#ESPECIALLY without context holy FUCK

[thenamessparkplug]

every second i spend not making a twisted psychological horror is a second wasted

[groovy-rat-man]

Okay so i've played the Date Everything demo like.. a lot, and I wanted to share my thoughts on the characters ive met so far! Fair warning this is gonna be a long LONG post so be warned.

Also im including pictures of the characters (courtesy of the fandom wiki) and the images are fucking huge.

- - - -

Skylar Specs

She works well as a helper and tutorial guide. I really wanna know more about her because she is the personification of the MAIN MECHANIC IN THE GAME so I feel like theres gotta be something deeper, especially with the throwaway "I'm sad inside!" line that I dont think a lot of people have talked about. Also I love all the hearts in her design and how much she loves love <33

Dorian

Aro🤝Ace Solidarity, hell yeah!! But in all seriousness he's one of if not my favorite character I think. I can't wait until I can play the full game so we can be besties <3. Also I like how all the doors have slightly different Dorians. Like the front door has a more serious looking Front Dorian and the tiny door in the kitchen has a Small Dorian standing on a stool and Back Dorian is facing away from you and sounds muffled and if you talk to him during the tutorial he actually mentions that. It's all just really cool!

Phoenicia

She's really fun and I like her personality! I'm not sure if I have much more to say about her tho. Also I didn't know you weren't supposed to leave your phone plugged in over night, I've been doing that for like years. Sorry Phoenicia...

Maggie

Oh hey, that's my aunt's name. I like her whole detective shtick and how she calls you gumshoe I think it's cute.

Betty

I love her. She's big and cozy and sensual and amazing, BUT she looks SO MUCH LIKE ME. I asked my own god damn mother if we looked similar (without telling her the context of the game) and she said yes. I physically cannot look at her without thinking "this is just me if I tried to be sexy." It also makes it weird seeing people thirst for her lol.

Amir

Ohhhh Amir... My darling Amir..... God I love him, I need him, I need him so bad for reals. He makes me so giddy any time he's talking..... (Or maybe I'm just susceptible to pretty men with pretty hair complimenting me.)

Freddy Yeti

I will NOT make a Freddy Fivebears reference, I will NOT! But seriously, I love him too. I don't think it's in a romantic way yet, I'm just a sucker for a big, kind, fun person who loves keeping me fed. I think we could be buddies! (perhaps more, we'll see)

Arma

She's the first character I met that had Skylar's content warning. Let me tell you, as fellow hottie with trauma around fire she is just... relatable. I totally get it, Arma, but at least let me get you some new batteries. Please?

Wilhelmina Work

Willi I am going to be 100% honest with you, you are stressing me the hell out. I do hope she gets back on her feet tho.

THE HANKS!!!!! WOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

I fucking love these guys! I love their energy!! I love their designs!!! I love how each of their little icons in the user interface is a different hanger!!!! I love how they all shit on Hank #3 that one time!!!!! They are my all-time favorite five-man himbo hivemind!!!!!!

Penelope

I really don't have much to say about her other than I like the googily eyes on her skirt and I really wanna know what went on when she went off with that viking treadmil guy.

Ben-Hwa

They're cool i just.. it's just... Like holy shit, right? I do love having a very sex-positive character like this, it's just wild that we were fucking on Betty at 9 in the god damn morning.

Rebel

I'm gonna be real, it took me way to long to get the "rebel ducky" pun. I really do not know how I feel about this design. I love it, I just kinda wish it was more ducky ya know? I also love how much they hate my ducking guts it's really funny. (I also like to imagine me and Amir doting on eachother in the bathroom mirror and they're just sitting on the edge of the tub yelling at us to shut the duck up, I need to draw that...)

Diana

I saw her when skimming the wiki before playing the game and I really liked her Mad Hatter sorta look (also this is probably a coincidence but Dinah was also the name of Alice's cat). I was NOT prepared for when I first talked to her like holy shit. It makes you wonder what's going on with the player character, she is YOUR diary after all.

Duncan "Dunk" Shuttlecock

I like his silly intro and his fun, cocky, sweet attitude. I also like how he's so dedicated to sports being fun for everybody and not pushing yourself. Can't get over that fuckass outfit tho.

Teddy

God I love him. Not like romantically but I love him so so much. He makes me feel safe. That story he told literally make me cry. I was all snuggled up under my weighted blanket with my laptop and earbuds crying like a bitch. It was like 1-2am when I was playing too, so it really was a bedtime story for me! And speaking of bedtime, of COURSE i moved him to the bed. I hope him and Betty get along. I like to think that they're old friends, I bet he's the little spoon.

Captain Jacques Pierrot

I know I've been saying this a lot but I love this guy. He's tiny and angy and talks funny and has pretty hair. Idk how big he's supposed to be but I've been imagining him being about the size of a medium rat. Also I didn't realize that his name was a play on Jack Sparrow until he said it out loud and it pissed me off when I realized lol. I wanna hold him in the palm of my hand and kiss his little face over and over again while he's all grumpy~~ (should I be saying that on the main blog?)

Dishy

☹ /̵͇̿̿/’̿’̿ ̿ ̿̿ ̿̿ ̿̿

The Sassy Chap

Holy shit you can fuck the credits. But seriously, I loved the quiz thingy with all the developers even tho it took me like an hour. Sassy loved it too so that was fun!

Dasha

Hhhhholy shit,, big strong kind lady with pretty Slavic accent lift me up high and teach me how flirt...... w o a g..

Daisuke Dishware

I'm gonna be real, it was late at night (both irl and in game) and I thought "screw it, I'm fucking the knives" and I fully expected to get a Big Scary Knifeplay Guy but what I got instead.... He's wonderful. Serious, dedicated, mysterious? so so so beautiful, catches me when I fall. God I adore him, I need more. Daisuke, I am SO SORRY I chipped you on accident even though I'm not entirely sure what that means. Ough,, I also love his hair, it's gorgeous I swear the two most attractive features a man can have is pretty eyes and long beautiful hair.... Also I'm only learning this now but apparently his voice actor is also named Daisuke which is really funny.

- - - -

okay that's it you can go now, luv u

[ramons-elevator]

*SLAMS HANDS ON DESK*

FUCKING PHILS POV

Everything about his POV was bone chilling holy shit. Also fucking shoutout to the admins for picking Chayanne and Tallulah bc that was a really smart move.

For some context for those who arent Philza watchers:

Tallulah and Chayanne obey Phil. Yes they can be divas sometimes and be dumb and silly, but they arent like their siblings like Dapper and Richas who will just be dramatic and do dumb and dangerous stuff when their parents dont feel 100% okay with it. They will throw a fit but still be respectful of Phil’s word.

Phil said multiple times to them, especially Tallulah, to not go to the dinner no matter what. That as soon as it hits 2pm PST, they get tucked into bed and they can wake up after if they want. Chay and Lullah both agreed bc they both fear dying. Tallulah wants to see her dad and Chayanne knows how hard his dad works to make sure they are safe.

Let me fucking tell you how creepy it was seeing Tallulah walk into the dinner.

Phil immediately questioned her and was like “what the fuck you doing? We both agreed you would stay in bed.” and when ‘Tallulah’ just stared at him and shook her maracas, you could feel the air still.

Personally, it felt like a bucket of ice water got dumped on me. Phil literally froze. Because thats not fucking Tallulah. Tallulah is calculated, gentle, and slow moving. The ‘Tallulah’ at the dinner was shaking her maracas without a care in the world, running around. Also Tallulah will talk to Phil and they check in on each other. The ‘Tallulah’ at the dinner didnt put down a sign once.

Then as Phil was realizing that Tallulah wasn’t Tallulah, then ‘Chayanne’ comes in. At this point Phil realized that both ‘Tallulah’ and ‘Chayanne’ dont have cracks. Phil straight up looks at ‘Chayanne’ and says “You are fake, you arent my son.” Also same thing with Tallulah, Chayanne and Phil check in with each other. They are a well oiled machine. Phil knows Chayanne like the back of his hand and vise versa.

To be fair, Chayanne isnt an egg of many words. He likes action and just nods/shakes of his head when talking. If need be he will place a sign down, but he doesnt talk as much as Tallulah. So it isnt hard to impersonate him.

But the second, ‘Chayanne’ started punching Phil was again bone chilling. Chayanne rarely hits Phil, maybe once or twice from the top of my head. Again, Chay and Lulah are very respectful of Phil. If they need his attention, they do other ways. They dont hit.

And thats when Phil let Fit know that something was wrong. Those werent his kids. That they are fakes. Around that time, Phil runs home and sees that his actual kids are sleeping. He takes a photo, runs back, and fucking shows ‘Chayanne’. Phil lets the fakes know that he knows and he doesnt give a shit.

At some point, Phil and Fit talk again and ‘Chayanne’ runs up and tries to take the photo from Phil. Phil basically said fuck off and went back to his seat.

The part I find so fucking eerie was that Fit and ‘Chayanne’ had a lil talk. ‘Chayanne’ put down a sign that said something along the lines of “My dad doesnt love me anymore”.

That sign literally made me start to freak out because thats the fucking last thing the real Chayanne thinks. The real Chayanne knows that his dad loves him to death. That Phil would burn this server to the ground if anything bad happened to Chayanne. Chayanne knows that Phil does everything in his power to keep his son alive. He knows how much Phil worries about him and Tallulah (both the characters and the admins).

Going back to what I said at the start, the admins were so fucking smart for picking Chayanne and Tallulah to be the ‘Code eggs’.

People outside of Phil, Fit, Bad, and maybe Forever/Cellbit dont really spend time with Chayanne and Tallulah. Yes, other people do care after them and know them, but they really dont know their mannerisms and quirks. They dont know that Tallulah only shakes her Maracas when she is very excited or have something to say. They dont know that, while Chayanne can be hyper, he usually is very obedient and stays close to Tallulah when he can.

So putting them in a party where the attention isnt on them 100% time is so smart. They can run around and people dont think about it. They just see two eggs running around and having fun. They dont know how wrong it is to see them like that.

Then when the ‘Code eggs’ made themselves known, Phil got kicked. Again very smart from the admins because no one wanted to kill ‘Chayanne’ and ‘Tallulah’ even though they were obviously Codes. Even Fit, who Phil told over and over again that those arent his kids, hit the Codes once or twice but stopped because he didnt wanna take that risk. No one wanted to take the chance of hurting an egg. It gave the ‘Code eggs’ time to kill Charlie and try to kill others.

But the second Phil joins back, he is screaming that those arent his kids and to kill them. That they were impostors. Even then, they let Phil kill the Code eggs.

Then when Code Tallulah died, everyone stepped back and let Phil 1v1 Code Chayanne.

Im so impressed with the admins and the people who played the fake Chayanne and Tallulah. They did such a good job of putting a spear of ice through my heart. 100/10 Bravo

[justakidicarus]

Alastor has something he fears.

With how modern media has been going, well written characters are harder to come by, so I am very pleased to see how Alastor is written in the season 1 finale of Hazbin Hotel. Admittedly I did not watch the episode in full, but two major scenes are what I want to talk about.

Adam vs Alastor, and what I want to call Alastor’s interlude (his verse in the final song).

During Alastor’s fight with Adam, Alastor has clear technical advantage, but Adam’s sheer firepower overpowers him. Everyone has probably seen the “What just happened?? … Fuck.” Moment. Now most writers would write another character coming in for a save, or in the context of Hazbin a regular sinner would keep fighting.

Alastor is not your average sinner.

He accepts his defeat and slinks away before Adam can land the finishing blow. This is actually a massive thing no one really talks about, the fact that instead of staying to fight Alastor acknowledged when he was bested and left to fight another day. He is a fucking smart guy but this moment, when he chooses to lose rather than die, is super important to his character, and becomes clear in Alastor’s interlude.

Alastor is terrified of dying.

And I really do mean terrified.

Throughout the song you can hear the emotion in his voice (holy shit did Amir Talai do a good job). His facial expressions are panicked, especially during the line “died for his friends” and the close up at “The constraints of my deal surely have a back door,” that line in particular really capturing the picture of panic and terror. When he first speaks of dying, he looks more angry, but the rest of the verse he just looks terrified. Even if he may be a sinner and thus, has already experienced death, it remains his greatest fear as evident by his reaction to nearly meeting it.

Which makes sense when you look at the context of his death.

Alastor was shot in the head while occupied with burying a body in a hunting reserve. A gunshot to the brain is a quick and near instant way to die, especially since he likely wasn’t aware of the hunter and gun. To him, he heard a loud bang and was suddenly in hell. He has never experienced death properly because he didn’t even have a moment to process that his time was up until he was in the afterlife. Even in the afterlife, as a sinner he can’t permanently die, the only way possible is being killed by angelic weapons.

Weapons like what Adam wields.

Most people believe that Alastor retreated when his staff broke because he couldn’t fight without it, but I actually believe it’s because he realised that Adam could actually kill him. For the first time in his entire life, and afterlife, Alastor was faced with the possibility that he would die. For good.

And he was terrified of it.

He fled not because he couldn’t continue to fight, but because he was scared of fighting Adam and running the suddenly very real risk of dying, but hiding it as best he could. This is obviously made easier by his constantly smiling mouth (which I don’t think he can stop doing if you look at the stitched from his deal with Charlie) but there are a few signs. He loses control of his power such as his left eye and shadow. His ears tilt back as he’s getting up, a sign of distress in animals, and when he first gets up he looks around alert despite knowing the threat is in front of him, classic prey animal behaviour. Not to mention there’s almost 10 seconds where he doesn’t get up and is just on the ground with his face obscured while Vox gives his declaration. These behaviours could be pain related, he does have internal and external bleeding from Adam’s attack after all, or it could be fear based. Still, his interlude leads me to believe it’s a mix instead of solely the former.

Finally his sudden dedication to finding a loophole in his deal with his unknown contractor (I’m hesitant to say Lilith but idk).

From what I can gather by his actions surrounding the hotel and his strange dedication to Charlie and the hotel’s wellbeing, I’m inclined the believe his deal centers around protecting Charlie and the hotel. A deal he now desperately wants out of. It’s no secret that Alastor hates being on a leash (Husker found that out the hard way) but how the fuck did he even end up on one in the first place if he hates it so much?

Simple, he didn’t see it as a bad idea at the time. That or he could have died without it but we don’t know that yet

If what he got in return was a good deal of power or something else he coveted, why wouldn’t he take the deal to play secret bodyguard and watcher for the princess of hell, one of the most well guarded people in hell, and her lofty idea that ultimately will fail and likely gain no traction at all? It’s practically free power.

And then Charlie starts pissing off all of heaven. And dragging her father and whole host of powerful and dangerous beings into her charade.

Now this is becoming a bad idea he can’t back out from.

And then he almost dies.

Why would the try to escape his deal? Alastor values his life above all else and his greatest fear that I think he now knows about, is the fear of death itself, a suddenly very real risk with the people Charlie, the person he’s forced to protect, is angering. Alastor wants out because of that sheer human thing that is the fear of death.

That’s why it’s such great writing.

Alastor is scared of death and that is what makes him human.

It’s a part of his character he can overcome or fall victim to, something that makes his character relatable and 3D rather than a distant mask. It’s something that makes him human, and that’s especially important in a character that was once just that.

No matter where Alastor’s character goes in the future, if he overcomes this fear and is somehow redeemed (plausible in the way the show is going), or if he is a villain for a future season brewing in the shadows, still driven by this fear that is so central to his actions (again, plausible with how the show is so far, he still had a villain moment after all even if it was a humanising one), Alastor’s character has actually gained so much depth, and all from one little scene sharing one shard of humanity he has left.

[suratan-zir]

personal. unrelated to the war or anything interesting. how I finally found the courage to talk to a therapist again after many years

so, after looking at listings, reviews, insta pages, etc. of different therapists, going through ungodly amounts of aura cleanings, coaches in unlocking your divine femininity, "will cure your depression in two sessions" - I finally stopped on a lady who had decent credentials, scientific methods and a general vibe that wasn't immediately annoying to me. I haven't been to a therapist in years, after some awful invalidating experiences.

this experience wasn't all that awful, but not useful either. I get annoyed by people way too easily. in my years of desolation, with this blog being pretty much the only window into any social life at all - I guess I completely lost the ability to tolerate people. which is funny, because that's kind of the only thing I really wanted out of this - just to talk to someone and trauma dump without feeling guilty, because I'm paying for it. I wasn't under any delusion that it would solve something - not in one, not in twenty sessions. I simply wanted to unload this weight of things I can't talk about with people who aren't paid to listen. I'm not feeling any lighter somehow?

and may I just say: I know it helps some people, I know it could be useful to somebody out there, but I absolutely don't want to "notice where in my body I have this feeling". like it fucking matters in this context, holy shit. I want to tell you this fucked up story, not to figure out where in my body it's located.

with the specifics of my 17-year-long trauma, most therapists would automatically assume I feel shame or guilt, and then try to work with that. but I really don't. I mean, it's uncomfortable to talk about - very much so, but that doesn't mean I feel like it's my fault or my mistake. I don't feel like I deserved any of that. I really don't need fixing in that regard. yet, no matter how I'm trying to express it - she still thinks it's "shame". and it's especially difficult for me to explain this coherently, because nowadays I think mostly in English, at least about my feelings. so I have to translate my thoughts to Ukrainian, then I slip and say an English word, and she doesn't understand that, and it's frustrating.

overall, it wasn't good, but it wasn't going terrible, until towards the end when she asked me what exactly is autistic about me. (I was diagnosed with Asperger's at 15, but later in life came to the conclusion that it's just typical female autism, rarely diagnosed because the stereotypical autism is built on observing it in boys) so, I'm telling her how from a very early age I had this way of talking like an old person, which I had to consciously change later in life, how I can't keep eye contact (even via this zoom call), etc… but she stops me and tells me "I work at this center with autistic kids, and they can't talk, can't communicate at all…" at which point I explode and almost shout "it's a SPECTRUM!" to be fair, she didn't try to argue, said that maybe I'm right, blah blah. but I was already angry. and this wasn't even the point. I just warned her about my two diagnoses - bipolar and autism. but the topic had nothing to do with it. I don't know why I feel like that. in all other instances, she wasn't invalidating or shaming or anything bad. yet the weight of this trauma on my shoulders hadn't shifted even a little bit. oh well

якщо у вас є контакт норм психолога в Україні який приймає онлайн, поділіться. хоча навряд чи я ще раз на це піду найближчим часом.

[minotaurcircuits]

*free pass to yap about any character/ship you want*

actually maybe this is my excuse to ramble about to break in a glove for entirely too many words. sorry if you wanted something else, anon, i've got fucking Thoughts

so like, to break in a glove isn't my favorite song to listen to off the soundtrack or anything, but i do fucking love how it's positioned as like, an exploration of larry's parenting strategies and his grief, and it's really good at doing that, and it also works as a great high for evan before everything finally crashes down around him

however, it also buries the lead in the first few lines.

"but he left it in the bag, with the tag still on"

so, we learn in the novel that connor's an artist, a reader. the various stage sets of his room reflect this, with the space largely populated with books over any other sort of clutter. evan even comments, when he's in connor's room for the first time, that he feels a kinship with him, because there's absolutely nothing sports related in connor's room, which is something they have in common.

and yet, larry's attempt to reach out was a baseball glove

there's also the inherent specificity in the fact that larry tells evan to keep it. despite the way larry says he bought the glove "a thousand years ago", it's an adult sized glove, if it had been bought for a little kid, it would be of no use to evan, so larry wouldn't have offered it. this wasn't like, trying to get connor interested in little league when he was a kid, this was bought recently, after connor developed a personality, at a point at which larry should have known at least the broad strokes of connor's interests

or at least, he'd know that connor doesn't play any sports, and really never has.

just, that continuing thread of the way people wanted connor to engage on their terms, and never engaged with him on his.

there's also the way it works as an evan-connor parallel moment, especially with the context that evan also doesn't like, really actually do sports either, because connor clearly saw it for what it was, a gift for the son his father wanted instead of the one he actually had, overly self-indulgent, more a gift for larry than for connor, and thus, he left it in the bag without a second thought, because he had no interest in it.

evan, though, who hasn't had a dad solidly in his life since he was little, is bonding with larry in this moment, and sees the glove as, this symbol of a father-son relationship that he's never had.

actually while i'm talking about parents and evan-connor parallel moments. god there's this BRILLIANT bit in the novel, when connor's hanging around the hospital, afterwards, and sees heidi looking up those college essays for evan, and comments on how he can't picture cynthia doing that sort of thing for him, "even though i was her life's work". just, the way that completes the parallel between connor and evan, the way evan wanted the stability of the murphys, but connor just wanted the sort of affection and care that heidi offers, that willingness to engage with evan on his level, in a way no one ever engaged with connor.

(which frankly i think could be a fucking fascinating dynamic to explore for someone writing one of those fandom-classic "connor lives and also him and evan actually become friends" fics, because holy shit the potential, but i digress)

my point with this whole post, is that the baseball glove is a microcosm of the failures that led to where connor ended up. that unwillingness on larry's part (on everyone's part, really), to engage with who connor was instead of who larry wanted him to be. like, yeah, the baseball glove was a genuine attempt to reach out to his son, but the fact that it was a baseball glove, singularly one of larry's interests, instead of anything that might actually bridge a gap between them, is a sign of how everyone ended up where they did.

yet another sign of the way people refused to meet connor where he was.

[sopaprimordialy]

Boppers, hear me out.

Victor is Luther's father.

Ok, now, you might be thinking: "what the actual fuck are you talking about?" Well, in this essay I'll expose favorable arguments to my theory/theses/head canon that, in the album, captain Victor is Luther's father. Keep your radio tuned tight, boppers, bcs I might be crazy OR I might be onto something.

(There will be spoilers)

1. First of all...

For context, Victor is the cop that kills Fox. He's played by David Patrick Kelly, the actor who plays Luther in the original movie, The Warriors (1979). This alone is a huge reason for me to believe that they are somehow connected, BUT THERE'S MORE!

I think we already established that what a character claims to be their reason for doing something is not always their real reasoning, or, at least, not the entirety of it. I do believe Luther kills Cyrus because he enjoys the chaos and has a lot of hate in his heart, as Swan wisely says, but I don't think that's all.

We have hints among his lines that he's also misogynistic and racist. "Well, duh?" You might say, because there were few white men who weren't those things by the time this story takes place, but sometimes we may underestimate how heavy this stuff weighs in the narrative. If he really likes chaos that much, why not kill, Idk, a police captain? That would certainly create generalized chaos just as he likes, but instead, he deliberately targets marginalized groups' leadership — he kills a black woman, a powerful black woman who was trying to unite her community.

She was obviously an obstacle for the cops to keep up with their oppression towards these groups because unity is strength, and all they don't want is strong communities that knows their rights and won't accept to be chased down like animals when they've done nothing but trying to survive.

In the very first track of the album, the question "but is Cyrus atractin' police action?" Is asked. The answer we find further on, especially when the police invades Van Cortlandt Park right after she's killed, is: *yes*, of course she is.

* Also, the timing here is too convenient, don't you think? Just like the police knew exactly when to attack, when the desperate crowd would be disorganized, when they would be easy prey... anyways 😛

2. That weird af phone call

Now that we have established that there would be a lot of interest on the police's part to have Cyrus killed, let's move on to the next topic.

Suddenly, without any further context or this being ever mentioned again, Luther talks to *someone* on the telephone. This happens in the album, and in the movie as well, it is not confirmed who the hell Luther was talking to on that phone call. I've already seen some people theorizing that he has contacts inside the force and that he's talking to them, and I agree, but I think he's not talking with some random cop, I believe he's talking to Victor.

Come think with me: how did Luther instantly knew Ajax had been taken by the cops ("Holy shit, Warrior down [...] Picked the wrong fight / now she's in for a long night", I'll talk about this later btw), and most importantly, what exactly was Victor doing at Union Square's station?

Let's compare this approach with Barnes' one at the park.

Barnes was alone in the bench, and only when Ajax approached him (and started beating the shit out of him), he called for police reinforcements. It didn't feel planned, even tho he was trying to bait them to come closer to him, I think it was much more about sexual harassment than him actually intending to arrest them. With Victor, however, it doesn't feel like a random encounter.

"Officers are on the scene". This line repeats a lot during Reunion Square, that alone indicates that there are a group of cops there, like they've been called. They knew the Warriors, specifically the Warriors, would be there, and why was it so important for them to get the Warriors if they're just a "likkle Coney Island crew"? Because Luther would be FUCKED if the Riffs reached them alive.

Of course, the Riffs could just not believe the girls, but he was not willing to risk it — after the phone call, Luther tells Cropsy the Riffs wanted the Warriors alive, but they don't. And he was right, wasn't him? Cleon being alive and telling the Riffs the truth was the only reason for him to be caught and... well, we don't know for sure what they did to him, but we can imagine they weren't gentle.

That being said, we have strong evidence that Luther was in touch with the cops, else he would have no way of knowing Ajax was grounded. And Victor needed a reason to be there as well; not only an informant, but also a motive, and if we consider the theory that he was talking to Luther, we have both things.

3. Trust in the impunity of a daddy's boy

During the entire musical, Luther thinks he can get away with about everything. I atribute that not only to the fact that he's a white man targeting women of color, but he must also have other reasons to believe he's immune to justice of any kind, and there's where I start to try to convince you that he's Victor's son.

I mean, when Cropsy shows that he's worried the Riffs would go after them, Luther, rather ignorantly, responds with "they're looking for the Warriors, remember?" As if the fact that the Riffs are going after the Warriors is enough for him to believe they would never even think about interrogating them, trying to find the murder weapon, etc.

This behavior suits someone that has never been held accountable for any misdeeds at all, and who would fit this description better than a cop's son?

Let alone that Victor is a captain. He holds even MORE power within the police. Being the son of a cop, even if you're a fucking gang member, you'd feel safe enough to do just whatever the fuck you want without even thinking about the consequences.

Like, how many times he could have been caught doing something illegal, just tell the cops "do you know who my father is?" AND IT ACTUALLY WORKING? I firmly believe he was the one to inform the cops about all of this — the gathering, the Warriors' location, and the fact that he needed daddy to arrest the women who could potentially cause something to happen to him, because the Riffs are not the police, they'd not give af abt who his father is, even someone like him would have to be a little worried about being taken by them.

4. Fox & Luther — Parallels

I bet you did not see that one coming. "What do you mean there's something in common between Fox and Luther specifically that makes Victor killing her an interesting parallel with his (supposed) son?"

Well, games. That's kinda it. Old games.

So, there are only two characters that canonically like games in the musical, because they actually mention them: Fox ("A-yo I'll take you on an Odyssey like Magnavox") and Luther (with his multiple references to Pacman during the entire thing and other game expressions, like "I was at the top of the screen when I took that shot")

The Magnavox Odyssey is actually mentioned on the movie (according to my own father. I confess I don't remember this part, but I trust my nerdy father who actually have a connection with old consoles to notice that) by the Lizzies (fem version of the Bizzies), and Fox was not even there at the moment. Actually, movie Fox does not have a lot of... personality, if you ask me, he was kinda irrelevant. Anyways, even if Lin and Eisa wanted to reference this specific part in which the Lizzies offer to play Odyssey with the Warriors to lure them, why not have the Bizzies saying that? Why Fox?

Because that would be a bitter irony in the future. I might be crazy, BUT HEAR ME OUT, Victor killing a young woman that shared his son's interest for games was a foreshadowing for him being responsible for Luther's death as well — because he failed.

This is other thing they share: they failed. Victor failed to stop the Warriors from going home, Luther failed to kill Cyrus and blame the Warriors with no consequences, they failed together at silencing them, and this CAUSED Luther's (probable) death.

5. A gang member who endorses the police?

Ok, this last section is based in my belief that, even tho the crews fight and have their diferences, they all share a common enemy: the cops. That was the reason for them to accept the truce after all, the cops are their common enemy.

But somehow that doesn't feel true for the Rouges.

First of all, they killed Cyrus, which obviously means they were not in favor of the truce. But why? They sure would suffer from police brutality too if they were a normal gang. And we can all agree that they are even more violent than the average gang (I mean... have you listened to their leader?).

Also, this line intrigues me.

I mean, "picked the wrong fight"? It is clear that Luther's view is biased to take the cops' side. In this case, one could argue that his misogyny would play a big part on him diminishing Ajax's will to fight against an abuser. Anyhow, I think that this evidences that, even tho he's a gang member, he has a strong connection with the police.

CONCLUSION

I think we can all agree that Luther has something going on with the police, and I hope I have convinced you that he has something going on with Victor specifically.

It is possible to argue that their connection is only "tactical", or even go as far as to say that they are friends or something (tho, I don't think that's possible. One thing about brats like the Rouges: they don't go well with old people, with all due respect. I don't personally see this working as a friendship), but I'll stand with the father-son relationship till the day I die!!

Thank you for reading this madness and please lmk what you think! If there's something that doesn't make sense, if you have your own theories... I mean, I'm far more invested in this than I ever thought I would be, please give me more content 🙏🙌

[radaedan]

...We cannot trust any power mightier than humanity, nor place our hope in their beneficence. No mighty being of such a kind and gentle nature has ever existed save for that person [Xbalanque], one who would never commit appalling evils. I myself am no exception, and that is why we must outlaw all... - Holy Sovereign's Notes (VII)

Watch when it'd be revealed that Xbalanque actually committed appalling evils. What then, you gay ass dipshit (affectionally).

My obsession for toxic doomed yaoi shall never be undone. Love how Xbalanque was viewed as a literal saint by Och-Kan.

But I digress, my whole suspicion with Xbalanque started with how perfect he appeared to be. He was clever, outtricked a dragon sage from a far-advanced civilization, bargained with a god, united the by-then scattered tribes for a single cause of slaying Xiuhcoatl, probably incredibly charismatic, incredibly strong, managed to ascend to the Pyro Throne without costing his humanity, was humble and smart enough to make a system where his archonhood would pass through countless generations instead of keeping it to himself, knew the future, was beloved by all and affectionately nicknamed "Lanque", and according to Och-Kan's (gay) note above, he was incredibly kind & gentle that it was impossible for him to commit evils.

And he did it while being a human (and though various sources contradicted each other, Mavuika said that he was a Natlan native while in some weapons lore it's stated by the characters that he was an outlander.) The characters with comparable feats that I can think on top of my head are Remus, Egeria, Zhongli-Guizhong Assembly, and Ormazd (Gurabad lore is INSANE tbh, it's literally GoT level of historical fuckery I can't believe Hoyo actually dared to put it in their game. But it's balanced by the fact that it's only known through world quests & scattered notes☹️). They were either gods themselves or had a divine aid. Xbalanque only got Ronova & Waxaklahun's help later after he slain Xiuhcoatl.

Listen, I don't know about you, but he just sounds to goddamn perfect. You know how the narrative overperfected Mavuika to the point she has no apparent flaws ? I think it applies to Xbalanque too. We only know him as a historical character so this isn't such a glaring issue compared to Mavuika. Perhaps his one and only flaw is his oversight of appointing Och-Kan as the next ruler after him, letting all the chaos in Och-Kan’s reign ensued.

...Or is it ? Perhaps he was fully aware of it ? He knew the future, after all. He knew that Och-Kan would fuck up Ochkanatlan.

He saw the tainted one [Och-Kan], defiled and devoured by the black abyss, yet nonetheless fighting to the last for humanity's sake.

- A Thousand Blazing Suns, Mavuika’s signature weapon.

And he just... accepted it ? Mf just saw Och-Kan being tainted by the Abyss and suffered for millenia and just went...

"I shall leave hope for the future. So long as the flame does not die, there shall still be 'hope.'"

Translated: "Damn okay, hope for the future though."

Also context: Ronova gave him the vision of the future immediately after Xbalanque slain Xiuhcoatl, even preceding Waxaklahun. Assuming his response was made in front of Ronova, the fact that he could immediately form a decision that would impact his friends and the whole Natlan- and not all of it was positive, especially for his friends- that fast was... fucked-up ? Mf didn't even consult anyone, he just made up his mind right then & there. Also, it kinda reminded me of how Mavuika constantly clamored about "Nobody fights alone" and yet if the traveller isn't present in Natlan, she would fight Gosoythoth alone with no helps with the heroes of Natlan whatsoever.

(Credit to the poster. But if it’s a stolen meme, please let me know the original poster !)

Perhaps him giving "hope for the future" was his way to defy fate, but to me, Xbalanque sounded very fatalistic in this one. Did he just accept that his friends' futures were doomed & didn't find any ways to... you know, defy it ? Did he even tell his friends about this ? "Btw, you guys will get absolutely fucked over by Och-Kan, and I'll make sure it'll pass because the future needs hope. I hope you guys don't mind XD." I'm reminded of Lianca's saying of "seeking her own path." This became ironic with Xbalanque, because he already knew their paths & where it would led them into, their doom.

Idk, maybe it's just me nitpicking, but when the narrative constantly praised Xbalanque and then we have evidences that contradicted his "gentle & kind nature"... perhaps there's something more with his perfection that we currently know of.

To finish this short yap off, let me quote one of my favorite namecards in game. "Natlan: Fleeting Dreams".

Before one could become a sage among dragons, or a king among men, the ploys of one's ambition would have long since turned to naught but dreams. Yet to be incomplete is good; superior, in fact, to perfection.

This namecard always gives me feelings, the kind that makes you keel over and put your hands on your head. Oh Och-Kan, if only you didn't obsess over perfection... perhaps you could be good... at the very least he realized this in the very end...

(The namecard is what inspires the title of "Perfect was the enemy of good" btw😁)

EDIT: How could I forget the most blatant piece of evidence:

Fathom the words of Xbalanque, perceive his thousand-year-old lie. The utmost wisdom births the utmost paranoia, and as he held time and death in his hands, he doomed Natlan to an endgame without any solution.

- Obsidian Ancient Name

I know some of you would say: "But Radaedan, the description is made by the Abyss, of course it would mislead us!" Yeah, I consider that possibility too, but I think this description is a meta lie(?): when the narrator is unreliable so you can't take their words as absolute truth, but so you take them as lies, but if you dig deeper, some of their words are actually truth. Yeah, it sounds crazy, but what does the Abyss actually gain by lying to us at this point? They're defeated, and it's not that they're like a kind of villain that get stronger by the people's belief. And narratively speaking, we don't know any of these Pyro Archons personally. Heck, we even only got Xumucul & Ndenge' names from the AQ, while Cochanina was only mentioned in Mualani's signature weapon lore. How tf we should feel dread by this lie? Unless... it acts as a checkov's gun?

The whole ancient name is so sus.

Even the horror and despair, which humans can never transcend, are mere emotions "simulated" for your benefit once it has understood all that Natlan is.

"Simulated" for our benefit??? Does that means the Abyss know we play Genshin Impact for our entertainment?😭

Lend your ear to Xumucul's roar. Hear the hatred that festered in the heart of the unrivaled warrior a thousand years ago. How he regrets lifting his weapon before the tombs of his companions in days bygone! For if this battle could never have been won, then he was no leader, but a cruel, lonesome king. Look upon the tears of Cochanina — witness her thousand-year-old despair. Resolute she was to the end, but fire, sword, and death never ceased to ravage her homeland. At the last, she would kneel before the icy coffins, and reflect upon the image the rain-puddles painted of her: If it cannot be rejected, why not embrace it? Feel Ndenge's fury, and know his thousand-year madness. He fought for Natlan all his life, shed and spent his fiery blood, only to learn the truth of war from the Sacred Flame once he had attained the throne. He was not a hero, beloved by all — he was but a blind, ignorant clown, for humanity can never hope to conquer the true master.

Compare the descriptions of these past archons with Xbalanque's; while they're described as being furious or despairing, we aren't given any description of Xbalanque's emotional state. Heck, it even can be read that these past Archons are despairing because of Xbalanque's lie.

Think upon Mavuika's plan... No. It can warp history and memory, but it cannot twist your personal experiences.

Now this is so, so, so, sus. Doesn't Mavuika’s plan only consisted of awakening the heroes' ancient name? Where does the "warp history and memory" even come in? And the "but it cannot twist your personal experiences."... why does it sounds like Mavuika’s plan have some Irminsul erasure shenanigans, and we, as a descender, the only ones who know the truth?

Even the boy who cried wolf finally tells the truth once a real wolf appeared. Perhaps the Abyss also tells the truth in this instance.

[cinmngirlnfr]

Juan Borgia Arranged Marriage Headcanons

Note: I'm trying to make this as close to the show as possible (Juan being an asshole) I in fact can't fix him. Shout out to the Phantom of the Opera. Also, I'm sorry if there are any mistakes, english is not my first lenguage.

Summary: It is 1493, Rome. After a long friendship with Lucrezia Borgia, where you spent most of your childhood at her house, so much, so that Venozza and the Holy Father himself started seeing you as their child. When The Pope was looking for a spouse for his second son, naturally, you were the first to cross his mind. Your parents of course showed no opposition. It seemed perfect, The only problem? You and Juan Borgia had hated each other since you first met all those years ago

Warning: Allusions to sex, Allusions to sexual violence, violence.

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ENGAGED

When your parents told you about the arrangement, you wanted to puke. Juan Borgia was the last man on earth you would like to marry, and even if he was the last man on earth, you were not sure if you would take him.

Lucrezia was delighted, finally, she would have you as her sister. At least you would get something good out of this.

When Juan first heard of this, he was enraged, he wanted to marry a princess! Someone up to his level, not his sister's annoying best friend.

It was very weird at first, you had always seen each other as brother and sister, you grew up together, and grew irritated and annoyed by everything the other did.

Venozza would be basically the only one planning the wedding, although she asked for your and Juan's opinions, both of you would just say yes to anything with hopes of the whole ordeal being over.

I think the only thing Juan would be interested in picking, is the entertainment, like he did at Lucrezia's wedding.

Juan didn't think you were ugly, but the image of spending the rest of his life with you would make him want to drown himself.

I imagine the Pope hosting many events to present you guys as a couple, but also, he had an agenda of making the two of you like each other.

In these gatherings, you were very polite to the guests, and both your parents and Juan had instructed you to act in love. Juan already had a reputation in Rome, and the way the Pope to such the rumors, was by creating a love story where his son was in the center.

Your fake smiles to your betrothed were clear. The problem lay when Juan had too many glasses of wine and started to hug you by the neck and kiss your cheeks, screaming in a mocking tone "OH MY SWEET WIFE TO BE!" You were beyond annoyed.

WEDDING DAY

Juan gets very drunk.

He will flirt with the actresses he hired.

You would probably be sitting annoyed on a table, sipping wine and eating bread, contemplating your future with the man who is currently drunkenly singing on top of a table.

The first dance was awkward as fuck.

Although Juan is not able to deny how beautiful you look in that wedding dress, and how good you would look without it.

Is he actually getting impatient for the wedding night?

However, he keeps drinking. It's a celebration! There is not such a thing as "Too much wine."

WEDDING NIGHT

You were young, and this was the Renaissance, there wasn't much sex ED.

You actually were not sure what to expect, your mom had told you that intimacy was painful, and the nuns had told you that it was only meant for procreation and to serve your husband.

You had been told that you could never say NO to your husband in any context, but especially not on this.

So naturally, you were confused but relieved when Juan Borgia was too drunk to even stand on his two feet, let alone consummate a marriage.

You tried to guide him to the bed, but he was much bigger than you.

He fell on the bed dragging you with him, leaving you trapped between his semi-unconscious body and the mattress.

"Look at my pretty wife..." He mumbled, and you rolled your eyes.

Somehow you managed to get him on his back and release yourself.

"Good night, Borgia" you sighed once you finally were able to get comfortable.

You thought he was done bothering you for the night.

Boy, you were wrong.

Hours later, the sun was starting to rise, and you woke up, by a slightly less drunken Juan Borgia on top of you, kissing your neck.

The sensation was strange... Not bad, almost ticklish. It made you want to giggle, GIGGLE! FOR JUAN BORGIA!

"What are you doing?" you ask confused.

"Finishing the task we had last night..."

And so he did... Let's just say, intimacy was way better than your mom and the nuns had described it.

MARRIED LIFE

Every hour he had, every second he spared, was to either think about doing you or actually doing you.

God! You were so annoying, acting all bratty, and making his life impossible.

He still couldn't keep your naked body, or your soft whimpers out of his mind.

At first, it was pure lust, it really was.

You both kept the same dynamic of annoying each other, yet there was a new element, sex.

When intimate life is that good, when the bed chemistry is so powerful when all the lust is only fueled by hatred, and of course, being no condoms at the time, it wasn't a surprise that you got pregnant very fast.

Yes, Juan pretended he didn't care for you.

Seeing you pregnant with his child tho... That fucked with his brain chemistry a bit.

Why did he suddenly want to hold you? He felt disgusted with himself.

Before this, all the sinful thoughts he had about you were fulled by the need to ruin you, to corrupt you, almost to make you submit to him since he knew that in any other way, even if it was hard for him to admit, you could easily outsmart him.

But now... He wanted to protect you, to make sure you never suffered again.

He realized he was down bad when you asked him to join you in a walk around the town.

He didn't want, for you to expose yourself like that, but he would have never admitted to you that he cared for your well-being.

He followed you closely, while you gracefully walked around the plaza rubbing your belly.

And it all went downhill, when a man, a peasant, walked your way and tried to touch your belly without your consent.

You politely tried to get away, but the man kept harassing you.

The next thing you saw was your husband beating the man to death, while he yelled things about, how dared a peasant even look at a noblewoman.

I mean, he was the head of the papal army, no one blinked an eye.

He then realized he would kill for you, he had done it, and he would do it again without hesitating.

The next time he realized how much he cared for you was when your son was born.

Then he realized, when you held that baby in your arms, sitting in the bed next to him, humming a sweet song for the child to calm down. He realized that what he felt for you was love.

[ftmtftm]

i cannot believe you're actually claiming that people use "oral history" as an excuse when they can't back up a claim. forget that most marginalized communities throughout history have had a significant oral history (especially native and indigenous cultures), no, what REALLY happened is ONLY anything written down. of course someone who doesn't know any queer elders irl isn't going to hear a lot of oral history, that's where it's fucking coming from. i'm not "justifying transphobia" by saying theyfab was a term invented by transfems, i'm literally just saying it came from transfems to criticize transmisogynists. it's not "stupid and twisted" to reference oral history it's literally a normal part of linguistics holy shit

I think it's deeply disingenuous that you'd compare this conversation to the eradication of Indigenous oral history because we are not talking about something long standing and substantial like Indigenous oral history right now.

We're talking about the etymology of a transphobic, misogynistic pejorative that very realistically could not have appeared in the 90's and 00's because the term it references (AFAB) was not commonplace yet in any capacity.

I'm referencing books like Gender Outlaw / Gender Outlaws because they are books from that exact time period that were explicitly meant to document trans oral history regarding identity terms and were documented by a nonbinary transfem!

Someone can actually learn a lot about modern queer history (i.e the last 50 years or so) without personally knowing "queer elders" by reading zines and interviews and books and looking at queer archives because queer people are actually pretty good at documenting our shit — especially post-AIDS Crisis.

Theyfab realistically could not have been coined in response to Michfest, so please tell me where and how transfems created the term theyfab to criticize transmisogynists when the term has literally only sprung up in that specific context in the last year and a half and has been used in a completely different way for the last decade.

Or even just tell me who you heard it from instead of just saying "source: it's oral history, just trust me"

[sass-ruby]

okay. HOLY FUCKING SHI-

Sun² (dark sun) looks like he's thriving LMAO 😭

Let me just say, THANK YOU MOON FOR BEING SO CURIOUS

I'm curious too, so this satisfied me so much

We got A LOT of information, and one VERY jaw dropping one

So.. sun² created a paradise for himself and others, most likely suns but not every sun. That- that honestly sounds so sweet 😭 I'm pretty sure by psychotic, sun² meant like- do things without thinking, go insane, kill for no reason ect ect.. since he doesn't like violence from what I've been able to gather. The violence he has probably committed, I am guessing was necessary because sun² thinks reasonably

But I wonder- do suns go there when they die? Like, heaven? There are already people there.. but are those people suns or random people??

His dragon is there to be a protector so, it's most likely dead suns I think..? To protect them? That'd be so sweet, I hope that's the case

Goliath died, oof 😭 I never cared much about him but that ONE THING he said to sun once;

"You..might be pathetic, but you're so much more than them."

The fact that EVEN goliath, someone so egotistical, sees sun's morals.. yet others cant and just see it as being cowardly

Our sun has been proven to be the most empathetic among all suns. He HAS done bad, but hasn't continued to do so, he tried his best to make it right. I love him sm I swear

But oh goodness. There is one MOST important jaw dropping lore we got out of sun².

Oh my fucking gosh.

Oh my.

The fact he chose this sun specifically.. BECAUSE HE COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT HIMSELF.

We already knew he was like sun, but moon broke him. Just like how it usually goes in dimensions, here's the thing, though. Even if he did the same back to him, he could NEVER kill him.

Now there's more space to understand why he did it. He couldn't do it, he wanted to give other suns a chance.

Holy shit. Holy shit.

This is too shocking for me I'm sorry

I did not think that SUN² COULDN'T KILL HIS MOON

I guess that was a thing that truly connected all suns before sun's² whole thing

The fact our sun was the first, THE FIRST WHO WAS ABLE TO AND THAT IT WASN'T AN ACCIDENT.

Finally. FINALLY IT'S BEEN PROVEN HE'S SPECIAL IN SOME SORT OF WAY

I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR SO LONG

The "I hate him, but couldn't kill him" thing reminds me kinda of my mother and I, just with different context 😭 like- I hate her but can't hate her completely. I have mommy issues QwQ

I literally sometimes get so mad at how she treats me that I hope she dies.

Although- lets not get into that

The point I was trying to make is, even when you swear you hate someone close to you... ESPECIALLY YOUR OWN FLESH AND BLOOD, you can never completely hate them.

That is only what I've been able to gather from other things like that

ALSO ALSO ALSO aLsOoOoooO

Why did sun² sound so unsure.. at that one part.

"I suppose nexus could sure try, if he was still around. Mumbles if he was still around..."

WHY DID HE SOUND SO UNSURE.

I wouldn't be surprised if he said it like that because he's seen how many times villains come back in this dimension ☠️☠️

LITERALLY I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED

But if nexus comes back, SHIT.

A part of me believes he will. It's after Christmas, and the new tradition is that shit happens after Christmas because the October takeover tradition ended

AAAAAAAAAA

I'll be kinda happy about it, ONLY BECAUSE THE ANGSTTT

YAYAYYAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYAYAAAAA

Another also and another woa!! >:D

"why does EVERYTHING have to be US"

"you think I have that answer? Heh, even with my intelligence.. I can never answer that one."

EVEN SUN² ACKNOWLEDGES IT

Because the show runners need to feed us, that's the answer <333

Their lives are something else 😭 they have to deal with something new everyday. They can never catch a break

That would be all. BUT HAHSHHDD I LAUGHED SO HARD SEEING SUN² FLY HELPPPPP

He had his "I was a fairy" moment 🎀 NDNDJSJMS

okay now it's all :3

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[luckyfinch]

nobody asked for this but i need an outlet to rant about the newest helluva boss episode before i explode so beware spoilers for s2e11 Mastermind below

okokokokkookok blitz’s face as he realizes what stolas is doing . its so perfectly captured. like, he’s there being verbally berated basically by stolas while on the chopping block, not rlly sure what the fuck he’s on about, and then u can just SEE the exact second he realizes stolas is acting to take the eyes off of himself

and once he understands what stolas is trying to do he fucking PANICS, cause HOLY SHIT STOLAS IS THROWING HIMSELF UNDER SATAN’S WRATH FOR *BLITZ* (and especially despite all the issues they’d been having recently—the “I don’t deserve this!” line truly frames Blitz’s guilt perfectly)

and the visual of blitz struggling against *gold chains* here ?!?!?!?!?? AMAZING parallel to his truth-hallucination back in s1e6 (Truth Seekers) where he easily lets himself be dragged up to Stolas by *gold chains*.

this specific parallel is sooo cool. the hallucination was a clear show of Blitz feeling trapped in some way by Stolas, and the detail of him having to climb up a big fancy set of stairs to get to stols was a good visual representation of the large class difference they have, being royalty and an imp, as that is a big issue in their relationship. but still, Blitz wasn’t fighting at all; in fact, in Truth Seekers, he RUNS to the stairs, he lets himself get pulled up, he is visibly uncomfortable as the chains appear yet makes so struggle at all as he nears stolas. he blushes and then looks so ASHAMED of it. its a great way to show Blitz’s internal struggles without outright saying it all. he’s afraid of love and ashamed of wanting it, he feels trapped or as i personally think is more accurate here he feels confined/smothered by Stolas’ affections, and he can’t let himself think the prince would ever actually mean what he says so he sees it all as mocking/degrading instead of as the affection Stolas probably means it as, and so he feels stuck.

BUT. butbutbut but when Blitz is chained and faced with Stolas in Mastermind, he isn’t on hands and knees climbing up a metaphorical staircase to reach Stolas—Stolas is basically throwing himself down the fucking stairs for Blitz’s sake. Blitz here is instead FIGHTING the chains with all he has, and rather than being pulled to Stolas he’s fighting to reach out for Stolas himself.

then, the visual parallels of the golden feathers from the same scenes!!!

the symbolism here (from my personal thoughts) is of freedom, and the lack of. going off of Blitz feeling smothered by Stolas as represented by the chains and then more aggressively the golden feathers, the feathers as shown in the hallucination are a product of Stolas, and so I took it as his attention and status and general presence as physically overwhelming Blitz. then in Mastermind, Stolas is instead walking easily through/past the golden feathers, and behind him they fly easily past Blitz as well.

in the same bit there Stolas says “I am the master of my fate” , Blitz says “I realized too late” … i feel like the significance here of Stolas walking past the feathers like this in the context of them representing being smothering/overwhelming/controlling, this is showing Stolas taking control of his life himself for once, like really truly taking full control. no longer is he overwhelmed because in a way, by being disgraced, he’s being freed from the responsibility and weight put on him by his father and generally for his role as a goetia. likewise, Blitz is left to at last look at Stolas and see him clearly without the feathers to blind him—all he sees is Stolas, putting his power and richess and status on the line without hesitation to save his life.

at LONG. long. long last, Blitz is being fully forced to accept Stolas truly loves him, because there is like actually no denial for him now. no “he couldnt love an imp hes a goetia” bro just exchanged EVERYTHING for Blitz’s life in a second, and LOST IT ALL for him. now, they are on basically equal footing for the first time.

and i must say i love how gentle blitz is with stolas after the trial. also everyone MUST remember here that Blitz gave his room up for Loona, so his bed is the couch. and he immediately sets up stolas on the couch. dude gave his bed up again so next ep i best get a shot of them cuddling at last or of blitz determinedly sleeping on the floor

to end my ranting i HAVE TO talk abt the significance of this single scene. forget blitz blushing before this, and forget kissing him on the cheek. ok. listen. this specific frame is so special to me. this is like the first time blitz is —without any witness to prove anything to — showing nonsexual intimate affection . to stolas no less. as stolas is asleep, there is zero pressure to do anything at all, to smile or to be kind or gentle or to do ANYTHING. and he oh so gently brushes the feathers from his face and touches his head lightly for a moment while smiling down at him like that. he’s finally accepted his feelings and he can’t even reasonably doubt Stolas’ affections in this moment, for this single moment everything is so. AUUUSHHHAHAHAHAHAHAJHJGJHA i love this

okay ranting over

final note: i LOVE the song from this ep so much its awesome its stuck in my head vocals were beautiful

[ladysomething]

Hi maddie, do you mind expanding on what you mean when you say you took a couple of wrong steps/the future wygig chapters ended going on the wrong direction? (If you want to). Not digging for information or anything, just curious :) i love seeing the bts of the writing process on long fics like wygig, especially as a non-writer 😁

for sure, though I fear it's going to sound very convoluted because I can't talk about specifics haha.

but basically ...

that was an incident in chapter 30 that I skipped writing because I was like ... I'm not sure how I want this to go, so I'll just move on to keep the train moving.

huge mistake, because I wrote 10k (ch 31, and part of ch 32) without the context of that scene. then I went back to write it and when I wrote it I was like holy shit ..... this changes everything about ch 31 and 32 actually.

so I panicked, sent @saiyanwitcher 5 voice messages totalling approx 20 minutes having a meltdown being like "I don't know what to do, because I've written all this stuff that doesn't really fit anymore, so I guess this is my solution??"

my solution included shifting the contents of ch 32 to another race weekend, taking the beginning of ch 32 and putting it in ... 30 I think it was? or maybe 31? and then trying to readjust around that.

then I went to sleep, she woke up, listened to my meltdown, read over the entirety of what's drafted (40k and 6 chapters) and was like yeah Maddie .... imo we've got more issues than just this, and this is my solution.

bless her, because I was so panicked I wasn't really thinking clearly lmao.

she said that there was a whole chunk of ch 27 (yes 27, way before even my point of 'oh fuck this has gone wrong') that didn't fit. I, unfortunately, agreed with her, which meant that whole section got cut, so I've been rewriting ch 27 this week too.

then we agreed that ch 31 should actually be the new ch 28, because it's a very low stakes drama that was dragged out for too long and was wedged in between two much more important chapters. so for pacing, it's been moved earlier, but of course bc it was originally 31 it has vastly different context so it needs to be rewritten a little bit too.

I pulled something out of the new ch 29, so now it needs more scenes so that it's not only 6k.

the new 30, GOD BLESS THE NEW 30, is actually totally fine.

the new 31 ..... well. because that was the original 30 (the one with the initial drama that I skipped writing) ... it needs ... work. to bring it to a good place. I also didn't close that chapter off because as I was writing the concluding scene was when I realised hey I've fucked up really badly, and I stopped writing. so it needs an ending.

and then finally ... ch 32 .... well. I stopped writing anything additional there, too, because I realised I needed to fix everything before it before I could keep moving ahead.

so ... yeah... that's the story of how the next 6 chapters aren't finished and are in the process of being entirely reordered/rewritten.

[alpha-hydra]

Tag Game - Fic Edition!

Share the first lines of ten of your latest fanfic (Or up to if you have fewer) and tag ten people.

>>OR!!!

Anyone who sees this and wants to play too!!! Consider yourself tagged!

ty for tagging @detta-pica [here] and @hollow-lime-green [here]!!!

I will take any opportunity to talk about writing, especially first lines! I'm desperately in love with opening scenes even if most of mine I'm not super happy with my own </3 I chalk it up to being too impatient to post hahahaha

I've been writing for roughly a million billion years so at least I know what works for me to keep me interested in writing; i hope they've worked for the people who read my fics, too.

I'll start at the most recent and go backwards. It's funny bc I wrote #1 literally four days ago, but before that, I'm pretty sure my last ten works have been all jjk-related.

1. Welcome Home (Naruto Fandom, kkgai)

Kakashi slips back into Konoha an hour before sunrise, the full moon painting the walls around the village bone-white.

Unfortunately this one I should have spent a bit more time on except to get the full points for the challenge I needed it complete and posted in three hours so. Maybe one day I'll get back to it.

The rest are below the cut, since this got a touch out of hand 😅😅

2. Parable of the Violent

NiJedha falls to the Imperial Army when Suguru turns ten. He wakes with a wretched sob when the slaughter begins, nauseous from the force of his tears. There is no moonlight to offer Suguru comfort that night, and darkness squeezes into the edges of the Force from the slaughter, thousands of lights in the Holy City snuffed out in an instant. The Kyber echoes in Suguru’s skull, shrieking in dismay as swirling grey clouds of fear roll through the city like miasma. So loud, the Kyber wails. It hurts.

Parable of the Violent, my beloved. The rhythm, the vibes, the star-wars-adjacentness of it all. God, I really need to finish that fic.

This opening works for me bc the mystery is a little bit in the premise: we know kind of how a Star Wars AU would properly map onto stsg, so subverting our expectation is a fun way to begin, I think :)

3. Everything Carries Me to You

“I think I was a god in my past life. A demon, maybe.” Beside him, Suguru snorts. Satoru doesn’t bother sitting up; tilting his head on the grass instead. In his periphery, he can only just see the dark shape of Suguru’s head mirroring the movement. Under the shade of a giant oak tree, Satoru frowns. “Sure, Satoru.” “I’m serious!” But how else could Satoru describe it? The power in his veins; the destruction, the blood? Suguru dead by his hand? Who else but a horrible, vengeful god would do that?

A bit long, but I don't think it works as well without a smidge of context. I'm not super happy with this beginning, but it gets the job done ig.

4. & Trouble Deaf Heaven

Suguru wakes with a gasp, hanging upside down in the escape pod, every part of his body throbbing in pain. The silver of his console swims in and out of focus, and everything feels underwater for a long moment, until the pounding and screaming from the other side of his pod-bay door forces him to focus. Three shapes appear along the dirtied viewing port, vaguely familiar.

Action, action, action. @hollow-lime-green, i'm sorry! I have read name of the wind i promise! Sometimes fics start out with a strong character and sometimes they start with the action, is all and sadly i am more of an action writer these days UwU

But in all honesty with this i couldn't be bothered with the setup because it's all baked into the rest of the fic, so we get the character stuff later!

5. Unbearable to be Parted

Once in a millennia, a curse rises with the power to upend the entire natural world. Once in a millennia of millennia, two of these curses are born, an omen to the universe when they exist together. Bringers of the end of times, two of these special grade curses.

The fucking. THe WoRM FIC. I'm never living this guy down. The fucking melodrama. The atmosphere! Ugh i hate that i love this fic so much.

6. We'll be Home

“So, how did your meeting with your long-lost-twin-brother go?” Nobara asks him as they make their way across the quad.

7. And All the Dead Lie Down

Gojo Satoru doesn't sleep these days. He tells people he doesn't need to do it much anymore, and it's even mostly true. Reversed Curse Technique can keep his brains from frying while running Infinity non-stop, and it also keeps his brain from frying when he goes without sleep for four or five or six, or even nine days. It's not particularly pleasant; he's more addled, paranoid, and scatterbrained the longer he deprives himself of it, but no one knows nor cares about that. For one, he's not been in the business of divulging his weaknesses since Suguru left. For another, no one cares about the state of his mental health so long as The Strongest Sorcerer can still do his job. So. Satoru doesn't sleep, and no one asks him about it or calls him out on it. And no one needs to know the why of it; that Satoru hates sleeping these days because all he does is dream of Suguru.

This opening is so hard for me. i need it to set the premise, but it's not very interesting to me. It's a character-driven opening, which may be why I struggle with it, but it's not even fun about that. I tried to make it subtly about how burnt-out Satoru is, but I'm not sure it comes across on a re-read. idk. IDK!

8. Liminal Space (One Piece!!!)

The sun has slowly started setting on the fourth day of Wano's freedom. Out in the streets of the Flower Capital, the civilians haven't stopped crying and cheering, as if they were praising the coming of a messiah. Kid supposes that the idea isn't completely untrue, the more that he thinks about it. The coming of their long-dead Shogun's heir, the toppling of a regime, and even Straw Hat Luffy— It's annoying to think about, more annoying to admit even in the safety of his own mind, but Straw Hat Luffy? That is someone who might wear a title like Messiah, who might wear a name like God on his shoulders with ease. The dumb bastard would probably even laugh about it. 

A rare one piece fic!!! Love this one! It was for a zine so i was particularly careful with my words, and even then I couldn't help but drop my love of my rubber boy into the fic, despite it not even being about him.

please please please read one piece please please please watch one piece please i know it's too long i know the art style is weird please please haha what i'm so normal anyways

9. believe him.

You don't know how you got here, but you remember that you're in danger. You don't know why you remember that, but it feels important. You're in danger. There's a single flickering bulb on the concrete ceiling. Enough light to streak across the opposite wall, where you read Believe Him written in what you hope is crumbling, cracking spray paint.

ohohoho we're getting to the weird experimental shit. This fic was written for a Halloween prompt. It's so fun! It's deeply fucked in the head :) IDK if it's a great first line but the 2nd person does a lot of heavy lifting here

10. Letter, Central Jujutsu Museum of History

OBJECT DETAILS A letter written by Fushiguro Megumi, the Ten Shadows-User, ca. 2018 Credit Donation by the Zenn'in Estate in 2038 Record ID IMG_FM-GS_2016

Image description: A letter originally left on a grave, with some wear and tear already present when the document was donated to the museum. The grave has been identified as belonging to Gojo Satoru and Getou Suguru, two Special Grade Sorcerers from the Second Age of Jujutsu. Significant as the first mention of Clan Leader Zenn'in Maki, who with the help of her only surviving relative, Fushiguro Megumi, bearer of the Ten Shadows Technique, helped bring society into the Renaissance Era of Jujutsu. Penned by Fushiguro, the letter reads as follows:

This one I think is best served by it's summary, but I've put it and the opening bc. Ok mostly bc I'm super biased for this fic; it's hands down my favorite fic I've written. Possibly ever? Epistolary fanfictions, my beloveds!!!

Lastly, do i even know ten people???

@molten-rainbows @revenantghost @werewolves-and-winchesters @mangobubletea @starrysunrises @kbstories @kittywritesfic @hjemne @tenshinokorin

[cicaedahums]

Drops some wild lore.

Doesn't elaborate.

The way Vamola is looking at an equally perplexed Momo is kind of eerie

No time to think about that though: lets see how spiffy Vamola is looking in her new 'fit

Pretty spiffy!!!

It's nice that Momo is REALLY warming up to Vamola. Turns out being harassed by a giant woman will REALLY make you forget about all your petty squabbles. Now Momo can put all her energy in chiding Okarun for playing with her heart (he never did that)

Say it Vamola!!!

I'm glad Kenta and Okarun are getting along better. I kind of wonder why they never talked before, but I guess Kenta does have a bit of an attitude problem that predates... all of this. That said, he also doesn't strike me as someone who engaged in bullying Okarun OR would feel compelled to treat him as a pariah just because everyone else did. That and I'd think they'd have similar interests? It's not like Okarun REALLY had proof of aliens prior to Momo getting abducted.

Maybe they were BOTH too self-absorbed in their own ways until recently. That's the power of friendship baybee!!!

JIJI YOU PUT THAT BACK RIGHT THIS INSTANT. MOMO IS THE ONLY PSYONIC WARRIOR ALLOWED.

On a cuter note, Vamola is DEFFO rounding out the girls' side of things. Ofc I love Momo and Aira, especially Aira, but I was like low-key hoping for like a Girl's Girl kind of girl to join you know? Momo and Aira might not LOVE her, but she's very clearly SO SO fond of Momo and it's clearly getting to Momo :> I appreciate that Momo and Aira are ready to throw down at a moment's notice, but it's nice to have a girl who's Big Thing is She's Sweet and Kind of Bubbly.

No context Aira and Jin Being Jackasses Momence (affectionate)

"Everyone we gotta get Momo home by nine thirty and we're cutting it close!!!"

The plot:

Gpoy

Jesus CHRIST.

How is she still ALIVE after that

*bimp*

Well apparently Evil Eye can tag in w/o cold water now, which is groovy bc I KIND of think Jiji was getting microwaved for a tic there. Gruesome stuff.

Anyway, all things considered, Aira is playing it really cool here. Obviously she IS the team leader after all, but it's cool to see her continuing to grow into that role, especially without mean people continuously undermining her authority hmph

Good stuff Evil Eye u did it

I've said before that I took for granted that being in Evil Eye mode somehow grants Jiji some physical durability he would not at ALL otherwise have and tbh I'm still not really sure where this leaves us.

Ok like jfc, HOW is she still alive.

That was brutal enough for me to think like "oh huh I guess there's real stakes in Dandadan after all"

I dont think it'll go there, but like, it COULD

The sweet little cut of Momo at her job immediately after this noooo I'm tearing up. TThe stakes...

Damn they did Okarun dirty too. Holy shit

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

Unfortunately this has set us back a bit since the one ball Okarun HAD is now, presumably, off-planet altogether. That's rough buddy.

Great googly moogly it's all going to shit.

I hope Kenta and Vamola are doing okay.

Oh nooooo NOOOOOOOO I WANTED VAMOLA AND MOMO TO BE FRIENDS WHY THIS

I think I was dead-on though

Jiji fucked everyone here by getting in that suit. We should kill him

Vamola was on the RUN, possibly from her betrothed

I DO NOT think Vamola is actually behind this.

Damn, enemy of my enemy and all

Hell yeah the power of words and incredible violence

I'm amazed she could move her hand after getting stabbed like that. That had to have gone through bone, right? <:|

Forget your shoulder girl, your ulna!!!

Whatever, Momo's out of comission now, but against all odds, she's now safe...

Or not bc im a booboo fool who forgot how Reiko worked

Against all odds, the seroptonians continue to be silly as hell

Obviously I knew this already but DAMN this is brutal. Mr. Shrimp Alien continues to be an mvp

Also an aside but I'm going to put the fact that DDD just did Ancient Alien style conspiracies out of my mind.

[serendertothesquad]

Favorite OS fanfics? If you read them

Oooooh well do I got some for you, anon! Shame a lot of my favorites are restricted to Google Docs and aren't publicly published anywhere, but I'll give some a shoutout anyway.

Ships Ahoy!: An absolute classic. Lilac's entire slate OS-wise, really, but Ships Ahoy will always be a favorite. Beautifully crafted with great character dynamics, big old lore, and lots of gut punches that make me go "oof" and then sob eternally. There is also...

Full Circle: An unofficial sequel to Ships Ahoy that focuses on Olive and Oscar's relationship, with Otto, Otis, Oona, Oprah and Olympia all playing matchmaker to try and get them back together. Holy shit is it one of the funniest Odd Squad fics I've read, especially as far as Otis not knowing what shipping is and Olympia and Oona's shipping war is concerned. The A/N at the end is also something that resonates with me a lot, and as someone who writes OS fanfic, I like to look back on it every once in a while because it's very true.

Forever and a Mile: This one is a bittersweet and adorable one-shot that focuses on Octavia in the time she was tube-blocked by O'Brian and was confined to Precinct 13579's HQ, as well as Opie, the mysterious ballpit agent. I love this one because it gives a lot of depth to the ballpit and shows off some of the levels within it, while also making me feel sympathy for Octavia for all that she's going through.

OSMU: Fanfiction Friction: I'm putting this one here mainly because it's one of the few OSMU fics I've seen. It follows the Mobile Unit as they realize that, well, there are no fics written about them, and they do all this wild and crazy stuff in an effort to get a story out of it. There are an absolute fuckton of jabs to various things -- Elon Musk, ABBA, the comic book industry, and even the author himself, among others. There's even a bit where the author makes a jab at someone who was a bit of a pervert who liked to make up stories about agents naked and/or in bathing suits (key word is "was"; they got banned from Deviantart twice and AFAIK they are not around anymore), but you might not know that without context. If you're uncomfortable with that, though, the rest of the story is just as enjoyable if you skip it.

Viva La Vida: Villain Olive is a popular concept in the fandom. This is one of the earlier instances of it! The winner of a trivia contest held by Lilac, the idea for this one was conceived by Joshua Kilimnik and the story was written by Lilac. It features Olive slowly turning to the odd side due to a rapidly declining sanity with Odd Todd giving her all the pushes she needs. I like Olive's internal struggle throughout the story, as well as the (bad) ending which caps things off perfectly. (There's also a good ending, added for those who don't like to see Olly-child suffer. Just as beautiful!)

Icing: Fuck your two-sentence horror stories. All my homies hate two-sentence horror stories. Have a 91-word horror story that's one hell of a flashfic and puts a terrifying spin on what was already a pretty terrifying line in-series.

Through Frostbitten Stone: There is another fic I read a long time ago where Olympia manages to get hypothermia while trying to save Otis. (That's the gist of it. The full context would derail this bit.) This fic takes a bit of a different turn from that, with Otis getting hypothermia instead of Olympia, and is also one of the longest Odd Squad fics I've ever seen (and that is barring my own, thank you). It's a hefty read at nearly 30k words, but it's a beautiful read that showcases the Otis-Olympia partner dynamic perfectly.

...Okay fine. FINE. Two more and then that's it. God there are way too many good ones.

Star Agents: This was one that was Google-Docs-exclusive and has now been published onto AO3. And thank God, because it is incredibly good for an AU story where Otto and Todd are partners while Olive is on the villains' side. There are more chapters that are buried in Google Docs currently, but I recommend keeping an eye on this one for updates.

From The Desk of Doctor O: I like the format of this one. Dr. O trying to reform Odd Todd through court-mandated therapy sessions is also a really neat concept. Mainly because, if Odd Squad's judicial system were more realistic, I can 100% see court-mandated therapy being a thing. Definitely looking forward to seeing where this goes.

---------------------

This isn't an exhaustive list by any means, but there ya go, my list of favorites. I do like how the fic scene is still going strong with this fandom 10 years later lol.

Of course, I'm also nominating my own stories: my FiMFic catalog of crossover stories, and my AO3 collection of stories. Enjoy!