#OR. GRAMMATICAL ERRORS

[pearsandrust]

hello dear mutual, I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on Topaz. her relationship (or lack thereof) with her homeworld and how that reflects in her work for the IPC fascinates me to no end <3

hello dear mutual with the wonderful amphoreus posts !!!! lovely to hear from you!!! i love when people send me character requests. i cannot believe you guys want to hear my takes on your faves ... thank you for trusting me with them :D

anyway. topaz, huh? to be honest, i feel like she's one of the hsr characters i understand the least. i've read through her lore a few times (because she always comes up when i post about aventurine), but man i do not get how she does it. how does she tolerate the ipc. do you have no anger in your heart. do you have no rage. but honestly, that's what makes her interesting -- as you said, she's a character with very little affection for her homeworld. in a hoyoverse game. an absolute anomaly. every other character in this game is mourning their home and topaz is just ... chill about it? i hope you'll forgive me if my analysis is a bit off, because every time i look at her stories i think girl, what? what is the theme here?

thoughts below the cut! this has a 50% chance of being the worst post i've ever made. please do not ask if i win my 50/50s.

we know the stonehearts carve their wills into their cornerstones. from the way that jade and aventurine's stones match their personalities, this seems to be a good starting point for analyzing topaz. but topaz's cornerstone is "topaz of debt retrieval". how does "debt retrieval" manifest as a character trait?

i primarily focus on character stories in my posts, but i actually think topaz's trailer best illustrates the point i'm trying to make. so i'm going to start with that. in her trailer, she outlines a couple of "rules" for debt collection, which i'll list below:

1. Balancing the books is a moral imperative. 2. Shed any and all illusions of outwitting the system. 3. In negotiations, choose ability over familiarity. 4. In business, there are no permanent enemies. Making friends can be beneficial to both parties.

it's important to note that topaz has worked with the ipc since she was a kid. these "rules" might as well be her moral principles. i'm only going to go through how #1 and #4 parallel her lore, because i have some specific points to make about how she approaches her relationships with others.

Balancing the books is a moral imperative. this is what I'd like to consider the "core tenet" of topaz's personality. not only does topaz think repaying your debts is important, she considers it a question of morality. and that shows in her interactions with others -- especially with her mentor, dvorski.

before he retires, the last thing dvorski does for topaz is write her a letter of recommendation to jade. this letter makes up the entirety of topaz's third character story. in her fourth, she fails to show up at dvorski's birthday party, but sends him a letter. one letter received, one letter sent. books balanced.

topaz believes that the best thing she can do for others is to "balance the books". and this makes sense, because topaz's planet was fixed by the ipc. the only act of salvation she knew was one that came with terms, conditions, and a dedicated repayment plan. so it makes sense that she'd use the same principle with others.

In business, there are no permanent enemies. Making friends can be beneficial to both parties. topaz says she does things for the good of the people, and she says that she tries to be genuine when she deals with others. in the trailer, we see a clip of her reaching out to shake bronya's hand. but here's the thing:

topaz cuts the clip off before they actually shake hands. which is rather important, because it symbolizes one of topaz's flaws. she never genuinely gets close to anybody, because relationships are obligations -- they require you to give part of yourself to another person. it's a liability, and debt collectors like topaz make a living on tying up liabilities. so topaz pays her dues to her loved ones (i.e. the letter to dvorski), and then she leaves. like she says,

"The place you can't go back to is called home."

topaz always leaves behind the people she loves. the inhabitants of her home planet. her mentor, dvorski. in fact, dvorski is the best example of this: in topaz's character story II, she calls him "uncle dvorski". but in her character story IV -- after he's referred her to the stonehearts -- she calls him "mr. dvorski". both physically and emotionally, she leaves him behind. the place you can't go back to is called home -- the closer someone is to topaz, the farther she gets from them. but she doesn't do that because she's heartless or anything. she does it because she genuinely believes that "balancing the books is a moral imperative". in her mind, the best thing you can do for someone is to free them of their debt.

and that mindset of always "balancing the books" is why she's able to fully commit to her work. that's why she's able to work for passion, not for wealth. because she doesn't owe anything to anyone. her only "debt" is her contract with the ipc, and she can fulfill that by simply working hard. in fact, dvorski's story contrasts hers, because he works to provide for the next few generations of his family. topaz, on the other hand, left her home planet long ago. she has no such family, and no such liabilities.

but the thing is, topaz never successfully cuts herself off from her emotional "debts". while she doesn't physically return to her home planet, i feel like it still influences her in ways even she might not notice.

topaz has a fondness for (exotic?) animals, which she mostly attributes to their cuteness. but i also think it might be somewhat related to this:

After five years, many animals — previously on the brink of extinction — reappeared. - Topaz, about her home planet

it feels like a stretch to say this, but perhaps topaz surrounds herself with these creatures because of her home planet. whether it's because she misses it, or because she needs them to remind her of what the ipc has done for her, i think it's a neat detail. even though she left her planet, she tried to take a piece of it with her. and she herself is completely unaware of this.

this post is getting long af, so i'll save my other topaz observations for some other time. thanks for the ask!!

[seafoamdew]

I have ✨ plot ✨

[claitea]

as a kid i really liked the little minigames you could do at hotel richissime in xy, so i tried to make something up for hotel z! i'm thinking theres a set amount of these logic puzzles and when completed, the trainers included in it might appear in the lobby :)

[olympain]

[myeagleexpert]

A story about the director and Grim, who are very close friends <3

Translation from fan to fan, all credits go to the appropriate artist, see the source in the pin below:https://br.pinterest.com/pin/902690319055568233/

Who else wants to see Grim's final form? but…. What cost would this have?

[merrilyperrily910]

If Perry the platypus were in pokemon

[stupid-at0]

😿

[rie-092]

Hi, here I reader an he Creep lycris and (i hopenits okay 2 characters) but I love the idea of the Eclarcks vrothers being ivsessed woth Penelope's maid! Reader.

And they tried to get notice, in a bad or good way. Reader takes care and actually loves Penelope and just want her mistress tk be happy uu

EVENT'S ENTRY OO2 : CREEP

[ yandere! eckhart brothers ]

note: here's the link of the event (⁠◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕⁠✿⁠)!

let's start with derrick. he was the first one who noticed you. let's just say that you and him was childhood friends since you started working in the eckhart estate since you were a child.

at first, to be honest. derrick finds you annoying. but seeing you being happy and friendly towards his little sister. it struck something inside him.

and that was when he realized, ah, damn you. he was falling hard.

expect that derrick, despite of being prideful, will be very needy. hell, you're not even lovers but he will start demanding for your attention.

he will start calling for you everyday, despite of being busy with your work. and what's his reason? simple, because he wanted to ‘play’ with you.

well, technically you guys just spend times while reading books or drinking teas. but for derrick it was everything.

and that was when reynold eckhart entered the scene.

unlike his calm and collected older brother, reynold was fucking cute, i mean, a mess when he's in front of you.

it all started with a small crush and that was when he started following you around like a puppy. dude, this guy really loves headpats and compliments. so you better shower him with compliments!

he likes playing with you and yvonne! but it's just annoying to have derrick playing the dad role while you play the mom role when yvonne wants to play house.

since they were children. they haven't really realized that their affection for you were— how will i describe it? darker? or unhinge?

derrick was the calm and calculated one while reynold was the violent and cranky one. to be honest, they are not really jealous to each other. sure, they want your attention for themselves but— nah, nah, in derrick's eyes, reynold was too childish to be your type. while in reynold's eyes, his brother is too sophisticated to fall for you.

expect that they will be more handful when yvonne disappeared. they will be more clingy. because reynold wants you to comfort him while derrick was preventing you to disappear like yvonne.

and that was when penelope entered the scene. when the duke was finding a suitable maid to serve penelope. you were with derrick that time. he saw how your eyes shone as you looked at penelope.

no, no, no! he kept telling to himself that you only reacted like that because you miss yvonne. there's no way you find that thing adorable!

but the next day, he was surprised when he was informed by his father that you became penelope's personal maid. how dare her—

what about reynold? well, he doesn't really give a fuck. sure, he still hates penelope taking his sister's place on their family. but seeing you actually enjoys serving penelope.

honestly, derrick and reynold was really different when it comes to you. reynold was the soft one, heck, he won't hurt anyone or you physically and verbally if you give him the attention that he wanted. but once he saw you paying attention to anyone that is not him or derrick? you should expect to see his violent side.

while derrick is the unhinge one. he doesn't care who it was, if you don't pay any attention to him. the hell, this guy would lose it. i mean, the last time you went to the festival with your male friend. he tortured that thing in front of you (and hell, he was so close on doing that to penelope if you're not that overprotective over her).

and you? who is stuck in the middle of this two brothers who is like a ticking bomb? you only want one thing. and that is for penelope to be happy.

but unknown to you, penelope actually wants you as much as her siblings wanted you. but don't worry! she is willing to share you with reynold. but not with derrick.

￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣

“ we want you to notice when we're not around, (name). ”

[ezlo-x]

Josha the Malotologist

A short comic abt Josha and her cute little test subject Malice :] (Dialogue undercut!)

Page 1 -

I am Josha and I am an aspiring Malotologist. I created this new field as I want to study this fascinating parasite, and to teach and show others to not be afraid of it.

I was born a year after the attack occurred, while I wasn't really directly affected by it. In a way, me and other children have to deal with the aftermath of The Calamity.

Page 2 -

What fascinated me of this "monster" was how it was possible to corrupt all the technology done by the ancient Sheikah, including the Divine Beasts.

The day I found out that Malice has a form of sentience, I show it to my teacher Purah and Robbie.

However, they seemed far from thrilled.

Page 3 -

I would ask simple "yes" or "no" questions and Malice would go to each side to answer.

I would reward it by giving it a small piece of meat, I shouldn't do this as I can see it is gradually growing from it's tank.

But I wanted answers and it seemed like such a rare opportunity to have to speak to one of the sources.

Page 4 -

One day, I woke up and headed to my lab and realized that the Malice that I was testing on grew a mouth filled with teeth.

"Do you understand me?"

'Yes...'

"How were you able to grow a mouth?"

'Meat...'

Ah. Guess that's my own fault. I decided to press on

Page 5 -

"I have a question, how were you able to corrode and corrupt the Guardians and Divine Beasts?"

'Low...Guard...Pathetic.'

It did not gave me a cohesive answer that I--

‘I…use. Guards…to see…I have eyes

I see every-thing-Hyrule.

I eat to grow, consume.

I have eyes, I see. Everything.'

Page 6 -

'[Ex]-cept, forest.

The Light

Sword of Evil's Bane

I must see I don't. Have. Eyes in there...

Help me grow turn me into one...'

Page 7 -

I put Malice back into its smaller jar.

I didn't tell anyone about this. For the first time working with this parasite I've felt true genuine fear.

I leave my lab more often than before, I'm afraid that one day it will catch me by surprise.

I wanted to discard of that jar...but it knows. It always knows.

[padsmoony04]

I'm a true believer that when Jason Todd is just attracted to someone, he's a very good smooth talker, like he would have anyone giggling and blushing in NO TIME... BUT if my boy is down bad, but really really bad, like he can't stop thinking about them 24/7, he's brain would turn into a puddle and he's just some huge massive guy stuttering a little or saying things that don't make sense or just being so SO awkward.

Like, AGH! you don't understand!!! I live for this and would stand by this until the day that I die.

[theeroins]

If I say that I'm not used to people misinterpreting my favorite characters, I'd be lying. But the way they get so many things wrong about Inho's character is kinda pissing me off because you KNOW that most of them do it to cancel out the possibility of InHun being *something* more than what's shown so far. You don't ship them, that's fair, frankly I don't care. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion UNTIL your opinion is wrong.

Let's talk about a couple of things I've seen being talked about on tiktok (🙄)

“Inho joined the games because ilnam said that it'd basically be more fun to play than to watch so he followed his example." loud incorrect buzzer ! Inho has joined the games before, and not only that, he's also a previous winner, so therefore he's very much aware of what it's like to be a part of it, he's experienced them first hand, just like he's experienced the atrocities of it. they've changed him for the worst and possibly caused him a huge trauma —they're the reason he's lost faith in humanity after all— so, why would he crave to relive it just for the thrill of it? i, personally doubt he even enjoys watching the game.

“Inho didn't look at Gihun with love, he likes to watch him suffer” Short answer is no. He doesn't like to watch him suffer, neither he looked at him with love, not the pure kind of love at least. Two things can be true at once. Inho spent half the season staring at Gihun because everything about the man intrigued him; His determination, his stubbornness, his kindness, his hope, his heart that's full of love despite the pain he suffered, even the pain in his eyes every time someone got eliminated in front of him as if it was the first time it had happened, as if the cruelty of it all surprised him every damn time. How can someone, who's been through the same things Inho has been through, be the polar opposite of him?

now, the reason(s) that I think Inho actually joined the games for..

(yes I am an Inhun shipper, does that make my opinion a little biased? maybe. do i still believe I'm right? absofuckinglutely.)

Let me clarify this: Inho is NOT a good man, no matter the redemption arc he might get in s3, he'll continue to be a terrible person because nothing will ever erase the blood he's spilled and the evil men he's worked for. BUT at the same time, he's not ALL bad, not like the VIPS and ilnam. See, Inhun are the average "yin-yang" trope in fictional romance, (which I eat up every time and I find it very interesting when it's done the right way, don't get me wrong) Inho is bad but there's some goodness somewhere deep inside him. And the only person who's brought it to the surface is Gihun. Sure, he does think Gihun is naive, but he's also the only person who's actually challenged him, who's "forced" him to get his stupid head out of the dirt and look around him, even for a short while and Inho definitely liked what he saw. Honestly, it wasn't even that hard for Gihun to do so because the goodness in Inho wanted and waited for someone to pull him out of the dirt, he wished for someone, something to give him hope for humanity or.. anything. Anything that'll help him escape from his misery.

You can definitely argue that he joined the games to befriend Gihun, to gain his trust and stop his plans when the time comes, which is half true. But keep in mind that he needed to justify his choice to join the games. He's not a VIP nor the mastermind to simply get to do that without consequences. He's the frontman, the one who controls and manages everything. He's needed for the games to work and go by smoothly and successfully without unnecessary losses and problems. Gihun would only cause problems, Inho knew that very well and yet he chose to put him in it once again. He recklessly made that choice, risking pretty much everything because of his inner conflict. A part of him wanted Gihun to prove himself to him, that there's indeed good that'll save the world and the rest of him wanted to prove to Gihun that everything he so strongly believes in is merely a fantasy.

Joining the games and befriending Gihun was the only way for Inho to see the real him, without the heroic mask he puts on every time he faces the frontman. I think he believed that someone as extraordinary as Gihun will either break in front of him and he will end up disappointed by the human kind once again, or Gihun will change everything about the way he thinks for the better. But the problem is that Inho hopes for both of those things at the same time.

And that was Inho's arc in season 2. His inner conflict and how it will affect him, the game and Gihun later on.

[lemon-bomb]

I saw someone say the rat grinders were disappointing as villains because of how easy they’ve been to take down, but as a criticism for d20. But I think the rat grinders being anticlimactic is kind of the point? They didn’t but the work in, they took shortcuts and so they’re not doing well. I personally find them getting their asses beat to be so satisfying. They picked a fight they can’t win so yeah half of them are already dead.

That’s the point.

[letthefairyinyoufly]

[vaduart]

👀🦴

bonus:

[ofnailbatsandaxefives]

Been thinking a lot about the use of Gabe in "I've Been" especially when paired with the interpretation of Gabe being that of the manifested grief that each member of the Goodman family possesses.

For the first part of the song Dan is alone on the stage as he moves about preparing to clean his wife's blood from off the floor. He takes towels, gets a garbage bag ready, picks up the box of items and the toy car that had belonged to Gabe. As he does this he sings about not knowing how to help Diana, even though he knows he needs to. He expresses that he has fears that will go unheard, and wonders both how Diana could choose to leave him and that if the proposed ECT will even work if they try it, but he's become so weary and feels so helpless at this point that he's willing to try. He's always played the part of the grounded one because that's the role he's needed to play.

It's at this point in the song just as the end of the lyrics "oh now I need a lift, and there's no one around" that Gabe enters from the side. He's still dressed as we last saw him during I Dreamed a Dance and There's A World. He moves to his knees staring at the blood and then at Dan as he cleans it up before moving back and staring at the blood that's on his hands.

I've seen some interpretations of this moment being Gabe seeing what he's done/caused. I'm not here to say any of those are wrong, art can be interpreted many ways, but I wanted to talk about my own interpretation that I haven't really seen (it's possible someone else has made this same observation/interpretation and I just haven't come across it yet.)

This Gabe isn't Diana's Gabe. It's Dan's. It's Dan's manifestation and the representation of his grief and even guilt. It's his grief over his wife's attempted suicide which is tied to her grief over the loss of their son, the grief he has been repressing all these years. It's his guilt that he doesn't know how to help her and make things better. The guilt that he hadn't been able to stop it from happening.

With this I can't help but view the blood on Gabe's hands as a representation of Dan feeling some sense of blaming himself for not having seen the signs that led to this moment. That somehow Diana's blood is on his hands. Even in a prior moment / song in the show, I Am the One, we hear Dan ask "how can something go wrong that I can't see?" after it's revealed at the dinner that Diana is still seeing Gabe (and the reveal to the audience that the Gabe on the stage isn't real). You have to wonder how many times over the years has Dan blamed himself for not seeing the signs when something went wrong?

So as Dan wipes the blood up off the floor, now physically getting her blood on his hands, we, the audience, see him sitting there with a physical manifestation of his grief and guilt next to him on the stage as the two harmonize and wail in Dan's despair at the situation and in his sense of helplessness. There's even a moment during this where their body language even mimics each other, hands turned up with their palms red with Diana's literal and figurative blood

He laments "mine is just a slower suicide" and as the song continues we see Dan trying to slowly pull himself together as he pushes those feelings of grief that he's allowed himself for just a few seconds down and away. This being physically represented by Gabe no longer on the ground with him, but rather standing and moving towards off stage/out of the scene. He doesn't leave the stage/scene completely though. He remains now standing and looking down at Dan as Dan's focus goes back to focusing on Diana and how she's been hurt, while placing the trash bag of bloody towels at Gabe's feet. Dan's Gabe who encompasses his grief and guilt just staring down at them as Dan says that he can't give up now.

If he does there's no telling when this will happen again, and if that time it would be too late to save her. Because if he gives up and that does happen that means being alone. Something he hasn't been in all these years after Gabe's death. Something he fears, something once again reflected in the song I Am the One where he asks "Could you leave me? Could you let me go under?"

It's here we start to see Gabe leaving again as Natalie enters the scene to ask why he didn't take her with him (to the hospital.) Instead of answering Dan quickly collects himself, puts on a face, and does what Dan does and that is change the subject and turn the focus onto someone else. In this instance asking Natalie if Henry is a good influence. By this point Gabe is no longer there with them in the scene, instead standing in the darkness on the stairs, because Dan has repressed his grief once again.

[haladrielgifs]