#all these things keep happening and it's making the story so complex that it's nuts to keep track of all of it

[jessicas-pi]

makes me giggle when someone says that i must have put a lot of thought into the plot of time heals. like on the one hand yes i do spend at least 1 hour per day thinking about it. on the other hand. babygirl you have no idea how many of the plotlines have shown up out of absolutely nowhere.

[veliseraptor]

I don't know what hopepunk is and at this point I'm too afraid to ask

well anon, part of your problem here is that hopepunk is in a lot of ways a meaningless descriptor that means whatever people want it to mean.

took a bit of digging but I found the post that broke down a lot of my issues with hopepunk as a concept/subgenre, here; to quote from that:

You may notice that the philosophy is incoherent, mainly boiling down to “the things I like are hopepunk and the things I don’t like aren’t.” It builds a philosophy out of opposition to a strawman of “grimdark” that doesn’t really exist. So hopepunk means you keep fighting for what you believe in regardless of what that is, and violence isn’t the answer, except when it is. Hopepunk is about being kind and soft but also about punching the bad guy with the gun. Hopepunk is a morass of FEELING REALLY STRONGLY ABOUT THINGS!!! without a fundamental core of… anything concrete.

[...]

Hopepunk in practice is unbearably twee.  The goal is to be to inspire a feeling of hope in the reader, which means that nothing bad is allowed to really happen, characters aren’t ever allowed to mess up or be mean or have flaws, and any mistake is well-intentioned and quickly & easily resolved by talking about your feelings.

and I could just leave it at that because, like I said, pretty good summation of my perspective, but sometimes an ask hits me at the exact right time for me to go off about something that consistently irritates me but I usually keep my mouth shut about for one reason or another.

and I feel like the first thing I want to say is. look. it's not like I'm out here going "hope is for losers and all I ever want is tragic stories where everything is awful forever." but the thing about hopepunk, at least in the ways I see it described, is that, in its dedication to be "the opposite of grimdark," shies away from representing darkness at all, except maybe in the most cursory, glancing ways. there's nothing to confront, nothing to push back against. villains are easily identified and unproblematically evil. protagonists are unimpeachably nice and good, and always have perfect politics. moral complexity is to be avoided, because raising too many questions might interrupt the positive feelings the author hopes to evoke.

not only does this create, in my opinion, really dull stories about very uninteresting characters, it also blunts anything the book is trying to say. if you don't want to confront any kind of conflict or struggle in depth then you've kneecapped your ability to talk about the full range of human experience. if the only antagonist you allow is a hollow caricature, then there's only so much room your protagonists have to express strength in opposing them.

the whole framework results in a kind of tepid, anodyne storytelling that expresses meaningless platitudes that the audience is presumed to agree with, often with a side helping of didacticism and "teachable moments." it's weak storytelling.

there's a world in which "hopepunk" is referring to a kind of story that I actually really like; for instance, there's a world in which one could call Malazan: Book of the Fallen "hopepunk." I am tempted to do that, just because I think it would drive people nuts. I think hopepunk wants to be doing something like the line from The Silmarillion that opens the tale of Beren and Luthien: "Among the tales of sorrow and of ruin that come down to us from the darkness of those days there are yet some in which amid weeping there is joy and under the shadow of death light that endures."

but out of a fear of representing anything actually ugly, or possibly making people feel kinda bad about something, or challenging the reader in any way, everything that might have been interesting gets stripped out and what's left is literature that feels like cotton candy: maybe it's sweet, but there's nothing to bite into, and nothing that lingers.

[astromechs]

For the au question: rebelcaptain in the hunger games

jyn was originally from district 2; her family lived inside the military complex known as the nut, and her father developed weapons for the capitol. somewhere along the way (or maybe it was true all along, no one knows!), both galen and lyra became connected to an interdistrict underground network of rebels, and were killed when their involvement came to light. jyn was taken in by family friend saw, and taken out of district 2 into district 5. they thought that's what would keep her safe — but of course, the capitol has spies everywhere, and so jyn's name was a target to be pulled in the reaping.

cassian is from district 3 — at least, that's what he's told everyone all his life, where the family he lives with is from, and where he's reaped as tribute from. this, of course, is not the whole truth; cassian was the (apparent) sole survivor out of what was once district 13 before the district was (apparently) wiped off the map. and the capitol knows; again, they have spies everywhere. his name was also a target for the reaping to keep district 13 covered up once and for all.

so how do two tributes from two different districts that don't have communication with each other because the capitol keeps them deliberately apart, who are supposed to kill the other in the arena to save their own lives, come to work together? not easily. there's a great deal of animosity in training between them and in some of the pre-games events where the tributes have contact, but when they get into the arena — they make an alliance, because they each have skills and knowledge that are useful; jyn with combat training from when she lived in district 2 and with saw, cassian with extensive knowledge of electrical systems courtesy of living in district 3, as well as scarily good aim. and they come to find that they have a lot in common. they come to like each other — really connect with someone for the first time.

and here's the thing, everyone knows that alliances are going to be temporary; there will be a point where they'll end, because the games only have one victor, right? wrong. they point blank refuse to end that alliance, refuse to turn anything on one another when they're the last two left. they, instead, rig an insane plan to blow up the arena together, even if it means taking themselves out with it. no more fucking hunger games. so they do. and —

in the chaos that ensues, saw and some band of people working with him as rebels get them out of the arena before the whole thing blows up. was this planned ahead of time? not that jyn knew; saw was just counting on his baby girl. anyway, hoo boy is the capitol pissed now, everyone involved is now very explicitly a fugitive, and welcome, in earnest, to the rebellion. and other stuff happens but this was dangerous enough getting me thinking about a hunger games au and i'm not going any further right now ghfjdks

send me a potential au, and i'll tell you five facts that would happen in a story!

[cyberphuck]

Assassin’s Apprentice Abridged: Part One

EDIT: Tumblr randomly swallowed like 500 words in the middle of this, so I've added that back in.

I am finally embarking on my long-threatened project to summarize all of the Farseer Trilogy for my friend Razz so they can understand my shitposts about it but don’t actually have to read it. I started with this post about the cast of characters in the first book.

This is being broken up into sections because the trilogy and AA in particular (as well as Royal Assassin... whew, that one’s gonna be hard) is so insanely long and complex.

And now, Ladies and Gentlequeers, AA Abridged: Part One.

We open on the narrator musing both about writing a history of the Six Duchies (but being unable to because every time he tries it turns into a salty rant about everything bad that's ever happened to him) and also about how very old and decrepit he is. He is hunched over his writing desk, his fingers gnarled and knuckly, literally crumbling away like a Thanos-snapped MCU character as he sorrowfully attempts to make some record of the long and storied life he's lived before he lapses into the sweet void of death.

Fitz is 35.

"I bet you're wondering how I got here," Fitz writes. "It all began when I was born. Neither of my parents bothered to show up."

Actually, the curtain opens on Fitz as a six year old, being hauled up to the front doors of a fort by a cranky older man. "Surely you must have memories of your childhood before six," someone in the audience asks, but Fitz replies "No, I definitely don't, I never did and I'm tired of you asking me that." It never really becomes super important what he was doing before he was six, unless you count the time where he was traveling from the King-In-Waiting's ballsack to the sweet hot vagina of Some Lady He Never Spoke To Again.

Fitz is scooped up and brought inside the fort, and presented to Prince Verity. You'd think Verity would be at least a little upset that his older brother has muddied the line of succession with his long-ago nut, but Verity acts as if Fitz's existence is the funniest thing he's ever seen. "Yep, looks just like him," Verity confirms, then instructs a soldier to bring Fitz to Burrich.

That's right, the cranky old man hammers on the front door, waits for someone to open it, says "this is Prince Chivalry's kid and I'm tired of dealing with him," and then walks off. Despite this, Fitz never develops any abandonment issues and only has healthy and honest relationships with people for the rest of his life.

"Those are all the memories I have of that fort," Fitz writes, "except for that one night that Prince Verity, Burrich, and Prince Regal stood and looked in on me in the stall and Regal complained that I was muddying the line of succession."

Burrich does not think this situation is as funny as Verity did.

But he's honest and loyal, so he sighs and says "C'mon, Lil Accident, I'll find a place for you to sleep." That place is in a horse stall with Vixen, the hound dog, and Nosy, her pup. Burrich looks down at all of them, mutters "Patience is gonna have a fucking aneurysm" and then walks off.

After a couple of weeks, Burrich puts Lil Accident on a horse behind him and they ride away from Moonseye and towards Buckkeep. During this time, offstage, Fitz's father Chivalry gets word of his appearance and does the only sensible and logical thing, which is to ollie out the window while flipping everyone off and yelling "GOOD LUCK FIGURING THIS ONE OUT, LOSERS!" He abdicates and retires to a farm with his weirdo wife, which pisses off basically everyone.

Burrich and Fitz arrive at Buckkeep, the capital of the Six Duchies, a tall castle on a hill overlooking the ocean. Burrich is the stablemaster, in charge of all the critters large and small at the keep. He'd also been Chivalry's right hand man until he'd jumped in front of a boar to keep it from killing the Prince and fucked up his leg. Burrich comes home to Buckkeep with a bad leg and a six year old bastard to find that his bestie has just fucking peaced out without saying anything to him. He's kind of having a bad day. He hands Fitz off to stableboy Cobb, who leads him and pup Nosy to the kitchens to get something to eat.

Cobb sits FItz-and-Nosy just outside the kitchens and goes inside for delicious pie. A burly man walks by Fitz, does a double-take, then points and yells, "Hey everyone! It's Chivalry's Bastard!"

Fitz shrinks down.

"I heard you don't even have a name!" Burly man hollers, then gets right up in Fitz's face. "Is that true, tiny and defenseless six year old boy that I'm accosting? You don't have a name?"

Fitz yells "NOOOOOO" and, like a tiny, dirty Jedi master, force-shoves the man onto his ass. The crowd, assuming that the dude was just a coward who couldn't handle being yelled at by a toddler, has a laugh and carries on with their tasks. Fitz gets up and he and Nosy run away and spend all day hiding in a hole.

Burrich does eventually find him, and with a hearty "what the fuck you can't just burrow underneath the shed, get out of there," returns him to the stables, where his new home is Burrich's little bachelor pad above the stalls. In the days and weeks that follow, Fitz wakes up, eats breakfast, and immediately escapes the keep to go down to the town and run around with a bunch of street kids.

Fitz doesn't say much but he's game for anything and he has a dog, so he's accepted into the gang as "Newboy." He and his new friends generally just run around making trouble, stealing food, and bothering people. One of the notables in the bunch is Molly Nosebleed, called that because she always looks like someone just got done beating the shit out of her. Wholesome!

One sunny day, Fitz, Molly and Nosy are on the rocks near the beach looking for sheel to eat. I have no idea what sheel is and neither does Google. Then Molly's dad shows up to hit her with a stick to teach her a lesson about having a drunk, violent dad.

Alarmed, Fitz force-shoves Molly's dad into the sand. Molly immediately freaks out and struggles to get dad back on his feet to stagger back to their candle-making shop (or chandlery if you're feeling fancy). Fitz is confused at the intricacies of abusive relationships, but relieved that no one yet knows that he has force-shoving powers.

Aside from his brief encounter with childhood trauma, everything is going great for Fitz. Then one day, while he and his fellow urchins (and Nosy) are running from a dude whose sausages they just stole, Fitz runs right the fuck into Burrich.

"You get your butt right back up to the castle, young man," Burrich says, dragging Fitz along by his ear. "And if I EVER find out you've been down in town hanging out with someone again, I will personally have sex with them a bunch of times," he added foreshadowingly.

"I don't have to do what you say," Fitz barks.

"Bark," says Nosy.

Burrich's eyes narrow. "How many fingers am I holding up?" he asks.

"I don't really know numbers," says Fitz.

"Bark," says Nosy.

"Nosy says that's three," Fitz translates.

"Alrighty then, no more puppy for you, the puppy is going to live on a farm upstate," Burrich says. He drags the puppy outside.

Presumably something cool happens to it.

So now instead of slumming around Buckkeep Town, Fitz spends his days following Burrich around and being taught how to manage horses and dogs but not birds because birds apparently hate bastards. Fitz is careful not to let Burrich see him being friendly with any animals.

One day, Fitz is sitting underneath a table in the Great Hall, being friendly with a bunch of puppies. It's the morning after a party and there's plenty of leftover food to be had, and he's happily stuffing pies down his shirt and sharing pieces with the pups. Then he hears footsteps and who should show up but KING SHREWD!

Shrewd is technically Fitz's grandfather but has never really spoken to him. He's walking along with Prince Regal (*crowd boos*) and the king's new fool, a weirdo albino child who's just cartwheeling along behind them.

Fitz goes "hmm, time to bounce" and crawls out from under the table. Shrewd stops to look at him. "Ah, the Little Accident," he says. "If you leave weapons laying around, someone will eventually pick them up and stab you with them."

"What?" says Regal.

"What?" says Fitz.

"I am not going to leave you laying around for someone else to kill me with," Shrewd says. "Lil Accident, take this pin. I am going to to feed you, train you, house you and clothe you. If anyone's got shit to say about it, show them this pin. It means you belong to me."

"...Okay, sure," Fitz shrugs. He puts the pin into the collar of his shirt. Shrewd nods magnanimously and walks on. Regal flips him off. The Fool cartwheels out the door as they leave.

That night, Fitz goes home to Burrich's bachelor pad, but Burrich turns him right back around. "You done gone and did it now," he says. "King Shrewd noticed you and now you're gonna have to go live inside the castle like a fancy lad. Go on."

"But despite my fear and resentment of you, I see you as a protector and father figure," Fitz says.

"Oh little boy who blew up my life, I love and resent you too," Burrich assures him. "If you get lonely, you can come back down here and I'll murder another puppy for you."

Fitz trudges up to the castle. He has a room of his own. There's a fucking weird tapestry on the wall of the ancient King Wisdom consorting with... what is that thing? Slenderman? It's creepy.

Weeks go by. Fitz is kept busy with new lessons in reading and writing and 'rithmetic, as well as swordery. Once in a very long while, he makes the trip back down to the town to visit his buddies, but those trips become fewer and farther between.

It's the middle of the night.

Fitz wakes up to a draft and a light in his face. There's an old man at the foot of his bed, holding up a lantern. "Come with me," the old man says.

"Oh," Fitz yawns, getting out of bed. "It's the call to adventure."

The old man leads Fitz to a doorway in the wall that hadn't been there before. This is where the draft was coming from-- a steep staircase leading up between walls. Old man leads Fitz up a maze of passageways and then finally to a huge hidden room with all the amenities a crazy old wall-man could want, like a fireplace and comfy chairs and a big bed and a library and a science lab.

Also, the old looks like he took a hot frying pan to the face. Like he really looks like hell.

"Wrow," Fitz says.

"Wrow indeed, boy," the old man agrees. "My name is Chade. I bet I look familiar to you. Well it's because I'm King Shrewd's brother and I blah blah blah I have a weasel named Slink. Next you're going to ask what the fuck happened to my face. I can tell everything you're thinking, because I'm a master spy and assassin and-- now this part you should take to heart-- I am always right about everything. Never doubt me."

"Okay," Fitz says.

"Good. That out of the way, let's train you to kill people."

[childlikegoblinqueen]

SCOM WRITING NOTES:

The Sweet Child Universe has its own Coffee House AU!

Maybe it is me being nostalgic for my barista days, but I really enjoy the headcanon that Hunter would take a job at Robin's Roast as a barista.

It is the type of work that is very task oriented and focused, but it provides small comforts for those you serve. Coffee is life.

I keep saying that this phase of SCOM is all about Hunter taking control of how his story is told by the public as Willow's due date closes in, and a whole new book of unwritten pages and experiences will be placed before him.

If he's going to be stalked by the media, he is going to make sure he is doing things that make him happy and help heal the damage done by Belos that remains ten years later -- lest others try to re-write a part of that.

So, while the entire stint making specialty drinks with intricate foam art -- and some of the weird requests for his autograph -- exhausted Hunter greatly, he did enjoy just doing some menial tasks that made people happy and encouraged them to donate to a good cause.

Also, he got to see Willow chill and relish in her own accomplishments outside of his drama and her difficult pregnancy.

There's a bunch of personal stuff in here. It is February in SCOM universe. I recall really, desperately trying to cling to anything that could be ME outside of what was happening in my own body. Literally all anyone wanted to talk to me about was my pregnancy or how my size (4’11 with a tiny frame) and the fact that I was carrying twins meant I’d definitely be delivering early (I didn’t!) and how difficult having one newborn was and that the two would be too much for me. (It was nuts but I have no frame of reference for anything else.)

Willow isn’t having twins, but it is a high risk pregnancy. As we know, Hunter feels VERY responsible for the complications Willow is having, but he's determined to face whatever is needed with her! I recall work shopping this fic with a mutual and they mentioned that they'd seen fics where Willow gets pregnant and Hunter freaks and runs... and I just don't see him being like that?

As Loz AKA @probablyhuntersmom has noted in multiple Metas, "Family" and "Our Family" are keystone phrases for Hunter. He's got his found and chosen family now, and he's about to start one of his own. He's in it for the long haul, and though the fear that coming from abuse would perpetuate the cycle still lingers, there's a lot more there now.

Hunter knows he wants to be a loving father, but outside forces are shoehorning him into a narrative he's realizing FINALLY isn't fair, because his own story is much more complex, and by the Titan's will, he's going to knuckle down and stick by Willow no matter what. Because this is what he's always wanted.

Unfortunately there are some who have given into wild conspiracy theories that Hunter had something to do with the disappearance of this crazy biotch.

[ystrike1]

I'm a Villainess But I Became a Mother - By Sisse (7.5/10)

Do you like being shot out of a cannon? Do you like it when the plot moves fast? Are you tired of reading complex stories and waiting fifty chapters for the yandere part? Here's a solution for you. It takes a grand total of three chapters for things to get wild here, so buckle up.

Loure Eclair is a spoiled, rich noble girl with a flawless life. At the age of nine she meets her fiance, and she freaks out. She cries because her future is bleak. This isn't her first life. She was a normal woman before, and she was reborn in a romance novel. That's why her life is so absurdly perfect. She only has a few memories of the past, but she knows this world is heavily affected by "fate". Her fate is death.

She hates her fiance, because he's the reason why she suffers. Loure is the evil fiance side character. The woman that gets in the way before she is unceremoniously killed. Young Calix is confused by her hatred, and he tries to get along with her. He puts in a lot of effort, but it takes years for him to befriend Loure. She cannot let herself love him. She actually plans to let the female lead have him as soon as she arrives. She doesn't want to get in the way, and avoiding fate is her top priority.

Loure knows her future ten years from now is pathetic. She only sleeps with her fiance once, and then he immediately falls for the female lead. He forgets her immediately, so she knows she can't get attached. The original Loure dearly loved Calix, and he only became her fiance out of duty. Their marriage was a political one. In the novel Calix uses his awesome power and genius mind to force his way out of the marriage. Basically he claims that he is strong and important enough to break the agreement, and have his true love.

How romantic, but what about Loure?

In the original Loure basically went insane. Calix broke every social convention to have his true love. He treated his actual fiance, who adored him, like a dog. Everybody pressured her into breaking the marriage, because she was in the way. Everyone agreed. She wasn't good enough for him. Loure snaps completely and she tries to kill the woman who stole her life, and then she is executed.

I really believe Loure isn't stupid. She has every reason to doubt her weird memories. Her past life doesn't affect her much. She just remembers her old name, and the name of the book she's in. She begins to doubt herself, because Calix really loves her. He's really kind to her. He's very patient. He's standoffish to people he doesn't like, and she's clearly his favorite person. When she's in the room he ignores everyone else.

Is this really the same man that will cast her aside for someone more special?

She almost can't believe it, but she can't fully deny it. The novel is still moving forward as sheduled. Things in the original plot keep happening.

She's terrified.

Calix cannot read minds, so he does his best to seduce her. On paper he does everything right. He's the perfect prince...whoops...nope he's right below the Prince. He doesn't understand why Loure keeps rejecting him, even though she's attracted to him, so Calix assumes she wants to be the Crown Princess. I like that, because it actually makes sense. Calix doesn't assume that Loure is nuts or cruel. He thinks she wants power for some reason, and he's willing to give it to her.

A massive misunderstanding begins to brew. The arrogant playboy Prince, Alexander Westwing, has been trying to court Loure. He doesn't like her as a person or anything. He just thinks she's pretty. This story isn't fully translated yet, but I think Calix intends to somehow steal the Prince's power. Alexander is a perverted idiot after all. A national treasure like Calix can easily take him down, but this seems excessive. Calix is a little excessive.

Loure doesn't catch on, because none of this is in the original plot. She's too obsessed with the original plot. She hasn't noticed the shady shit he's been doing. She doesn't know that Calix is plotting to usurp a Prince for her.

Calix begs her to spend her first night with him. He does it on his knees. She can't deny his sincerity. He clearly wants her, so she lets him take her to bed. The argument about Alexander is very awkward, but they still do it. Later on, Loure becomes pregnant and she panics. She abandons Calix, because she doesn't want her child to die. She has realized that Calix is very loyal to the woman he loves, but his destiny is the female lead who hasn't appeared yet. Loure thinks of her child's safety first. She tells Calix nothing, and she manages to escape.

Calix thought she would never leave him, because he has been meticulously taming her. He knew she didn't want him in the beginning. He planned his seduction year by year, day by day, to break down her barriers. He got injured on purpose so she would have to nurse him back to health. He waited for her in the rain to make her feel guilty enough to let him in her room. He isolated her from other people. She's got no close friends, and zero male friends. That's all be design. Calix wants to give his wife the perfect life. Earning her love satisfied him deeply, and he became obsessed with her. Apparently, he likes it when women are hard to please. When she started to love him in return his love warped. It's a dark sort of love now. He likes to control her.

Calix thinks Loure is the most beautiful and best woman in the world. The plot is moving very quickly, so I hope it gets darker. I'll be very happy if Calix murders the mysterious female lead. He's already thinking about killing the Prince. Loure running away will definitely make him more unstable.

[stealingyourbones]

Half-Life anon again. Im so glad you already played portal, that would definitely be next on the list!! DOOM is *also* so so good, between it and HL, it's probably the bigger adrenaline rush, and, at least as far as the classic game go, probably far less mechanically complex than HL! If you want the Full Lore for the classic games (1, 2, and 64) be sure to look up the manuals first, since they do the whole "setting up the story in the manual" thing before just dropping you right into the game.

Modern DOOM (2016 and Eternal) has absolutely nuts gameplay that makes you feel like a total badass no matter what difficulty you play on, and lore is all in the games ok, but... well. You'd be hard pressed to find a fan who doesn't think the story is a hot mess of a dumpster fire (including the ones who like or at least don't mind it, such as myself.) Especially Eternal's dlc has a very "but what ACTUALLY happened was [absolutely bs stupid rule-of-cool lore drop that makes no sense]" feel to it. The current lead writer keeps changing and adding lore three years after the fact, and most of us have decided by now that he's full of shit. But hey! You're a DC comics fan, I'm sure you know what that's like! The games are still good and I still love them anyway.

DOOM 3 is... sort of its own thing, in a weird limbo state. It's not really part of the same continuity as the rest of the games, and it leans a bit more heavily on the horror and suspense themes than the "you're not stuck with them, they're stuck with YOU" theme of the other games, so dont go into it expecting the same feel. It doesn't run quite as fluid as the other games, but it's the first true 3D game, as opposed to the classic 2.5D.

Anyway! That is all for now (again) but if you keep talking about these games, I will happily keep infodumping to you as long as you'll let me. :3

!!! Dude I’m so fuckin down for u to continue infodumping!

Good to know that the 2016 Doom’s storyline is a bit wild. As long as I can throw hands with demons I don’t mind >:D

Both Doom 1 and 2 are so fun dude!!! I also played My House.wad because it sounded cool and oh boy was it cool!!!! House of Leaves is on my reading list so I’m interested to see how the feller that made the .wad was inspired by it.

[ohabigailhowcouldyou]

Written in The Stars(igns)... ~pt 4~

~Author's note: this one got away from me a bit, so this is just chapter 1. The second chapter is linked below.~

♡♡♡

Here's the thing, Chris could be downright charming when he wanted to, they all knew that, counted on it for the many interviews and meet & greets they did. People wanted to hear him talk, and it gave everyone else a chance to take the backseat and not feel that overwhelming pressure to say the right thing and not embarrass themselves.

So it shouldn't have come as a surprise that the same charm that won over so many interviewers could also be employed to win over hearts. In fact, it wasn't a surprise because Ricky had been watching it happen for years. An attractive woman would catch Chris' eye, he would smile, make her laugh, seduce her with witty remarks and measured glances without laying a hand on her, then let her lead him to some private location for a few hours.

The difference now was that Ricky was watching it happen for the first time since... well, since the breakup of his relationship.

He wondered if enough time had passed now, that he was starting to think about dating again and that was why he'd become so aware of the way Chris interacted with people. After all, if anyone in the band could be considered a ladies' man, it was Chris. So it stood to reason, as Ricky became aware of his loneliness, that through observation he might learn something that would come in handy if he decided to take that step and approach someone. After half a decade, his flirting skills were pretty rusty to say the least.

"You know what I hate most about Europe?" Vinny threw himself down on the seat across from Ricky, jostling the tiny table and drawing the attention of the restaurant patrons closest to them. Ryan and Justin snickered from their own table several feet away.

"The fact that everyone keeps assuming you speak Italian?" Ricky didn't look up from fiddling with his camera, toggling the settings on the little Fuji without any real purpose in mind. Across the restaurant, Chris was getting a tour of the vegan pastries on offer from a stunning, dark-skinned waitress. From her body language, it was obvious she was on offer, too.

"No," Vinny intoned, reaching across to Ricky's barely-touched plate for an olive. "I hate that it's not America."

"Uh huh," Ricky mumbled, lifting the camera to snap a quick photo of Chris, eyes crinkled as he smiled at the woman in front of him.

"I also hate the flesh-eating bacteria that's chowing down on my nuts as we speak," Vinny was saying.

Ricky nodded. "Yeah, sounds good, Vin." He had lowered the camera again, to change more settings, to keep his eyes away from Chris.

A sharp stab of pain finally shifted his focus to Vinny, who had pinched the sensitive skin inside his elbow.

"Ow! What the fuck, Vin?"

"You weren't paying attention to what I was saying," Vin said. "What's going on?"

"Nothing. Sorry. What were you saying? I'll listen now." He put the camera down, turning toward his friend to prove that he meant it.

"How 'bout you tell me what's up with you, instead. You've been broody and distracted for weeks." There was a sincere worry in Vin's eyes now.

"Guess I'm just tired?" Ricky didn't have a better reason to give Vinny. "All the travel this year. We haven't toured like this since before the pandemic. Maybe it's just catching up to me. I'm not getting any younger, you know."

The expression on Vinny's face indicated that he could read the more complex story behind Ricky's careful words. He nodded. "If you need to talk about it, you know I'm here. We all are, dude."

"Thanks." Rick reached out to pat Vin's shoulder, before turning to his plate and taking a bite of food he could barely taste.

They had that night off, and opted to spend the evening walking around the city instead of piled into the crowded bus. Even Chris went against his introverted nature to enjoy the summer heat with them.

They found an outdoor market in a city square none of them could pronounce the name of, spreading out to look at the fruit and cheese, trinkets and artwork on display.

Ricky found himself taking in most of it through the lens of his camera, snapping picture after picture, until he lowered the device and found himself next to Chris, who was talking to the young man at a stall selling fruit. He was purchasing a tray of strawberries and cherries, laughing at something the guy said as he handed over the money. The man smiled as he passed Chris the fruit.

"Please enjoy!" The musical lilt of his accent imbued the words with warmth.

"Oh, I will," Chris replied, then winked at the guy, whose cheeks flushed crimson.

The little interaction, seeing Chris charm a guy, left Ricky feeling strangely winded, and it took him a second to realize that Chris was talking to him now.

"Sorry, what were you saying?" Ricky looked away from the man who had moved on to the next customer, to see Chris looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I asked if you wanted some," Chris said, holding out the fruit.

"Thanks," Ricky said, picking out a strawberry.

"You okay? You've been a little... distracted, lately."

"I'm fine," Ricky said, flashing a quick smile. He bit into the strawberry, chasing a drop of its sweet juice with the tip of his tongue before it could stain his chin.

Chris' dark eyes followed the movement, then darted away, a sideways glance toward the fruit merchant for a split second, then down to the camera in Ricky's hand.

"Get any good shots?"

It wasn't what he expected Chris to say. He didn't really know what he had expected either, and he hated the feeling of being off balance like this.

"Maybe, I think. I'll go through them later, pick out some to post."

Chris nodded. They had started walking again, falling into step beside each other.

"Be sure to include none of me, so you can get a hundred comments asking "where's Chris?". Drive up the engagement."

Ricky laughed, and Chris joined in. In the failing sunlight, with the sweetness of the strawberry lingering on his tongue, and Chris' shoulder bumping into his with each chuckle, Ricky took a moment to commit the scene to memory, instead of film.

Later, he posted his favorite photos from the day to Instagram. In the corner of one, barely visible, was Chris' tattooed fingers holding a cherry by its stem.

A couple of days later, Ricky found himself walking next to Chris through the streets of a Spanish town he didn't remember the name of, on the hunt for vegan ice-cream.

The sunshine was hot to the point of discomfort, and Ricky now understood why no one else had wanted to venture away from the air-conditioned bus. No one except Chris, who was grinning, clearly relishing the heat as he poked fun at Ricky.

He should be annoyed, thought Ricky. They had passed several places that sold ice-cream, but none of them were vegan, and if it weren't for that he would be back in his blessedly cool bunk with his craving satisfied, instead of melting onto the sidewalk. And yet he wasn't annoyed. Joking around with Chris felt nice, in a way he'd used to be familiar with when they were younger and their lives were less complicated.

"Oh hey!" Chris pointed across the street to a café. The signage indicated that they were fully vegan, and had ice-cream. "I think the search is over."

"Thank fuck," Ricky grumbled, playing up the suffering. "One more minute and I would have been vaporized like a vampire."

"Your own fault for insisting on an all-black wardrobe, pal."

Ricky didn't have much of a retort to that, especially considering that Chris himself was wearing a Knocked Loose shirt in white instead of black. Instead he led the way across the street and into the café, which had AC and an impressive variety of frozen desserts. There weren't many patrons, and the server behind the counter -tall, pretty, tanned skin and dark eyes, a little badge on their apron to say their pronouns- greeted them with a friendly smile, that Ricky returned before going to look at the display cases to see if any flavors catch his eye.

Chris greeted the server, asking if they spoke English, and joking about American ignorance at their affirmative.

Somehow, the annoyance that Ricky hadn't felt outside crashed through him now, as he saw from the corner of his eye the way the server reacted to Chris' damned charm.

The ice-cream had lost most of its appeal, but Ricky hadn't made the trek here for nothing, and he stepped up next to Chris to give the server his order. They were friendly about it, but their disappointment in having the conversation with Chris cut short was evident, and Ricky's irritation flared hotter. Chris ordered too, then paid for both of them.

"You don't have to," Ricky protested, frowning.

"I want to." Chris gave a shrug.

"This isn't a date, y'know." The words were meant to be lighthearted, for the benefit of the server's hopes, but they came out harsh and biting.

Chris gave the flustered server an apologetic smile and thanks, then frowned at Ricky as they took their desserts and moved toward a vacant little table.

"What was that about?" He demanded. "I paid to make up for dragging you through the heat for my sake."

Ricky pinched the bridge of his nose. "I know that. Sorry."

There was a beat of silence, and Ricky took a small bite of ice-cream, not looking at Chris.

"Rick."

With his eyes still locked on his spoon, Ricky had a hard time deciphering the reason for the hesitation in Chris' voice.

"Is there," Chris paused, took a breath, then went on, "is there something you want to talk about?"

"No," Ricky stated flatly. He took another bite, not tasting anything but cold.

"I think, maybe, there is."

"Oh? Enlighten me, then." Ricky finally looked up at Chris, eyes narrowed. "What do I want to talk about?"

Chris looked uncomfortable, cheeks pink.

"It's just..." Chris breathed in deep through his nose, steeling himself for what he was about to say. "I thought that maybe you were questioning your sexuality or something and I don't wanna pressure you if you're not ready to talk about it, but if you are, I want you to know I'm here for you."

"I... what?!"

Chris looked like someone who had just discovered a spider's nest under their bed. He had an expression of abject terror on his expressive face.

"You seemed to get a little... uhm... jealous... when the server flirted with me, I think? And the other night, with the guy selling strawberries? You waited until he was looking at you to take a bite and do the tongue-thing and -"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Ricky cut Chris' rambling off, eyebrows raised in utter bewilderment. "What tongue-thing?" He had no idea why that was the thing his mind had chosen to latch onto, but everything Chris was saying seemed nonsensical, so it didn't seem to matter which bit he questioned first.

Chris' cheeks had gone from pink to crimson, and he wasn't meeting Ricky's eyes anymore, one hand fidgeting nervously with his spoon.

"Y'know," he mumbled. "You licked the strawberry juice off your lips like-, like... anyway, that's beside the point, the guy clearly noticed it, but then you just turned away."

Like what? Ricky wondered for a second, but didn't ask out loud. He hadn't even been paying attention to the guy, really, his focus had been on...

"What do you mean I seemed jealous at the server flirting with you?" Ricky demanded instead.

It didn't seem possible that Chris could blush even more, but he did. "I meant that when we came in you smiled at them, but then you got all annoyed when they paid more attention to me."

Ricky blinked at Chris. "I smiled at... Since when does smiling at a person equate to being interested in them?"

"It's not just the smile," Chris said, a little exasperated. "Your whole... what's the word? Demeanor! Your whole demeanor."

"You mean the immense relief of being out of the sun, under AC, with a variety of ice-cream to enjoy? Did it occur to you that that might make me smile? Alter my demeanor?"

"Then why get annoyed at me then? If you weren't jealous of them flirting with me instead of you?"

"I wasn't jealous. And I'm not having a sexuality crisis. I am leaving, though." He got up from the table, ignoring Chris calling after him, and clenched his jaw as he emerged into the brutally bright sunlight.

There was a heavy weight pressing against his chest, guilt at the fact that he had just lied through his teeth.

He was jealous. He hadn't wanted to admit it, but it was true. And as for the sexuality crisis... well, for most of his life he'd been able to pretend to himself that he was straight, because he was attracted to women too. It wasn't so much a crisis as indecision over whether to continue the pretense or not. Either way, he still wouldn't be getting what, or rather who, he really wanted. So what did it matter anyway?

Chapter 2

[ahundredtimesover]

Hey there! 😊 I just wanted to send you some love for another great chapter! As seemingly heartbreaking and devastating as the whole thing is, I am glad you chose to go this route. It can be easy to think that they can work together and still get their happily ever after, but that's not how life works and I'm glad you chose not to go that route.

I also really like your timing for these events because they now know about each other's feelings, but her leaving keeps things from getting messy. If things had played out even just slightly different then their feelings for each other could cause more problems for them in the long run. However, by her resigning now, instead of waiting until the Arts Center is finished, it keeps things from becoming complicated and allows them to have a future if they want to. I will say the one thing that drives me nuts about these two though is they act as if her quitting means they can't have a relationship at all and it just makes me want to smack them lol.

I'm also very excited about her leaving for this position at Rkive because I always liked the idea of her working at the Arts Center, she really connected with it and the ideas behind it. Working at the publishing house would give her more creative experience and time to find the self-confidence she needs to believe that her skills and abilities are what got her the position, and that it has nothing to dow with her history with the Jeons. If she were to work at the Arts Center, it would be because she loves the work and believes she could have a good impact there.

Again, I absolutely loved the chapter - you always do such a great job - and I can't wait to see what happens next! 😊😁❤

Hiii I'm so sorry this is late but I'm here! And I love these thoughts! 💕

🚧 some spoilers 🚧

I get the appeal of a workplace romance but I chose to focus on the workplace romance buildup haha and my dramatic ass wanted all this drama bc why not! 🤭 But I get the timing thing that you're saying. Imagine staying after all that... It'll definitely be awkward and messy, and people could catch on, and that's attention that neither of them wants. As for them acting as if quitting means they can't have a relationship - that's true. It's something that people around them are wondering about, too.

But remember, there's that added layer of both of them doubting each other’s sincerity because their timing was off - he thinks her feelings are tied to her loyalty to the family bc she wasn't truthful about their past much earlier; she thinks he just wants the convenience of her being around bc he kissed her after he found out about her plans. It's not as easy as saying that she's now free so they could be together (and it's also not so much of her healing/finding herself before that) bc they're unsure of what the other person is feeling. So we'll see how they address this insincerity thing and be mature enough to go for what they want.

One of the things that also I wanted to show with this Rkive Publishing opportunity is that OC enjoys working, she enjoys the grind, she's a doer - what she was missing was the meaning of all that. At my old job, I was stressed to the bone and underpaid but I loved the work, I believed in it. And that's what OC wants. It doesn't help that she's 'alone' in Seoul, so there's a lot of the intimacy and connection - to her job, to her purpose, to herself, and with another person - that she's been yearning.

I know it's all so complex but thank you for sticking around and enjoying this story! 🥹🥹💕💕

[turtletoria]

CHARACTER RAMBLINGS THAT WONT LEAVE ME ALONE!! YES ITS ABOUT TWO BRAINS

Something that im really worried about with my characterization of two brains is that im de-fanging him as a villain.

While he has moments of sincere kindness (like when he gives wordgirl a comb on her birthday, unprompted, or when he helped her literally all day for a presentation; in a lot of their conflicts, they seem to be roleplaying a hero and villain. yknow), he can also be really cruel (ie, in the ep where he kept interrupting wordgirl from her normal life, to the point she complained, he said something along the lines of “i dont care”; in mousebrain takeover, he nearly killed her).

[IF YOU WANT TO KEEP READING THIS MASSIVE ESSAY OF A POST, GO UNDER READ MORE! YOUVE BEEN WARNED, THIS IS REALLY LONG. I MIGHT CUT IT LATER BUT I PROBABLY WONT </3]

While the nasty parts of his personality could easily be chalked up to Squeaky, i dont think thats a fair or interesting take because this denies the autonomy that im pretty sure Boxleitner retains to a certain degree -- plus this gives the character more complexity! Maybe Boxleitner enjoys being evil! Maybe the theatrical side (like when 2 brainz was essentially giving kid math superhero cues, or whenever two brains tries to make any of his crimes a spectacle) is Boxleitner being devious and having fun?

So anyway, here comes the crux of my dilemma, and a similar dilemma i think that the wordgirl crew also had when we see that they didnt bring Boxleitner back: i love two brains as a villain too much and losing him would be really sad!!! Also, there was a post on here (i lost it though, sadly, so if anyone has it please share!!) talking about how what a character deserves is not necessarily what the plot calls for -- I think that this applies here quite well. We would all love to see Boxleitner back, but without a significant plot reason, that wouldn’t make for an interesting narrative, especially in regards to how this relates to wordgirl the character. However, if we look at the last ep that two brains was in before the show ended, it’s the mind-switching ep! And in that ep, two brains was essentially Boxleitner again (though he kept referring to his human half as two brains... inchresting), and he essentially was trying his best to be a hero for wordgirl. I like to think of this as the sign that Boxleitner coming back could have happened had the show been able to go for longer and have more lore significant moments (like secret spaceship showdown)! Man I am really hoping for a well-done carmen sandiego-esque reboot where story can take a front seat to the educational aspect (but dont get rid of it, i like the words).

Another thing I wanted to bring up was that in the pilot of the show, two brains was seen to be having inner conflicts between Boxleitner and Squeaky a la Jekyll and Hyde, but this was cut due to being too dark for a really young audience. However, I wanted to put a twist to that (i know this is cringe but please bear with me): in the pilot, Boxleitner is made aware of there being an audience of kids out there, so I wonder if he tries very hard to not show his struggle to kids, including to wordgirl. So what the audience sees is a silly mouse guy who is delightfully dastardly, while in actuality Boxleitner has to hold himself back from being worse or truly hurting people. I don’t find this hard to believe given that Squeaky was gung ho for murdering a little alien girl and her ape friend. (But there’s also that interesting twist that Boxleitner may also have enjoyed the creativity of his villain persona, given that we see his inventions being absolutely bonkers nuts like a time stopping device??? or a huge magnet that can pull heavenly bodies???).

To that end, I dont see two brains separating voluntarily. First factor is time - hes been stuck for so long, and this has become familiar. Also, there is a chance that he may not feel like there’s anything left for him as Boxleitner -- throughout the series we dont really see a mention of his family, save for mention of a “niece” (i think this was the ms power ep) and a young lady he was in a photo with (in the new years’ ep). I’m guessing the lady is a younger or older sister, and that the niece is her daughter --> judging from the photo, and how he has kept it, I am thinking that he had a good relationship with her, and judging from how he was able to go to her niece’s graduation, they maintained contact even after he was Mous-ified.

Personally, my perspective on Boxleitner’s Backstory is that he was in a bad home, but he and his sister were close and managed to get out via college. Boxy just went into something like chem or biochem.  He became a professor at Fair City (with an ulterior motive of meeting a superhero that hes heard of that lives there), teaching chem or whatever, and doing research into public service/superheroing on the side (very stressful, as hes running out of funding and nobody thinks this is a worthwhile venture). He is never able to catch up to wordgirl, and constantly misses meeting her -- in fact he is never able to see her clearly since shes zipping around too quickly and doesnt stop to talk to people.

At this point, no one has really seen what wordgirl looks like since 1) she barely knows how to be a hero and 2) Huggy is probably more focused on her doing a good job and helping people, and doesnt take into consideration the public aspect of being a hero (we can see in the show that he’s very protective of her identity - he probably doesnt want her to be seen for too long). One day, on his way to a presentation, he is saved by a very young wordgirl (probably around age 6-7)! He’s shocked that Fair City’s hero is a little girl, and he is instantly like “where are your parents???” etc. etc. but upon meeting Boxy, she finds in him a mentor that can help her with superhero-ing alongside Huggy (if Huggy helps with her alien powers, then Boxleitner helps her with being human). He goes 100% into research and publishing that superheroes and you book and sort of foregoes his professor responsibilities in favor of helping out wordgirl full time and working as a researcher for fair city. This leads to struggles with presentations and grant denials and other things that plague academia (screaming crying), things that wordgirl is unaware of (she is BABY) and also the audience doesn’t see (Boxleitner is a king of repression). As for Squeaky, I sort of see that as a project of ego --> not really for the benefit of science, but mostly for the spectacle and to remain relevant as a researcher. He was essentially pulling an Icarus after a bunch of fails and the need to do something good. Maybe I’m looking into this too deeply, but whatever thats the joy of life!!!

ANYWAY, all this to say that he never mentions parents and probably wouldnt have a drive to go back to the life he left behind. Except! He loves his sister (otherwise, why would he keep that image of himself and her NEXT TO HIS BED...) and he obviously loves wordgirl. I am wondering if there would ever be a catalyst event that he cannot stand being two brains anymore (maybe hurting wordgirl really bad, emotionally or physically, or maybe guilt has caught up to him or maybe he has grown horribly tired of losing all the time). I would imagine there being an invention mishap or an accident that throws them into a new situation --> picking up the pieces of being shocked into a new situation could prove to be interesting in seeing how characters respond to this change.

To conclude, I am conflicted with where to go --> I see Boxleitner trying so hard to help wordgirl with being a hero, especially considering that as she grows older shes going to need more help with problems like with violet or facing villains that get tougher and tougher like rhyme and reason; despite his help, he falls short and has to deal with the fact he was not as there for her as he should have. Or Boxleitner decides that he wants to stay a villain (I love two brains i hate to see him go). Personally I think the first option seems more interesting in how he can adjust to this new life and there are interesting themes of consequences and forgiveness to be explored there. 

Ok thats all folks! Until next time :-)

[navree]

Finished my reading of F&B, and to my shock Rhaenyra's character is pretty dark there... Like they've whitewashed her to an extreme degree

And there is no prophecy , no righteous goal etc.. and that's really good tbh because in that way the whole conflict feels more human. Like people irl don't need prophecy to be ambitious or power-hungry . Aegon is not a crybaby , Alicent is more ambitious and shrewd, Daemon is definitely much darker than his show version but also much more interesting...

I wonder why they didn't keep with the main characterization of the characters and tried to flesh them in the show instead of changing them completely.

Yeah they've lightened Rhaenyra up a lot in the show, though to be fair we haven't gotten to some of her darker stuff, but even things that have already happened, like her involvement in Vaemond's death or the Silent Five has been incredibly watered down.

Things like the prophecy providing a goal and some plot contrivances I think are largely there for two reasons: one, George told the showrunners that Aegon the Conqueror had foreseen something involving the war with The Others before he decided to conquer Westeros, and they added that into the show, two, because it's a prequel. Because Fire & Blood is a textbook and mostly just a supplementary piece of reading and not a story in its own right, it doesn't need to be connected to anything involving the main story other than the fact that it's about the Targaryens and there are Targaryen characters in ASOIAF. But because House of the Dragon is a direct prequel, a narrative that is adding some background depth to the original narrative of Game of Thrones, there does need to be some interconnectedness. There needs to be a thread tying one end to the other beyond just "Dany's a popular character and the Targaryens have the most recorded history about them when compared to the other major families", and the prophecy tying into the central conflict of GOT is that. I've been on record saying I don't think it was a good idea or very well done, but that's what they did.

As to why they changed certain things, it is largely to make them more palatable, and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. For one, I'm personally a fan of Aegon as played by TGC being this pathetic pretty boy, sopping wet kitten with big needy eyes, desperate for love bundle of issues type of character, I think it's very fun and creatively fulfilling (and Tom and his tear ducts are killing it). For two, when converting any written narrative into a visual format, you're automatically put at a disadvantage by removing things like inner monologue, internal character voice, thoughts and observations, and really anything that cannot be externalized via facial expressions and spoken word. You can try to make up for it in a myriad of ways (Die Hard took a very stoic and quiet character from the book and made him a chatterbox in order to verbalize the thoughts he was having even though it completely changed the characterization, Twilight just plugs in Bella's narration everywhere, the first Dune adaptation did that batshit thing where it added internal monologue for like literally every character, it's so fucking nuts) or you can just ignore it (the Hunger Games movies kept Katniss's stoic characterization but didn't add in any narration to make up for her blank façade and let us see the complexities of her inner character the way we can in the book, which made movie!Katniss a faithful book character but kind of bad as a film protagonist). It's why, in the original show, Tyrion ended up getting a lot of his bad qualities washed away, because without the benefit of his inner monologue and his thoughts and viewing the world through his eyes like we do on the page, instead seeing things objectively on a screen, him doing things like slapping Shae and pawing at thirteen year old Sansa or constantly talking about all the women he wants to sexually assault (to say nothing of the women he actually sexually assaults) would make him completely unsympathetic and turn audiences against him. It's probably why they softened some of Theon too (he's a lot worse in ACOK than he is in season 2) and also why they made sure to show us everything he went through rather than have him vanish and then reappear as Reek the way he did in the books.

The characters in Fire & Blood are not written to be likable, they're ambitious and power hungry and while we all have our favorites and people that we're willing to excuse anything for ("Alys blew up someone's head" "Rhaenys torched people during the Conquest" grow up and have some fun, God forbid women do anything, I support them), we all know that this is one family full of dramatic bitches fighting for who can be the absolute monarch in a brutal feudal system and birthright monarchy is a scam anyway. But in a show, with a narrative, where you do need to have something approaching a protagonist and antagonist (GOT had good and evil on both sides of every conflict, but Joffrey and Ramsay and the White Walkers and the Essossi slavers clearly filled the roles of "big antagonists" for all the characters no matter whose side you're on), having everyone be miserable drama hoes 24/7 from the word "go" just isn't going to get audiences interested. And that's not gonna fly if you're HBO and you are a company attempting to make a profit like every other company on the planet, you need to get general audiences invested when there's clearly not much of an audience for "book only" people who'd shrugged off HBO's version ASOIAF ever since D&D started mucking it up atrociously. So lightening certain characters, making them more palatable in order to have their intricacies conveyed better in a visual format, that makes sense, that's what they ultimately had to land on to make the show work.

I'm not even against it per se, I like the starting off point we had for most of the characters and the change made to things like Rhaenyra and Alicent's dynamic and the new undertones in the subtext. It's mainly how they built on it from there, and some of the choices they've made, that I've had an issue with. But even then, as I've personally said, my critiques tend to be along the lines of liking the foundation and just wanting to build something different, or thinking certain plots and elements were an example of good idea but bad execution. If they'd started the show from the beginning of F&B, then maybe we'd have gotten a more book accurate Dance, since it would come a lot later and we'd have had time to get to know some great Targs but some incredibly awful Targs as well, but that's all in the past at this point.

I tend to just accept that book canon and show canon are different stories, which they are by design, and appreciate them both on their own merits.

[lex-dalan]

Hello Tumblr!

It's @nameless-writer-for-stories here, remember me? Dang, it's been like 5 years since I went on hiatus. My life had been nuts and still is now.

I would like to apologize to those who followed me (through these users: @nameless-writer-for-stories @rwby-dust) for the radio silence and long overdue hiatus. I did not mean to leave you all in the dark without explanations.

My previous years of Tumblr wasn't that bad, the issue was me. To be honest, I literally had no clue what I was doing despite my imaginations and urge to show my creativeness. Let's just say growing up into a full adult is a literal rollercoaster for me so I wasn't really myself at that time. There were times I tend to feel doubt in my writing and art, and experienced inferiority complex--which was definitely not good so I had to leave the social media to clear my head.

I resumed to practicing my drawing skills before I entered college in 2019. Around that time, I was late to join Arknights, a tower-defense game that was released in early January. And boy, it was the best game for me. Because of its art and lore, I got inspired to come back for creating art. I was not confident if I can make a return in Tumblr so, I decided to try Twitter with a fresh start and didn't bother posting my Tumblr works because of my insecurities. My first experience there was awkward and barely gained any followers so I was doubting myself again.

However, I stopped doubting and started thinking, "the only reason you didn't have anything is because you're not pushing to try more." Later on, I tried posting new art contents like mini comics and some of my favourite Arknights characters. It was slow progress and I only had 76 followers. Honestly, it was okay for me since it means I needed to improve more--until I got roped into League of Legends because of Starguardians2022. Not gonna lie, I was attracted to that because of the potential angst material (I'm crazy lol), especially Akali. There's just something about her that I can relate in a deeper level and I fell in love with her prime lore and SG lore.

So, I started drawing Lol content and also tried playing the game. Several days later, I finally got 100 followers! I was really happy and decided to keep it up. I'm still drawing Arknights content whenever I feel like it, and I'm planning to make a fan Star Guardian story with a little twist.

Just when I started to make more posts, the Elon Musk incident happened. I won't explain the details because I know that everyone has seen the news. Everyone in Twitter began talking about moving into different social medias but honestly, it's hard to leave Twitter behind because everyone was comfortable in speaking their thoughts and sharing things that they couldn't be able to share in real life, and I feel that way too. I came back to Tumblr with a good reason--that is to keep going. Sure, it's sad that Twitter is doomed to close but if it weren't for that site, I would have not be able to meet people who shows confidence in showing their artworks, and fan literature. Whether they're silly drawings or shenanigans, they are truly dedicated and passionate in their works. They inspired me to keep trying and show the best of what I can do.

Until Twitter does shut itself down, I will bring everything from that site to here. So, yeah---

I'M ALIVE FELLAS!

[minimoefoe]

thoughts while/after reading a court of mist and fury for the first time

split into four sections - things I noted down before I started reading, thoughts I wrote down in the midst of reading, thoughts from after i'd finished read and then thoughts after watching a recap vid

before reading

was on tiktok and a pic came up on my fyp of some girl looking all faerie-like and the text said something like 'we want complex characters' 'you can't even handle her' and I was like whatever but then as I was scrolling away I saw the name nesta in the caption so now I'm like oh this coupled with another thing I saw makes me think her and elain are defo gonna become faeries at some point

while reading

I initially did this by chapter but I couldn't be bothered to keep pausing to write stuff so I split it into parts instead. maybe for the next book I should also write the page I'm on when I'm thinking something so it's easier to look back at idk

italics is stuff I've added after finishing the book

part one

so has she not heard from rhysand bc he's been captured or something

tamlin not acknowledging when feyre is up being sick is kinda nasty like bro she died for you, you could at least hold her hair back fuckin hell (the fact that rhys ends up holding her hair back.. dhmu)

feyre doesn't seem happy at all 😭😭

I actually love that feyre is fucked up by everything that happened I feel like sometimes characters just breeze through things and move on but she is just all round having an awful time

no high ladies? okay sexism

lucien's a what? am I supposed to know bc I literally don't 😭 (I still have no idea so.. idk)

rhysand appearing bc feyre is stressed as hell and doesn't wanna get married I'm crying, he obvs did that on purpose to save her

oh I already know the chapters where feyre is with rhysand are gonna be my faves over the stuff back with tamlin and co (the way it ended being basically the whole book omg I won so hard)

feyre is so real getting pissed off with the payment stuff like just reading that shit wound me up. giving away ur jewellery was maybe not a good idea tho idk. best to really have it out with tamlin later and try to fix it idrk (nvm, doing that saved her ass so)

love how often lucien is just third wheeling and makes 'here we go' type comments when mild drama starts happening he's so funny

the 'this how it's done' argument is dumb as fuck don't piss me off tamlin

locking feyre up oh tamlin you smell so bad I kinda hate you

tamlin actually is doing my nut in like you're 400 years old grow up and have a conversation. having feyre hidden away and never telling her anything is an insane way to try and go about things I hope she leaves ur ass. I get that he’s struggling as well but fuckin hell how embarrassing

part two

rhysand soooo cares for feyre like being worried about not feeling anything through the connection, waiting there while she sleeps, desperate for her to banter with him. he's so interesting I love him. leave tamlin for rhys feyre I know you want to

feyre literally being like yeah I wanna stay with you fuck the spring court is craazy like I'm winning so hard

aw sad back stories

odds on nesta and cassian dating

so like.. feyre is fr done with tamlin huh like for a while I was thinking maybe they'd reuinute at some point or she would spend some time being like idk what to do but nah she's done. love that

the flirting with rhys is getting so much more direct like okayyy

azriel ur vibes intrigue me, I am growing very fond of you

amren kinda freaks me out. I like her but also I'm worried she will turn evil or something

cassien is giving emmett cullen but more serious I can't explain it

the only thing I miss about the spring court is lucien

I like the summer high lord

when are they gonna kiss this is KILLING ME

the fact feyre is thinking about painting again oh she's getting better fr

I take back my worries about amren, l love her vibes

we love a feminist king (I think I was talking about him wanting the girls to be able to train lmao)

we've gone so long without seeing or hearing from tamlin/the spring court that I'm like okay surely they need to see each other again and give us some drama, feyre just being able to leave and that's that feels too simple. tho I guess they got the letter and were like okay not much that can be done?? I was kiinda wondering if they wouldn't believe it was from her bc I wasn't sure if they knew she could write but maybe I'm being dumb (no tamlin is the dumb one, not that I was right but like..)

lucien appearing literally at the end of next chapter lmao I willed it into happening

I was so disappointed when they had to share a room earlier in the book and rhys made a bed appear so they didnt have to share.. they made up for it fr

why didn't feyre feel the mating bond or whatever? bc she isn't familiar with it? bc she's been distracted?

can't decide if she's being too pissed about him not telling her idk like tbh I get why he didn't tell her and for a while it defo wasn't the time. but also I get that being lied to and shut out was a problem she had at the spring court so that kinda thing pisses her off

okay nvm she moved on quick and understood him a bit, I'm glad

I actually hadn't even thought about rhysand and feyre being mates or having mates liike the only time I really thought about mates was the fact tamlin and feyre weren't mates but they were gonna get married so I was like huh what does that mean. but this makes a lot of sense. kinda obsessed

interesting that rhys had vibes she was his mate when she human. is that normal? did he only get those hints bc it was like, fated that she would become a faerie, like have faeries and humans ever been mates????

part three

tamlin you sad evil embarrassing little man !!!!!!

knew her sisters would become faeries

elain being lucien's mate wait that's kinda cute omg they so fit together. I wonder if nesta is cassian's

also like, if elain had never become a faerie would lucien have never found his mate? would he have mated with someone else? would he have still been elain's even tho she was human? can you have more than one mate in your lifetime? I need answers

need lucien to see sense and turn on tamlin idk he seems to know this is insane. liike book 3 give me more lucien I'm BEGGING this is how I win omg

after reading

literally loved it so much

it's kinda wild how I thought the spring court seemed like such a nice place in the first book but now that we've seen all these other places with rhys I'm like omfg how BORING is the spring court fuck that, I'd wanna get out of there too

I love literally everyone that we're supposed to love. feyre, rhys and his whole gang. they're all so interesting

I was missing lucien a little bit and he's the main reason I'm cool with us being back at the spring court

I'm hoping lucien is gonna confront feyre fairly early in book three and she's gonna convince him to stop doing as tamlin says and see sense for like, the greater good but also I'm sure elain being his mate will sway him too

I kiiiinda would love if tamlin lost his mind and went full villain. not that he hasn't lost his mind already but yknow. rn he just feels kinda pathetic and stupid, I want evil vibes idk

I looooooved feyre and rhys' relationship and I loved all the revelations about the bond and stuff. I was simultaneously dying for them to finally get together but also was so obsessed with their vibe and the build to it that I almost didn't want them to finally be together. it was all so good tho like UGH I love them. I think knowing some of that stuff is gonna make book one even more interesting on a reread as well

I'm kinda glad they're apart again ngl bc we all know ships gets boring once they get together and the build up is the best bit so some time apart and a lot of drama will be fun I think

need cassian and nesta to get together. need azriel and mor to get together

there's no gay ppl in these books and I'm wondering how the mating bond situation would work with gay ppl. don’t tell me gay faeries don’t exist omg or what if gay faeries never have mates 😭

I feel like there's no way everyone is gonna survive whatever happens in the next book and like honestly as long as its not feyre rhys or lucien, I'll be sad but it'll be fine. if I had to bet on a death I’d probably say azriel, cassian or mor

azriel > cassian > amren > mor. maybe? idk I love them all

after watching cari can read’s catch up video

I’ve been watching a vid after each book literally bc I wanna sure I had the plot at least mostly understood and also bc I’m very limited to what I can search up to do with these books atm since I don’t wanna spoiled so recap vids are a nice little treat lmao. they do sometimes hint at spoilers tho (like the vid of the first book where she said she couldn’t find fanart of the sisters that wasn’t spoilers so i was like oh they’re probs gonna become faeries) but it’s a risk I’m willing to take

there was a lot of moments where feyre had to say to rhys like hey stop keeping things from me, I didn’t realise it happened so much. and part of me is like hm is that a bit strange like surely after the spring court, him constantly doing that would really get to her but as far as I can remember she gets over it all idfk

the music thing in the first book was so strange to me I was like omg feyre has lost it, so it being explained in this book was cool. I feel like you can tell these books were actually planned out before being published

I’m still not 100% clear on the jurian, miryam etc story like I kinda get it but there’s a lot of names idfk. hopefully I get it enough to understand the next book, or it’s explained recapped in the next book

[nowis-scales]

Headcanons for Hinoka’s Birthday

Of the royal siblings, I find that I see the least love for Hinoka. Given the overall structuring of the story and everything, I can see why that came to be, but... well, to be honest, I still find that I find I love her more and more every day. So! Here are a set of headcanons for the pegasus princess’s birthday. Hopefully someone will find joy in them!

• The common belief among most is that Ryoma is the tough nut to crack when it comes to people dating their siblings. This is blatantly wrong — it’s Hinoka. Sure, he cares to some degree, but nobody cares like Hinoka does. She is very protective of her siblings and insists that their partners treat them like the wonderful people they are. The first couple weeks of the relationship will feel like a soft probation whenever Hinoka is around. She might even set Kaze up on a mission to just check in every once in awhile to ensure the relationship is going well. She definitely tries not to be too invasive, lest she upset her siblings, but she wants to know for certain that their partners are good for them. It’s also worth noting that this is not reserved for Takumi and Sakura. Those who date Corrin, Azura, and even Ryoma will get this treatment. Hell, if you show interest in Setsuna, she might act the same! It’s quite a journey to get her blessing, but once you have it, she’ll treat you like you’re part of her family too.

•  The least picky eater in like... all of Hoshido. As I mentioned in a previous headcanon post, the one thing she doesn’t really like to eat is roe. Everything else is pretty much fair game. Of the Hoshidans, she is the most willing to try Nohrian foods. Scarlet even managed to convince her to try the Chevois delicacy that is escargot. Pretty much everyone else at the table was horrified, but she admitted that with a little seasoning, they didn’t taste half bad. Some credit her poor cooking ability to her weird ability to eat most things, but nobody’s sure whether or not that’s true.

• If you’re ever having a rough night and want to sleep in her bed with her, she honestly might let you. Between Ryoma who was terrified of sleeping alone after Cheve, Takumi who suffers from night terrors, Azura who mutters and cries in her sleep, and Sakura who fears being attacked during the night by either ghosts or Nohrians... Hinoka has learned to enjoy the presence of others when she’s sleeping. Her siblings can just crawl into her bed and snuggle up at any time, and she’ll accept them without even opening her eyes. I imagine Elise probably ended up in her bed once by accident, looking for Camilla in the dark but snuggling up with Hinoka instead. Hinoka was very confused upon waking up to discover that she was not, in fact, cuddling with Sakura.

• When it comes to alcohol, Hinoka is a mega lightweight, but she’s also ferociously in denial about it. She will talk herself up and even participate in drinking contests, but she’s really not able to handle much before she begins stumbling all over and slurring her words. The end result of her trying to keep up with everyone else is usually having her siblings or retainers help her back to her room while she tries not to throw up or fall over. It’s just not good for her all around, but everyone else finds it a bit funny.

• If there is one comment she hates hearing more than anything, it’s when she gets angry or embarrassed, and someone says that her face is turning as red as her hair. If she’s already angry and you say that to her, I would run if I were you. If she had a list of pet peeves, hearing that comment would be at the top of the list. Seriously, just why?

• The “haha Hinoka doesn’t have big boobs” jokes is prevalent in fandom, just as it always is when a character’s breasts are sized anything other than a middling cup size. In the anthology comics, I believe they even reference this with Hinoka envying Camilla’s chest... but to be honest, I actually get the feeling she doesn’t. Maybe she might have as a young teenager, but as an adult, I think she probably grew comfortable with her chest size. She finds it easier to fight without having to worry about extra support, so when people tease her about it, she just kind of shrugs her shoulders and makes some remark. Doesn’t really matter to her either way, she just wishes she could find some way to help her friends like Camilla be more comfortable!

• At 21 years old, she still maintains that one of her simultaneously proudest and most embarrassing moments on earth was when she punched her cousin in the face. Now, Hinoka’s not a punch without reason kind of girl. If she’s going to hit, it’s going to be with purpose. She also, like all of the Hoshidan siblings, does not care for most of her cousins. This cousin, Hikaru, happened to be one she particularly could not stand due to his horrible attitude and superiority complex. In this case, the purpose behind her hit was knocking the snot out of her awful cousin, who had cornered Azura and threatened to hurt her. Considering that Hinoka had never once liked him, she had no qualms with hitting him right in the kisser. She probably might have kept going after him too, but was promptly stopped by Mikoto and Ryoma trying to pull her away from him. She admits that she could have controlled her temper better, but she also admits that it was totally worth it.

• There is absolutely this impression among the people of Hoshido that the royals are so cool and perfect, but Hinoka will tell you herself she was an awkward teenager. Growing up a princess meant she still had responsibilities, even with her battle training, so she found herself really caught between the two impressions she was giving off. Couple that with the fact that she had an awkward puberty like so many of us do, complete with lanky body and acne, and she’d admit that she came out of her cocoon as a beautiful butterfly. She was still pretty cool even when she was a self-proclaimed caterpillar, though. She was just also still figuring herself out.

• The people around her are fairly positive that she stopped being a crybaby a long time ago, right? They’re not exactly correct. In fact, Hinoka is still quite prone to bursting into tears. She simply has a better grasp on her crying reflex than she did when she was a girl, so when she needs to cry, she will often hold it in until she’s private and can finally let the tears release. Of course, there are times when she refuses to hold back, such as in Birthright when they locate Takumi after him having been missing. Some things just call for tears more than others, you know? In those moments, she tries to not be as ashamed of them as she might be otherwise.

• I’ve mentioned before that my interpretation of Ikona doesn’t really have her as the best mom. She was resentful of her husband and to an extent her children, but would often grow to love them quickly upon interacting more. Even so, she had a tendency to play favourites. Protective and obedient of her beloved mother, Ikona favoured Hinoka a bit more than the others. It was actually her influence that built some of Hinoka’s negative behaviour towards Mikoto, for her mother would convince her that it was acceptable to treat her in such a way because she was trying to “get rid of” Ikona. Looking back on the relationship between herself and her mother now, Hinoka does not regard it as exceptionally healthy... but still feels a little guilty about how much she secretly misses her.

[sepublic]

Barrel’s Warhammer!

           YYYYOOOOOO SASHA!!!!

           She really is the epitome, the pinnacle, of gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss! I love Sasha, she’s such an utter mess, morally ambiguous and then downright terrible in so many ways, and genuinely unhinged in just as many! She’s a freaking riot and SUCH an amazing character, y’all!

           In general, I adore how Toads are handled in this show! Yeah, they’re big and brutish and used as thugs… But the show still clearly portrays them as people, and some of them are terrible like Bog, but others are just trying to live their lives, like Percy and Braddock! And how they’re all clearly working with this ascribed role as Andrias’ enforcers and iron fist across Amphibia, how they’re encouraged to be cruel brutes… But they’re still people and they’re still oppressed, which is why Grime is leading his rebellion! Good for him, good for THEM!

           Also… GRIMMITY?!?! Beatrix?! Grime LORE! I like how Beatrix and Grime have blind eyes on opposite sides, and Sasha roasting Bufo by naturally connecting his name to Buffoon, WONDERFUL! Aldo’s also a legendary, killer design, he reminds me of VLD Zarkon, old and decrepit and fanged and clearly has seen a LOT of stuff, a real warrior of his time… Honestly, getting a look into the Toads and THEIR complicated role in this story, as the ‘bad guys’ but not really, there’s more to them; It’s such a fit to Sasha’s character, and I LOVE how she’s such an utter brute for someone who normally seems accustomed to using honey over vinegar to attract flies (to feed her Toads)! She’s nuts, she’s great.

           I love the explanation for the eye symbol, I love Sasha really getting to appreciate Percy and Braddock, and for a moment I thought she really was learning her lesson… When she gave them an out, I thought maybe she took what happened with Anne to heart, but now…! Maybe this is what she’s always done; Made empty promises. God, I love this little arc for her character, how she wants to be a good friend, but she keeps valuing power and control over all else…

           AND HER RAGE! HER JEALOUSY! At Anne and Marcy being with each other, leaving her out, Sasha’s mind jumping to all of the worst conclusions, and how THAT anger is what unlocks her gem power, not heroism or anything else! Sasha’s such a complex and messed-up character but you can’t help but root for her, she really IS a Problematic Fave! God, with how she’s going to meet Anne in a volcano, and the whole “Sasha is Anakin and Anne is Obi-Wan” just WRITES itself, with Sasha angrily accusing Anne of turning Marcy against her, Anne retorting that Sasha did that herself, etc.!

           God Sasha’s such a complicated mess and ball of unresolved emotions and contradictions, denial that’s insisting everything’s fine when it’s really not… She’s a manipulator who prefers to be hands-off, yet is also somehow the raw brute with unthinking, unyielding strength! She’s utterly terrifying, no wonder all of the Toads are in awe of her ferocity and power!

           Also, I like how Barrel’s Warhammer was included; At first I wondered WHY the Narwhal Worm would guard the weapon used by the Toad who fought it, but as we can clearly see… Barrel must’ve conked it out BADLY with his Warhammer, knocking it out, and the hammer has been stuck since! And once more, the hammer has been slammed into the worm… And in general, I love seeing the Toads just ROOT around Sasha and Grime, I love seeing villainous characters get to go feral and unhinged as you root for them, as THEY rise up and fight against all odds as the underdogs!

           Percy and Braddock and the gag with the kawaii poses was great, but it’s also sad to see them go! They’re definitely a wake-up call for Sasha and I like it, I wonder if you could parallel them, one-by-one, to Anne and Marcy respectively? Perhaps Anne and Marcy were initially not taken seriously by Sasha at first, but ultimately she DID grow to care for them and not just as ‘tools’, who knows? With Anne and Percy and Braddock, I think Sasha’s going to have to reconsider things… And GRIME, how he just sort of accepts that, yeah, you gotta lose people to achieve a goal! I could see him being a bad influence to Sasha, unintentionally- Like her, he means well, they’re really great parallels to one another!

           Like, Sasha and Grime are both brutes, power-hungry, and wanting control, but Sasha prefers subtlety and manipulation, appeals to both her and others’ emotions, while Grime prefers to be raw and unthinking strength, he’s a seasoned veteran from combat, while Sasha is likely a rich kid, young and learning… They’re such a dynamic duo with a lot to teach one another! Maybe Grime sees himself in Sasha; Himself when HE was a kid… Maybe when he was a gladiator, he had friends but left them behind to be promoted to Captain? I wonder if Beatrix has anything to say on this, too…

           Could Beatrix provide insight to Grimmity? Did Grime leave her behind in a sense…? Does SASHA have a sibling, and that leads to her weird power complex, as another parallel to Grime! Either way it’s sweet, I adore the dynamic of two horrible people who are good friends and bad, enabling influences to each other… Being problematic faves, you can’t help but cringe at their mistakes but also cheer as they win as underdogs and turn the tables on their enemies! I like how Sasha is still supportive of Grime and vice-versa, Grime’s guiding this kid, but Sasha’s fully supporting Grime as the de-facto leader and backing him up, not trying to seize control!

           I think it really parallels Anne, how she just wanted to get back home… But somewhere along the way, she realizes how much she loves and enjoys this, and values her friend! And maybe it could lead to Sasha not wanting to head back home after all, especially if there’s nothing there for her; Which could play into her keeping all of her gem powers as she opposes Andrias openly, while Anne has some of her power because again, she’s more neutral, and then Marcy has none because she’s fully bought into the Newt King’s schtick!

           Also, it’s funny that Sasha is no doubt feeling betrayed, like her trust has been jeopardized by Anne and Marcy, considering she did the same to Anne in Reunion! Lying to her about what she intended to do with the Frogs… It’s wonderfully hypocritical and this kid does NOT want self-awareness, she’ll toy with it for a bit, but then immediately backpedal! Get better and well Sasha, for everyone’s sake… The confrontation and paranoia as she loses her friends and only has Grime, who means well but isn’t so great himself, is also nice!

           Honestly, there’s even a parallel to the idea of Sasha meaning well, only to be ruined by her own toxicity… And Grime wanting a better life for Toads in his revolution, but still allowing a hierarchy to exist by the end of the day, instead of abolishing it for all! They both have good ideas and initiative, but it’s ruined by Sasha and Grime not backing down on certain things and not listening to others, being SO sure they’re right… Very compelling stuff. Now I’m starting to wonder if Sasha will be open to Anne about her suspicions, if they WILL get along for the Third Temple…

           …Or if she’ll try to manipulate and fool her again, thinking that SHE’s been betrayed herself! And maybe Sasha will realize her faults in the battle of Newtopia, only for it to be too late, Anne has been too betrayed, Sasha has only herself (and, well, Andrias) to blame! In the meantime, as Sasha no doubt embraces her role as a rebel, but also unknowingly as a hero against Andrias and his master… I can see her tapping more into her gem powers and actually using them as part of her rage, hence the shots we see from the Third Temple! She’s going to be terrifying, y’all, and even more of a match for Yunnan at this point… And Anne, poor Anne’s going to be caught between TWO toxic friends!

           Both mean well, but both have other bad points… And it just means Anne’s gonna have to forge her own path, make her own decisions and group and faction, be her own person and take initiative once more! But it’s also gonna be lonely and could contribute to more trust issues along the way… And maybe she’ll think she can only trust herself, only do things on her own, and how this might pair badly with her selfless martyr-complex. We’ll have to wait and see, though… We’ll have to wait and see.

[luasworkshop]

Oh man you guys are curious! Ok so...

The following take may be wrong - I'm just doing my best to express a feeling:

Tinfoil hat 'Was Valerius Supposed to be the 6th LI instead of Lucio?' rambling beneath the cut:

*Puts on tinfoil hat* Ok... so... like, I don't know if I can attribute this to more than 'vibes' but I feel like at SOME point Valerius was meant as the 6th route instead of Lucio. He seems better developed within the prologue and other LIs routes to exist as a full on LI than Lucio who seems to initially just be poised as a secondary villain (to the Devil - not fundamentally a bad thing, secondary villains can be a lot of fun).

All of the routes of the Arcana are focused around helping self-actualize the LI's and helping them cope with and manage their responses to previous traumas. To get to the upright ending you interact with them in ways that support their own personal growth away from their most self-destructive tendencies. To get the reversed endings you let them sink further into precisely that. Valerius is perfectly poised to fill out this route just the same as the other LI's - we know from canon he made his deal in desperation, being overwhelmed when Lucio passed and Nadia was unconscious. He bristles with agitation and anger at anything that upsets the hegemony he feels is established and keeps Vesuvia running (as the 'reversed' heirophant would - sticking to traditions that no longer work.) He has chained himself to order and security - and in a possible upright for him we could see him break from tradition and conformity to (as with all the routes except Portia) solve the Count's murder and reverse the fallout of Lucio's poor decision making. In his reversed we could see him fail to break away from tradition and seize control over a corrupted and decaying Vesuvia spiraling into his demon form. To me - these seem like super familiar character beats to the first three routes (Nadia, Azra, and Julian).

Cases for Valerius:

A) There's more than enough of him the prologue to put in a Memory image, moreso than the other courtiers and certainly as much as say, Muriel.

B) He shows up in all of the routes almost as much as the various other LIs do, his story intertwining with everything else in complex ways that reveal bits of his background and motivations (it varies and of course his presence leans heavily into Nadia's route BUT he's still in say, Muriel's route having his own little redemption arc.)

C) He has potential for a mark - given his deal, chains, and eventual demon form.

D) This is a bit negated by the fact he's a courtier (and there are secondary characters that do) but he has his own sprites, unique design, and distinct character (unlike, say, the guards or other palace staff).

E) He doesn't just 'fit' with the other courtiers and their theming - he is unique in being brought into all this recently and trying to make his way through a lot more than he's able to (boy is in over his head).

F) He has an intense, personal relationship to his patron Arcana, the same as all the other LIs EXCEPT LUCIO (who is the Fool - not the Devil, until the Devil is using him as a puppet).

Cases against Lucio:

A) What even WAS his route? I'm sorry I don't think 'vague adventure story' is appropriate for a character who is the secondary antagonist in four out of six routes - especially someone guilty of kidnapping, coercion, blackmail, and, literally the source of the plague which killed many MANY people. Go full villain or go full redemption, not just... what smacks of pandering (I can't support this - it's just... vibes... yanno? I've seen when writers fandom pander before and this feels like trying to tread the most boring middle road to appeal to the widest audience and totally loosing the character somewhere in the middle. Death by committee and all that.)

B) He has very little personality (outside of hedonist asshole) in the routes up until we get to half-way through Portia's route and then in his own - he's simply a stooge for the Devil in all of the other routes (most of his character building in Muriel's route is... well it's MORGA'S character building, the devil is wearing Lucio like a festive little coat).

C) He serves as a better foil for Valerius than the other way round - he represents the traditions that Valerius seeks to uphold, but has so badly corrupted them that the city is falling into ruin. Lucio seems to just see Valerius as a party favor or general nuisance (which explains why he doesn't really show in Lucio's route)... I'm trying to say it's weird to underutilize a fairly major side-character in a route focused on a former count.

D) Back to those Upright and Reversed endings... sure his fit alright enough (either fucking off to do whatever, or turning into a pretty pet who doesn't have to make decisions) but compared to the ways in which say - Nadia either takes on all responsibility herself or allows you to help and lets herself become a fully complex person of her own making... Lucio's are very much simply reactionary rather than internal growth. His character either wasn't given or never was intended to have enough depth to carry the weight of a full story-line.

So what do I think happened? I think somewhere between the first three routes and deciding on the second three a decision was made to make Lucio a love interest over Valerius. I don't think Nyx Hydra anticipated his popularity as a character off the bat, but when looking to expand the story had some choices to make with their direction - they went with (what I feel is) the weaker of two story options due to Lucio's popularity in the fandom (and then took his story a whole... direction which is a whole 'nother rant.) Valerius would have been in keeping with the other LIs, Lucio had potential but it didn't come to much (especially as his development is otherwise rather lackluster.)

So ANYWAY I think maybe at some point Valerius was slated as a love interest (given his development) but it got scrapped in favor of Lucio (due to fandom popularity).

*Takes off tinfoil hat*

But... that's just my own rambling - I could be wrong, maybe they DID plan a Lucio route from the start and I'm just off my nut, but something smells like milquetoast fan-service on his route to me.