul), Charles-Henri Sanson (Innocent)

[lumilasi]

Brought another one of my OG faves into Night City parlor, this time Avara, Azul/Chester's ex/close friend. She used to be known only as Avara, but I realized she'd have the same nickname as another character of mine, Avane, so I gave her a different first name and Avara is now her surname lol. I also didn't feel like doing lineart, so I just tidied up the sketches a bit and colored those.

Bio below:

Name: Iris Avara (Avara is finnish (my native) and means "spacious/open")

Nicknames: Ms. Avara/professor (her students), Ris, starlady (Azul, Reuben, Miriam)

Age: 36

Height: 163 cm

Friends: Miriam Belarose (her co-worker and closest non-childhood friend) Beatrice (A forest witch journalist who often requires her assistance with her investigations) Azul (former BF-of-sorts, and a childhood friend) Reuben (Azul's brother), Diojas (Azul's current love-interest)

Love-interest: none

Family: Avara family siblings Ilves, Kuura, Aura, and Varis (her adoptive family), Honorary nephew Yoruga (A moth spirit who was unofficially adopted into the family, as he stayed in their sanctuary much longer than what normally happens)

Powers:

Visions: Astral magic wielders can typically utilize many types of visions, from premonitions to ability to see into the past/see things others do not aka clairvoyance. Iris has specifically honed her skill with the last two, but does occasionally get premonitions.

Light-bending: basically light elemental magic, where she can control and manipulate light from making lasers to dispelling dark magic, though the most she uses it for is illuminate her way through dim library corridors.

Astral projection: She can project herself into the astral plane to contact others even through time or alternate timelines, or just to reach someone's dreams

Aurora Borealis spell: She has a special spell that takes the form of northern lights, which can be used as a pathway to somewhere, or a shield to protect against physical and magical attacks. She mainly uses the former trick, though.

Weaknesses:

Because her magic type is so rare, she often feels there's a lot of pressure and expectations on her to perform well, making her work way too hard sometimes, to the point of exhaustion. Her biological family - whom she has disowned - did not help with it much.

talking of her parents, they wanted to pressure her into marrying someone she didn't like, which has caused her some struggles with actually having a romantic relationship, because of her trust issues/tendency to think anything more serious might just be someone else yet again imposing their will onto her. She is somewhat aware her thinking is warped, but she can't help it.

(more tba)

Personality:

Iris is intelligent, strict but fair teacher with passion for learning more about her topics of interest, and digging deep into whatever mystery comes her way. Outside her teacher-job, she is quite playful and mischievous, and can come off very flirtatious. Given her past, she tends to not be serious about it, and typically only acts that way around those she trusts/those who know she's just teasing them.

She's generally kind of afraid of serious romantic relationships due to her trauma, which is one of the reasons why she broke it off with Azul/Chester. Outside romance though, Iris is very good at maintaining relationships, and is a very trustworthy friend to have. She's somebody who always knows a trick or two to help you out, or has some obscure piece of knowledge you've been looking for - or knows someone who has it.

She is a hard-worker to a fault, and also a very dedicated teacher who wants to make sure everyone passes her classes if she can help it.

FUN FACTS

Beatrice and Iris share the same taste in fashion, and shop in the same places. It's actually where they met.

Iris loves form-fitting retro dresses with dramatic flares included, and generally prefers dressing very feminine. She does sometimes wear pants though, retro fashion of course.

She mostly wears her hair in a small bun when at work, to keep it away from her eyes.

Iris is bisexual, though tends to prefer more masculine presenting people slightly. She finds Beatrice's girlfriend (who's more butch type) very attractive for example, as well as Azul's current boyfriend Diojas.

Her style is largely a combo of retro vibes and old school Hollywood glamour, topped with night-sky/galaxy inspired colors.

She is a fan of Azul's opera singer mother, Annabelle, and her hairstyle is somewhat inspired by her.

Her surname "Avara" was actually chosen by her as she wanted to completely distance herself from her birth family.

Caelan, a member of the protagonist family, is one of her favorite students, given how inquisitive and naturally curious he is.

Iris has 3 familiars, specifically three white wolves names Orion, Lyra, and Lupus. She's often seen walking them around town, with people wondering how on earth she can handle three massive fluffballs at once.

Lyra is the smartest of the three, whereas Lupus is the biggest. Orion is the goofiest of the bunch, often making funny faces

Sometimes she rides Lupus to work if she doesn't feel like walking (she lives close to campus)

She's one of the few people who knows Chester's real, original name is Azul Samaros. She was the first person outside his family he told it to.

While their romantic feelings have waned, her and Azul still have a strong and healthy platonic bond, something that if they were the same gender, would be called "bromance" or "sisterhood" basically.

[novelmonger]

Book Review: The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

Quote that should have been on the back of the book: "Perhaps I simply need to leave some record, however wandering and unsubstantiated, so that another living soul can learn the truths I have worked so hard to unearth. So that someone else might read it and believe: there are ten thousand doors between ten thousand worlds, and someone is closing them. And I am helping them do it."

Premise: January Scaller is an "in-between girl," as she describes it. Her mother was white and her father is black, in Victorian-era U.S.A. She never knew her mother, and her father is always away from home, so she is raised by a wealthy white man named Mr. Locke. January's father travels the world, finding curios and artifacts from other countries and sending them back to be put in Mr. Locke's collection, while Mr. Locke provides a home and an education for January. No one quite knows what to do with her, because her appearance doesn't fit into any one neat category. She lives in the lap of luxury, but it's not really hers, it's Mr. Locke's. She's provided for, but the strictures of society mean that she's more or less trapped in this world, unable to fend for herself without Mr. Locke's protection. She's considered almost more like a pet or a plaything for an eccentric rich man, rather than a person in her own right.

Then January finds a book called The Ten Thousand Doors, which tells the story of Doors that open into other worlds, and something resonates inside her. She wants to open those Doors. She wants to explore those other worlds. She wants to learn the truth about where her parents came from and what happened to them. And she's not going to take no for an answer.

Thoughts: I don't think I've ever read a book quite like this, but I loved it. It's definitely going on my list of "stories about stories," because besides the story being about traveling to different worlds through Doors, it's also very much about traveling to different worlds through books. Long before January discovers her first Door, she has learned that books provide a means of escape from her sometimes stifling and unbearable life. And, even though I can't say I know what it's like to be biracial or grow up in a lavish mansion in Vermont in the late nineteenth century, I can definitely relate to escaping into the world of a book. And then, when writing new stories comes into the mix? Yes, definitely relatable.

The writing style, the narrative voice, is so engaging. It draws you right in, and I could always picture everything so vividly. The characters leapt off the page--not just January and Mr. Locke, but also her friends Jane and Samuel, and of course her loyal dog Bad. (Ohhh, there was one scene involving him that had me ugly-crying at work T^T) Her parents and their stories! The different worlds! And just…the magic of it all. Harrow never shied away from describing the uglier side of an oft-romanticized historical period, but that made the wondrously supernatural elements shine and glitter even more.

And…just…can I scream about how perfectly she wove in the motif of locks and keys and doors? I was halfway through the book before I realized, "Wait…Mr. Locke…the Key…the Door opens for her…." a;ldkfj;alsdgj;sdljkg;dkslf UTTER PERFECTION. I can't say too much more without spoiling huge chunks of the story, but…if you know, you know.

I also have to admire Harrow for the restraint of not showing more worlds than she did. This is the kind of setup that makes you want to fling open as many Doors as you possibly can, to see just how varied and different these worlds all are. But because we don't get to see more than a small handful of worlds with our own eyes, it awakens in the reader the desire to keep going, keep exploring, maybe find some Doors of their own. And isn't that an absolutely perfect takeaway from this story?

[moved-to-void-kissed]

☁️, ☄, 💚, 🔥, 🎀, 🔫, 🍁 for Aria

Ah! Thank you very much for all of these, Evi! I'm a little surprised you want me to answer these for a self-insert considering they're asks from a game about OCs instead, but I get that that's how most people see my self-inserts, so it's okay. It means a lot that you sent these in, so thank you.

(question source: "OC EMOJI ASKS!" by charmymemes)

☁️ CLOUD - a soft headcanon - Aria may not seem like the type, but she will give pet names to those around her! She doesn't have to be particularly close to them to do this, but the name tends to reflect an aspect of that person's character rather than being derived from their actual name. For example.. Clio is "clover" or "flower", while some of the pet names she's given as a Fatebreaker (an RP I'm doing with some friends) include "little starflower", "little moonflower", "knight", "little godling", "little fish prince", "shade", "scholar", "silver sparrow", "starling", "rose", "coder", "little lantern", "little changeling", and "dreamling".

☄️ COMET - what do people assume about her? are they right? - Many people, especially during the age of fairytales, are naturally sceptical of Aria because it’s clear she is someone who wields darkness, and many users of light are distrustful of the darkness, seeing it only as something evil and dangerous. They’d technically be right to assume that she can be dangerous - she’s a powerful opponent in combat, after all - but they would be wrong to dismiss her or treat her as an enemy simply because of her elemental nature.

💚 GREEN HEART - what things make your self-insert feel comforted? hugs, kisses, food? - Aria gains comfort from being around people who trust her, which admittedly is not many people (and fewer still who know what she is and trust her despite that). She doesn’t deal too well with excessive or unexpected physical contact, but she is always very grateful (even if she doesn’t always admit it) that people would actually care about her and want to be around her, rather than just seeing her as a monster (since.. she is one. but she is trying so hard not to be.)

..Let’s go under the readmore for the rest, since otherwise this post is going to be very long!

🔥 FIRE - does she have any self-destructive tendencies? what habits does she have that hinders her from becoming her best self? - You mean, aside from the whole "has been possessing another being for the past 15 years of her life, leaving that girl stuck dormant in her own body while she uses it as her vessel" part? I think that part probably counts as a habit hindering her from becoming her best self. She also very much dislikes being in situations where she is vulnerable - for example, being trapped when there are other Keyblade wielders around, since Keyblades are the one thing that can permanently destroy her - and will tend to become either overly defensive or dismissive because of that.

🎀 RIBBON - how would she fit into other worlds / AUs? what AUs would you like to try out? what fictional worlds would she fit / not fit into? - Aria's natural appearance would generally make her stand out quite strongly in most worlds she was placed into, so it can be difficult to find a place for her to fit. However, I think her appearance would work okay for a dark-element Blade in the world of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, possibly moreso if I gave her more Darkling features. I'm still a bit torn between whether she would be a vampire or a ghost possessing her own corpse in some kind of AU where she had to be that kind of pre-existing supernatural entity. Maybe the first post-KH3 and the second for KHUX-era?

🔫 PISTOL - does she trust people easily? how easily will she turn her back to someone? has she been backstabbed before? will she betray someone if given an ultimatum? - Aria is very much not naturally trusting, which mostly stems from the fact that few people naturally trust her first. She has to keep her guard up, especially around other Keyblade wielders, because they wield the one thing she fears most. If I had written this ask out as soon as you sent it in then I could say she hadn't been backstabbed, but now she has been once, at least as far as the Fatebreakers are concerned (thanks, Nyx). Regarding that final question.. she would never actually betray the people she cared about, but she’d be rather quick to appear to betray them (ideally with them being aware of her intention to do this) for the sake of lowering the enemy’s guard and gaining information from them before revealing she had never gone over to their side.

🍁 MAPLE LEAF - what is her favourite season? why? - Aria's favourite season is spring, which might be slightly predictable when you remember that her true form is essentially a giant ball of cherry blossom flowers. The sight of flowers blooming has always brought her a surprising amount of solace as a result of what she is, so spring is an enjoyable time for her for that reason.

And that’s all those finally answered! I hope that all of these answers were alright - thank you very much again for sending so many questions in!!

[mayobedo]

Initial thoughts on the Natlan characters now that I've had the day to simmer on them

Disclaimer: I am white. I figured I should make that clear. I just want to get my thoughts out there.

In general, I think the more modern look is very unique and something we haven't seen in Genshin Impact before, but they do feel kind of safe. They're very vibrant too, which fits all the color we've seen from the Natlan previews. Unlike a lot of the Fontaine designs initially there's few I actively dislike, but perhaps they'll grow on me, like many characters have. They just sorely need some melanin given the cultures Natlan takes inspiration from.

Ranking each character we've seen individually based on my initial impressions, from best to worst, under the cut (pictures included).

1. Xilonen

Out of everyone in the teaser she immediately caught my eye. The jaguar (or possibly other big cat) theming (as well as being a proper catgirl) and image of her lounging in a tree, bathing in sunlight gives off a sense of power. Kind of like a real big cat! But you guys probably know I tend to like the tall women a lot.

2. Mavuika

I think a lot of people, myself included, expected the Pyro Archon to be a Himeko expy and/or light-skinned. And well, she seems to be both of those. The leaks of the Pyro Archon in a conquistador outfit did have me worried given real world history, but I'm very relieved to see that isn't the case.

Seeing her in a bodysuit when I first opened YouTube did have me puzzled at first, but seeing the full outfit really brings it together. Hoyo does put a lot of research into things, so I'm interested to see any analyses on her design, too!

And the sunglasses are peak. From what I've seen it's a controversial design element, but I think it really adds to her character. She really seems like a friendly archon all around. I wonder how "war" plays into all of this.

She's also the first archon without dark or white hair--it's just straight up red. Which makes me hope she'll change up the common tropes archons tend to have (please i don't want the two archons plotline for the 4th nation in a row). is really I really liked the flame hair concepts from her leaked designs, so it's nice to see we still got that in some form here.

3. Kinich

Kinich has a pretty cohesive design, and the color palette is pretty pleasing to look at, too. But I can definitely see the Xiao comparisons. I hope his personality makes him stand out from him.

The most perplexing thing about him though is how his design focuses a lot around pixels--Ajaw is a pixel dragon. The Sumeru Dendro characters do have their computer/tech themes (Alhaitham and Nahida especially, the latter of which is Irminsul's avatar), but this seems a little...much. Even when considering Natlan characters have more modern designs.

Taking the "Teyvat is a simulation" theory (and similar) in mind, I feel like Ajaw is going to play into that. Or they're just a pixel dragon because Hoyo thought it would be cool.

4. Mualani

Her design makes me think she was originally designed with a darker skin tone, but late in the development process someone told the designer to make her skin lighter, so we got the tan she has today.

Honestly her and Kinich are pretty close, probably interchangeable. But the main thing that bothers me are the orange highlights on her hair. They're a little off-putting.

But overall, I think her design is cute! As a character I get the impression she's going to be chill. Like "girl next door" vibes.

5. Iansan

I really don't have much to say given we've seen her before, and I didn't have much to say back then either. I do hope they give her a good amount of focus given she is a Teyvat Travail character, and I think they will, given it's a pattern they haven't broken. But Hoyo does like breaking patterns... I'd rather be optimistic, though.

Iansan is, however, the first character on this list we don't know the element for. I remember thinking initially she would be Geo, but now we know of two Geo characters, surely they won't have three Geos in the Pyro Nation, right?

I think she's most likely to be Pyro, but I've seen people throw around Electro too since I heard she's named after a lightning spirit. It would make sense--she has a lot of purple in her design. But I'd like to throw out my wild guess that she's Dendro. Why? Well, her eyes are the Dendro green, and if she isn't, then it's impossible for every element to be represented by a Teyvat Travail character. And I highly doubt Pulcinella is going to be Dendro.

6. Ororon

yeah that sure is a genshin character. cool cape though.

He's probably important given he's with Capitano of all people. Maybe he's a Fatuus, but I don't see any Fatui symbol on him. It would be nice to have more playable Fatui.

One thing I'm noticing just now is that he has heterochromia. Hoyo doesn't give out heterochromia willy-nilly. Definitely a mysterious character for sure.

As for element I'm pretty sure he's Anemo with how prominent teal is in his design. If that's true, he'll be our first tall Anemo man! Only took four years...

I am curious about his name, though. It every other language his name is Olorun. I wonder if the misspelling in English is intentional, or if it was just a localization error.

7. Kachina

She's cute...but that's really all she has going for her. I will say, though, the big fluffy ears are unique.

but basically melanin would've saved her

8. Citlali

The only reason she's at this spot is because of what we've seen of her personality so far. I can't think of a particularly hot-tempered female character in Genshin, and I think she might fulfill that niche.

But her design... I think the main thing that bogs it down is the dull pink color used for her hair. With the light skin tone she has it's kind of clashing. It's nice to see another character get colored eyelashes, at least.

I...really don't know how to put my dislike of her design in words. I don't think she's the worst design in Genshin, but she's far down there.

9. Chasca

I'll be honest she just feels like Natlan Clorinde. She stands out from her as a distinct character, but they still give off the same vibe.

I like her design better than Citlali, I will give her that. She just feels kind of boring compared to everyone else.

There are a few small details that are neat--the shoulder mole, textured eyebrows, elf ears... But yeah. She'd really have to impress me to make me want to pull her.

~

So yeah, those are my thoughts. I think this will be fun to look back on later down the line, when Natlan's story is done and we've gotten to know these characters better.

I am excited to see where the story goes, but honestly I'm more excited for the exploration than anything else. It looks super fun, and I can't wait to finally get my hands on the Saurians.

[jolyneswife-anime-reviews]

Candy Candy anime review + a little character analysis

Spoilers for Candy Candy and tw for bullying, alcoholism, and family issues

Genre: Romance, drama/tragedy, historical

Where I watched it: http://www.stb.dircon.co.uk/CandyGranchester/ (they’re in Italian though)

Characterisation: 8.5/10 (One of the strongest points of the series is the characters. There are a wide variety of them, all with distinct and developed personalities. As Candy goes through life, she meets many different people, and some become more important than others- we get to know these people through her eyes, and watch them grow as she does. The cast is colourful and they all add something to the story which makes it more compelling. Without a doubt, the character designed with the most care was Candy- she’s bold and cheerful, rejecting the “delicate” ideas of femininity imposed by 20th century American society, and enjoying more masculine things, like climbing trees. Most of all, Candy’s tough and determined- she always stands up for what’s right and stubbornly does things her way, even when there are risks involved- throughout the anime, it becomes clear that she doesn’t fear scrapes or confrontation if it means brining justice or helping a friend. Despite her having wilful side, Candy is also very caring and selfless- she regularly puts those she loves before herself, even when it hurts, and she conceals the pain with a smile. Kindness and giving a helping hand are such central parts to her character that her entire ambition of being a nurse is based off of them, as is the way she puts it into practice. After losing her job, Candy starts working at the Happy Clinic, despite knowing that the doctor there is poor and can’t pay her a salary, and, in doing so, she provides poor children with healthcare. Alongside this, Candy is also given the princess treatment, and presented as vulnerable and hesitant. She’s such a nuanced character, because all these elements fit together to create someone who is messy, yet bright and full of hope, someone who every viewer will like and whose story they’ll become invested in. Two other instances where characterisation  is used particularly well are the development of Candy’s best friend, Annie Brighton, and her second love interest, Terry Grandchester. Annie starts off as a timid girl. After being adopted by a rich couple, she’s told to forget about her past at Pony’s home and her life as an orphan, and she obeys, cutting off contact with Candy and refusing to speak to her when they are reunited at boarding school years later. However, Annie then learns that her past isn’t something she needs to hide or be ashamed of, and her life at Pony’s home, as well as her friendship with Candy, isn’t something she can just erase, so she starts being herself and gradually becomes stronger, learning to stick up for herself when she’s bullied and not run away from difficult situations. Even though Annie wasn’t my favourite character, it was nice seeing her grow stronger and learn to accept herself despite the judgement she might have received. On the other hand, Terry is presented as the stereotypical bad boy when we first encounter him- he talks back to nuns, breaks school rules, gets into fights, smokes, and most of the girls have a crush on him. However, as he and Candy grow closer and he opens up, it becomes clear that he is a caring and loyal person who values those close to him, despite struggling to show it. The ultimate proof of this is him leaving the school so Candy wouldn’t be forced to. As he grows closer to Candy, he also relaxes a bit- he stops getting drunk and picking fights as he has someone who can help him now. Terry is also portrayed as vulnerable on occasion, which is a nice change from the usual tough and emotionless men in some anime. This is seen several times when it comes to his family issues, particularly his mother, who never truly cared about him, and when he’s forced to leave Candy, so he falls into despair. Overall, he’s a complex character with a well developed backstory and many nuances.)

Setting: 8.5/10 (As Candy moves around a lot, there is no “fixed,” setting, but rather a series of settings depending on the period of her life, all of which work well for that period and cater to it flawlessly. From the humble, yet comforting design of Pony’s home which perfectly illustrated the life Candy led there, to the grand mansions of the wealthy families she encounters later and the prestigious design of the boarding school she is sent to, the setting always perfectly matched and catered to that period in her life, with different times being associated to different settings. Some settings also present challenges, like the mansion Candy lives in when she’s finally adopted by Anthony Brown’s family. Because of her newly elevated status, she is expected to adapt and behave “like a lady” (which she still refuses to do, causing great friction between her and the mistress of the house))

Art style: 7.5/10 (The art style is a very typical one for older anime- I definitely like it, and most settings and characters are drawn with suitable pallets and a good level of detail to their character design. One thing that is definitely worth mentioning about the character design is the women’s clothes, which were a factor in spreading and popularising Lolita fashions- that type of dress is still very much appreciated today. There are some episodes where the quality of the animations isn’t great, and some side characters do not have much effort put in their design.)

Plot: 8/10 (Candy Candy has a very engaging plot- it’s dramatic and combines tragedy and romance with fighting to find your place in the world. The plot incorporates all these different elements by telling the story of Candy’s life from childhood to when she’s a young woman, with all her most significant experiences included, along with some relevant historical events in the background, like the outbreak of the first world war. The plot often has twists and is unpredictable, but it’s also full of filler arcs which have little to do with the main story and take away from the pace. I hated the ending, as it did not tie up all lose ends and felt unsatisfactory compared to the earlier build ups.)

Addictiveness: 7.5/10 (As aforementioned, the plot is engaging, unique and full of twists, and the changes in setting add a dynamic and adventurous thrill. The characters are also well developed and distinct, which makes the show reasonably addictive. However, the filler arcs sometimes take away from this by lasting a long time and contributing nothing to the main storyline, which means that, at certain points, it becomes easy to lose interest.)

Originality: 9/10 (The plot of the anime is a very unique one in my opinion- I haven’t seen anything like it. It combines several different genres and aspects of this girl’s life into one anime, and some of the subplots also add to that, such as when Candy is forced to travel away to work in Mexico, leaving her love behind. Candy herself is also quite distinct - she’s tough, determined and stubborn, but she also has a softer side to her, and longs to be treated like a princess.)

Comfort: 5/10 (Because this anime is synonymous with my late childhood and something I used to watch with my mother, it always brings me comfort. However, the tragedy element of the anime should not be taken lightly. Candy leads, all in all, a very difficult life full of misfortunes. As a baby, she’s left by her parents at an orphanage, and, when she’s older, she’s forced to part from her best friend, Annie, and later, the only family she ever knew when she’s adopted by a rich family. There, she has to endure constant alienation and bullying from every member of the family, and her love life is similarly full of highs and drastic lows. I hate to admit it, but the staircase scene with Terry Grandchester after the two realized they would have to part was the only anime scene to ever make me cry (I was properly sobbing too). However, there are also incredible highs after the lows, coming in the form of heartwarming romance scenes, wholesome family reunions, relaxed and funny scenes with Candy and her friends, or simply self discovery and improvement.)

Consistency: 6.5/10 ( The quality stays pretty consistent throughout the anime- there are some less enjoyable filler arcs, which don’t add much to the plot, but the only place the quality of the story really dips is at the end.)

Philosophy:  5/10 (As an anime, it’s not very deep or thought provoking, and there aren’t many lessons to learn from it, but there are some important ideas about trying to persevere in the face of grief and rebuilding your life, even when it feels like you’ve lost everything.)

The plot

Candy and Annie were left on the doorstep of an orphanage on a snowy day as babies, and found at the same time by the benevolent women who ran it. Ever since then, the two have been best friends and sisters, playing together every day, and deliberately putting people off of adopting them so that they could stay at the orphanage together. However, Annie is starting to really want parents, so when a rich couple offers to take her in (after Candy made a total spectacle of herself so they'd be put off) she accepts. Candy feels betrayed at first, but gradually comes to accept her friend's decision, and the two start writing letters to each other. However, one day, Candy receives one of these letters from Annie, and it says that they will be no longer able to communicate because her parents believe that, for her protection and to truly become their daughter, she needs to put her humble past behind her. Shortly after this happens, there's an offer from another wealthy family to adopt Candy, who accepts because their house is near Annie's. Right off the bat, the children of the family, Neal and Eliza, begin to pick on her and humiliate her. The mother makes it clear that she wasn't adopted as a daughter, but as a companion for Eliza. While Candy clashes heavily with the family, she soon makes friends with all the servants, who teach her a variety of things, and she makes an interesting discovery. Not too far from her new home is a mansion where 3 friendly guys live, and one of these, Anthony Brown, looks exactly like the "prince" she met one night when crying and alone. She soon becomes very good friends with all three, but what she feels for Anthony, with his soft, chivalrous ways and roses, evolves beyond simple friendship and puppy love. However, there are many obstacles to the two being happy together, and life can often bring about unfortunate tragedies when we least expect them. When that happens, Candy has no choice but to try to move on and rebuild her life.

Masterlist

[ootahime]

analyzing every gojohime moment in the manga >:) pt. 3

more and more paragraphs ahead.  BE PREPARED!

i’m also writing this at 3 am so please bear with the horrendous grammar and punctuation.

chapter 63

i know he’s probably like this with everyone but i love how excited he is bragging about his students to her.  he’s like a child telling his mother about an amazing adventure he had with his friends, making sure he mentions every detail.  in the anime, their conversation lasted for 3:41 :3 backwards 341 is 143 which means i love you.  

1 letter = i

4 letters = love

3 letters = you

chapter 63

i love her fit!  i also like how both of them like to wear baggy clothing that accentuates their collarbones `w` it’s like they’re matching in a way.  even if she did tell him to cut the crap, she still let him run his mouth to his content LOL i feel like if he didn’t compliment himself at the end, she would have said something different.  UGH HE LOOKS SO HAPPY CALLING HER

 ah, let me translate the conversation just in case anyone needs it.

utahime: you wanted to talk about the investigation, right?

gojo: well, got any idea who?

utahime: i have no idea.  no one seems suspicious.  what do we do now?  should we ask the students for help?

gojo: yeah, that’s fine.  i’m busy so asking the kids would be okay.  keep looking.  i’m counting on you.

I THINK THAT’S WHAT THEY’RE TRYING TO SAY.

OR it could mean that she’s asking if they should start investigating the students.  it would make sense either way because gojo says in the next panel that he doesn’t want to assume that the mole is a student, and in chapter 79, gojo sends the trio to utahime to help her.  

chapter 63

these two love their students to death.  neither of them wanted to assume that the mole was a student.  in chapter 79, when utahime is talking to the trio about the mole, nobara points out to the group that the traitor must be from kyoto because utahime is the one who’s reaching out to the tokyo side.  utahime has a dismal look on her face, almost like she’s saying, “i didn’t want it to turn out this way -- for this to be true.”  after mechamaru says his farewells to miwa on the train, mai tries to talk about what he did to which utahime says, “it doesn’t matter, he’s dead, after all,” with a similar sunken expression.  i just love how her care for the students is one of the biggest aspects of her personality that’s been showcased so far.  it’s also cool how it ties together with gojo’s belief that no child’s youth should be taken away.  i truly think these two have the capacity to understand each other to a deep level, down to the core.  seeing as utahime is also a teacher, it’s safe to assume that she also wants to raise the next generation of sorcerers to be strong.  utahime and gojo’s similarities and contrasting elements are so interwined, i really wonder if it’s intentional.  like am i looking too much into this?  are utahime and gojo really meant to be this connected?  think about it.  similar motivations, care of the kids, contrasting palettes, the bickering, long history.  IT’S JUST TOO MUCH. 

also can we mention how their phone calls and meetings must be heavily planned out?  this means they’ve talked and interacted with each other A LOT behind the scenes.  she doesn’t answer his call with “what do you want?  don’t bother me on my day off.”  she knows exactly why he’s calling her and they even speak in code.  she probably meets up with him and tells him to call her on a specific day and at a specific time.  they must know each other’s schedules very well in order to execute this investigation in complete secrecy.  when he says, “we can never be too sure who is listening in around utahime” it implies that they find calling a risk, so in order to guarantee that there is no one around, they have to meet up in person.  see where i’m getting at?  they talk A LOTTT and most likely are aware of each other’s daily lives.  

the fact that gojo is her main source of stress when he’s literally a 3 hour train ride away from her is hilarious LMAOOOO.  you know what that means, right?  he must call and text her constantly about random things to annoy her.  

chapter 65

ah yes, my favorite moment by far.  look at that smile on his face.  

chapter 65

he loves saying her name.  he probably rushed over with the sole purpose of doing something like this to her LMAOOOO like i mean, mei was in there with her so technically they both needed to be helped but judging from his words and expression, he only wanted to help utahime.  notice how mei’s not there in the debris.  could she possibly have suspected gojo’s presence or an outside force?  or was she fast enough to avoid being in the debris?  either way, her lack of presence in this scene helps highlight the fact that this is a special interaction between utahime and gojo.  he refers to her in a very familiar sense.  the most formal way to address someone is by their last name followed by the honorific, -san.  in gojo’s case, he should be calling her iori-san if they weren’t acquainted.  he doesn’t even bother to call her utahime-senpai.  granted, gojo is not the most respectful and socially competent person out there because geto points this out to him.  he isn’t even aware that she finds him annoying because he views her bad attitude toward him as her just playing along with him.  he probably thinks she’s flirting back LOLOL

since he asks her “you cryin?” that definitely means that gojo witnessed her crying on one occasion or maybe multiple.  who knows, the old utahime could have been a very emotional person.  while this is happening, mei is close to gojo, she then asks him if he would console her if she were to cry in a flirtatious manner.  gojo dismisses her attempt at flirting with him and says she won’t cry because she’s strong.  now normally, you’re supposed to face the person you’re talking to, GOJO.  he KEEPS his eyes on her even when more people come to join the conversation.  

now, we can all agree that geto, mei, and shoko are better at picking up social cues than gojo.  they probably knew the vibe of the conversation and decided to play along with gojo’s antics.  

chapter 65

WE were worried about you.

pay attention to the order of the characters that show up.  gojo makes his appearance first, then geto, followed by shoko.  based on utahime’s reaction to seeing shoko, it’s evident that these two share a close bond.  shouldn’t shoko be the one to arrive on the scene first?  she’s the closest to utahime and would therefore be more concerned about her condition, right?  i know shoko’s technique doesn’t really allow her to do anything other than treat the wounds of others, but if you heard your friend was missing, you would definitely rush to the scene.  

look at geto’s reaction when mei says, “you’re the one who’s picking on her, geto.  you don’t even know it.”  i think it’s mei who’s saying this because gojo calls geto “suguru”.  but anyway, mei is aware that they’re picking on her.  i don’t think she’s the type to legitimately bully someone for their strength.  her reaction to all of this is very playful and her “heh heh heh” is proof of that.  when geto shows up and swallows the curse before it gets to utahime, he says, “satoru.  it’s not nice to pick on the weak.”  by saying this, he pisses utahime off because he too, is joining in on gojo’s joke.  i believe he’s unaware that he’s making fun of utahime because his reaction is “gah!” with a sweatdrop.  he probably thought gojo was making fun of weak people in general.  

geto’s usually a gentleman seeing as it is canon that he is more popular with girls than gojo.  BUT WHO KNOWS...you gotta be a specific type of person to be best friends with gojo.  maybe he ain’t shit too...  okay, my point is that everyone is just playing along.  when shoko shows up, utahime is relieved to see her because shoko doesn’t tease her like this.  since utahime tells shoko to not become like those two, this implies that geto teases her as well (probably not as much as gojo).  we all know geto is really big on looking out for the weak so he probably wouldn’t have insulted her for real.  

verdict: utahime being weak is just a joke.  i’ve mentioned this so many times, sorry if it’s getting annoying and repetitive hehehehehe...

chapter 65

these three aren’t irresponsible.  geto and gojo are a troublesome duo for sure, but they’re dependable.  seems unlike them to forget something so simple and essential to pretty much every mission.   

chapter 65

here’s my headcanon.  they were hanging outside or in the car when their assistant manager got a call.  the assistant was informed that two days have elapsed since mei and utahime went on their mission (or last contacted someone).  

gojo: that’s weird.  mei’s with her so they should have finished exorcising the spirit sooner.

geto: you think something happened to them?  maybe it’s a strong special grade.

gojo: utahime probably dragged mei down with her.  poor mei-san~  

gojo gets up 

geto: where are you going?  

gojo: going to save utahime!  it’s fine i’ll put up a curtain!

manager: gojo wait!!!!!!!!!!!

geto sighs

shoko: that idiot’s always running off without us.

they pin the blame on gojo for saying that he’ll put up a curtain and leaving the assistant manager behind.  you know what this means?  he ran and the manager couldn’t catch up HEHE... why the rush, gojo?  were you actually concerned about her?  

tbh i don’t see gojo ever running to something unless it’s urgent.  the fact that he ran to save her says a lot.  

----

let me know if you have any thoughts or questions!  i forgot to add this but gojo had a more serious expression when he was explaining how they must’ve been trapped in a barrier that messes with time.  he then states, “we thought it was weird even though you’re here, mei.”  i know he was probably worried sick because if mei couldn’t be contacted then that means something must’ve happened to utahime too.  okay that’s it for now.  i’ll be bringing up this little detail i’ve noticed about utahime in the manga next :3

[blisschi]

Hi, can i request a zhongli x male reader angst to fluff hanahaki au where male reader was a God a long time ago who died to hanahaki because of zhongli and guizhong, but male reader is resurrected as a mortal and zhongli sees them again

Hey! I'm not completely sure if that is what you meant nonnie, but this idea was stuck in my head for a while now and I just had to write it! It's certainly not one of my best pieces but.. I hope you like it.. 💕

🌸In another life🌸

Pairing: Zhongli x Hanahaki! M! Reader

Warnings: Major Character Death, Angst to Fluff..? I think.. It's really bittersweet.

Notes: u_u ... I can't english

Zhongli turned his head towards the storyteller, who clearly caught his attention with the words that just left his mouth. Although for most people it was unknown, forgotten, Zhongli never forgot a single event in the story he started.

"Once upon a time, there was a young god who loved every creature in Tayvat."

He lowered the cup that he was holding, focusing his attention on the words of the story.

They always started out the same.

"The god that loved every creature in Tayvat, the same god that would offer everything to everyone by his love, lost life."

They always ended the same way.

Zhongli closed his eyes and took a deep breath, remembering the moment he met the young man with a smile on his face.

The man told him that he was visiting Liyue out of sheer curiosity, and that he was coming back to it out of curiosity as well.

"Do you think I could be any kind of a threat to you?" You laughed softly, turning your head towards your friend. Although you were a weak god and you were far from strong, somehow the Geo Archon decided to devote a moment of his attention to you. The moment that sprouted into feeling.

Morax smiled slightly and walked closer to you, gazing out at the sea of ​​clouds.

"Things that are dangerous, not often have to look like a threat."

Just like love.

Love can be beautiful, but won't it turn into poison in the blink of an eye as soon as you lose control of it?

Like flowers, can delight with their amazing charm, when their roots must dig into the very center of the heart, almost breaking it.

"He taught him to understand."

"The young god introduced himself by the name [Y / N]. He befriended Rex Lapis, despite different views and observations." The storyteller continued.

Zhongli looked down at his cup, half full of tea. His mind was full of the thoughts he always chose to leave to himself. He thought that from the mortals, he probably would never hear this name again.

Morax sighed softly, smiling as you pulled his hand along the fields of flowers. He never really understood why you loved them so much, but he could accept that the time you spent with them made you feel relaxed.

"You have some really beautiful plants here, you know?" You laughed as you let go of his hand and ran to one of the trees, immediately sitting under it. The other male calmly approached you and watched as one of the butterflies sat on your finger.

Maybe it was your charm that all creatures loved so much? Until then, he was unable to answer this question. Why did he choose to protect you? Is it because he really thought you were a dear friend to him? Maybe it was because you seemed so vulnerable and weak, just making him feel pity.

You lifted your hand up, showing the creature to your friend. It's wings were golden that gleamed like the light of the setting sun.

"It's so small. but it was not afraid to sit on my finger.. just like I was not afraid to make contact with you, Morax." Glistening pupils looked at you now, taking their attention away from the butterfly. "If you wanted to, I would have been lying underground a long time ago. If you only thought that I was a threat.. ha.."

You laughed softly as you watched the butterfly fly away from your sight.

"You wouldn't hesitate to attack me, would you?"

"He taught him to look up to the future."

Sometimes being weak has its advantages. Not everyone sees you as their enemy, the stronger will usually ignore you, or offer help caused by feelings of pity. Pity over your existence and weakness.

Where do you see this land in a few hundred years, Morax? It was one of your first questions to him that he had to think seriously about. Of course, he cared about Liyue, but admittedly he never thought about what everything would look like in the future.

Will he still dominate these beautiful landscapes? Will he still be able to be called their Archon?

"He taught him to take care."

Zhongli smiled, closing his eyes. He would never have thought it would end this way. True, his life was not over, but the divine era certainly came to an end. People, although weak - will cope.

A soft laugh broke the silence in the room as you ran one hand through the god's hair. This was one of those days where you spent time together, without any worries. You gently braided Morax's hair, smiling to yourself.

"Maybe you should wear this hairstyle more often?" You asked, gently tangling some pieces of flowers into his hair. He just closed his eyes and relaxed in the feeling of your touch. Your hands always seemed extremely delicate. "No? The great god who rules over all Liyue doesn't have time to spend a few minutes making a hairstyle?"

"I didn't say anything." The man sighed and turned to face you. "Why should I worry about a trivial thing like my hair?"

You raised your eyebrows and tilted your head slightly, apparently surprised by his answer.

"Isn't it nicer to look at Liyue when everything is in its place?" You asked, getting up from the ground and placing both of your hands on his shoulders. "If you take care of every smallest element.. eventually these elements will fit together and create perfection.. No matter if it is the perfect weapon.. power.. or hairstyle.."

You were happy watching your friend become attached to more people. At first you enjoyed it, you thought you helped him open up to the world. On your journey together, you met a large number of amazing beings, but suddenly one goddess appeared that seemed to take the person dearest to you away.

"The young god taught him feelings that Rex Lapis did not understand before. He helped him open up to new things, to new people."

Zhongli gritted his teeth as he remembered the rest of the story. Even though you taught him so much, he still understood so little back then.

"[Y / N] had feelings for Morax stronger than to any other being. But it was not his will that made the love strong." The storyteller continued, drawing the attention of more people. "For one-sided love is the strongest. For one-sided love hurts the most."

Goddess of dust, beautiful and gentle, good-hearted and wise. She was a weak god, just like you, maybe that was why Morax had paid more attention to her back then? Maybe he forgot that in fact your strenght was nothing, but his presence near you. He spent every free moment with the goddess. You dreamt that he could give you more attention, but apparently it was not given to you.

You taught him so much and all he offered you was jealousy. Jealousy was eating you from the inside as you saw the goddess slowly pull Morax towards her. It hurt your heart when you had the opportunity to meet a man less and less. But you yourself didn't have the heart to stop it all, because you knew that this goddess meant well for him.

You understood that it was easy to fall in love with someone like him.

"The years passed, the gods drifted apart. The young god was helping Rex Lapis to understand the newer and newer feelings that the goddess had helped him to experience this time."

You understood that you are not the only one who deserves this feeling to be returned.

Zhongli shook his head and opened his eyes, staring at his reflection in the already cold tea. If he knew you thought so.. If he knew he was slowly breaking your heart while spending time with the goddess, it would have all ended differently.

Anyway, it never came out of his mouth that they were 'just friends', it never came out of his mouth that they were something more..

Zhongli clenched his fist, remembering your last moments with him. He remembered your tears, your painful, but smiling face.

"Over time, his feelings did not diminish, but bloomed like the flower buds that he admired so much on his first visit to Liyue. The feeling became unbearable, breaking his heart, hurting him, making him even weaker. The young god then wanted the feeling of love to become something alien to him. "

He remembered you asking him to tell you one of the old stories that he once told you at the beginning of your friendship.

"Why do you suddenly want to hear it? I must say, it's not one of the most interesting ones.."

You laughed quietly, but apart from the laughter, a choked cough escaped your mouth, which you tried to hide with all your might.

"It just.. this story really brings me good memories.. remember? You told it to me when we were sitting under the same tree.. years ago.."

Morax closed his eyes and leaned against the tree, staring up at the sky.

"Well then.."

Zhongli stared at his hands placed on the table in front of him. If he himself lost his life, would he be able to meet you again?

"It was their last meeting. The young god left after him nothing but flowers, which slowly choked him from the inside. Rex Lapis never lost the abilities he had received from his friend. Rex Lapis never forgot, he carried his feelings to the end. One can only hope that after the death of the God of Geo, the two met again."

"Master Zhongli, right?" A soft voice snapped him out of his thoughts, making him look up at the person that called his name. "Can I sit here?"

A joyful smile on the face of a stranger, unusually similar to the smile of a young god who left this world many years ago. The same gaze, that looked at his face with love and affection.

Zhongli nodded slightly, not taking his eyes away from the face of the newly met person.

"I see you here a lot, so I figured I'd introduce myself!" The male laughed, painting a smile on Zhongli's face as he reached towards the consultant. "[Y/N]."

"Maybe in another life, they'll be happy together'."

[guardianspirits13]

I wanna talk about Natsuo Todoroki for a second here.

tw// mentions of abuse, self harm, and suicide

Natsuo visibly has the most emotional trauma out of anyone else in his family (Touya not included), and I really wanna talk about why that is.

For starters, we haven't seen him really smile since he was introduced in chapter 187. He's introduced as having a friendly, easygoing persona and it's easy to imagine this is how most people outside of his family know him. However, every time we see him appear since then, another layer of his trauma is revealed and expanded upon, and it cuts DEEP.

I think the main reason that Natsuo still seems so vulnerable compared to the rest of his family is different than what you'd assume. Fuyumi and Shouto both spend a lot of time around Endeavor, and have been in close proximity to his (relatively recent) decision to atone. They have seen his growth firsthand and come to terms with it. Rei has obviously taken a very different path to healing- not entirely voluntarily- but she has been working with doctors and therapists for years to change and recover and reconnect with herself and her children. Natsuo is off at college, and takes every opportunity he can to avoid Endeavor. He (understandably) wants nothing to do with him, and shows stagnant resistance to his attempts to atone.

The reason why Natsuo can't move on from the past is because his trauma didn't come from Endeavor. It came from Touya.

Now initially we were led to believe that it was simply Touya's untimely death that still bothers Natsuo, and it makes sense seeing how Endeavor drove him to the edge. Losing his best friend and brother as a young kid without parents to support him or any therapist to speak of can absolutely been the source of persistent emotional damage, but the more and more we learn about Touya's situation, the more evident it becomes that Natsuo's trauma is much much deeper than even grief.

Touya, as we know, was driven by an ambition instilled in him by his father and experienced extreme rejection sensitivity when those ambitions were no longer realistic. Touya's relationship with his parents could be described as insecure attachment, a psychological term primarily regarding how kids react and respond to their parents and other close relationships. As he was raised, Touya learned to equate his potential to be a hero with his personal worth and similarly confounded attention with love. The difference being, of course, that love is unconditional, but even attention was being continually directed away from him as a punishment for continuing to train and burn himself so he could once again become worthy in his fathers' eyes.

This is where Natsuo comes in. At first it was assumed that all of the Todoroki children were born out of Endeavor's strong-willed desire to have a child that could surpass All Might, but we learned that this isn't exactly the case. I'd argue that it was narratively poetic on Horikoshi's part once this was expanded upon. Fuyumi was born to support and encourage her brother, and that is the exact role she plays 23 years later, keeping her family together.

Natsuo's case is even more intersting.

It was bad enough if Natsuo was only born for the potential of his quirk, but it's even more sinister that the sole intent behind his birth was to discourage Touya from his ambitions. I'd say it was to replace him, but it was more to promote the idea that Touya was expendable than to raise aonther kid with the same ideals but the potential to actually achieve it, although that was definitely a secondary motivation.

The parallelism in this is how much Natsuo's life revolves around Touya. He was born because of Touya, he looked up to and took care of Touya as a kid, and the absence of Touya in the present continues to drive him and his decisions in life (but more on that later).

I continue to pray that we will eventually get more solid backstory on Natsuo and Touya's relationship as kids and where it cut off, wether on a bad note or not, but there are a few things we know for certain. One, Touya was mentally ill. Yes, he was rejected by his parents but he seems to have been particularly vulnerable to this compared to any of his siblings since he was the first of them and thus relied only on his parents for validation in his early years. He shows early signs of a variety of different mental disorders, particularly BPD, which I have previously written a whole analysis for on its own. Touya is shown self-harming both by the very nature of his quirk and even by very directly ripping his hair out. He was incredibly self-destructive.

This is why it is so much more concerning to me that Natsuo, who was AT LEAST four years younger than him, was his primary source of comfort. Natsuo was too young to have known anything more than 'my big brother is sad that daddy won't train him anymore' and he obviously wasn't equipped in any way to handle Touya's severe mental illness. Touya most definitely needed professional treaatment as his forms of coping were abnormal even for the neglect and rejection that he experienced. Natsuo comforted Touya through breakdown after breakdown, and more than that Touya relied on him and came to him voluntarily for support. Natsuo was the best option he had, and he took full advantage of that. The main source of Natsuo's trauma was Touya's reliance on him.

Not to say at all that this was in any way Touya's fault- he was mentally ill and desperately in need of some form of comfort to keep him sane; it was almost a survival method at this point since neither of his parents really acknowleged him at all anymore. Touya's instability hurt Natsuo more than parental neglect ever did, but it was the neglect that enabled it and striped Touya of the supportive atmosphere he would have needed at this point not only to prevent but to heal from the mental damage he had already suffered.

Natsuo dealt with this for years and you can see how much it hurt him to see Touya in so much pain, not only from Endeavor's rejection but from his own self harm as well. For Natuso to know that his brotherly love would never be the same as having loving parents; would neve be enough- but at least it was something so he continued to love and care about his brother for little in return- is indicative of the kind of character he is.

(Edit: After the events of chapter 302 we know that Natsuo's relationship with Touya wasn't perfect. I will elaborate more on this in a different post, but I just wanted to clarify that although we were shown a very high-tension scene between them, it is implied that this was a regular occurrence that Natsuo was usually more receptive too but tired out of, in addition to Touya's spiraling mental health. It fit with the natrative to show the tension Touya was feeling with his family from all directions, but Natsu and Touya clearly had a stronger relationship up to and before this point, evidenced by their sharing a room and playing together regularly.)

He is incredibly selfless, and it's interesting to note how many of his positive qualities as an adult stem from negative experiences as a kid. He never really felt love from his parents, so he relied on Touya (and likely also Fuyumi) for that as well. If he grew up learning he had to give love in order to recieve it back, it absolutely influenced who he became in the future, a solid example of this being the responsibility he feels to reach out and have a relationship with Shouto and further regrets that he wasn't able to help his abuse in the past either. Another aspect of his character that intruigues me is how gentle he is. Personality-wise he seems about as opposite as he could be from the awkward, stoic, emotionally-stunted person that is Endeavor.

There are a couple of reasons for this, beyond what I've already discussed.

One, he had little to no contact with elements of toxic masculinity growing up, especially not from Endeavor.

Two, most of the influence he did have growing up was from Fuyumi, who is established to have endlessly cared for him since he was a literal baby.

Three, he grew up in a household where almost everyone around him was in much more literal, immediate pain than he was so he developed a very strong sense of empathy that might also have been tied to early survivor's guilt.

Now I have one important distinction to make, and that's the temptation to label him as a 'softboy' or something of the like after seeing him caring for his family and more pointedly, watching him break down in tears during chapter 252. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with men being soft or vulnerable (on the contrary it's actually so so important and relevant that Hori is writing characters like this in a mainstream shounen manga but that's an essay for another time), it is unfair to label him as such based on a moment when his trauma is being exposed.

Because his truama stems from such a young age, there is a blurry line between just being born with more emotional intelligence and the situation he was in fostering those traits. You know, the classic nature/nurture thing. My point being, it's important to tread carefully when discussing the nature of his personality to avoid invalidating his trauma; I have no doubt that he is very strong for having survived these things, and the moments we see of him onscreen are definitely among his most vulnerable.

Another thing that people less familiar with Natsuo's character might assume is that he is hot-headed and argumentative. I thought that at first too- after all, he doesn't seem to shy away from yelling at Endeavor when given the opportunity. However, this doesn't seem to be the case at all.

The first real scene we see him in with Endeavor, the man walks into the room and Natsuo decides he can't handle it and goes to leave. However, Endeavor happens to be blocking the doorway. Endeavor physically stops him and provokes him to his face, asking him to say whatever is on him mind. While Natsuo is notably not confrontational, Endeavor is. I think it's fair to say that he felt at least uneasy at this gesture. Natsuo is very honest with his feelings, and it's obvious that he's pissed at the audacity of Endeavor to be so oblivious to his own son. This is presumably one of the first real interactions they've ever really had, and at this point Natsuo has been dealing with trauma (caused by Endeavor!) on his own for years, and Endeavor seems completely oblivious to his pain and dismmisive to the rest of the family's as well.

Again during the internship arc Natsuo tries to get along with Endeavor and this time he actually gives it a fleeting chance. Tensions are high, however, and the conversation very quickly becomes uncomfortable, at which point he leaves. It is continually implied that Natsuo is uncomfortable being around Endeavor because his very presence brings up painful thoughts and memories of a time when sharing the same space as him was a warning to run and hide. This is later directly confirmed by Natsuo as he says that every time he looks at Endeavor's face he remembers Touya and the pain he was in.

I feel like an important side note is that we have never seen Natsuo outside the context of his family, which is understandable, as the role he plays in the story directly relates to them. However, if you take a look at Shouto, even though his experiences have shaped him to become who he is, he definitely acts differently when Endeavor's not in the vicinity.

Back to Touya's death, it would be very rare that someone would mourn a death for an entire decade without finding closure unless there are other factors preventing it, and uncomfortably this seems to be the same thing for both Natsuo and Endeavor: guilt.

This is getting incredibly long already, but it's important to note that Natsuo probably felt an incredible responsibility to take care of Touya and protect him because of his empathetic nature. His love was never going to be the same as having loving parents. His encouragement was never going to be the same as having support from Endeavor. Even further than then neglect and abandonement, it was not being able to save Touya that really made Natsuo feel worthless.

He seems to try and remedy this inability to save Touya and diminish his guilt by doing everything he can to be better. He reaches out to Shouto to be a better brother, he consistently pushes his limits to entertain Fuyumi's notion of a happy family, and he's working hard towards a degree rhat will allow him to help people like Touya (and Rei) because he failed to do so in the past.

His bio mildly implies that he didn't have much of a direction he was heading in after high school, but Fuyumi's encouragement led him to seek out his current college career. This goes back to Natsuo's 'purpose' in a sense revolving arount Touya, from his birth to his relationship with him to his death, after which he lost his direction. They were always rather inseperable, so naturally their seperation hit Natsuo hard. He lost his direction in life so when Fuyumi encouraged him to rediscover it, he thought of helping people, because that's ultimately what he was born to do.

Thank you so, so much for reading this if you made it to the end! I clearly have a lot of thoughts on this. Let me know what you think about it as well, and hopefully we'll get more info on this soon in the manga :)

[cosmicangst]

hi! i saw that you play tears of themis and your fav is artem, so i wanted to ask if you could do an analysis on marius and his relationship with the mc? <3

omg ok marius is a dark horse because i didn't expect to like him so much and artem is my bias as a character and partner (for me specifically! lol) but marius's relationship w rosa is my fave if that makes sense? so some stuff here is supplanted by my hcs and conjectures and i’ve only reached up to part 2 of episode 5 so bear w me if any info here isn’t entirely on the nose

i’ll preface w a necessary joseimuke tangent that a common otome theme is unequal power dynamics involved in class/career/status positions (which is part of the appeal and the fantasy), with the male character’s entrance into the mc’s static life more often that not being the inciting incident of the story rather than the reverse. in these fish out of water stories, the fish is usually the mc; she enters his world rather than the other way around, which can sometimes result in a very rigid and gender-normative outcome. in the worst of it, especially where the mc is purely designed to act as a placeholder for the reader and lacks personality, her character development is mainly to fill in an emotional/nurturing caretaker position while the male love interest takes on the role of an actual protagonist (i.e. he is more active in driving the story and shaping his environment, gets all the action moments, his inner world is more respected than hers and hers just completely hinges on his). so all of this just results in a one sided (or at least one sided portrayal of a) relationship… which isn’t that appealing imo

so one of the standouts with tot even as they ascribe by some usual tropes is rosa herself. the usual mold of many otome mcs is the yamato nadeshiko, the japanese ideal of femininity: virtuous, gentle, nurturing, demure, and humble. rosa has elements of this but the thing is she’s also a really really excellent attorney even just starting out. to be good at that kind of job requires keeping a sharp and rational head, being confrontational and persuasive, and asserting yourself at the opportune moments — traits which are all traditionally considered masculine.

marius is an artist. he’s a ceo w a sharp business acumen, intelligence, and even cunning but when he chose a path, he picked up a paintbrush first. he appreciates aesthetics, ideals and the inner life of people (as expressed through his art) more than ambition or mind games suited to running a business, his primary motivation is derived from his relationships with his family and supporting the nxx, and he’s running the company for duty and others’ sake rather than his own. if anything marius fits a caretaker mold more than miss “married to her work” does

as for the wealth disparity, it’s more a source of exasperation and potential point of conflict than it is a reason for her deference or a source of attraction. if it helps with the mission fine but she'll snark about it and his privilege lol which is a nice departure from the usual rich man/everywoman route

so whenever marius and rosa interact, they feel like they’re on a level playing field not just in their relationship but in how the story treats them. they feel like two young adults trying to make sense of their early 20s, their careers, and all the upheaval happening in their city. another notable significance is that marius is the only love interest that she's consistently antagonistic with (playfully...most of the time). she has nothing but respect for artem and vyn and while she'll playfully rib and tease luke as close friends do, marius's irreverence and put-on rich boy smugness always has her geared towards attack mode to bring him down a peg just in case.

the antagonism is mostly a front and for jokes but how often do we get an mc who’s just prickly and ill-disposed? that fact that he inspires a less “likable” side from her adds a unique aspect to their relationship. mainly since it also highlights a layer in the mc’s personality that makes her feel like her own person with agency and her own opinions rather than a passive audience surrogate. the fact that he’s also younger and still obviously trying to figure things out for himself also adds a nice slight “noona romance” vibe in disrupting the usual power dynamics. in this sense marius has to work a little harder than the others for her to consider him as a long term romantic partner or even at least acknowledge her genuine admiration of him. she wouldn’t poke if she knew he couldn’t take it but because they keep things so facetious i don’t think she realizes the extent of how much he deeply desires her respect and esteem as an equal. they both know that his devil may care rich playboy persona is just an act but after playing the part for so long i honestly think that as confident as he is, marius also can’t help his fear in what being completely open with her would entail. not that she’d be fooled enough to buy the facade like everyone else but that she’d see right through him and still find nothing in him that she would want. because while he truly doesn’t care how others judge him, she’s a different story

yet in the same vein i don’t think he can resist it either. it’s interesting that they have this contradictory dichotomy of being very comfortable w one another but also still holding each other at a certain distance. he wants her to get to know him truly even as he’s reluctant to show his entire hand. they talk seriously about their goals and worries and couch it around lightheartedness and their usual rapport. his feelings come through the most w his love language (guess which one) which we might just easily dismiss as him being materialistic but i think genuinely is his truest way of showing affection

the first time they met i think marius kept flirting and making her flustered because it’s his habit. he liked her well enough and probably didn’t consciously realize when his feelings became more serious. upon getting to know her and vice versa, he kept it up because he doesn’t have much faith in retaining her attention without it. the teasing and come-ons for the most part are just a guard. he figures it’s easier for him to deal with if she doesn't like his act since it’s technically not him. yet he desires her focus so he’ll risk instigating her exasperation bc it’s the most sure fire way to get her to keep looking at him. if he gets to be in her head even as “that annoying ceo”, he’ll take it because it means that he’s become an indelible part of her life. additionally im sure he just likes the act of teasing her because of how many yes mans and players w agendas he must have witnessed his father and brother deal with secondhand and how much more now that he’s the one facing them.

he likes that she’s kind of rude and upfront with him. it makes him feel like a normal person and less a means to an end or a tabloid subject. it’s fun to tease her and be pushy bc it must be hard to find friends to be yourself with and let loose when you’re uncertain about people’s motivations, on whether they’re there for your money or for you. i gather maybe outside of his family and a few close allies/friends, being raised in the spotlight and becoming the self-proclaimed rebel must have been lonely in ways that marius probably hides and affects w that impetuous and carefree attitude. and rosa who couldn’t give a shit about wealth or influence gives him that opportunity to be marius without the von hagen name attached

and on rosa’s side, i think she keeps her distance and pretends that hes like a pesky little brother because she recognizes that realistically any relationship with him would pose a lot of challenges that she doesn’t know if she’s equipped to handle. rosa works as an attorney and joins the nxx because she wants to defend people and fight injustice. her coming to the spotlight is just a side effect from working high profile cases (which markedly enough really only begins with marius’s case) and not something she actively sought for. witnessing the ways in which wealth and fame can inspire ugly behaviors in people, i don’t blame her for being wary in potentially entering a world like that esp with her relationships at the scrutiny of basically everyone else but her and marius. she’s genuinely attracted to him and his flirting is frustrating because it can be annoying but she construes it as just him messing around and trying to get a reaction from her as usual. i think a big part of her believes that marius isn’t genuinely interested in her as a serious partner and that he’s mainly acting out of habit (which may have been initially true). and being such a career woman (and also bc of how the game logistically functions in that rosa’s desires for the men can’t be made explicit except maybe outside of sr/ssr cards and personal stories lest the devs be accused of favoritism), she is pretty oblivious or at least willfully in denial w the guys’ romantic designs and interest on her and vice versa. so rosa’s investment in her side of things is mainly expressed in between the lines

and what they tell us is that she does know who he is. she can see him and cares for him even as she’s shutting him down in the same breath. she pays attention to what he does and what his actions tell her beyond the front of his words. she recognizes the ways he might be shackled by virtue of his position (and somewhat by his own volition) and insists that he’s “on the verge of breaking free” i really don’t think she’d have smug, flirty and passionate marius any other way even if it meant having to deal w some bad pick up lines forever

anyway i love them. i think their relationship inherently opens up a lot of possibilities that can be interesting for future conflicts and character growth. plus they’re a lot of fun

[iamthenightcolormeblack]

Impressions of Bride and Prejudice (2004)

I finally watched this movie as it is currently free on YouTube! It's a really interesting "modern-day" adaptation (specifically a Bollywood musical) of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice which takes place in Amritsar, India, London, England and California, USA instead of the English countryside. It stars Aishwarya Rai as Elizabeth Bennet (now Lalita Bakshi) and Martin Henderson as Mr. Darcy (William Darcy).

Names:

Bakshis = Bennets

Jaya Bakshi = Jane Bennet

Lalita Bakshi = Elizabeth Bennet

Maya Bakshi = Mary Bennet

Lakhi Bakshi = Lydia Bennet (Kitty isn't included here)

Kholi Saab = Mr. Collins

Balraj = Bingley

Chandra Lamba = Charlotte Lucas

Kiran = Caroline Bingley

Darcy's mother (Catherine Darcy) = Lady Catherine de Bourgh

The Casting:

Aishwarya Rai as Lalita Bakshi. She's captivating and beautiful as Lalita, with intelligence and wits to match. The film understands why Elizabeth Bennet is one of literature's greatest heroines: she has a lot of self-respect, speaks her mind, and refuses to compromise on her values. What's most important is that she achieves the balance between the two clashing cultures: she cares about her family and respects Indian traditions yet is also a strong individual who keeps her dignity.

Martin Henderson as William Darcy. I don't like that Darcy is an American in this movie because (in general) Americans are usually less reserved than British people, so it takes away a key part of Darcy's character (his repressed emotions). He's much more sympathetic than book Darcy because he seems to be more open-minded towards Indian culture the more he learns about it (unlike book Darcy, who is stubborn and insists that his "good opinion once lost is lost forever"). In the book, Darcy's pride has several characteristics (belief in the correctness of his opinions, belief in his social superiority, bad treatment of others he thinks is beneath him). I don't like how the film simplified his pride into imperialism/ethnocentrism, which he lets go of pretty quickly. Plus his "rudeness" can easily be perceived as discomfort in a new cultural environment because he hasn't been exposed to Indian culture, whereas in the book it seems to be intentional (and Darcy acknowledges to Elizabeth that he was taught to treat others beyond his own social circle meanly). Overall I had rather too much sympathy for him because he's too easy to read; he's experiencing a lot of culture shocks which he isn't prepared for, and his imperialistic beliefs (which come from his mother) don't help. One of the reasons book Darcy is interesting is because he's mysterious; his emotions remain hidden and the only sign of his growing love for Elizabeth is his staring at her. This Darcy is just a typical white American boy who is in love with a woman far superior to him in terms of intellect and cultural awareness.

Nitin Ganatra as Kohli Saab. Mr. Collins is one of my favorite cringe characters ever and never fails to disappoint. In this movie, he's an accountant who lives in the Beverly Hills area in Southern California and is very arrogant because he thinks he's a big shot living close to celebrities in a one-of-a-kind colonial home (when in actuality he lives in a cookie-cutter house in a suburb). He peppers his speech with Western slang to show off how "American" (and thus wealthy) he is, yet still clings to outmoded beliefs that women should be submissive housewives. He represents the very worst of Western culture in that he's materialistic and looks down on Indian culture as beneath him. In his quest for riches he has lost his Indian identity and become greedy.

Notable Scenes:

The first dance. Balraj is happy to have fun and show off his awesome dancing skills. Darcy, meanwhile, observes that the mothers are eyeing Balraj for the marriage market and is worried that his friend may be trapped by gold-diggers. He's clearly uncomfortable and out of his element here, so Kiran helps translate the songs for him. It's interesting seeing Kiran as a translator here because it would explain why she's one of the few people Darcy hangs out with; she's a cultural intermediary here to help him acclimate to a strange new environment.

Darcy snubs Lalita. This part in the book where Darcy insults Elizabeth by proclaiming her "tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me" is significant in forming Elizabeth's hatred of Darcy. Not only is he impolite in refusing to dance with Elizabeth, he also shames her by criticizing her looks. In the movie, Darcy excuses himself from dancing with Lalita by saying that he's busy preparing for a conference (in this version, he's a rich businessman who operates luxury hotels). I wish they had kept the original insult in because without it, Lalita's dislike of Darcy has less merit. While it was impolite of him to not dance, he did use a proper excuse and didn't insult Lalita, so unlike in the book, it doesn't make sense why she would hate him so intensely after that one meeting.

A Marriage Has Come to Town song. In this song-and-dance number, Lalita and Jaya are preparing for the wedding to Balraj. The whole town is excited for the wedding and Lalita wonders if life for a woman is all about getting married to be a mere wife: "It seems they had nothing in their lives before today / and why are they so happy to give a daughter away."

Darcy and Lalita conversation #1: Lalita points out most Amritsar residents can't afford to stay at Darcy's luxury hotels; Darcy says standards are necessary, justifying the high price. Darcy says he finds arranged marriages strange and "backwards," hinting at an affinity with Lalita as they are both "romantics." Lalita, still thinking that Darcy is attempting to insult Indian culture, says that arranged marriages have evolved and may not be so evil as he thinks it is.

Lalita and Darcy "accomplished woman" scene. So they have the part from the book where they have Darcy's unrealistic list of the characteristics of his perfect woman and then it becomes a culture clash. Lalita says Darcy's whole hotel business is imperialism (the tourists visit without appreciating Indian culture and the jobs created only benefit the well-off). Darcy replies: "But I'm not British" ("American exceptionalism" is just another form of imperialism).

Dinner with Kohli Saab. I love watching all the "Dinner with Mr. Collins" scenes from all Pride and Prejudice adaptations because it reveals Collins' great arrogance in assuming himself to be of greater importance than he is, as well as his bad manners. This movie does not disappoint; Kohli Saab literally eats with his fingers, shoving rice into his mouth while talking at the same time. Meanwhile, he spews out misogynistic views of women, stating that he came to India to find a "traditional" wife who will serve and obey him; after all, there is "no life without wife." He notes that the Indian-American girls have "a conceited sort of independence" (not what he actually said in the movie, this is a quote from the book which really fits here) and that some of the Indian-American girls "have turned into the lesbian." Lalita later recalls that watching Kohli Saab eat is like observing "a Jackson Pollock painting."

"No Life Without Wife" song. An accurate reading of Kholi Saab: he's "crude and loud" and came to find a wife by flashing his "green card, new house, and big cash." The song reveals what a hypocrite he is; he's lonely and pathetic because there is "no life without wife" yet he won't respect his wife as his equal. I love the "Kohliwood" fantasy sequence where Lalita pictures herself unhappily serving Kohli as a submissive wife. After the song ends Lalita imagines herself marrying Wickham in the English countryside before it turns out Darcy is the groom; she runs away from him.

The Cobra dance. Maya shows off her dancing skills in an awkward dance. Kholi criticizes Indians for being "unsophisticated" (what an arrogant person) while Darcy, in a change of heart, praises how highly they value family.

Kholi's proposal. I love how he tries to train himself to power walk because it's trendy and before proposing stretches himself clumsily, knocking over a pot (he definitely isn't husband material). Lalita mocks Kholi's obsession with physical health, pointing out that many people are physically healthy but don't exercise their minds.

Visiting Kiran. Kiran is arrogant and takes the Bakshis over to her fancy apartment where the mother tries and fails to show some cultural knowledge. I find it interesting that the movie made Lalita and Kiran foils of each other. They are both intelligent women who are "multicultural" in that they can navigate both Indian and Western culture, but they use their cultural knowledge in different ways. Kiran uses it to belittle others and demonstrate her own superiority, while Lalita uses it as a means of gaining respect for herself and others.

Darcy ends up on the same airplane flight as Lalita. This is a cute scene where he gives the first class seat to Mrs. Bakshi just so he can sit with Lalita in economy class (he's totally in love with her!).

Kohli Saab's epic house tour. Love how he pays great attention to the jet tubs and the closets.

Meeting Darcy's mom. She's totally ethnocentric and possibly racist. The first thing she asks Lalita is "tell me about India" and she expresses her disappointment at Darcy's decision (because of Lalita, it's so obvious he's in love) not to buy the hotel in India because "everybody has their hand on India these days" (brings to mind spheres of influence/colonialism since the mother sees India as a place to make a profit). Then the mother reveals that she really isn't interested in India and only knows about its stereotypes: "well, with yoga, and spices, and...wonderful Eastern things here there's no point in traveling there anymore." Meanwhile Lalita retorts that "people haven't stopped going to Italy because Pizza Hut's around the corner."

The first proposal. Darcy's conflicted feelings for Lalita are effectively summed up (perhaps better than in the book, where he begins well but ends with a long account of the inferiority of Elizabeth's connections): "he loves her in spite of the fact that he tried to forget about her, he still wants to marry her in spite of the fact that his family (specifically his mom) will disapprove." Unfortunately, the emphasis on the social inferiority of Lalita's family is left out; Darcy doesn't say anything else until Lalita claims that he thinks her family is inferior and blames him for separating Jaya and Balraj. I don't like this because it seems like the separation of Jaya and Balraj was the only reason Elizabeth rejected Darcy. Also Elizabeth's admission that she did try to overlook her prejudice of Darcy doesn't make sense, because only after the first proposal does she do so.

Plot Changes. The major plot points are all included but the "order of events" has changed:

Lalita and Darcy become friends and she meets his family before his disastrous first proposal. There's a montage where they are traveling alone together, visiting the Grand Canyon and sharing a moment on the beach. I don't like this change because Darcy's separating Jane and Bingley wasn't the only reason Elizabeth rejected him, it was because she hated him (arrogant, proud, doesn't treat others nicely). By showing early on that Darcy is a good person, Lalita's prejudice against Darcy makes less sense because she now has a glimpse of Darcy's true character which in the book doesn't happen until the Pemberley visit.

Their early friendship disrupts Darcy's character journey because it reduces the significance of the first proposal to his character development. In the book, he doesn't start to reform himself until Elizabeth tells him that he needs to behave in a "more gentleman-like manner."

The first proposal is the consequence of all the miscommunication and false perceptions affecting Elizabeth and Darcy, and it motivates both characters to change. Elizabeth rightly scolds Darcy for being inconsiderate; he did the proposal for the selfish reason of purging his feelings so that he wouldn't have to suffer anymore and assumed that she would say yes. Elizabeth rejects him because of his rude manners and lack of consideration, and his defensiveness (where he portrays himself as the victim of feelings and implies he's such a good boy for wanting to marry her in spite of her horrid family) doesn't help. After realizing the extent to which Elizabeth hates him, Darcy writes The Letter to set things right, and Elizabeth realizes that she is not the best judge of character. Thus, giving us a fuller picture of Darcy's character and letting him charm Lalita before the first proposal reduces the significance of the event to the plot and character development.

Wickham and Lakhi have a connection early on, making Lakhi's attempted elopement inevitable. Right after the failed first proposal, Lakhi runs off with Wickham and Lalita and Darcy find out about it at the same time that Darcy comes to apologize and tell Lalita that Wickham is bad. I love that Wickham was punished really badly; after Darcy fights him, he gets slapped twice, once by Lalita and the second time by Lakhi. Even better is that Lakhi doesn't end up with Wickham.

Themes

The film uses the culture clash between India (Eastern) and Western cultures to examine what makes a good marriage.

Indian culture as presented by the film is more collectivist ("we" over "I"). It also promotes traditional gender roles, with women expected to be "meek and submissive" wives. In contrast, Western culture in the film is more individualistic and aspirational (careers and love are possible). But at its worst it condones exploitation of others for profit and cultural intolerance.

In the book, there are different kinds of "culture clashes:" traditional nobility versus new money (the Bingleys made their fortune in trade and Caroline is hoping to be an accomplished woman to make up for this), country versus city (Darcy offending Mrs. Bennet by claiming that the society is "confined and unvarying") and arranged versus romantic marriages.

The misunderstandings that propel the story (Darcy's dismissing of Elizabeth as "tolerable," him falling in love with her even though she still hates him, her belief in the legitimacy of "first impressions") are emphasized through the culture clash. Many of the conflicts in the film are a result of cultural stereotypes and conflicting beliefs.

Interestingly the film doesn't resolve the question it raises of how best to appreciate India and its culture. Lalita raises a lot of points about not oversimplifying Indian culture to a few stereotypes, but one could argue that India as represented by the film might be stereotypical. With the exception of the resort scenes and Goa beaches (which are tourist traps according to the film), the scenes in India heavily emphasize the "developing country" aspects of India with lots of pastoral scenes (cows crossing the road unharmed, farmland, dirt, shacks, dirty motorcycles fighting each other in traffic). Plus the "culture" as represented by the film's dance sequences seems to be the dominant Hindu culture with lots of elephants and saris and curry. Yes, I know this film is a romantic comedy, but the assertion that India is a complex, diverse country is contradicted by what we are presented. Presenting the rustic aspects of India would explain why the characters want to get out of India and go to the richer Western nations, but it harms the premise of the story that we shouldn't judge based on first impressions because the India scenes seem to confirm a Westerner's stereotypes of India (exotic people living in a primitive land).

Changing views on marriage: In the film, as in the book, we are presented with traditional and modern views on what makes a good marriage. Mr. Collins' marriage represents the traditional view in which marriage is a practical "economic proposition," much like a business deal where the marriage is made for the securing of material wealth and happiness comes last. Lady Catherine and other members of the aristocracy view marriage as a means of producing heirs (and bringing large amounts of money through dowries) to keep the property (source of power and wealth) in the family. The modern view of marriage is a partnership of equals who love and respect each other; happiness rather than material wealth/power is the priority. It threatens the power of the traditional nobles as it provides the potential for social climbing. Finally, it becomes another part of the culture clash, as it also ties in with the Western value of individualism, putting it at odds with the more collectivist Indian culture as presented by the film.

Elizabeth and Darcy in the book and in the film are united by their belief in a marriage based on love (the modern view). In the film, Darcy says he wants to look forward to starting each day with his wife, while Lalita says she wants a man who is a romantic and respects her for her mind. For instance, Elizabeth states that "only the deepest love will induce me into matrimony" and that Jane and Bingley should have some time to get to know each other before being rushed into marriage. To Elizabeth, mutual love and respect are essential for a marriage to succeed.

As for book Darcy, when Caroline catches him admiring Elizabeth and asks if he will marry her right away, he jokingly rebuffs her for making that assumption: "A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment. I knew you would be wishing me joy." Significantly, he mentions love needing to come before marriage, hinting that he shares the same belief about respect (admiration) and love being necessary for a good marriage. In fact, a big reason he separated Jane from Bingley was because he feared that Jane did not love Bingley in return. In short, love in marriage is just as important to Darcy as it is to Elizabeth.

Conclusion:

Bride and Prejudice, as shown by the title, focuses heavily on the theme of marriage and uses the culture clash between India and the West to emphasize the importance of first impressions in our treatment of others.

Even if you aren't into Pride and Prejudice, the movie is worth watching for the Bollywood dance sequences. I also liked the songs because they effectively developed the marriage theme.

The characters are mostly true to the book, except for Darcy, who isn't proud enough and is quick to reform his character.

Last but not least, the real villains of the story were imperialism and ethnocentrism.

Tags: @thatvermilionflycatcher @appleinducedsleep @princesssarisa

[swashbucklery]

I see where you're going with comparing Laudna/Imogen rift to Kara/Lena, but (and maybe I'm just really biased as someone who hates Kara/Lena) Laudna/Imogen's rift feels much more like something that actually ties into their larger stories, as well as their relationship. Laudna has to contend now with the question of how much autonomy she has from her patron and has to contend with the pact she herself made, along with the obvious relationship issue. And Imogen has to contend with losing another thread in the quest to figure her powers out, while also pushing herself further towards already very black-and-white thinking and isolation.

Maybe I'm just feeling like there's more intentionality to the CR plot than the Supergirl one.

I'm really kind of enjoying the possibility of two people who are incredibly (unhealthily) close to each other having a rift which forces them away from each other, and further into individual stories, before (possibly? hopefully?) coming back to each other having changed themselves.

Obviously no judgment, because that's not the kind of story for everyone (if it ends up happening that way and Opal/Laudna is a fantastic conceit!), I just don't necessarily see the Kara/Lena comparison. I do think that's because the storytelling styles (medium, genre, and intentionality) are so different.

Sorry this turned super long.

Anon I think you're totally welcome to love Imogen/Laudna exactly as it is; you don't need to love it any less because I see parallels to a ship that's not your thing.

I'm going to leave aside the points you brought up about narrative depth, mostly because I don't think it's necessarily a fair comparison to make. If each CR campaign lasts 100 hours at approximately 4 hours per episode, of course they're going to have more space for nuance than a television show that has to fit everything for all the characters into less than 20 hours per season.

I think the point I was trying to make was like - I've been reflecting for a few days on this because I like Imogen/Laudna (in theory, I've seen about 6 eps of C3 and at my current pace of one episode a month it's not looking gr8 for me to be caught up to canon ever) but there's been something about like. Not the rift per se but the way fandom is reacting to the rift that's just been getting under my skin, and I was having trouble figuring out what it was. The thing that clicked was that there are thematic elements and in-narrative tropes that feel similar, and that there are patterns to which elements fans are latching onto and amplifying and which elements they're leaving on the table that also feel similar.

The themes that really pinged as similar for me were actually some of the themes you identified, as well as some others: two people who are very enmeshed in a way that is both good and bad for them! Two complex and somewhat parallel individual journeys with identity and the ways that individual identity journeys have the potential to put them at odds with each other OR make them more compatible than ever! Complex (magical and nonmagical) powers that can be both a gift and a burden! Deep individual traumas that affect how each party tackles that bond! Black-and-white thinking on the concept of trust and what honesty can and should mean! A complicated relationship with boundaries!

That said: you can love Imogen/Laudna, acknowledge that it has similar tropes to Kara/Lena, and love only one without tearing the other up. There are infinite ships and only a handful of tropes and it’s natural that there’s going to be overlap. I’m the first person to admit that I’ve got at best a complicated relationship with Kara/Lena as a ship, and that there are many valid criticisms of it, but the ‘don’t yuck my yum’ rules of fandom still very much apply.

[sunleaffe]

the whole guizhong reincarnation thing with ningguang really has me thinking and honestly it makes me lean towards the ningguang and zhongli pairing a lot. now im not the biggest fan of zhongli’s story (in terms of his current whereabouts and choices) BUT the idea of him leaving li yue in charge of his dead wife’s reincarnation scratches a particular itch in my brain.

theres a lot that kind of points to the theory of reincarnation with ningguang and some of the more notable ones that ive noticed are listed below. a spoiler warning is in effect so scroll at your own risk!

- she is extremely powerful for a geo user. a lot of geo character abilities revolve around construction (hence geo construction inc. being a meme), but this could fit in thematically of being a fallen god that is rebuilding what was lost to her. her shield (?) ability is different than other geo characters. zhongli literally creates a pillar, lumine/aether build...a more stout pillar, and albedo has a lotus elevator lol. but ningguangs is more functioning as a wall of protection while also not exactly being physical per say. it looks more like a transparent scroll when unrolled, sort of like transluscent magic at play.

- in the fight against osial, ningguang uses a lot of magic that does not look elemental based lol. it just looks like...pure magic. i wonder where she picked that up or if shes just naturally gifted in channeling magic like that. there were lots of symbols that did not look geo related in many of the cutscenes. but thats just my observation. 

- her ascension materials include glaze lillies which we all know zhongli will NOT shut up about. even if current glaze lillies aren’t the “real deal” as zhongli puts it, having them be her ascension materials is a big deal. im not entirely sure about the entire story revolving around them but i believe they carry a symbolic meaning of the wishes of people (i remember lumine had to sing to one to harvest it correctly or something). it seems to bear a lot of importance to zhongli and his past, and i may be remembering this incorrectly/it may be a fanmade fact but i believe rex lapis and guizhong led their people through fields of glaze lillies during the archon war. plus you can find all sorts of fanart of zhongli standing in a field of them lol.

- ningguang mentions having a dream where rex lapis came to her before she had to rally the qixing against osial in the last archon quest. idk if other archons do that or if zhongli regularly shows up in people’s dreams, but its a “hmm” moment considering zhongli did plan to leave the fight up to the adepti and the qixing. perhaps it was his way of passing on his duty to ningguang by visiting her in a dream to help her in her fight. not only that, he was close to guizhong. perhaps he is giving back what he feels was hers to begin with? part of li yue’s rule? who knows.

- a LOT of fanmade designs of guizhong mirror that of ningguang’s. this isnt like a “ahah its coming together” moment as much as the ones mentioned above but its a neat tidbit regardless

- ningguang started from nothing before becoming one of the richest if not richest person in li yue. her decision to sacrifice the jade chamber shows her selflessness and devotion to her people, qualities that guizhong most likely exhibited towards her own people before her tragic death. not only that, it fits thematically with the concept of archons, meaning that it was possible for humans themselves to ascend to celestia (though i think you have to be a vision bearer to be able to do that). assuming that all gods in ancient times started as nothing (such as venti being nothing but an elemental being) and had to earn their spot in celestia, then ningguangs path to success and rulership closely resembles it, albeit in more modern terms.

- zhongli definitely does know about ningguang and shows quite a lot of respect for her, even chiding people about not touching pieces of ningguang’s property after fragments of it fell from the sky after the fight against osial. okay, sorry, tangent time, but how does he know that stuff was part of her tea set? or is he just good at guessing everything lol? did he ever go to the jade chamber and have tea with ningguang? who knows.

and some of my personal reasons why i like the pairing:

- yes childe can be zhongli’s wallet but ningguang could be his vault 

- their color pallets match so well. its kind of like how chongyun and xingqiu’s match perfectly lol.

- they are both tall. you get a tall aunt and uncle. posh wine aunt and broke uncle vibes?

- the idea of them being intrigued by each other due to past lives and connections- im a sucker for that idea

- zhongli learning human connection while also still having a part of guizhong with him at all times?? exquisite

- its rare. im gonna be honest, some rarepairs just make me smile and i wish more people considered them. the only other one i can think of rn is scaramona (but mostly because their colors fit well together again).

wow this was long idk if anyone will read it but if you do, lmk your own thoughts on this reincarnation theory!! id love to hear them! and also please remember to be respectful! as with any fandom, i am aware that some are very steadfast in certain ships, but lets all let each other enjoy what we enjoy, thank you!