#LIKE TRUST IM NOT REMINISCING ABOUT ANY OF THE CHARACTERS

[lyrakanefanatic]

OKAY SO I REALLY WANTED TO MAKE A LITTLE PREDICTION OF WHAT THE CHARACTERS WILL BE LIKE SO HERES THE CHARACTER IM MOST EXCITED FOR FIRST!! (this is going to be a 7 part series 😜)

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1: lyra kane

• closest to in the game: odette morales

• love interest: grayson hawthorne

• the person she dislikes the most in the game (at first): rohan, knox

• personality traits: hardworking, loyal, advocate, supportive, smart, fair, responsible, and sarcastic

• negative personality traits: can be cold and calculating, says the wrong things when mad, stubborn, and not that good at letting people in

HER CHARACTER OVERALL HCS:

• has a younger half sibling (i hc that she has a little brother)

• her mom divorced her step dad when she was 14 because he was abusive ( :( )

• dog person but adores cats

• very good with technology (which is how she got graysons number)

• although she acts tough on the outside, she will never stop caring about people and finds it very hard to despise her ex stepdad because of that (even though he mentally and physically abused her)

• she bonds with nash over how protective they both are of their brothers

• she’s good with guns but only started training with them to over come her fear, which she’s had since her dad shot himself. even though she’s more over it now, her heart beat still speeds up every time she sees a gun

• she didn’t feel that sad when her dad died right away, but throughout the years it hit her harder and harder

• she’s latino with long dark wavy hair, tan skin and dark brown eyes

• is 5’4 but just tells everyone she’s 5’5 because she finds it humiliating (that or shes really tall you can pick babes because i couldn’t 😘)

• she has a semi athletic build with thick thighs and abs

• she adores her family and would do anything for them

• flirts without meaning to and accidentally makes people nervous because she keeps eye contacts for too long

• is very similar to her mom if you put them side by side but still the similarities of her dad are extremely prominent, and anybody who knew him or what he looked like could see them EASILY

• i genuinely don’t know if grayson is going to be 21 or 22 in the grandest game and because the new snippet said that she was “not yet 20” i’m gonna say she’s 19 (but if grayson ends up being 22 then im gonna say she’s 20 bc it would feel weird if she was 19 😭)

• lyra loves her mom to death and lyras mom would kill for her

HER RELATIONSHIP WITH THE OTHER CONTESTANTS:

• knox landry: she didn’t like him at first and they both hated each other, but then in a conversation he mentioned that his dad died, and from that point on they’ve gotten closer and bonded over the fact that they both have dead dads. once the hating stage is over though he’s like an older brother to her and they both care a lot for each other. they share a lot of inside jokes and knox definitely treated grayson a lot harsher when lyra and gray started dating 💀

• odette morales: as soon as they met, odette was never mean or competitive towards her, and she was the first one that lyra trusted immediately out of all the other contestants. they ended up being duos in everything and became bestfriends. they bond over music, hobbies, opinions, and matter of fact, odette is the first one lyra goes to when she fully realizes that she likes grayson 🤭

• brady daniels: her and brady never had a bad stage, but there was a point where she didn’t know if she could trust him or not because he was friends with knox. but, after a few weeks of being on the island, they warm up to each other, and when brady finally comes to her about his little crush on odette, she promises to keep it a secret and help him ask her out

• gigi grayson: lyra was a bit shocked at how gigi immediately was nice to her and was never rude or passive aggressive, (she was untrusting of the contestants at first) and that’s why they started being friends right away. lyra sees her as a little sister and loves her bubbly attitude, and gigi sees her as yet another big sister who, in her words, is “a queen who can put people in their place”. when lyra finally snapped at knox for how passive aggressive he was being towards her, gigi did not stop talking about it for DAYS. she’s her biggest supporter and knows that she can always go to lyra if she ever needs anything, and vice versa.

• savannah grayson: it took them a while to warm up to each other because they were both wary of the other contestants, but once they did they realized how similar they were. although savannah acts like she doesn’t gossip, she 100% does when she’s with lyra. lyra loves how she can say anything and savannah won’t judge her for it, and vice versa. lyra was the only one who, although felt slightly weird about it, didn’t hold savannah (or gigi) accountable for the fact that their brother was a game master and she was in the game. they love staying up late talking, and lyra can always make her laugh. oh, and they 10000% watch gossip girl together. i don’t make the rules.

• rohan: and last but not least, rohan. rohan and lyra shared a very complex relationship when they first got to the island, before their rivalry turned into a chaotic friendship. before the friendship happened, though, lyra hated rohan because she thought he had a big ego and he flirted with her to annoy her. although he won’t admit it, rohan had a crush on her when they first came to the island, that he honestly forgot about once he started crushing on savannah. and once their (pretty one sided, since lyra kind of hated him for no reason LOL) rivalry ended, they ended up being best friends who always get into arguments, but love each other to death.

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OKAY BEFORE ANYBODY CALLS ME DELUSIONAL I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT THESE ARE MY PREDICTIONS OF THE CHARACTERS!! IM NOT SAYING THAT IM CERTAIN THEYRE GOING TO END UP LIKE THIS AND I SEE THEM LIKE THIS, I JUST WANTED TO PREDICT WHAT THEYLL BE LIKE 😪😪

[felinecryptid]

hoooooooooo boy, tmagp 4 go-

this time its becoming apparent that there are some themes and clues that tmagp wants us to notice, the sections stand out, begging for attention

like the recurring theme of bones, and blood, and gore in general (it might be too soon to tell exactly what themes are leading to, but they are definitely there)

the violin could fit right in grifter's bone with it's affinity to music and violence

(the music feels aligned to circus over spiral or web

tho there are elements of the web what with the mind control, but i fear all fears possess a certain degree of control, as such

the violence feels more of the slaughter variety rather than the hunt, though you could make a valid argument for flesh as the words 'sacrifice', 'payment' and 'creature with needs and purposes of its own' do stick in mind

once again i do not think that tmagp follows the same format as the smirke's fourteen (or 15) , i merely use them as parallels to better explain what aspects of the episode sticks out to me (and for me refer back later on))

as other listeners have noted, another theme that tmagp in general follows, is 'obsession', rather than tma's 'fear'

i feel this is also paralleling (intentionally or not) the audience's own listening habits and motives

we first consumed the magnus archives for its content of horror

and yet we are back for the magnus protocol like we never left, and perhaps

we never did

the statement's first person pov depicts a truly horrific picture of the slaughter, of the violence that the violin demands

and his descriptions of the mania on the audience's faces too

it's eerily reminiscent of the france's dancing plague

enough about the statement, lets talk about my boy sam and his co-workers, and their workplace in general

there's a protocol surrounding the magnus institute? interesting interesting, very similar to the police division daisy and basira were part of, the unofficial supernatural division

is this like the civil servant version of such?

another thing that is interesting; how is freddy getting these statements incidents? like sam asked, how exactly does a letter from the 18th century end up in the system?

i don't think gwen's answer is satisfactory (and we weren't meant to either), sure someone might be updating the archives website for reasons unknown but rarely in magpod is something a dead end, every little thing is a clue, a small part of the larger picture

so how exactly does a letter from the 18th century is in freddy's system?

perhaps an 'avatar' or the equivalent (such people are suggested to exist in tmagp universe, like the tattooist from daria's statement)

or maybe the fears themselves manifest in phenomena that upload relevant content to freddy

colin my guy, still being iconic and not trusting tech, hats off to you, the only real character in the whole show

never trust any piece of technology older than paper

the video of lena that gwen got in the end? weird? yeah, fuck yes, but how did she even get it? is there any sort of personal communication available on the ancient system? why gwen?

i have so many questions and so many more thoughts, but this is already so long, im gonna write a separate post about tmagp so far, in general

[studentinpursuitofclouds]

Im curious to know how would Lance would react to and say about the risgeside villagers like Freddie and Lola, Jio and Daia and the other magical characters! <3

Sure thing :3

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When Lance spots Lola and Freddie walking peacefully through the Ridgeside Village main square, he will greet them politely and bow to them as a sign of respect for elders. The two old couple will stop and chat a bit with the young adventurer, not missing the opportunity to reminisce about their youth and offer a couple pieces of advice. All three are smiling and the atmosphere is relaxed. At least because Lance is smart enough not to ask too many questions. He knows perfectly well who is in front of him. And while Lance knows that these old couple are retired adventurer-assassins who wish no harm to anyone, they could kill him in a heartbeat with the flick of a finger. He admires this and is a little tense about it. But everyone parted on a good note, as Lance is a well-mannered young man, and Lola and Freddie always welcome kind youth.

Lance swears that if Isaac and Jio were placed side by side, the adventurer would have the audacity to say they were twins. Not in appearance, but in their murderous stare, resting bitch face, anti-social behavior, and even their posture. Only the pink-haired man wanted to ask the living elf (a living elf!) a few questions, as immediately got in his face the phrases "You don't belong here" and "Why are you still here?". Yoba almighty... The elf's temper is worse than Isaac's. It's like Lance is talking to an obnoxious child... The fact that Lance is a mage and adventurer added fuel to the fire, because Jio doesn't want the bigwigs at the Ministry to find out about the cult. Lance decides to back off to avoid a fight. There's no point in spilling blood.

Before Lance could step back, he heard a slightly squeaky "Kiwi stab you! Intruder!" and turned around to see... junimo coming toward him. Hmm, a strange junimo that didn't emanate forest magic... Jio managed to teleport between Kiwi and Lance. "Jio must not stop Kiwi from stabbing the impostor!" Kiwi is junimo's name, huh? Interesting. But that was something to think about another time. So Lance decided to left Ridge immediately, while Kiwi is trying her best to prove to Jio that they "should chase down the pink man and stab him with knifes!"

And just when the adventurer thought the rest of his day would go smoothly, Daia appeared out of nowhere, showering the slightly tired Lance with more compliments and ambiguous hints. On another day he might have played along, or even counterattacked the insistent lady with flirting, but he's already a little tired. Especially since he senses the same aura as he did from the elf with junimo, and her clothes immediately tell him that this is another cult member. Daia has already had enough of playing with Lance and before she teleported away, without removing her smile, she threatened him that if any of her members were injured, she would destroy him. Lance assured her that he didn't want to hurt anyone, so the two parted on a more or less good note. Although, after her hints, Lance had a feeling- Well, he doesn't have to think about it, because he's well-mannered.

Belinda and Raeriyala couldn't help but notice magical aura emanating from the newcomer, and they remembered Farmer's words that this pink haired man could be trusted. Rae wanted to remain secretive, but Belinda was too curious, and was not afraid of Lance at all: she could stand up for herself, plus her loyal followers were always on guard. The spirit appeared before Lance too abruptly, forcing the adventurer to grasp the hilt of his sword. Just as Belinda was about to scare him some more, her beloved Raeriyala scolded Bel for her rudeness and apologized to Lance. They can see that he has a kind aura, and if he makes a promise to remain silent about them, they can answer a couple of his questions.

[rvspecter]

okay hear me out. what do we think donna's relationship with her mother is like??? and the older sister??? because tbh im willing to bet it's not the best.

first of all, we know her parents separated at some point and that her sister is "much older" than her - im willing to bet 10 years, maybe? old enough to probably be out of the house when the separation happened, but i am wondering how old donna was at that time, and i wonder if she spent more time with her dad during that period.

we're just exposed to her dad so much more in the show, like two or three times compared to the one time in season EIGHT (very late in the series, mind you) where she goes to her mom to reminisce about a trip that was never taken, and the advice she gets leads to her severely fucking with harvey's job. while tbh i might have also told thomas if i were in her position, just bc he was really a good guy and didn't deserve to be fucked over like he would have been, i just find it funny that the one time donna's mom has impact as a character it leads to like a near catastrophe.

do we think younger donna could have blamed her mom for the separation as a child, and that it caused a shift in their dynamic that has been a fracture following donna into adulthood? could her mom be closer with the sister, or have moved to be wherever the sister lives in case the sister has kids or needs greater support?

just like even when donna and harvey get together there's no excitement to tell her mom or an indication that her mom is told, it's just a big thing to talk to her dad about (and FUCK donna's dad by the way, I'm on harvey's team with this one, jim was pissing me off every chance he got!!!!).

anyways I really am just trying to come up with more ways that darvey could parallel each other (harvey's blame to his mom for breaking up their family while sad wasn't all that great but he had a better relationship with him and admired him anyways), and I do want to know your thoughts on donna's sister if you have any!!!

SO I JUST REWATCHED THE DARVEY PARTS OF THIS EPISODE

i feel like she thought her mom was dumb for trusting her dad and giving him her savings. she asks her mom if she regrets doing it because of the way it turned out. and her mom is like how wud i kno how it’d turn out. and donna’s like CAUSE HE LET U DOWN BEFORE re: her dad but also harvey

and then there’s the flashback of her mom promising her all sorts of things that never happened because her mom trusted her dad so she tells thomas because she didn’t want to be made a fool of like her mom

what I don’t get is if this is the case why did she want to help her dad before with money ??

also during the flashbacks of this episode were her parents together or separate because that’s also confusing. her parents are together when they stay at harvey’s place but her mom has a boyfriend whose name doesn’t matter at the dinner party we don’t see. her family situation is definitely all over the place zero stability

i never got the sense that she was distant from her parents. the difference between her and harvey is that he seems to hold onto his anger whereas she doesn’t. i think she’s aware of their faults and conscious of not wanting to be like them but i think they have a decent relationship. enough so that she’s attending dinner parties with her mom and having breakfast semi regularly with her dad

also the episode where donna gets mad at harvey for not trying to build a relationship with her dad - i felt at the time it was donna’s reaction to their relationship like that he was going to bail and she was finding a reason to bail before him!! like what did u think

omg donna’s sister i didn’t even know she had one ahaha

[buggitino]

some headcanons about sebastian solace from the hit game pressure roblox

to start - this may seem unimportant to you guys but its important to me: that ring on his finger is about as serious as the squirrel stapler room (that is, to say, the whole thing is a bit that the devs have included in their silly project and i will be treating it as such) (for selfish reasons, of course, but idc!! i'm having fun with this stupid game that i love and thats all that matters) (update on this: as i'm typing, i'm finding out that zerum is serious about her and sebastian being married which is honestly kinda...) (like sure fine that's cool and all if he were JUST your OC but sebastian has reached a point of publicity where he is more than that. obviously, i think it's rude and terrible and disrespectful to disregard a creators wishes as to how their character is used in fan-made content (this especially goes for NSFW art cause i think its fucked up if people make that sort of content of a character and POST IT after the creator explicitly said not to). at the same time, there are many people on the internet who do not care and will do what they want regardless. i think it'd be fair for her to ask not to have any of it sent to her specifically or posted in the Pressure server that she co-runs where she will obviously see it but she's saying she doesn't want anyone to make that sort of stuff period which is unreasonable and will only serve to hurt her in the long run. i don't know how old zerum is but this is reminiscent of my own (early) internet phases where i would become EXTREMELY attached to a character and refuse to acknowledge that that character existed differently (or at all) to someone else (i don't want to admit it was a sans AU but i really don't think i have a choice). i really hope she gets past this in a healthy way and comes to understand that a character who's been made public the way sebastian has been made public has a very different dynamic than an OC that you're sharing with your friends)

☆ pretty basic and angsty interpretation and im positive most people in the fandom agree with me on this - he doesn't like getting hit with the bright light not only because of the angler fish DNA making his eyes sensitive but also because it reminds him of surgical lights (which is why he has a Take No Shit policy (since the update) for expendables flashing him) (yeah, he has a pretty short fuse already, but he wouldn't deck an expendable for leaving and coming back in once nor would he shoot them for using the keycard on his wares) (so even though its because of the DNA mixing, i like headcanoning theres more to it for funsies)

☆ can and will let the expendables die in his shop because then he doesn't have to leave to collect all the shit they drop (on that note, wags his tail and chuckles when you buy stuff cause he knows it'll ultimately be useless and he'll just get it back)

☆ collects data so he has records of urbanshades bullshittery (so he can prosecute their asses the second he escapes) AND so he can re-discover his own identity (this plays into my headcanon that he's slowly forgetting what he used to look like as well as what his life used to be outside of urbanshades teensy weensy ginormous fuck up facility)

☆ i know this is (basically) canon but i'm solidifying it for myself by calling it here: he's chilean american (and speaks chilean spanish) and i know like i KNOW if his radio was working he'd be blasting Bio Bio or Futuro or Pudahuel 24/7

☆☆ bonus!! he 100% listens to mid 90s - early 2000s emo music now (have you even seen him) (that mf painted his nails pitch black in middle school) (walked out the door listening to Green Day and One Last Wish on his walkman while his mom kissed him goodbye telling him to have a good day at school TRUST) and his favorite chilean genres are nueva trova chilena, folklore, cueca, and punk melodico! (im not entirely familiar with chilean culture and music so if anyone here is chilean and likes Pressure PLEASE chime in i'd love to hear your thoughts)

☆ on the topic of family, he would help his mom cook and clean sometimes when his older sister was out (his dad helps too!!)

☆ twirls/plays with his hair (mostly because he doesn't have anything else to fidget with) (projecting he's self conscious about it cause thats why i play with my hair whoops)

☆ soft spot for teen/young adult expendables that he doesn't have for the older ones (every time he sees an expendable younger than 30, his disgust and rage towards urbanshade grows)

these are all for fun and just my personal opinions/headcanons!! i'll update these eventually (maybe) and i wanna hear what you guys have to say too :D

[lonelysheepling]

Advice for artists and non-artists but mainly just artists

You know how you do a thing for so long that it’s becomes super mundane and insignificant to you, like when you’re sewing something you just do a basic stitch and struggle to tie a standard knot at the end. But you don’t do this often enough for it to stand out to you. You’re an artist, hey maybe even a professional one, and you’ve been doing your art a certain way for a long time. You use pose references and look up environment pictures to reference. But you still draw shoes without a reference or you draw clothes without any detailed folds.

At various points in my art journey I tried using tutorials, resources, and step by step guides for drawing certain things, be that nature brushes, drawing noses front-on, etc. and my skills at the time were kinda basic so I could never really pull off the tutorials in a way that satisfied me. I then went years just improving on broad areas like perspective and posing, focusing more on the overall composition than the minor details. But one day, years later, I got bored and decided to look up how to draw clothing folds

On the left of the green line is some previous work, on the right was two pieces I drew after I heavily referenced cloth physics

Ignore the shading, lighting, colors, etc. the stuff on the right definitely has way better flow than the stuff on the left. Now it wasn’t like a “wow I used a reference and now I’m a master” situation, there was an adjustment period with some less than stellar examples

But when I created those first 2 folds it was like a fucking switch was flicked in my head and I’ve been improving ever since. I am immensely grateful that I just happened to go looking for reference photos because holy shit something as simple as improving my clothing folds massively boosted my confidence in my work. Something I’ve noticed after I followed tutorials is that during the adjustment period, while the first couple of pieces are very reminiscent of the source tutorial, they start to get a little too far off and I stop referencing the tutorial and start doing my own thing (for better or for worse), but there’s then a period afterwards where I go back (maybe after re-watching the original tutorial) and develop it more into my own style.

Here’s a graph to better explain my thought process

Here’s another gun to the head reminder to use references. Recently I was drawing shoes for a character and I have a pretty consistent method of drawing shoes (consistent, not good).

But I wanted it to look more rugged so I looked up an image of a hiking boot and guess at what point in this timelapse that the reference was pulled up

I had for years tried using tutorials and reference photos but the process never really clicked for me. But over the years I have improved my technical skills and I believe that those improvements and all that practice made it way easier for me to understand and replicate tutorials, i understand now how the specifics of certain things like shading and depth work, picking up new skills that are still in the area I work in became way easier. But Im obviously still finding areas in my art by random chance that I can improve on. Because I don’t think about those parts anymore, they’re in the background of my design process.

This is where my advice to non-artists comes in. Look up tutorials. For anything. You know earlier when I mentioned sewing? Look up a guide on stitching, I just learned today what a surgeons knot is despite having been hand stitching for years. You don’t know what you don’t know, you don’t seek out improvement when you don’t perceive the need to improve. Trust me, there’s always areas to improve but you are going to have to stretch your mind at some point to recognize them. Everybody talks about how you should use tutorials and use references and all that, but I don’t think many people are going to research tutorials for things they don’t feel like they need improvement in.

. Anyway that’s the end of my monthly psa

If something in this post confused you feel free to send me like an ask or a brick through my window with a note attached to it, I’m not picky.

[mais-nerdy-corner]

Okay so I have a kinda interesting request. Okay so say the traveler (whichever sibling youd like. Im pretty sure you write for them. If not you can write for a character that hates the fatui) has a s/o who was a secret harbinger but that are in so deep they don't know how to tell traveler. But one day the traveler finds out and is forced to defeat their s/o. I want it to be horribly sad. I love your writing BTW. You are incredibly talented. *smiles softly and dies*

❝𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕷𝖎𝖆𝖗❞ | 𝕿𝖗𝖆𝖛𝖊𝖑𝖊𝖗 𝖝 𝕳𝖆𝖗𝖇𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖊𝖗! 𝕽𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖊𝖗

Synopsis: From assisting an ambush to fighting to the death, Y/n had hidden their true identity from the Traveler because of love. But when the Traveler found out, they felt like they had been stabbed in the back.

Pairing: Traveler x Harbinger! Reader

Genre: Angst

💮 — Author Answered: Ahh, my first request! I've been waiting for one for so long (or is it because the anonymous asks has been off this whole time and I've just enabled it? Oops silly me :P) Anyways, thank you for the request Anon!

Note: Since the Fatui Harbingers' titles are based on commedia dell'arte, I spent some time doing research and referencing. It is safe to say that I know nothing about theater, so if there's any mistake(s), please forgive me :')

The sounds of swords clashing echoed in the night sky of Liyue, very contrary to the atmosphere around. Paimon watched the fierce fight from the sidelines, her partner confronted their significant other, who they now know is a Fatui Harbinger.

"Why did you have to lie to me, Y/n?!"

"It was for your own good, Lumine/Aether."

The Traveler has lunged themselves at the Harbinger over and over, yet they haven't managed to land a single scratch on them. Both of them are experienced in combat, but one of them seems to be holding back.

"Fight me, Y/n! Or should I say, Brighella!"

"Lumine/Aether, please don't use that name against me..."

"So what? Isn't that who you really are? You've already lost my trust in you with that name, why do you care about it now?!"

The Harbinger displayed a face of regret, reminiscing about the good times with the Traveler before this incident.

The first time they met was when Y/n was in charge of collecting debts for the Northland Bank. Even though they're surrounded by Treasure Hoarders, they still maintained their composure.

"You clearly know how loan funds work. You borrow, then you pay the debt according to a predetermined date. Why do you refuse to follow such simple steps?"

They already have their weapons in hand, but you still hope to settle this matter peacefully. But suddenly, someone flew over you and landed in front of you, defeating every single one of them.

"We're sorry, we're sorry! We promise we will pay our debts soon. Just please stop beating us."

The Treasure Hoarders went running wild. Then came a small "floating elf companion" who flew straight to you.

"Umm, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? Why did they surround-- Hey, you have a Vision! Why didn't you fight them?"

At first, you came off as aloof and somewhat unfriendly because of the awkward silence and intense stare you gave them. But then, they don't seem too distressed by the aura of your presence.

" *sigh* I just want to resolve this matter in a peaceful way. Fighting them is easy but I find fighting to be quite bothersome."

"Uhh... okay! Well, Paimon feels like it's rude not to introduce ourselves. This here is the Tra--"

"The Traveler who had saved Liyue from the raging waves of the Overlord of the Vortex and the Avenger of the Vortex recently, and their floating companion. Who doesn't recognize you?"

"O-oh, so we ARE famous... Hehe, in that case, Paimon also finds it bothersome to have to repeatedly introduce ourselves..."

The Traveler laughed at Paimon imitating your way of speaking, and maybe that laugh is what attracted you to them.

"Anyways, since you already know who we are, it is your turn to be known to us. Ooohh, Paimon feels like a detective...! State your name and the reasoning behind the ambush!"

"Paimon, you're way into this..."

You think for a moment on how to introduce yourself. The Traveler has a bad impression on the Fatui, so it's better not to reveal your real identity.

"My name is Y/n, I'm a lender, kind of an investor. The Treasure Hoarders had borrowed money from me and refused to pay their debts, until you came and beat them up. I really want to thank you for helping me earlier."

"Aww, it's nothing really... The Traveler here feels that you are in trouble so that's why they helped you. Hmm, collecting debts... Where has Paimon heard this from...? Oh yeah, it was when we babysat Childe's brother Teucer. He's done that before. Wait a minute, could it be that you also have something to do with the Fatui?" Paimon said.

"Hm? So you two have met Childe?"

"Huh, so you know him too, Y/n?" Paimon asked.

"Honestly, who doesn't? The Fatui Harbinger who got the blame for the Overlord of the Vortex incident. And believe me, I have absolutely nothing to do with the Fatui. I'm just a merchant from Snezhnaya that the Treasure Hoarder just happened to find out about my fortune."

The Traveler and Paimon were silent, a little confused about what else to say. "Huh..."

Not wanting to make things more awkward, you offered to treat them to lunch.

"As a token of my gratitude, I shall treat you to a meal."

"Now this, Paimon like!"

The next day, the Traveler and Paimon were at the Wangshu Inn after staying there last night. They were making small talk on the upper balcony after eating breakfast cooked by Smiley Yanxiao.

"Huh, Paimon's surprised Xiao isn't hanging around here..."

Suddenly, the owner of the Wangshu Inn Verr Goldet came over. "Traveler, there's someone looking for you. They asked you to meet them on the ground floor," she informed.

"Oh, right. Paimon wonders who wants to meet them... Okay, thank you boss lady!" Paimon said.

Verr Goldet even had the time to reply as she descended the stairs. "It's not 'boss lady', it's just boss."

"Huh, whatever. Let's quickly meet this person on the ground floor."

Arriving at the ground floor, the Traveler was greeted with a pile of gifts on a table.

"Woah, what in the-- What on Teyvat is all this?!" Paimon exclaimed.

"Like I said yesterday, I really want to thank you for helping me. So I decided to give you a present, but I don't know what you like, so I bought a lot for you to choose."

You were waiting for them behind the pile of gifts and when you come out of hiding, for some reason their surprised faces you can't seem to forget.

"Sheesh, Paimon knows that you are a rich merchant! But there's also no need to show off your wealth like this either!"

"I did this with good intentions, you know."

The Traveler looked at the gifts on the table, and their eyes fell on a flower brooch.

"Oh, do you like this brooch? It was crafted by a skillful craftsman here in Liyue. You can have it, as well as the rest."

"No thanks, I'm good with just the brooch," the Traveler said.

"Alright then, you can come to my estate at anytime if you want to pick another gift."

"Ooohh, if the Traveler isn't going to take the rest, can Paimon choose a gift for herself?" Paimon asked.

"Hm, very well then."

"Yay!"

"Woah, Paimon couldn't believe that Y/n asked you out on a date! They even prepared new clothes for Paimon to wear!"

The Traveler and Paimon were getting ready for dinner at Xinyue Kiosk. As Paimon said, Y/n has asked the Traveler out on a date. They also prepared clothes for them to wear.

"What do you think, Paimon? Does it look good?"

"Hehe, you look amazing Traveler! Are we ready to go?"

The Traveler and Paimon came out of their hotel room in Liyue Harbor which Y/n also paid for, and in front of the hotel Y/n was waiting for them.

"You look stunning, my princess/prince."

The Traveler blushed at the compliment, followed by Paimon nudging them.

"How are you liking your clothes, Paimon?"

"Oh, Paimon's liking her new clothes very much. It's strangely comfortable and just so poofy!"

"I'm glad to hear that. Shall we go, my princess/prince?"

You extended your hand and took their hand in yours. As you walk down the streets of Liyue Harbor, you earned stares and whispers from the people.

"They look great together, don't they?"

"Huh, isn't that the Traveler?"

"How romantic!"

When you arrived at the Xinyue Kiosk, Yueshu recognized you immediately and smiled.

"Reservation under the name Y/n, correct? For three people?" Yueshu asked.

"Correct."

"The food is served on the table a few minutes before you arrive. Enjoy your evening."

You nodded at her before entering. Paimon had already rushed over to the dining table.

"Wow, look at all this food! Where does Paimon want to start?" Paimon mumbled as she picked up a small plate.

"I've rented this place for tonight only. If we ran out of food, just say so."

"Hehe, thanks Y/n! Paimon will really use this opportunity to the max."

You took the food of your choice from the all-you-can-eat style buffet and brought it to the table. You remembered the Traveler's sigh the moment they saw the food that Paimon piled on her plate.

"Paimon, you have to make sure that you can finish all that food..." said the Traveler.

"Oh, don't worry. Paimon will finish all this food 'till the very last crumb."

You chuckled at Paimon as she starts to devour her food. "Apologies if you don't fancy Yue style food, eating seafood just reminds me of my homeland."

"Don't worry to much! Paimon and the Traveler have eaten here before, and we love it!"

"More like you love it..." The Traveler muttered.

"Hey!"

"You are going to Inazuma? Isn't the Sakoku Decree being enforced?"

The Traveler and Paimon went to your estate to inform you of their upcoming trip to the Land of Eternity. To be honest, you were worried. The situation in Inazuma was really chaotic, and you didn't want anything to happen to them.

"How are you even going to get there?"

"Well, Beidou already promised us to take us there for winning The Crux Clash a few days ago. Atsuko said that she can help us get there."

You were silent for a moment. The Traveler and Paimon could feel the aura of feelings you felt at that moment. A little disappointed mixed with sad and worried. You let out a long sigh before telling them your final say.

"I guess there's nothing really stopping you from leaving, huh... Then, I wish you nothing else but the best on your journey. Please be careful."

"I will. Take care, Y/n."

The Traveler and Paimon who was floating by the door left your estate, you still stare at your closed door after their departure. Suddenly, you heard someone's voice from behind you.

"Did you hear that, my Lady/Lord? The Traveler is now heading to Inazuma."

"Yes, I heard that, Igor. I directly talked to them."

Igor is one of your subordinates, but the one you trust the most. You often share your thoughts and your plans of doing things with him.

"I had been close to the Traveler just so that I could report their position to Her Majesty the Tsaritsa. Should I go to Inazuma just to do the same thing?"

"That's entirely up to you, my Lady/Lord. I'm only here to loyally follow you and orders. Though, I think maybe we should go to Inazuma, just to see how things are going."

"I don't think that's a great idea. Too many Fatui Harbingers in Inazuma can make the people there be wary and suspicious of us. I'm pretty sure the Balladeer and the Fair Lady are already there."

"Right, my Lady/Lord."

"We'll see how it will go..."

Some time has passed and the people of Liyue are celebrating the Lantern Rite. The Traveler hasn't given any news regarding their return to Liyue or their trip to Inazuma, so you decided to relax and enjoy the festival. After buying food from the street vendors on the streets of Liyue Harbor, you returned to your home with the intention of eating it with Igor. But before you could go inside, you heard some hurried footsteps and someone's voice calling for you.

"My Lady/Lord! My Lady/Lord!"

"Oh, Igor, Alexei, and Nikolai. Why are you in such a hurry?"

"We... we received some news... about..." Alexei tried to say as he catches his breath.

"About what?"

"About... Ugh, my legs are tired..." Nikolai complained.

"My Lady/Lord, we were recently informed that the Balladeer has ran off with the Electro Archon's Gnosis. And the Fair Lady was slain by the Shogun's Musou no Hitotachi. As a Harbinger, you are asked to return to the motherland to attend her burial," Igor explained.

" *sigh* I see... You were right, Igor. We should've gone to Inazuma to oversee the situation. I'm sorry. Search far and wide for the Balladeer's whereabouts, also take this food that I bought."

"Yes, my Lady/Lord."

"T-thank you, my Lady/Lord."

They quickly left, leaving you enraged and frustrated. You went into your estate for further planning. What you don't realize is that someone has overheard your conversation earlier.

"Paimon couldn't believe what Paimon's ears had heard. The person named Igor earlier said... that Y/n is a Harbinger!? Ahh, w-what?! Oh, should we run after him or... Wait, Traveler! Wait for Paimon!"

Igor, Alexei, and Nikolai ran to the nearest Fatui camp. Just as Igor was about to give their superior's orders, the Traveler came with their weapon in hand. They beat them down one by one, each attack filled with fury. After taking them down, the Traveler was just about to go and confront their so-called significant other but was stopped by some words from the Fatui.

"What is the meaning of this? What do you want from us?"

"Why did you attack us?"

"Ms. Lumine/ Mr. Aether! I'm sure there must be some sort of misunderstanding. My Lady/Lord would never do something without good intentions. They truly love you, Ms. Lumine/ Mr. Aether!" Igor expressed.

The Traveler listened to what he has to say and left to confront you.

Arriving at your house, they slowly knocked on the door. When you go to open it, you were tackled to the ground.

"How dare you lie to me this whole time?! You absolute jerk!"

"Lumine/Aether, please get off of me. I have a reason to lie to you."

"Fine! Meet me at Bishui Plain and make sure to be there."

Your daydreaming gave the Traveler a chance to attack you and...

*STAB*

The Traveler's sword pierced through your body, protruding out of your back. It was truly a sight to see. Lovers fighting each other to the death as fireworks from Qingce Village can be seen in the background.

"Gah...! Oh, that... hurts. But it doesn't hurt as much as getting your heart broken by a jerk like me... Huh, I deserved this... I truly deserved this... Thank you for giving me the chance to love you, Lumine/Aether... I hope one day you can forgive me..."

And just like that, the Fatui Harbinger Brighella died because of blood loss and internal bleeding. The Traveler's face showed no remorse at first, until they heard something hitting the ground.

"Oh, isn't this the necklace you gave to Y-- er Paimon mean Brighella back then? Looks like they added a pendant to the necklace."

The Traveler took the necklace and opened the pendant. What they saw inside might have made them regret their actions.

Inside was a picture of them together with words engraved onto one side of pendant written in the common tongue saying "My Princess/Prince, Forever in My Heart".

The Traveler who previously has not shown a single sign of remorse was now sobbing. What Igor said turned out to be true. Y/n truly loves them.

The Traveler cried over their dead body as the fireworks continue to light up the night sky. What a tragic ending for the Liar.

[Author's Note]: What's this? Two fully written fics in a month? Done in just three days? What has gotten into me? :v

Publication date: October 10th 2022

[razzmothazz]

rambling more abt nightcord and their theme because i just NEED to get it out if my system

i think nightcord is such beautifully constructed with its theme of healing because every character has someone specific helping them out most within the unit

idk how to explain it in general terms but basically

kanade struggles with overworking and not taking proper care of herself, her main help with this comes from mizuki! sure, others help out too but mizuki is the one who points out those self destructive behaviours the most [or at least from ehat i remeber] and this dynamic is so so beautifully shown specifically in carnation recollection

mizuki is the one telling kanade to take a break, but kanade is set on making another song for mafuyu despite being absolutely stuck. i think mizuki is the most clever out of the 4 specifically because of this event, since they knew kanade wont give up on it ever and decided to use a different approach to give her the deserved break and would also help her out in this situation. kanade would never have some time off if it wasnt for mizuki. thats how mizuki cares for her, by "tricking" her into taking one while also getting to spend nice time together and end up reminiscing.

this is such an important story because thanks to mizuki, a part of kanade got to heal.

mafuyu very obviously is mostly helped by kanade, who tries her very best and gives it literally her all to help mafuyu find herself, but she always gives mafuyu space when she needs it as well. i think since this one is most obvious i dont have to dwell on it too much but the love and care kanade has for mafuyu makes me soooo fucking insane like omg. kanade is the whole reason mafuyu even tries. shes the sole reason why mafuyu could get where she is now and didnt give up.

ena is a bit tricky, but surprisingly i think her helper is... mafuyu. i have honestly no clue how to explain what i mean at all, but seeing someone with so much talent and the "perfect" life be completely empty was so important to enas character. mafuyu makes painfully slow progress on her situation yet ena notices it, and she might not fully realize it but its helping ena take things easier with her art as well, which i think is shown very well in hope will someday go beyond the morning. mafuyu makes just a slightly different expression but ena still notices it, paralleled by enas art teacher noticing enas intent and emotion behind her art project. despite so many mistakes in the work on a technical level, it had soul. not to mention mafuyu indirectly helps ena be more understanding of others, which is very obvious when you compare how she was with mafuyu at first vs their current dynamic. mafuyu doesnt even know it but she inspires ena so so much not only in her art but to be better as a person.

and for mizuki, its also very obvious with main help coming from ena. pretty much every mizuki focus [<- exaggeration warning] will have ena trying her best to help mizuki out, and thanks to enas growth she can understand mizuki better and better and know how to deal with their issue. she thinks she needs to know the secret to know mizuki, but she learns that its not actually important, and she wants to show mizuki that as well. she constantly shows mizuki support and care weather they are willing to tell their secret or not, and in her own way wants to reassure mizuki that no matter what she wants to be there for them. ena helps mizuki so much that they even finally consider telling ena their secret, after like a year in canon if not longer!! which is such a huge deal because mizuki was convinced that telling ena someday they will tell what it is was completely a lie. they never had any intention to actually say what it is. but they grew so much and feel so safe around ena that the fact they even CONSIDERED IT implies so much healing, growth and trust. it makes me SOB. i am INSANE about mizuena. ena loves them SO MUCH its just so JSHSHDHYSHEIRUDHXHJSNB

okay im gonna stop here cause the tired is getting to me and i feel like i cant explain myself at all now but you get the point n25 care about eachother so much it makes me cry and punch walls and scream and drop to my knees on the floor in a dramatic way and explode and-

[comradeboyhalo]

Okay—you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to..! But I’m actually SO curious on your essay thoughts of q!Bad in 4halo fics. Because (I think) it’s kind of rare that q!Bad is depicted accurately in.. most qsmp ship fics. And I feel like q!Bad always becomes.. obsessed with romance with q!Forever in many 4halo fics?? Or super open + emotionally stable?? I don’t know how to explain it, but that’s why I’m curious of your thoughts (because I’ve read your fics and 100% trust your characterizations, especially of BBH cubitos <3)

hihi always down to ramble. and i agree, a lot of bad's flaws are smoothed over in 4halo fics, which makes him incredibly ooc. also, i dont think that these mischaracterizations are necessarily bad, i understand that in fluff fics (or angst fics, which im guilty of) sometimes theres no room in tone to fully capture all of q!bad's complexities. but that doesn't mean i cant have some gripes!

i dont think this is exclusive to 4halo, but 4halo is also bad's current biggest ship, so a lot of it just happens to fall on it. but i really hate how fanon!bad gets stripped down to a mere love interest who is just...very perfect in how he interacts with romance. he wants to go on cute dates, he confesses in a very sweet way. he is kind and nice and a little insecure, and is just so boring. its very much reminiscent of old skephalo fics, where bad is seen as "innocent" and then any other interesting trait of his gets stripped away. i also end up feeling im reading about a highschooler, when q!bad is 11k+ and cc!bad (obviously influential of his character) is in his late 20s.

again, i understand why people write 4halo on cute dates and first kisses. thats what fanfic is for! but i cant help but see the entirety of the ao3 page full of these very...allo-typical romance plots and think "...he would not fucking say that." q!bad is messy as fuck! if you don't interpret him as arospec, then hes at the very least repressed, and not in a cute YA romance way. a 1k fic of pining that ends in a nice love confession just doesnt convince me im sorry!

and then there's the blue diamond obstacle that gets in the way of 4halo monogamy....skeppy. again, i get why most 4halo shippers arent going to mention him, cause theyre just not into anything skephalo. i cant blame them for that. but im a master nitpicker, so ill still nitpick cause this is my blog. bad brushing over skeppy is ooc. bad acting as if skeppy is in the past is ooc. bad pursuing any form of relationship without including skeppy is ooc. bad choosing any other person but skeppy to be his #1 is ooc. and yeah it sucks for shipping if you dislike q!skephalo, but thats how it is and its not changing. and also any fics that push bad to "move on" from skeppy is just ??? not only is that his soulmate across lifetimes, but skeppy isnt dead? hes just not on the island? help??? bad has two hands, but one hand will always hold skeppy's and he's made that abundantly clear many times.

anyways im also not immune to q!bad butchering in 4halo fics! ill admit that, in writing the hanahaki au, i couldn't really find time to fit a lot of q!bad's humor into it, and he ended up more openly angsty and sad and vulnerable then he really is, or would ever be. so i totally get it, and im fine if other qbad viewers despise how he's written in it. however i will stand by the fact that q4halo would never pursue a traditional relationship together, and i chose the ending to be ambiguous because thats how i believe their relationship (and feelings) are: ambiguous. that's why, to me, 4halo is so good. i don't want to read about them confessing their feelings. i want to read about how their relationship is an undefined, confusing mess that will never be defined, and im just so surprised that there aren't more fics like that out there.

[voiceofthesilly]

3, 4, 5 aaaaand 6! :3

3. I do love me a tortured artist...

Reese definitely takes the cake for. Many reasons. One is that i personally have to short-circuit seeing him. Another is that I love people who talk during movies so so much please explain to me the directors entire thing. Also, it's very true that his shit is reminiscent of Goya's black period (thinking about it even in genesis sorta) and Beksiński's work (🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱💥💥❗‼️💥 Poland mention) and i m a big fan of Beksiński. Im also not immune to 12 foot, monster-dwelling tailed monster (shout-out to needle princess) Also just found out he's a DM? I'm genuinely ready to sell my soul for the guy

But Avery and Stella are so close behind, Avery for being the weirdest person around (so so affectionate. Why did you say you'd like the ditchlings to lay eggs under your skin), Stella because I'm personally also a big fan of cryptids and paranormal in general. Also there's so much wrong with her

4. This one unfortunately has got to go to Oscar because I haven't really gotten around to hanging out with him yet... Not that I dislike him by any means, just don't have a lot of feelings about him either way.

Unless Sybil counts, she's interesting as fuck but I do not trust her a single bit and there's so many things I'm sure are her fault. So as a character — I think she's great . But I'm hissing and scratching at her

5.

Only now I realised there's two question fives and i did the other one in another ask so!

My absolute favourite side character is the pastor. He's just some guy . I would trust him with my life. Wdym he just went "uhhh yeah god and stuff" to make sure Kaneeka /and Avery think that's what we're talking about. "Firm parenting moment" and it's please be good or we might skip storytime. I cannot wait to see more of him

6.

My favourite traits have got to be street smart and keen eye, though book smart and powerful build arent far behind. I just love lying to people and eavesdropping . But the muscle-weirdo stuff powerful build does and additional information book smart grants are really cool also

As for combos, I think it's the same, keen eye and street smart are amazing together . Though maybe it's just because the MC who has them is my favourite. I'm going for a playthrough that gets both of these and book smart, and so far it's also been very fun so book smart/keen eye seems fun, and so does street smart/powerful build with all the bullshit it allows me to pull

[orpheusilver]

care to elaborate on the miles venom arc?

YES okay so. the thing abt the symbiote is that (like any good corruption arc) it feeds on and amplifies the worst traits of a character, which is pretty straightforward in peters case - his biggest issue is his anger, usually manifesting via retribution (eg. "i missed the part where thats my problem", hunting down uncle bens killer), so his origin story is always the great power/great responsibility thing so he learns to temper that rage. what the symbiote does, practically, is force him to unlearn that foundational character arc and regress to his worst self

since the symbiote really really loves aggression peter parker is literally its dream guy but miles is a little more complex. hes definitely susceptible to that same anger (eg. wanting to "make kingpin pay", the entire sm2 martin li arc) but not as often and nowhere near as hardcore, so the peter playbook wont work as well for him (and also it would be fucking boring. weve seen that shit like 8 times already (not saying symbiote peter is boring i just think modern iterations need to explore new aspects to avoid treading the same ground constantly (sm2 does this very fucking well (also yuri lowenthal is a great va for peter like right up there with josh keaton (i think this many parentheses means im off topic (the adhd demon got me))))))

SO. whats miles' major issue he needs to overcome in his origin story? full disclosure i have not read the comics (but i heard they had some issues with his initial characterization anyway? which is fair enough tbh writing the successor to such an iconic guy is Fucking Hard) so TO ME PERSONALLY!! spider-verse miles is the definitive iteration of the guy and like. we all remember the whats up danger scene, his origin arc is overcoming self-doubt and learning to believe in himself ("its a leap of faith", "youre on your way, just keep going") which, alongside social anxiety (eg. the itsv "everyone knows" scene, sm2 "are you mad at me? it sounds like youre mad at me" dialog), seems to be part of some general anxiety issues. this is pretty well supported by the recent "the spider within" short film (which funnily enough is very fucking reminiscent of some sequences in kravens last hunt, not relevant but kinda cool) which also shows how miles responds by self-isolating, similarly to ps5 miles when peter ignores him

the symbiote can exploit his self-doubt pretty easily, the inherent power boost will do most of the heavy lifting to make him feel like hes not good enough without it - what if he runs out of web at the worst moment? what if hes not strong or fast enough to save someone? what if hes caught mid-costume change because hes so used to the suit changing itself? the more valid the (inital) concerns the better imo

the social anxiety is a tricky one but i think if miles traps himself in a doom loop of self-isolation he might spiral into genuine paranoia, which combined w/ the patented symbiote rage could lead him to lash out at people around him. "everyone secretly hates me so im gonna avoid being around people" -> "i feel alienated from everyone i know so im gonna avoid them even harder" -> "am i 'okay'? why would you care? what are you playing at? fuck off and leave me alone" -> "nobody wants to interact w/ me so everyone who does must have ulterior motives and is therefore a threat to me/my family/my city" -> "im completely isolated but bad things are still happening so people must be conspiring against me w/o my knowledge" -> "literally everyone on earth is out to get me and i need to fight them about it"

from there i think the ideal conclusion is pretty self-evident - miles takes a metaphorical leap of faith (calling back to the lesson learned in his origin arc) by actively choosing to trust someone, reach out and ask for help w/ removing the symbiote and dealing with the contemporary big bad (potentially his local peter variant bc hes got experience w/ symbiote removal and it would tie into the "leap of faith" motif but idk)

so tldr: a miles symbiote arc would be different to peters arcs in some (very interesting) key ways - rather than unbridled aggression he could be characterized by intense anxiety, manifesting as paranoid self-isolation and a sense of dependence on the symbiote suit, and would end the arc by reaching out for help in a symbolic leap of faith

[spookyserenades]

THIS IS FOR 1ST YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF TROUVALLE 🎉 🎊 🍾

Readers answer this Prompt- what is your fav moment between y/n and each of the members? (posted by anon).

HERE IS MY RESPONSE!

Jungkook- at first I thought my fav moment would be his 1st scenting scene but after reminiscing on it for awhile I feel like my fav moment with him so far was the bench scene. I don’t know why, but theres something about her reassuring him that she has no favorites that just warms my heart ❤️ also when he thanked her for his b day celebration it was so SWEEET! (Ik thats two moments but i cant choose between then :,(

Taehyung- The moment when tae back hugs y/n at his first art exhibit while they look at the photo he took of her 🥹 that moment is tied with the moment y/n said she trusted him after he told her what happend while he was trying to escape. 

Jimin- Gonna be honest it was hard for me to think of a specific moment between them, I could be wrong but I haven’t seen my mans in a while (besides little tiny moments) 😭. My fav moment has to be when y/n gave surprised him with visa 🥺 she literally shipped a HORSE for him omg 😱 he’s just a manly country man and any time y/n gets the hots for him (like when he was working on the roof of the barn 😉) is always fun lol. Also after his scenting scene (which obvi I love duh) when he talks abt his family and sis 🥺😔

Hobi- The moment when hobi whistles after jin and y/n enter the house after hobi called them when they were sitting in the trunk. He whistles and gets nervous that she gets annoyed by it but she calls it charming and says that its a great way she can find him when hes lost at the grocery store 🥺🥹 sorry i know im rambling but its so cuuute. His scenting scene is also super intense and one i really enjoyed 😉 

Yoongi- The scene during his first basketball game where she ran into his arms!!! He was looking for HER and it is so heart warming to read over and over again. Anytime they tease each other in the kitchen as well!

Joon- Ok, I dont know why but the scene where y/n looses to joon in chess is just so funny to me! And when she throws the chess piece at him and he’s like “you wanna do that again? Hm”. Also when he gave her that opal (i think some stone) after she gave him his b day gifts to show his true appreciation 🥺🥹

Jin- When jin wants to go to the cooking class with HER. 🥹 Also anytime they’ve held each other in their arms while sleeping, like after jin talked about his past with her. This ones short bc honestly they have so many little moments together and so does yoongi and y/n so its hard to pic 🥺 also maybe when she gives him the lord of the rings book, my boy was in his feels 🥺🥹 

TY SO MUCH DANA FOR THIS MASTER PEICE IT IS MY FAV COMFORT FIC PLZ TAKE CARE OF UR SELF AND I WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK FOR THIS YEARRRR!!!

HAPPY FIRST YEAR OF TROUVAILLE AHHHH I CAN'T BELIEVE IT BESTIE 😭😭😭😭😭

SQUEALING over all of your choices UGH I'm also a HUGE sucker for that moment with the chess match between Y/N and Joon 🥵 There's so many little moments to choose from, maybe I should pick my faves too? 🤔 AH

I LOVEEEEEEE this prompt so much and I'm so grateful to everyone who's joined me on this story's journey so far😭 Thank you for everything, and thank YOU bestie for reminding me of some of the sweetest moments between the characters so far 💕💕💕💕

[achoshistor]

[HSR] comments on music structure

i think i lied when i said i was becoming normal. i think its funny how even with the zelda brainrot i know i have like 2-3 people reading it but i feel like no one gaf about these posts LMFAO. i dont think im gonna transcribe anything out yet bc im really lazy

anyways im sure this is all because hsr has maybe 2-3 people that do the music so obviously its gonna sound kind of similar but the one hallmark i keep noticing is this really idk bright/deep (its so embarrassing but i've only studied western classical theory and forgot half of it) bass reminiscent of a lot of older splatoon music (this one has it playing what i hear as the real main melody) which add another layer of harmony to the songs tbh. u can hear it at about 1 min in jing yuan's theme and maybe at about 0:55 in the 2.3 trailer and again its used in fu xuan's theme at maybe 0:55 again which lowkey sounded like " i took a pill in ibiza to me" ngl... (more on this one later); but tbh you really only hear this instrument w/ character themes (esp luofu) which honestly shows characterization thru the music ...(sam feels like an exception bc his theme is very bass driven after all despite not being from any of the xianzhou ships)

the next type of thing they tend to use in music a lot is really driven bass guitar lines... e.g. in bootleg's theme . this follows a pattern where at around 1:15 youll hear a bass melody then around 1:27 youll hear an almost imitation of the melofy which goes thru + builds up back into the main theme where he starts talking again. the concert commercial thingy does something similar but with the melody this time w/ the transition from guitar into a pretty much repetition with various insturments regarding each character (erhu for jingliu, ?? for argenti, then sax for that twink (more on him later)). space comedy does this too with the main melody we hear for herta/belobog then into luofu (i dunno the next thing about chinese theory so i cant really say much there)

anyways back to fu xuan... her theme is one of many orchestrated themes but it mixes it with that edm or whatever element but it still has those orchestral qualites of a really idk harmonic timbre. sparkle, black swan, also do this (more on the dance theme in another post i feel like that one needs more) but onto firefly and aventurine. firefly is actually what inspired this post bc at 0:12 or so that note is the exact same as aventurine's theme opens with. firefly's theme does the same as fu xuan's where it mixes traditional with electronic but with western instruments this time. i think aventurine really belongs with the upper category if not for the orchestral hits going on in the back and the call and response everywhere in his piece which give it direction because otherwise it feels like its going no where; but like before it uses imitation and repetition of past melodies with different instruments to create direction in the piece tbh

ok. maintenance ends soon trust. hopefully by next post i have more knowledge and my nail grows out bc its BROKEN and i cant play any string instruments. gootbye

[mamadarama]

okay since we settled on the undead species, what would edens be? we already know hiyori incubus as you said and nagisa is some god born for the first time having his first experience in this silly earth and taking rocks and sticks home, ibara possibly something reminiscent of a snake but what about jun? is that a hyena or a dog?

WELL OKAY HERES THE THING .

SHORT ANSWER: eden doesnt have supernatural themes like undead does but i think in headcanon terms hiyori would be an incubus , nagisa would be a cyborg or a wizard , ibara would be a pwca , and jun would be a gnoll .

LONG ANSWER:

eden has a biblical motif , particularly the garden of eden story , but a little twisted . the deal with nagisa is that he isnt a god , he wants to become one because of his disconnection to humanity . a better way to say it is that nagisa doesnt want to be a god , he wants to be not human ( the reverse of kanata in a way . but thats unrelated ) . nagisa is also representative of adam , but ill get to that later . ibara is a loose metaphor of satan/a fallen angel . hes a kind soul calcified by the circumstances of his upbringing , hes the snake in the garden of eden . a notable difference though is that deep down hes still the same gentle and thoughtful person he was born as . hiyori is eve . he has tunnel vision for anything that would make himself and others happy , and is easily tempted when hes promised that . nagisa being adam compliments this . he has an unshakable trust in hiyori and would follow him to the ends of the earth , as well as ibara for that matter . jun is an interesting case . eve as a unit is like eve as a character in the bible story split in two ; hiyori being the naive well intended eve that trusted satan , and jun being the loyal skeptical eve that initially questioned weather taking the fruit was right . you could say hiyori and jun are like the shoulder angel/devil internal monologue of the character eve . in terms of motifs and how eden relates to the original bible story , jun is an extension of hiyori that amplifies hiyoris traits ( and visa versa ) . BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY: any combination of members in eden would take the fruit if offered by another . they are split into two units to emphasize this , but eden is not eden without all of adam and eve . on a semi related note , this all ties in aesthetically with the feminine leaning expression in eves costumes and overall image , and masculine leaning expression in adams . also on a completely unrelated note , nagisa is literally peak masculinity to me like whatever hes got going on thats peak male form im so serious

[jyndor]

At this point I'm just convinced that most Star Wars fans are simply not used to thinking of their characters as nuanced, and the sequels and the disney+ stuff before andor didn't really help our case lol.

The fact that the writers retconned Luke-fucking-skywalker, the dude who gave a big F You to all Jedi traditions in the original trilogy, and also used him at Bait for the mandalorian is a true indictment of the current scenario lol.

At this point, I'm just trusting Tony and Diego more than the execs at Disney- it's clear that they want to create a specific story, and don't really give much of a fuck about the fandom which involves guys with 4+ million subscribers who have such AMAZING takes like "star wars doesn't have bricks"

jessie gender has a good video essay on youtube about andor and while i don't necessarily agree with all of it, i think the parts about how disney depoliticized star wars and made the first order almost exclusively reminiscent of nazi germany (to the exclusion of a lot of the references the empire had to us empire) as well as through use of intertextuality (almost exclusively referring to other star wars things instead of referencing to real world things like the original trilogy, the prequels and rogue one did) are 1000000% on point.

as a result fans expect cameos and easter eggs out the ass (easter eggs and cameos are fine imo as long as they make narrative sense - ie: rogue one has good cameos - mothma, saw*, bail, leia, tarkin and vader ALL make sense in the context of the story- and bad cameos - artoo and threepio are just distracting imo and don't really add anything of value except to get audience members to say HEY OMG I KNOW THOSE GUYS) and for everything to directly connect.

which... sometimes again it makes sense (the prequels being about anakin and obi-wan makes total sense, it's the point of the prequels to explain how we got to the point where luke has to fight the empire and anakin has to redeem himself and destroy the emperor) and sometimes it's just absurd and cheap. "somehow palpatine returned" auihiuahduash oh my god it's funny because it's not even like it doesn't make sense for sheev to be so obsessed with living forever and having absolute control over the galaxy, plus legends also had a story about palpatine cloning himself... but it feels absurd because the sequels weren't leading to that, we all know lucasfilm didn't have any plan whatsoever, largely bc disney wanted a fast return on their investment, but rey being a palpatine is... just insulting. rey being a skywalker is less so because of we know the main trilogies are about the skywalkers.

i don't know that i'd call any of what happened with luke in the sequels a retcon unless we're talking about how disney got rid of the entire expanded universe and now it's called legends. i mean i consider it more of a reset (especially because george lucas wasn't really involved directly with legends stories and didn't really care about any of it - not that i care what he cares about, give me my mara jade back lmfao).

but im gonna push back on luke giving the jedi order a middle finger in the OG trilogy. first off, from an out-of-universe perspective, while i'm sure lucas had some idea of what the jedi were about, i doubt he really had the order's practices worked out because lol this is the guy who didn't know that he was going to make luke and leia twins before rotj. sometimes he had his shit worked out, other times he was just figuring stuff out as he went along - and hey i get it, but lol fandom can be a bit too referential about him.

i don't know as much about how he developed the jedi so please correct me if im wrong, but there's no way that luke was intended to be a refutation of jedi practices since... luke was written decades before the prequels came out. before the prequels came out, no one in the fandom even conceived of the jedi having rules against romantic relationships and/or attachments - that's why you've got so many jedi falling in love and being married in the legends 'verse, including and especially luke.

i know my generation is much more okay with the jedi order's practices because we grew up with it and understand it more, but there was a big pushback at the time of aotc because no one had thought of the jedi being celibate or not having attachments or being raised by the order as children. but that wasn't a retcon so much as george lucas going in a direction pro fanfic writers hadn't known he was going to go in. and while he did have a final say over what legends writers could do, those weren't his stories. now i don't care lol the thrawn trilogy is great and losing mara jade as thrawn's foil makes his story less compelling (and frankly it reeks of misogyny to bring him back and not the most important character of that story but whatever). but a lot of fans were annoyed about the direction the jedi took in canon because it didn't jive with decades of pro fic.

i'm sympathetic to that. and of course add into it that the prequels were poorly executed, good intentions and ideas aside.

i don't agree that the jedi were told to fuck off by luke (obi-wan and yoda perhaps to some extent but by then their religious group had been killed off in a genocide. and only because obi-wan and yoda withhold information from luke about his father, not because they are believers in jedi teachings). in universe, remember that luke doesn't know any jedi, he isn't brought up in the order, he doesn't have that cultural context. he doesn't know about them like that. he doesn't even really get into the jedi teachings besides the sparknotes version yoda gives him in empire (and a little bit with obi-wan). he knows very, very little - so he's a new kind of jedi because the jedi were killed off by the sith.

in the time between the originals and the sequels i guess luke does try to rebuild the order but lol idk i cannot even with the story he gets in the sequels because it doesn't work with what i grew up with, it's not the luke i knew and loved as a kid. i mean im not sure how anyone can make the argument that he makes choices that are consistent with who he is at his core but whatever. that's not a retcon though (unless we consider the retconning of legends but i mean that's kind of complicated since legends was pretty inconsistent itself) since it doesn't erase his story. even if he is out of character in the sequels.

god i cannot believe im defending the sequels but yeah they didn't retcon luke's story in the original trilogy. they did retcon legends but i mean again legends was never really as canon as the films or anything that george lucas worked on.

as far as his appearance in the mandalorian, imo it is an example of a cameo done right. it was consistent with who luke is, it made some narrative sense (no reason why luke wouldn't sense grogu reaching out to him, and since he is trying to rebuild the order why not bring in someone who had some experience with the old order?) and it helped establish scale of power (similar to vader massacring the rebels at the end of rogue one) in a story mostly about a character who is an extraordinary ordinary guy (like rogue one). it doesn't take away from the core of the show - the relationship between din and grogu, and din's relationship with his identity as a mandalorian - and helps propel the story forward. similar to how ahsoka is used in mando, there's a point to it. is it fan-service? yes! absolutely, and i would argue it was sorely needed given luke's treatment in the sequels was so polarizing and hurtful to so many fans, myself included. bo-katan also makes sense since she is a literal mandalorian lmfao like it works and helps build on the differences between sects of mandalorians.

HOWEVER. juxtapose that with the book of boba fett. you've got a show about a beloved legacy character who has been a fan-favorite for decades (despite me not really caring about him before his appearance in mando lol i can't deny his popularity) and finally he's getting his story fleshed out in a way that so many fans have wanted for ages.

and not only is the story arc poorly received (imo the best parts are the stuff with the tusken raiders but even that is handled terribly because they just kill them off off-screen) but in the middle of the show, we cut away to... the mandalorian season 2.5 which then goes on to resolve the conflict set up at the end of s2 far too quickly to be as effective as it should have been.

and then as a result of the writers using 2 episodes of an 7 episode season, boba fett's story is not only structured poorly but feels rushed. he gets sidelined. in his own show. as much as din djarin gives pure 'im trying to be a secondary character in my own show' energy, he is still the core of mando. he is centered even if he isn't always the hero or the most powerful guy on screen. with boba, he feels many times to be an afterthought in the show. about him.

and that's because these cameos are really poorly used. luke could easily show up in boba fett's show because it's set on tatooine. luke could be poking around his childhood home. they have history, it's not like it wouldn't be interesting - even if i'm like meh on the idea myself. but luke doesn't show up to further boba's story. he shows up for GROGU, for the mandalorian's story arc. same with ahsoka who has no business being in bobf imo. din i can see because boba showed up in mando and they have ties to each other, but as a CAMEO. as a secondary character. poor guy can't even be the side character in a show about someone else lmfao.

this stuff is not just fan-service done poorly to me, it feels like studio meddling, like the studio was nervous about splitting up din from their cash cow baby yoda. why couldn't that have been part of mando s3? idk there's really no good explanation for it.

cameos, fan-service, even retcons and resets can be used effectively. but it depends on how they are used and why. andor handles its cameos really well because they make sense in the story. rogue one mostly does too. mando does too imo but i get why people would be frustrated with how s2 seems to overemphasize cameos... but again imo they make sense. bobf's cameos are ridiculous and insulting.

*saw gerrera isn't handled as well as the others but i'd say it isn't out of the bounds of reason for saw to be jyn's adoptive father. i think we should have seen jyn as a teenager with him.

[gridelincarver]

hey I trust u what are ur top 5 Iorveth songs 👀 im in a creative bind I need inspo (im also @essskel but u know that lmao)

oh my god HI

i know this isn't what u asked but like first off real quick lemme slide this link over... i have a iorveth playlist on spotify (it's meant to be listened on shuffle i know the order i added them is wack)

but uhh ok if i had to pick 5 (also in no particular order)

"Arsonist's Lullabye" - Hozier

"Wretches and Kings" - Linkin Park (i know its linkin park but if you look at the LYRICS)

"Thank You For the Venom" - My Chemical Romance (but i cant not also mention DESTROYA and our lady of sorrows)

"Daniel in the Den" - Bastille

"Satellite" - Rise Against

it PAINS ME to only pick five emblematic ones but i tried lskdghldksjf

(also bonus under the cut some pertinent lyrics. i could do this w the whole playlist and also write paragraphs & more but i am restraining myself)

This is a life that you can't deny us now

(Rise Against) self explanatory, i think, very scoia'tael

When I was a man I thought it ended When I knew love's perfect ache But my peace has always depended On all the ashes in my wake

All you have is your fire And the place you need to reach Don't you ever tame your demons But always keep 'em on a leash

(Hozier) I think Iorveth struggles a lot with feeling like he's incapable of sitting down and being happy (and this lyric plays into how i think his relationship w Cedric went/ended), and the chorus is just very reminiscent of how alone he's always been even among his supposed peers, and also just the strength and power of his character

To save face, how low can you go? Talk a lotta game, but yet you don't know Static on the wind, makes us all say whoa The people up top push the people down low Get down, and obey every word Steady, get in line if you haven't yet heard Wanna take what I got, don't be absurd Don't fight the power, nobody gets hurt

Hear us now, clear and tall Wretches and kings, we come for you

(Linkin Park) I think this is a bit of pointed anger at Francesca Findabair (shakes fist) for acquiescing and betraying her own kind as if that will help any elves besides the few who actually got to dol blathanna, also the "wretches and kings" is reminiscent of "king or beggar, one dh'oine less" (also listen to the speech at the beginning and end of the song. it fucks)

I wouldn't front the scene if you paid me

Black is the kiss, the touch of the serpent sun It ain't the mark or the scar that makes you one

You're running after something That you'll never kill If this is what you want Then fire at will

You want to follow something Give me a better cause to lead Just give me what I need Give me a reason to believe

(My Chemical Romance) this goes w MY interpretation of him as someone who wasn't actually gradually made ready for being the face of a movement and instead having it sprung on him by his circumstance (of being the last surviving vrihedd officer), and his own conflicted feelings of nothing getting better while also refusing to give up or do anything else (also it literally says "serpent sun," nilfgaard anyone?)

And you thought the lions were bad Well they tried to kill my brothers And for every king that died Oh they would crown another But it's harder than you think Telling dreams from one another

Oh to see What it means to be free Of the shadows and the dreams That you claim to see

And felled in the night By the ones you think you love They will come for you

(Bastille) the beginning one is I think more self explanatory, and "telling dreams from one another" i think can be applied to all the people who have "allied with" and "helped" the scoia'tael only to really be working for their own gain (like nilfgaard, or even arguably saskia)

the "felled in the night / by the ones you think you love" to ME is more about Francesca Findabair (muffled yelling) and her decision to forsake the Scoia'tael completely from Dol Blathanna

Because we won't back down, we won't run and hide Yeah, 'cause these are the things that we can't deny I'm passing over you like a satellite, so catch me if I fall That's why we stick to your game plans and party lines But at night we're conspiring by candlelight We are the orphans of the American Dream, so Shine a light on me

This is a life that you can't deny us now

(Rise Against)

as u can see i have many thoughts about him all the time and this isn't even all of it for this set of songs but anyway :3