#but I like the ability to explore certain themes with her

[our-blood-is-our-ink]

I WANT COUP AU AND ALSO goddess!agatha x eve because I know basically nothing about it and INTRIGUE

Alright this is a long one, so it'll be under the cut.

Fair warning for all the folks who are unaware: Coup AU is a fic I'm writing entirely for myself, and it follows a very alternative universe's Evanora Harkness.

That will not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you do choose to read, please keep in mind that you are greatly missing a lot of the background and characterization.

The Goddess!Agatha x Eve excerpt does not require any warnings.

For the Coup AU I decided to go with the earlier excerpt.

If you want the later one, I suppose you'll just have to ask again 😈

When the infant draws breath to cry, Evanora covers her newly born daughter’s mouth to muffle the sound, and whispers her name into existence.

Astra Harkness.

Astra, meaning star, for Lance had nearly exclusively called Agatha his little star, and Evanora is certain he would have called this daughter his little star as well.

Astra, meaning star, for Agatha had been a bright, shining light in her life, a gift to see her daughter growing up happy and healthy and surrounded by love and laughter, a sun by all means, but Astra will be raised far away from her mother, while her sister and father are dead, six feet under in the cruelest form of punishment her cousin could conceive of.

Astra, a distant light, a distant hope.

Hope is all Evanora has.

—»•«—

Goddess!Agatha x Eve was spun off of an idea I had for Goddess!Agatha x Reader, mostly because Agatha got all pouty about me never having written her with Eve before now.

Let me tell you, I really really love the very few hundred words I have written for them so far.

Gods walked amongst mortals.

This is simply a fact, like how the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, or how the Earth is round.

Eve has never been one to pay much attention to all the excitement and worship surrounding them.

She had seen little point, growing up somewhere that was never going to attract a god to their streets.

And besides, who would want to meet one of these higher beings when they so frequently take the lives of those they converse with?

The gods are cold-hearted and cruel, and Eve much prefers those with warmth and kindness.

[revvethasmythh]

Reminded again, as I periodically am, that there's a fair number of people in the fandom that think of Nott the Brave and Veth Brenatto as two different characters, and not fundamentally the same woman. In the absolute literal sense, this is false: Nott the Brave, returned to the body of her choice and using her real name once again, is absolutely precisely the same person she was before Caleb cast Transmogrification on her. This is, incidentally, one of her main sources of angst towards the end of the campaign! A part of Nott must have both feared (and, in some ways, hoped) that when she was changed back into a halfling, she would also be a different person. That the person she became traveling with the Nein would be an easy identity to shed, which she may have hoped for because it would be easier to fit herself back into her home life with Yeza and Luc--and because it would be easier to say goodbye to the Nein if that were the case. And she feared it because she liked this person she became, no matter how transgressive society would label her for it. And she loved the Nein and didn't want those feelings to be altered.

But she didn't change. Veth Brenatto is Nott the Brave and Nott the Brave is Veth Brenatto. This was always the point. That's why it's an anagram. It's just that when she's Veth Brenatto again, she is much more focused on the why of what she's doing. Why am I still with the Nein? Why am I still adventuring? Why do I have this reticence to return home to my family? Why don't I long for that quiet, domestic life the way I once did? Her emotional journey becomes intensely personal, sometimes subtly/quietly told, and wholly about what kind of future she wants for herself and how her choice could affect those around her. Her two families become anchor points pulling her in different directions and she has to deal with that. Which is a different story than what she was telling when she was still Nott the Brave. Nott's story was much simpler--I am a goblin and I hate it and I would like to be a halfling again. I would like to be able to be with my family again. It's straightforward and it's achieved! But that's not where it ends, because she still needs to figure out a real, functional future for herself once her goal has been achieved.

All this to say, I think when people say they prefer Nott over Veth, it's important to remember that you are reacting to a certain story arc for the character, not an entirely different character. It may also pay to ask yourselves why you think they're so different. Was "Nott" funnier than "Veth" to you? Does her ability to serve as comic relief fundamentally change whether you like her or not? Did you appreciate "Nott's" themes more than "Veth's"? Or did you even notice the themes being explored in Veth's later game at all?

[venussaidso]

𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧-𝐑𝐚𝐡𝐮-𝐊𝐞𝐭𝐮: 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦

the prominent themes of vampirism such as desire, hunger, mystery and illusions tie so perfectly with the moon and its nodes. it wasn't surprising to find the nodes dominating this genre the most, along with the luminaries (moon & sun nakshatras, but more fittingly the moon). i will not be touching on the few sun nakshatras playing vampires, as the moon makes far more sense symbolizing true vampiric nature.

So many vampire movie posters have this luminous glow to them, likely done consciously because of these creatures' affinity for nighttime, and generally being nocturnal as they're extremely sensitive to any type of sunlight.

I've once briefly mentioned, in my "Moon Dominant Themes" post, that lunar natives can operate very secretly, such as 'working in the shadows'. And the whole lore of vampires always emphasizes their ability to hide themselves while still living among humans.

Vampires undergoing periods of dormancy and resurgence is interesting as that can also be linked back to the moon's cycles of waxing & maning. The influence that the moon has on vampires, in some legends, is during certain lunar phases in which they become more active. A full moon could literally mean that their strength has enhanced, whilst a moonless night could mean their desire for blood is heightened.

Rohini Sun Colin Farrell

Claire Nakti explored, in her "TOP 3 Most Magical & Mystical Astrology Signs | Cults, Divination, & Occultism | Part 2 (Nakshatras)" documentary, on the ability of Moon nakshatra natives to brainwash/mind control/hypnotize.

daniel kaluuya is a hasta moon, not rohini.

As these natives are often cult leaders, their ability to influence the mind goes back to their lunar-rulership. The Moon rules over the mind, emotions and subconscious. A vampire's ability to hypnotize humans and other lesser beings is in parallel to the Moon's influence over the psyche and subconscious.

This illusory nature found in vampires can be connected to the shadow planet, Rahu. As Rahu is illusions, desire, hunger. Rahu is very seductive and tempting; this could tie back to some legends in which vampires lure their prey giving them promises of pleasure.

Ardra Sun Tom Cruise.

In "Interview with the Vampire", Tom Cruise plays Lestat who is an overindulgent, greedy vampire. Rahu governs desires and the pursuit of worldly pleasures. It's related to insatiable cravings that lead to greed. The lustful nature of Rahu is seen in Lestat's intense bloodlust and the chaos it brings.

Rahu's associations with eclipses relates to their ability of being hidden in the shadows. Another hint is in Rahu being a Shadow planet itself, just like Ketu is which is also related to vampires.

The story about Rahu's head getting decapitated by Vishnu for trying to get a drink out of the nectar of immortality can be brilliantly paralleled with vampirism. Due to Rahu's consumption of the drop of the nectar, he became the infamous dismembered immortal. His dismemberment a symbol of the detachment from humanity to vampirism.

Rahu is considered an entity of darkness and malevolence, preying upon cosmic forces and defying the natural order of things (such as vampirism which does defy nature itself, ie. the dead becoming undead) in pursuit for immortality. Vampires are literal parasites, and Rahu is also parasitical. Vampires feed on humans without providing any benefit in the ecosystem in return, a one-sided relationship which resembles one between a parasite and its host. Rahu is depicted as insatiable and consuming, feeding and draining one's energy. It creates a cycle of thirsting for more without any fulfillment, a predicament vampires find themselves in.

Ashwini Sun Luke Evans

Rahu and Ketu represent the lunar nodes, respectively depicted as the head and tail of the celestial serpent. Their energetic interaction can be likened to the endless chase between a vampire and a vampire hunter, villain and hero, the friction between unlikely lovers. It's obvious in how Rahu embodies the insatiable hunger for experiences and the craving for fulfillment that it can be the vampiric force in such a dynamic. Like a vampire, Rahu relentlessly pursues its desires, often leading to greed and excess. And then you have Ketu, on the other hand, which embodies detachment, spirituality, and liberation from worldly attachments. It quite literally symbolizes the renunciation of desires and the quest for enlightenment, opposing Rahu's restlessness for more. Ketu is a cutting force, and like a determined vampire hunter, is skilled in tracking down illusions and breaking free from temptations.

Although it sounds like a more fitting interplay between Rahu as the evil force and Ketu as the hunter, it's actually more seen in the other way around.

It is more so that Rahuvians are the vampire hunters, which I found so intriguing; showcasing how Rahu is both the parasitical (illusory), and also the one to be rid of parasites (disillusionment). And I have explored this particular theme in my Rahu post -- how Rahu natives experience a lot of disillusionment from their reality, wanting to cast away the illusions that drain the life force.

The reversal of roles showcases the fluidity of the nodes; their roles almost always expected to reverse, illustrating just how Rahu and Ketu are deeply intertwined with the concept of karma, representing the push-&-pull between cosmic forces of destiny.

More nodal-vampire movies, and other examples in which Rahu & Ketu find themselves on opposite sides of the same spectrum in which they are both vampires, similar to the friction seen between Louis (Ketu) and Lestat (Rahu) in "Interview with the Vampire".

In the film "Fright Night", the one who has to kill the villainous vampire is an Ashwini native. It is also interesting how in "Queen of the Damned" (above, right), the villain is a Magha native who must be stopped by her Mula lover -- both being vampires.

As mentioned in the figure image about the film "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter", where a nodal-ruled native is paired up with someone who is lunar-ruled, this is a type of pairing seen a lot in these supernatural stories.

Similarly to "Twilight", as Edward was the one to turn Bella into a vampire, we see the planetary reversal of this in which the lunar-native is the one who turns the nodal-native.

Or the film "Vamps" in which Hasta Sun, Shatabhisha Moon native Alicia Silverstone turns Mula Sun, Magha Moon native Krysten Ritter into a vampire.

It isn't a surprise that the moon and its nodes are related to the extremities of the mind. These energies can cause isolation due to how polarizing they come off in regular society (furthermore validating its relation to vampirism), so they become attracted to one another -- especially the nodal natives to the moon natives, because of how much they feel magnetized by them, and vice versa.

The presence of some Sun nakshatras in vampire stories is present and that could tie to the Sun's influence over the Moon despite the fact that solar symbolisms regarding vampirism don't exist, and vampires are far too sensitive to the Sun so much so that they get sunburn during the full moon where the sun's light reflects (interesting to think about). The whole point of a vampire is to lurk in the shadows or during nighttime, so the strict avoidance of the Sun could make sense in there being solar-natives in vampiric roles. It makes for an interesting contradiction, certainly.

Ketu is the body of the severed demon Rahu following the consumption of the elixir. Much like Rahu, Ketu is also associated to darkness and illusions. But it symbolizes the darker, unseen aspects of reality -- all the hidden forces and energies as I've touched on in my Ketu exploration. Ketu and Rahu are two sides of the same coin, it isn't surprising to see them share many vampiric roles/stories.

Ketu is about spiritual liberation, detachment (in this context, becoming a vampire means a harsh detachment from normality/the old life), transcendence; these existential themes are found in vampirism.

The character Louis in "Interview with the Vampire" played by Mula Sun Brad Pitt describes his existential crisis as a vampire to a Magha Sun human who interviews him.

The enhanced strength, agility, speed, hearing and all these abilities are gained after the painful transformation process, going from human to vampire. This process is seen in the film "Interview with the Vampire", Mula Sun Brad Pitt's character going through excruciating pain when turning. My mind immediately takes me to Claire Nakti's first Mula nakshatra exploration, in which she touched on the interconnection of pain and evolution for access to more powers.

robert pattinson is an ardra moon, not sun. and i accidentally used jk rowling's face as l.j smith, ugh! 💔

Vampires are caught between worlds, trapped in a liminal space between life & death. Ketu can cause feelings of entrapment. The yearning for release from their eternal existence is a common theme, as Ketu wants to escape its body. Louis de Pointe du Lac is the best character as example of rejecting one's own nature and wanting to cease to exist.

Mula Sun Brad Pitt

nodals being so emo jfc

notes: colin farrell's birthtime accuracy is botched, he's definitely a mula ascendant. tom hiddleston stays a possible ashwini moon until he's not (until his birthtime is available and accurate).

[youremyheaven]

Random Astrology Observations

Moon in the 1h is often talked about like 🥺🥺wears their heart on their sleeve🥹🥹uwu softie way but tbh Moon in 1h can make someone incredibly manipulative, they know just what to say and when to say it and know how to work their audience, this is perhaps why this placement is found in the charts of soooo many successful actors. ex: Leonardo DiCaprio, Audrey Hepburn, Henry Cavill, Charlie Chaplin, Priyanka Chopra, Antonio Banderas, Brendan Fraser, Benicio Del Toro, Jared Padelecki, Val Kilmer, Adrien Brody etc

I think this is a very manipulative placement, again manipulation is not in and of itself a bad thing, its what we use it for that matters. Some people completely lack the ability to manipulate at all (they don't have Moon influence)

2. Debilitated placements point to unconventional intelligence & wisdom in that area. I feel like they've cracked the code . They struggle a lot but when they triumph it's magic

3. I've mentioned this in other posts but many notorious sex offenders have Venus influence. Actions of this sort, as well as criticizing others' beauty, not taking care of yourself/surroundings, being shabby or disorderly in general are all things that harm your Venus. Abusing someone is the quickest way to ruin your Venus, you start corroding and that ugliness begins to manifest on the outside.

Ex: Harvey Weinstein looks like a cartoonish villain

4. As I explore the astrology content put out by others across different platforms, I've seen how the nature of the take themselves are so specific and unique to the person making them. Claire Nakti has a tendency imo to focus heavily on romance, sex and women's sexual behaviour and what sort of men they attract.

Going through her website, it's obvious that she's deeply immersed in occult & esoteric philosophy (all of which ties together with vedic astrology, philosophy, Buddhism etc because I truly believe that spiritual truths are universal and different schools of thought/religion/culture/mythology express these same truths in their own way with a LOT of recurring patterns) and Carl Jung as well.

It's studying Jung that helped me understand that what we see or draw from something is a reflection of who we are. As a beginner to vedic astrology, I initially believed Claire's one dimensional portrayal to be the all encompassing truth of a nakshatra until I started doing my own reading and research.

The things I talk about or the patterns I find are a reflection of me and I get a lot of asks about why I don't do xyz nak and honestly it's not as simple as doing research for an essay for uni, you kind of have to have a gnosis or innate knowing of its themes, something to base your search off of. And different naks call to me at different points. I come across content that describes certain naks in lights i could've never imagined which is to say that gnosis or inner knowing is an important aspect of studying anything esoteric, it kind of has to be revealed to you and what you see, what you can discern is a reflection of you.

5. you have to have a strong Rahu to discern patterns and similarities because Rahu is maya/illusion and a well-placed Rahu will allow you to see through those patterns/illusions. it will be very hard for someone without a strong Rahu to find similarities or common tropes, patterns, themes etc. Seeing through the veil or fog is Rahuvian.

6. Claire Nakti made a video about Venusian men where she said they were the ideal type of man and tbh that just confirmed my suspicion that she's Moon dominant because I think Moon dominant people are attracted to Venusians but in my humble opinion both Venusian men and Moon dominant men are some of the most batshit crazy people (manipulative and controlling at the least, psychopathic at worst) basically men who have a lot of Yin tend to be psychotic

7. I've noticed that Revati people tend to speak in a very verbose way. Nigella Lawson, Revati Moon is a really good example. Obviously other placements will also impact speech

8. Moon dominant people hate it when others share sob stories. They're the type to have the least amount of empathy for others and will either react in a neutral way or like they don't understand why you're saying this stuff at all. They're bored by other people's mundane problems and make it known as well. Not people you want to open up to.

My former friend was this way, I once cried in front of her and she showed zero emotion and didn't even try to comfort me lol

9. The way others treat us is the way we treat others. ik this is a basic take but karma is cause and effect. if you're dismissive of others feelings, other people will be dismissive of yours. what you do is what will be done unto you. Its so crazy to see how people who've been treated like shit by their friends will turn around and treat other people like shit. this is sooo basic but genuinely dont do anything to others that you dont want done to you.

[animeyanderelover]

Can i request headcanons for feitan, madara, Indra, jojo( Joseph and caesar) for fem reader being a time and world traveler? Like she can come and go as she pleases or when she gets bored and wants to see something else. She enjoys taking her time and exploring each world she visits

Tw: Yandere themes, toxic relationship, possessive behavior, obsession, delusional mindset, stalking, clinginess, paranoia, threats, manipulation, blackmailing, violence, female s/o

Tags: @shumidehiro @swagenemyartisan @jamayah @chxxz @leveyani @cynniical @shenryu-sama @simplydlightfuldestiny @flaming-vulpix

S/o is a time and world traveler

Indra Otsutsuki

💜​There is something different about you. Years of training and honing his abilities to utmost perfection have given Indra a very keen intuition on people's skills through simple observation. Someone as skilled and strong as he is does not have time like his younger brother to waste his time with everyone, instead he is much more selective with his preferences clearly lying in stronger people. That is why he finds himself seeking you out as he as a feeling that you will prove yourself as worthy of his attention and time. His intuition is after all rarely wrong. As you are a traveler who has found her way to their village, Indra instantly takes it upon himself to separate you from people he does not deem to be worth of the attention and time he plans to invest in you. He shall be your guide and adviser during the time you spend in the village. Despite being known for his unforgiving nature and harsh attitude, you find out that he is quite attentive and mellow when he is left alone with you, answering all your questions.

💜​Accompanying you as you get to know the world around you becomes one of his favorite activities as he relishes in the privacy he can have with only you. As seasons come and go, he finds himself growing quite possessive of your time he sees as far too precious to clown around with those he does not see as fitting. You are far too knowledgable and skilled to waste your day with people who will never become strong enough for him to acknowledge. By now he only seems to tolerate his little brother and his father around you as he scares others away from your side. Yet not only does he scare those he deems as weak away, he also insists for you to let him train you as he would hate for you to not grow fully into the potential he knows you possess. He discovers very soon though that he has barely anything to teach you as the opposite would be much truer. As uncomfortable as he feels when figuring out that you seem to be stronger than him, he shows willingness to learn so that he will eventually surpass you in order to hold the illusion of being in control.

💜​It is his father's decision to name Asura as the next successor that ultimately pushes Indra over the edge and it is the defeat he suffers at the hand of the brother he always thought to be weaker that fuels his obsession. Not being the one who is stronger equals now not being in control which is why he grows quite paranoid with you as he knows that he has never bested you in skills. It is his very real threat of abducting you to keep you for himself that finally leads you to reveal the truth to him about the full potential of your powers. Your powers let you be closer to a god than an actual human and this knowledge humbles and humiliates him. A feeling of insignificance threatens to weight him down as he comes to realise that in your eyes he must be something to be forgotten as time passes by. A knot of emotions, unable to be untangled, is born in his heart and makes it hard to navigate. Between the anger, the sorrow and the paranoia there is one thing Indra is certain of though. That he will have you bending down to his will, no matter what.

Madara Uchiha

🌑​You appear before him in a time of rare desperation as his heart feels heavy as the last member of his family is battling with death after having been mortally wounded by Tobirama Senju during one of their many battles. Everyone from the doctors has proclaimed that there is no saving Izuna yet here you stand, unfaced as you are surrounded by hostile Uchiha warriors and proclaim that you can save his younger brother from the tight grip of death. No one believes you, not even Madara yet you know of his deepest wish to not lose Izuna and ultimately Madara allows you to tend to Izuna. If you cannot fulfill what you have promised, he will see it through to make you regret every single word you have dared to use to lie to his clan. You defy all expectations though as you save his younger brother from unescapable death using a jutsu that no one of the medics in the Uchiha clan have ever seen before. As Izuna is on a safe way of recovery, many beg of you to stay a while longer and to learn the abilities that you possess.

🌑​The Uchiha value power and skill and you possess plenty of it. Madara, quite intrigued by you, only joins the offer of his clan as he asks of you to accept the hospitality of his clan so that he can properly express the gratitude he feels. To the delight of everyone you accept the offer though as you have been planning to settle down for a while to take a break from your travels. As the war continues raging on outside, you are treated kindly within the Uchiha compound as many of the strong clan ask of you to learn from you. You have no interest in the war yet your strength is undeniable as you have taken some offers to spar with some of the warriors out of your personal boredom. Some even suggest to make you an ally to fight against the Senju yet as you voice your clear displeasure against that idea, Madara sees it through to silence all who dare to think like this. It is no secret that he is utterly smitten with you at this point and does whatever he can to ensure that you stay with his clan.

🌑​In his mind he has already named you as the wife he wishes to take as your knowledge, sharpness and skill are most desirable traits. Someone special as you only deserves an equally impressive man. A man like him. Rumors have already spread, the eldest of his clan have already given him their blessing for his decision yet it is then that you decide that it is time to leave. You manage to sneak away from everyone yet he catches you in your attempt. Initially he persuade you to change your mind yet when he realises that you have made up your mind, he switches his plans and instead tries to use force on you. It is that night that he is bested by someone for the first time as not even Hashirama has ever beaten him so effortlessly. He is as impressed as he is humiliated, something he has never felt before. It is only then that you decide to confess to him your true origins and powers. Perhaps for others it would be soothing to know that they lost against someone who transcends through time and even space yet he has never been someone to resign himself to his fate. Red eyes glare at you as you go your separate ways as he swears that he will become even a god to claim you as his.

Feitan Portor

☠️Commonly it is believed that first impressions matter yet if that were to be true, Feitan couldn't care less. You truly appear in the wrong place at the wrong time as the city you currently reside in becomes an unfortunate victim of a heist of the Phantom Troupe. Completely left in the blind with what is going on, you do what you deem to be the right thing to do as you try to save at least some people which leads you to violently clash with no one else but Feitan himself. Initially your brave facade is scoffed at yet you manage to impress him to the point where he even finds himself enjoying a fight he initially is confidet he will win. You are just strong and stubborn enough for him to enjoy the idea of toying a bit with you and eventually break you. Just as it appears like he has won though, you finally seem to be mad enough to use your true abilities. Feitan doesn't fully understand what happens, only that you easily overpower him and shame him as he realises that you held back the entire time.

☠️​Humiliated and ashamed of his defeat he feels guilty for letting the troupe down by not doing his part yet Chrollo does not think badly of him as he knows of Feitan's skills. Instead it begs the question of what your abilities exactly are for you to defeat Feitan as effortlessly as you did. It would be safe to investigate you and Feitan is quite adamant to participate as he is silently brooding due to the defeat he had to suffer because of you. Very soon he finds himself confronted with the problem that he can't find any data about you as not even Shalnark can dig up information involving you. You may as well be a ghost and all of it only feeds Feitan's growing frustration as he finds himself reduced to the pitiful position of stalking you personally, just itching for a chance to fight with you again and get you back for his shameful loss. What was initially obsession for revenge soon turns into something else though yet when he fully realises the seriousness of it all, it is already too late for him to turn back.

☠️​The amount of time he dedicates to stalk you increases as he starts growing quite impatient and perhaps even a tiny bit desperate. Weeks of stalking yet he knows nothing about you nor about your Nen abilities. Why do you have to make it so difficult for him? When he finds out that you plan to leave the city and continue your journey, he is triggered. You react quite unfazed though even as the sharp tip of his sword is pressed against the back of your neck as his quiet and hoarse voice forbids you to leave this city. He still hasn't gotten his chance to beat you after all. To his dismay you reveal to him that you have known of his stalking the entire time, only adding more insult to his humiliation. You manage to defuse the situation though when you offer him the chance to ask you a few questions which you will answer to the best of your abilities. Whilst at first iffy, he takes that offer and asks you the question that has been bothering him the most. What exactly are your abilities? The answer you give him is too ridiculous to believe yet he senses no lie in your words. He falls silent yet you can see how he is brainstorming for a solution in that moment. He knows that you plan to leave. He can't have you do that.

Joseph Joestar

🦾​Your cover is instantly blown when you travel to a new world. Joseph, with his stupid luck, just had to see you suddenly appear through the portal you opened what should have been a reclusive area. Instead you meet eye to eye with none other than the young Joseph who is gawking at you with a dumbfounded expression on his face. You can't blame him for that. In the next moment he dramatically points his index finger at you, asking you aghast if you are some sort of witch. You fear for a short moment that you'll have to do something but to your luck the Joestar has no intention of stopping you as he tends to avoid problems normally. Instead you manage to figure things out with him as you have no choice but to confess to him the truth, especially since he seems to be quite witty and sharp, recognising it if you try to lie to him. After he has been convinced that you are merely a tourist from another world and plan to cause no chaos, you two instantly hit off.

🦾​Can you blame him though? It is not everyday that he stumbles upon someone who can travel through time and space. Instead he finds himself enjoying showing you around and being able to boost his own ego by amazing you with the stuff that is ordinary to him but new for you. He can't stop himself from flirting with you, although you find out that he does this quite commonly with the people around him so you learn to brush it off. He does like to remind you that you have the most unique and otherwordly charm of all people though. Quite literally. He enjoys your presence greatly though because you keep up with his antics, even if it has gotten the both of you in troubles quite some time before. It is only natural in hindsight that he caught feelings and whilst he may appear quite silly at times, Joseph is quite clever. Though he does like to think at the beginning that his feelings are nothing serious, he has no way to deny it anymore at a certain point.

🦾​He proceeds to act the same way he has always done to not rouse your suspicion but on the inside he is brainstorming already. He is no fool after all. You have told him yourself that you travel around when you get bored of a world. Very subtly he attempts to pry for more information about how exactly your powers, expressing genuine curiosity as he asks you if you can bring other people along. Honestly, he doesn't mind your abilities that much if it wouldn't be for the very real chance that you will simply never return to him again. If he would just know that you would reciprocate his feelings, he would even be up to tag along and see some new worlds for himself. He doesn't know if you feel the same though and even if he continues to flirt and has gotten as of lately more clingy and even a tad bit more jealous, he hesitates to tell you. He knows after all. He knows that his feelings are rather creepy and unhealthy. Let's just hope that he can delay your leave for as long as possible by keeping you entertained until he has found a solution...

Caesar A. Zeppeli

🫧​Caesar is no stranger to the concept of courting young ladies and stealing their heart in the process. He seems to be instantly attracted to you when he sees you as you have something special about you that he can't yet put his finger around. Adamant to discover what makes you so special to instantly capture his heart though, he does not shy away from approaching you with a gentlemanly playfulness that has always worked on women before. Whilst you appear to be amused as you can clearly see his intentions, you decide to see how it'll go out of curiosity nevertheless. You can indeed see the appeal in the young and hot-blooded man after a while as he truly doesn't hold back when it comes to his partner. Expensive jewelry and gifts are all given to you, dates in fine restaurants become a daily occurrence and sweet and romantic words that belong in a romance novel are whispered into your ears. Truly, he does not shy away from making a lady feel like the world belongs to her.

🫧​You can enjoy it only because you have heard and seen that he treats all ladies that way which is why you think of this as nothing too serious. That is until you notice the shift in his behavior. His eyes stray less to other ladies and solely focus on you with a warm and adoring glimmer in those green eyes, he invades your physical privacy by always taking an extra step to be closer to you out of growing protectiveness and you have realised his growing disdain as whenever he spots you with another man as he is turning without a doubt more and more possessive of you. You don't intend to have him fall truly in love with you because you know that you would leave him with a broken heart so you try to distance yourself from him in hopes that he will stop. Yet the moment you dare to pull back, his paranoia seems to increase. His mind is racing, wondering what it could be that has caused such a rift between you two and much to your sadness you find him multiple times in front of your door, begging you to tell him what is shackling your heart.

🫧​Caesar is fully aware of his reputation as a womanizer and he truly regrets it now that he has found the one lady he wants to marry and spend his life with. He is far too delusional to fully acknowledge the unfitting desperation he starts to display the further he feels you drifting away from him. As you notice that no rationality will work on him anymore, you decide to leave the city. The world you are in is still big after all and you have much left to discover. Yet you are aware that Caesar has abilities which aren't common for other people of this world to possess so you address an honest letter to him, trusting him enough to keep your secret safe. The heartbreak attacks him like a vicious dog when he breaks into your empty apartment after you did not answer the door and he finds your letter where you explain the situation to him. Still, he refuses to believe your words that deny that you two could never have a future together, something he has already envisioned multiple times. You poor thing must have never felt true love before to think that. As heartbroken as he is, Caesar is just as determined to find you and convince you of his feelings and the dangers that come with traveling all alone.

[phoenix-fell]

Anti-Bumbleby criticisms answered with BB analysis - Big post

As expected, as Bumbleby gets more attention from the show, the anti-BB crowd have surfed in on their tidal wave of bitter lemons. So, I’d like to put my degree, job and training to use and compile my thoughts down in one place - a one-stop shop if you will - it’s long and will be largely unfiltered as I tackle the weirdest and most common criticisms and BB analysis. (I kinda miss Bumbleby analysis Megaposts, I might make one sometime to go alongside this as a point of reference as most I’ve seen end around Vol 6).

TIA for anyone who actually takes the time to read my ramblings and please feel free to give your thoughts/analysis and I’ll edit it in. FIRST EDIT - 8th Mar 2023 presenting labels and sexuality in Remnant - 4th from end.

Credentials: Double major 1st class grad in Literature and Creative Writing, specialising in fairy tales and WLW representation in media. Recipient of dissertation award exploring character psyche and the presentation of psychological themes. Literary critic, writer and content specialist. 

Let’s start off with a cracker from Reddit!

“Why couldn’t the BB scenes be more of a background thing? Why do they need to focus on them like they’re a main plot or something?”

Is... Is it stuffy under all that homophobia? I could easily rhyme off a string of sarcastic quips like ‘gee, I wonder why, it’s almost like it’s important to the development of two of the main characters or something.’ But it’s so lost on some people that I’mma spell it out:

We’ve seen Blake and Yang’s trauma painted across the screen from ‘Burning the Candle’ when Yang first confesses her abandonment issues, to the White Fang / Adam arcs that gave us a picture of the abuse Blake has endured - not just as a Faunus, but from her partner (“Adam used to get into my head, make me feel small.”), right through to their separation that dealt with their respective issues with running away/being abandoned and the shared trauma which has tied them both together indefinitely. They’ve been apart, they’ve repaired their relationship, they’ve grown together. In a current volume that’s so inherently focused on character’s individual development, seeing Blake and Yang together was almost inevitable as they’ve been so completely involved in one another’s development throughout the entire series. This is without going into their fairy tale allusions that tie them together which I’ll go into further down or the references to Yin/Yang and numerous romantic tropes that show how integral they are to one another’s characters. Contrary to belief, it’s not romance for the sake of romance - in this instance, the romance very much strengthens their development individually.

Asides from all of this, it was decided from the very beginning that Yang would lose her arm (foreshadowed in the Yellow trailer). The moment they decided that Yang would lose her arm protecting Blake, was the moment a decision was made to invariably tie these two narratives together on a very fundamental level.

But also, don’t clown yourself into thinking you’re not a homophobe if you think any LGBT content belongs in the background whilst also rejoicing any onscreen developments between straight ships.

“If BB was meant to be a thing then they wouldn’t have had Sun as a romantic interest.”

Is there a universe where love triangles and bisexuals are a foreign concept?

But in all seriousness, I think that certain corners of fanbases seem to struggle with any concepts that are non-linear; something I often see with anime. By ‘linear’, I mean: love interest introduced > build up > canon > together forever. As opposed to ‘non-linear’; a character that goes on their own journey of discovery and, through which, has more than one interest and path over time and has the ability to change their mind. The show was never a ‘romance’ as a primary theme; it’s an action/adventure which has some romantic subplots. But to honest, Blake changing her mind shouldn’t really be this much of a shock to the fanbase given that our FIRST ever interaction with Blake, in her TRAILER, is her changing her mind about her partner (and first romantic interest) and deciding to pursue a new journey. A scene which is actually referred back to in the Season 6 opener when Blake uncouples the train and sees what she believes to be a hallucination of a hooded Adam on the opposite carriage, foreshadowing the importance of that original decision later in the series (“you didn’t leave scars, you just left me, alone”). 

The arc that follows Blake thereafter is inherently tied to Adam (amongst other important themes), who is predominantly based off Gaston and the rose (or curse of the rose) from Beauty and the Beast. Blake and Yang are interchangeably alluded to as both Belle and the Beast throughout their character arcs from as early as the Red Trailer: “Black the beast descends from shadows / Yellow beauty burns gold.” and as recently as Blake describing Yang to the Hunter Mice in Vol. 9 Chapter 1. I can rhyme off these allusions until I’m blue, but again, I may save this for a master post.

The story that Blake is based on is a love triangle - she was never meant to have one set path from the beginning and romantic interests were always meant to play a huge part in Blake’s story/development; she was always going to have a romantic decision to make after conquering the curse / Gaston. Blake being haunted by her first romantic interest is foreshadowed in the ending of her trailer and first referenced in her conversation (with Yang) at Mountain Glen, and becomes an undeniable path of exploration once Yang loses her arm to Adam at the end of Volume 3. Let it be noted that Sun was present when Yang announced she was going to find Blake at the Battle of Beacon - a decision was made here for Yang to be the one to lose her arm protecting Blake, as was Adam’s poignant promise to take away everything Blake loves - “starting with [Yang]” or, otherwise, the solidifying of this romantic subplot. Which, again, is called back to with the infamous line: “What does she even see in you?” besides the obvious subtext, it’s setting the stage for these parallels between Adam and Yang, past and future, the previous love interest identifying something in Blake that used to be reserved for him, now directed towards Yang.

This season began with Blake declaring that Yang “seems scary, but isn’t”. Because, once Belle knows the Beast isn’t scary, she allows herself to fall in love (conveniently, this is said whilst walking through a fairy tale).

I could go into a big post about romantic foils and the ways in which Yang, Adam and Blake are all foils to each other but I might make a separate post instead for anyone new to the FNDM. Either way, I feel it’s worth mentioning as it’s Blake who directly compares Yang to a past love interest who was designed with semblances and characteristics that mirror each other. Point being, no one should be shocked that Blake has multiple interests given the character and fairy tale she’s based off and heavy allusions where Yang is concerned.

“Oh yeah, because Yang ‘literally purred at guys in their underwear’ Xiao Long and Blake ‘literally kissed a boy’ Belladonna are clearly bisexual because of [insert out of context reasons]” and “yes but Monty said...”

1. You mean... the one, and only one scene in 9 entire volumes where Yang shows any interest (albeit jokingly) in a guy, and the literal scene directly before she sees Blake from across the crowded room and proceeds to never express interest in men again? (Ignoring the very obvious implied trope here). And, in fact, only expresses interest in a woman from this point onwards? This is your frame of reference? Personally, I find it quite lovely that Yang’s perspective is never the same from the moment she sees Blake. Asides from this, while ‘bisexual’ is the label that these guys have gone with, Yang’s sexuality hasn’t been confirmed outside of being sapphic - it’s not outside the realm of possibility that she is, in all likelihood, lesbian. It’s important to note here that any young character expressing an interest in a man would not invalidate that same character being a lesbian. In fact, if we apply this to real life, it’s not uncommon for people not to realise that they’re queer immediately (I myself didn’t until I was 21). But in the opening episodes of the series especially, I’d very much chalk this up to writers exploring the characters.

2. As for Blake - there are, from what I remember, three kisses in the entire show so far. The one between Jaune and Pyrrha - on the lips after prolonged romantic allusions between the two (their romance is explicitly referenced by Nora - “practice what you preach, Pyrrha.” - almost fitting that it’s Nora to call out the Bees in Season 7 - A Night Off, no? Neat little parallel for y’all). The one between Ren and Nora after trying to work out the status of their romantic relationship - again, on the lips. And the one where Blake says goodbye (and thank you) to Sun by kissing him... On the cheek. (So hot, I know). Which is immediately followed up with Sun telling Neptune “it was never about that”. One of these is not like the other, can you guess which? I’ll wait.

As for referencing Monty - I could go on all day about this one, and the quote most notoriously used is ‘they’re a sisterhood’. Firstly, let me just say that I find it disturbing that anyone would use the show’s deceased creator as ammunition, whilst also disregarding his other comments on LGBT rep - specifically, ‘maybe there are LGBT characters there now / they’re just kids rn and figuring it out / it needs to be earned’. But also, it’s really disturbing and egotistical that anybody would pretend to know what Monty wanted better than the crew he handpicked, worked with, collaborated with and was friends with (special mention to the fact that his own brother is one of the cast). If you truly want to honour his legacy, then show respect to the people he put his trust in.

“I don’t have an issue with BB, but why does it always have to take away from Yang’s moments with Ruby?” / “All Yang’s feelings for her sister transferred to Blake.”

One from the hall of fame. The age old question of ‘can a girl have a romantic partner and still care about her family?’ I wish this wasn’t a serious question, but there are actual sides of the Fandom that seem to think that Yang’s forgotten about her sister that she raised because she has feelings for someone and that the sole purpose of Yang’s existence is to be her sister’s keeper.

I’mma address this on 3 fronts. 1 - Logistically, the episodes for RWBY, excluding the intros, are 15-20 mins long currently and typically oversee several different storylines particularly as the cast grows larger, leaving us with... What? About 5 minutes of team RWBY interactions? It’s not a lot of time to pack in character development, relationship development, plotline, strategy etc. so often if they’re wanting to develop more than one relationship, they will alternate between putting these themes in the background (such as the yellow in Blake’s sword, references from other characters etc.) and foreground, and some developments have to be shoulder-to-shoulder to fit them in. This isn’t an indicator of how much one character cares for one another and is more a demon created by people’s perception of how they ‘think’ a protective sister should act.

Additionally, it should be noted that Yang fawning over Ruby and not allowing her to develop other relationships outside of her sister, would actually offer us nothing from a development perspective for both Yang and Ruby’s characters and would, instead, steer these two strong female characters down a path of co-dependency. 

2 - It feels like a very easy excuse for Anti-BB folk to throw out there, conveniently forgetting how great of a sister Yang actually is (contrary to the number of RWDE videos I’ve seen arguing otherwise, as this is an essay I could write in itself). These very often take isolated incidents out of context and conveniently forget important information like Yang 1. Literally sacrificing herself twice to protect her sister 2. Sacrificing her entire childhood to raise her sister and 3. Importantly, the fact that Ruby is her (self-sufficient) Team Leader needs to be factored into their dynamic, as Yang gives her space to find herself as a leader and steps in when her sister actually needs her - not when the audience thinks she does. People hear ‘protectiveness’ and seem to think that this should mean that Yang should be overbearing. 

3 - Anyone who says this doesn’t have siblings. I have older and younger siblings and, having largely raised my younger sibling, I can safely say that I still love them even when I’m in a relationship. I also feel extremely secure in arguing/disagreeing with any of my siblings because I inherently know they will still be there at the end of the day - a sibling love goes deep (referencing ‘Fault’ from Volume 8). However, in a romantic relationship that is not established and very new... you will feel insecure, that’s normal, it doesn’t have the luxury of established stability that siblings do, and therefore you will overtly express more anxiety about this as a result. It’s a very strange concept that if you have a sibling, you need to give them all of your attention and ignore any love interests. Yang has gone through her own traumas, she has every right to care about others, heal herself, and have a life that isn’t defined by being a caretaker for her sister. ESPECIALLY as she already gave up her childhood to fulfil this role, unselfishly AND as the person she’s bonding with is best poised to understand Yang’s trauma. Yang as a character deserves to receive the love she constantly gives out. Again, this is a demon born from the fact that it either doesn’t reflect the relationship commentors have with their siblings, or the fact that they’re *imagining* how that relationship should be.

Bonus picture below: Yang putting aside her anguish for Summer Rose, who she considered to be her mother, to prioritise comforting her sister about that same loss.

“I hate BB shippers because they pass off BS interactions as platonic. BS made more sense, there was no build-up to BB until Vol 6 and they let the BS build-up go to waste to force BB.”

First off, there’s nothing wrong with BlackSun as a ship. Shipping shouldn’t be dictated by canonicity and people have the right to ship it and to their opinions. And while a few of these seem to have referenced BS, I don’t actually think that BS shippers are at fault for the hatred coming this way, but rather that the ship seems to get used as ammunition from the Anti-BB crowd - to summarise, Anti-BB and BS shippers are not synonymous. I personally don’t ship BS, but I do enjoy the debate and actually think that Sun is a very important part of Blake’s development and arc. There did seem to be some form of mutual attraction between Blake and Sun. Had they gone down that route, I wouldn’t have hated it, I just never felt excited by it, which seems to be a large consensus amongst BB fans. An appreciation whilst feeling there was a better alternative.

Believing all the development between Sun and Blake was ‘wasted’ is also very closed-minded given how much he helped Blake in the White Fang arc and also disregards the importance of their friendship. BS has the potential to be one of the best and most supportive friendships in the series, I stand by that.

That said, I don’t think it’s entirely wrong to acknowledge that a lot of (not all) interactions between BS were platonic from Blake’s pov while Sun’s feelings were more explicit. The only real hint I saw of Blake reciprocating was a blush at the Vytal festival. Maybe the dance at a stretch, but there’s hints at both BS and BB and I will fight you on it. Now, it might be a question of timing; Adam was still a prevalent threat during this time which will have been weighing on Blake given the resurgence of the White Fang, and is clear when Adam rocks up seeking vengeance in Volume 3. For this reason, I honestly think it would have been disingenuous to have explored Blake in a full relationship with anyone at this point given these loose ends, and Blake undergoes a lot of development over volumes 4-6 as a direct result of this.

Additionally, if BB didn’t begin until Volume 6 then that means that BS had 4-5 volumes to happen - 2 of which where they were in their own arc, separated from the main cast. It didn’t happen. What happens instead is Blake’s guilt over Yang weighs heavily on her while she deals with her arc and Sun helps her come to terms with this, ultimately redirecting her back to her team, and Yang, while Sun’s interactions with her become increasingly platonic from his side.

Lastly, the only way you don’t see build up for BB, is if you actively will yourself not to see build-up. If you replace Blake and Yang’s moments with Sun, I don’t feel there’d be any misunderstandings on how these moments are supposed to be interpreted. Take off the hetero goggles, and we’re cool. 

But on a sidenote and personal pet peeve of mine, the cries of ‘BB is forced while BS had build-up’ will forever irritate me - BB has a slow burn, a full arc, developed from a friendship and partnership as well as several tropes and allusions without going into too much detail. BS, firstly, never ended up happening, but it starts when Sun runs past, winks at Blake, magically knows she’s a faunus, then proceeds to follow around a girl he doesn’t know for two days who, at his own admission, didn’t speak that whole time. But... BB is forced? I’d say it’s subjective, but logic defies when this is the barometer for a natural introduction of a romantic pair.

“BB is ‘queerbait’”

Let’s address the ‘Goliath’ in the room, shall we? ‘Queerbaiting’ gets thrown around like a reflex at the moment by pseudo-fans who I don’t believe actually know the gravity of their statements or the meaning behind the word. I often see this slur paired with BB being strung out to keep the shippers watching. Now, there’s an essay in itself that could exist in this section, but are people really still clowning themselves that a show that’s explicitly shown that it wants to have queer representation in the cast and foreground is ‘queerbaiting’ it’s audience? Even weirder for me is the part of the FNDM saying that it’ll be baiting if they make BB canon. Please stop this nonsense and do some research.

Now, one thing I would like to tackle is that, sadly, some will still see pairings on the show through heteronormative glasses, so let me use that here. If the pair were a m/f couple and had several seasons of development and increasingly intimate moments, there would be no doubt in anyone’s mind that 1. It was heading in the direction of canon and 2. That it was a slow burn romance that’s building to its’ climax. Interestingly, the show actually does use the hetero goggles to frame BB on several occasions by paralleling this budding romance with several straight ships such as Arkos and Renora. Why? Because this is a narrative technique often used by writers to frame LGBT romances to separate them from ‘just friendships’ and, let’s face it, use an unconscious heteronormative bias to their advantage.

“BB is badly written, they barely interacted in volumes 1-3 then didn’t speak for two volumes.”

Tickle me pink. Volumes 1-3 are a very strange reference point for ‘in-depth’ development between characters. Crumbs, sure. The odd scene, absolutely. But let’s be real here - the show started as a low budget web series with an onus on cool fighting scenes and, most importantly, the episodes were around 5 minutes long whilst entertaining teams RWBY and JNPR, the White Fang, the Vytal tournament and several other plots. Nobody particularly interacted much but the writers did the best they could with what they had and the rest is left to us, the audience, to interpret that relationships are developing off-screen. Though from a critique POV in the interest of fairness, I would say the current season is a breath of fresh air by re-focusing the plot on the central characters as I think the show can sometimes be guilty of taking on too many plotlines.

As for volumes 4-5, while they’re in different continents, it’s obvious that they’re prevalent in each other’s arcs. Whether it’s Yang admitting she’s struggling with Blake’s abandonment - in the same episode the first lesbian character is revealed confessing their feelings to Blake (sidenote, all of team RWBY left Yang, and it’s Blake she’s mad at, this was always meant to be framed differently to her other teammates and IMO the struggle they go through is meant to frame the characters coming to terms with the depth of what they mean to each other), the parallels of them both getting onto the ship (named ‘Pride’ - wink wink), or Blake actively struggling to talk about Yang, yet referencing it when Sun is hurt (“Not again!”) showing it’s at the forefront of her mind. All of which culminates in their reunion in the Vol 5 finale.

Is it the best writing ever? No, nothing’s perfect. But they do explicitly use parallels throughout the series to drive the narrative forward as a foreshadowing tool to strengthen subplots.

“Blake being bisexual makes no sense - she was interested in Sun, it just seems so out of the blue, she and Yang just seemed like friends to me.”

Funny, because she and Sun seemed like friends to me too.

There are so many things I wanted to fire back at this, from the insinuation that if a woman first shows interest in a man then it’s out of the blue that she’s bisexual now that she’s showing interest in a woman... Like, how do you think it happens for bisexuals IRL?! Did you want her to burst onto the scene in Volume 1, announce she likes men and women, and then express explicit simultaneous interest in both of them? Start a harem? Proposition a throuple?

This particular take amuses me most of all as someone who is very openly bisexual. Yes, she and Yang seemed like friends. Great friends, in fact. That hold hands and blush and want to spend all their time together. And check each other out when the other isn’t looking. And make excuses for casual physical contact and flirt and giggle like a couple of giddy teenagers. Just like me and my ‘best friend’ did, before I realised I was bi. I’m sure that a lot of people thought it came out of the blue for me too. Blake being oblivious to being bisexual until it becomes too obvious to ignore is actually a very realistic scenario.

Bonus headline - just because you don’t understand/identify with something, doesn’t mean that it’s not good representation or realistic. I feel it’s also important to mention Blake’s VA, Arryn Zech, is bisexual and has spoken numerous times on the matter. The reason I bring this up is because it’s clear that the way in which the bisexuality of her character is presented on the show is actually something that’s incredibly important to Arryn - because good representation is significant. 

Presenting labels and sexuality on Remnant: A Theory and - “BB is a terrible representation of LGBT and your critique ignores the female and LGBT people that have spoken out against it.”

They say, to someone who is both female and LGBT. Credit to the Anon who charged into my inbox to accuse me of the above - hope you enjoy. Now, there’s a couple of things I’d like to cover before I go into how sexuality is perceived in-universe. The first is that if you use this argument against someone who is queer without seeing the belligerent hypocrisy of your statement, please check yourself as, clearly, you only care about LGBT voices on representation when it aligns with your own rhetoric and ready to dismiss any narrative to the contrary from that same community.

Secondly,  the queer/LGBT community is a vast and vibrant community of *individuals* with their own opinions and own voices. I didn’t nominate anyone to speak on my behalf, just as I don’t speak on the behalf of the rest of the community. Moreover, any art is open to interpretation. My opinion does not override theirs, nor does their opinion erase my own. And, believe it or not, it’s quite possible to have two or more differing opinions within one community without being at war with one another. I respect their opinion, just as I hope they respect mine.

We clear? Great. Onto the analysis! Huge shoutout to @crimsonxe​ for the brilliant discussion and assistance with the analysis in the comments that helped me construct this section! You’re awesome.

Let’s dive in with the headline - Homophobia doesn’t appear to be an issue on Remnant and labels don’t appear to exist, in the sense that it doesn’t appear anywhere in-universe. Now just to pre-emptively disclaimer: this may change, but in 9 volumes and however many supplementary materials, we’ve not heard any labels or had any representation of this type of discrimination. If that changes, I’ll happily remove this. 

So why is this important, you ask? Ultimately, when you take away the inherent ‘fear’ that a lot of the LGBT community face IRL along with prevalent ignorance towards the community and society’s insistence on labelling sexualities and gender identity, it creates a world divorced from our own and is, from a narrative point of view, a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it allows the characters to explore themselves in a non-discriminatory environment that is inherently more fluid and free, whilst the audience will inevitably want to compare that to their own experiences. But we can’t - not properly - due to the still very real stigma and discrimination that exists in our own world. Instead, what we see are characters who express an interest in other characters and find other ways to allude to their preferences or identity. A prime example of this would be May, canonically a trans character, who does not use this term in-world but instead says, “To the Marigolds that meant I wasn’t their son, and I made sure everyone knew I wasn’t their daughter.” This is a theme that is poignantly reflected in the accompanying media for the series - such as the books; for instance, Coco, canonically lesbian, referring to “breaking the hearts of many women.”

How does this tie into the relationship with Blake and Yang? Glad you asked. If you bear in mind that Remnant has a very fluid outlook on sexuality and more of a ‘love who you love’ ethos which is blind to gender norms, it immediately subverts the assumption that interactions between m/f are romantic while f/f are platonic. It’s an open field, if you will. BB is a steady build from partner/best friend (though I’d argue that at least Yang had an immediate attraction, with Blake figuring herself out) with interactions that become increasing more intimate. Eye rolls and jokes become winks and innuendo (“I love it when you’re feisty!”), nudges become intimate hugs (Burning the Candle), become hand-holding (it isn’t coincidence that these two have held hands more than any other pair in the series), becomes pining, blushing, forehead touches (BB and Renora - remember those parallels), which evolves into flirting and... More. And yes, some of their interactions will still resemble the friendship they built their foundations on. But in a world where labels don’t exist, that journey from friend-to-lover is much more subtle and embedded in a gentle upwards curve of increasing intimacy.

“BB is only happening because the horrible BB fans demanded it, the show caved and gave in to the toxic fanbase, it wasn’t planned from the beginning.”

I’ve seen this in so many places, like a broken record. I have no doubt that there are BB fans that are fanatical, and I’d never justify the behaviour of any so-called fan that resorts to death threats or violence in any way. I’m hoping this surely must be a minority that has, hopefully, shrunk over the years as the audience has matured. However, this also really isn’t how shows work... 

As many have pointed out in recent weeks, the show would be a very different landscape altogether if CRWBY were, in fact, that easily swayed by fans; namely, I’m thinking of Clover/Qrow, Pyrrha, Penny etc. While I don’t doubt that show-makers pay attention to the fanbase where needed and where it’ll be beneficial (seeing how fans react to developments, if allusions are clear etc.), sending death threats or whatever is actually much more counterproductive than anything else. But also... You’re not on the crew, you’re not part of those discussions. I feel confident that Miles, Kiersi and Kerry aren’t writing BB content with a gun to their head.

Lastly, the ‘it wasn’t planned from the beginning’ war cry is a tale as old as time. Like Beauty and the Beast. (See what I did there?) Asides from the fact that 1. Yang and Blake were actually the first created out of the team, and made with each other in mind, regardless of in what context (check out the original character designs/concepts) 2. Even if it wasn’t planned from the beginning, what difference does it make? There are tonnes of examples where the writers have felt the chemistry between two characters as the story’s gone on and decided to put them together (case-in-point from outside the anime world.. Chandler and Monica from Friends). In fact, while some writers like to plan every element of their plot from the beginning, there’s a great many writers who allow the characters to steer the plot as they grow - especially arcs with romantic undertones. The series was made predominantly for the action - it’s not a romantic series, so if they didn’t plan it from the beginning that wouldn’t be unusual, especially given that the episodes of the first few volumes are literally 5-10 minutes long. But regardless of whether the romance of the two was planned or not planned, it does not make it any less meaningful.

But let’s be real, the issue at heart isn’t that they weren’t sucking face in the first 3 seasons, it’s that they thought Blake would be with a guy, and she chose a girl. To which I say... Get over your bruised ego, and move on.

“BB fans deserve the hate they get because of x, y, z and cos it has toxic shippers.”

And you’re... Not... Toxic? If you’re an Anti-BB shipper and go out of your way to stalk and comment on BB tags/accounts just to harass shippers etc, then are you any better than the toxic fans you supposedly hate? To me, following BB tags and looking at BB content whilst being an Anti-BB shipper is so weird, why you trying to hurt your own feelings?

Also, saying that innocent shippers who are just living their best life should bear the burden of the toxic FNDM, is literally the definition of tarring everyone with the same brush. Some of us just want to eat our crumbs in peace, and from our POV, you’re the toxic ones being disrespectful. Bonus point: others being toxic does not give you licence to be hateful to anyone you come across that doesn’t agree with you.

“I’m no longer watching the show cos it’s trying too hard to be ‘woke’”

This ain’t an airport, you don’t need to announce your departure. But since you are, if your issue is the gay representation in the show then wake up and look around... We’re everywhere. The show is literally just reflecting the diversity you see day-to-day; but you keep sipping that haterade, my dude, we’re here to stay.

[myapothecarydiary]

Thoughts from reading The Apothecary Diaries Manga Ch. 2

Starting off kind of where I ended in ch. 1–with how Jinshi and Maomao overlap in their deduction/style of thinking. The first two panels with Jinshi and the pov on Maomao + the insider information on Gyokuyou work to establish that we're following his perspective, but I think their inner monologues sort of run into and resemble each other.

The similarities in the visuals between these two pages and the information they are conveying, from Jinshi and Maomao's perspectives respectively, solidifies this for me. It's interesting to see the blend of subjective and objective and who we learn certain information about the characters and the world from.

Insight into Jinshi's initial thoughts on Maomao. He views her as a useful pawn and someone he has power over. I also think it's funny how to him she has the defining characteristics of being "freckle-faced" with "poison expertise." He does note her looks as she notes his, but it seems her value comes more from her knowledge and abilities.

And though we later see Jinshi expressing annoyance at using his looks, he appears almost excited at the prospect of using them on Maomao. Maomao's knowledge + Jinshi's looks are also lumped together here as tools and we see he is self-aware about his beauty.

How much is Jinshi planning on using Maomao for work purposes vs his own amusement? It also amuses me that Maomao always comments about him having too much time on his hands but here we see him doing his job and the thought he puts into it.

Here we've got more of both Jinshi's enjoyment of using (or attempting to use) his looks on Maomao + Maomao's "Jinshi has too much free time"

Also more of Maomao as a pawn, something she and others are aware of as well. The different reactions from different characters to the idea of Maomao as a pawn is interesting as well–pity, enjoyment/excitement/satisfaction, resigned acceptance...

Something something poison as a metaphor and Maomao as a metaphor for poison?

Jinshi is smarter than he looks/knows more than he lets on? He is testing her (and her patience lol) Also just look at him/the chibi style

You know what they say about assumptions and conjecture...you can't totally blame them for coming to this conclusion. I just thought it was a cool (and funny) little moment showing others doing as Maomao does, albeit less successfully. There is something to be said for how characters perceive each other.

And though Maomao is all about the social hierarchy and knowing her place (and acting accordingly...well, debatably sometimes), she does not seem to really give a shit what others think about her. One might even call her an eccentric.

And though Maomao aims to respect the hierarchy and act accordingly, she just can't help letting her true feelings slip when dealing with Jinshi's antics (or the antics of his fake persona?). It's like she's being respectful and disrespectful at the same time or really skirting the line.

A small moment that indicates the seriousness of how Jinshi's looks impact how others treat him.

Okay, was his goal to actually have Maomao eat them? Or was it just another test of her knowledge? Both? I also just love the dynamic here with how Gyokuyou is so amused by Jinshi and Maomao's relationship (and specifically Jinshi's behavior regarding Maomao)

Maomao tries to exit stage left as soon as possible where Jinshi is involved. At least for now.

It seems potentially noteworthy that Maomao's first request from Jinshi involves an aphrodisiac (and specifically making one). And that aphrodisiacs are lumped in with medicine + how this volume ends with the discussion of love as medicine (and here we get the phrase "love potion"). There's a sort of overarching theme here. It's also an interesting place to start considering how aphrodisiacs are less grounded than topics later explored in the story.

Also of course Maomao can't imagine Jinshi needing a love potion, yet later you could say he's in need of one to gain the affections of the only girl he cares for XD

End of chapter 2!

[asksythe]

Does chinese fandom also have the headcannon of wen yuan being wen ruohans secret 3rd son conceived after wen xu & wen chaos death's 😅? Western fans made this headcanon because they thought having the wen remnants wwx takes in be this separate branch that are healers muddled the themes? And to spite the great clans who attempted to exterminate the wens root and branch having the only post canon survivor of the wen being qishan wen but also directly related to wen ruohan is very satisfying to them I guess

What I'm trying to ask is does chinese cultural reading of the text allow for such headcanon or does it go against text

Wen Yuan being Wen Ruohan's secret child... well... I personally have never seen that in the Chinese fandom.

That said, a fandom is a big space, especially the Chinese side. So, I don't think anybody can conclusively claim any one thing. There's a lot of wacky stuff out there. And a lot of it genuinely makes sense or is convincing in its own way. I've seen ethnic minority authors (Xin Jiang, etc..) coming in with their own cosmology and folklore completely distinct from the base cosmology of MDZS and writing some of the most creative and beautiful stories I have ever read (like the idea that Lan mama might be a member of the Northern tribes worshipping the phoenix, which explains her being powerful enough to kill Lan papa's master while also being an unknown to the clans, and that her 'death's is actually part of the phoenix saintess's ability to reborn herself in a new body).

Wen Yuan being Wen Ruohan's secret love child doesn't really have much if any support from the book, the donghua, or the show. If anything, the first time A Yuan appeared in the book, he was described as a child not more than 2 years old atop Wen grangran's back in the prison camp. The time makes it really awkward for A Yuan to be Wen Ruohan's albeit it's not completely out of the realm of possibilities. In the same chapter, the book also said that A Yuan's father is Wen Qing's cousin and Wen grangran's son.

But if you are in pursuit of exploring certain themes or ideas, then I don't see why not. Headcanon is... well... headcanon. The nature of fandom being a space for exploration and appreciation is a beautiful thing I think.

Funnily enough, I have seen a fair number of Chinese fics operating on the premise that Wei Ying himself is mainline Wen via either his mother or his father. The theme they pursue is a member of the Wen ending itself in the fire of purification. The Wen founder, by all accounts, seemed a real stand-up guy. The teachings he left behind to his children were genuine pieces of wisdom and calling for a commitment to justice and fairness. The Wens in the book had a lot of signs that they had many good and right ideas (pursuing standardized laws among cultivators, the observation tower system that ended up being stolen by Jin Guangyao, etc...) but they went down the wrong direction due to corruption and a betrayal of the founding precepts laid down by their own founders. And so it took a (secret) Wen descendant to cut away the rot and to punish themselves, leaving behind only one or two genuinely innocent Wens.

The sun rises, the sun sets, the sun rises again. Anew and cleansed from rot. The mark of the Wen sun burned into Wei Ying's chest holds more symbolic power than it first appears, and the fact that Wei Ying cited the Wen founder's precepts back to a Wen descendant who had betrayed those very precepts. Like that. That kind of theme.

I remember there being several really big-name Chinese fan authors who wrote the same premise in different ways. It was really fun to read. Oh man, stories in which Wen Ruohan gets to redo things, or the Wen are all resurrected in a heaven-gambit type plot are in abundance, funnily enough. Hah! They tend to be a lot of fun to read too. There's also that one really great story in which the previous generations of the clan (Lan mama, papa, Wen Ruohan in his prime before children, Nie papa and his second wife, Jiang husband and wife freshly married, Wei papa and Cangse Sanren, etc...) get to see bits and pieces of the future via text without knowing their names and they have to deduce who is whose kids and how are they going to save their kids now??!!! In that story, Wen Ruohan kept thinking Wei Ying (called the destined of heaven in this story) is his child because there's no way he would spawn such bumbling, corrupted incompetents ... hahahahahahaha.... oh man... Well, that particular Wen Ruohan would then vow to be a better and stricter father to his kids to prevent them from becoming such rotten shitbags.

Oh yeah, there's also the idea that the Wen, being such a big and histories clan, actually had fall-back plan preparing for such scenarios where their entire clan is wiped out. They have secret seeds placed in far off territory. In one Chinese fic I read, this Wen descendant spent decades studying the major clans, rebuild the Wen in secret, and almost enacted bloody vengeance on all the major clans, but then stayed his hand when he found out the existence of Wen Yuan. That one was a good read too. Very convincing.

Ahem, the short answer to your question is that the canon text doesn't really support that headcanon... but it's not strictly speaking an impossibility either. It just boils down to how convincing can you write it?

[fhs-event-week]

Propaganda for Goldami (under the cut due to lenght):

They have so much in common and yet they're so different at the same time. They both struggle with loneliness and repressing their feelings as a response, they would understand each other, and help each other, like no one else could. But their personalities are so different, Golden is a romantic craving real love and clinging to anyone who will give it to him, prone to helping anyone around him, while Cami separates herself from anything of the sort and is literally in the villain squad. They also have some drama to deal with, regarding Cami hypnotizing him, literally taking away his agency: Golden's biggest fear. And yet he doesn't recognize her as the one who did that. Oh, I wonder how that could go! (Submitted by @chocottang)

The name of the game here is POTENTIAL! The mere idea of the girl who once brainwashed the person she will later develops feelings for, and be romantically involved with, is very intriguing on its own.

How their turbulent first interaction (mind control) could ever evolve into something like friendship or romance. Does Cami regret having brainwashed Golden? Does she view it as an obligation she had to fullfill? Do the two talk about it? Does Golden remember the mind-control/ know it was Cami and if so, is there a lingering weariness toward Cami? Does she pick up on this, and if so how does she grapple with someone fearing her. Later down the line with someone she has feelings for/is dating, still "fearing" her, whether its on a conscious or subconscious level?

What does she think of Golden remembering, or not remembering? Is it guilt? How does she react as she realizes someone who was "simply a tool for bigger plans", becomes a real person to her? An individual person. Cami's view shifting from a how she previously saw Golden, or how she thought she saw them, possibly how she convinced herself to see them? Has she convinced herself she saw Golden as a simple tool in order to not think about the weight of mind control, of having the power to take peoples autonomy? There is just no way Cami sits in this relationship without wondering if she is somehow "brainwashing golden again" into "doing as she says again. Even if her brainwashing/mind-control abilities are something she has to fully intent for them to function, the inking of doubt, and the self-demonetization is a turbulence worth exploring.

Then there's Golden and how his whole personal struggle in life is being controlled and bossed around by family, drowning in work to do. Would he even be allowed to date someone in the first place? Regardless of whether or not he is allowed to, does he have the time for one? How much guilt does he feel over not being able to be there for extended periods of time, dates having to be planned in advance, and even being unable to respond to a simple text in a timely manner because hes so busy? How does it feel to have adoring fans, your name known, then have your own attention set on one person? Do her eyes on him blur and blend with the masses, can he distinguish surface level adoration and true deep feelings? If he can, can he believe it, can he believe anyone knows him enough to develop such feelings? How hollow does that make affection feel? Does he take certain gestures for granted, view them as normal, or do they maybe make him uncomfortable due to their semblance to fan culture? There are so many questions to ask and think about between them. (Submitted by anonymous)

Propaganda for Joysagi:

My only and best defense it's that one drawing and that they were GOING TO BE REAL BUT EDDO CHANGED IT AHHGGG They're literally took it away from us. 2016 was too afraid of wlws it seems They're sun/moon themed in my brain. The girlies ever. I wish eddo showed something more abt usagi that isn't related to loon and thus inmediatly forgettable so I could defend it from her side u_u From Joy's- considering the way her family treats her i just think having a more brave and adventurer gf is so nice for her,,,, like- almost two worlds meeting --- also i hc they both know karate and i love that for them. They kick people together ♡ They're just my princesses . Joysagi for the win (Submitted by anonymous).

[chvoswxtch]

I finally finished echo so if you’d like to listen to me incoherently ramble about it and my baby maya pls join me below ✨

first off the fact that there were only 5 episodes is fucking CRIMINAL

secondly alaqua cox is quite literally one of the most beautiful human beings I have ever seen

and thirdly I would die for biscuits and billy jack

side note- matt showing up just to be a dick and show off and then dip is so on brand but this isn’t his show and it isn’t about him so that’s the last i’ll talk about him

let’s get into it

not even two minutes into the first episode I was leaking from my eyes, and that happened several times throughout the entire series

the tone of this series reminded me so much of the netflix mcu and after watching echo, I have a lot more hope for future marvel projects that are darker and more gritty

the way this show dealt with themes of grief and generational trauma while also balancing sequences of violence and sprinkles of comedic relief was incredible. nothing felt cheesy or forced, the pacing was a little fast but again we were only given 5 episodes and echo definitely deserved more

the entire quileute tribe being cast is fucking ICONIC

the amount of work that went into making sure the indigenous representation was accurate and presented in a respectful way was very impressive. my father’s side of the family is native american and live in oklahoma and it was just really neat to see something so close to home portrayed in marvel without being over the top or exaggerated

I forgot how much I loved vincent’s version of fisk and getting to see him in the iconic white suit was incredible. i’m also super stoked to see the mayor fisk storyline and how that affects maya

I think they should’ve spent longer exploring how her ancestors echo through her and the healing abilities/powers that seems to grant her. it’s a lot different from her “power” in the comics and I honestly think it’s a more interesting concept and I would love to see them explore it further in the future

I loved that they weren’t lazy with the sign language and that the cast and crew all learned to communicate with alaqua

I loved that they also spoke in choctaw, and started the series with the creation of the tribe to set the stage for the rest of the series

the fact that alaqua herself is deaf and an amputee just proves that she was meant to play maya and she did a fucking PHENOMENAL job

I think they handled her disability so respectfully and perfectly. it wasn’t a hinderance or something that was heavily pointed out, it was literally just a part of who she was and that’s it

she’s so fucking smart and resourceful like she straight up made a gun out of a roller skate???

playing dragula at the skating rink was so real she’s just like me

the way they laced sound in and out of certain scenes to give us maya’s pov of what she experiences was such a neat thing to do

the little easter eggs confirming that the netflix shows are canon??? (fisk’s hammer, the roxxon gas station, etc)

y’all know how I feel about feral brunettes (especially ones in leather jackets)

“kingpin had his run. it’s time for a queen.” FUCKING ICONIC

bottom line is this show was fucking amazing and if you haven’t watched it yet, please do yourself a favor and check it out, especially if you enjoyed any of the netflix marvel shows. you will not be disappointed

i’m humbly appointing myself president of the maya lopez fan club and you’re all welcome to join we’re getting matching leather jackets

I can’t rave enough about echo or alaqua cox (I mean I could) but if you’ve made it this far thx for coming to my ted talk 🖤✨

[elia-nymmeros]

who would you say is your all time favourite character? could be any media, not just asoiaf :)

tysm for the ask!! i genuinely wince every time i think about favorites bc my mind suddenly wipes clean and i can't remember any piece of media ever. as far as i remember, i really like henry winter from tsh, natasha romanov from marvel and elizabeth bennet from p&p, but i'll say that right now my all time favorite character is brienne tarth. very long propaganda about her under the cut!

at the risk of sounding deranged, i could talk for hours about all the facets of her character that i think work so well with asoiaf's themes? for example, the fact that she's a genuinely ugly (and i think it's super important to her character that she's considered ugly), shy and socially awkward young woman in a world where your appearance determines your morality in the eyes of society and where noble women are expected to perform certain social roles. these traits work very well in her story about knighthood, because she's the one character in the main asoiaf saga that cannot be considered a knight by society (and, in fact, is not even considered a woman in many cases) and yet she truly embodies the values of knighthood (chivalrous, brave, defends women and children at her own cost) to the point that i think her quote 'no chance, and no choice' raises her to the position of the one true knight in westeros (echoing 'are there no true knights among you?' from dunk, her literal ancestor!).

and yet, even though she sounds like the perfect character who is superior because of her morality, she's actually not very successful canonically? like, she failed at protecting renly (and renly didn't particularly liked or respected her), she failed at protecting catelyn and has not been able to find the stark sisters so far, she failed at bringing jaime to king's landing too (and she won their duel because he'd grown rusty after being chained for months), and in her greatest scene so far, fighting seven against one, she's defeated and mutilated and has to be saved by gendry bc she's not actually superhuman and fought while heavily outnumbered.

in most other sagas she'd have been a petite and graceful girl, she'd have defeated rorge's companions without suffering debilitating injuries, she'd be loved and respected by everyone after seeing her noble personality and excellent swordsmanship. grrm goes deeper than this, so brienne embodies the traits of a knight and yet cannot ever become one, she behaves like the hero of a story and is mocked/insulted/assaulted constantly because she's not the ideal of a hero in westeros' social canon (just like dany, tyrion, jon, bran, arya, etc), she's a very capable and strong fighter and yet has also been in 3 different sides of the war with no success (and probably will end up in another side yet again if she lives to fight the others), and long emotional abuse has left her deeply insecure, paranoid, resentful and doubtful of her ability to perform gender (to the point that she calls herself a 'son' at some point bc she utterly fails at westerosi femininity)

idk, i think in her character there are a lot of super interesting themes intersecting, such as gender, social expectations and naivety, bravery and honor, self-esteem and physical ability, treachery and prejudices, what does it mean to be a good knight in an unfair, deeply hostile society, and what does it mean to be a hero where your only reward is most likely going to be injury, mutilation and/or death. she's even more interesting to me when you compare her journey/themes/decisions to her foils jaime and cersei, so there are lots of ways you can explore her character and find very cool meanings (also i've been the biggest braime shipper since i was 15, so that's a bonus!)

[wishcamper]

loving acovav and your family systems posts, it puts into words and pulls together so many problems that exist within the ic and relationships in the book xx

though i just have to say it absolutely KILLS me that sjm somehow accidently created such interesting and complex character dynamics (even though there is still a fair amount of inconsistency)

Thank you so much! I was glad to find I wasn’t alone in being baffled/infuriated by the books lol

I think sjm does have the ability to identify the conditions for conflict, but kind of all of us do. Blending families can be hard, involved power struggles. Entering a new world creates cognitive dissonance and grief. People react to trauma differently, and don’t always understand others’ reactions. Romance inside a friend group creates tension. These are things we all know if you think for a moment. But her weakness is that she’s often bad at predicting how people would react to these conflicts, and she definitely doesn’t understand why and how people change.

On the whole, the “themes” she explores are pretty universal. That’s why her premises have so much potential but don’t go anywhere emotionally satisfying. And universal stories are satisfying, that’s why we tell them over and over a la the Hero’s Journey. ACOTAR is Beauty and the Beast. ACOSF is essentially The Taming of the Shrew with more push-ups. But where a different telling like 10 Things I Hate About You says something new about that story- that we are more than stereotypes and can find authentic connections when we transcend them - her conclusions are straight up weird. Like, ACOSF says: be who everyone wants you to be and life gets better. Uh?? In what world is that a hopeful takeaway??

That’s why even her own characters seem out of character, because the inciting events and the reactions they elicit don’t make sense half the time. I think it’s because she doesn’t have equal compassion for her characters (some none at all) so the ones she likes get every motivation for their actions upheld as worthwhile, and the ones she doesn’t like are either two dimensional or have to suck up to the characters she likes for redemption. But she doesn’t recognize that this communicates something, even if it’s unintentional. It’s like she doesn’t realize there’s a subconscious story underneath the surface one, that we can see her thought process through the choices she makes AND the ones she doesn’t.

I know she’s talked about how she puts a lot of her own experience into the books and I think that shows but mostly through her internal and external biases, unfortunately. She only ever affirms her own beliefs through the text, and ultimately says something obvious or straight up distasteful without meaning to (I hope). Other people have detailed her misogyny more thoroughly than I can here, but the disdain for her female characters is so obvious. And that’s not even starting on the racism. There’s a very clear thread of personal responsibility that ignores all the systemic, identity, and cultural factors that make us feel, think, and behave in certain ways.

All this is to say: agree, it’s so annoying because it’s like she had all the ingredients for a cake and somehow made a pizza instead because she likes it more. It doesn’t make sense. I don’t know how you got from there to here Sarah, and you seem happy but I still want cake!

Anyway, thank you for the ask, and letting me indulge in affronted literary criticism, which is my favorite thing to do 🤓

[hoardlikegoldenirises]

The Psykopomp — Two versions, because I couldn't decide if she should have a real fencing mask for the second costume or if it should just be illusory over the respirator for both...

Bunch of closeups (and notes) under the cut:

This is the Main Design™ — What she settles on, what she uses the most, and what defines her image as a "supervillain" (lol)

And since she's an illusionist, I ditched my usual rules for practicality and went with what looked cool. Equal parts Kylie Minogue and Raven from Teen Titans.

Which means thigh high leather boots with 4 inch heels.

Also leaning into some Mercury imagery with this. I don't even remember why I decided this character should have vague Mercurial theming; I'm pretty sure I came up with the name first and then went on wikipedia looking for various psychopomps, though technically Scratch is more of a psychopomp than the self-styled Psykopomp since their abilities are actually like, directly related to souls, life and death. Lilith's power is mostly the manipulation of the nervous system, though this does allow her to manipulate and control dreams as well as potentially cause death by like... paralyzing the heart or something. So she's not totally off-base, just not quite what you'd think of for a character with psychopompic theming.

When I was coloring this I was fiddling around with glitter layers and stuff. I went through all the layer effects just to see what they would do to the glitter and this effect with divide actually looks really cool. I almost used it but ultimately decided to keep it a fairly simple metallic leather-look like originally intended

Also the symbol for Mercury and the symbol for Venus are incredibly similar (and both can be with or without crossbar) which for a trans female character I was like, yeah okay. I might as well lean into it 😂

Though obviously I went for the un-crossed version, so it's probably slightly less on-the-nose obvious but I think it looks cleaner.

Also since I originally set out with the notion of making the mask real in the second costume, I designed it as if it were, with a leather hood part based off of, obviously, fencing masks, though the lace-up back is... um... influenced by a certain genre of leather hoods, let's say...

(yes, she is a domme)

Anyway masculine version:

In my character notes I had originally noted that I wanted the mask to be black with a gold symbol, because I thought it would look cool, and I was right but ultimately I felt that the gold mask with black symbol fit the look better, but it turns out that when a character has multiple costume changes that lets you use both ideas! lol

Anyway the masculine one kind of leans a little more Greco-Roman vibes (also kind of Robin Hood tbh)

And naturally the winged boots are still dramatic and obvious, just much less girly.

Lilith is actually very into retro fashion and is in a neo-disco band so like, honestly, looking kind of like a mid-century Hollywood extra is fitting lol

As far as what's underneath the glamorous illusions:

This is Lilith after already having been on estrogen for a year, which I realized halfway through the pic was like — what about the 12 months between her new costume and her new tits 😂 Just imagine the twinky reedy bod slowly turning into the lean but toned bod with curves.

Also worth noting that while she is glamored to have like, a slightly more rockin' body, what's underneath isn't that far off once she's out and established. Though in the interim it is very different because the Psykopomp transitions before Lilith does LOL so there is a brief period of time where this bombshell is hiding a skinny, gangly twink. But she's exploring her identity etc.

Timeline is honestly still not determined, as with most things in Scratchverse continuity... Right now I have it so that TJ meets the Sikopomp, then like 4 months later the Psykopomp becomes a hot babe, then another 2 months later (6 after meeting TJ) Lilith comes out in her civilian life and starts transitioning. And then obviously what I drew is Lilith like... a year later...?

Her posture is also better after transitioning but that's because she starts like... getting in shape. Anyway. Pre-E twink is still insecure etc.

Anyway underneath the masculine glamor I went vaguely sportswear-inspired, as well as including the elastomeric respirator, but also... steel mesh safety goggles are a real thing?! I had been uncertain because Lilith wears glasses which would have made the costume and civilian versions too easy to connect as the same person, but mesh safety goggles designed to fit over glasses solved my entire problem lol

see? too recognizable lol

Anyway here's a version of the post-transition non-glamored costume where she has the respirator on instead of a real fencing mask. Like I said, I couldn't decide. God she looks like a TF2 character— anyway, the respirator is arguably necessary and is at minimum probably in the fanny pack because TJ's alchemical/chemical elemental powers mean that he sometimes produces... well. chemicals. To be fair to TJ, he's usually careful not to create toxic gases or byproducts that are difficult for the general public to contain or deal with because he doesn't want to hurt anyone but sometimes shit happens and while TJ may be passively immune or resistant to those chemicals, other people... aren't.

I think a fun contrast in their powers is that Lilith can make it so you don't process the smell of something, by manipulating your nervous system, but whatever particles make that smell up still exist, and if she leaves or turns the illusion off, the smell is still there.

TJ, once he learns he can do more than just blow shit up, can actually purify the air directly by converting the elements into a breathable mix, and this stays true if he leaves or loses consciousness or whatever.

anyway underneath the glamor Lilith is wearing gold winged Adidas:

I was gonna have her wearing Docs in the post -transition one but I think it makes more sense for her to keep the winged sneakers, and I'll put her in the boots in the civilian drawings.

fanny pack 👍

I drew her with white and black filters obviously, because most respirators for spray painting and painting in general that I founded tended to be white with black on the shell... and she starts out as basically a petty nuisance with a spray can.

But like I mentioned, TJ works with chemical elements, and particularly explosive reactions (thus "relative effectiveness factor"). Some of these are "pure" reactions but some of them, or the ones that damage other structures, can create various gases and byproducts, so I went for the magenta and olive filters as the most logical and wide-ranging coverage. Good to cover organic gases, ammonia and its byproducts and oils and stuff.

Bonus:

Slapped REfactor into a cleaned up lineup just to show the contrast in their costumes. I put him in the middle but really he should probably be... all the way on the right side because Lilith gets her main costume at least a few months before TJ does. TJ doesn't get a costume until after he... *checks notes* ...gets arrested for reckless endangerment. So while the Psykopomp has that red tunic and shit TJ is walking around in a hoodie and a pair of ballistic goggles lol

this art is a couple years old, but like. this. Lilith is out here like, working it, being dramatic, with flair. And the guy stopping her is some dude in a Looney Tunes t-shirt. lmao.

[positively--speculative]

Hi, I’ve read through of your posts on iwtv and media literacy and saw you mention the gothic story telling and genre. I’d please like to know your definition of these words if it’s not a problem?

I am actually quite tickled to get this ask. This will probably get long and it may get sloppy.

First, let's talk about the surface level of the genre, because this is what draws a lot of people in.

We have dark settings--think castles, haunted mansions with attics and/or basements where weird things might be happening. These places might be old or have some sort of dark history surrounding them. For example, think of the house in Henry James's Turn of the Screw. A more recognizable symbol might be Dracula's castle in various forms of media.

We have the paranormal--vampires, ghosts, etc.

We sometimes have romance--Some examples of this are seen in novels like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. A more recent example in film is Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak.

Mystery--As seen in some of my previously named examples.

These are only a few of the surface-level elements we find in these stories.

Personally, I believe that the difference between a good gothic story and a not-so-good gothic story, whether that be written or visual, is how these things are used to explore uncomfortable topics outside of the story. If you fail to use these themes and symbols effectively, you get either a shocking but sometimes silly horror story (which I think there is a place for) or "shock porn" which I would argue Anne Rice's work leans more towards, but I'll get more into that later.

Is the ghost there to just be scary or is the ghost being used as a metaphor for the guilt or regret that haunts the protagonist? Do the zombies exist just to chase the protagonist or are they there to remind both the protagonist and the readers of their own mortality? Are the vampires just "sexy" or do they confront us with the type of sexuality we are not supposed to want to explore--Think Twilight vs. different versions of Dracula, Carmilla, The Lost Boys, and to a certain extent, The Vampire Chronicles. And if the vampires in these stories confront us with this sexuality, what is being SAID about it? Is the media encouraging us to explore it? Shaming us? How is it being framed?

I think some of the strongest horror stories (not all gothic stories are necessarily horror, but I just happen to like horror movies) embrace elements of the gothic genre. Some that come to mind are The Ring, Candyman, and Get Out.

In The Ring, our supernatural entity is Samara Morgan, a vengeful spirit trapped in a well. Part of the film takes place in Seattle, Washington and an old cabin resort outside of the city. This by itself creates the rainy, gloomy atmosphere known in the gothic genre. The other part takes place on an island that's even gloomier. An island itself is very symbolic of feelings of being "trapped" or isolated. One of my favorite lines from the movie comes from Samara's doctor--"When you live on an island and someone catches a cold, it's everyone's cold." A very clever idiom to describe how Samara's ability to imprint disturbing images in her mother's mind became everyone's problem when she sought help. And that's scary--what loving mother wouldn't seek help for her child even if said child was hurting them? But how terrifying is it to be on an island with said little girl with these kinds of abilities? No one on the island asked to be victims, but it's not like any of them can just move away. And Samara's mother certainly didn't *know* that trying to get help for her child would come at the expense of everyone else's mental health. It's not that easy. There's also an uncomfortable truth about love. Samara loves her mother. Samara is also evil. Both are true and both can be true in the reality outside of the film. She's a "bad kid" who no one can "help," because she doesn't *want* to be helped. She's also the island's secret. A secret that haunts the community but one that cannot be contained forever. Secrets *are* like ghosts. They haunt us and we fear them, because what do our secrets say about us? How long until our secrets get out and spread like Samara's VHS?

Get Out is another good horror story containing the gothic elements of mystery, secrets, dread, and entrapment. The claustrophobic feeling comes in the form of the "sunken place." The feeling of being conscious of our interactions and surroundings but not being in *control* of them is frightening, *but* the sunken place is also a metaphor for the racial sociopolitics in our society. How many Black Americans are burdened with the feeling of having to play "respectability politics" to survive? And what does that cost the Black community as a whole? I should also add that the story mostly takes place on a secluded property in the woods which adds to the "trapped" feeling.

I think Candyman is a very interesting horror/gothic to talk about because this one is very much catering to the white "female gaze." Candyman is very much like a classical vampire. He's handsome but very, VERY dangerous. But he's also BLACK which adds another layer to this. He pursues the white protagonist, Helen, in a very similar way we often see Dracula pursue Mina. In Helen's first, real encounter with this vengeful spirit, she is very much in a trance-like state and very helpless. This kind of thing where the woman protagonist is *helpless* to the handsome villain is very common in gothic stories. It allows the reader/viewer to kind of escape into a situation where they are helpless to the things they aren't "allowed" to pursue in the real world--'Oh, no! Whatever am I to do? This handsome man is also evil, but is also in love with me, and I am *weak* to his charms!' As taboo as interracial relationships are today, I'd say they very much were in the 90's--and I am speaking from the perspective of a biracial woman who grew up in that time and *rarely* met other biracial kids or saw interracial families represented in media. Now, as much as I *love* Candyman as a film, the framing of the story does put Black men in a compromising position, as the idea of Black men being a danger to white women has long been one that has been weaponized by white supremacists. This is an unfortunate and likely unintended feature of this movie.

My problem with Anne Rice and her fandom is that her writing is made out to be the epitome of gothic storytelling when she mostly just incorporates gothic elements but says nothing with them. And her fandom, both those who like the show and those who hate on it, have a nasty habit of talking down to people who criticize her work and who suggest that the show does a lot of things better than she did. They do this especially to Black fans.

One thing that has stood out to me when it comes to the book fandom is the way they have insulted Black people's intelligence when we've expressed discomfort with the racism in her books. I've seen it said among them, 'The book is *challenging* you to have sympathy towards awful people' in regard to Louis owning slaves. But none of them have ever answered a question I put out there in response--*How?* How am I being challenged? Because Anne Rice frames Louis's racism as a simple detail of his character, but there is never any pushback for it. There is no confronting the reader in the writing. There is nothing there to give us conflicting emotions about relating to this guy in *any* way. And Daniel never pauses when Louis's racism pops out, which I think would be a reasonable thing to do in the 1970s even for a white dude. And one thing that has always made me uncomfortable around white fans of Rice is they almost *never* brought up the topic of race when it came to her books. It didn't seem to phase them, and if it didn't phase them, how exactly was it a challenge for them to relate to Louis?

Sexuality is also something very present in Rice's books, but again, what is said about it? What does Rice *say* about queerness and what is the significance of vampirism as it relates to that.

There is also the issue of Claudia. Originally, in IWTV, Claudia was turned as a five-year-old and is forced to physically remain a five-year-old as she grows up and matures into a woman mentally--so, that element of feeling trapped is certainly there. But it also gets uncomfortable. Louis, who raises her with Lestat, later begins to view Claudia in a *sexual* light. And again, it's there. It's disturbing. But Rice never offers any sort of push back for it. Not even through Daniel. Sorry, but the framing of it is yucky. So, either Rice was saying that this is okay or she was saying nothing at all.

I feel as if the show serves as a response to the things neither Rice herself nor her fandom cared to address. By making Louis a Black man of the early 1900s, the issue of race can no longer be avoided. It's there at the center in a way it wasn't in any discussions about the books. It also does a better job of exploring uncomfortable topics such as Claudia's struggle with being a grown woman in an adolescent girl's body and illustrates that there are much *better* ways of going about exploring that than creating an incestuous relationship that, again, says *nothing.*

The show also does a better job at diving into the nuances of love an abuse. This is something I've seen a lot of fans struggle with, and I think there are a lot of reasons for this. One reason in particular is a very simplistic, Disneyfied idea of love. Lestat does love Louis and that's difficult for people because we are constantly told that someone cannot really love you if they hurt you, but that's just not reality. As I said when discussing The Ring, bad people can experience feelings of love while still being bad. Lestat loves Louis, but he loves him selfishly. If Louis hurts him (threaten to leave/choose their daughter over him), he will hurt him worse (physically abuse him within an inch of his life). It's an uncomfortable reality that sometimes a person can be evil but still can love, and love alone does not make them qualified to be a husband or a father. It is also an uncomfortable reality that we can love our abusers. We can forgive them. They can continue to hurt us, and we can forgive them over and over again. It's not always as simple as "just leaving" the first time they lay their hands on us.

As someone who has dealt with "emotional vampires" before, Lestat definitely fits the profile. Vampires in some of the oldest folklore are depicted as insatiable creatures who live off of the blood and energy of others, and this folklore often serves as a metaphor meant to help us be careful when choosing who we associate with. An emotionally selfish person can demand our company and drain us of our emotional and mental well-being if we're not careful. We see this with the way Lestat pursues Louis, even when Louis attempts to put space between them--even when he is mourning his brother. Lestat shows up at his brother's funeral and repeatedly invades his mind, and isolates him by killing Lily, driving Louis into a mental spiral until he finally caves when he corners him in the church.

Now, to understand the flaws of Rice's original work and the strengths of the TV adaptation when it comes to creating a good gothic story, an amount of media literacy is required. I feel like, unfortunately, a lot of Rice's fans read these books when they were probably too young and were not introduced to them with the proper guidance. Young teenagers are usually not equipped to handle the kind of book Rice wrote, especially if the highly charged subjects are rarely challenged. I feel like a lot of those who take offense to Rice being criticized were very young when they read her books and never matured intellectually as they got older. I've mentioned here before that as a teenager, I was not allowed to read Rice's books. It's a miracle I saw either film adaptation. As an adult who has now read Rice's work, I completely understand why those books were deemed inappropriate for me and am grateful I read them *after* taking a good amount of literary criticism classes.

Assuming this was asked in good faith, I thank you for your patience. This took a while for me to write. And I thank you for excusing the sloppiness.

[youremyheaven]

I want to know the sample Claire Nakti used for her Billionaires video because... I have been researching billionaires on Astrodatabank (with at least a C rated birthtime) and Jyeshtha is not that common at all??

If anything, Uttarabhadrapada, Revati, Mula, Ardra, Ashwini, Bharani moon/ascendant were wayyy more common than Jyeshtha, Pushya, and Hasta.

I keep noticing that a lot of her studies are just... not very replicable? And I find the lack of transparency in her earlier studies about where she got the charts from...kind of weird? Like it comes off as she is trying to make her own narrative or smth.

Idk if she publishes her actual data studies on Patreon bc its a bit weird to me to just blindly believe that her research of 100 people she chose all have xyz placement. There are 2650 billionaires in this world at the moment, I'm certain that a survey of all of their charts will reveal overarching patterns instead of just 2-3 naks that apparently make money.

100 is a very small sample size imo, because people make money in all kinds of ways?? and she focused heavily on Jyeshta's themes of lack and poverty and how that forces them to push through and accumulate materially. I wish she had cited examples??? like why make a whole video if you're not going to atleast insert a quick montage of billionaires who have it??? her 3hr videos all feature actual literal examples,, so her survey videos not really citing them feels sus to me. i understand that in her video she wanted to basically explore the themes of Jyeshta, Swati and Hasta and how that ties to money making ability but like?? out of 27 naks, MANY naks can give wealth/fame, not just 2 or 3. im very tempted to pull up the charts of all 2650 billionaires and find the patterns lmao

about your last point. i think every single astrologer, myself included is biased. obviously there are actual facts mentioned in the vedas and puranas about the naks but the patterns we notice, analyse and focus on, depends on us as people?? i dont know if she's consciously trying to create a certain narrative, its that we only see things from our occult p.o.v. Claire's Hasta video's major focus was on them being literary geniuses and making $$$ bc of their ability to manipulate,, the truth of Hasta's duality and manipulative ability is addressed but also kind of glossed over as she focuses more on how its used to accomplish things,, a different astrologer would perceive and present that info in a very different way.

her surveys have always been super sus to me, esp after one anon said that she made super basic statistical errors in the surveys that were accessible on Patreon

[leggerefiore]

if you are interested: animatronic submas; in an abandoned railway-themed amusement park; considered cursed or inhabited by evil spirits; with a series of still unsolved murders. Reader - afab? - possibly a former employee the submas were madly obsessed with; returned to visit it for halloween. if you want to make it really macabre ... maybe with Reader transplanted into the body of an animatronic that the submas have been preparing especially for her for years? if you don't want, that's ok too

Return of evil robot men and some of my horror writing lmao

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cw: basically yandere, horror, reader dies, she/her reader, robot au

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It had been around two years since you had worked at the theme park.

Your job had begun at the near-end of the park's life, having been dealing with bleeding money from seemingly endless lawsuits which made park repairs harder, which led to more lawsuits. It was not a bad job when you considered it. You had been a ride attendant for a subway themed area which featured animatronic conductors who spoke and took care of the riders. You just took the pay and made sure they met the ride criteria. Occasionally, you would shift to clean the area you monitored or filled in for another ride. The conductors, two identical bots, often followed you around wherever you went. You assumed it was to watch you for management to be assured you were doing your job.

They were a bit creepy then. In their best quality, their silver eyes shined through the darkness, which sparked imagery of light catching an animal's eyes. They lacked an ability to properly express, so one was permanently stuck with a grin and the other with a frown. You shivered at their uncanny effect upon your mind. The job was nice, but the robots were creepy. Perhaps the scenery was also aiding in how ominous the bots appeared. Everything was just past date with a hint of mould, rot, or rust to leave you with a knowledge of age. The office area appeared more familiar to grandparent's home rather than a modern administrative area.

When the place closed, and you were let go, you were still sad to see it go, however. It may have been antiquated, but there was a certain charm to it all. As you packed up your stuff to leave for the last time in the break room, you heard the sound of robotic joints working to move as the twin conductor bots entered. The smiling one, Emmet, and the frowning one, Ingo, gazed at you with empty eyes. Their frozen expressions sent a chill down your spine.

“Oh, yes, I suppose you both deserve a goodbye, huh?” you tried to lighten the mood for yourself. The bots continued to keep eye contact with you without a word. A nervous laugh escaped your throat. Ingo took a careful step toward you.

“… Is the park truly closing?” his generated voice almost sounded human.

“Yep,” you told him, “Today's my last day, so this is likely the last time we'll ever see each other again.” For a moment, you swore Emmet's frozen face fell into a frown. Nothing truly had happened, though. You were simply panicked.

“I see…” he gave something akin to a sigh despite his lack of breathing capabilities, “May we walk you out? We are co-workers, are we not?”

“Ah, no need for that!” you shook your head, “I'm going to miss my ride if I don't go now. Sorry, bye!”

Why had you been so afraid? You knew they were simply just following their programming.

~

You now stood outside the decrepit park, with the chilled winds blowing your coat in its path. Leaves swirled around you. The nature around seemed as dead as the park. Halloween had arrived, and you felt inspired to visit your old place of employment for a thrill. It had become a popular spot for teenagers who wanted to engage in urban exploration to pop into. Many rumours came from the location now. Stories about missing people never returning after venturing in, ghosts of people who apparently died on the attractions appearing to those who trespass, and two robots who attempted to kill anyone who entered the park without proper authorisation.

The last part stung a bit. You figured they would leave the twin bots behind, but it hurt to have it confirmed. They may have made you uncomfortable, but repurposing them was honestly the best thing to do. Shaking your head at the concern for man-made products, you crawled through the open window with ease. Glass cracked under your feet as you stood in the old office again. You expected a mess, but it seemed orderly. Almost like someone had been taking proper care of it. The desk and its chair were pushed together. The desktop, while absolutely unusable, sat as you remembered it as the owner had it. Some graffiti was on the wall, while others had apparently been attempted to be scrubbed away.

Not really scary, just unsettling.

Your walk began from the office into the central courtyard area. It had been previously alight with neon lights and streetlamps, but now found itself in a seemingly endless darkness. You shuddered at the sight. It was never this dark even after close when it was still open. Clicking on your flashlight, you took in the state of the greenery. Ivy grew wildly over anything and everything it could, weeds popped up between any gap in the concrete, and leaves were left to rot on the ground in a never-ending cycle. Broken glass laid about from where it had been smashed for whatever variety of reasons. It was eerie and depressing to see the park like this.

Wandering around, you attempted to visit all the locations that had been places you worked at previously or enjoyed. The break room was empty, yet the fridge was still running. Its low hum breaking the endless silence of the park for but a moment. You stepped closer to it and swung the door open to reveal what the appliance held. A perfectly normal chocolate cake sat inside. You almost giggled at the icing heart drawn on it and the 'I love you' scrawled inside. Who had done this? What a weird bit to commit to. Looking around, you tried to spy a camera anywhere. None were to be seen, however. Maybe it was for a prank that had yet to be initiated yet. Either way, you shut the fridge.

Next, you visited the fun house area. It was always fun to get lost in there and claim you were helping a lost child. You wandered around the mirror maze in wonder. It turned out it was much harder in the dark. You hated the reflection of your flashlight in the mirrors. Occasionally, it would shine back as what almost appeared to be like eyes peering in. It was irrational. When you managed to get out, you hated to admit how dizzy you felt.

Afterwards you visited your favourite food stand, the teacup ride, and then where the Ferris wheel had been. You felt pretty thoroughly creeped out from everything, but knew there was one last place remaining in the park for you to visit before you left.

You felt a chill as you entered the underground area of the subway attraction. Mildew and stagnant air burned your nostrils as you entered the location. It was not as bad as much of the other places, admittedly. Perhaps no one wanted to enter, but there had been barely any vandalism upon it. The train sat parked at the platform. You giggled as you stepped inside.

Then the door slid shut behind you and the lights flickered on. A few did not work or suffered from dimness, but most shined bright white light directly onto your sensitive eyes. Shocked and horrified, you sat down on the plastic seat in an attempt to steady yourself. Someone had to be here and turned this on. Who? You suddenly felt scared for your life. The PA system clicked on and gave staticky feedback for a moment before a familiar voice spoke over it. “Current route to station three estimated to take around five minutes to arrive,” Ingo's voice was a bit weakened and less clear from lack of maintenance, “Welcome back, dearest. We missed you.”

“What?” you said out loud. His first sentence was his normal dialogue for the train, but the second one made no sense. Your fear spiked even higher as the train moved steadily along to the next station. It would bring you back to the centre of the park and closer to an employee tunnel that held a few storerooms. You readied yourself for whatever waited ahead and made plans to make a run for it if you could. The train slowed down for a stop at the station as you saw them both waiting for you. Their clothes were tattered and shoddily patched. Ominous metallic eyes luminesced as the doors slid open with a screech that hurt your ear.

You carefully stepped out and gazed at the twin bots carefully. Emmet's grin remained bright despite the year, but Ingo's frown was caught in an awkward shape and gave the illusion of a smile. They held out opposite arms and welcome you in unison, “Welcome back!” You gave them a strange look. Maybe… Maybe, they just missed you. It must have been lonely for them here. The bots did contain highly intelligent AI. Some would even say they were sentient.

“Ah, you scared me,” you tried to be slightly honest, “… It's nice to see you both again.” Emmet let out a giggle and took long strides over to you. His arms wrapped around you and pressed your body to his frigid form. Barely any heat came from him due to the cooling needed to keep his systems running. Ingo moved after him.

“Heehee, we have been waiting,” the smiling bot whispered, “We loved you. We knew you would return. You love us, right?” Suddenly, you remembered the situation you were in and tensed up. What did he mean? Ingo had stated it before. Love? Could they even process such a thing? Maybe it was a sense of dedication and worry about you as a co-worker that had been twisted from lack of care to their processes. You tried to escape Emmet's hold.

“Why are you afraid?” Ingo's voice called out, “… Emmet and I have been so lonely… We would do no harm to you. You are not like the other intruders.” You froze. Everything they said made your anxiety get to levels that left your mind reeling and demanding you escape the park. Emmet's embrace only tightened.

“We have a gift,” the bot cooed, “Brother and I worked verrrrry hard on it!”

“Ah, Emmet, it's supposed to be a surprise, you know,” Ingo scolded him and pressed a hand to your shoulder.

Your position was shifted to be wedged in between them as they guided you into the employee tunnel. The sickening air was thick and dusty as they took you deeper and deeper into the pitch-black tunnels. Your flashlight was forced from you and left near the train. Their eyes were the only lights that broke the horrifying darkness. Double metal doors were forced open to reveal a dimly lit room. Inside was a replica of your body in an android form. Worst of all was how it opened.

What were they going to do. Ingo moved away to shut the doors, while Emmet remained glued to your side.

“Tada!” he beamed at you, “Do you like it? We're going to make you like us.” There was no holding back the scream that escaped your lips and the tears that fell from your eyes. No! This was a bad joke! It had to be. These bots were incapable of this. It was simply illogical.

You should not have come here.

This rancid place should have simply remained a location within your memories.

“… Brother, she's afraid,” Emmet's smile fell as he turned to Ingo.

“A perfectly normal reaction, Emmet,” Ingo explained, “Dearest… Please don't be afraid. We will be happy together; we have loved you since we first saw you. When you helped with our ride or messed around… You spoke to us like people.”

You swallowed. It hurt. Thoughts rushed in and out of your mind at horrible speeds. How? Why? People were kind to them before you. Why you? You had not done anything wrong. Both began to lead you to your horrifying replica and soon-to-be tomb if you did not escape. Their grips were too strong, completely inhuman strength from their body. You did not want this! Why would they not listen to you?

“Please,” you cried, “Stop! I don't want this! I don't love you!”

The grip on your arms became like a boa's constriction. Blood flow was narrowly possible, and your fingertips tingled from the loss. Emmet began to giggle while Ingo sighed.

“I understand you're afraid,” Ingo's voice was soft, “Changes like this always are, but we cannot bear separation any longer.”

You were forced into the horrifying contraption.

Then…

It closed.

A single shriek echoed out and dribbled into pure silence.

~

~

~

~

A lighter ending:

You sighed at the bots as they stared at you with pleading eyes. Well… It was your last day working here.

“Fine,” you gave into Ingo's request, “You can walk me out.” Both seemed relieved about it. They each walked at your sides as you headed to the park exit. The sun had already set, and the park had closed for the day. Not its last, but its soon-to-be one. Not much was said, as the bots often proved bad conversers. Well, occasionally Ingo gave you a good one, but getting Emmet to talk was a miracle in and of itself. Soon you arrived at the gates, where you caught the owner heading out himself. He gazed at you and the bots for a moment in distant curiosity.

“Say… You know, I have no idea what to do with those two,” he explained, “Would you like them? I'm sure you've seen, they have a variety of functions and uses.” You pondered his words for a moment. Was he being serious? It was a tempting offer, honestly. No matter how creepy they were, you supposed company was company.  The twin bots stared at you with eyes that held desperation in them.

“If you're being genuine, then yeah,” you nodded, “I'd take them.”

“Go ahead, then,” he motioned to the exit, “I hope you enjoy them. They're pretty outdated, honestly.”

You shrugged.

Free robots were free robots.