#in which each character is about to be murdered in a way specific to their sin

[where-theres-smoak-2]

So in my next episode of I just can't stop talking about Dune part 2, lets talk about the ending scene, specifically about the positioning of the characters during the duel and kiss the ring scene, because I think there's some really interesting symbolism there.

At the start of the scene we see everyone enter the room and take their places and what is interesting is the characters are in groups with each representing part of Paul's journey. The best image I could find of where everyone is positioned is this wide shot where everyone is bowing to Paul towards the end of the scene:

It's not the best image but you can just about make out that on the left, where the blue arrow is pointing, you have Chani and the Fedaykin, then in the middle along the back wall, where the orange arrow is, you have Jessica, Gurney, Stilgar and the fundamentalists and then finally on the right with the black arrow is the emperor, irulan and the bene gesserit. Three separate but important groups.

Just before the emperor enters, Paul approaches Chani and we get that exchange, 'this isn't over yet' and 'I'll love you as long as I breathe." To me its really interesting that this final showdown starts with Paul directly in front of Chani, looking at her, with his focus on her. Another interesting detail is that when the emperor enters Paul does not immediately turn to face him, in fact he stays looking at Chani, lingering on her, even when he first begins to speak his focus still remains on her. It is only when he says that the great houses may be curious to hear his side of the story that he begins to move. Again it's interesting that its when he is talking about 'his story' that he moves across the room and that story or journey is visually set out for us. He starts with Chani, expressing his love for her, the fedaykin are also there, the people who took him in and accepted him as one of their own, they very much represent the path that he had chosen for himself. The path that he then steps away from.

Paul begins to approach the emperor and as he does we see him walk past Jessica, the mother that he followed south, whose footsteps he followed in when he drank the water of life leading to him becoming the kwisatz haderach, Stilgar the man who was constant in his belief that Paul was the Mahdi and who became teacher to him, helping him learn the ways of the fremen, Gurney who is a connection back to his identity as the son of Leto and the house Atreides, and the fundamentalists who became the army that he was able to control in order to overthrow the emperor and who will also fight the holy war.

Finally he arrives in front of the emperor and his daughter, the final obstacle in his way, his way of getting vengeance for his father's murder and, through his marriage to Irulan, the title of emperor of the known universe. Of course the emperor isn't going to give up his throne easily which is when we have the duel between Paul and Feyd and once again their positioning throughout the duel is interesting.

At the start of the duel Feyd is positioned here:

You can see he is standing in front of the emperor and irulan, who are outlined in the grey box. Also if you turn the exposure up:

You can make out the bene gesserit there as well in the black circle. This is a visual representation of what it is Feyd is fighting for, he is fighting on behalf of the emperor but his end goal is that he wants the emperor's throne for himself. The way he gets there is the same way paul would, marrying the princess. The bene gesserit being there also shows how they are on Feyd's side, they know how to control him and so would rather have him as emperor and as a prospect for the kwisatz haderach than paul. So in the shot above we have Feyd, and then a visual representation of what he is fighting for but also everyone that is depending on Feyd winning this duel.

The same can be said of this shot here of Paul where you can clearly see Chani (in the blue circle) and the fedaykin behind him:

Like Feyd, Paul's ultimate goal is to be emperor, however whilst Feyd wants the throne for his own selfish reasons, I think for Paul his motivations are that he wants to protect Chani and the Fremen. Paul has seen multiple futures thanks to drinking the wol and he wants to guide them down the one where all his friends and loved ones live. But once again we are being shown a shot that represents what Paul is fighting for and the people whose fates are depending on him winning this duel.

So at the very start of the duel, the two sides are clearly set out and we know what the stakes for each side are. I also like how they are both almost standing guard over the side they are fighting for, like a shield protecting those behind him.

As for Jessica, Stilgar, Gurney and the fundamentalists I do think its intriguing that they are kind of separate in this scene, they way they are position makes it seem like they are almost an audience in a theatre watching to see how it plays out. I did wonder what significance this might have as they do still have stakes in this fight. But I think, and I could be wrong this is just speculation, I think it might be because even though they have stakes in the who wins the fight their fates are already sealed. I think at this point irregardless of who wins they will still unleash a holy war on the universe, the only difference would be whether Paul is actually leading them or whether they are doing it in his name as an act of vengeance for his death. Whereas the emperor, irulan and the bene gesserit's fates still depend on whether paul or feyd wins, if paul wins they lose their power, if feyd does they can control him and stay in power. Chani too I think her fate is dependant on who wins once Feyd takes notice of her, if paul wins she has choices, stay or leave (and she choses to leave) but if feyd had won you can bet she would have been taken by Feyd as some kind of prisoner of war or pet for him to play with. But like I siad that is speculation on my part.

Throughout the duel itself there are also some interesting positions and symbolism going on. For example at first when they are fighting and are evenly match they maintain their positions of Paul being in front of Chani and the Fedaykin and Feyd in front of the emperor etc. However if you watch closely whenever it appears like Feyd is getting the upper hand on Paul and like Paul may lose its whenever Paul is on the side of the emperor. When Feyd knocks him down, Paul is in front of the emperor and lands pretty much at the emperor's feet.

I interpreted this as showing Paul's downfall, showing how he lost his way, it was his pursuit of revenge against the Harkonnens and the Emperor, his desire to claim the throne, that pulled him onto the darker path he is taking. It's again that visually representation of what Paul is going through emotionally/internally. We are seeing him being pulled and pushed away from Chani and the Fremen and that life that had made him happy and being, quite literally, thrown onto this path of becoming emperor and starting the holy war.

It can also represent the emperor's and Feyd's on desires to see the House of Atreides quite literally brought down, laid at the emperor's feet and defeated. It's like we are getting a glimpse of what one potential outcome/future could have looked like, Paul defeated.

Another way you could look at this is that when Paul is kicked to the floor, Feyd is now in between Paul and what he is fighting for, his motivation for fighting. I mentioned earlier that to me their positions at the start of the fight were like they were guards, well now Feyd has broken through that shield and is a direct threat to those Paul loves.

Paul falling down at this position also means that he is now directly facing Chani and the path he's left behind. It is as Feyd approaches Chani, a looming threat getting closer and closer to her, that Paul finds the strength to get back up and continue the fight. Seeing the threat to Chani makes Paul move away from the emperor and towards her and Feyd. I think this shows the shift in Paul's motivations and what is keeping him fighting, what is giving him strength, at first he was fighting to get revenge and the throne or at least I think that was his priority, there were other reasons too but in the moment it was his wish for justice that was driving him, but here it shifts to wanting to protect Chani from a more immediate danger, I said in another post that at this moment dying is no longer an option as it will leave Chani vulnerable to Feyd if he does which is something Paul will not let happen.

Another interesting moment is that when Feyd stabs Paul he first drives him backwards, back towards the emperor, so similar to when he is kicked down the first time, we have this imagery of Paul losing and him standing with his back to the emperor and the bene gesserit, the people who have been the cause of his suffering, and who represent this path of becoming the kwisatz haderach, the madhi and the holy war etc. When they are closet to the emperor, Feyd pushes the knife in deeper.

But then Feyd flings Paul away from him and Paul stumbles back so that he is once again standing with Chani and the Fedaykin at his back. As Feyd menacingly approaches him to finish him off, instead of focusing on the incoming threat Paul looks to Chani, to get a reminder of why he is fighting, why he is doing this and to draw strength from her. When he finally defeats Feyd it is again when he is standing closer to Chani.

I just think its really interesting that during this duel whenever Paul is at his lowest we are shown him on the side of the room with the emperor, bene gesserit, the people who are seeking to destroy him, and then when he is at his strongest and at his moment of victory in the duel he is standing on the side of Chani and the Fedaykin, the ones who give him strength and who he loves.

Once he's pulled the knife out we see him once again look to Chani, all of these looks to me make it very clear that she is his motivation behind his actions, he's doing it for her, he's doing it all because of that vision he had of her death, to keep her alive, which is really heartbreaking because its his actions to keep her safe and alive that are breaking her heart and that ultimately cause her to leave him. But I digress.

After this look to Chani we then see him repeat the same journey we saw him take at the start of the scene. He starts close to Chani and the Fedaykin, crosses the room passing Jessica, Stilgar, Gurney and the Fundamentalists and arrives before the emperor. Only this time he completes the next step, making the emperor bow and kiss his ducal ring.

When everyone else in the room bows, three stay standing, Princess Irulan, the woman who is his key to the throne, Chani, the woman he loves, who taught him the ways of the fremen and the desert and Jessica, his mother who fuelled his legend amongst the fundamentalists and trained him in the ways of the bene gesserit allowing him to become the kwisatz haderach. Not only is it symbolic that its these three women alone that remain standing but their positioning is again really interesting.

They are each a point of a triangle. Triangles have alot of symbolism and often represent three sides of a whole or a cycle. There's religious connotations to it too with the triangle often being used to represent the holy trinity in Christianity. Some meanings that I think could be relevant here though is the cycle of birth, life and death. Jessica representing birth, she is his mother but also she orchestrated the 'birth' of the kwisatz haderach in the south. Chani I think would represent life, she was the life he chose for himself. Then Irulan would represent death, she's the key to the throne and the Paul we knew had to die in order to become the man he is now. She represents the death of his old life.

Another meaning is beginning, middle and end, its similar to the life cycle triangle but this one is a reminder that everything has a process, there's the start, the journey and the end. I think this ties in well with what I was saying about how Paul merely crossing the room showed his journey throughout the film. So too does the positioning of each of these women in his life. Chani was the start of his journey, where he learnt from her, where he fell in love, then he drinks the water and becomes the mahdi, represented by Jessica and it ends with Irulan and him becoming the emperor.

Triangles can also represent protection, power and strength which I think each of these women provide Paul in their own unique ways. They can also mean creation which you can argue that each of these women contributed to who he is and has become, in a way they are the ones who have created him.

What is ironic is at this moment as the emperor is bowing, Jessica communicates with Mother Mohiam and tells her she chose the wrong side to which Mohiam replies there are no sides. I just found this kind of funny considering the room is set up into three very clear sides.

But anyway, moving on, after the emperor and everyone bow we then see Paul, yet again look back to Chani, even after everything he still can't completely let go of that link back to who he was, the life where he was happy and loved as a man and not a prophet. But then Chani walks away severing that last link. Paul keeps his eyes on her until she is completely out of sight, then he half turns, looking down and closing his eyes so that he is front on with the fundamentalists and Jessica. It is at this moment that Gurney tells him that the great houses are refusing to honour his ascension. Paul then turns his back to Stilgar and facing Irulan and the emperor, he looks to the floor and takes that final step when he says lead them to paradise, unleashing the holy war from his nightmares onto the universe. His only hope now being that the fundamentalists believe in him enough that he is able to control this war in his own favour. I think its significant that Paul turns his back to Stilgar, the friend who became a fanatical follower, and looks down to the floor at this moment of declaring the holy war. It's indicative of his shame, of his pain and shows how much its hurting him to make this choice, so much so that he can't look at the fremen as he gives the go ahead.

Honestly I could be looking into this way too much but on a rewatch of the scene I just found it all very interesting the way it was all laid out and how Paul navigating the room seemed to reflect his own personal journey from Paul Atreides to Usul Maud'dib the fedaykin to the Lisan al gaib to the emperor of the known universe and how that is reflected in the people around him.

[famousprophetstars]

The Hunger Games is such an interesting series but I'm always floored by how genuinely good and smart it is. I think it's easy to look back at the absolute nothingness that the YA dystopia genre became and curse out all of its leaders, but The Hunger Games was always a smart and interesting series that even in the first few pages of its first book gripped the reader with possibility.

And I think that's why it continues to be successful and loved in a way that even its popular contemporaries are not. Because there's nothing about the world it takes place that seems strange or impossible, yes even with the child murder games. Katniss tells us that Panem has formed from the ruins of North America, the countries of which ultimately fell due to conflict caused by climate change and lack of resources. Not only is this situation not impossible- it is literally probable, and seems more likely each year we go by the with our leaders pretending the climate crisis is not real. Like North America didn't fall under an evil "foreign power" who took away American (specifically the United States') values. This world wasn't formed over night. It emerged out of the brutality and greed of the world we currently live in.

And even with The Hunger Games as an event, the world still seems so immersed in this reality. It helps that events similar to this have taken place throughout history. The comparison between Rome and the Capitol is not exactly subtle, but it helps ground the Capitol's brutality in a very real history. Using this sort of barbarism as punishment AND entertainment (even to the ones being punished) has happened throughout history, and happens now in ways that are more concealed. Also, the Hunger Games being used as a reminder of the Capitol's control over the districts and a tactic to dissuade rebellion (with the idea that they will be crushed if they try to revolt) MAKES SENSE.

And making sense is why it is so successful. You know what doesn't make sense? Dividing the US into 5 character traits and making people who have more than one *dangerous,* or any of the other strange and contrived plots that came after it in the wake of its success. It works because its possible, and in a sick way, rational. It reminds us that humans can be brutal, and greedy, and evil. But they're not stupid. It's not improbable or even ineffective (for the rich at least) to create this world. class difference MEANS THINGS, and drives the conflict. It's the USA if we keep going down this path and ignore our impending doom.

[neechees]

How is the cult from Midsommer white supremacist? Because they are swedish and borrow from paganism? The nazis appropriated Norse culture, they even misused different runes and symbols, and Scandinavia is one of the most tolerant regions in Europe.

There's Nazi imagery throughout the film, & the fact that all the poc die first is no mistake. Ari Aster himself has said that the Harga are White Supremacists:

Defying an outdated horror trope, Aster does not kill off Josh (William Jackson Harper) — the only black character for miles — first. As Aster points out, though, the Hårga are racist, a callback to “a part of Swedish history and European history,” and all of the “outsiders” or “new blood” recruited for mating are purposely white.

“He’s thrown away in a way that the other members of the main cast are not," Aster notes. “And that is because these people have no further use for him.”

The Harga, when not inbreeding with each other, go out and groom new members to either 1. Be sacrified or 2. Introduce new genes by manipulating people into the cult or drugging & raping them (what they did to Dani & Christian), & they ONLY pick white people for this. There are no nonwhite Harga & that's not an accident.

The script also makes it crystal clear that the nonwhite couple were specifically chosen (bc they are not white) & brought there to be sacrificed & were never going to live. The member that brought the nonwhite couple displays hatred & malice towards them when they're not looking, but doesn't do this with the other white outsiders

(Ingemar is the Harga that brought Connie & Simon, the nonwhite couple). Connie & Simon didn't do anything wrong, they didn't do anything outright to insult the Harga. The only thing they did was be shocked about seeing the ritual suicide & express desire to leave (and they weren't the only ones who did this, Dani also did). And yet they were some of the first to die.

Even the visuals-- the Harga wear all White, it's always in blinding daylight. Whiteness is a GLARING theme. There's also foreshadowing early on in the film, where a book titled "The secret Nazi language of the Uthark" featured in Christian's room just before they go to Sweden.

There's also other Nazi ideology present within the Harga, such as the strict gender roles (the women all wear dresses & cook & clean & care for the children together but the men butcher the bear together), eugenics & ableism (the elderly are killed off at a certain age because they see disability & needing to be cared for as an elder "shameful", which is what one Harga states at the ritual suicide scene, & of course killing off the nonwhite characters), the "return to tradition" ideology (there are NO modern technology in the community, & it's in the countryside).

You see a cult full of ONLY White people, using Norse paganism (something VERY popular with Nazis) in an isolated area, who routinely murder poc, don't intermix with poc, kill off their elderly, Dani (the blonde, light eyed white girl) is praised for her beauty & made their May queen by the Harga, with strict gender roles, & this film was made by a JEWISH MAN to show the Harga as the bad guys, & you don't have a hunch that the Harga are maybe supposed to be white supremacists/nazis? That doesn't raise any red flags for you?

& let's not forget how Scandanavia committed genocide against the Saami, the Indigenous population who were there for hundreds of years before anyone else. That's a little off topic, but as a First Nations Canadian I aint gunna let that just go unacknowledged. Scandanavia has a white supremacy problem too, & Ari Aster is right for pointing it out

[hypexion]

The thing about Murders at Karlov Manor is that from a story perspective, it couldn't have been set anywhere but Ravnica. And it especially couldn't have been set on New Capenna.

The story of Murders is ultimately about the fallout of March of the Machine on both Ravnica as a city, and on Kaya personally. The motivations for the high-profile deaths that litter the set are tied directly to elements of the Phyrexian invasion. The manner of murder is specifically set up to overcome the barriers Ravnica as a setting provides to a murder mystery. And Kaya only gets involved because of her questionably defined but always present relationship with Teysa Karlov.

Ravnica also comes pre-built with a host of established characters, who conveniently all hate each other. This enabled readers to theorise about whodunnit, as each daily chapter provided more information and more intrigue. People considered all kinds of threads: Could Jace be involved? Might Azor be pulling the strings somehow? How does Judith plan to survive her crazy plan? Lazav?? By the time Proft said "I know who the killer is", you too could get it. (then for some reason they delayed the reveal chapter so they could reveal the killer in a spoiler stream. even when the story is good, the management is bad)

If you move the story out of Ravnica, the whole thing falls apart. You lose everything that makes it work. A new plane would be functional, but a lot less engaging. Fiora is about political scheming, even more so than Ravnica. And New Capenna...

New Capenna is not a particularly well constructed setting. It works as a sparse background for a Magic set, but when you start poking at it, it falls over. Like, one of the nicer ways to describe New Capenna is "discount Ravnica", because you are comparing it to one of the game's most successful settings. And that's what New Capenna is - a city controlled by a number of distinct factions, built out of specific colour combinations. But the New Capenna factions are not as good as the Ravnica ones (and the Obscura are literally just the Dimir). There is crime on New Capenna, but there is no authority against which that crime is committed, which makes things rather hollow. Ravnica, as strange as its laws are, has laws, along with people to enforce them. (note: I am aware of the Doylist reason why New Capenna has no police. Watson is still crying.)

Ravnica being well-developed allows it to function as a backdrop for a different idea. New Capenna's issues do the opposite. In fact, any return to New Capenna would need to reckon with how the setting got completely turned over by the return of the angels. You can't just say "well the crime has punishment now, onto the mystery". You have to actually engage with the big change, or you're just dragging New Capenna into a deeper hole.

conclusion: When the Magic story is good it's because the writer looked at the setting and characters they were given and used them together well. This is only possible if you have a setting and characters that can be used well. Ravnica has that, the crime plane does not.

[the-desilittle-bird]

AN- Serving you these sweet preferences is my duty... even though it means failing mathematics test, cause I can't pass it anyway 🤣

Requests are always open and well appreciated!

Thank you and Enjoy your reading!

HOTD Preferences

Defending Your Honor

Characters- Daemon Targaryen, Aemond Targaryen, Otto Hightower, Corlys Velaryon, Cregan Stark and Criston Cole.

Warnings- Slut-shaming, Curse, Murder (Daemon and Aemond), Fighting and Cutting off... something

Daemon 'Rogue Prince' Targaryen

You were Daemon Targaryen's paramour, with nothing to your name but his love and devotion. A mere dressmaker who somehow charmed the prince.

While your relationship was purely based on emotional supports and the physical attributes followed way later, the nobles didn't share the same thoughts.

Behind your back, you could hear their derogatory comments over you, questioning your relationship with the infamous prince.

"She must have a tight cunt for the prince to keep her so close."

"I am sure she is a witch and has fucked her magic into prince Daemon."

"There is no doubt that she will be ready to fuck and undress herself in front of anyone for money."

While Daemon would hear anything about himself with amusement, hearing things as such for his beloved made his blood boil.

In a feast in the honor of his own nameday, he made sure you were seated next to him with the Royal Family.

The family was welcoming but the courtiers weren't.

And he hears them again.

And goes crazy.

At the abrupt end of the feast, the Noble degrading you and your honor was taken to the Silent Sisters with a separated head or probably something even harsher.

Aemond 'One-Eyed' Targaryen

Aemond loves you a lot.

Everyone loves you, honestly. Except for some who think you are some scheming bitch, which secretly includes Otto.

During a normal session of the court, Aemond hears a member of a vassal house of Lannisters speaking rubbish about you.

Your honor was put to question and he won’t have it that way.

Interrupting the session, he calls the man ahead and when the spotlight is upon that man.

Aemond starts announcing the young lord’s “accusations”. And the whispers start.

But they are abruptly put to stop, by Aemond’s sword cutting off the lord’s head; much in a way Daemon had drove Dark Sister through Vaemond Velaryon.

And followed a long monologue about you and defending your honor and a threat of what shall happen if he is disobeyed.

All while that dead lord’s blood painted his face.

Otto ‘Hand of the King’ Hightower

You are his wife, or maybe courting each other, or betrothed to marry.

Either way, he is protective. Very. Very. Protective.

You are younger. Beautiful. Almost goddess like.

At a feast, you talk to a lord.

And there goes numerous rumours.

While Otto doesn’t believes it, others do.

And then, one day, you admit it. That the rumours were troubling you a lot.

And next, you hear that the man responsible for the rumours could never have children again, had you overjoyed and smirking. Found with the sigil of House Hightower next to him.

That was the very clear message to all.

Corlys ‘Sea Snake’ Velaryon

Corlys is possessive and protective of you, his darling wife.

You were from Dorne, and your Dornish practices aren’t quite far from your heart.

And that includes the flirtatious comments.

Corlys enjoyed that. But the other lords and ladies had a field trip, making rumours and what not.

When they hear them, he is angry and he throws a feast, intending to show what honour these people were talking of.

The feast was all normal except the wine was specifically strong and the servant ladies were all dressed provocatively.

And all of the lords were leering and everything.

Next morning, he organises a breakfast. And gives a loud and clear announcement.

All of it while the lady wives of those men were present and fuming with rage at the humiliation.

In directly, never talk bad about Corlys Velaryon’s wife.

Cregan ‘Wolf of the North’ Stark

You were of South and you arrived in Southern style.

And it made the lords of the North send you leering gazes.

And you were bold to admit it to Cregan who softly replied with:

“I apologise on their behalf, my lady. I shall see to it that it is taken care of.”

It was. But for only a few weeks.

And then came the feast before your wedding to him.

And the lords were drunk and again dishonouring sentences were exchanged.

The smile on your face was long gone and your jaw sat in a gesture of displeasure.

And it seemed to do something to Cregan. For one second, his direwolf was in front of the table; the other, that drunken lord was on the floor with the direwolf growling at his face.

“Since this day ahead, no one shall dare to dishonour my wife, your lady. Or, you shall not like what shall happen.”

And the smile on your face is sweet as you looked at your betrothed.

Criston ‘Kingmaker’ Cole

You were only a friend of his at that time.

And a Dornish lady.

A beautiful lady who was close to a member of King’s Guard.

And boom! There are rumours.

Penting up everything in his chest, Criston blasted when he heard a comment about you in the training grounds.

He challenged that knight or lord to a combat fight.

That fight ended with the lord being beaten to near death while Criston’s fists were bloodied.

You were told way later that something like that happened.

And while everyone were rather angry at his action, you were very very proud.

[shadowboxmind]

Maybe a hot take, but I don't think the Traveler was being inconsistent or out of character in the last archon quest at all. People are getting upset at their reaction to Lyney and Lynette's behavior from the perspective of players, with meta knowledge of the story that the Traveler, the character, doesn't have.

The players know, for example, that because they're playable characters, Lyney and Lynette are ultimately friendly and on "our" side, and we can also trust that what they told us about their backstory is true. The Traveler does not have that knowledge.

TO BE CLEAR this post is talking about my thoughts on the TRAVELER'S thought process. If we want to talk about how I personally would have reacted to the situation, I'm an overly trusting bleeding-heart who would absolutely get scammed and probably murdered by Fatui in this universe.

(Also characters, even main characters who you normally like, can do things you disagree with and that doesn't mean they're badly written. I mean, sometimes they are, but I don't think that's true in this particular case)

But think about it! Looking at the entire situation from an in-universe, in-character POV, it's a really bad look for Lyney and Lynette overall, because here are the facts as the Traveler is aware of them:

Lyney and Lynette are not only members of the Fatui, the primary antagonistic force in this story, but are specifically members of the House of the Hearth, which is known to specialize in espionage, subterfuge, and sabotage.

Both of them also work in a field that would further require them to be masters of misdirection, audience manipulation, and drama.

They "coincidentally" ran into the Traveler right as they arrived in Fontaine and immediately began to do them favors and be very friendly, including saving them from Furina, bringing them to meet their family, and gifting them VIP tickets to Lyney's show.

During the trial, the twins withheld key information, and not just about their identities (and listen, I get it, I fully empathize with why they did it, I get the reasoning, but it's still a bad look when it gets figured out) but also about what they were doing in the tunnel.

They admitted that the entire magic show was a ruse to do, guess what? espionage! To break into the room with the Oratrice's core and find out how it works. To, through subterfuge, obtain Fontaine's secrets about the nation's most important mechanism and central source of power.

The Traveler has known these people for like, a day total.

So what conclusions might the Traveler draw from these facts? When the evidence shows that Lyney and Lynette have a record of misdirection and obfuscation for their own ends? When the Traveler has no way of knowing if even their initial meeting was orchestrated for an ulterior purpose? How are they supposed to know if the tragic backstory is even true, or if that's just Lyney trying to win back some favor and sympathy? In my opinion, at that moment, they don't. Hence the coldness.

My interpretation of events is that the Traveler does like the twins, and wanted to keep liking them, but was struggling to reconcile their initial impression of two friendly magicians with the realization that these two friendly magicians were dishonest with them for most of the time they'd known each other, so they needed to have some space to figure that out.

And for those saying the Traveler is inconsistent, here's the thing: they still helped Lyney. They still acted as his attorney, investigated thoroughly, won the case, and cleared his name. They've done similar for other Fatui members in their acquaintance—they helped Childe with Teucer, they helped Scaramouche/Wanderer with getting his memories back, they helped that other member of the House of the Hearth fake her death and escape the organization—whether or not they fully trusted them, and generally they didn't.

As for the Traveler's supposed hypocrisy, my view of their relationship with Childe is that it's only improved because, despite Childe trying to nuke Liyue in the past, the Traveler knows that

a. They can handle him if it comes down to a fight again; b. He likes them, regardless of if the feeling is mutual or not, and is indeed aggressively friendly to the point where it's easier to just be civil; c. Childe is generally upfront and honest about his actions and will strike from the front, not stab them in the back; and d. He's worked together with them before when they had a common goal (for example, the labyrinth they went through with Xinyan).

They know how his mind works and what motivates him. Childe is a known quantity, the twins are not, and it took in-story time and shared experiences for the Traveler to get to even this point of neutrality; they were openly suspicious of him during his story quest.

As for holding his Vision for him, the Traveler didn't exactly volunteer for the job, Childe literally threw it at them with no warning and peaced out. What do you expect them to do, drop it in the sea? That would be inconsistent with their characterization.

Wanderer's whole situation is even weirder, since the Traveler was able to experience his actual memories and emotions and therefore has good reason to trust that he's had a genuine change of heart. Not to mention that they're not friends, I'd argue they're in that same nebulous "neutral" zone, and that only because Nahida usually functions as a buffer (and also because, again, the Traveler knows that they can handle Wanderer in a fight, and Wanderer also tends to be blunt and honest).

Also, in Lyney's story quest it seems like everyone got over their problems pretty fast and they're all chummy now, so you can all rest easy that the twins' feelings weren't too hurt about it.

Anyways if you disagree go ham, refute my points, whatever, just keep things civil.

[the-bar-sinister]

There's lots of gay subtext in Ace Attorney. 

But when looking specifically at subtext that might be intentionally put in the narrative by the creators with the intention that the character in question is actually gay, I think the main character with the most evidence behind this is actually Apollo Justice.

Our other main characters, Phoenix Wright and Athena Cykes both have obvious subtextually heteronormative romantic partners. To an adult, straight, culturally normative audience, Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey read normatively as an obvious romantic pairing. This is also the case for Athena Cykes and Simon Blackquill. In Great Ace Attorney the same can be said for Ryuunosuke and Susato. 

I repeat– to an adult, straight culturally normative audience, the romantic subtext between these characters is clear. If you showed these games to an American movie going public, that would be the obvious read by the audience.

Yes, each of these characters, Phoenix, Athena, and Ryuunosuke also have strong queer romantic subtext with another character. (Miles, Juniper, and Kazuma respectively).

However, that's not my point. It's not significant that each of the other three characters has homosexual relationship subtext.

It is significant that Apollo Justice does not have a character with whom he has heteronormative romantic subtext.

The closest thing Apollo Justice has to a "heteronormative romantic subtext" is Trucy Wright– whom we, the audience know is his sister.

And yes, you can make the argument that there is deliberate incestuous subtext between them– a kind of Luke/Leia style relationship with which the audience is teased by the narrative. Dhurke brings it up directly in Spirit of Justice.

However, this is still not a heterenormative subtext, because of its taboo nature. More taboo, culturally at this point, than homosexuality.

On top of the lack of heteronormative romantic subtext, Apollo also is on the receiving end some of the strongest and most overt of the homosexual subtext in the series.

There is of course the famous "meet cute" introduction between Apollo and Klavier– 

“I must say, I'm used to being inspected by the ladies... but this is the first time I've felt this way with another man.”

This is without question overt homosexual subtext.

However, there is another, even more subtextually clearly defined moment in Dual Destinies. Honestly, the subtext is all over Dual Destinies in the way Apollo reacts to Clay Terran's death (basically completely losing it) but there's one particular moment that deliberately draws your attention to the relationship in a queer way.

In one of the last cases of the game, everyone is delicately trying to explain to the judge that Aura Blackquill was in love with Metis Cykes (who was murdered) in a queer way. It's a big “they’re lesbians, harold” moment.

And then the conversation immediately turns to Apollo Justice and how he’s just had someone who was “important to him” murdered, too.

The narrative specifically draws you attention to the relationship that Aura and Metis had, and compares it to the relationship between Apollo and Clay.

You are specifically invited to speculate about what kind of important relationship Clay and Apollo had, and why Apollo has been affected so incredibly deeply.

So yeah. Between Clay, Klavier, and the lack of anything resembling a heteronormative romantic relationship for Apollo in the games, I think he has the strongest narrative evidence that he's actually being written deliberately as gay.

[starrclown]

Silly little double post cause I thought of this SECONDS after my original post bitching about the Hotel.

I have a theory on why people don't complain about the black characters designs of Hazbin Hotel. (I'll talk about it at the end)

Let's talk about the 4 black characters of Hazbin Hotel that people defend the designs with their LIFE.

First up:

ALASTOR

Alastor has been confirmed to be a mixed Creole man from Louisiana. Does he look like it? No. No he doesn't. If you told me this man has the whitest parents this side of hell then I would believe you. There I nothing visually that gives away he may have black features. Nose shape, lips, not ashy grey skin (something well see just you wait), thy couldn't even be dammned to give him curly hair or nothing! He doesn't have no black features and it's really off putting.

People argue that he has a white parent, a part that could play in him not having black features. I will remind you all again that I am not mixed. I am white. Mixed people can look any way. There is no specific way for mixed people to look. But cmon. No black features at all? Nothing? Personally I believe that Alastor want designed to be black. I believe that Vivziepop only made him black to justify him using voodoo. This is only speculation but to each their own.

Side note but the way yall attack people, mostly on Tiktok, about redesigns or re imagines is actually depressing. Could make a whole rant on that in general.

Next up:

VELVETTE

Thir is similar issues with Alastor and Velvette. No textured hair, no nose shape, no difference in her lips, ashy grey skin. While I like that Velvette changes hair styles every episode, personally I think that Velvette should have more black hairstyles. Like Velvette with braids or dreadlocks would be so cool. To this shows credit, Velvette did have a afro in episode 8. Honestly that should be her starter hair before she changes it. That would be so cute. Manifesting Velvette with a afro.

3rd:

Sera

Sera I would argue is the best designed black character. She actually has more pigmented brown skin and her hair I think is supposed to resemble dreadlocks. Personally I think their is room for improvement. She could be browner, less ashy looking, since she actually had a nose it could be a different shape then just straight, their could be more detail for her hair. While she's the best designed character, their is room to grow.

Side note: Y'all hating Sera too much. I see fanart and animatics of her being this blood thirsty killer that is jus destroying hell. Yall she is actively shown in the first 2 minutes of Hazbin not agreeing with the exterminations and actively frowning at the idea of murder. Sera is great I don't know what yall are on.

Last and certainly least because oh my god:

Emily

This is not a black woman. No I don't care that Viv said she's or that her Bible page says she is. Where is any black features? Her skin is gray, she has pencil thin lips like me, a white boy, she has stringy straight hair, and no nose at all.

This goes along with Sera as well but people say that they are angel's and don't have to look like black women because their angels and don't have a race. Which 1. Is wrong because Emily's Bible page said she was a youthful 20 something black woman and 2. If their angel's that dont have races then that fine. But.

DON'T SAY THEIR BLACK WOMAN AND THEN NOT DESIGN THEM LIKE IT.

If Viv just left them raceless then the would have been fine. But that not what she did. She made them black and then back peddled when people said that they didn't look like black woman. She tried to have her cake and eat it too. No, I don't care their angel's, if your going to give them a race then commit to it.

Let's get on to my conspiracy theory. I've noticed something in the Hazbin Hotel fandom that I think is the reason for the dismissal of the black characters no having black features.

Fanart.

I'm going somewhere with this is swear.

Go to Tumblr or Tiktok and see the art people create of Hazbin Hotel. You'll notice that people give Alastor and Velvette brown skin, they give Emily curly hair, they give Velvette full lips and different black hairstyles.

People make their art of the black characters looking black so when people see it they associate it with the show.

This is of course just a theory but I've noticed it alot and I think it's a pretty damn good explanation.

Sorry if this isn't as good as my other rants, I tried to get this out quickly because my theory was bothering me.

Asks are always open, art is always here, commissions are open, black lives matter.

- ⭐️StarClown⭐️

[mysterycitrus]

the way you write the relationships the batfam have with each other is so delicious to me like AUGHH YOUR BRAIN!!! it’s so good. if you were willing, i'd love to hear more of your thoughts on the relationship cass and jason have / steph and jason (staring at you with my big wet eyes)

i havent read much from any of the characters and have seen large parts of fandom say that they would all get along/they’d be so close/besties, so the ideas i’ve read in your works (wolf king and persephone) are very interesting!!

to put it bluntly — i think they’d fucking hate him.

part of that is, weirdly, people tend to devalue tim’s relationships with steph and cass. like, steph and tim have never been normal about each other. cass and tim spent most of the nineties and early aughts jumping back and forth to each other’s comics. in what world would either of them be chill with the guy who hurt him (and damian) like that?

it also flattens cass’s ideology and steph’s history with bruce’s mission. cass has struggled with engaging with murderers because she’s sees them as herself, and their actions as her own actions. she is reflected in each of them, but she ultimately values life above all else which is why her personal connection to the bat is so interesting. she would not have sympathy or time for jason todd, someone who uses bruce’s mission to hurt others, to take lives, and attack the people she loves. like…. please be serious. she would not be hanging out w the person who was happy when bludhaven got nuked.

same deal with steph— something that really annoys me is when people act as though the “bad robin club” would be a bonding moment between steph and jason. not just because steph has a more developed comic run than jason has, with legitimate obstacles to her getting recognised as a hero, but also because again, this guy is doing the same shit as her dad. why would she like him after he went after tim multiple times? whenever someone draws this comparison i think of this page —

the fact that steph values bruce’s mission, his views on taking a life, despite being at such a profound low point is really important. i can’t believe she’d look at jason and think him admirable.

however!!!! that doesn’t mean their interactions (when reasonably in character imo) can’t be interesting!! having cass and jason interact in persephone was a lot of fun, because making him interact with someone other than bruce or dick puts him off balance. peoples fear of complex relationships with legitimate stakes makes me sad. neither cass or steph have that history with him before death, or that same image of him as a memorial, and it’s a fun thing to explore. specifically this passage from wolf-king —

like yeah!! neither of them would fuck with him!!! let him be the unpopular brother!!

[ayabeanworks]

Title: I'm Home

Synopsis: Where SaShiSu finally meet you again after 7 lifetimes of not seeing you.

Character: SaShiSu x reader

Series: Let's Meet in the Spring (SaShiSu x reader)

Notes: Part 2 of Can I meet you again? AU where Geto does not defect, and you do instead. Some angst, fluff, mentions of death, suicide and murder. Happy ending.

My playlist when writing this: - Dancing With Your Ghost by Sasha Sloan - Akari by Soushi Sakiyama (Ending of JJK S2 Hidden Inventory)

When you dream, you sometimes see the same three people.

Two boys and one girl. The two boys were like the sun and moon, almost like the direct opposite of each other. One's got white hair and the bluest eyes of them all, the other's got dark hair and beautiful purple eyes rivalling amethysts. The girl had short brown hair and warm, caramel brown eyes, with a mole under her right eye.

They always seemed to appear in your dream, but every time you woke up, you could barely remember their facial features, as if something or someone was deliberately drawing over it with a thick sharpie to obstruct your view.

So when you wake up, you're left wondering why you keep dreaming of them, and your chest that clenches in longing whenever you wake up from a dream including them.

Sometimes, you would even wake up in tears, and sometimes, you would wake up with the biggest smile on your face. On one rare occasion, you felt a sharp pain in your neck that hurt so much you woke up in cold sweat. But, you could also feel a gentle hand caressing your cheek.

For your whole life, you didn't know why they kept appearing in your dreams. Even when you were young, you couldn't get the images of them out of your head, or their faceless features, nor the imagery that was shown to you. Horrible images they had been, ones where you would wake up tired and lethargic, like you'd battled and exhausted all your mental and physical energy.

You don't know who or what you're fighting.

When you tried to talk to your parents about it, they would shrug you off, thinking it was just a nightmare or something that kids dreamt of because of their overactive imaginations.

But you knew. You knew it was more than that. You just weren't able to explain it in words.

So you never talked about those dreams again. They were dreams that stayed with you and dreams that ended with you.

If you had a chance, sometimes you would ask others what their dreams were about or if they had the same type of dream. But none of them were even similar to your situation, and it made you confused why yours were so different to everyone else's.

It was only when you turned 18, you managed to remember the face of one of the three.

It was the one with dark hair and purple eyes. His features were sharper than you thought, and for him specifically, it was like a veil had risen from in front of your eyes, and you were able to remember bits and pieces of the dreams you continuously had.

You don't know his name. But the way he looked at you made your chest tight, and your cheek tingle. Specifically the area under the eye.

You could probably trace his features on a piece of paper if you tried hard enough - you could recall your fingertips tracing his face as he lay next to you, and the laugh that came from him when he found it ticklish.

Then, he would cup your cheek, his thumb gently swiping the area right under your eye, the area which would normally tingle after some dreams with him in it. And each and every time, his expression would be incredibly soft, his gaze incredibly affectionate as he looked at you.

For you to feel it so realistically, you sometimes wondered whether it was a memory from a past life, or if it was a premonition of sorts?

When you woke up, you were calm, relaxed and felt safe. It was strange after such a dream. When talking to others, you heard these types of dreams would make someone giddy and excited because it was so intimate.

Contrary to the general population, even though you were calm, and the dream you had was intimate and borderline romantic, all you just felt was that a part of you was missing.

You missed the stranger in your dreams; the stranger who sometimes held you tenderly, sometimes knocked the wind out of you with his hugs, and sometimes caressed your cheek as if you were the only thing in his eyes. After you could remember his face, the pull of longing became stronger little by little.

Your eyes started to look around, wherever you were, hoping to catch a glimpse of the boy in your dreams, a silver of hope in you to reach some answers.

Why were you having these dreams?

Who was he? Who were the other two?

What significance did they have in your life?

You have yet to get any answers.

The second face you could finally properly see was the girl. She was young, maybe around your current age and had those beautiful brown eyes you could get lost in. She had the demeanor of someone who didn't have much of a care in the world, but she was fun, she was kind and she was most of all flirty. Towards you, anyway.

You could recall the embarassment you woke up to after she had teased you all day in the dream. Your face was red, but it made you happy. For that much teasing, you wondered whether you were an M. It made no sense you liked it so much?

Hell, everything in your dreams, and how it shaped you and your thoughts, confused you. It all made no sense, but it felt like you were trying to find something, find something precious you've lost. But what precious thing did you lose?

You didn't know.

When you felt like you were on the verge of figuring something out, you couldn't. You didn't have enough information.

So, you continued life like normal, hoping that you would at least get some answers living day to day and dreaming night after night.

It was around the 3 month mark after you could see the dark haired boy that you could see the girl. Now all your dreams had both of them in it, two of the three whom you could see the faces of. But, the last one's face was still blurred out, and you still couldn't see him.

All you knew was that he wore these dark round sunglasses, had white hair, and for some reason, you knew he had blue eyes.

But, you still weren't able to see his face.

While you dreamed of scattered bits of what seemed like a memory, you could tell the white haired one was a bit brash, but was secretly a sweetheart who hid behind a bravado of arrogance.

Every time you woke up from dreaming about the white haired one, you felt like laughing, only because whatever reaction he gave was funny. He was a very lively one, and compared to the others, he always had something interesting he was doing, no matter what time or in whatever situation.

But for years, the blurring on his face didn't disappear, and you weren't able to find out what he properly looked like.

One day, you stumbled across a crepe shop a few stations away from where you lived. The rush hour traffic was absolutely abysmal, and it was a mild day, causing it to be hot and disgusting inside the train.

So, you did what any sane person would do and get off the train a few stops earlier, preferring to walk home instead. You were in your early 20's and had moved to Tokyo for work after completing your degree, preferring to be a little closer without having to commute so long.

It was only by coincidence you discovered it, but when you ordered for the first time, it was like you had practiced this order your whole life.

A crepe decorated with strawberries, whipped cream and topped with a drizzle of chocolate.

While you waited for them to make your order, you could hear someone's voice in the back of your head, a deep voice with a playful tone that didn't belong to anybody you knew.

But even so, it was a voice you were incredibly familiar with, and your breath hitched from hearing it again.

Except, when you looked around, there wasn't anybody near you, and there wasn't anybody who 'fit' the voice from a further distance away.

Nobody who 'fit' the voice? You had questioned your own thoughts, wondering where that came from. It was almost like you were trying to find a specific person.

But who?

When you got the crepe, you left. It was a delicious crepe, so you wanted to go back and get one for yourself on days when you were stressed. Probably a Friday like today. You often went there after school on Fridays.

It was a moment after you finished the thought that you stopped suddenly in your steps.

I often went there after school on Fridays? You looked over your shoulder at the crepe shop in the distance, situated between other shops.

That's impossible.

You knew it was impossible. You didn't live in the city, you didn't go to this side of the city, nor did you see this crepe shop any other time in your life. It was your first time ordering from them too!

So what gives?

The next moment, you heard a familiar voice. It was definitely a figment of your imagination, but you swore you could hear that same voice from when you were waiting for your crepe. But when you faced the direction it came from, you couldn't find anything.

You heaved a light sigh and started walking home, just missing the tall white haired man who had come to order his own crepe.

That night, you finally saw the face of the white haired boy, 4 years after seeing the faces of the dark haired boy and brown haired girl.

He was an incredibly beautiful boy, contrary to his expressions and behaviours. No blemishes to speak of, soft white hair and a glimmering set of blue eyes.

Those blue eyes were so beautiful you couldn't help but admire them whenever you remembered them. It reminded you of a cloudless blue sky, maybe even prettier.

The dream in which you had seen that boy properly for the first time was at the crepe shop you went to before. It was one where he stood with you, both in uniform as he paid for the crepes, grinning as he ordered one with a multitude of toppings, whilst you ordered your regular strawberry crepe with whipped cream and a chocolate drizzle.

His round sunglasses were opaque, a detail you seemed to already know, and when he caught you staring at him while talking, he teased you and took off his glasses, coming up close to your face to allow you to stare at his eyes.

It seemed he knew what you wanted, but after you complimented him sincrerely on how pretty his eyes were, he put the sunglasses on you, completely obscuring your vision with darkness as he ruffled your hair and mumbled out a quiet and embarrassed 'shut up'.

The same voice you heard at the crepe shop - it belonged to him. You were sure of it.

You were even more sure that if you went to that same crepe shop on Fridays during after school hours, you might be able to see him, and by extension, the other two.

It was only the next week when you woke up in cold sweat, dreaming of yet another battle. But, this time your neck stung and you felt like you were suffocating.

There was only one other time you had this type of dream, and it was when you were young, the day you tried telling your parents about it.

You controlled your inhales and exhales, holding the side of your neck that stung, feeling a liquid sensation there. Alarmed, you brought your hand in front of you to look, but it was just your sweat.

It felt like something else. A darker, more viscous liquid.

Your hand trembled, flashes of your bloodied hand flashing for less than a second in your mind, similar to your dream.

You could recall blurry imagery, blood, screams and frantic voices. You could feel one of your hands being caressed between two larger hands. You knew it was the darker haired boy who was holding your hand. But you couldn't see him except for the top half of his face. You could only make out that he had a sad expression in his eyes, but masked it with calmness.

The one who you could see, was the owner of the beautiful blue eyes. He held an expression you've never seen on him before, one that was a mixture of pain, disbelief, panic and frustration all in one. His eyes were glossy, and it looked like he could cry at any moment. His jaw was clenched and his breathing was erratic.

That was when you heard another voice, one that you knew belonged to the darker haired boy.

"Let's get you home, [name]."

That was when you woke up. You could only feel your cold body, shivers making goosebumps form on your skin, regardless of how warm the spring weather was becoming.

Compared to when you were younger, the dream you just had was much stronger, much more pronounced, and you could really feel what was happening.

It was too much. The only emotion you could feel was regret, sadness, and a tad of relief. You couldn't help but tear up. You hugged yourself in a fetal position as you tried to hold back your tears. But the more you tried to, the more tears threatened to spill.

And so you cried.

After that day, you recorded everything. You had half a mind to do it when you started being more conscious of the world, but you didn't end up doing anything until now. You should've started earlier.

After a week of jotting down all the notes you could, you had finally written up a bunch of documents on your computer, detailing everything you saw in your dreams, the people you met, the experiences you got, and the three people who it seemed to revolve around.

You even decided to take up art classes to draw the vivid imagery in your dreams after failing to draw a proper pair of round opaque sunglasses. It was easier to scribble down whatever you could, including drawings, when you remembered it.

And the drawings you found yourself drawing a lot of, were actually the crepes found at the crepe store you frequented on the weekly.

You ordered something different each time, hoping it would jog your memory or even trigger some. After all, it seemed you went to the crepe store with the white haired boy every week, and every week both of you got a different combination of flavours.

It wasn't every single time, but some would trigger memories to flow into your head. That was when you would quickly sketch down a crepe with a large number of toppings, one that you know you wouldn't get. It was definitely the white haired boy's.

This continued on for the next few years, and the number of sketchbooks and documents you've put together were numerous. There was so much material and you had more to add, making you wonder when you would stop getting these dreams.

On a day where you didn't get any dreams, you decided you wanted to go to the crepe store. It wasn't a Friday, but rather a Saturday, just a day after your previous visit.

You hadn't gone on a weekend before.

As you make your way there, you found the chatter of the streets to be louder than the Friday, full of smiles and laughter of families and friends.

This brought a smile to your lips as you stopped in front of the crepe store, wondering what you wanted this time. Yesterday you had a maple syrup crepe, so today you'll get a savoury one.

You put in an order for a cream cheese salmon crepe, a new addition added only the week prior, and stood to the waiting area, patiently waiting for them to finish your brunch.

"I think this is the first time I've ever seen you ordering a savoury crepe. What happened to just the sweet kind?"

You froze.

That voice.

That voice.

Your eyes widened and you immediately looked up from your open sketchbook, staring at a taller man with white hair, tinted round sunglasses and the biggest grin on his face.

It was the boy, now a man, from your dreams.

Your eyes glossed over with a sudden wish to cry. Your chest tightened, making it harder to breathe while your head started hurting, a bunch of information flowing into your mind like they were your own. The amount of information crammed into your head was overwhelming, almost worse than the worst headache you've ever had.

But, it gave you answers. It gave you everything you ever wanted to know.

Now, everything made sense.

Your lips parted, about to say something, but then it closed and opened again like a goldfish, unsuccessful in delivering anything via words. Instead, your tears fell and you sobbed like a madman, wailing in the middle of the street while waiting for your crepe.

Satoru only laughed at you, taking the sketchbook out of your hands as he pulled you into his chest, giving you tight hug, enveloping you in his embrace.

Oh, how you missed his hugs.

"'toru, 'toru, 'toru!" You chanted his nickname like a prayer, your voice muffled in his chest as you sobbed, arms trying to pull him impossibly closer than he already was. You couldn't stop the tears from falling; a sense of relief, happiness and comfort washing over you as you hugged him.

Satoru only responded by hugging you tighter, pressing his cheek to the top of your head as he nuzzled into you, taking in the scent he's missed so much. He pressed a kiss to the crown of your head, then nuzzled his cheek back in the same place.

You were here. You were here in his arms. He wasn't dreaming.

"I'm here, [name]." One of his hands behind your neck started stroking the back of your head, comforting you as you let another sob at his reassurance that you were definitely not dreaming and he was there in the flesh.

Against his chest, you could feel his racing heartbeat as he hugged you, almost like he'd run a marathon, making your sobs turn into broken laughs at how that one trait never changed.

You pulled away from him but kept in his embrace, sniffing as you stared up at him. You reached up to take off his sunglasses, seeing those beautiful blue eyes you've missed. You stared into them for a moment, with them staring right back at you, almost like they could see through your soul.

"Like what you see?" A familiar, shit-eating grin made you laugh and lightly hit his arm, mirth settling in his eyes as he saw your smile.

It was genuine.

"You've grown up, 'toru." Your words were soft as you cupped both of his cheeks, checking his face from all angles. "The last time I saw you, we were both 18." You pinched his cheeks before your hands dropped to your sides, "You've matured. You've become really handsome."

Satoru usually would've cracked a joke, but with the shock of finally seeing you again and the sincerity in your words after not meeting you for over 600 years, he nodded, a closed smile as he felt his eyes become glossy. He shied away from your gaze, opting to look at your shoulder as he tried to blink away his tears.

The last time he saw you was when you died in his arms. He didn't count Kenjaku who had taken over your body as you. So when he finally saw you waiting at the crepe store he'd come to on a weekly basis, he couldn't help but feel so, so happy you were there. He almost thought it wasn't real because they weren't able to find you for over 7 lifetimes, and it was his mind playing tricks on him.

Though, as luck would have it, a couple of years ago, he just barely saw you, and knew they could find you this time around.

And that, they did.

"'toru, can you lean down for me?" You request, taking a small step back so he had room to. You felt his arms lock so you stayed in his embrace, almost like he was afraid you'd escape from his grasp and leave.

He met your eyes again, this time confusion evident in them as he did as requested. You felt your hands go to the sides of his head, bringing him down a slight bit more, before planting a kiss on his hairline.

"I promised!"

When you let go, he stood back up, bringing you in for another embrace as he hid his face from you, hiding your face in the crook of his neck. His face was burning with a pink blush, his ears red as he tried to calm down his hammering heart. He knew you could hear it, but he didn't want you to see his embarrassed face too.

"Satoru, have you gotten your crepe yet?"

Suguru, who had come with Shoko, raised a brow as he saw Satoru hugging someone. The other person held his glasses in one hand, lightly patting his back as a means of comfort. They were still waiting for their crepes, it seemed.

"Wait..." Shoko paused for a moment, a hand coming to Suguru's arm. "That's..." She was glad she wasn't smoking at this very moment, because immediately after seeing the familiar hands, Suguru had excused himself and gave Shoko all the things he was holding, forsaking his gentleman behaviour to see the friend he couldn't save.

Shoko could only sigh as she watched her best friends. She was waiting her turn and wouldn't be able to go against those two giants, so all she did was stand off to the side and watch as they had a little reunion before she had hers.

"[name]!" Suguru's call of your name was breathless as he grabbed Satoru's shoulder, making you lift your head to see him.

When you saw Suguru again, you let go of Satoru and your arms reached to go around Suguru's neck as you cried his name, jumping into his arms as you once again cried at the appearance of your best friend, the one who tried to save you but you pushed away.

Satoru couldn't even properly get mad because he already had his cute little reunion, so he gave Suguru a little grin before going over to Shoko and taking the bags from her to bring closer to where everyone else was.

"Sugu!" You sobbed his name as you buried your face into the crook of his neck. He supported you by holding you up in a tight hug, closer to his strong ones, as you breathed in his familiar scent.

He couldn't stop himself from also shedding a couple of tears, giving you a light kiss on your cheek in the process, his eyes closed as he rearranged his arms so one arm was around your waist, and the other was on the back of your head.

"I missed you." He mumured into your ear. His voice was so small, about to crack, as he let you down onto the ground and leaned down to bury his face into your neck. He just bathed in your presence, bathed in you.

He missed this. He missed you. He missed you so, so much. He didn't know if he would be able to live without you. Those 600 years and more he had to wait for you to finally come back to him were so, so long. But he never gave up. They never gave up.

That was how precious you were to them.

"Sugu, I want to see you." You gently pet the back of his head, smoothing out the hair he'd let loose for the day. It was as silky as you remembered it, maybe even more?

You wondered if he followed your advice on using shampoo and conditioner instead of just soap.

Suguru didn't move for a second, but sniffed and lifted himself up, facing you with red eyes and cheeks. He didn't care if others saw him. He didn't care anymore, especially when it came to you.

You smiled up at him, happiness in your eyes as you looked at him as if he was the most precious thing you've ever set your eyes on (you look at Satoru & Shoko the same way, he noted). You cupped his cheeks, doing exactly what you did to Satoru to Suguru too, examining his facial features.

You run a hand through his hair, pulling it gently back for him. "You've grown up, Sugu. You look very handsome. Very dashing." You giggled when you see his cheeks flare at the compliments, and he resists the urge to hide in the crook of your neck again and take in your calming scent.

"You have too." Suguru eyes you, nodding to himself at your now matured look. He grabs one of your hands, holding it with both his own as he gently rubs circles into the back of your hand.

To him, Satoru & Shoko, you were still pretty much the same as when you were 18, when you left them in their first life. You didn't change much. All your mannerisms were the same, maybe a little bit different from how you grew up, but he thought of it as another variation of you.

You only beam at him, giving him a little twirl of yourself, making the three of them laugh.

You were still so cute.

"Shoko!" You let go of Suguru's hand after giving it a light squeeze, heading over to where the doctor was.

Her arms were already outstretched for you, and you dove right into her arms, hugging her as tight as possible, feeling a laugh resonating in her chest as you hugged her tight. Her arms went around your neck, chin on top of your head as you tried not to cry again at seeing her.

She stroked the back of your head gently, kissing your forehead and cheeks, then pressing her forehead against yours after a slight change in positioning. "You seem well, [name]. Did you miss me? We kept our promise to see you again."

"Of course I missed you!" You ended up bawling into her shirt as you realised she was the one who hadn't seen you the longest out of the three. The last time you properly saw her was just after you had murdered the elder, and then you died a year or so later in Satoru & Suguru's arms.

Shoko, already understanding what you wanted to say, only smiled as she closed her eyes and leaned her head against yours.

After a moment, you apologised for making her clothes wet with your tears, but she shrugged it off, citing 'battle scars' with a wide grin. Some things she said, was still a mystery to you.

You sniffed as you took a step back to fully look at Shoko. She looks much cooler than she did back then, grown her hair longer, and was more mature in appearance than before, which leaned more on the cute side.

"You're so beautiful." You complimented, "Truly!" You could probably stare at her for days. Why did she have the best glow up?

Shoko gave you a wink, smirking at you when you blushed.

"Savoury crepes aren't actually that bad." Satoru suddenly commented, having taken a few bites from your freshly made one.

"Hey! Isn't that my crepe?!" You looked at the crepe store owner, but when he met your eyes he just gave you a thumbs up and a nod, signalling all was good. He had witnessed your touching reunion with them, and given your brunch to Satoru.

"Satoru, let me have some." Suguru took the crepe from him, taking a couple of bites himself as you watched your crepe disappear into the stomachs of the two men. He licked his lips to get some of the cream cheese off, nodding in approval, "This is quite good. I'll order another one for us." He taps your nose with a smile as he went to order more, taking the last bits of your crepe with him.

While he did, you returned your gaze at Satoru, who was busy eating the incredibly sweet one he ordered.

He met your eyes and raised both brows, almost as if he was asking why you were staring.

"How often did you come here?" You omitted the part you wanted to ask the most, about how long they've been waiting.

Satoru didn't even blink as he answered straight away, "Every week at first, then every day. For over 600 years. 7 lifetimes. 7 timelines."

You stared at him in shock, frozen at his answer. Your lips trembled as you realised just how long they've been searching for you. For the 3 or so years you've been together as best friends, it made such a huge impact that it spanned centuries.

You could feel how devoted they were to you, how much they loved you, how they couldn't forget about you. It made you so happy they were so loyal in finding you, but it also felt like you'd chained them down so strongly that it was unfair.

"What if you couldn't find me after 1000, 2000 years?" Your voice was small as it shook.

"We'd fnd you. No matter what." His words were solid, unmoving, and sturdy. There was no hesitation, none at all. He wholeheartedly believed this. "Well, at least I wasn't going to give up. The world could freeze or burn for all I care, but if I couldn't find you then I'd continue or die trying. Rinse and repeat."

"Me too." Suguru came back with the 3 savoury crepes, handing one to everyone except Satoru.

"Me three." Shoko gave the dark haired man a nod as a thank you for the crepe.

You stared at the three of them, remembering how suffocated you felt back in your original life because of all the curses, all the problems that arose with the elders and whatnot. It pushed you to breaking point and even if they were there to try and bring you out, you had fallen in so deep you weren't able to get out. You felt alone and didn't have anymore strength to get out.

But, this time was different. This world didn't have curses. You didn't have the problems you had back then. Your best friends were still here, and they had come to find you, no matter what world nor how long it took. They were there for you.

Would you be able to rely on them this time?

"Thank you." You stared at the crepe as you spoke, not brave enough to see their expressions. "Thank you for not giving up on me. Thank you for not forgetting me. Thank you for finding me. Thank you for everything."

"The crepe didn't do anything for you, [name]." Suguru laughed when you looked up at him in humiliation, not wanting to repeat your heartfelt words to their faces.

Shoko let out a laugh at his comment, making your face flare red.

Satoru had an amused glint in his eyes as he grinned, "Don't be embarassed, we've gone through 7 lifetimes for you. Seven. If that ain't embarrassing to find someone you've known for 3 years, I don't know what is." He watched as you opened and closed your mouth like a goldfish yet again, fueling his amusement.

"Well, it doesn't have to be said now. You can say it whenever you want." Shoko took a bite of the crepe, nose crinkling at the difference in the sweet crepe and the savoury toppings.

"Boo." Suguru & Satoru pouted, wanting to tease you more.

"Anyway, let's go home." Shoko eyed the groceries, "The groceries aren't going to unpack themselves."

The men gave a hum in agreement.

"Already?" You looked at them, sadness appearing on your face since you wanted to talk to them more.

They stared at you as if you had grown another head, with Satoru raising a perfect white brow at the cute pout on your lips.

"What do you mean, 'already?' You're coming with us." He spoke matter of factly. "We'll get the movers to bring your stuff to ours as soon as possible."

"Yeah, what gave you the idea you could run away so quickly?" Suguru had a glint in his eyes as he spoke. He pinched your cheek, "You think we're gonna let you go now that we've found you?"

"You're stuck with us now, [name]." Shoko laughed brightly, reminding you of her in your original life. It had been so, so long since you've last heard her laugh so brightly, it struck a chord in your heart.

"C'mon," She held out her hand, prompting you to take it as she pulled you along. "I want to hear what's been happening with you. We've got lots to catch up on."

Suguru shifted in his step so he was next to you, an arm slung around your shoulders as he pushed you forward to walk with them. "And don't you dare leave anything out." He raised both brows at you, referencing the times you kept things from them.

You gave him a meek nod, promising yourself you wouldn't.

Satoru twirled the key to his car and house around his fingertips, "Y'know, you forgot to say one thing."

"One thing?"

The glasses slid down his nose as his gaze matched yours. "Remember your last words before you died in my arms?"

It took you a moment to recall your words, an 'o' shape forming on your lips.

You felt a squeeze on your shoulder and hand from Suguru and Shoko, who you knew were watching you recall some distant memories, but fresh ones in their minds. Especially for Suguru and Satoru, they were were the ones who heard it loud and clear, being the ones to experience your last moments.

Your heart blossomed with warmth at their invitation to come back with them. You didn't think reincarnation was real - it was just a wish because you wanted to see them again. So your last words reflected the wish you held so dearly in your heart. You let out the most dazzling smile you've ever made in your life, radiating so much joy for a wish come true, "I'm home!"

The grins on Satoru, Suguru and Shoko's faces could put the brightest gems to shame.

"Welcome home!"

You've arrived home, and you were there to stay.

A/N: A little note about the ending and what [reader] and SaShiSu says: it's referencing your last words back when you died in your first life/original life.

The last part [reader] says, "I'm home / ただいま", is what the Japanese say when they come back home after a day out, and is said to family members, friends and anyone they're coming home to.

On the other hand, SaShiSu say "Welcome home / おかえり - okaeri", an expression used to reply to "I'm home", or one to ellicit that answer. What's important is the person who says this is the 'home' the person saying 'I'm home" is coming home to.

For anyone who watches or reads and watches manga/anime/Japanese dramas, you're probably aware that when someone says "I'm home", it usually means that they've at least said "I'll be going now / いってきます - ittekimasu" before they leave and come home later. But this phrase isn't just "I'll be going now" - it actually holds the nuance and vibe that the person saying it (the one who's going somewhere) will come back. So it's got a closer meaning to "See you later" if we look at it in English translation.

And in this story, it can be assumed [reader] says "I'll be going now / いってきます - ittekimasu" as their last words in their first life, with a wish in their heart to see SaShiSu again. Which is why in their letters to SaShiSu, [reader] talked about reincarnation and wanting to see them in a world without curses.

In this context, the way [reader] says it is really cruel, because they didn't come back and left on their own, effectively leaving an 18 year old Suguru & Satoru to hear [reader]'s last words, and Shoko to hear it from them. And because of the nuances behind the meaning of those seemingly simple words, it devastated them when they read the letters. They couldn't just let it go.

That's also why Suguru's last words [reader] can recall from their first life is "Let's get you home, [name]", because he's responding to it in the only way he can cope and not curse them, but also wishing for [reader] to come back to them. And if [reader] died, they would then have their corpse, and will bring it back to get cremated in the 'home' [reader] belonged to before defecting.

Since they couldn't get over it, they did whatever they could to find [reader] in the 7 lifetimes and timelines they've been reincarnated to. So when they've finally found [reader], the words SaShiSu wanted to hear the most were "I'm home" from their best friend who hadn't yet come back to them.

A/N p2: God explaining the nuances makes me cry more than the actual story itself 😭

Anyway if you haven't read part 1, here you go!

As for the others, here's the masterlist for the series if you want to read up on other things happening in this universe😄

[time-is-restored]

do you guys every think abt death vs immortality as a thoroughline in like. literally all of the mechs albums.

old king cole is explicitly warped by immortality (never to forgive he would eternal live, his hands dyed red by gore - can be read a few ways depending on where u place the emphasis, but at the very least communicates that his wrath is facilitated By his immortality), and the olympians commit attrocities in order to hold onto their wealth and the immortality that it grants them (murdering arachne, yanking heracles' chain the second he tries to go freelance, having a monopoly on the acheron etc). the value they put on immortality and living forever, and the fear they have of ever possibly losing it, has completely warped their morals and priorities.

and while it comes up less in tbi, there's still significant emphasis placed on how odin has been in power for a century (both thor + the narrator bring it up, and there's also an emphasis on how long ago the bifrost project was started, and how 'no one left living' can explain its science). her villain monologue in rangarok iv places the extinction of asgard as an honour - a ruin that no one can possibly rebuild from is called 'apotheosis'. and as she says at the end, the idea that no one can possibly outlive her is a key draw for odin. asgard dies with her.

in hnoc, the only really immortal character is brian (and we only really know that bc of knowledge we get from outside the album), but the axis of life and death as a privilege vs a curse is still very present. 'mordred's gift to Arthur could be love in his own eyes / fating him alone to keep the life to which he clings', not only posits that the gift of survival isn't inherently good + kind (which the audience would immediately recognise as love, not possibly love), but places emphasis on the fact that arthur is now utterly alone. the station's death at the hands of mordred is hardly a happy one ('Its people damned, doomed by a man who's lost all his regrets'), but arthur's fate is arguably worse. severed from the finality and closure of death, what does he become? [insert that one cool theory abt hnoc arthur becoming old king cole here]

it's like. on a meta level, the reason we as fans don't put much emphasis on the depravity + cruelty of the mechs is bc the people portraying the mechs are all charismatic + skilled performers. in live gigs they're all portraying the fun side of their characters - roasting each other, bantering with the audience, making fun of the characters they're singing about, referencing off-screen violence - bc if they portrayed their lore too literally they'd be comitting felonies LMAOOO

but narratively, its like. literally every album is a meditation on the ways that the glorification of immortality can ruin civilisations - can ruin galaxies. whether its rooted in the fear of you specifically dying, or of being outlived, or overpowered or forgotten, or if its done for the sake of someone else's survival... it's all corrosive. if u refuse to accept the indisputable impermanence of life, you lose the ability to value it, and u numb urself to the reality of just how fucked up it is to cut another person's life short for any reason.

like. i do think some of the mechs started as good people, and some of them even might still have ethical standards, but i REALLY cannot stop thinking about how fucking. fascinating it is that this group of immortals who are KNOWN for basically considering nothing but how fun and/or violent any given activity will be, have basically filled their entire discography with songs about how their continued existence is corrosive and brings tragedy + ruin wherever they go.

so how self-aware are they? do you think those old morals + ethics still linger in their mind, when they're writing down these tragedies? they willingly self identify as liars + thieves + bastards, etc etc, and they seem to have no trouble identifying the 'bad guys' in the various albums (ie: humanising snow + cinders + rose, but not king cole), but do those concepts actually mean anything emotionally, or even theoretically, for them all beyond their dramatic potential? do they remember their lives before they were mechanised as it actually happened, or do they remember it as lyrics to a song? is it possible to be entirely self aware abt ur own capacity for violence (as jonny in paticular claims to be), if you no longer relate to violence as anything other than a narrative device - a means to an end, whether comedic or dramatic?

[your-local-hoemie]

I've genuinely never put in a request for something before so ur the first T.T

I was wondering, what would happen if you just wandered into scaramouche's room?

Im sorry if this is oddly specific, but I was hoping for a NS!FW M4M, possibly with Balladeer instead of wanderer, and if you do this thank you so much :))

NS!FW. 18+ ONLY!!!

OF COURSE!!!! Thank you for asking!!!!

You’ll have to forgive me if it’s not great. Even though I edge more towards masc im still not 100% sure how dudes work djdhdu

Also good lord, I went kind hard (hah) with this one, my cheeks were gLOWING while writing this. I’m never seeing heaven istg 💀

Edit: I accidentally went a little off script because I got extremely flustered so I’m sorry T-T

Warnings: ns!fw, dom!scaramouche (he needs his own warning), mild degradation, mean words, bratty behaviour, smug little shittery, lots of spicy words, swearing, male!reader, not proof-read.

Characters: scaramouche as: The ✨Balladeer✨

Scaramouche and you had a weird relationship.

No one knew whether you hated each other or if you were actually close.

Including you-

Sometimes you’d be at each other throat with any sharp object you could find and then the next, you’d be defending the other for whatever morally questionable crimes you had committed.

You happened to be one of the unfortunate fatui members that had been assigned to Scaramouche.

You don’t really know how he didn’t decide to murder you for your instinctive comebacks whenever he’d insult you.

He’s never admit it but he enjoyed having someone to banter with that wouldn’t immediately shit themselves the second he glanced at them.

Which is why you were now in his office for…

Well you didn’t really know.

He was busy doing paperwork that he was making extremely obvious that he hated every second of.

You were sitting in a chair across the room from him, equally as bored.

“So what exactly do you need me for… sir”

“To sit there and shut up.”

“…why?”

Letting out a sigh, Scara rolling his eyes, waving your questions off.

“You know, I’m supposed to be doing work. Going out, getting information, torturing, stealing, all the good stuff. Not sit in a room with a pouty brat-”

Clearing your throat, you suddenly realise what you had done.

Oh shit-

With a glare more threatening than a cryo mage in the rain. Scara placed his pen neatly down on the table, carefully organising the papers in front of him with sly grin.

Double shit-

“You know, you do a lot of talking for someone who can’t even handle to be alone in a room with their boss for more than an hour”

“Yeah well you’re not really the most enjoyable to be around…boss.”

The balladeers grin became even more sly as I pushed the chair away from his desk, standing up and taking a few steps forward, positioning himself right in front of you.

“I’ve had a very stressful day and I think I could use a little worshiping. Why don’t you use that mouth for something other than pathetic remarks, hm~?”

“Excuse me-?”

Without a hint of hesitation or shame, the harbinger placed his hand on your head. Most likely relishing the feeling of actually being taller than someone for once.

“Don’t act like our… banter doesn’t get you hard. I’ve seen the way you squirm when I get a little too close~”

Scaramouche pressed your head close to his crotch, speaking with a tone laced in sly smugness.

“I know you’ve imagined what I could do to you. I bet you even stroke yourself to the thought of me. Having the hand of a deity stroke you~”

Obviously he was right. Which just annoyed you even more, causing your pride to outweigh the sheer embarrassment coursing through your veins at his lewd words.

“You know how much shit you’d be in if I told anyone about this, right?

Scaramouche frowned at your remark, swiftly taking your chin in his hand and forcing you to look up at him.

“If a word of this leaves your mouth to anyone other than me, I will make you wish that I killed you. Understand me?”

Feeling your words catch in your throat, you give him a irritated nod, unable to fully deny how hot the whole situation was becoming.

“Good. Now, be a good for your god and worship me the way I deserve.”

Smirking down at you, Scara unbuttoned his shorts, letting his already hard dick bounce out against your face, making him sigh out in satisfaction.

“I always thought you looked so much better on your knee’s~ now suck.”

Blushing violently and not even able to deny how turned on you were, you locked eyes with The Balladeer and took him inside your mouth.

“Good boy~ just like that..”

Petting your hair with a surprising amount of gentleness, Scara pushed your head back and fourth, making you gag as his tip hits the back of your throat.

“Why don’t you touch yourself for me like the desperate, horny slut you are~”

Letting out a small, muffled whimper, you knew you were completely at his mercy as you couldn’t help but move your hand down, touching yourself as he commanded.

Scara thrust his hips more intensely, picking up his speed as moans and grunts escape his lips causing you to match his speed with your hand.

Feeling his hand grip tighter on your head, with one finally thrust and a loud groan of pleasure, scara finally released himself down your throat, pushing you over the edge as you coat your hand and pants in your load.

“Mmh! You’re such a good fuck toy,m. Now make sure to clean up the mess m’kay?”

Pulling out, leaving a messy string of saliva mixed with his load; Scara took a deep breath and returned to his paperwork like nothing happened, leaving you panting and and mess on the floor, still somewhat dazed.

“Y-yes…sir…”

HSIDUDICUIDJDIVUDO AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

squeaks 👺👨‍🦽👹🧍

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed, Episode 40 part two

(Masterpost) (Pinboard)  (whole thing on AO3)

Warning! Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

What a Relief

After spending a few weeks in Gusu doing...stuff, our trio comes to Jinlintai for the discussion conference. Unusually for a CQL stair-climbing scene, nobody is planning to murder anyone once they get to the top.

Our crew walks up the stairs past 3 massive sculpted reliefs featuring Jin Guangyao.

First and most important, I have to point out that the sculpture version of Lan Xichen [edit: Nie Mingjue actually, whoops] is wearing a sash that looks like this:

*cough*

Meanwhile, for the picture with the sword and flames, qhanzi.com tells me that the written characters are 伏殺, fú shā; Google translate tells me this means "ambush." Specifically Fu=conceal, Sha=kill. Ballsy to have a monumental artwork on your front steps announcing that you're a backstabbing turncoat, Jin Guangyao.

Speaking of balls, Jiang Cheng jumps at the opportunity to bust some when the Lan bros arrive with Wei Wuxian in tow. He pretends not to know who Wei Wuxian is, but obviously does know something, given how bitchily he asks to be introduced. Lan Wangji continues his 13-year-long silent treatment of JC while Lan Xichen tries to figure out which bland smile he's meant to be deploying in this situation.

(more after the cut!)

They're all rescued by the appearance of Jin Guangyao 3.0, who has discarded his Nie braids and his Wen hotness in favor of Jin ostentatiousness.

He's no longer wearing the v-neck robe and topknot crown that we associate with the cultivation sects. Instead he's wearing a hat and a round-necked robe with a big embroidered design on the chest, that resembles the clothing style of a court official.

Some people see JGY's bureaucratic wardrobe as signaling that he's an unassuming administrator, someone who is not threatening to the power structure or is not ambitious. I see it more as conveying that his ambition reaches beyond the cultivation sects into the realm of dynastic/imperial politics.

Anyway, Jiang Cheng turns his ire towards his nephew, and Lan Xichen relaxes again. Possibly he is a little too relaxed, judging by how he's ogling Jiang Cheng.

I'm high as a kite, I just might stop to check you out

Party Monster

Fanfics are often accused of giving us an out-of-character (OOC) Wei Wuxian, but no fanfic Wei Wuxian is as OOC as the Wei Wuxian who attends this banquet. Normally Wei Wuxian is a mildly annoying flirt, but as soon as soon as he arrives in Koi tower he is (presumably) possessed by the spirit of Jin Guangshan, and becomes a gross sex pest.

He goes out of his way to hit on the wife of the clan leader and make googly eyes at all of the maids, whose social status doesn't allow them to be rude to him. And he does it in front of his date! What the hell, possessed Wei Wuxian.

While oblivious to Lan Wangji's jealousy, Wei Wuxian does check in with him to make sure it's ok to put on his "crazy Mo Xuanyu" act. LWJ replies with a certain amount of salt, but once Wei Wuxian makes it clear he's thinking about Lan Wangji's public face, LWJ chills out and answers him normally.

Side note: in no universe would this cute lil maid be making eyes at heavily-masked Mo Xuanyu when unmasked, radiant, filthy-rich Lan Wangji is right there to be smiled at.

Jin Guangyao greets everyone and some dancers start doing their thing; mercifully, possessed Wei Wuxian refrains from hitting on the dancers. As soon as Jin Guangyao starts to circulate through the room, Nie Huaisang has an epic nervous breakdown all over him, which is even better entertainment than the dancers.

This gives Wei Wuxian the cover he needs to slip out of the hall unnoticed. Well, as long as nobody notices Lan Wangji's obvious pining.

Fight Club

The prophecy foretells that into each generation of Jins will be born one douchebag cousin. Jin Chan is the douchebag cousin of his generation.

Jin Chan accuses "Mo Xuanyu" of being a sex pest, and Wei Wuxian suddenly understands why the plot made him act so OOC at the party. Mo Xuanyu wasn't really a sex pest; he was a regular pest, trying to get information out of Qin Su, not trying to seduce her. But he doesn't know that yet. In other adaptations Mo Xuanyu is gay, but CQL exists in a strange censorship-created realm in which gayness is pervasive but never mentioned, and therefore there is no homophobia. So nobody would care if Mo Xuanyu was gay.

When Wei Wuxian realizes what Mo Xuanyu did, he thinks "Mo Xuanyu, do you want to die?"

Nice choice of idiom, Wei Wuxian. I believe we have firmly established that yes, Mo Xuanyu absolutely did want to die.

The show is kind of vague, verbally, about whether Wei Wuxian 2.0 has a golden core. But there are a lot of moments that strongly suggest he does, at this point, have a functioning core.

This rock attack is, I hope, one of those moments, or else Jin Chan is a total pussy, getting knocked back by landscape gravel.

Next, Wei Wuxian shows Jin Ling the super-secret move known as "arm twisting," which Jin Ling, as an only child, has never encountered before.

Anyone with siblings is very familiar with this move.

Because this is The Untamed, this move should be executed with extra spinning whenever possible.

Jin Ling learns the move right away, and uses it to win the scuffle.

Avuncular

After the fight, Wei Wuxian sits with Jin Ling for a chat, and gives him the classic uncle advice "have as many fights as possible while you're young, because when you're older you'll have to be mature and get along with people."

I love Wei Wuxian so much.

For contrast, Jin Ling says that Jin Guangyao tells him not to get in fights. This makes Wei Wuxian seem like the cooler elder, but it also has a more sinister element, of Jin Guangyao holding Jin Ling back. Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian grew up constantly fighting with each other--sparring as well as informal fights, presumably. And their cultivation was super strong, partly as a result of that.

Wei Wuxian takes the opportunity to tell Jin Ling that he's not in love with Qin Su any more, because he's transferred his affections to someone else. Obviously Hanguang-Jun is the someone else, given that they've been inseparable for weeks. To keep Jin Ling from yelling while he explains, he clamps his hand over Jin Ling's mouth.

The thing is, in order to effectively clamp your hand over someone's mouth, there has to be something behind them--a wall, the mattress, your own torso, or something else solid. Otherwise they can just jerk their head backwards to get away from your hand. Or they can stand up and walk away, even.

Jin Ling, hilariously, does not realize this, and spends a ridiculously long time sitting still and making angry faces while Wei Wuxian rests his hand on his face.

Spy Game

Later that night, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji get ready for some shenanigans.

Not the sexy kind, alas, just some paperman snooping.

Wei Wuxian, because he's facing serious danger, is feeling extra playful and cute, and he takes time to goof around with Lan Wangji before getting down to business.

In paperman form, he's able to do some things that the censors overlook, including tugging on Lan Wangji's headband and apparently blowing him a kiss. In the book and the donghua, he catches onto Lan Wangji's lip on his way down his face, too.

One thing that's kind of muted in the live action as compared to the novel is how much Lan Wangji enjoys Wei Wuxian's childish and playful behavior. Lan Wangji never got to be playful as a child, but with Wei Wuxian he can cut loose--which he does mostly in the sack or when they're drinking together. But even when he stays in control of himself, he likes Wei Wuxian's silliness.

He tells Paper-Xian, tenderly, to be very careful, before he sends him on his way.

The Adventures of Paperman

The CGI department outdoes itself with paperman, making an animated character so adorable I'd be happy to watch a whole episode of him.

Paper-Xian sneaks into JGY's study and pokes around, finding an empty envelope. Then he listens and watches while Qin Su stumbles in, retching.

She's followed closely by Jin Guangyao; they proceed to have an absolutely fucking endless argument in which the words "sister," "brother," "incest" "rapist dad" are never said, instead using vagueburger phrasing like "this matter."

Jin Guangyao does freely admit to killing their kid, though, and wants to know who told Qin Su about it so he can kill them, too. She won't tell him, shockingly.

Jin Guangyao ends the fight by putting a paralysis spell on his wife and then making her go to sleep with another spell, which is the cultivator equivalent of saying "I've said what I had to say and I need some space."

He takes her into a secret room where he is also keeping a bunch of talisman-protected stuff and a shockingly small number of books.

Seriously, as a person who has way too many books, I am personally offended by the way Jin Guangyao wastes shelf space in his secret room.

As Paper-Xian sneaks around the room, Jin Guangyao helpfully pulls aside the curtain covering the shelf with Nie Mingjue's head on it, so he can grouse at NMJ for (figuratively) haunting him. Seriously? Dude, you keep a guy's head on your bookshelf, he gonna haunt ya.

The episode ends with Paper-Xian bowing (adorably) to Nie Mingjue, and then sitting laying on his face, which would make BOTH Lan brothers jealous if they found out.

Soundtrack: Ring the Alarm, by Beyonce; Blister in the Sun, by the Violent Femmes

[ianthe-is-a-bitch-and-i-love-her]

I've noticed something very interesting about the structure of The Locked Tomb series recently, in that it is a series that is immeasurably more than the sum of its parts. Not that that's an uncommon thing for serialized media, it's literally the point of the format to tell a deeper story as a whole than is told in any one installment, but I think tlt is a particularly extreme example.

Like, gtn is the only book in the series that works at all as a standalone story. In most series, if you skip a book, you'll be confused about specifics and backstories and what have you, but you'll probably be able to follow along and get the gist of the theming, even if you miss some details and subtleties.

With this series, though, the subsequent books (especially HtN but also NtN) are essentially incomprehensible if you've skipped the previous books. They don't follow a predictable trajectory from the previous books that can be back-extrapolated from their stand alone contents. Like, genuinely try to imagine what you would think the previous books must have been about if you just read Nona. Imagine what you'd think the themes were. It's completely out of wack.

This is because each new book in the series isn't just a continuation of the previous books - it is in dialogue with the previous books. Each new book is a commentary on what came before, a reinterpretation that forces you to rethink or even reread the previous books with a different perspective that draws more layers of meaning to the surface. It makes the series feel like a knot that you're slowly unpicking - each new thread that is revealed to you changes how you perceive the weave of the previous threads.

I fucking love this. It makes the series incredibly rereadable, and it rewards spending a lot of time contemplating and theorizing about what you've read, which is excellent because the books are written in such a way that they invite you to ask questions without giving you answers. It make you feel ecstatic when you achieve a new level of understanding of a story you had thought you already understood.

There's a drawback to this, though, in that it makes the first read-through of a new book in the series the worst read-through. Again, HtN is infamous for this, verging on incomprehensible on a first pass but bristling with rich meaning and evocative prose on a second, but it's a trait that applies to all three books released so far. On a first read, lacking the context of the later series, GtN's story feels straightforward, sometimes juvenile, full of relatively simple but evocative characters, and burdened with what seems to be needlessly obtuse and obscure worldbuilding that only exists to slow down the reader's attempts to solve the murder mystery and to act as a backdrop to be cut through by Gideon's harshly modern and irreverent quips. (Sidenote, but as much as that is a thing that a lot of the fandom really enjoys, I know a few people who found that choice extremely jarring and unpleasant. It is a polarizing structural choice, it just doesn't seem like it because people who don't like it don't often stick with the series long enough to get invested in the deeper themes and plot of the series).

NtN too follows this format, although we don't yet have the added context of it's sequel, so a lot of what it has to say remains maddeningly out of reach. It certainly enriches rereads of the previous books, though; a lot of people have gone into great detail about how Nona's perspective on Kiriona reframes our perception of Gideon as a narrator. And John's accounting of the end of the world and the Resurrection adds so many more layers to all the interactions we witness in HtN.

It's just a very unique way to build a story, to start with something fairly simple and self-contained and then spend the next two books layering more and more meaning on those events. For me, it's not the characters (much as I love them) but the structure of the series that keeps me so fucking obsessed with these books.

[wanderingswampbeast]

Long Post: Why I Don’t Like The Drow

I’ve been ranting about this to a friend on discord (a lot of points I make will come from him) but I’ve finally figured out what my issue with the drow is outside of inherently evil groups being dumb.

The drow are boring. Drow lore is less of a dive into a unique culture and more of a list of fucked up things they do. Like, I cannot name a single interesting aspect of typical drow society that does not directly involve murder, sexism, or slavery, or Lolth. And even then, most of those things are written about in an incredibly bland fashion with them.

The Drow don’t really have much depth to them, and are just kind of evil for evil’s sake (or “because Lolth said so”). They do slavery, but the only real purpose of doing slavery for them is “because Lolth said so”. It isn’t for cheap labor, it’s to be more evil. They betray each other purely because that’s what evil people do. They’re misandrist, not for any real societal reason, but because Lolth hates men. There’s none of what would make slavery an interesting topic or story element, no justification for why they should be allowed to commit one of the worst injustices possible, no real economic reason for it. They just do it because Lolth says they should, and from a writing perspective it hammers home the fact that they’re evil. They aren’t evil because they enslave and murder, they enslave and murder because they’re evil, if that makes any sense.

Them being written as comically evil as they are also hurts them from a worldbuilding perspective. They’re so reliant on slaves for menial labor that the lower class of their society struggle to get jobs. Drow culture so obsessed with betrayal and dumbass house wars that even when actively under attack from the outside they sabotage each other. They’re so decadent that their buildings are held up with magic and semi regularly collapse when a spell fails. To put it bluntly, drow society feels like one that should have collapsed in a few centuries, which, funnily enough, is way longer than D&D elves live.

Their culture being so monolithic also makes writing anything about them difficult. Every drow antagonist is going to have near identical motivations, methods, and ideologies as every other drow antagonist. Every drow protagonist is going to ultimately feel very similar to Drizzt, because leaving their fucked up society to become a do-gooder is such a common backstory element that they added a whole extra god just for doing that. In fact, you can divide 90% of drow characters from any official materials into these categories:

Manservant

Ambitious male, usually a wizard (5 bucks says he has long hair and a widow’s peak)

Dommy Mommy Warcrime Woman

Drizzt Do’Urden or one of his many duplicates

Self-loathing and/or resentful Drider

And finally, their existence almost purely to be humanoid enemies you can fight at nearly any levels is just kind of lazy. This is a problem that I have with the “evil races” of a lot of fantasy but having a group that’s evil by birth just feels like an excuse to not have to write actual motivations for your antagonists. It’s the difference between “go attack this camp of soldiers because they’re part of the SkullMurder army and their general wants to use our land to build a dread fortress” vs “go attack this camp of soldiers specifically because they’re drow/goblins/orcs/the dreaded peepee-poopoo folk”. Using stuff like this just feels like an excuse to not have to write an actual antagonist since it comes pre-written in the group’s lore. This has the side effect of whenever such a group is the antagonist of the plot, the players or audience know near exactly what to expect. The orc is here to conquer, the goblin is here to steal, and the drow is here to enslave or do some dark ritual.

I’ve legitimately heard people say “well if XYZ can’t be inherently evil anymore, who will we use as bad guys?” It’s very simple: whoever the fuck we want. Write an evil queen, or a scheming wizard, or an underground slave trade network. For God’s sake, anyone can be evil, you don’t need to tie that to a specific ethnic group and write it as “they’re just like that”. Write an actual character for your antagonist.

[chaoticace2005]

I mean yeah, I don’t know if Hell is organized enough to have a census (maybe some rings like Lust would but Pride? No way) but I have so many questions about Hell demographics that could be answered if they did…

Populations: Looking at total populations, populations in each ring, and the number of sinners vs hellborn in Pride could answer questions about if the presence of Sinners make it there be less hellborn there? Is Pride really overpopulated with large numbers of Sinners and Hellborn? Or mostly Sinners? And how does that compare to the populations in other rings?

Species: Look at different rings to see % of shark demons, imps, fish-based demons, hellhounds, succubi, etc. We have an idea from Helluva Boss of which rings have a larger density of a certain type of demon (Wrath- Imp, Greed- Shark, Gluttony- Hellhounds) but the confirmation would be cool! Plus comparisons between the numbers of different types of demons

Crime rate in different rings: are certain rings more prone to certain types of crime? How does Pride compare given Sinners reside there?

Souls: how many sold/own souls? Compare hellborn to sinners, also among rings. Do ones like Greed have more?

Murders: murder rates among different rings and populations

Sinner specifics:

-Gender: is one more common than another?

-Specific crimes/sins: which are more popular? How do genders compare?

-Ages: is there a large amount of sinners falling under one specific age range?

-Religion: does belief impact chances in Hell/Heaven? Does it alter what crimes may be committed?

-Sinner type: what form is taken? Are certain types more common? Does that correlate with crimes? Family? Also something I’ve noticed from the show is that a lot of the male Sinners have more animal-like appearances (or TV like in Vox’s case) while a lot of the females look more��� human? Like some of their bodies are still uncanny, but very few seem to have a distinct animal theme like some of the other characters. (Males: cat, spider, deer, moth, TV) (Females: cyclops, tinier cyclops, Velvette, Carmilla, Rosie, Mimzy)

-How rare is it to have wings? I’m just curious because we don’t really see many flying

-Way of death: is a certain way common? Murder? Any trends?

-How many know and/or actively communicate with someone they knew in their life?

-How do all these sinner stats compare to winners? Are there any major differences in things like gender or forms? What about SES? Do more Winners tend to connect with people they knew in life?