#including official art because it is both relevant and also adorable

[selfshipshadowrealm]

Proselfship Advent Day 2, Putting Up Decorations

I don't have much for today, just thinking about how cute it would be if Silver used his psychokinesis to hang up decorations

[catubarca]

Harry Potter Next Generation Headcanons

im bored. im full of emotions, and am rly missing the HP world... i just want to write down my headcannons for the next gen kiddos tbh.

please remember these are just my opinions? its okay if yours are different. im just bored and want to share my thoughts,,

Teddy Lupin

his name is Theodore Remus “Teddy” Lupin. it’s just what it is

I don’t care what JKR says, to me his name will always be Theodore

i can’t do this “Edward” stuff im so sorry,,,

h u f f l e p u f f

proper school uniform? never heard of it

messy hair, messy clothes

punk rock child

we’re talking like,,,at least two (2) lip piercings ok

absolutely terrible in herbology. do not leave this child alone in a greenhouse, bad things happen

fuckin hoards chocolate

its a problem

dating Victorie Weasley

random bursts of dancing

keeps a lock of hair pink for his mother

lives with the Potters, enjoys pretending to be Ginny to ground his siblings

“Lily, why aren’t you coming out of your room? Dinner’s ready?” “You said I’m grounded! You tell me!” “What? Oh, for the- THEODORE REMUS LUPIN-“

s m i r k s

effortlessly cool,,, but so so dorky,,, in a cool way

Victorie Weasley

ravenclaw!

looks a lot like her mother, Fleur, but inherited those Weasley freckles

a little confused a lot of the time

absolute sweet tooth (teddy abuses this fact a lot)

Mom Friend™

will help you with your homework

always got a book on her

super beautiful and like,,,, the absolute nicest person,,, but

cannot dance

like at all

adores Charms class

a softie you don’t want to cross

“I’m the oldest”

Dominique Weasley

inherited the Classic Weasley Red Hair™

idolises her Uncle Charlie

“I wanna save animals and work with cool dragons, just like Uncle Charlie does!”

Bill almost has a heart attack

always bringing stray animals home

(“is that a lizard in your pocket, Dominique?” “Yes! His name is Blob.” “You know how your father’s afraid of reptiles, sweetheart, you can’t bring it inside.”)

Gryffindor child

favourite class is definitely Care of Magical Creatures, she and Hagrid like to talk about proper care methods for rare creatures

perpetual dirt stains

BIG middle child vibes

doesn’t really label her sexuality… just kinda does what she wants rly

all the pets in Hogwarts love her

rumours are she’s got an innate, natural magical ability to make them all love her

(she feeds them under the table)

it’s a mystery

big advocate for animal rights

f e m i n i s t

willing to throw hands at all times

usually all smiles though

one of those people who use their whole bodies to laugh

kind of an accidental heartthrob

romcoms

Louis Weasley

looks the most like his mother

ravenclaw

absolutely filled with curiosity. always reading or talking or learning

random facts

(how do you even find that sort of information?

you don’t want to know)

coffee boy

sort of musically talented?

he and James Sirius preach the importance of skincare to all who will listen

secretly full of sass and dry wit

vry graceful and fluid

e y e r o l l

awkward smiles? can never smile properly in photos

on the ravenclaw quidditch team

Ravenclaw Prefect

(“You might be older, but I’m taller.” “Fuck off!”)

only watches High Quality™ tv shows/media

kind of a disaster, despite the gracefulness

Molly Weasley

Classic red hair

comes across as a bit uptight, like her father

I don’t care what you think. (She really cares what you think.)

E y e b r o w s

death glares

drinks like 5 cups of coffee in the morning

studies,,, like a lot

definitely a Gryffindor though

mom jeans

always ready to debate a topic. will destroy opponents.

has been trying to start a successful Debate Club for like 4 years now

naturally falls into the position of a group leader

would be a teacher’s pet, if she wasn’t ready At All Times™ to debate the relevancy of the course syllabus or outdated teaching methods

got into a fight with Severus Snape’s portrait in Headmistress McGonagall’s office.

(Dumbledore’s portrait was laughing, until she turned and ragged on him for a bit. Minerva thought it was absolutely hilarious, so she just let Molly go at it for a while).

full of rage towards everything, but wears a very careful mask of aloofness

to calm down, she likes painting her nails

she’s very good at it

she’s also very good at painting and art in general, weirdly enough

Lucy Weasley

G R Y F F I N D O R

adores shitty puns and has a terrible sense of humour

brown hair, not red

loves to prank people, which makes her Uncle George very proud

Percy complains about her behaviour, but makes sure he knows he’s proud too

(charming all the cauldrons in the potions classroom to scream whenever they’re stirred takes a more complex understanding of spell work than one would expect).

a pit of a punk streak

rly loves hip hop

high key drama queen

does she ever stop yelling? we’re yet to find out

average grades in terms of theory, but she’s the best in terms of applying information

especially for her pranks

has allies throughout the castle, from the portraits to the students

the bigger the prank, the better

but is a firm believer in “confuse, don’t abuse”

all her pranks are mostly harmless

is a surprising lover of older literature, like Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, an influence of her sister

a bit rebellious

Fred Weasley II

name isn’t officially “the second”, but it sounds cooler

James Potter, Lucy Weasley, Molly Weasley and Fred Weasley are like the Marauders 2.0

says “squad” and “lit” unironically

niche humour

hipster vibes

avid music lover

smiley sunshine child

takes after his mother the most in looks, just like his sister

a chill type of gryffindor

plays quidditch, and is an excellent chaser, just like his mother

the absolute undisputed King™ of puppy-dog eyes

just,,,, beautiful

the True teacher’s pet

hands in his work on time,, asks lots of questions,,, likes helping students understand their work,, what a boy

can hella nyoom

runs so fast

look at him go

as you might expect, loves a good prank. always down for a laugh

Roxanne Weasley

Gryffindor and pROUD

absolute Queen tbh

was definitely Head Prefect or Gryffindor Prefect at some point

loved by the school

absolute legend

G I R L   P O W E R

infectious laughter

has a soft spot for Louis Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy

these poor disaster children,,,, they need a Mother

M O M

big mom vibes

mothers the hell out of all the first years

a feminist through and through

can be found nodding aggressively to Molly Weasley’s semi-deranged, furious ranting

YAAAASS

loves slang. uses so much slang. always up to date with trends and memes

has all the gossip

becomes a mess around pretty girls

absolute blushing, stuttering disaster around cute girls oh my god

her eye make-up game is killer

sparkly

Distinguished Lesbian

Rosie Weasley

did someone say Weasley™?

red hair and freckles and curls oh my

on the autism spectrum, has trouble socialising sometimes

hella passionate about stuff

hangs out with Scorpius and Albus, the Golden Trio 2.0

f em ini st

her jokes are the best. high quality sense of humour.

Ravenclaw

likes to read. it’s quiet in the school library, which is nice.

abysmal at herbology

surprisingly good at Care of Magical Creatures though? Animals are just,,, so much easier to deal with

overall, really good grades though

bit of a silent type, but she’s actually a riot to hang out with

actually pretty good at quidditch? She’s not on the team, and she’s not super interested in playing, but?? She’s not bad??

She can land a solid hit with a beater’s bat

(eyes you judgementally over the top of a book)

dry wit humour

will throw hands over chess

Hugo Weasley

hufflepuff

unbeatable at chess, like his dad

a lost puppy

someone please help this child

softie

kind of low-key emotional

so supportive!! and loyal!! high-key best friend material

foodie. loves food. please feed him.

takes a bit more after his dad appearance wise

loves to cook. spends lots of time with grandma Molly and his dad in the kitchen

Professor Longbottom is his favourite professor, because he’s more chilled and laidback.

other professors and classes fill him with Distress™

loves astronomy too

maths whizz, so good at arithmancy

(“uh, actually-“)

a little bossy, like his mother

is trying so hard

maybe a little too hard

a bit insecure and nervous, but so soft

please treat this child carefully and with love

James Sirius Potter

Gryffindor

L O U D

a fucking disaster child

what’d you expect, putting “James” and “Sirius” together?

DRAMATIC GASPING

flails his hands around when he talks

s t r u t s

bisexual mess, had a crush on both the Longbottom children at some point

is better than you at everything

including being a different gender

fuck you that’s why

so pretty

he’s so pretty

is thIS CHILD EVER NOT LAUGHING AT SOMETHING OH My god

laughs at everything

all the time

always

high-key emotional

badly timed finger guns

looks like a model in photos? wtf?

gets invited to Girls Nights™

wears nail polish and makeup

loves to yell at people about gender roles and defying stereotypes

TEA SIS

not on the quidditch team surprisingly enough, even though he’s pretty good

prefers to be in the stands, doing A+ commentary on the games

if he can get Fred to stop mid-air due to unbearable, suffocating laughter at least once a game it’s a win in his books

has it OUT for the hufflepuff quidditch team and no one knows why??

definitely makes puns on his name

it drives everyone insane

harry always replies he’s just making his namesake proud

that also drives everyone insane

smug lil shit

Albus Severus Potter

“It’s just Al.”

S L Y T H E R I N

will always find a way to get what he wants, eventually

“dad, why did you name me this way?”

unimpressed

sigh

hella smart. is topping at least five classes

Aunt Hermione is his favourite. She’s the fucking Mistress of Magic! All that power, the ability to make change and improve the Magical World as a whole-

sass master

the reason headmistress mcgonagall keeps a bottle of scotch under her desk at all times

the only potter child to inherit The Eyes™

absolute insomniac

kind of emo, but turns into a fucking softie around Scorpius Malfoy it’s hilarious

adverse to violence. prefers a verbal beatdown method

really tall? despite having shorties for parents??? no one saw it coming

(especially not Teddy. He’s always scared of losing his last few inches of height)

Functional Gay

he’s on the slytherin quidditch team, as a seeker

Lily Luna Potter

Gryffindor

FEMINIST

do not mess with lily luna potter

she may seem cute and sweet, but she will destroy you

inherited her father’s black hair

disaster lesbian

transfiguration is her favourite subject, by far

has no idea what she wants to do with the rest of her life.

Existential Crisis Father-Daughter Bonding Time™

do you ever sleep?

takes after Ginny the most in personality

also, kind of the most like James Fleamont Potter in personality, too?

Loves to help her brother out with pranks, laughs at him when he gets caught and she gets away with it

The only one of the Potter Children who hasn’t got into a fight with Severus Snape’s portrait

because she just ignores him instead

loves talking to the portraits around the castle

Super good at Quidditch, is on the team as a Chaser

Quidditch Captain at some point

adores Hagrid, but who out of the Potter children doesn’t?

Idolises Minerva McGonagall

just as oblivious as her father

Scorpius Malfoy

Actually in Ravenclaw, not Slytherin, much to many people’s surprise

abSOLUTE DADDY’S BOY

super close with his dad

Draco is just so supportive of like everything he does (unlike his father)

classic blonde malfoy looks

actually really funny?

a cuddler. loves hugs. always leeching warmth off of someone

he and Rosie sometimes finger-tip-touch which is their version of a hug, because he know’s she’s not super comfortable with touch

was basically adopted by the Weasley’s and Potter’s

James Sirius will murder for this child

booknerd, always rambling to Al and Rosie about new books coming out he’s interested in reading.

has had a crush on Albus Potter since like 1st year

always worried about making his dad proud, and keeping up the Malfoy name

sweet tooth

he’s just,, soft. just a warm, happy child. he wants love, and affection. someone tell him he’s doing okay, please.

needs,,, validation,,,

he’ll tell you out loud that he has no favourite aunts or uncles, but he secretly really likes spending time with his Uncle Ron

they had a talk, once, in like the middle of the night at a sleepover with Rosie and Al, about feeling insecure in comparison to others, and learning to be proud of yourself for your achievements

there were a few tears, but it was nice

Ron was actually the third person he told, besides his dad and Rosie, about having a crush on Al

openly a disaster romantic. trash taste in romance novels.

always welcome in the Potter-Weasley households

[celestialvinyl]

like real people do [ brian may ]

concept: Y/N is an Art exhibitor at the fictional London Museum of Art. When a certain tablet (on loan) in the Egyptian Section awakens everyone and everything inside -- Y/N finds themselves in a world they’d never expected. That includes staring at the Guitarist of Queen, who’s come alive, and wondering how exactly you can allow yourself to have feelings for a wax figurine.

word count: 4.6k

warnings: makybe a little swearing, inanimate figures coming to life and contemplating existence and all that jazz?

a/n: alrighty, so -- this is a little different. i guess i took the title a little too literally. as a part of @yourealegendfred ‘s writing challenge, i was inspired by the song “like real people do”, but i don’t know if this is the direction i should have gone in? but i have this thesis i could write about how night at the museum is a true american classic, and why it should me immortalized. but, this will have to do. it’s kind of a lot? i don’t think i explain it all well enough, but there are three movies to do that for you.

also, congrats on 3000 and more, amanda!

Being an Exhibitor in an art museum was possibly one of the weirdest jobs on your resume. When you got your degree, you hadn’t thought you would end up at one of the most mix-matched museums around. The London Museum of Art teetered on the edge of a cliff of prestige, always dangerously close to loosing that title. Thanks to a curator in the early 2000’s and a lot of funding, you were working in a museum with serious artwork and craftsmanship. And then there were the wax figurines.

As that curator had described it, they wanted to pay tribute to some of the best musicians that had impacted British contemporary music. You guessed the funders hadn’t thought that would involve wax figurines of Queen or the Beatles. Or Elton or Bowie.

But a job was a job, and you were happy to accept the offer they proposed when you sent your resume in. A steady job, surrounded by art and history — two things you adored. How could you not?.

Then, there was the offer. The Museum of Natural History in New York came as somewhat of a shock to you when it showed up on your desk. Reading over the brief, you couldn’t believe they wanted to offer up one of their most prized possessions. A pharaoh’s tablet and the pharaoh himself? It took everything in you not to slam the concept down on your curator’s desk. But she found it eventually, and quickly called up the institution to agree to their terms.

That’s how you ended up, months down the road, sneaking into the very museum you worked at.

The exhibit had been open for a little over a week, with soft opening and test audiences abound in the weeks prior. Overall, the “Art of Ancients” exhibit you had poured your blood and sweat into was being met with rave reviews. It felt nice to have something to add to your C/V and to call your own. But something had been missing; you’d never been alone with the exhibit. In all your time working on it, there’d always been someone else in the room to disrupt the concept of being alone with all the hard work you’d done. There was only one option to truly be alone.

You knew you weren’t supposed to be in the museum after hours, but the notion was too exciting. Plus, the lack of security in the museum made slipping in and out easier than it should have been. With a night guard who was asleep half the time, you were already sure you would be fine as you took the familiar path back to the exhibit.

Setting your bag down in front of the glass cases, full of King Ahkmanrah’s most treasured possession, you peered at the tablet that seemed so sacred. The sun’s last beams of light were hitting it. You watched as they slowly faded away and left the dark night instead. A sense of serenity filled you, knowing you were truly allowed to relish in your work. It was a selfish process, but a process nonetheless. It wasn’t often you got to do this amount of work with a team behind you, working hard for something that the public would enjoy.

You figured you’d enjoy it now.  

Pulling out a notebook from your bag, you tried to stare at the exhibit and think of the little things that needed tweaking. There were a few plaques that looked as though they weren’t giving enough relevant information. And maybe a few of the pieces should be moved around more?

“What have you got there, sweetie?”

You froze. Shit, how had you been caught so quickly? Turning and expecting the guard, you wondered how he had found you already. You thought that they were slow—

It wasn’t the security guard.

Your eyes widened more than they should have; a scream was building up in your lungs. Which the other person seemed to notice. He quickly placed a hand over your mouth, just in time to reduce the effects that your scream had. But you couldn’t breathe, and before you knew it, you were passing out in Roger Taylor’s arms.

When light finally found you once more, your head throbbed and the cold of the tile below you was making your hairs stick up on ends. Or maybe that was the group of rockstars staring at you from above, hovering like predators. They made you want to scream one more time, and you weren't sure why. Was it the fright and shock? Or what is something more unnerving?

“Oh, she’s as pale as a ghost.” One voice murmured from above. You were still trying to get your bearings about you. Unsure of which voice you could hear, you just groaned.

“I have no clue why,” someone else shot back. You were pretty sure it was from your right this time, instead of your left like the last one. “Guess she doesn’t see a rockstar everyday.”

“Oi, shut up, will you? She’s trying to get herself together.”

“Ghurs?” You didn’t wholly have complete control of your mouth and something slipped out that would have normally elicited a blush from your cheeks. (Being well-spoken was something you tried to pride yourself on.) At the moment, you could see yourself making a fool of yourself. But who in front of, exactly? A security guard, right?

Your eyes blurred less, slightly. Just enough for you to find the bright blue of something shiny on your left and a shirtless (yet vested) figure on your right. And you knew both of those outfits in such detail that as your eyes blurred even less, you thought you just might faint again. Oh, right. This was why you had blacked out in the first place. How could you forget Paul McCartney and Roger Taylor flanking either side of you, staring as though you were some wounded animal? And of course, behind them were other celebrities (some of which seemed as though they hadn’t aged a day since their heyday.

As everything started to make sense once more, you had to look at the others around you and stop yourself before you screamed. Because this made no logical sense.

This had to be a prank, right?

But nobody knew you were coming?

Are these just a bunch of security guards in costume, or a part, or…?

They couldn’t be though. Just looking up at the two closest to you, you knew no one could replace either of their looks. It was odd, the two of them, staring down at you with manners that you would have fawned over in a different lifetime.

“Why don’t you let her breathe?” Another voice interjected, and the two above you turned to find the lanky figure of someone you swore had to be Brian May. He had his arms crossed over his chest and seemed exhausted. From what you weren’t sure, since he wasn’t the seventy-something old man that was just promoting a biopic about Queen. And it definitely wasn’t the actor. “She’s probably in for a shock.”

“Well, if she was trying to break in, she deserves it.” Another voice shot back. When you followed it, you found — wait. That wasn’t Elton, was it?

Brian let out a deep sigh. “No, haven’t you seen her picture around? She’s the exhibitor.”

You let your silence prevail over anything else. Just listening to these people (things?) bicker was enough for the moment. When you peered and found that the two who had flanked you earlier had moved closer to the group, you did relax slightly. But then George Harrison sat himself down right next to you, in his salmon coat and pirate hat, watching the small group quarrel. He turned, and gave you a pointless grin. “Breathe. You look like you might explode.”

His accent was spot on.

None of this made any sense.

“Wait,” you cut in on the conversation happening without you, but somehow being about you. “What is this? A prank? Did Julia tell you I was going to be here tonight?”

“Sorry, love. But who’s Julia?” Roger Taylor looked at you, a slight interest showcased in the tilt of an eyebrow. You shook your head and moved on. Alright, so maybe it wasn’t a prank brought on by that funny roommate of yours.

“Are you actors?”

A young George Michael filled in the answer on that one. “I don’t believe so. Most of us made our living in music. Bowie, didn’t you do some films?” As he turned his attention to the man, the other shrugged.

“So did Ringo.”

Freddie Mercury added, “I tried ballet, but they learned quickly I wasn’t the dancer they were looking for.”

And you swore you were going to break. This wasn’t funny anymore. You had to be going mad.

As twilight turned into an early dawn, there was still some time before the sun officially rose. You found yourself on the roof and watching the lights twinkle. There was so much swirling inside your head, but you couldn’t just abandon the place. The door clicked open behind you, and you turned to find a reserved Brian May leaning against the entry way. “Freds want to know if you’re all good?”

A scoff bubbled out of your mouth; you couldn’t stop it. “Yeah, sure. You find out that everything in the museum you work at comes alive at night, and you’re just supposed to be good.”

You tried to think back to the modge-podge group guiding you to the newest exhibit — the one you had put together — and showing you the tablet. You’d been introduced to the Pharaoh (the one who should have died hundreds of years ago) and his youthful glow didn’t escape you. He wanted to be called Ahk. As though he was cool and youthful. He was the one to explain everything to you — even if none of it seemed to make that much sense. The tablet you had thanked the Lord for was gifted with ancient powers that somehow brought everything to life.

It didn’t make much sense to you then. Brian had moved to try and explain a little further, but you gave the excuse that you needed a little air. (Was it an excuse if you really needed it?) You found yourself walking up and up flights of stairs, eventually granting you access to the roof. And even after all of the walking and time…

It still didn’t make sense.

Nor did it make much sense now, a few hours later, with Brian May standing just a little but away from you.

He actually chose to move himself a little closer, lifting himself from the position he was already in and taking a few steps closer to you and your ledge. Your feet dangled over the edge, and you felt like you were flying for a second. It was relaxing when nothing else was.

“It’s a lot, I know. But is there anything else you can really do?”

“Run for the hills?” You thought aloud. “Ask God what the hell is going on?”

He let out a little laugh. “Oh, no. This isn’t God. It’s something, just not Jesus and all that.” His eyes drifted down to the cigarette in your hand, your own eyes following his. As if silently asking, he lifted his eyes up and gave a pleading sort of look. You don’t know why you were so worried that he would melt from the heat, but he seemed to be alright as you gave the cig away. After a gentle drag and a hiss, he handed it back over. Guess it wasn’t for him. “John agrees.”

“Lennon or Deacon?”

“Lennon.”

A nod sufficed as ‘I should have known that’. Nevertheless, you peered out at the horizon in front of you, the moon beginning it’s descent for the evening. “I can’t believe there are legends downstairs, and I’m up here having a breather.” You flicked the cigerette off the building, watching it slowly fall down the tall building.

Brian jerked his head back towards the door. “You can head down if you want. We’ve still got a few hours before daylight.”

“What happens then?”

“We go back to being wax.” He stated, so innocently and truthful that you felt as though you should have known that already. Of course they do! Otherwise you wouldn’t have exhibits to stake your job on. “We wake up tomorrow night, do this all over again.” After a pause, he added as an afterthought, “As long as the tablet is still working.”

You couldn’t help but point out, “You seem to be taking this all remarkably well.”

“It was quite odd at first.” He admitted. “But Ahk managed to explain it well enough before anyone got hurt. Nobody is stupid enough to go outside. We all choose to keep each other company.”

“Yeah, how is it living with other legends?”

He chuckled, but there wasn’t much humor behind it. If there was, it wasn’t a generous humor. “They’re kind of wankers. McCartney is always fighting with John.”

“That’s kind of expected.” You sighed. “I did a paper on them once, for a music history class in uni.”

“Ever do one on Queen?”

“Nope.” You grinned like a sly cat. You could remember the stupid essay for the class, and how you had to write something on ‘musicians in turmoil and the art that came out of it’. “But one of my friends did on Hot Space. She got a C.”

“Well, that’s the absolute shit.”

“You should talk to her about it; she’s still upset!” You couldn’t help the laughter that came, starting in your stomach and bubbling up until it escaped. Brian couldn’t resist it either, because soon enough he was laughing along with you. You were pretty sure that your hand had slipped onto his shoulder a s a reason for support, the other tucked by your stomach.

As you settled down, you retracted your hand from it’s spot and looked back out to the skyline. The stars were gorgeous.

“Do you think you’ll come back?”

You had to look over to Brian to make sure that he had actually asked that. There was slight aprehension on his face as he waited for your answer.

“I dunno, probably. It’s not like I can just move on with my life now — knowing all of this.”

“I’m sure everyone would be happy if you came back.”

“What about you?” You joked.

“Of course.” He was so sincere, it hurt. You guess you didn’t know how lonely it had to be sometimes, trapped in a building with people you might not know personally. And to not be able to go outside without worry of being caught? That seemed like being damned. But then Brian smiled, so brightly, you thought that the sun was already rising. “I’d be happy to have you here any day.”

“You’re too kind. You live up to the legend.”

He opens his mouth say something, but chose instead to stay quiet. You linger for just a second, hoping he’ll say something instead of remaining sielnt. But he doesn’t. You choose to turn back towards the exit, instead. Your feet hit the concrete of the roof, and it doesn’t take long to head back to the door. Brian isn’t far behind you.  

You ended up returning the next night.

Brian seemed to be relaxing by the front of the lobby, a book in hand that you recognized from the Curator’s collection in her office. As his eyes scanned through the pages, you waited for him to notice. And just as he turned the page, his eyes caught your own and he smiled. “Glad to have you back, [Y/N].”

“It’s too interesting to pass up.” You shrugged. “You want to come with me? I’m gonna go see everyone else.”

He joined you without question, but only upon marking his page with the tiniest of marks (and doing his best to burn the page number into his brain). Brian found his spot besides you. “I’m glad you feel this excited. You are excited, right?”

“You could use that word, if you wanted.”

And so he guided you towards the people you considered legends.

As the nights passed, you found more and more reasons to return. There was so much to ask these people, to know them in depth and have a candid conversation with “legends” who had lived decades before you.

Then there was the rest of the art in the museum. John Lennon walked you through an exhibit of the more political pieces and he spoke with a passion you had only wished to have seen in another life. Freddie and Elton took you through the temporary exhibit on avant-garde fashion in the 1800’s. One night, Roger rushed off with you as you showed him your favorite exhibit. He listened in a sort of wonder as you spoke about one of your many passions, and Brian listened in from somewhere a little way’s back, before excusing himself when realizing just how rude he was being by eavesdropping.

You didn’t notice the slight glint of jealousy in his eyes when you returned with Roger sometime later.

The nights continued to pass, and the moon greeted you every evening with a promise of unbridled possibilities. You found discussions of spirituality with George enriching, chats with Bowie on the most minuscule matters of literature, and then there was Brian.

Finding a reason to spend time alone with Brian wasn’t difficult. He always wanted to show you something, or have you talk for long periods about different things you wad worked on throughout the museum. Some nights, you could barely get a word in with someone else without seeing a smile on Brian’s face and a promise of a new adventure. It wasn’t hard to agree.

He always waited, though. If you needed to talk with someone about a pressing matter, he would gently stand close to you and wait. As patient and gentle as waves crashing against the sand, he was a constant that made your heart soar sometimes. Just when you were really thinking about it. About him.

But then, as quickly as it started, it halted. He stopped waiting to greet you every evening, leaving you to search him out. Roger or Freddie would always know where he was, somewhere quiet and lonely. And there would be a book in his hands, oftentimes something more academic that he could dive into. You guess he had to live up to his doctoral title somehow. You would gently say hello, and he would give you a gentle smile in return. He’d ask how you were doing; how was the weather today? Did you get enough sleep?

And you’d reply to every small-talk question that left you feeling as though he was trying to separate the two of you. When he wouldn’t try and continue, you would give up and tell him you’d find him later. He didn’t seem to mind. You tried not to either — there was so much to do.

But after a few weeks, you grew tired of the cat and mouse game he was trying to play. And you made sure he knew it.

That night you rushed in with such purpose and point that Freddie almost looked a little scared when he spotted you. That fear seemed to double when you rushed out, “Where is he?”

He pointed at the poster to your left. “Out of This World: How The Stars Create Art”, an exhibit on natural art, nebulas, and galaxies was all the way at the other end of the museum. You thanked him curtly and almost ran to get there.

But if you were out of breath, then you didn’t know what air was when you spotted Brian. He was relaxed on the ground, and as your eyes followed his, you found the glass ceiling panes above. He looked on in awe, and you felt the same when looking towards him.

Then, he noticed you. And he frowned. And you spat out the only thing you could think to say.

“I don’t think everyone likes me.”

He shot up, using a hand to prop himself up as he stared on. Perplexed was an understatement. “They’re all happy to have someone new to talk to.”

“Are you?”

You couldn’t match his eyes.

Nevertheless, you could sense his bafflement. “Of course.” Brian had never looked more confused than he did in that moment, with his eyebrows scrunched up in an almost painful movement. A frown was etched over his lips and you regretted it the moment you fully took in his expression. But it didn’t make much sense. In fact, it made about as much sense as any of these people coming to life every night. Why had he left you be for so long? “Why would you ask that?”

You made the power move. You inched yourself closer to him, as though your body knew you had been away from your friend for too long. It helped that he seemed to invite you over, giving you some space when you plopped down next to him. “I dunno. You haven’t been around the last couple of weeks, at all. Freddie couldn’t even figure out where you were the other night. And when I do find you, you’re reading some book.” With a beat, you added, “You’re more interested in it than me.”

“That’s not true.” He returned. His hand landed over yours as a comfort, but it was cold to the touch. You didn’t want to pull away, though. “I wanted to give you a little space. You’ve got quite a few personalities to meet.”

“You could have helped me with them. Do you know how difficult it is to walk up to any of these people and just try to have a nice little discussion? You’re kind of my key to this kingdom.”

He seemed even more pained, the frown becoming more and more pronounced as you continued. “I’m sorry,” he started. “I didn’t want to make you seem like you were being stifled by my company.”

“You’re good company. I don’t think that could happen.”

The sentiment managed to get the frown away, just a little. “I’m glad to hear that.” He looked down at his hand over yours, but there was pain in his gaze and you couldn’t have that.

“Hey,” you gently nudged him. “Just don’t do it again, okay?”

He gave you a promising look in response. “Okay.”

As you settled back down to resume your stargazing, his arm gently guided you to lay on his chest. And he was soft and relaxing, so you couldn’t stop yourself. With your eyes fixed on the sky above, you couldn’t see his gentle looks towards you with eyes flickering between the two gorgeous views he found.

You felt a hand rake itself through your hair. Repetitious through the patterns, the feeling felt just as calming as the sight of the man doing it, and you almost thought you might fall asleep if this continued. But the best part was just being back around Brian.

You didn’t know how long you two stayed together until the alarm on your phone went off — reminding you the sun would rise soon. Brian helped you up, and the two of you chatted for a few minutes as you walked him out of the exhibit and towards his place. When you found the split in your paths, he lingered for just a moment longer than he should have. And there was that damn smile, making your heart soar. You were so close, but that soaring heart was replaced with the painful thought and memory of his cold hand. You remembered why his hand was cold.

You gave him a smile and a wave, letting him walk off.

“You should just kiss him,” a voice startled you. As you spun around, you found John watching the scene play out. Brian had already passed the last pillar of his hallway and left you to your own devices, but he didn’t seem to sense the other body as he left. How long had John been there? “Everyone sees it, [Y/N].” There was a smugness to his words, and you just wanted to punch him and that stupid smirk off his face. He did everything with good intention, but the smugness was a little too much for you at the moment.

“Well he doesn’t,” you shot back. For the life of you, you couldn’t seem to understand that man completely. Somewhere between avoidance and the moment you two had just shared, your head spun. Because he had to like you in some way? He even said he enjoyed your company. The fear that crept in when considering what he truly thought of you forced the next words out of your mouth before you could stop them. “And it’s not like I should anyways.”

Deaky’s eyebrow quirked. His amusement didn’t leave him as he asked, “Why’s that, again? Because he’s made of wax like the rest of us?”

You just continued to make word vomit as you replied. “You’re dead on it, Deacy. Hit the nail on the head.”

He rolled his eyes.

“But that doesn’t explain it. You’re just giving me some excuse.”

The fire was lit. He could see it in your eyes and how your hands curled into fists. He would be scared if he thought you would actually go into hurt him. “And how is that an excuse?” You spat. “I hate to break it to you, but you guys aren’t actually physically people. You can’t just walk out and live a normal life.”

Which was true. It was something that had hit you in a week prior when discovering you would have to go get books for Bowie. He couldn’t just walk out in the morning and grab something from the nearest bookstore or library. Going to clubs were out of the question for others. There was never going to be a sense of true normalcy between any of the people inside the building at night. Even more over, these men would never age. They’d never see another year, forever frozen and stuck in their prime. And what about you? You’d just continue to decay and live.

Yet, Deaky still continued to try. “I don’t want to sound like George—”

“Which one?”

“Either.” He shot back. One was as spiritual as they came and the other was a helpless romantic. Two very good people to have on his side. “But how would you consider any life normal? Explain me that judgement.”

“You don’t get it.” You shot back. “You literally can’t understand it.”

“Alright, fine.” He gave up. His hands went up in defeat and you found a sort of relaxation in the notion that this argument was over.  “But you can’t escape liking him — you know you do.”

“Yeah, and so what? I don’t act on all of my feelings. Real people don’t do that.”

As John made his way past you, a gentle hand rested itself on your shoulder and you found him staring somewhere deep in to your soul. It was a little unnerving.

“This is going to sound cliche, but just choose not to be a real person.”

[kiritenyas]

this art of hawks, made by horikoshi, always kind of interested me. i wrote this meta/theory to kind of explain why.

i believe that this official art of hawks is very intriguing in particular because the first thing it reminds me of is the famous saying “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil”. this art specifically has a little twist on the saying that is special to hawks’ character:

hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.

before i get into hawks’ part, i’ll explain the background of the saying a bit. the saying “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” was first popularized in the 17th century- in the toushou-gu shrine that was in nikkou, japan (popularized in japan but believed to originate in china). a carving on the door to the shrine showed the three wise monkeys (also known as mizaru, kikazaru and iwazaru, that have a few other miscellaneous names) who each represent a part of the saying; mizaru sees no evil, kikazaru hears no evil, and iwazaru speaks no evil. the carvings that included these three monkeys spread the saying in the first place. some versions also have a forth monkey that i’m not going to talk about here.

these three monkeys represent an approach to life; some interpret them as guidelines that show what not to do (and that sometimes includes the forth monkey that mainly represents “do no evil”) the three are believed to be observers/messengers, meant to testify the good of humanity. these messengers were granted a defect: kikazaru who couldn’t hear watched the humans commit the bad deeds, and communicated them to the blink monkey, mizaru. mizaru would transmit the messages to the mute monkey, iwazaru. iwazaru was the one who received the messages and watched the fulfillment of the punishments that were cast on the humans, since he was the one to decide the punishments they should receive from the gods.

iwazaru who decides the punishment the humans will receive and watches it come true represents the “speak no evil” part of the saying, which is also what i personally think horikoshi tried to convey in this official art, both literally and figuratively. literally, the situation hawks is in physically stops him from “speaking evil” since he sort of plays the role of a double spy (for both the heroes and the villains) and is sworn to secrecy by both. figuratively, hawks is a hero known for his pure ideals and his youthful approach to the hero industry, and he is good in his core which stops him from “speaking evil”/using his powers for bad instead of good. but it goes deeper than that.

i think this art is super fascinating especially because of how hawks' nature is questioned in the manga at the moment. the last time we saw him (as of right now 238 chapters came out) he was talking to the best jeanist, after promising dabi he’d prove himself by killing a pro hero. the lesson the three monkeys come to teach is keeping a pure spirit; avoid listening to things that cause us to act badly, avoid speaking without reason and with ill intent, and don’t stand by/tolerate evildoings. hawks’ introduction to the story perfectly portrays this lesson, except for one aspect of it. he would fly around, assist civilians, and act freely for the good of the people, but he’d run his mouth and like to sass people/is very talkative. interesting that the lesson learned from “speak no evil”, which is talk with thought behind your words and respect others isn’t one that hawks’ initial introduction highlighted. he comes off as spontaneous, unpredictable, and his greed for popularity is seen as shallow. 

then, we learn that he just believes a hero should be loved and adored by the people, which is his main reason for seeking public approval rather than official acknowledgment. and after he shows his attitude of “strive for what you long for”, we start to see him as young, idealist and noble.

what makes his character so good is the fact that his biggest dream is pure and happy in its concept, but hawks’ means to achieve it are not. he understands that to achieve a good future, sacrifices have to be made. that aspect of his character is a little heartbreaking, considering he’s the youngest pro hero out there and is still being thrown into the thick of things.

hawks is the heroes’ main connection to the league of villains right now, which is also very interesting since his whole schtick is wanting to have it easy and make a world where heroes can put themselves amongst their priorities. tragically, he's trapped in the spying job he took on in order to achieve those desires. 

now, theory time.

the official art i showed above shows hawks covering his mouth but he’s not shown covering his mouth or eyes-- what leads me to believe that hawks won’t hurt best jeanist/kill him even if it is for the greater good/ideal future he wants. the pose in the picture represents iwazaru who spoke no evil and watched the humans go through the punishments he decided for them, but if i was to apply hawks to the three monkeys story, the humans are not civilians, but the villains in the story (this theory is also supported by the latest chapters/arc who begin to humanize the villains and make us sympathize with them). if the story of the monkeys does apply to bnha, the villains will receive the punishment for the sins they committed. i’m not under any impression hawks is going to decide the villains’ fate, but i do think he’ll “punish” them; at some point of the story, i believe hawks will battle the villains. whether he got found out, or the villains escaped after getting captured, or hawks is told to abandon the mission, i believe he’ll face them and inflict some sort of loss/punishment on them, even if the heroes won’t defeat them.

so, in this theory hawks represents “speak no evil”, but who represents see/hear no evil?

i personally think that toshinori represents “see no evil”. right now, he’s being protected by everyone, and the narrative drove him to be a mentor (a character meant to help develop other characters) rather than a hero (a character meant to help develop the plot). he’s not working as a hero anymore, so he’s now shielded from the actions of the villains by the hero society. but, the blind moneky, mizaru, delivers the message of the evil deeds to iwazaru who can’t speak, which leads me to believe all might and hawks will interact when hawks’ arc is further explored.

“hear no evil” in my opinion is almost definitely endeavor. i have problems with some aspects of his character but for the sake of the theory, i’ll only go over his relevance to hawks’ arc. now, at first, i thought “hear no evil” was aizawa, since kikazaru who can’t hear communicates what he observed to mizaru, and i thought a conversation between aizawa and toshinori made more sense than any other combination. but if i ignore the story of the monkeys and focus on their role in judging humanity/the villains, endeavor makes more sense. endeavor experienced first-hand the force of the villains’ attacks physically (just as kikazaru watched the human’s sins), but also his new role as the number one hero is now to be a reassurance to the public who lost their symbol of peace, so he “sees” the evil and “speaks” evil (communicating with other heroes/authorities about the things he sees) but he doesn’t “hear” the evil-- hawks can’t share the plan with him and endeavor remains in the dark, not “hearing” the evil because hawks can’t “speak” it. 

to fully bring judgment to the humans, the monkeys need the blind monkey to act as a messenger and connect the dots for the mute and deaf ones. so, if my theory is not a reach and isn’t too far fetched, toshinori will be the key to endeavor’s knowledge about the mission; especially considering endeavor’s change of heart (which is... for me at least, bad, but let’s ignore that for the sake of the theory), it’s not too unlikely that endeavor and toshinori will hold a conversation again in the near future, as they already did. the only missing piece in that puzzle is hawks. maybe endeavor would come to toshinori with information/need for advice, and then toshinori would dig into things by himself and uncover the secret spying mission hawks is a part of. or maybe not, and maybe this is very far from what will actually happen, but seeing the importance  of the monkeys to japan and the similarities between stories and most importantly this official art, i think it’s safe to say that even tiny details of the story of the three monkeys will come into play in hawks’ arc. but i guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

[seraselwyn-blog]

SERAPHINA SELWYN is A DEATH EATER in the war, even though HER official job is as A WIZARD ART TEACHER AND BUSINESS OWNER. the THIRTY-TWO year old PUREBLOOD is known to be DUTIFUL and ARDENT but also SADISTIC and DOGMATIC. some might label them as THE HUNTRESS. fc: abigail spencer 

THE SELWYNS:

inter lutum duro mundus. i will stay clean in the mud. this sentence shall greet you in every gate into a property of the old and noble selwyn family, and you can find it in stone work by the houses, in the ancient wooden framing of portraits, in the archives, filled with letters to loved ones with the gentle reminder that the selwyns will rise above any perils. it’s a message of comfort that even seraphina sometimes writes in such tempestuous times to her relatives.

the selwyns are the symbol of old money. and i do mean old. their records, with some alterations to the spelling of the family name, go back centuries, but some books claim them to be amongst those taught personally by hogwarts’ founders. the selwyns are very meticulous about history, especially THEIR history, what they can hide in it, what they can boast about, and how to keep careful records of everything. their archives are precious for wizard historians, and can often be found as references in books.

the selwyns are also, or even, above all, symbols of tradition. while they’ve always kept building newer better houses, they’ve protected their oldest estates, and use some of them as museums of wizard history, just like we’d visit old castles and palaces. they turn good profit from all their estates, in which many people work, especially but not limited to house elves, and all sorts of countryside things you can imagine create money. farming, honey, wood, cattle, wine, cheese, horse raising and the raising of other more magical animals. the selwyns have quite the empire in the united kingdom and even some spots abroad.

one specific tradition that has kept the family very relevant has always been the annual hunting celebration. started in the 1680s, it has evolved but rather stagnated in the last century or so - only purebloods are invited; it happens at, since the 19th century, at the selwyn country house in north yorkshire; it’s a must-go october event, pouring rain or not, with large feasts set outside and inside; children run around with pretend wands and sticks, playing hunter; those old enough ( read: about seven or so and allowed by the parents ) leave into the woods with bloodhounds and return with all sorts of death. deer, bore, magical animals, killed, skinned, and cooked in the same event. women tend to be divided, some families keeping them at the houses, gossiping away, others letting their powerful heiresses and matriarchs hold out their wands for tradition. there’s always one selwyn woman left behind to keep order.

the selwyns are just so deeply embedded in wizard traditions and wizard history, even with very very very few of them ever having ministry related jobs. in fact, seraphina can only trace a few more distant cousins working at the ministry in the last 50 years, and there’s only ever been a selwyn minister. that is because their estates, their museums, the art pieces they collect in them and all the products of their country side holdings already provide all the power and money they could need.

CHILDHOOD:

it was this simple: alma and octavio selwyn couldn’t have any biological children. after years of trying, it became obvious that there was some sort of problem. for a few generations, the before rather fruitful selwyns were having smaller and smaller batches of children, and many less important branches of the family were dying out - alma always blamed it on the classical pureblood inbreeding from both families.

this is the part when i make shit up about wizard society and we run with it. adoption is very real in pureblood society, some cases fully hidden, others an open thing, but no one really talks about it. especially not when it comes to such an important and well respected family. it wouldn’t be the first time the selwyns or other wizards would have adopted a baby. it’s just tabu because in most cases, it’s not possible to fully confirm if the child is, in fact, a pureblood. the selwyns were assured by the orphanage for wizard children in toronto that the little girl, less than three years old, was a pureblood. their meticulous research lead to the same vague conclusion. one change of name ( robin, she’s been told, but it’s forbidden now ) and all of a sudden she was the long awaited heir to the fast aging couple. they were head over heels with the little girl and soon, despite the hints of controversy, so was most of pureblood society.

there are questions in her mind that she’s yet to have the courage to ask. especially those concerning the legitimacy of her blood status. she’s the heiress of the selwyn throne, there is no space for doubts and self reflection in that.

despite the occasional transgressions ( she remembers the way her mother slapped a cousin who dared to question her princess’ very pure blood, how never again did the cousins from switzerland visit again ) seraphina grew up rather sheltered and happy. in a family that highly values education and tradition, she was tutored by many, including some of her father’s old tutors, learning many languages, types of art, magical theory and, above all, the legacy of the selwyns and how to manage it in the future. she also learned all the fine skills of a high ranking lady, being sent for short periods of time to wizard finishing schools abroad - that all changed when her hogwarts letter came.

suddenly she wasn’t sharing her environment with other rich, powerful and mostly pure blooded little heirs. but she would stay clean in the mud. sorted into ravenclaw, it was an easy fit ( curious, competitive, a hub of knowledge, in everything for herself no matter how many backs she must stab ) but even her generation was too liberal. too many mudbloods complaining about being beaten by other students. too many blood traitors around her. seraphina was never the overly violent type ( despite having throw some jinxes at some people occasionally, and even slapped a muggleborn girl who’d dared insult her ), but her real accomplishments were the many groups she started while at hogwarts in defense of a return to tradition, to the good old society in which muggle borns were ostracised, werewolves done away with eugenics, all the things that even in her time could be considered somewhat radical. and she got some following. dumbledore kept shutting them down, calling the groups hateful, and she’d calmly reply that they were simply trying to spread out some important philosophies.

seraphina, or sera for the close ones, didn’t need high grades. she had been groomed to run the many family businesses, starting with small sections when she was still at hogwarts and in the future to inherit it all, but she CRAVED learning, especially the sort of learning that could feed her views. she was very interested in history of magic and magical theory, and after some time caring for the family business, she returned to hogwarts. not quite full term ( damn binns taking up the position of teacher of history of magic ) but as the professor for one extracurricular - art. or rather, wizard art.

PRESENT:

she’s been teaching for a handful of years now, taking some off and returning again, never fully committed as her responsibilities to the selwyn name are far more relevant. her knowledge of wizard art history given how many pieces her family owns secured the position for her, and she does genuinely enjoy having something to call her own, not just a family thing. it’s HER classroom. she also investigates the blood status of each of her students and after strings of terrible marks and rudeness to muggleborns, tells them she believes they’d find a better fit at the muggle art classes. her agenda is VERY much pushed in the classroom.

her love for history is a bit twisted because while she does adore archives and all that stuff, she mostly just picks and chooses what goes along with her rhetoric. history revisionist? very much. will probably write a few books on it soon. is writing one right now. and will DEFINITELY write one about the first wizarding war, a very controversial one.

her second biggest passion, after history, is hunting. she was brought on the annual hunts ever since she was just a little kid and she grew a love for the rush of searching for something she wanted and getting it, even with blood on her gloves. i guess this, mixed with her very strong views on tradition ( in which muggles do not belong in society ), really made her an easy catch for voldemort.

the selwyns have been associated with dark wizards before, but rarely ones this important, as they always feared they’d try to overrule them, overthrow the mighty family. their houses, however, were always safe harbours for dark wizards and those running from aurors - it is rumoured that grindelwald hid with the selwyns for quite some time as he organised his army. but seraphina always wanted to do something more, to leave her particular mark in the long family trees, especially given the little voice in her head that told her she did not belong there.

not being a selwyn makes her want to be the most remarkable selwyn that has ever been.

she was twenty five when she joined the cause officially, her views so interesting and strong that voldemort took it upon branding her with the dark mark and keeping her in his close circle almost immediately. her techniques are curiously vicious, and she truly approaches missions like fox hunting, loves letting some targets lose in forests and running after them. brings in dogs and other animals to scare them off. is very methodical and very cruel without a care - after all, they are an infestation. they are stealing places that belong to the truly worthy of magic, the purebloods such as her. they are ruining what’s meant to be a sacred and secret gift and destroying the great society wizards once were. how can she not be cruel to such sub-human kinds?

that’s why she does what she does. she believes, with her whole heart, that she’s restoring the world by ridding it of all those impurities. and she’s so hellbent in her beliefs, so dogmatic.

has killed muggles who have somehow wandered into or near selwyn grounds despite all the spells around it. has thrown them to the dogs.

currently mostly lives in one of the smallest estates, a country house in wales, just because it was always her favourite. her parents, both still alive, live in other estates, always moving around, and the three ( along with a few cousins, especially in the abroad businesses ) work together a lot but it’s very obvious that sera is very much in charge of most things. her parents are old, tired, and more than ready to let their very well prepared jewel do as she pleases.

can often be found reading or writing. especially letters. sends the LONGEST letters with a meticulous elegant handwriting. the selwyn family seal is always in them.

still tries to start shit with hate groups !! still founds them, supports them, is very open about her beliefs and about her support of the death eaters ( even if she never tells anyone she’s one ). sends letters to the ministry to ask for social measures considered by many archaic and purist. writes op-eds.

that’s the thing, you can’t quiet seraphina. her name means fiery and for good reason - she’s calm and collected and beyond well educated, but if she explodes, her rage is a wildfire. and when she feels something, she feels is so damn much. and can’t really cope with most of those feelings so she just hides away where there’s some pretty art or where she can hold an animal’s corpse.

always wears robes. expensive, custom made, gold thread and that sort of shit in it, but always wizard robes. looks very traditional and very regal at all times.

also wears gloves very often. good for not staining her hands, and also because has a bit of a thing with germs.

the mental image of her grinning has me so confused because she is DEEPLY passionate about things and people and life, but she can as easily be grinning while looking at a 16th century painting, at a lover, or at the tortured pleading nearly-dead body of a muggle

character parallells: ramsay bolton ( game of thrones ), serena waterford ( handmaid’s tale ), the argents ( teen wolf ), tba

[lesbloggerables]

Nirvana in Fire Character Guide

First things first: Nirvana in Fire takes place in a fictional kingdom in about 6th century China. The kingdom in question is Da Liang (sometimes called Great Liang). As was the custom in the olden days, it exists in a state of near-constant warfare with neighbouring lands.

The capital city of Da Liang is called Jinling. That’s where most of the action takes place.

The country is ruled by the Emperor. This dude:

His name is Xiao Xuan, but hardly anyone ever uses it, so that’s not actually super relevant.

The emperor has lots of relatives: grandmother, siblings with their offspring, and children from his various wives. These people are relevant to the plot in different ways, so I’ll give a quick rundown, not in order of their importance. In fact, this whole character list is not in order of importance, since I expect the actual protagonist will only show up somewhere towards the middle ^^

Grand Empress: the emperor’s grandmother. Super old, forgetful, but still likes to be surrounded by young people and cares about all of her grandchildren, though she may not remember who any of them are. Likes giving them sweets and recommending marriage.

Dowager Empress: the emperor’s mother. She’s dead now and only appears in one scene, but that one scene is enough to conclude that she was a piece of work.

Grand Prince Ji: the emperor’s brother. Stays out of politics, prefers music, dancing and drinks. 

The Crown Prince, Xiao Jingxuan: the emperor’s eldest surviving son. Really keen to keep his place as Crown Prince and eventually inherit the throne. Engaged in a power struggle with his half-brother Prince Yu, and as such makes sure to recruit supporters to his side. Cultivates a number of ministers in a quid pro quo arrangement. Resides in the Eastern Palace, hence references to his plots as “plots by the Eastern palace.”

Noble Consort Yue: the Crown Prince’s mother, favoured by the emperor for many years, which is one of the main reasons why her son is this high in rank. Manipulative, ruthless and much smarter than her son.

Empress Yan: the emperor’s wife, high in status thanks to her official position but lacking the emperor’s favour. Comes from a very respected family. Has no children of her own and so adopted Prince Yu. Likes power.

Prince Yu, Xiao Jinghuan: the sixth prince and emperor’s other very prominent son, fighting tooth and nail to supplant the Crown Prince and get to the throne. People say he resembles the emperor the most.

Prince Yu’s wife: confusingly calls the empress her “mother,” but that’s just a polite form of address. Her hobbies involve loving Prince Yu and helping the empress plot with him. Her brother is the head of the Review Court, which forms some branch of the judiciary. He’s a useful connection for Prince Yu to have.

Marquis Yan, Yan Que: the empress’s brother. Used to be great friends with the emperor in his youth, still very influential in court when he bothers to make an appearance, which is rarely.

Yan Yujin: the son of Marquis Yan, so the empress’s nephew. A wealthy youth with an amiable disposition and without a particular occupation, not bad at martial arts. Is into music and courtly gossip.

Concubine Jing: one of the emperor’s low-ranked concubines. Very mild and calm. Is a skilled doctor. Hobbies include making herbal concoctions and being more perceptive than people give her credit for. Mother of Prince Jing.

Prince Jing, Xiao Jingyan: a low-ranking prince, out of favour with his father the emperor. Has spent many years in functional exile on military campaigns. Known for his stubbornness and temper; unbending in his views on right and wrong. Dislikes scheming and strategists, because he blames the death of his childhood best friend, Lin Shu, and his beloved elder brother Prince Qi on a schemers’ plot.

Lin Shu, often referred to as xiao-Shu: Prince Jing’s childhood best friend and young marshal of the Chiyan army. One of the many people implicated in the rebellion case involving this army twelve years ago and sentenced to death for treason. Related to the imperial family through his mother, one of emperor’s sisters.

Grand Princess Jinyang: Lin Shu’s mother, the emperor’s sister. Committed suicide twelve years ago, once she learned her husband and son were executed for treason.

Lin Xie: Lin Shu’s father and Princess Jinyang’s husband. Commander of the Chiyan army, accused of rebellion and executed for treason.

Consort Chen, Lin Yueyao: Lin Xie’s sister. Married the emperor and was favoured by him. Best friends/all but sisters with Concubine Jing. Mother of Prince Qi. Committed suicide after his death.

Prince Qi, Xiao Jingyu: now-dead former Crown Prince. Implicated in the Chiyan rebellion case and forced to drink poison in his prison cell twelve years ago.

Consort Hui: yet another of the emperor’s many consorts and concubines. Timid and bullied by the empress. Prince Jingting’s mother.

Prince Ning, Xiao Jingting: a low-ranked prince. Due to unspecified health problems, is not fit to rule, so he’s out of the running for the throne. Not involved in politics.

For the record, the emperor has a few more wives and sons who are even less relevant to the plot and aren’t worth mentioning.

Grand Princess Liyang: the emperor’s sister, still alive. Lives fairly quietly and focuses mostly on her family. Thinks a lot more than she says. Married to Marquis Ning, has three children with him.

Marquis Ning, Xie Yu: prominent military man, commander of the Capital Patrols, which is basically an army responsible for order in the city. Trusted by the emperor. Has managed to maintain the appearance of impartiality in the power struggle between the Crown Prince and Prince Yu, but in actual fact he’s one of the main forces shoring up the Crown Prince’s side.

Xie Bi: the younger son of Xie Yu and Princess Liyang. Unwitting of his father’s allegiances, supports Prince Yu.

Xiao Jingrui: Xie Bi’s elder brother, the firstborn son of Xie Yu and Princess Liyang. Pretty great at martial arts, sensitive and loyal. Best friends with Yan Yujin.

His story involves complex not-quite-switched-at-birth shenanigans, so it’s unclear which family he’s related to by blood: the one of Xie Yu and Princess Liyang, or the Zhuos, a family of prominent martial arts experts. Since his birth name is unclear, the emperor gave him his own last name (Xiao). The emperor also decreed that both families should share him, which they amiably do. This has brought the families so close that now Jingrui’s younger sister from the Xie side, Xie Qi:

... is marrying Jingrui’s elder brother from the Zhuo side, Zhuo Qingyao:

Zhuo Dingfeng is Qingyao’s dad and Jingrui’s other father. He heads the very influential martial arts sect called the Tianquan Manor.

He and his family are part of the so-called pugilist world/jianghu, meaning the world of Chinese martial arts experts. This world operates outside normal society, but happenings in it are still known in the capital, since the martial experts are renowned for their badassery and useful to those who can strike an accord with them. The Tianquan Manor is one of the two powerful plot-relevant sects.

The other one is the Jiangzuo Alliance.

The head of the Jiangzuo Alliance is Mei Changsu, who is the actual protagonist of this story.

Despite his leadership of a powerful martial arts sect, he knows no martial arts himself and is physically frail. Also very clever. He engages in wearing lovely fur cloaks, ignoring his doctors’ orders and plotting from behind an impeccable poker face.

Fei Liu: Mei Changsu’s young and super loyal bodyguard. Exceptionally talented at martial arts. Is into protecting Mei Changsu, eating melons and arranging flowers.

Li Gang: Mei Changsu’s second-in-command, kind of. Runs his household and take care of a lot of things. Very loyal. Spends a lot of time worrying about Mei Changsu’s health.

Zhen Ping: a badass martial arts expert, part of the Jiangzuo Alliance.

Uncle Thirteen: a composer by day, a Jiangzuo Alliance spy master by night.  From an entertainment house in the capital called the Miao Yin Court, runs a web of information that feeds back to Mei Changsu, with no one being the wiser.

Gong Yu: a renowned music performer working with Uncle Thirteen, both on the music and on the spying. Is also part of the Jiangzuo Alliance.

Tong Lu: another person working for the Jiangzuo Alliance. Pretends to be a harmless vegetable vendor, is actually delivering lots of information to Uncle Thirteen.

Mei Changsu is also friends with Lin Chen, this dude:

He excels at knowing things, healing people and shit-stirring.

He is the head of Langya Hall, meaning a kind of ancient Google. The people who work there collect and store all possible information, to then dish out to requesters for a price. They also publish annual lists of the awesomest fighters, most beautiful ladies, greatest scholars, etc.

Mu Nihuang: everyone refers to her as a princess, but she’s not actually the emperor’s daughter. She comes from the influential House of Mu in the Yunnan province and commands an army of 100,000 men, all very loyal to her. Her army defends Da Liang from an enemy country to the south, Southern Chu. As a young girl, she was betrothed to Lin Shu, and technically still is, but only because nobody bothered to break the engagement after his death.

Mu Qing: Nihuang’s younger brother, whom she practically raised. Adores his sister.

Meng Zhi: the commander of the Imperial Guards (basically, in charge of protecting the emperor) and the best fighter in the kingdom. Served in the Chiyan army for a while, but was transferred out before the shit hit the fan.

Lie Zhanying: Prince Jing’s second-in-command. Accompanied him on many a military campaign.

Qin Banruo: Prince Yu’s strategist. Clever, beautiful and ruthless. Maintains a spy network through a pleasure house she runs. Inherited the spy network from her teacher. 

Duke Qing: an influential military dude and a major supporter of Prince Yu. At the very start of the show he’s already embroiled in a scandal over lands he has unlawfully appropriated, and the Crown Prince’s side is happily digging his grave so as to deprive Prince Yu of this powerful ally.

Xia Jiang: head of the Xuanjing Bureau, which is like the FBI? except if the FBI were loyal only and exclusively to the emperor. The bureau and its members pointedly take no part in the princes’ fight for the throne. The emperor places a huge amount of trust in Xia Jiang.

Xia Dong: an executive officer at the Xuanjing Bureau, a pupil of Xia Jiang. A badass investigator. Still loyal to the memory of her husband, Nie Feng, whose death via betrayal was one of the early acts in the Chiyan army rebellion case.

Xia Qiu and Xia Chun: two other major officers of the Xuanjing Bureau, also Xia Jiang’s disciples. Luckily, it’s not important to keep track of which is which.

Gao Sheng: the city magistrate who gets to investigate, like, crime in general:

Constable Zhang, the magistrate’s assistant:

Shen Zhui: a Ministry of Finance/Revenue official with a good head on his shoulders. It’s worth remembering him.

Cai Quan: a Justice Ministry official with a lot of feelings about justice. It’s worth remembering this one, also.

There’s also a whole bunch of ministers of whom we may as well keep track, though honestly it’s not always necessary:

Luo Zhijing, Minister of Finance/Revenue: supports the Crown Prince. 

Qi Min, Minister of Justice: supports Prince Yu.

He Jingzhong, Minister of Personnel: supports Prince Yu.

Chen Yuanzhi, Minister of Rites: supports the Crown Prince.

Li Len, Minister of Defence/Martial Affairs: supports the Crown Prince.

Minister of Public Works: supports Prince Yu. (Apparently does it discretely enough that I don’t recall seeing him on screen ^^)

Minister Liu Cheng from the Grand Secretariat: stays out of the princes’ fight for the throne.

His granddaughter, Miss Liu, becomes relevant at one point:

Then there are the foreign powers:

Da Yu: an enemy kingdom, historically the biggest enemy of Da Liang, though they haven’t been any trouble for the last 12 years. They suffered a crushing defeat all those years back and have been sitting in relative quiet. We don’t trust them tho.

Hua kingdom: it no longer exists, because it was defeated by and assimilated into Da Liang some time ago. Some members of the Hua tribe are still cross about this. Notable personalities from there include the two now-deceased princesses, Princess Linglong and especially Princess Xuanji, who plotted fiercely for the kingdom’s resurgence.

Northern Yan: an enemy kingdom. Their previously unexceptional Sixth Prince was recently named the Crown Prince to the surprise of everyone around. The assumption is that some very clever strategist helped him onto the throne.

This warrior, Baili Qi, is from there:

As is this dude whose name I don’t know. He’s an official/diplomatic representative from Northern Yan:

Southern Chu: yet another enemy kingdom. Some 20 years ago, the prince of this kingdom was held as a hostage in Da Liang. He went back since and became the ruler. There are constant wars/skirmishes on that border, and Nihuang’s troops in the province of Yunnan keep them in line.

Duke/Prince Ling, Wen Xian is from there.

As is Princess Nian Nian, the ruler’s daughter.

There are of course more characters, but their identities are less confusing/less important to the plot, and I had to draw the line somewhere ^^ Hopefully, this already helps!

[renaroo]

Wednesday Roundup 30/5/17

What’s that? Is it Wonder Woman Week? It’s definitely ladies week... plus some lovable turtles all the same and you know what? This particular comic reader and reviewer could not be happier for it. So let’s see how things pan out...

Image’s Saga, IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, IDW’s Transformers: Till All Are One, DC’s Wonder Woman (2017- ): Wonder Woman Day Special

Image’s Saga (2012-present) #43 Brian K. Vaughn, Fiona Staples

Now that I’ve almost completely caught up on Saga in digital, I thought why the heck not go ahead and subscribe to the series rather than wait for the trade collection. ... Also I’ll admit that them selling this issue at $0.99 to attract new readers got me since in the long run I’d be saving by buying monthly rather than waiting for the trade. You got me, Image. You finally got me. Damn. 

In any case, Saga continues to be just completely unparalleled in its relevance and heart. It conquers issues of the day -- including transgenderism, abortion rights, mixed race family dynamics, and raising children in unconventional environments -- while also being wholly set in its own universe with its own rules and settings. It mixes Sci-Fi and Fantasy flawlessly while addressing the notes of incompatibility between them.

And then sometimes you have to fight shit monsters. 

Obviously I adore this comic and as long as it’s been running, I actually can’t think of a better hopping on spot for new readers than this issue, as it comes to address so much of what’s happened in the past of these characters, bringing things back around circle, and also brings us a new shock with the last page revelation. 

A true “wait what” if I’ve ever seen one. 

Great comic, great issue, and a must read for anyone interested in truly defining change in the industry. 

Also as a complete side note, I wonder how many of my fellow 90s kids saw that zebra throughout the issue and had a craving for fruit stripe gum. Like it was intense. And I’m not a sugar person. 

IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2011-present): Free Comic Book Day 2017 Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Cory Smith, Ronda Pattison

I’m always a supporter of Free Comic Book Day, but another thing I find interesting about it is how companies attempt to use it to bring new readers up to date on current storylines or preview for upcoming big events. A lot of times, though, that unfortunately leads to things being a tad lazy with their freebies, reprinting already run issues or making a hodge podge of comics to sort of tease newbies. 

IDW, as always, refuses to be so insular or simple.

Not only was FCBD a new issue for the series, but it provided the characters’ perspectives on the past two years of storylines together and brings about a compelling and complete story within the issue itself -- having a villain to be defeated, a puzzle to figure out, and in general giving a satisfactory issue on its own while still hinting toward the upcoming return of the Dimension X plot of the ongoing series. 

I love these characters, I love how well handled they are, and I love how IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles continues to use ingenuity in bringing together the entirety of the TMNT franchise. It’s fantastic. 

IDW’s Transformers: Till All Are One (2016-present) #10 Mairghread Scott, Sara Pitre-Durocher, Joana Lafuente

The depths of Starscream’s depravity continues and I kind of adore watching the descent? I was actually curious if mneumosurgery was going to receive more development in non-Lost Light/MTMTE titles and considering my fascination with it in my own fic, I’m obviously very pleased to see it brought into Scott’s work now. I love that his arrogance and manipulation seemingly knows no bounds and yet we can’t help but feel like his work actually is in the best interests of Cybertron as he sees it. Or is it?

I love that the universe also keeps expanding -- Chromia hunting Legio, Arachnid being a mneumosurgeon that has been working with Starscream since the very first storyline’s mysteries (and being a different character from Black Arachnia which makes me excited because yassss have my cake and eat it toooooo), Elita One’s work counteracting Starscream. 

I love it all so very much. And Blast Off and Onslaught are now officially a #poblematic fav couple, dammit. I already have 30 of those for Transformers. 

DC’s Wonder Woman (Rebirth) (2017-present): Annual #1 Greg Rucka, Nicola Scott, Romulo Fajardo Jr., and MANY MORE!

Four-stories-in one and Wonder Woman once more delivers on the sort of quality that has been expected of the title for the last year. We completely retcon the origins of how the Trinity originally met and their interactions with each other is just top tier fun both from Rucka’s writing and love for all three (and Lois!!!) as well as Scott’s never failing to amaze art. And I can’t help but feel like this was the definite highlight of the whole annual, which explains this being the cover story. 

The others are... decent to okay. With the Japanese setting story kind of obviously misunderstanding the emphasis Rucka’s past year of worldbuilding has put into Diana using her lasso rather than using her sword but still it got us some peace there.

All the stories are fairly good for pumping one up for all aspects of Wonder Woman and the excitement that will come from her film debut this weekend, but I also feel like there’s some missed opportunities here.

I was really hoping for a preview of the next creative team’s work, and especially at least getting a sense of Shea Fontana’s characterization for Diana, which we didn’t really get. And even more importantly, for a Wonder Woman spectacular celebrating all there is to love about Wonder Woman and what she means as an icon... I’m not really pleased with the idea that her first annual of this series has so few women working on it. 

Diana’s consistently muscular, beautiful, kind, and resourceful throughout the story but it’d have been doubly as awesome if DC had used this opportunity to promote more of their female creative talent. 

DC’s Wonder Woman (2017-present): Wonder Woman Day Special #1 Greg Rucka, Liam Sharp, Laura Martin

It’s a reprinting of the first issue of Wonder Woman Rebirth. 

That’s not entirely a bad thing, and it gave me the chance to reread the first issue like I talked about doing in last week’s Wondy installment, to see if the racial cringing was any less cringing (it’s not), but it’s a reprint promoting the current book just in time for new readers excited by the Wonder Woman (2017) film out this Friday to pick up a free comic digitally, or go to their local stores and pick up the first two volumes of Rucka’s run which includes Wonder Woman: Year One and Wonder Woman: The Lies. 

It’s good marketing, even if I’m still really displeased with the handling of race issues in the beginning of Wonder Woman’s Rebirth return. 

There’s not much more to say to it than that. 

Overall this was a good week and it was especially great on the front of being full of comic ladies, but even though I’m as happy as anyone to celebrate a good Wonder Woman Day, my absolute biggest emotions for this week’s comics definitely came from Saga, which is one of the greatest comics of this generation and a pleasure to read, but especially on the ball this week.

But that’s just my opinion! I’d love to hear from all of you. Agree? Disagree? Think I missed a good comic to pick up? I’d love to hear from you!

[reduxroyal]

What are you thoughts on fire emblem heroes so far? And who's on your team?

lol okay buckle the fuckle in kids this is gonna be a ride

(also thank you for this ask and I’m sorry you’re about to get way more info than you probably wanted)

We’ll start with the short answer, so people who aren’t really here for a fucking Fire Emblem history lesson can dip:

Heroes is a fun little game that is honestly a good test to see if you’d like proper titles because the mechanics are identical. They use smaller versions of the original maps, and even pull a lot of the classic music. It’s fun, it works, and there are some nice nods to the older games. My team is Lazlow, Tiki, Niles, and Frederick, all four star or below because the gotcha gods hate me.

Here’s the long answer. Like, really long answer.

Fire Emblem is, historically, not what we’d call a raging success in the US. The first six titles were Japan-exclusive. So from 1990 until 2003, nobody in the US really knew or cared about Fire Emblem because there were no fuckin games for them to play. So what happened to change that?

Melee. Melee happened.

Marth and Roy (for whatever fucking reason I still don’t know why) were on the roster of the 2001 fighter Super Smash Bros. Melee and boy howdy were they popular. You may remember that all of their voice lines were in Japanese, and that’s because they literally didn’t have English voice actors, because there were no English Fire Emblem titles. To be fair FE didn’t use cutscenes at that point so there were probably no voice actors period but like whatever.

So Roy and Marth become like, overnight sensations, and that coupled with the success of Intelligent System’s other tactical RPG, Advance Wars, prods Nintendo to give it a shot and release Blazing Blade internationally for the GBA in 2003. Blazing Blade is the story of Eliwood, Roy’s father, as well as Lyn and Hector, two other big names in FE lore.

But Blazing Blade only sells so-so. In fact, over the next eleven years, Fire Emblem hits a slump, both in Japan and abroad. Titles like Sacred Stones (the first video game I ever played) Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn (why would you put a tactical RPG on anything other than a handheld literally why why why it makes no sense omfg) and Shadow Dragon (which is a rehash of the first game, Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light) all do pretty mediocre.

So now the year is like 2010-ish and FE’s not picking up it’s lost revenue or interest, so Intelligent Systems starts planning what is essentially going to be the franchise’s finale, and that’s Fire Emblem Awakening. Intelligent Systems pulls out all the fuckin stops to make the best game they possibly can so it will be a proper last hurrah. If Awakening didn’t sell well, Fire Emblem was going to be shelved forever.

Awakening, of course, due to many things like good advertising, the right platform, a really fucking solid game with cool new mechanics, likeable characters, a decent plot, and fucking gorgeous cutscenes, becomes the best-selling game in Fire Emblem’s twenty-three year history. Which leads to the somewhat awkward question of what the fuck do you do when the thing that was supposed to be your franchise’s finale becomes the most popular installment of the whole goddamn series?

Well, if you’re Nintendo, you try to recreate it.

That’s what Fates is: a recreation. They (understandably) want to make that magic happen again. So they put together the same artists, a lot of the same voice actors, and everyone’s favorite marriage-to-child mechanic (that just does not make sense in Fates okay I’m sorry I love it and I’m here for it but we all need to agree that it just doesn’t make sense) and Fates does pretty well. Fire Emblem’s back in business.

But you’re left in this curious situation where more than half of your fanbase is only familiar with two out of fourteen titles, so it’s hard to decide where to go. Awakening and Fates are not traditional Fire Emblem games. They are so very, very different in so many ways. The pace of the games, the length of the games, the unit-recruiting process, roster size, the way Support works, even the buying and selling and acquisition of weapons like…there’s just this huge gap. How do you bridge it?

A…mobile game, I guess?

Which like don’t get me wrong, Heroes’ shortcomings have nothing to do with its platform. Like I said before: it’s cute and it’s competent. My issue lies more in the marketing of the game.

I’m sure we all remember the polls that went on to decide which Fire Emblem greats were going to be playable characters in the game, right? And you could pick anyone. Literally anyone. It didn’t matter if they were only apart of your roster for a map and a half. It didn’t matter if they were an enemy unit. It didn’t matter if they were some like, random archer you got in the third chapter so you could learn about ranged attacks. You could vote for any character from any Fire Emblem game, period.

Except, that means it’s essentially boiling down to a popularity contest between twelve practically unknown or rarely known Fire Emblem titles and the two newest, best-selling, fan favorites. Which isn’t upsetting so much as it is, like, dumb? Like of course the majority of people are gonna vote for Chrom and Camilla, that’s what they know. One of the best Fire Emblem characters (in my opinion) is Prince Innes, from Sacred Stones. He has a hilariously arrogant attitude, is bold and brash, and a sick fucking sniper who constantly insists he should be on the front lines and not in the back of the party with the rest of the ranged attackers.

Innes, of course, didn’t make the list. Because ten out of the chosen twenty male heroes were from Awakening or Fates (that ratio is 13:20 for the ladies if you were curious) So this game that was intended to like, I don’t even know, revive interest in old games or at least make them relevant, ends up not really doing that at all. Especially because out of the first eight chapters (that’s as far as I’ve gotten) four of ‘em explore the worlds of Awakening and Fates.

What about Path of Radiance? What about Sacred Stones? What about literally anything besides the last two games in the franchise because it’s not that I don’t like those games, it’s that you promised me a game that embraced all of Fire Emblem, and this ain’t it. Also you went to the trouble of giving Eirika official art and she’s not even a character you can draw what the actual fuck is she in this game or nah

BASICALLY (we’re almost done you almost made it) I think it will be interesting to see how Fire Emblem: Echoes plays out. Echoes is a remake of Fire Emblem Gaiden, a 1992 Japan-only exclusive that I, personally, know nothing about, but can tell you with relative confidence that it’s not like Awakening or Fates because nothing in FE is like Awakening or Fates. It’s coming out in May of this year and like…I’m really curious to see how the “newer” (and by the way newer does not mean in any way that you’re like less of a fan. I don’t care if the only Fire Emblem game you’ve played is Awakening, I’m just fucking glad you’re playing Fire Emblem, let’s be friends) fans will like it. The official description for it is: “Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia recreates classic Fire Emblem gameplay with a modern twist, mixing in exploration of dungeons crawling with enemies.”

I have never played a FE title that had a dungeon of any kind, unless you count the Tower of Valni from Sacred Stones. I don’t even know what that means in the terms of a tactical RPG but like, I guess we’ll see. 

tl;dr I like Fire Emblem a whole lot and will always be bitter over Eirika’s bullshit outfit in Awakening’s DLC

Thanks for reading!

BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE

Hi! I’m back again! And at this point lots of things have changed in regards to this post! Most notably: Heroes has added lots of older Fire Emblem characters to the game (including Innes which makes my earlier complaint look really dumb) and Echoes came out and it’s genuinely one of the best games I’ve ever played, and easily one of the best games in FE’s franchise.

Here’s the thing that past me writing this post didn’t get: newer fans are just as invested as old fans, they just don’t have as much to be invested in yet. I can prattle on and on about Sacred Stones and Binding Blade and Shadow Dragon and all the titles I’ve played, but newer players (under-fucking-standably) aren’t going to go back and play games with bad graphics from the late 90′s and early 00′s, so they just hang out with the titles they have played, which for some people, is just Awakening, or just Fates.

Echoes was universally adored by the fanbase. There were a couple times I saw comments like “well, where’s the avatar unit?” or “why can’t I marry other units and have kids?” and like, I wanted to be mad, because those aren’t staples of Fire Emblem, but if anything it’s Nintendo’s fault for making two games back-to-back that promoted the hell out of those features. How could someone who only played Awakening and Fates (which is the majority of this game’s base) know any differently?

And Heroes has really done well with bringing in more characters from other games. Every single game in the franchise (even fucking Tharcia 776) is represented by at least two characters, and they’re always adding more. I think they’re genuinely doing the best they can to please everyone, and the only people throwing a fit are "older” fans who think they deserve more because, what? They’ve put more time in? They’ve somehow “earned” it?

Nintendo is a business, and businesses rely on popularity to fucking succeed. That’s just how it works. Like it or not, the realistic faces of this franchise are characters like Lucina, Ryoma, Corrin, Camilla, and Robin. That’s just how it works. Characters like Math and Lyn will always endue because they’ve been built up as legends, but now there’s so many new characters, and so many new fans, so of course things have to change and the attention has to shift.

And new fans are picking up the old characters just as much!! Characters that haven’t gotten fanart in a fuckin decade are suddenly getting a bunch of attention, because a new fan pulled them in Heroes, didn’t know who they were but liked their design, and went to town.

tl;dr - you aren’t more important just because you’ve “been a fan” longer, it makes complete sense that Nintendo would shift the focus to games like Awakening and Fates, and if you’re waiting for a certain character to show up in Heroes give it some time.

That’s all for real this time.

Also my new team (if anyone cares) is Innes, Leo, Azura, and Raven. I don’t want to talk about how much money I spent trying to gotcha twelve year-old video game characters.

I, uh, I just really like Fire Emblem.

also for all the Path of Raidance and Radiant Dawn fans who sent me asks saying those games were the highest-selling games for their consoles: you’re wrong, and here are the fucking receipts

[operationrainfall]

Title Horgihugh Developer PiXEL Publisher LionWing Publishing Release Date June 11, 2019 Genre Side-Scrolling SHMUP Platform PC Age Rating N/A Official Website

Horgihugh is a 2D, side-scrolling SHMUP and the debut game by developer PiXEL. Not quite the bullet hell and nightmare inducing experience of other SHMUPs, Horgihugh still possesses the key characteristics of the genre. Combining those with an original story, classic 16-bit style, and an adorable aesthetic, and you have a notable first offering from a fledgling development studio.

Horgihugh starts off by introducing its backstory, set in a world similar to our own yet with its population consisting of anthropomorphic animals. After relative peace for most of its history, a single violent event triggers a world war. During this conflict, a former pilot, Dr. Howard, discovers an alien stone, one that could be used to neutralize any and all weapons this world possesses. However, before he could finish his work to end the war, the conflict ends on its own accord. Since then, a global initiative to renounce the possession of weapons is put in place.

Six years later, following a signal from the stone, aliens, called the Gozarean, arrive on earth and begin to steadily take over. One country, which broke the treaty to disarm, has an arsenal and launches a counter attack, only to fail due to the alien’s ability to neutralize these weapons. Meanwhile, two pilots who turned their backs on the world war and who isolated themselves since, are now the only means of defense, as their vintage biplanes are the only weapons unaffected by the aliens’ ability. Hugh the dog and Figaro the cat are thrust into action, the last hope of the world against the Gozarean invasion.

The story of Horgihugh sets the stage for the game, explaining the whats and whys for this conflict. The entire story is presented as a prologue cutscene and that’s all we really get before the epilogue. The prologue feels like it’s just lumped up and thrown at you before anything else happens. It’s also not the most intriguing or thought provoking of stories, though I suppose it does enough of a job to explain why we as players are controlling World War II era aircraft against an advanced alien invasion. It serves a purpose, but it’s hardly memorable. The epilogue fares only slightly better, in that there is a relevant message we can all learn from. If anything story related can be called memorable, it’s that single message at the very end. And I do realize that SHMUPs in general rarely have intriguing stories to begin with, but the lack here does zero favors.

The characters, too, are not all that thought provoking, simply serving the purpose of addressing who’s fighting who. Hugh and Figaro are two pilots who had isolated themselves, not wanting to use their flying talents to cause suffering or death. But, as the only hope in a new war against aliens, they take action. While Figaro gets a sarcastic line or two during play and while we do get a few lines at the end, we don’t get much else from either character. Much of their personalities is implied or left to us to assume. Bare bones, unmemorable, moving on.

As a SHMUP, the heart of the game is not in its story, narrative, or character development, but in its gameplay. Though this is the first game from a new developer, Horgihugh has solid gameplay for the genre. There is an appreciable degree of action and challenge here, as players dodge and destroy in classic 2D, side-scrolling fashion. Several traditional elements of play are also present, including the need to recognize enemy patterns and familiarize oneself with level layouts if you’re planning to survive or rack up a high score. Upgrades are available via collecting medals or buying them from Howard’s Lab with collected crystals and examples include increasing firepower and improving defense. If you’re struggling, there’s also Angela’s Shop, which offers extra lives or a level selector to practice unlocked levels. Keep in mind, using Angela’s items will incur point penalties. During play, one unique gameplay element is the somersault, which destroys enemies and makes Hugh invincible for a few moments. Another unique element of this game, after a number of medals are collected, Figaro will join the fight, mimicking your control of Hugh and adding to your destructive power. You can also control Figaro’s formation, moving him in front, behind, above or below Hugh. A bit of innovation goes a long way here.

In terms of its execution, Horgihugh hits most of the expected marks, with fluid movement, appreciable upgrades, and plenty of fun to be had. I thought having Figaro as a copilot was great, both as an innovative element and one that actually contributes to gameplay rather than an unnecessary change for change’s sake. I do wish there was more innovation or uniqueness to play, as the game quickly feels overly familiar to other SHMUPs. I also wish the game was longer. Levels feel a bit short and because of that, six levels just doesn’t feel adequate. Most players will be done with the entire experience, replays and all, within a few hours. What I do appreciate is the challenge level of the game, allowing itself to appeal both to veterans of the genre, as well as newcomers. I like how both an easy and normal difficulty are available from the start and, for the most part, the challenge remains even with only few moments when the difficulty spikes. Fortunately, those are rare and most will be able to manage the campaign in its entirety. The one gripe of mine I can’t forgive is the lack of customizable controls. The keyboard controls are not the most intuitive and require practice to master. The developers even recommend using a controller, which is telling. Using my Xbox controller, I found the controls much easier to master, however I again wish I could have customized them. Such a small convenience to players can make an experience changing impact.

When Howard’s Blimp appears, fly into it to enter his shop

What stands out the most in Horgihugh is its aesthetic charm. Visually, the game is adorable, offering an appeal for all ages through its 16-bit era pixel art while also impressively disguising the hidden destruction and challenge that lie within. The character designs are cute and the miscues that come from enemy appearances, especially the sub and main bosses, is satisfyingly deceiving. It doesn’t matter how cute Hugh, Figaro, or the enemies are, everything poses a threat and it’s all lovably illustrated. I also love the level designs, ranging from oceans and cloudy skies to caves, blizzards, and cityscapes. Artists KOU, Hidekunki Sasaki, and Kengo Tanaka have lent their talents to the visuals and the results are charming in every aspect. The audio is equally impressive, with catchy tunes that fit the overall style of the game perfectly. Konami composer Motoaki Furukawa has created a soundtrack that perfectly captures the tone of the game, emphasizing the charismatic visuals. Although the soundtrack probably won’t stick with you afterwards, its charm and quality are a pleasure to listen to in the moment. Together, the visual and audio aesthetics are easily the highlights of Horgihugh.

Horgihugh accomplishes what it sets out it do, in that it provides its players with a no-nonsense, action-packed experience. The 16-bit stylizing and the cutesy anthropomorphic aesthetic add plenty of charm, furthering its appeal to a wider audience. Yet, with a forgettable story, missteps in its gameplay; controls, lack of innovation, and limited number of levels; and with achieving high-scores or going for perfect playthroughs as the only reasons for replay, the overall experience lacks enough punch to take it beyond average territory. The price tag of about $12 (original price) is steep for what the game provides and unless you’re an avid fan of SHMUPs, charming aesthetics, or you’re looking for a solid entry point into the genre, you may want to give this a pass. If that price were to ever drop by half or more, then I would whole-heartedly recommend the purchase to anyone interested. PiXEL has provided an acceptable first release, as Horgihugh is, overall, a fun experience throughout. They’ve impressed me enough that I’ll be keeping an eye on PiXEL in the future.

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[easyreview cat1title=”Overall” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”2.5″]

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REVIEW: Horgihugh Title Horgihugh