#I do know that there is a water motif. and that there is a flood coming

[mechanicalchickens]

Oh! That’s most certainly Mitzi, on first read I didn’t look close and thought that was Atlas’s silhouette. All the old crew are caught adrift in what was, huh.

Which means that which ‘makes light for dead eyes’ is the dead tree… does it represent Atlas? Or the dead husk of what he built, upon which Mordecai Mitzi and Victor project so much?

What is that veining the tree? Lightning?( the crackles certainly suggest so).

Or is it water ? a flood slowly seeping through the dead husk of what was built, until it all cataclysmically crumbles (the primary mechanisms of which would be ROT and slowly building water pressure, very thematically appropriate).

They’re in a desert, with a singular dead tree. a trickle would bring life, a deluge will lead to flash flooding and destroy the tree. But I’m not sure what water IS metaphorically in that interpretation of the scenario. I do know that the great flood of 1927 is coming.

There’s a storm brewing in the sky(which would bring WATER), maybe they’re all waiting for lightning to strike twice — that would make Atlas’s first entrance into their lives a metaphorically lightning strike, ultimately destructive. And if the tree crackles with energy, then perhaps that suggests that is what M&M&V are doing — living off the aftershocks of energy, waiting for another lightening strike even if that might mean doom.

Interesting, not quite sure what to make of it, except that living trapped in memory is unlikely to end well for any of them!

[cherry-lynn]

rocky and his water motif

ive seen a few people analyze rocky and his symbolism with water, and i thought id jump on the train and contribute what ive found. i looked through every piece of art in the gallery and messed around with the dead drop to find everything here! with that being said…

obvious spoiler warnings! and warning for a lot of speculation and over analyzing! a lot of things i mention are really big stretches but i added them anyways incase anyone else wants to look into it more

starting where the pilot starts and near the start of the comic (the page “lackadaisy dithyramb”), right off the bat we have an entire poem from rocky dedicated to the mississippi river. this iconic poem is literally just about the river, and he recites it in both scenes from on the bridge over the river.

note that in both cases there is also a crescent moon featuring in the background

more poetry! this one is from the comic on the page “lackadaisy doggerel”. this is actually one of my favourite pages in the comic, its very cool! we have this poem that, again, is entirely about water. it talks about water in a metaphorical way, comparing it to memory and the passage of time. maybe ill try to analyze this poem sometime but idk im not very good at that stuff. seems to talk about rockys past but im not sure

i didnt want to just put this entire page here but i will note that the page has a raging storm, an ocean, a water mill, another storm cloud and a waterfall all picured above rocky, who, in this case is ahem under water, in a way.

last bit of poetry im talking about is probably the most relevant. rockys feauture in the “lacrimosa” poem/halloween artwork shows him seemingly drowning outside a window.

the significance of it being outside a window is somewhat unclear to me, as every other character appears in something reminiscent of a picture frame. my only idea is that its meant to show him outside of what could be a home, in reference to him getting the “unceremonious boot”. the text emphasizes this idea, saying hes away from home

this next one is more obscure and much more of a stretch! after digging around in sketchbook pages, i found this tiny little sketch on a page simply labeled “lackadaisy preview 0018”. the sketch page features sketches that were used for the page “lackadaisy palaver” in the comic, and a few bonus doodles. this was one of the bonus doodles, and i cant seem to find a comic pannel that matches it anywhere.

this sketch could be a lot of things, its a bit hard to tell. most likely, its an unsused pannel of rocky that was going to be used on the comic page. maybe him on whe windshield, or something like that. that being said, the first thing i thought of was the lacrimosa art. its a stretch but i thought id add it, just in case! who knows really

next up is rockys character artwork, which features him standing on a barrel floating in a river.

be careful rocky, you might fall! one little detail about this art that i like is that hes quite literally hiding his sadness behind his back. and again, the crescent moon motif features in the background. the cattails in this image also remind me of this scene in the pilot

…but i mean cattails do grow near water so i dont think that means anything

speaking of the pilot, this scene has rocky accidentally blowing up a water tower and flooding the area, and getting a whole bunch of water dumped on him

be careful rocky, you might get hurt! ...i dont think he cares

one last note from the pilot (for now) is a line from mitzi after rocky comes back with alcohol for them. it could mean nothing, could be foreshadowing, who knows

note in the second image: “rest” as in the rest of the alcohol they were meant to bring back

the music video for liquid gold ends with rocky dropping a bottle and the golden liquid flooding the room

i wasnt even looking for water symbolism when i found this, i was just rewatching the music video for fun! i just about had a heart attack when it ended like that D: rocky please dont drown

back to the comics! sorry this is a bit all over the place. forgive me for just uploading an entire comic page, but the page “lackadaisy thunderhead” features rocky standing over a river. at the bottom of the pannel on the right there are daisys, a symbol that features in a lot of rockys artwork and is generally associated with the lackadaisy speakeasy. the daisys could just be for aesthetics or to frame the pannel better, but its also notable that they appear where the water is.

the name “thunderhead” is interesting given some other pannels

not sure what it means though

the very first scene in the comic aside from the introduction shows rocky at the river.

in the page “lackadaisy trouble boys” from the early concept art mitzi makes a comment about rockys aim, and makes an… interesting metaphor

side note: im gonna cry is that actually how rocky gets the little hole in his ear lmao

the mini comic “wilderness” has rocky climbing out of a small muddy pool of water claiming “the waters great”, despite looking absolutely horrible. isnt shown here, but he says he cant feel his legs and calls for freckle to come back.

knock knock! its time for the playing cards! rockys card depicts him as the 8 of spades, although hes also been shown as the ace of clubs multiple times.

first up, 8 of spades! i really like this art but i have a lot of questions. for one, why is rocky holding a shovel and whats with the lantern? theres nothing wrong with it, just caught my attention since i think freckle is drawn with shovels a lot more than rocky (might be wrong on that though) second, this is the only picture i can find where you can CLEARLY see rockys head injury healed. cool! third, the outfit hes wearing is… atypical for rocky, you could say. for obvious reasons. he always wears blue, why suddenly the change to black? and obviously, the choice of making him the 8 of spades. some quick google searches and this is what i found: from various websites (the first things that popped on on google), apparently spades symbolizes the winter season and the water element. it seems to represent old age, change, wisdom and acceptance. the number 8 supposedly represents victory, prosperity and overcoming. i was going to put images, but i could only have 30 and i ran out of space lmao im so sorry this is SO LONG djfjsjnrfj

make of it what you will. as for the ace of clubs:

my google searches were much less interesting so ill just put my own thoughts. the clubs is likely just for the association with the lackadaisy speakeasy, as in both of these cases he is shown alongside other characters from the lackadaisy and everyone has clubs. as for him being the ace, the main notable thing about the ace is that its generally the highest card.

the main idea i personally took from these cards is the idea rocky will possibly not be a part of the lackadaisy in the furure. we see him in his classic outfit, no head injury as the ace of clubs, with clubs being associated with the lackadaisy. but we also see him with a healed head injury (so clearly in the future) with a new outfit and no more clubs suit.

not sure if this is even notable but this entire (very iconic) scene in the comic takes place in the rain

be careful rocky, you might get shot!

and now, even more crescent moon motifs

so why have i been pointing this out? well its undeniable that rocky also has motif with this crescent moon. i have no idea what it means but heres my very quick five minute thoughts on it: one: the moon controls the tide. obviously a river doesnt really have a tide, but still! theres some association with water there, so its notablea. two: this might be a stretch but in the pilot theres this very memorable frame where it shows the reflection of the moon (which initially looks like a cat) ahem in the water. obviously water reflects stuff so its not abnormal for the moon to reflect in the water but i just thought it was cool!

aaaand last but not least

this analysis was brought to you while listening to hatsune miku, i probably made a lot of typos so yell at me and ill fix them but not my grammar its terrible and im not fixing that, lmk your thought and if i missed anything, thank you for reading have a nice day sorry it was so long <3

[hazard-symbols-that-fuck-hard]

I need you to know that your post about fnaf motifs genuinely has fed my brain more than like. Anything has in months. It’s so interesting. There’s something so specifically horrific about Chica’s filth to me, and the idea of seeing a dirty, oily pan with some blood in it is just…terrifying? I’m not sure. Really, it’s kept me up. And your ideas about Bonnie too…a cleaning/chemical motif is SO INTERESTING!! Aghhh I can just imagine the chemical burns on his suit and potentially just corrosion on an older Bonnie animatronic due to so much chemical exposure from cleaning…the cleanliness/filth opposition is just. Ugh. So good.

I was wondering if you had any other ideas for the other animatronics? When you mentioned you knew Chica was coming when you saw the cockroaches, it made me wonder for the potential of some of the other characters. It’s personally very inspiring to read as a video game writer/artist. I’m not sure why your post was so horrific to me, I can’t place why the specific kind of filth you described is so scary.

Of course!

Now, I really wanted to focus on the core four, because half of the fun of FNaF (at least for me) is seeing the same guys over and over again in new, weird ways.

So naturally, the different versions should focus on different aspects of those motifs, right?

Have one Chica be really focused on oil specifically. One focused on rotted food.

I can see a version of nightmare Chica that takes on some cockroach-like aspects of her design.

(I also want to point out Post Shift 2’s rendition of Chica, because it’s just *chef’s kiss*)

(hell. a hazmat suit motif would work for a cleanliness-focused Bonnie, too.)

Other than the core four, though, I feel that the rest of the animatronics have either appeared too few times, or they’re too story-heavy to really stick anything on. But there are definitely some motifs in the series as a whole.

Namely, people getting stuffed into robots, and robots getting stuffed into people.

In FNaF 1 and 2, the main threat is the night guard getting stuffed inside an electronic-filled suit. In 3, you face off against a guy trapped inside a robot. And Sister Location dares to ask “what if the robots got stuffed into you?” with plenty of kids getting traditionally stuffed for good measure.

The “Fazbear Frights” books go completely off the walls with this, coming up with more and more ways for people to get trapped in the insides (and outsides) of automatons. Sometimes, they forgo animatronics completely in favor pure, raw machinery, but you can tell it’s still FNaF because some poor kid is still being jammed full of servos.

Another one of FNaF’s motifs is fire as a cleansing force— it’s a bit of a running joke that Freddy’s just has a predisposition to burning down. And I really do believe that this is a reflection of Scott’s faith.

Fire can be seen as a symbol of God’s presence— what better thing to wipe away such hellish abominations?

Now, if only we could get a flood after the fire… Imagine some charred, submerged automatons coming out to get you, barely holding on to their own lives!

And back to Chica and Bonnie— think about how much water speeds up decay. Think about how many chemicals shouldn’t be mixed with water.

So yeah. There’s some more FNaF brainrot for ya.

[raincode-archives]

Chapter 3 Loading Screen Trivia

Note: Currently, I do not know which of these trivia may be general game trivia or Chapter 3 exclusives (if there is any). And there may be trivia I'm currently missing that I will add later on, if I find any more.

World Detective Organization (WDO) An extra-legal, extra-privileged organization devoted to eradicating the world's unsolved mysteries.

Detective Deed An identification card. These are granted by the World Detective Organization.

Master Detective Among the detectives belonging to the World Detective Organization, this is a detective with a specialized power called Forensic Forte that aids in their investigative activities.

Forensic Forte Those exhibiting innate talent for special powers like clairvoyance or mind-reading are trained by the WDO to develop a supernatural investigative ability called Forensic Forte or simply, Forte.

Amaterasu Corporation Many products are in development, some of which cannot be made public.

Amaterasu Peacekeepers A department of Amaterasu Corporation. They serve as a sort of police force within Kanai Ward.

Kanai Station The only train station in Kanai Ward. It's a magnificent building, but seldom has customers because of the city's isolation.

Kamasaki District Crime generally isn't bad here, unless you venture deeper inside, that is.

Riverbank Due to polluted waters, fish are rarely caught.

Kanai Bus System A bus service running throughout Kanai Ward. The bus fee is fixed at 200 shien. Amaterasu Corporation employees ride free.

Kanai Ward Living Condition Perhaps because of the daily rainfall, some people in Kanai Ward don't mind getting wet.

TV Programs Nearly all the TV programs broadcasted in Kanai Ward are sponsored by Amaterasu Corporation.

Popular Sports Parkour is popular among the young men of Kamasaki District. New problems have arisen however, what will all the trespassing and running across the top of food stalls.

Crosswalks The crosswalks in Kanai ward detect pedestrians and stop traffic for them. As such, it's fairly uncommon to see people waiting for the signal to change.

Pets Because of Kanai Ward's unending rain, indoor pets are popular. At the same time, there is increasing concern of many dogs and cats become feral after being abandoned by irresponsible owners.

Flora in Kanai Ward Because it's difficult to grow plants in the perpetually rainy Kanai Ward, many have been replaced with synthetic counterparts, aside from some roadside trees and flowers in Ginma.

Flavor of Halara's Candy Depends on the mood. The worse the mood, the sweeter the taste; the better the mood, the lighter the taste.

Desuhiko's Bangs Desuhiko is particular about how his bangs look; it takes about an hour a day to style.

Fubuki's Accessories Fubuki's necklace has a clock motif. The choker is decorated with video playback control symbols.

Vivia's Garments There are just bandage-like wrappings beneath his coat, so it wouldn't be accurate to call it clothing.

Yakou's Lifestyle A complete night owl, he typically sleeps in until noon, even when there's work to be done. This nocturnal lifestyle was the norm until the Master Detectives arrived.

Sun & Moon Hotel Breakfast is served buffet-style in the adjoining restaurant.

Cafe A cafe with an open terrace located in Gina District. It is popular among office workers on break and female students on their way home from school.

Kanai Tower The tallest building in Kanai Ward. Especially high-ranking people within Amaterasu Corporation and their families live here.

Dohya District The so-called "slums" of Kanai Ward, where everything is stagnant and polluted. Most of the district is flooded because rainwater cannot be properly drained.

Dohya District Criminals and others on the run from Peacekeepers occupy the abandoned building here, making the area fairly dangerous.

Marunomon District The business area of Kanai Ward. Rows of office buildings line the street, and Kanai Ward's only bank is also located here.

Marunomon District Being a commercial area, it is relatively crime-free compared to other districts.

Marunomon Bank The only bank in Kanai Ward. All the money circulating through the city begins and ends their journey here. Due to the advanced security, no incidents have ever occured.

"Grade A" A meat bun shop in Marunomon District. Though luxuriously priced at 1000 shien apiece nearby office workers have remarked on the bland flavor.

Golden Path Cafe Uniforms Many customers flock here simply to ogle the uniformed waitresses.

Kanai Ward's Electrical Power Because of the perpetual rain, electrical power is derived predominantly from rainwater.

The Resistance A movement that has declared its opposition to Amaterasu Corporation. The name of the group is "Anti-Establishment Organization," but they're commonly called the Resistance.

Dronebrella Incidents Dronebrellas are handsfree umbrellas, and inter-device collisions as well as incidents involving loss of control due to electromagnetic interference has occurred.

Stay Safe at Marunomon Bank! Marunomon Bank uses state-of-the-art safes because the security of your money is our number one concern. Take advantage of our 1% interest rate now, only at Marunomon Bank.

Homunculus An immortal monster created through research conducted by Amaterasu Corporation.

Shachi's Coveralls Shachi's coveralls are made of a water-resistant material, ideal for working outdoors.

Iruka's Tattoo Iruka has a tattoo of dual pistons on the left side of her chest.

Icardi's Boots Made of waterproof material similar to that of wetsuits, the boots have a switch on the heel that turns them into flippers.

Margulaw's Photo Frame The old photo frame inside the shop is not for sale. It was a birthday present from departed family members.

Servan and Gambling A frequent patron of casinos, he prefers games based on probability and theory. His all-time win is currently less than 50%.

Makoto's Meals Almost always eaten at restaurants or the Amaterasu Corporation cafeteria. He's terrible at cooking, so he never makes his own food.

The Clockford Family The world-renowned family tasked with managing the world's standard of time. They are also responsible for deciding on standard operating procedures related to time and the calendar.

Fubuki's Sense of Monetary Value Given her affluent, princess-like upbringing, she rarely went shopping for herself and thusly has a unique sense of monetary value. She thinks an apple costs as much as a car.

Guillaume There's a hobby she hasn't told anyone about: recipe development. She's sweet on sweets and has strong opinions on proper jam making technique.

Rumor Surrounding Dominic Once a soldier, he suffered a serious injury in battle and became a cyborg after undergoing surgery at Amaterasu Corp. That's the rumor going around the company, anyway.

Swindle Detective A Master Detective who turned their advanced skills of deception and cajolery into a Forte. This detective was not summoned to Kanai Ward.

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Lucky Item of the Day! For all the Aries out there, big trouble if you don't carry around a used disposable camera exposed to light!

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Lucky Spot of the Day! For all the Tauruses out there, if you don't repent on the roof of an abandoned building, you'll die!

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Lucky Place of the Day! For all the Geminis out there, a trip into an alternate dimension will bring you that much closer to achieving your goals!

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Lucky Life of the Day! For all the Cancers out there, just give up! Better luck next life!

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Lucky Goods of the Day! For all the Leos out there, wearing some lion fur might be the key to avoiding a tragic fate!

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Lucky Jewel of the Day! For all the Virgos out there, get your hands on a cursed diamond! Deal with the curse yourself!

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Lucky Scale of the Day! For all the Libras out there, carry one hundred 100-gram weights around for potential bliss!

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Lucky Hero of the Day! For all the Scorpios out there, watch your head! Get trampled and become a star!

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Lucky Gourmet of the Day! For all the Sagittariuses out there, sea turtle soup is the chef's choice! Get to a restaurant and slurp some up later!

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Lucky Weather of the Day! For all the Capricorns out there, you'll have better luck when the weather clears up! But Kanai Ward is rainy all the time!

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Lucky Jar of the Day! For all the Aquariuses out there, buy this jar for good luck! It's a steal at five million shien, for a limited time only!

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Lucky Fight of the Day! For all the Pisces out there, pick a fight with a shop owner, then jump into the sea! A lovely encounter awaits!

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Unlucky Human of the Day! Are there still Ophiuchuses around? Shouldn't we go back to just 12 zodiacs?

[arx-aru]

anyway this octopus at the ruin-strewn precipice killed a relic-wielding serpent cultist so that's pretty pog

i think this particular octopod is potentially very relevant lore-wise actually though but also it's very funny he's a funny guy look at him. but okay so-

coupled with the evidence of Rykardian assassins hunting Malenia and her knights post-Aeonia, that the octopuses are associated with Miquella, and that the Ruin-Strewn Precipice is one of three choke-points separating the Altus Plateau from the lower Lands Between--it's possible with enough rot coping (this bitch that's me) to interpret this murder scene as...

a) a distant Miquella trying subconsciously or not to protect his sister with octopuses(which is adorable i choose to believe this)

and/or b) the octopuses are drawn to the residual Miquellen traces left by Finlay's Miquellen/Haligtree magics(Cleanrot Commanders(what Finlay is) use Halo Scythes which have Miq-Trina's visual design motifs(sickle, half-circle, eclipse silhouette) as well as unique AoW specifically being "Miquella's Halo." they also cast a unique AoE blessing with a Haligtree sigil). So this could be the remains of one of the "all manner of foes" Finlay fought off in her journey

i like those 2 options the best but it's also just possible that

c) it's another case of Rykard trying to protect and/or control the happenings around Raya Lucaria(where his mom is and where he has Iron Virgins patrolling). Because the Ruin-Strewn Precipice appears to be draining great excesses of water into Liurnia, possibly being the cause of the city/regions' continued flooding (it rains there already, which was presumably responsible for the "Lakes" that have since been subsumed into a single region-wide mire that Liurnia is now). it could be that the sword's former wielder was investigating or attempting to halt said flood, given the location.

The evidence for C, though wholly environmental/speculative, is decently compelling perhapsedly; Raya Lucaria seems to be under environmental siege by, uh, octopuses. a lot of octopuses. Given his many predicaments, it would make a lot of sense for Miquella to want Rennala's Rune of the Unborn--it is the only low-risk way we know of within the present Order for him to address any one of his 3 biggest problems (his curse, his sister's curse, and what has more recently been done to his body)

Additionally, the Ruin-Strewn Precipice has one of the rarer bat encounters-- a Bat Lady is singing in Latin about infertility here. There's another in Liurnia(still relevant) and other areas also but I believe this dungeon the most concentrated in numbers singing bats appear anywhere in-game.

i do think the connections to Miquella are very strong on this cliffside. So there's definitely something to figure here. The Serpent Sword and the Vulgar Militia also mean that Rykard and Maliketh had/have a hand in whatever the deal is.

[deannagrey]

Just Dare Me: Chapter 2 (2/4)

(had to split these up 'cause of the character limit)

Part 1 - Part 3 - Part 4

Ari saved my ass with the rain warning. Halfway through the day, it felt like a full-on hurricane was passing through town. Everyone scrambled across campus, trying to get to their destinations without getting soaked to the bone. A few professors even canceled classes, citing some streets were too flooded for commuting.

I’d accidentally splashed through a deceivingly huge puddle after my second class of the day. The water and dirt ruined my pressed tan slacks. I almost cried in the bathroom at how my stain-removing stick wasn’t doing anything for me. It took longer than I’d like to admit for me to calm down and remind myself dry cleaning existed for a reason. Pushing away my need to look one hundred percent presentable was a feat that zapped most of my energy.

My initial spark from the morning faded to a strained ember by the end of the day. So it goes without saying that I didn’t exactly feel like showing up to David’s dare. Especially when I realized it’d be at a bar. A cowboy-themed bar.

I had a ride share drop me off in front of Ye-Haw Way a half hour before our meet-up time. The demographic of customers seemed diverse enough. Most who filtered in and out of the building wore some kind of cowboy motif. I snapped a photo of the blinking ‘giddy on in’ welcome sign to send to David. There was a slim to no chance Ye-Haw Way wasn’t his intended destination. But I still needed to try.

Yara: This the right place?

David: Congrats. You know how to use a GPS. Do you need help finding the door as well?

I blew out an annoyed breath and grabbed the wooden door handle. Once past the traditional door, I was met with a swinging one reminiscent of old-time Western bar entryways.

The inside of Ye-Haw Way was loud and packed. I raised my brow at the surprisingly colorful overhead lighting. There was a live band complete with banjo and fiddle player. The lead singer on stage was a woman with dark skin. She wore beads on the end of her braids and held onto the microphone like it was a life raft. Her voice reminded me of the older women in the choir from my church. She looked much younger but had an “old spirit” way about her in how she swayed back and forth.

It took me a second to re-focus on my main goal: finding David, finishing his dare, and getting the hell out of here. This place wasn’t as unwelcoming as I thought it’d be from the outside. I moved through the crowd easily enough. No one looked at me too weird even though I felt wildly out of place in my casual work wear.

David sat at the end of the bar. I paused for a second, taking in how his hair was a bit overgrown since the beginning of the semester. He wore his trademark jean jacket that was fraying on the shoulders. The cup sitting in front of him was empty and he stared into the glass like it held the answer to life’s greatest mysteries. He glanced up ever so often like he was looking for something he’d forgotten or something he needed.

When I finally decided to get closer, another girl beat me to the punch. She wore the cutest pair of pink cowboy boots I’ve ever seen paired with a pink mini skirt and corset. Her bubblegum hair was in waves that reached her back. I was close enough to hear she had a sweet voice to match her exterior.

Most of the guys nearby seemed to have eyes for her. But, for some reason, she didn’t seem interested in making eye contact with anyone except David. I didn’t blame her, his dark aesthetic would contrast hers brilliantly. They’d be the kind of pairing musicians wrote about. Mean guy, sweet girl, and fairytale romances. I lingered back just to see how things would play out.

Their exchange was brief. David didn’t look up once during it. His disinterest didn’t seem to deflate her ego, though. Instead, she left a piece of paper under his cup and skipped away to join some other girls on the dance floor.

“Not your type?” I teased as I settled the stool next to him. “Too good for your damaged soul? Did you not want to ruin her and bring her into your misery?”

He didn’t look up at my words either. But his brow quirked up, which was more animation than he’d given Cute Pink Girl.

“Didn’t come here looking for a type,” he said, simply and gestured to the bartender for a refill. “I’m seeing someone.”

My ears perked up a little, shocked at this tidbit of information. David and I didn’t have conversations about our lives outside of when we hung out. We were always too busy trying to wound each other’s pride.

“Really? Who’s the lucky lad or lass?” I asked, wincing at my phrasing. I was a little too hard not to sound interested in his dating life. In reality, the thought of someone being with David romantically seemed nearly impossible. Who’d lack that much self-preservation?

“Lad or lass?” David snorted. “I’m bisexual, Yara. Not a pirate.”

“There’s a difference?” I joked.

David shook his head, smiling a bit. “You really want to know?”

I scoffed. “I’m not dying for the information or anything.”

Though my breath did catch a little when he looked at me.

“Good. Can’t have your death on my hands. Covee would never forgive me.” He finished his drink with no indication he planned on answering my question. So, he planned on keeping this mystery person a secret? Fine by me.

“Let’s get this thing over with,” I said quickly. Suddenly, the warmth of the building wasn’t comforting anymore. I wanted to be back out in the rain because the cold felt more real than whatever was going on between us. Like David said last night, there was no word for our relationship. And not knowing where we stood felt like being surprised pricked by a needle.

“Sure you don’t want a drink first?” David stood from his stool but didn’t move from the bar.

I slipped off my seat too. Standing side-by-side, David was a few inches taller than me. I had to tilt my head to meet his gaze. Tonight his smelt of whisky and his eyes almost matched the color of it, too. The bright, overhead lights were doing wonders in smoothing out his darker features.

“I don’t drink,” I forced out in a hard tone. The softer David looked, the tougher I felt I needed to be.

“Another disappointment.” He frowned, feigning sadness. “Drunk Yara might actually be worth hanging out with.”

“If I was such a chore to hang around, you wouldn’t be blowing up my phone every other day,” I countered.

His expression changed. For a second, I thought I actually made a decent shot.

“Correct me if I’m wrong,” he said in a voice that indicated he never once believed that possibility. “But you’re the one who started texting me.”

My jaw tightened as I remembered our first back and forth. It’d been after I’d lost the beginning dare and couldn’t sleep without seeing his irritating smirk. I’d gotten his number from Covee’s boyfriend, Weston, and texted him at 2 AM with demands of a rematch. A little neurotic, sure. But he matched my energy so weren’t both of us to blame?

[raxistaicho]

Faroreswind Buddhism anon

So a while back, user faroreswind answered an anon ask from someone familiar with Buddhism. I thought it’d be interesting to respond to the ask.

Original post here.

Ordinarily I’d reblog it, but the original is ridiculously long, so my reply will also be very long and thus take up enormous space. I’ll also not be replying to everything because a good chunk is just background on Buddhism which is fascinating but not super relevant, because I’m more interested in what the anon has to say about Buddhism as it directly pertains to Three Houses.

And also, a good chunk is just assertions that I’m also not super interested in addressing.

First, just a couple bits of faroreswinds’s reply:

I know myself and other mutuals have stated that the Church in Houses is no representation of the Catholic Church, as others have insisted upon.

Ugh, right. There's not many Catholics in Japan today so the Japanese aren't very familiar with Catholicism!

I'm not saying it's a perfect representation, but the comparisons between the Church of Seiros and Christianity and Catholicism are there to be looked at:

-In ancient times, the creator god was better-known by the people, and in modern times hides from them. (God or His angels used to appear before chosen people quite frequently throughout the Old Testament. This clearly doesn't happen now.)

-The creator god once came down physically, was betrayed and murdered, and their second coming is expected by the faithful. (The general Jesus story)

-Drinking of the blood of a divine figure as a motif for communion with that figure (Rhea's ritual for inducting people into the higher offices of the Church of Seiros bears eerie similarities to the Eucharist)

-A cataclysmic flood in the backstory

-A place of torment in which sins are washed clean

-Tying the two together, a dichotomy of judgement by fire and water.

-Sothis has a very Old Testament-like do not under any circumstances turn the other cheek way of doing things. You gain support with her if you show no mercy to the rogue in Abyss after the mission to fight Kostas.

Now obviously the Church of Seiros isn't the most profound comparison to the Catholic Church, but the similarities are hard to ignore unless you think the Japanese just aren't familiar with Catholics and Christianity, which would... indicate some ignorance of history...

Now, getting to the actual anon post. Yeah, I suspect Anon will never see this, and they probably won't respond even if they do, but I've touched on the Buddhism stuff pretty frequently thanks to Fantasy Invader, so I think it's an interesting subject to tackle anyways.

Churches and “churches” in jrpgs are often just window dressing to add plausibly western details to a plausibly western high fantasy inspired setting,

I would totally agree with you when it comes to examples like Tales of Phantasia, but the Church of Seiros clearly isn't window dressing.

but even if they include crosses and saints and cathedrals the central trappings are very much not western at all and western consumers of japanese products often forget that, especially because japan has a very strong japanizing filter they run almost everything through.

I actually think IntSys is better about this than most series. For instance, the very first game had a very Greek thing going for it (all the Regalia names, Marth's name, the Pegasus Knights, Marth's lack of pants). It took until Awakening to finally get a clear-cut Wutai-like region (I wouldn't count Isaach, since there's a lot of Irishness to it), which is an impressive space of time away from the roots of the series.

Fans tend to dismiss the general plots of Fire Emblem as the cast fighting and killing an evil dragon-god but they forget a single crucial detail to that: the evil at the end reminds the characters that as long as humanity has evil in its hearts and continues to make the same mistakes over and over again, then evil will inevitably return and so the cycle of fighting and hatred will start again.

[Alm, Marth, and Celica] are heroes but they are unable to break the karmic cycle.

That's not that wide a central theme of the series, actually. Medeus and Loptous are the two villains who say that phrase before going down, and they both happen to be (former) Archanean Earth Dragons. Given their shared hatred for humankind and their shared background, it's not at all unusual that it's a philosophy they both hold to, whether through coincidence or not.

In Fire Emblem's specific case, evil doesn't arise again because humans have a cork in their chakras (had to steal a joke from Logicked, lol) but because the old generation (and sometimes even the current generation!) growing complacent and failing and the youth having to correct their failings is a recurring theme in this franchise.

The leaders of Valentia, human and dragon alike, fell to their own decays so Alm and Celica had to take them out and improve the continent, Adrah disassembled the Shield of Seals so Marth had to restore it, ALL the leaders at the start of Mystery of the Emblem fail in various ways, Marth included, the old generation in Genealogy grew corrupt, Sigurd's generation failed to stop them or were party to their failings, and Seliph's had to right the wrongs.

Duty to the people and what it means to fail that charge, leaving the young to take it up anew, is a central theme of this series.

Lastly, "As Long as There is Evil" is a trope. That's how well-known it is. We humans are very aware of our own failings and how we cause trouble for ourselves.

Anon then goes into Fates for a little bit, and I just wanted to correct a point:

Anankos enjoyed both heavenly and earthly pleasures but being steeped in them too long made him decay, make costly mistakes that only made him more angry and paranoid instead of being able to reflect on them, and in the end became a creature of death and violence and discord who could only be released through defeat.

Anon seems to be suggesting that Anankos became a hedonist and grew corrupt through that, but this is absolutely not the case if that was the intended point. Anankos fell to madness through a biological imperative, not by any moral failure on his part or because his chakras were clogged. This is a particularly damning accusation to hurl at his feet since Anankos foresaw his own madness and set up countermeasures against himself in the past. Azura's pendant was created from his dragonstone, and Lost in Thoughts All Alone was written by him to restrain his power.

Houses especially has the basis of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but Byleth’s personal class Nirvana, confirms also the basis for Silver Snow and the dual themes that would come better if Intsys was a more competent writer:

Byleth gets their Enlightened One class in all routes, though. It's also interesting to question who gives them the title Enlightened One.

Is it an omnipresent narrator who knows Byleth is enlightened? Except that wouldn't make any sense, given Byleth doesn't act very differently or more enlightened after fusing with Sothis. You can still choose to portray them as a dipwad when the opportunities present themselves.

Or maybe it's Rhea calling Byleth the Enlightened One because she thinks she's succeeded and Sothis is coming back any second now? I find the latter more believable.

Long paragraph coming up because there's a lot to unpack:

Byleth starts out in the realm of animals, it’s reflecting by their title of Ashen Demon and their description of being emotionless killing machines before Garreg Mach. They don’t care about much, they only focus on their immediate needs like eating and resting and whats immediately in front of them, they have no curiosity or inner awareness of themselves and their world. It is coming to the monastery that they become exposed to positive influences that put them on the correct path, they learn structure and good morals and to care for others and the game says so.

No. This is such a fractally wrong reading of Byleth's character progression that it's astounding.

So firstly, the point on Byleth starting off in the realm of animals.

Treehouse fucked it up, because of course they did, but during the opening of the game, when Sothis asks what Byleth is, she'll only accept the answer that Byleth is human.

(Source for the first, and for the second)

This is the creator goddess herself, whom fusion to allegedly represents Byleth becoming enlightened, and she's telling Byleth that they're human. As I've said in the past, the central conflict within Byleth is the dichotomy between their human and supernatural aspects, and here Sothis is telling Byleth to accept and embrace their humanity and not claim to be a ghost or an evil god.

The whole point behind Byleth's initial state is that they do care and they do have their own thoughts, but they're rendered supernaturally stoic due to what Rhea did to them and have difficulties expressing themselves or forging bonds with others. When Edelgard is in danger at Kostas's hands, Byleth throws themselves before his axe. When considering the three house leaders, Byleth peers straight through their exteriors and gleans the people they are beneath (contrast this against our lovable bimbo/himbo Shez only noticing the exterior). Byleth expresses curiosity for their students and those around them very early in the story.

Byleth is not a cold individual, heedless of the world around them and only concerned with their immediate biological needs. Indeed, Byleth is an empathic, perceptive, and thoughtful, they just have difficulties expressing it.

And it is not the teachings of the Church of Seiros that helps them improve and open up, but their bonds with their students. The game is explicit about this.

The agarthans were humans who became greedy and waged war on each other to accumulate wealth and power

I have no idea where you're getting this from. Rhea (not exactly the most reliable source...) claims humanity turned their backs on Sothis's teachings and started up wars, but we never learn what they were fighting over, or whether it was even the Agarthans who struck first.

and the goddess Sothis decided to discipline them, but then agarthans proved they were (ironically) acting like beasts by deciding that their greed was more important. They could not stand being contradicted and being told that their acts were wrong.

Sothis flooded all of Fodlan to stop them (it seems like this would have also drowned all the world, but we have no way to be sure of that). Unless literally every human living on the surface of Fodlan were evil and warring against each other, this is a very Sodom and Gomorrah-like case of an extreme over-punishment of mankind's follies.

So they plotted against heaven and chose to condemn themselves to hell (they live underground in the darkness, Shambhala is supposed to be the name of a heavenly paradise but instead they built it underground to continue their evil away from the eyes of heavens)

...No. Shambhala's original purpose is unclear, but what Shambhala became was a last refuge as Sothis drowned the surface of Fodlan beneath the ocean waters. The Agarthans didn't hide there to connive against Sothis in the shadows, they did it to survive. It's essentially a bunker. Lorenz even notes the air inside Shambhala is stale, suggesting it's air-tight to keep the flood waters out.

Edelgard acts out of ignorance like an animal or common beast, her vision cannot see past her own immediate desires and so she acts on that ignorance and her own selfishness.

Oh boy, "Edelgard doesn't know the truth of Fodlan," again, it never gets old! Except it did. Ages ago.

Edelgard's immediate desire is to lock herself in her room eating sweets. Starting a war that tears at her is the opposite of selfishness.

But what condemns her to hell, what turns her into an evil demon instead of remaining a selfish yet innocent animal is that she turns away from many people imploring her to listen to them and that her actions are wrong and that she is causing suffering.

The only person I can think of who implores Edelgard to stop is Dimitri late in Azure Moon. Rhea mostly just declares she'll kill Edelgard in the most gruesome way possible, and Seteth and Claude urge her to surrender at the last moment.

Now Byleth and especially Silver Snow has shown they rose to being qualified by the good influence of the church and its teaching (even if the game doesn’t show much about those teaching but o well)

Right, because the teachings aren't narratively important. The church is a false religion created by Rhea to keep control and peace over Fodlan until she could resurrect Sothis. Byleth is not improved as a person through following the moral teachings of the church, but through connecting to other people, predominantly their students.

But especially, because the realm of asuras and beasts represent laziness, easy temptations, ignorance and immediate gratification opposed to discipline, hard work, introspection, and renunciation, it makes it more significant when byleth decides to sever ties with her when she reveals that she has not been an innocent student but in fact the flame emperor responsible for the many evil deeds along with the cooperation from agarthans.

So essentially, because Edelgard's fallen onto the wrong path and is spreading pain to others, Byleth should abandon and stop her.

So what about Azure Moon, then? Over the time skip, Dimitri has fallen onto the wrong path, abuses Byleth and his former friends at every turn, spreads pain to those around him, and is leading them on a pointless suicide march, yet Byleth is rewarded for staying at his side and trying to help him by eventually getting through to him despite Dimitri demonstrating no signs of response until the very last moment. If abandoning a student on a wrong path is the ideal way, Byleth should also turn on Dimitri and be "punished" if they don't.

The act of renouncing such ties in order to enact justice and follow the correct path is what immediately qualifies Byleth to Nirvana and why they keep their divine traits on every path except Crimson Flower (where in Crimson Flower, killing Rhea, their final and most egregious act of violence against heavenly principles, condemns them to losing their divinity and turning back into the Ashen Demon, they lost themselves to the temptations and ignorance represented by Edelgard,

How is killing Rhea in that context a bad thing? By that point, Rhea's fallen so far into paranoia and madness that she'd rather set Fhirdiad on fire, killing every man, woman, and child living inside it, rather than accept a peaceful surrender.

Also, Byleth does not lose divine favor or whatever by killing Rhea: they are still capable of S-support Sothis (the scene even has a specific provision for Crimson Flower) during which Sothis reaffirms her adoration for Byleth.

Crimson Flower is the only route in which Byleth embraces their humanity, as Sothis told them to in the opening minutes of the game.

safflowers are used to dye the robes of monks but red spiders lilies grow on the banks of the river of the dead).

I think you just accidentallied your sentence there. Also, Safflowers have a positive connotation: Safflowers symbolize “good luck and happiness”. In folklore they were thought to be useful for attracting love or marriage. And what do red spider lillies have to do with Edelgard? Is it because they're a red flower?

Because they are not the Buddha but are close to reaching enlightenment they achieve a very high position in Buddhism, which is staying in the human realm as a guide in order to help others on the correct path as well and is righteous.

Heh, what'd I say about Edelgard detractors stealing our arguments?

This is also why i have many more issues with Shez than I do Byleth actually, maybe Byleth is silent but they have their own path to follow. Shez has no path and I’m not even sure what they are supposed to represent. Their personal class is asura, often clashing with devas and representing lack of reflection and selfishness and gratification and violence like I said before, but I can’t find anything in Shez story that actually says anything about that or their preferences and choices.

It's almost like the Buddhism symbolism has a habit of just being window dressing without much meaning.

Two out of three times they stray from the correct path and Rhea’s death should mean a violation of dharma because the agarthans have won, but I saw nothing in the game about immediate consequences of that violation or the causing of suffering Shez incorrect paths are causing.

That's because they don't win. They might arguably win in Golden Wildfire provided you kill Byleth because then Sothis is dead and Thales lives, but Scarlet Blaze ends with both Rhea and Thales presumed dead, or at the very least badly hurt and with their respective organizations routed and disorganized.

I've said it before, but Thales's plan doesn't end with Rhea's death. It ends with the surface Fodlanders wiped out and Fodlan back under Agarthan control. He doesn't get this in Crimson Flower or Scarlet Blaze.

So yeah, that's my thoughts on the Buddhism symbolism. Again, I don't expect the anon to read this or even reply, but I was interested in responding anyways. Later!

[raidante]

Do you have a map of your smt thingy? I’d love to see the variety in a Tokyo that’s not had anyone to run the floodgate system or maintain the subway lines

I definitely need to draw one.... but you are correct I plan to have some areas submerged and create tiny islands, and I really like the idea of the Faerie forest being inside a huge underground metro thats covered in vines n flora that the fae grew so it's like a Lost Woods maze and you gotta follow motifs to find ur way through it. As well as new buildings being made from old ones... like the Tokyo Diet building was brought to shambles, but the Covenent of God salvages it and turns it into their Church, with the surrounding area used as a refugee camp for those who aren't in the order, but are protected by the order in exchange for labor. Sitting on the ruins of a skyscraper toppled over as you talk with another character about the hopes and futures of living a life in a world like this.... while the Ring of Gaea probably inhabit Ginza's underground, using subways as makeshift dorms and old stores for supplies. They also have their own Church with their Founder inside...meditating as its put, but no one's had an in person audience with him in a long time.

Most of the older generation who survived the War are almost dead, probably from radiation poisoning or old age not being fit for survival. A lot of Tokyo's population actually is made of a new generation of people born after the bombs, who don't remember the old world, and only were raised on the principles of the new one-- a very god fearing, technophobic society. Most of them don't even know how to use old world technology, because after the War, it became sort of a taboo among people since it was technology, as people say, what was used to create killing machines and let demons into their world to begin with. Of course, the reality is people caused it, they just used technology, and it's no different from using any other tool to do your bidding. Most of the subways are shut down and don't work because of it, but if you do a little fiddling, you can probably get one or two to work as shortcuts in between areas. Some tunnels have also become lakes of contaminated water, or demon nests, because there's huge chunks of Tokyo that humans have to avoid for their own survival and demons occupy, but also, there's places even demons avoid...like the places where those supersoldier freak units prowl. They're kinda like Nemesis from RE where you can't really kill them, you just kinda have to avoid them, until you eventually might be able to, but at that point...would you even want/need to? Depends on how you feel by then depending on your experience and exposure to the different walks of life and different ideologies of the people you've talked to.

here's a map from digital devil story 2 + a cutscene from the sega CD version of SMT1 that kinda give me the vibes of my world. I definitely want more of those cool colors of the blues impacted by a very red to purple sky, though, rather than just a warm desert blast like Nocturne did.

Notice how large segments of Tokyo have been flooded and turned into mini islands... I think its super neat!

And this is the sega CD edition cutscene, I really like the depiction of the Flooding and the cool dark colors... I think this is kinda how I want my world to look.

This concept from the SMTIV art book is one of my absolute favorite pieces. It's supposed to be the tower that connects Naraku to Tokyo, and they were exploring how it would look with the construction sights as it went from the clay and bedrock into the more modern look. To me it looks like theyre walking down an overturned skyscraper, and I fucking love it. Imagine tunnels being created from skyscrapers falling sideways you can travel through above ground...

This cover from Imagine actually really conveys how I think I want my world to look. I definitly will draw mockup maps and locations/enviroments for sure!

[redpandarambles]

Caitlyn's Character and Water in Arcane

Fair warning, this is going to be a classic Panda brain ramble of part geology, part arcane, part barely coherent musings.

So with Caitlyn being water and how that is reflected in her personality:

Firstly I think it fits in well with this idea of Caitlyn having been caged and controlled by her parents and her position in society but managing to break free of that and do her own thing. We like to think we can control water, we dig canals, erect dams, put up sea walls and yet at the end of the day water always ends up going where it wants to eventually. We can never truly control it, it always finds a way to slip through our grasp and Caitlyn does the same with her parents.

Secondly, water exerts its influence by being slow, methodical, purposeful. Sure we have floods but most of the times rivers slowly carve their way through landscapes, ice slowly meanders through mountains. It slowly and careful picks its path, finding the best routes, the most efficient avenues, changing its course if it needs to, making adjustments as it goes. Its methodical but also open to influence like Caitlyn.

Thirdly, water hides a lot beneath the surface. You have the famous 9/10ths of an iceberg analogy but even a calm river will have six or seven currents all swirling and interacting beneath what looks like a very serene surface. What appears as only one flow is actually a whole myriad of different currents and eddies, what appears non-threatening at the surface can actually be dangerous underneath.

Finally, we tend to have an underestimation of the power of water. We are lulled into the idea of charming rivers and impassive ice, we forget that water has the power to rip and tear and shred. And often these catastrophic events come as a result of build up pressure (storm surges, dams breaking, ice walls failing, icebergs calving). I think emotionally it might be similar to Caitlyn, when she breaks it will be spectacular. I think there are also things to be said about how Caitlyn and Vi approach change that could be reflected in the water and fire motif. Change with water often takes time but its holistic, it can transform entire landscapes, ice can erode and drive out entire valleys of material to leave a clean slate. It’s slow but its also thorough, its carefully crafted (how I view Caitlyn going to the council, she wanted to make change inside institutions, she’s not unaware that it will take time but she wants change to be well thought out and holistic and knows that can’t be done with knee jerk decisions).

But there is always the option of abrupt, less considered change that is more chaotic, that might reflect decisions like Cait getting Vi out of Stillwater.

(These thought come courtesy of inspiration from @oxenfreeao3's own musings and @parme-tan's encouragement).

[misscammiedawn]

Better Call Saul was a show about many things. Grief and the inability to move on. Morality vs Legality and can people change in a world that refuses to recognize that change.

In that regard, the finale of the show handled things perfectly. I can think of no better ending.

Rehabilitation and reform is always in question within the BCS narrative. In the first season we had Jimmy trying to go straight and become a lawyer like his brother of whom he hated and admired in equal measure. Chuck refused to see Jimmy as anything other than a criminal. For mistakes made by having bad influences and a lack of support, supervision or care as a child.

Chuck often tells Jimmy he'll never change and it makes his moral path through the show shaky because no matter what effort he goes through, his brother (and society itself) will always see him as a scumbag. He just embraced it rather than fought it. The Smoke On The Water ending of S1 with the conversation about stealing the Kettleman's money is proof of that. He became what society expected him to because he'd never be done paying his dues.

Season 4 had a beautiful moment where Jimmy tries to stand up for a kid trying for a legal scholarship and he learns this lesson again. No matter how much reform you attempt, you can never change the way you're viewed. That black mark on your record will be all some people see you as.

The final episode ends with Saul Goodman on trial and admitting to EVERYTHING, including how he knows he is responsible for his brother's suicide. That his actions are the catalyst and he did it out of vindictive malice despite knowing his brother was mentally ill. Jimmy loved his brother. They just... couldn't see eye to eye. Hence the Time Machine motif of the episode where Jimmy clearly believes if he didn't push his brother away the one time he tried opening up-- maybe things would have turned out differently.

The court case ends with Saul destroyed for good and Jimmy stands proud and says his name is James McGill. He is unburdened of his shame. The name McGill, his love of his brother. They are not things to be denied to protect himself from blame and hurt. They are who he is---

BUT.

The prison bus reveals he is Saul Goodman to the world. He will be tempted endlessly to return to the comfort of his criminal persona because the criminal world view him as Saul Goodman and the law enforcement view him as the guy from the television ads. He insists he is McGill (specifically McGill, not Jimmy/James) but the crowd will not hear it. Jimmy looks heart broken as the prisoners chant his name before breaking into a smirk as his ego is fed.

86 years.

He accepted 86 years to redeem his soul and prove to the woman he loves that he is capable of change. In an environment where he will be tempted ENDLESSLY and treated as his criminal persona, he can try to be the Charlie Hustle mailroom clerk turned lawyer that Kim fell in love with. He'll endure and do this not for society, not for the penal system, but because he still loves Kim and wants to be the best version of himself for her.

As Kim cons her way into a private meeting with Jimmy (Jimmy's con in the final episode was to get Kim to ABQ; Kim's final con was to get in to the prison to see Jimmy) they share a cigarette and the flame carries a hint of red in this black and white world. A spark. An ember. A promise that there's something to live for. That these two can work their way out of this existential hell flooded with disappointment, temptation and judgment.

And maybe.

With good behavior...

They can find happiness in one another again.

[myimaginationrunswild]

Iron, water, and rust

The name planet Ferrix, the Andor's home, comes from ferrum, latin for iron.

rust as metaphor for the people of Ferrix:

“Here’s the thing, Cassian, the man that sees everything is more blessed than cursed. Look at that, here we go. Stand back, let it drip. Look how quickly that’s cleaned up. Hard to believe right? Two minutes. No longer no shorter. You know why they don’t make these anymore? ‘Cause they’d rather sell you a brand new system at ten times the price. And how many have we got, 60, 70 of them just sittin’ there? 500 credits each. People don’t look down the way they should. They don’t look down, they don’t look past the rust. Now that’s not us, eh. Eye’s open, possibilities everywhere. We’ve got to get this cleaned up before Maarva finds us doing this in the house. “

---Clem Andor, from Cassian's memory

There is strength and value in numbers of the people of ferrix, who are overlooked by the empire. also, given the bell-anvil thing for time keeping and glove wall I would guess that Ferrix has metals as it's main export/natural resource and the work on the planet is in manufacturing

Rust is a form of corrosion of iron, by oxidation from being exposed to water

"There is a wound that won’t heal at the centre of the galaxy, there is a darkness reaching like rust into everything around us. We let it grow and now it's here. It’s here and it’s not visiting anymore.

---Maarva Andor, from her funeral speech

Rust as damage, corrosion from the empire on Ferrix. It just really stuck out to me because I thought that the wound part would like into something like "spreading it's claws in, infecting, spreading like a disease" which I think is a more common metaphor, or something. but no, that's actually perfect for Ferrix, the iron planet.

Rebellion against the empire as water

"And know this, the day will come when these skirmishes and battles, these moments of defiance will have flooded the banks of the Empire’s authority and there will be one too many. One single thing will break the siege."

---Karis Nemik, from his manifesto

Nemik evokes imagery of flooding ruining the empire, maybe even of the people of the rebellion being the water itself. When the water gets in, when the dam breaks, it can't be stopped. which leads me to think of the prison escape. The prison was located in the middle of an ocean, and powered by hydroelectricity. also made me think of the prisoners escaping, jumping from the ledge into the water and fanning out

something something motifs and metaphors im going feral im sobbing, crying, frothing at the mouth, screaming incoherently, usually this kinda shit just flies right over my head or I thought my old english teachers were reaching a bit but this...this is just, i could write an essay on this also Scarif was on a beach too and the prison labour was manufacturing for the death star the andor writers are really just too much this is all im gonna be thinking about for the next month. im sure there's more too i just might have to rewatch the series

[shadowflash]

at this point in time i’m pretty sure most of us are aware that white hair is a sign that a character has gotten crest implants / cringe blood surgery in the 3houses universe and that arval is SUS™ for having, well, white hair in this context. the game explains few things about arval explicitly, but they definitely leave some compelling details out for us to make something out of what we have at the moment.

to really get into it i'm going to have to discuss a spoiler character from the bonus chapters as well as the spoiler paralogue. if you know, you know. i’ll also mention details from each route's ending so please be mindful of that.

Let's start with this: Having done the Arval paralogue*, I saw some pretty big similarities between Edelgard and Epimenides, as though they’re meant to occupy the same (or at least incredibly similar) roles in different eras of Fodlan’s history. They also both express disdain towards Thales and his methods. Given the emphasis on "cycles" in this title, it wouldn't be that surprising to learn that this was intentional. There's only so much to work with but the idea is that these two characters are working in direct opposition to what are essentially the same forces (Seiros' army / Rhea's church) for basically the same goal: Liberating humanity/Fodlan from the deceptions of a false prophet / the church in general.

With regard to this, some details of note is that one of Rhea’s lines as a boss unit in for the final battles of Scarlet Blaze:

“No matter how many years pass, you people will always be little more than fools.”

And in the cutscene preceding the final battle of Golden Wildfire, she claims:

“-In our absence, future generations are likely to repeat the foolish actions of their ancestors.”

It could also be inferred that Epimenides has something really important to do with crest science or whatever because his unique class, Avesta, has a skill called "Crestological Wisdom" which allows him to wield Hrotti (relic weapon - crest of timotheos) without taking damage. This brings to mind how Edelgard and Lysithea have white hair as a result of their cringe blood surgeries so.. Well.. And you know how people have also pointed out that Edelgard's hegemon form shares a concerningly similar silhouette with Epimenides' 'super' magic whatever stuff? Yeah. Epimedes, during his battle against Shez and Co., also has a line:

"Nothing I do is enough! How much more must I sacrifice?”

So uhhhh... Erm...

Another thing: The magic sword we see him wield in the opening cutscene / the one Shez comes to wield in their unique classes has an orange glow similar to that of relic weapons. Relic weapons glow orange around all the dragon people bone + crest stone stuff while epi/arv/shez’s sword glows orange in a pattern that resembles circuitry.

This one is a weaker thread to follow between Edie and Epi but it doesn't feel like a coincidence that Edelgard has a phobia of the ocean while we see a recurring motif of water and bubbles around Arval/Epimenides, and those clearly mean something. I cannot tell what though. Interestingly, we see bubbles from the opening cutscene (which was most likely from Arval's perspective**, something we learn from the bonus chapter) and at the very end of the bonus chapter, during Shez vs. Arval/Epimenides fight, we see bubbles fly across the screen while Shez rushes towards them. I don’t think this detail is indicative of Edelgard and Lysithea ‘being meant to house Epimenides as vessels’. I do think it has more to do with conveying, again, something about the nature of the abyssal depths of Zahras and why a character like Sothis (bearer of the flame crest / fire emblem™) is so afraid of it. Of course, there’s also the ‘flood’ (that could be metaphorical and/or literal) mentioned in the Shadow Library at Abyss.

We also see Epimenides responding to Arval’s earliest recollections with:

"That was an unforeseen accident. I was sure all had been lost to the waters.”

By the way: Arval’s secret skill from mastering Wyvern Lord is “Domineer” while ‘hegemon’ basically means “Having dominant / domineering influence over others” which has roots in ancient Greek that I’m just going to link to a wiktionary page for. Inch Resting. And “Domineer” grants Arval (and Jeritza) bonus damage to infantry units, not sure about the exact dmg calcs for this sort of thing but it’s a good skill by the looks of it. If you wanna make the strongest Arval imaginable you should probably invest in it #tbh #ToBeQuiteHonest.

* -> The Arval paralogue "Cycles of Nostalgia" is available to play if you have unlocked Arval with renown (NG+ only, 60 renown, you must've recruited Byleth in at least one of the preceding runs) AND you have chosen to kill Jeralt in the current run you intend to access it from. It unlocks right after you unalive Jeralt, so you don’t have to worry about accessing it in some later, later chapter.

People have walked away from it dissatisfied with the lack of answers as to who Arval and Epimenides are exactly, but I would ask to also pay attention to what Epimenides implies of the "truth" wrt to Seiros' teachings and what Thales claims to be fighting for in the final chapter battle of Azure Gleam (not sure if he says this in Scarlet Blaze as well). The exact details about it all are vague as is the case for the rest of the interesting shit in the game, but again, I think there's enough to make you go "Wait a minute.. WHAT THE HELL." if you’re invested in parsing what Those Who Slither are really fighting for.

** -> I say "most likely" just because what we see at the beginning of the game is Shez's dream. It could be argued that the water + bubbles memory actually belongs to Shez because of this, but it can be the case that this is an experience Shez and Arval share for whatever reason. I'm of the belief that this memory exclusively belongs to Arval/Epimenides though. What we see is Arval "initializing" / booting up(?) and what is definitely a vision into the past (as was the case with Byleth's dream in the beginning of 3Houses) that transitions to Epimenides' POV so you can see him get exploded by Seiros'/Rhea's super dragon form laser beam so, like, yeah.

speculation about shez continues in this post

[lemonysnicket]

whats ur favorite raconteurs story + why 👀 👀

HELLO THANK YOU FOR MAKING MY DAY WITH A RACONTEURS ASK!!! this is so hard because it's nearly impossible to choose a favorite; i love the entire book front to back and adore eveerryyy single page. but!! some do really stick out to me. i guess i'll just rant about my few favorites. i think i need to separate them, though, because they destroy me in different wayyyys. i could talk about all of them for a million years. here are some of my faves in no particular order

the first twin's tale/the whalebone spring!! out of all of the more standard short stories in this book, this one sticks out to me. the first time i read it, i was so unnerved by the ending. something about the whole story had such an indescribable horror to it. i think about it a lot honestly - deacon and morvengarde always make me explode a little bit, and it's honestly such a brilliant and rich piece of world building that permanently sticks out to me in every single nagspeake book as just...so cool, and so scary, and so intriguing. and despite it appearing in nearly all of the stories in this book, for some reason the whalebone spring just encapsulates the feelings so perfectly. the way the story is told is also so chilling - props to reever for that one. love him. i think a really interesting part of the way raconteurs is told is that each story, despite being kate milford's lovely vivid writing each and every time, still captures the voice of the character telling it, and you can always learn so much about them just from how they speak and how they tell their story. that's one of the things i adore so much about raconteur's, is how much of the characters are left up to interpretation through this subtle characterization. there's only a little bit of explicit backstories or lore for each of the characters; excluding the likes of petra, massetter, etc, a majority of the less plot heavy characters are left as mysteries for the most part, and you simply infer the type of person they are through how they tell their story, the story they choose to tell, and the million tiny moments that characterize them throughout the book. it's brilliant. so yeah the whalebone spring is just...very very chilling and very cool . a million out of ten

the orphan's tale/the summons of the bone HAS to be up here. petra is just...the character of all time. she makes me weep. many of the characters do, but there's something about petra specifically that's so personal and nuanced and powerful and it evokes soooo much emotion. the summons of the bone is, if i recall correctly, the first story that sort of breaks the pattern from second hand tales and passed down stories to straight up backstory dumping and it's incredible. it's such a heartbreaking tale, and you just want to sob realizing how hurt and betrayed she was as a child. the amount of grief that story holds... unbelievable. not to mention that the concept of orphan magic is so.... chef's kiss. i love it. the grief and the whimsy and the beauty of it all.... honestly i don't think words can describe how the part where she floats down the river with the bone makes me feel. like. i'm going to explode it's so good. i think there's also something about the motif of water. something about how the rain and the river are so intertwined with all of these messy emotions always gets me. and it's so prominent! petra's grief and loss is tied to the floods, sullivan's guilt and pain are tied to the water (side note: sullivan always makes me want to explode he makes me feel so many emotions. i'm not listing his story here because it's less his story that makes me feel things than the interlude right after it - that one changed my brain chemistry forever - so i won't go into detail about it right now, but i think it's important that everyone knows how much sullivan makes me sob), captain frost, too , has his water related pain. and the floods in summons of the bone feel like the culmination of it, a rush of all of the anguish. and this connects to the ending and how impactful that is, when the floods start to fall. i just have. so many emotions. petra is just such an incredible character - i love her understated and underestimated intelligence, her silent observation, her power and her sadness and her knowing nature. what a lovely lady.

the headcutter's tale. i know it's just the ending and not technically a *story* story but...the ending really messed me up in the best way. i don't think i've ever been left so RAW after finishing a book. i felt like i had all of my emotions just drained completely and was left with this sheer love and sadness and gah!! it was insane. i've ranted about this in the vfdiscord for ages and ages but i always go back to it, so. i think the strongest and most impactful part of raconteurs is the estranged found family of it all. they're all strangers, for the most part - acquaintances with messy ties who barely know each other. but at the same time, they know each other more than anyone else in the entire world. and there's something so intimate and personal about the understanding between all these characters and the tentative bonds they have, along with the tensions. i think the most incredible part of this is the way all of them interact and care for maisie. each and every one of them shares affection and care for her in some way; all of them find a way to make things just a little better for her, to protect her from everything and to watch out for her. you can see this with mrs. haypotten's protective nature, gregory's carved animals, sorcha playing with the fire, negret's dancing with her... all of them, despite being near strangers, go out of their way to show this little girl kindness. and with jessamy!! it's the ending!! it's her story and it's so indicative of this same thing, this same love that all of them have. it's just such a lovely and emotional way to end the book, and it's so fitting, too. the book is, above all, about stories. and i think, at the same time, it's about how the stories act as a way to connect people, to uplift them and to share their emotions and to build these bridges during the worst of times. and the choice to end the book in such a way just... leaves the most fitting and perfect uplifting and bittersweet and hopeful note. ugh. i love it.

i just realized how insanely long this post is. oops!! i think i will stop there for now, because it's so long but also because i don't have my copy with me to check details or look at any of the other stories right now. but!! this was very very fun to answer and i always have a million raconteurs emotions in my head so. thank you for the ask !!! <3

[the-firebird69]

There's a lot of water in the driveway and it's kind of filling up a little and a little disappointed it's not going down yet. It's flowing out and probably won't get any higher but that's kind of a little bit high for the experiment. The water is flowing out the canals it's going to be low tide in 2 hours and it's going to continuously flow out and the storm is approaching rather quickly and it's going faster than it was it's about 17 miles an hour and inside about 15 no but it is going fast he said it too it's moving right up there and it's kind of aiming for Sarasota it looks to be and maybe northwards which is really good but this is going to wall up this area no matter where it makes landfall and it's going to be a trial this wind is pretty high it's now a category 4 it's right at land it hasn't slowed down at all and the waters are low tide now but pretty soon it's going to approach high tide and water is going to start coming in I'll tell you what this is probably going to be flooding here and we don't know how much but high tide is at 6:00 p.m. so from noon to 6:00 it's going to be going upwards. And I hope it starts draining faster so we're going to need it here and it looks like it is going to but we shall see everything is so tight for our son that it's not funny and these people have made it that way and we need to give them some hell right now he says it too we need to attack them with everything we got to move this off me we're going to start doing it now I prepared everything we've got a huge attack ready all the bombs and everything you could ever dream of and we live based it Australian New Zealand right now

We're going at it and attacking them you look at Naples and the waves are coming in which is really storm surge and it's not doing anything because of the shelf and these guys are wearing a hard lesson Tommy F new all about it Tommy F knew and they look really stupid they miss the whole thing not one of them is giving her son a break and it's

The entire motif of Tommy f no I expect this to get a little bit lesser the storm should slow down and it'll slow down and it's winds and it is because it's hitting landfall and it's losing energy and we're going to update it pretty soon but these guys need to get a step out of the way and really we need to force them out cuz the max aren't but we look like Max

Thor Freya

[gallpall]

canaan bubble redux as a womb for story/character arcs

I’m sure most of this has been posted about before but: ever since my initial read I’ve been obsessed with the gross bodily/gorey stuff in the Canaan redux and I wanted to organize some of my constant+chaotic thoughts!!

TM has said that a lot of the motifs/events in the bubbles are actually “Silent Hill stand-ins” for story elements and she hopes we pick up on stuff, so here’s my Attempt!

At the same time that Harrow’s mind is being made a tomb for Gideon Nav Wake’s subconscious is pulled in to act as a womb for certain plot elements right alongside it. The chronology/time period of HtN mimics a full nine-month gestation. There’s a lot of very literal imagery here (which is below the cut), but I also think we’re meant to see it as metaphorical: we’re able to glean some things about character arcs based on how everything in the bubble goes down.

I’m particularly interested right now in those ‘side’ characters in the bubble who aren’t actually dead, who barely appear in the bubble at all except to get summarily offed, all in very distinctive ways. Judith, Camilla, Palamedes, and Coronabeth.

(cw below cut for some pregnancy/insemination imagery, canonical body horror and gruesome bubble deaths rehashed)

First of all just some quotes showing some of the imagery that I’ve attributed to being Wake manifesting pregnancy trauma stuff (there’s possibly some of Harrow’s conception trauma here, too) seeping through, for the purposes of this line of speculation. 

This isn’t nearly all of it, but some things that stood out to me as possibly comparing Canaan House 2.0 to a functioning reproductive system:

(ch. 21) a “collection of large, rusted pipette needles” -- turkey basters?

(ch. 35) “great, slithering, pulsing tubes” which contain “whitish-pearl bubbled globules”-- this perhaps recalls ovaries/fallopian tubes, with the ‘globules’ being follicles produced by superovulation for insemination, or corpus luteum that supply progesterone to maintain a pregnancy.

(ch. 45) “stretched webs of organ [...] like nets of sticky venous spiderweb” --uterine walls, maybe; it’s all over the windows, totally encasing them in Canaan’s rooms, and arguably even contracting like a uterus would: “every so often they would tremble uncertainly and erupt in floods of bloody, foamy water.”

in the next pgh we get some more of the tools Wake would have used to conceive/upkeep the pregnancy: “pipettes, broken glass-fronted containers filled with dark fluid,” skeletons sitting atop piles of “capsules or pills” perhaps hormones/supplements. (also holding Drearburh tools, the way Wake’s skelly would have been doomed to do)

(ch. 43) “from that hole emerged a clattering pile of plex scope slides, the type you would preserve a cell sample between“ -- Wake would’ve had to carry out the IVF process for implantation, this also seems like apparatus for that

(ch. 47) there’s the “libation” Abigail uses to summon Wake which is... well. It’s a “thin, milky, whitish liquid pooled at the base, sluggish in the cold,” and the summoning involves a bunch of ‘come’ commands, which I think might be Muir making a very elaborate jizz-adjacent “silly buggers with the emissions” joke. 

Just a note, cause I’m hopeless about Pyrrwake: the Seconds’ quarters are almost completely preserved from the leaky body horror (though it’s still cold in there)--as if they represented a sanctuary in Wake’s subconscious. There are also letters in the nonagonal coffin room which spell out an anagram of “PYRRHA” (ch. 47).

So with all that in mind, I’d posit that the fake-ghost deaths are all metaphorical “rebirths” of various characters arcs for ATN. I haven’t delved into what this imagery might mean for Harrow or Gideon specifically because I know there’s a LOT and it’s probably above my theoretical paygrade (I would love for someone to tack on with that though!!) but I can talk about ‘side’ chars on a very big-picture level.

Judith’s simulacrum gets knocked off first (ch. 18); shot through the heart (both atria) while she and Marta’s ghost are trying to complete the winnowing trial. The Sleeper shoots her 7 more times after that, I guess partly just ‘cause she can, but Ortus notes that it seems like there was an element of "Anger” to it. It’s possible Wake wasn’t pleased to have someone messing around with Pyrrha’s lyctoral trial, infuriated that anyone would be attempting to replicate G1d/Pyr’s original downfall. She then ignores Marta entirely and climbs back in the coffin (now with the sword) once Judith’s out of the way.

[Marta’s] scarlet necktie looked redder too—by the time they’d gotten hold of Judith Deuteros the blood had dried hers nearly black.

Cohort red-and-whites being stained black with blood, like a certain high-collared BOE uniform... could be another little clue to Judith’s "heart” for the Emperor (and for Marta, and pretty much everything else she knew) being lost and her realigning--though not willingly, at least at first--with the other side.

Cam and Pal’s simulacrums are plainly executed (ch. 21), they have their “faces obliterated” each by a single gunshot, and it’s as if they just stood there and let it happen. In the bubble, “Harrow had never seen Sextus or Hect except from afar.” These simulacrums totally avoid having their features revealed to Harrow. I’m willing to bet their faces being obscured and then exploded is one of the clues we get to their eyes being swapped around the next time we see them in the epilogue and in ATN.

Regarding the twins: They are essentially non-extant in the bubble. Ianthe never appears because she’s still kicking and, in her own words, “doesn’t live alternate histories” (GtN ch. 15).

Coronabeth’s simulacrum scene (ch. 37) is SO vivid and cryptic. It fascinates me because it definitely is, in part, trying to tell us something poignant about the initiation of Corona’s “worse twin” arc in ATN.

[Corona] was turned away from Harrow, and her riot of hair—half-caught in a fillet, half-escaping—was soaking wet, a dark and crinkling amber in the rain. She was not fighting or arguing. She was still as a statue, and ready and waiting as a dog.

Sounds like the fake ghost preparing for that major shift in allegiance. Silas is the one to ‘dismiss’ her, with his “may the blood of your blood suffer,” which perhaps is a really Templar-y way of saying ‘now go wreck ianthe’s SHIT.’ When Harrow accuses him of sending Corona to her death, Silas asks “Death?”--as if he sees that what’s really just happened, at least metaphorically, is (re)Birth.

[Harrow] thought she saw, absurdly, a sudden gush of watery blood, as though the fog itself had been knifed; but it was gone almost as soon as she had seen it.

Sounds a bit like amniotic fluid/water breaking? Coronabeth doesn’t ever seem to hit the ocean (bodies of water=necromancy and that’s not her deal), she instead just kinda poofs, and Silas says she would have ended up “on her feet.” Coronabeth is ditching her family ties and is out for blood, and I think her charisma, willpower, and sheer desire for revenge will move her a long way in the ranks of Eden--probably even to the point of echoing Commander Wake’s ambitions and actions. I could delve into that damn portrait mirroring Ianthe’s obsession w/ Cyrus’ paintings on the Mithraeum... but that is a whole other post!

So all of these are fairly baseline observations and I think there’s a LOT more to be expounded on, if y’all wanna reply/reblog/DM with additions I would freaking love that, every time I open a page of this book I find something I missed before and it’s such a delight. Thanks for reading if you got this far!!

[stellamore-after-dark]

Headcanons on how the LIs would react to the Oracle suggesting they could start a family once their situation becomes more peaceful.

This request is, as the kids say, “BUSSIN’” (Admin Yara help!!! My older millennial is showing 😫)

Cipactli:

Surprise will be the first thing that crosses his features. Sure, as a royal its was always expected of him to produce an heir to the thrown, however he never expected to find someone he truly loved and that would love him back in order to do so. And then you entered his life and basically turned it upside down and now you have the AUDACITY to come in and tell him that you want to start a family with all misty eyed and looking the way you do.....sign him the fuck up.

He will be so thrilled and just might get slightly misty eyed with you. After all that has happened in Huatzintepec and now finally living in a world surrounded by true peace; he couldn’t imagine a more perfect world and partner to raise and grow a family in and with.

Regardless of wether you both decide to adopt or have your child the fact remains that Cipactli will absolutely R E A D  E V E R Y  B O O K  A V A I L A B L E that might help/ease him into parenthood an DESPITE his preparations he still was not ready (cause who really is am I right). As soon as the child is here he will panic; is he good enough, is he prepared enough, will his child love him, etc., etc. You will most definitely need to help him get out of his own head and reassure him that he will be a wonderful father.

Mukondi:

Mukondi would be ecstatic at the idea of starting a family with you. Although she will be slightly apprehensive at first due to her duties as the human representative of Saiph; most of her insecurities and fears would lie on whether or not she would spend enough time with your child when, as it is, she barely has enough time for herself. Of course, this would be something discussed between you both before any definite decision is made and you both mutually agree that this would be easily solvable by hiring or staff/representatives to take her place in her absence (make👏🏻her👏🏻 realize👏🏻she’s👏🏻not👏🏻an👏🏻island👏🏻and👏🏻it’s👏🏻OK👏🏻TO👏🏻ASK👏🏻FOR👏🏻HELP👏🏻AND👏🏻NOT👏🏻BEAR👏🏻EVERYTHING👏🏻ON👏🏻HER👏🏻OWN👏🏻).

She would be the first one to bring you ideas for baby names whether you like it or not. Lists, upon lists of baby names and meanings, Mukondi does not want to give her child a basic name that everyone has. To her there is allot in a name and it’s important to her that this child knows the thought and care that was meticulous placed in choosing a name that they would be proud to bear.

Mama Mukondi is simply the best mother, hands down, no 🧢. She will spoil them rotten but she isn’t above disciplining when she has to. When it comes to her family pride is the only word that comes to minds, so many things were lost during that time in Huatzintepec but so much more was gained, and for that she couldn’t be more grateful.

Ariki:

At first, he’s super excited, 10/10 yes lets have a child together (very excite,  much wow). However, after his initial reaction, there may be some doubts that will settles in. Not because he doesn’t want to, but because he needs to make sure that this child will be supported and loved by both of you. By this, his intentions are not doubt IN you or your capabilities to love anyone but it’s more security that he seeks in your relationship.

It is commonly known for merfolk to be very particular about their life partners, some spend years assessing and building a relationship until finally they feel secure enough to start dating, get married, etc. and this is no exception when it comes to building a family together. There is no doubt in Ariki’s mind that the depth of is love for you is endless, so even though he has his initial hesitations, it’s not something you can both talk about. Set up a game plan, share your insecurities, assure him about your intentions, be completely transparent. Once everything is discussed you can expect Ariki to go right back to the happy baby boi that he was when you first mentioned starting a family together.

Expect Ariki to be super excited about decorating his future child’s room. He would come up with motifs  and colors, and of course you would put everything into a cohesive idea which you can both execute without the child’s room being overwhelmed with Ariki’s excitement. HAND MADE DECORATIONS FROM PAPA ARIKI!!!!

Dior:

“....so like...you wanna get a puppy or something...?” (let me also express that if you have a puppo/catto that you call family you are very valid cause same...anyways) Don’t hold your breath on getting an excitable reaction from Dior...you won’t. They might even, lowkey, seem repulsed by the idea of family mainly cause most of the time it involves children.

Look me in the eyes and tell me that Dior would find the idea of a small humanoid being that needs constant attention, screams when displeased, and might have the nerve to grow up and defy any rule set in place by Dior appealing in the slightest. Dior already fills out all those position why in the world would they want a second them. But being serious for a moment; Dior, much like Ariki or any species of merfolk, most definitely consider this a very prominent step in their future. So it is a very real thing that Dior may suggest getting a pet before a child. Much like Ariki, sit down with them, talk with them, discuss any insecurities (cause believe me they’re there). And in reality, it might take a long time for Dior to come around to the idea of a family with you. The one thing that Dior most certainly wants to make sure is that you know that they love you and they consider you their family/whole world regardless of children status.

EVENTUALLY, and with lots of physical, emotional, and mental preparations, Dior will come around, they might lean more towards adopting a child that may be slightly older but still young enough that they can help raise. Trust and believe that Dior will have matching outfits with their mini me. “You may be only 3′ tall  and know a total of 4 syllables but thats not an excuse to not look your best, especially not when you’re with me”.

Waauru:

You and Waauru must’ve been together for a long time for you to bring up the possibility of raising a family together, and even more surprising still that she agreed so plainly to you.

Waauru is not one to beat around the bush specially not when it comes to you, she has always prided herself of being completely open to you. You will always know how she’s feeling  even when she tries to shut you out, so when the time came in which you began to plan, envision, and execute a future with her with the possibility of children she was roarin’ and ready to go. Topics like these are oddly comforting to Waauru due to the love she has with her own family and with you as her partner the conversation most definitely came up even before you were to meet her family.

The idea of starting/continuing her family’s legacy with you fills Waauru’s heart with so much joy. She loves you so much and the fact that you’re in her life simply astounds her. Waauru never thought she could reach this level of serendipity and sereneness in her life after everything she’s been through. Most of her amazement comes from the fact that she is inspired by you and all that you were capable of doing despite being thrown in the thick of a political discourse and was the tipping point in bringing it all of it to a climax. Now she gets to do life with you as you both prepare for the latest addition.

Halle:

*ERROR 404 HALLE’S FUNCTIONING BRAINCELLS COULD NOT BE FOUND*

Oh boy, you did it, you broke the man. Only the heavens know how much was taken out of him to even talk to you in a full sentence, he still doesn’t know how he’s in a relationship with you, and now you want a F a M i L y!!! He’s gonna need a minute...no really. The request will catch him so off guard that he might need a moment alone to himself and his thoughts and in all honesty it might bother him slightly that you asked this of him. This will, of course, lead you to ask why to which he responds : “Well aren’t ‘we’ enough, why do you want to bring another being into our dynamic?!?!” With that he’ll storm off leaving you confused and a little hurt, but for know you drop the topic and just let him reconvene with himself. In his moments alone he sighs and thinks to himself: “...why did I say that?...you know thats not true Halle...?” Deep down, yes, yes he does want a family to call his and he couldn’t imagine doing so than with you; now he’s left rattling his brain trying to figure out what could’ve caused such a reaction...fear

After several hours of processing and coming to terms with himself, Halle comes back to you. Bright red face with so much embarrassment over his behavior with you, apologizing profusely for walking out on you. In these cases just hold his face, look him in the eyes, center him, ground him, and sit him down. When his able to breath at a steady pace again, expect the flood gates of emotion to open. He very rarely opens up but when he does it’s to you and only you. The main thing he focusses on though is this feeling of fear in the back of his mind much like Cipactli, only difference is that his is rooted in his own self conscious view of himself. Remind him how great of a friend, partner, lover, and man he is; remind him that what you asked doesn’t have to be done now, it is a very big step and something you can both talk and prepare for. This eases him, you both want this, just not right now and that is perfectly fine with both of you. Whenever you’re both ready he will be the proudest man in all of Saiph with you and your family by his side.

Taqtu:

*Queue the water works 🥺*

This man will be  ✨E M O T I O N A L ✨Let him get it out, crying will ensue, but don’t worry these are happy tears. Taqtu has always been a family man, whether its been with his own family or his people in general; he considers the people he grew up with, raised him, played with him, babysat him, the children in his clan that came after him, all of them he considers family so it’s safe to say that when you brought this desire to his attention he was so excited.” WAIT?!?! REALLY?!?! Your not yanking my chain are ya...wait...really, you meant it? Oh Sweetpea, you’ve made me the happiest man”. He didn’t think it was possible to fall more in love with you, but here he is, head over heels (SIMP)

The other thing that has him all giddy is that he also gets to tell his tribe about this newfound journey you both are to take. The Ijiraat as a whole have suffered so much loss that whenever there is a new addition its a full on celebration. When you and Taqtu decided to begin your relationship, the whole tribe threw you both a party celebrating you as one of their own. The news of starting a family won’t be  any less of a celebration, if anything it will be even more so. It’s a new chapter in both of your lives that might spring forth a new life. It has been one of his unspoken dreams to start a family of his own one day and finally being able to do so with the love of his life by his side elates him. Taqtu does not know what he did to deserve you, but he thanks every star in the sky  for that fateful day he ran into you in the streets of Huatzintepec.

Seneca:

Seneca, like Halle, will be freaking out about it as soon as the suggestion leaves your lips; most of his reasoning being out of insecurities as well. However, unlike Halle, the main reason for his objection is because in reality he never knew what family was. How can a man who grew up without family be able to take care of a family of his own. Seneca does not expect you to do all the work in creating and raising this family by yourself, he wouldn’t allow it. Even so, he couldn’t see himself playing any significant part in the family dynamic that you so desire to have with him.

The idea of a family seems really nice to Seneca, poetic even, something he has probably talked about and studied as a disciple of the Sun god. It is a concept that is hard to grasp when the closest thing he has had to family is you. He, like Dior also, will take allot of: time love, and most definitely patience in order to even begin processing what you’ve asked. It is advisable in these instances to let him know that you understand where he comes from and that there is absolutely no rush for him to decide on this. In reality, family is more of a wound to him than something to look forward to, which is something that he is able to comfortably disclose to you after giving some thought to your request. Seneca follows by later stating: “...wounds are meant to heal, not fester. And if you will continue to have me and love me, the wound will heal...when that day comes I will be more than willing to create the most beautiful life that you deserve my sunshine...” (I’m NOT crying, you are).

Whether you both decide to have or adopt your new member of your family, on that day Seneca will learn what it means when people say love at first sight is real. One look at your child and his heart soars. He is grateful for the time that you gave him; it allowed him to heal so that way he could stop bleeding on the people that never hurt him, and with his new future with you he is certain that your family will only grow in love.