#thank you for the ask and for allowing me to ramble !!!

[twst-hottest-takes]

Tweel Anatomy Discussion!

Part 2.

(Finally getting around to this! Link to part 1 here: https://www.tumblr.com/twst-hottest-takes/759029788153446400/tweel-anatomy-discussion?source=share )

And first off a big "Thank You" to everyone who encouraged me to write the first part and who seemed to have enjoyed it. I'm happy my pseudo-scientific ramblings about fantasy anatomy make you happy!

As always: The following post will be almost purely conjecture based off of a combination of reality and fiction. None of what I say should be taken as law, but rather a fun series of hypotheticals, as that is what the game gives us to work with.

Before getting to the promised screed on "throat teeth" I'll be addressing a couple of subjects people asked about in the comments of the first post! I'll be paraphrasing, but if the people who asked wish to be credited directly, let me know and I will tag you!

First: What does Floyd mean when he threatens to "squeeze" people?

As the comment pointed out, eels (moray or not) don't seem to constrict their prey. The word "constrict" is often associated with how many species of snakes trap and suffocate their prey before swallowing it whole. In this manner, morays do not constrict anything to speak of, BUT THEY DO TIE THEMSELVES INTO KNOTS!

Commonly this behavior is used when an eel has a piece of prey that is too big to swallow all at once, so they tie themselves into a knot to get a better "grip" on their prey and tear it into more manageable pieces! A knot can also be a defensive measure to hide or protect an eel's head from potential enemies. (Looking up "Moray Eel knots" should give you a much better idea of this behavior.) In the case of Floyd Leech, I think that the term "squeeze" is meant to reference Flotsam and Jetsam's behavior in The Little Mermaid. They "squeeze" Flounder and Sebastain to prevent them from stopping Ariel from making her deal with Ursula, and also wrap around Ariel's arms to restrain her later in the movie when the deal is up. These are pretty cartoonish behaviors that wouldn't be seen in real eels as they appear in the movie which seems to treat them a lot like "sea snakes" in this way. I think Floyd's "squeeze" is meant to be a serious threat when considering what eels do to things they tie up in their knots, but it does seem to evoke a mental image of a python rather than an eel.

Secondly, the user questions how Floyd would manage to build up his arm muscles so much.

Simply speaking, Floyd's bare arms are only a matter of fanservice. He's not really "buff."

The muscles are just very well-toned. While Floyd's "mercurial moods" don't allow him to commit to things like workout routines, he's still more active than not. Doing things like basketball, dancing, or parkour with any kind of regularity will give his arms that toned look, at least as far as his human form goes. In regards to his merman form, Floyd probably did similar things that shaped his muscles this way, but didn't build them up much past average.

Thirdly, another user asked me to touch on the boys' habitat as them being residents of the apparently cold and dark Coral Sea doesn't line up with the natural habitats of moray eels in real life that live in tropical waters.

Unfortunately, I don't have any particularly fun insights into this topic because I think that's just something added to better suit the part of the game based off of The Little Mermaid. Azul and the twins are meant to be intimidating and a little mysterious, so they come from a deep, dark, cold part of the ocean that holds scary and mysterious things. Bearing in mind that merfolk are fantasy creatures, I don't find the contradiction of where you would find eels versus where the twins are from to be especially bad in terms of world building. It may not be entirely thought through, but they are taking inspiration from the Disney movie, and keeping true to it's inspiration probably came first.

(Honestly, the thing that gets me is how they said they couldn't go home because the sea froze over. As if the mirror couldn't transport them directly into the ocean underneath all the ice! I swear the writing in this game sometimes.)

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for: LET'S TALK ABOUT PHARYNGEAL JAWS!

Quick explanation: Pharyngeal jaws are a second set of teeth in the back of a fish's throat. They are notable on moray eels, but they aren't the only fish that have them. The function of the throat teeth is for them to jut forward and grab onto whatever food the fish has bitten into and then retract and drag the food down the esophagus far enough for peristalsis to take over and continue the swallowing normally. (Yes, I used the first picture that showed up on the web search. It's from Wikipedia)

Do I think the Leech Twins have pharyngeal jaws?

The short answer is unfortunately: "NO."

The long answer involves more of our favorite subject: Discussing how realistic anatomy and fantasy physiology can coexist. (Spoiler alert: The long answer is still unfortunately: "NO.")

Logically and anatomically speaking it makes no sense for Floyd and Jade to have them. First and foremost, even if they did somehow have them in their merforms (which is far more plausible) they wouldn't have them in their every day human forms. The shortcoming of human anatomy is that we have a windpipe, and a second set of teeth back in our throats would suffocate us any time they would need to be used. Instead, we, like most of the animal kingdom, have tongues that push food back to be swallowed and have no need for extra jaws to crawl up and pull food down. Likewise, the twins clearly have tongues, and although they keep their primary teeth in tact between their two forms, have no need for a secondary set. Furthermore, I would posit that pharyngeal jaws in their human forms would be just plain dangerous as in the case of accidentally crushing your own windpipe. They breathe air, therefore they don't have gills, therefore they have lungs and a trachea for gas exchange, and therefore no room for throat teeth.

If the twins were to have pharyngeal jaws, it would make the most sense for them to have them exclusively in their aquatic forms. Because they breathe through gills around their ribs (see part 1) there would be much more room for a second set of teeth and the accompanying anatomical equipment. However, again, I am forced by my own logic to concede that they would still be unnecessary. Between all of the visual proof and the fact that the twins speak the common language fluently enough to have no communication issues with the land dwellers, we know for a fact that they have tongues--much like in their human forms--and that would negate the need or use for pharyngeal jaws. Moreover the humanoid head and neck structure on them in both forms would make the use of pharyngeal jaws pointless, if not explicitly dangerous (having a curved esophagus, as opposed to a straight line as in fish).

In conclusion; as much as this is a disappointment to admit, it would seem that the twins do in fact only require and as a result have a single set of teeth.

However, I will end this particular essay off with one sliver of hope.

It is implied in the text of the game that the twins were hatched from eggs. If their formation from egg to "adult" merman is anything similar to a fish's then it is possible that they once had a second set of jaws. Perhaps in an earlier stage of their development their bodies and mouths were positioned differently and they hadn't quite grown tongues yet, so a pair of extra jaws would have been particularly handy. As they became fully developed these jaws would have been lost, reabsorbed, or simply become vestigial remains as a result of no longer being of use. So while it's not logical to imagine that the twins currently have pharyngeal jaws, there's nothing that says we can't imagine that they did at some point.

(A small consolation to those of us who really would have liked that addition to their characters because we just think it would have been really really cool. Logic be darned, I still love to see fanart that depicts the two of them having throat teeth.)

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed a bit more of my obsessive ramblings regarding fantasy anatomy!

This one took a while to put together because I wanted to make sure I had a visual representation of what I was talking about regarding the placement and effect of pharyngeal jaws in a humanoid form. . .so you guys get to see a very rough drawing of what I was talking about (along with a sample of my awful handwriting). I hope that was helpful and not too difficult to understand. I have been very tired lately and ended up putting a few ask responses on hold because I REALLY wanted to get this part out. A good number of people have apparently been looking forward to this, and I felt bad for making everyone wait for so long.

Will there be a third part?

Well as of right now I don't have one planned. But if some fun conversations start regarding what I've said here, there may end up being enough stuff to include in a third post. I didn't have much to say regarding things like warm or cold-bloodedness, or coloration and bioluminescence. However, if people want to talk about those kinds of things I will gladly delve more into them as long as there are people to talk to about it. But for now, that'll be all for this subject!

Now we can get back to the inbox!

(Once again going to sleep thinking about how awesome these mer-eel designs are and how I love all the sparkles!)

[wazzappp]

@rokhal okay so you see heres the problem. You asked too many good questions so I opened a google doc to answer them and then things just got going and then I ended up with an entire summary of the story I have so far.

ALSO thank you @moosemonstrous for helping me puzzle through my fugnking ramblings

Also it is IMPORTANT that you know I had this song on repeat the entire time I was plotting my nefarious schemes

OKAY SO. I’m thinking Robbie is some sort of specialized stealth unit. He was originally designed for high level infiltration but was repurposed by the human resistance in the future. He has skin with a metal endoskeleton just like the usual terminators but he ALSO has those nanobots that allow him to heal at the same pace as a normal human. They also would help with repairing any damage to internal systems like wiring. They could also be what repurposes food to grow his metal endoskeleton. I’m debating on whether he can manually speed that up for an accelerated healing process because that would require a level of control over his machinery that I’m not sure it would make sense for him to have right after figuring out he’s a machine. Maybe with some practice he could do it. OHHHHH OR IF HES IN SOME SORT OF ‘EMERGENCY DEFENSE’ MODE IT ACCELERATES AUTOMATICALLY THAT COULD BE FUN!!! 

Also I really like the idea of him being able to heal with those nanobots but like. SPECIFICALLY for Gabe. They’re programmed to create synthetic flesh and skin but only for certain genomes. His and Gabes are similar enough that they can help repair tissue if he’s injured. Like being a blood donor for matching blood types.

STORY WISE HERE’S WHAT IM THINKING: Eli still exists in this universe and he’s still a massive shithead. Still pushes Mama Reyes down a flight of stairs while pregnant with Gabe (their soon to be first child), still a serial killer and still involved with the mob. But shortly after Gabe is born, Eli is caught and sentenced to prison for life. The mob figures he told his brother’s family so that makes them a liability. They kill Alberto and Julianna, but leave Gabe alone in his crib. This happens when he’s about 6 months old.

While this is happening, Robbie is time traveled into the back yard of their house. He goes inside and puts on whatever clothes he can find. When police show up to check after getting a noise complaint from the neighbors, they find what looks to be a 5 year old boy soothing a crying baby and a massive burned hole in the backyard they think is just some sort of already detonated explosive. Everyone just assumes this kid is his brother and they try to get him out of the house without letting him see his dead ‘parents’. He doesn't talk much but does answer that his name is Robbie when asked. 

Things get REALLY weird when they go to the police station and find… absolutely nothing about him. No birth certificate, no social security number, no history of schooling, not even their notoriously nosy neighbors know anything about him. The Reyes’s had not marked down a dependent on their tax forms until Gabe.  Even when they look at the possibility of him being an undocumented immigrant; NOTHING. Half the guys think he’s an illegal alien that slipped through the cracks of.. EVERY country and the other half think he’s an ACTUAL alien For all intents and purposes the kid in front of them does not exist. Eli isn’t much help when asked, he just assumes ‘that bitch of his turned him against me didn’t even tell me that I had a nephew already here god DAMN her’. 

They quickly start questioning whether they're actually brothers, but genetic tests determine that they are. That, and the absolute INSISTENCE of the boy that ‘This is my brother. I HAVE to keep him safe’.

So they do what just about anyone might do. Decide this weird magically appearing child is someone else’s problem, and put them into foster care. From there the story stays about the same for a while. They know Eli exists but they honestly couldn't give less of a shit about him. That guy is never getting out on parole lmao. Robbie catches up with social development and for the most part fits in pretty good (he never gets sick. Like ever. Never gets so injured he has to go to the doctor for emergencies. Just regular checkups, which he passes through with a few raised eyebrows but still good). He’s still a GENIUS with cars and works at Canelos. He understands them in a way that usually takes years of experience way beyond what Robbie has. Things are going.. Not GREAT but they’re okay. And then AMADEUS FUCKIGN SHOWS UP.

Skynet of the future has sent back a Terminator to kill Gabe. No one is really sure WHY but they figure if skynet is going to such lengths to kill this kid then he must be worth protecting. So the human resistance sends back Amadeus to find Gabe and keep him safe from this Terminator. 

He steals some clothes, a gun and a car(not like hes really planning on settling down here anyway who cares about a few broken laws)  shows up at the Reyes residence, meets Gabe.. and basically all his plans blow up. This is absolutely NOT the type of person he was expecting and he sure as shit doesn't want to go anywhere with this random stranger. So naturally he kidnaps Gabe and starts getting the fuck out of the city (while also starting work on an electromagnetic field reader that he thinks can help detect terminators).

Robbie shows up back home after grocery shopping and uhhhhh Gabes NOT THERE theres BROKEN SHIT IN HIS HOUSE and the neighbors keep talking about a STOLEN CAR and some maniac who stole from a GUN SHOP. So he does the only reasonable thing he can think of, checks Life 360 hoping that Gabe still has his phone on him (he does) gets into his car and starts hunting them down. Between his crazy driving skills and freakish persistence, Amadeus can only conclude that Robbie is the terminator sent to kill Gabe.

When Robbie finally heads them off at an abandoned warehouse Amadeus tries to pull Gabe along with him and run away. But when Robbie steps out of his car, Gabe recognizes him and starts trying to get there. Amadeus is panicked, pointing his gun at Robbie to try and keep him away and, at this point, VERY confused. Because he’s pulled out his EMF reader and is getting some absolutely WACK readings off Robbie but hes also very much so being deterred by the gun (terminators couldnt gibe two shits about guns thlse metal fuckheads eat bullets for breakfast). The readings shortly get even more wack when the ACTUAL Terminator sent to kill Gabe shows up. Amadeus fires a couple of shots into the Terminator to confirm what he already knew (subsequently freaking both Robbie and Gabe out sufficiently enough to confirm that at least Amadeus isn’t entirely crazy). They pile into the Reyes-mobile and peel off shortly before the terminator gets into Amadeus’ abandoned stolen car and starts going after them.

Robbie is doing his best to ask what the FUCK is actually going on while getting away but Amadeus is still double checking his EMF readings because Robbie is DEFINETLY not human but also clearly isn’t here to kill Gabe. Quickly puts two and two together that for SOME reason SOMEhow Robbie is here to PROTECT Gabe from this other Terminator. Amadeus is. A little distracted because of this and keeps asking Robbie about his ‘Programming’ (sort of a “WOW your programming must be good you REALLY think he’s your brother and thats WHY you have to protect him!” “WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT WHO WAS THAT GUY HOW DID HE KEEP WALKING AFTER YOU SHOT HIM” “It was a terminator keep up. Hey did you even TRY to call the police or did you just start coming after me because you knew it would be faster? Cause damnnnnn again. PROGRAMMING!”)

After finally losing the terminator that’s been on their tail, they find the police are not too happy about their reckless driving, arrest them and take them to the station to keep in a holding cell. While Robbie is in said holding cell with Amadeus (Gabe is presently being asked questions) there’s a police officer who recognizes him as that weird little kid who just appeared out of nowhere.

“Yeah we had absolutely NOTHING on you. It was like you hadn't existed until the day we found you!” So Robbie has to sit and listen to this while Amadeus is just confirming in his head what he already figured out. Being stuck in that cell trying to stay in denial with the guy whose favorite thing to say in the world is ‘I Told You So’ is not great. (un)Fortunately this is when the actual terminator shows up again.

This time, being faced with both the Terminator AND police trying to stop him from leaving, Robbies defense systems activate. He goes absolutely HAM on everyone in his way. He’s extremely default Terminator-like (Emotionless, distant, empty, quiet) in this state because all of his infiltration protocols have been halted. He even manages to fight off the other terminator decently well, but not before getting blasted in the arm with a shotgun shell. It goes deep enough that his metal endoskeleton is revealed. I also had this idea of like. His arm getting caught in something and he just stares at whoever trapped it there. Looks them dead in the eyes as he degloves his entire hand then beats the shit out of whoever got in his way with his metal fist. He stays in this state until they steal ANOTHER car, and he finally snaps out of it. And sees his hands covered in blood. And glimmers of his metal skeleton. And his brother looking at him in fear.

AND THATS WHAT IVE GOT RN I CAN'T WRITE LIKE YALL CAN I DON'T HAVE THE PATIENCE FOR IT I HAVE TO GET ALL OF THIS OUT LIKE RIGHT NOW SO YEAH UHHHHHHH ENJOY

[divergent-paths]

Cross-Posting to Comic Fury

As the story steadily progresses, it's worried me that it's getting harder and harder for newer readers to see the story from the beginning, so I've made a Comic Fury site for Div.Paths and will drop pages there in batches of ten as Tumblr progresses forward.

Click Here for the Comic Fury site~!

Tumblr will remain the first to see all new posts, receive responses to asks, and see illustrations/memes, while the Comic Fury uploads will see any weird art errors or typos that made it past proof-reading all fixed up in the posts. OP rambles are below the cut if you feel inclined to read, but all of this won't affect anyone already caught up.

I appreciate everyone who has enjoyed the story thus far, thank you~!

So, if you're reading below the cut, thanks for the interest in my ramblings! I had been hoping to save this until I had a few more posts under my belt, but Tumblr has forced my hand with a cap on the amount of links in any given post, making my Master Post sorta break (did you know it's 100 links per post? Because I didn't and it took me a while a figure out why I couldn't update the master post due to the nondescript error message being no help whatsoever). As for why I picked Comic Fury- It's free, non-binding on schedules, and one of the few art sites left with terms I feel respect the craft and its crafters. I'm not concerned with getting famous for this or anything, I just want to draw and write stuff that people can enjoy and relate to, and Div.Paths is allowing me to do that, as are all of you who enjoy it and share your thoughts and likes saying as much.

I'll never tire of expressing my appreciation for all who read my work and get joy out of it. Thank you for your support!

[that-was-anticlimactic]

"can you stay?" + atsushi & kyouka

"can you stay?"

atsushi's voice trembles as they speak, and kyouka freezes.

"nevermind."

atsushi laughs almost immediately, blinking away the impending tears and wavng their hands in front of them. "sorry. you don't... that was stupid of me to say. i'm-"

"stop apologizing."

kyouka slides beside them, curling up against their side. she head plops on their shoulder.

they're warm and shakey, and kyouka feels soft on atsushi's neck.

"i don't mind staying."

honestly, she wanted to stay. no matter how many times she watches atsushi - her sibling by everything but blood - get stabbed, the more she fears for them.

it's a little foolish, she knows; she's been familiar with blood and death and gore since her parents died. limbs being torn off and blood slowly oozing out of the body doesn't scare her.

but it does when she sees it happening to atsushi.

(and she doesn't say anything, but atsushi isn't the only one who gets nightmares - she's just better at keeping them quiet)

"you're just a kid..." atsushi mumbles, breaths shaky and uneven. "you shouldn't have to-to comfort me."

even so, kyouka soon feels the cool pads of their compression gloves rubbing her wrist.

"doesn't matter," she says, because she knows you're still a kid, too only upsets them more.

"okay."

they whisper it so quietly the only reasons kyouka hears it is because of her assassin training.

good.

she snuggles closer still and listens to their heartbeat. it starts off quick, but gradually falls until it's steady.

and kyouka is able to fall asleep with the reminder that her sibling is still alive.

(send me a sentence (+ a ship/character) and i'll write the next five sentences)

[strawbubbysugar]

Idk if this is a dumb thought or anything I just got excited about it lol

So I’m a trans guy and I imagine myself in the Bethroned AU starting off as the little girl of course, pry/ncess to be wed to Moon later. But like I grow up a bit and I’m like “whoops I’m a dude haha” and I assume everyone would be accommodating and not really care cuz like…this is to end a war. But I think dresses are fun and pretty as hell so I would totes just be rocking dresses and “princier” outfits cuz clothes are COOL and gender is wacky

I am just like slightly curious on your thoughts as the author of how royal Sun and Moon would act during the transition period if you have any!

Don’t get me wrong tho I adore Pry/ncess’s base design it’s SO GOOD and I will throw myself into their shoes when reading, I’M SO EXCITED

ehehe omg im so glad youre excited!! <3

Im def planning on talking about gender a little bit in regards to the pry/ncess later on in their story. I imagine that growing up spending so much time around robots would help them with their view of their own gender and how they feel about their relationship to it. Atomata is a very un-gendered society, with most gendered things existing mostly just because theyre mimicking humans and how their society works. Sun and Moon dont really identify as "male" in a human way either, so when the pry/ncess anxiously mentions possibly not being a girl, their response would mostly be "You were a girl?"

Theyre a femme person as a baseline, since nonbinary people are obvi allowed to have their own preferences (Like I do as a femme nb!) but I can imagine a scene of them wearing pants and a cape for the first time while sneaking out of the castle, and just having that moment of gender euphoria in the mirror.

[stormyoceans]

omg I was the AU genre anon and yes this is perfect!! I love this ideas so much! Esp the paranormal one bc the potential for shenanigans is sooo good. A Bridgerton type period piece is also amazing, like instead of following siblings you follow the core 5 w the classic period tropes of marriage of convenience, trying to matchmake your friend but falling for them instead, etc. These guys are so fun to put into Situations

OH IM SO HAPPY YOU LIKED MY GENRE AUs ANON!!!!!!!!

i didn't go too in depth about the period piece one because my answer was already getting too long and i also felt like it was a bit too close to the actual series to be interesting but the truth is that im soooo embarrassingly into it!!!!!!! in a very i wish i could write so i could turn this into a 100k long fic kind of into it ;;;;;;;;

and it really would be a sort of pride and prejudice meets bridgerton kind of story like im sorry but phumpeem and qtoey are so darcyelizabeth and bingleyjane coded!!!!!!! just imagine.. phum buys some land where peem and the others live and shows up in town with fang and toey. at the next ball everyone is obviously curious and can't wait to get to know them, especially phum who is handsome, rich, and single, but he comes off as cold and a bit rude, while fang is polite and so very charming but is already engaged with lady fai, so toey ends up becoming the town's darling and the most popular bachelor, however after that one night he only has eyes for q

peem and q are actually still painters and they're at the ball not just for pleasure but also because they were allowed to showcase their works by setting them up around the room. toey and q start talking because toey is immediately fascinated by their paintings, but when fang asks phum what he thinks about them, phum ends up mocking peem's work, which peem overhears so he swears he's never gonna like phum, no matter how handsome he might be

after that night, even if other people might think him indifferent, for peem and the others is actually obvious that q likes toey, so they keep finding the most ridiculous excuses to make them meet and push them together, however this means that peem keeps being around phum as well, and no matter how civil peem promises everyone he's gonna be, he always finds himself bickering with phum by the end of it. things only get even more complicated when phum starts falling for peem and peem meets kluen: on one hand there's kluen who is kind and sweet and unabashedly into peem, but for whom peem doesn't feel much if not a warm sympathy, while on the other there's phum who peem swore to dislike and yet might not be as bad as peem thought

and then there are tan and fang who, unbeknownst to everybody else, have met each other before and almost had a thing, but fang knew he was supposed to marry fai in the future so he pushed tan away, thinking he would never see him again, except now tan is everywhere, silently (and yet very loudly) pining for him, and fang has a hard time remembering what his duty is

and last but not least we have chain and pun who have been friends since forever and are polar opposites when it comes to romance: chain is infamous for having had some kind of flirt with almost every girl in town, while pun is known for being interested in everyone's romantic prospects except his own. however, what people don't know is that after trying to matchmake pun with a friend of one of the women he was seeing, chain fell in love with him and has been waiting for pun to get a clue, even if part of him is afraid of ruining their friendship

i just need to figure out how to fit beer, mick, and matt in all of this too ;;;;;;;

ANYWAY. GENUINELY WISH I COULD WRITE THIS I CAN ONLY PRAY A GOOD SOUL DOES IT INSTEAD 🙏

[llondonfog]

Hey! For the headcanon game, can I get an 🤬 headcanon for Lilia? But maybe if youre up to it can you give a headcanon for before and after lilia adopted Silver? Because I think while both versions of him have the same triggers (fucking around with someone he's protecting,) I think that General Vanrouge and Lilia have very different ways of going batshit crazy angry. If not that's cool, I always love reading your writing and hope you have a good day!

hc game !

YOU ARE SO CORRECT!! I've actually incorporated this in a few aus before because it makes so much sense? That Lilia would have to learn how to talk to and engage with a child in a softer, kinder way than he would any of his soldiers— and a human one at that! We don't know much of anything regarding Lilia's past (here's hoping Ch7 sheds some light on it), but we do see from the last part how cold and clipped his voice was when addressing those he saw to be humans. I don't think he was ever as prejudiced as Sebek's grandfather, but one could easily understand his brusque reservations when we consider he's been fighting wars for centuries now against them.

(plus we kind of see him confess that in his birthday vignette where he talks about the realization with a hint of regret of how he was training Silver like a soldier when he was just a child.)

(and now that I think about it, it's interesting too how Lilia addresses Silver/Sebek/Yuu in the last part because we know from Malleus' memory that he was fairly congenial and kind to Malleus after his tantrum in the palace. So this is definitely a 'battlefield' voice and mindset that he's in right now.)

I also think it's so fascinating because (my personal hc) of how late we are in Lilia's life that he learns this kind of skill. Yes, he mentored Malleus, yes, he spoke to him with understanding, but also respect for the position that Malleus had— he's the crown prince, Lilia is simply a General in the scheme of their hierarchy. I will die on this hill that Silver was the first to teach Lilia of unconditional love and genuine, sweet devotion, and that irrevocably changed Lilia on a fundamental level.

SO AFTER THAT DISCUSSION—

General Vanrouge HC: His anger is a great and terrible thing of laser sharp focus, honed to the nth degree of brutality. The night sings for him, in him, through him, and the devastation he wields is awe-inspiring for the soldiers that follow like devotees in his footsteps. He's not a cruel leader, never one to humiliate a lower-ranking member for a mistake made in training, but he is an exacting one— he has no patience for the inept and no tolerance for failure. This is war, (one that already claimed the lives of their king and queen), and his only purpose is to serve his ruling family and protect their lands against those that would wish to seize them. There is no room for error, and second chances on the battlefield only end in death.

Papa!Lilia HC: After adopting Silver, Lilia learns to laugh at a lot of things. His son's well-meaning messes, his earnest attempts at soup that end up burning in the pot— these aren't life or death situations, even if the tears welling up in Silver's eyes deem them as such. Lilia weathers the clouds that dampen his child's wondrous eyes with a kiss on his head and a reassuring squeeze, finding what he assumes could only be the sun's warmth soothing his bones where fire once scorched. Silver never sees his father's wrath, not this child of peace. He will never know the madness that his very presence has tamed and stilled behind Lilia's heart, the wildfire now banked into a cozy hearth.

He's slower to anger now, mild in his calculations. There is so much to be gained by conversation instead of confrontation, and he ensures this lesson is taught to Silver not by bloodshed and loss on the battlefield, but from the comfort of his father's lap, held safely between the shielding force of Lilia's arms.

(But if a single hair were to be harmed on the head of his son, if anyone approached his child with ill intent, well. He'd only be too happy to demonstrate that he still remembers in perfect clarity how to vivisect a living body.)

[mobius-m-mobius]

a mr tesseract thought: the tva has so many infinity stones… just sitting there… they might not notice a handful of paperweights go missing

Anon you've got my full attention 👀👀

Absolutely living for all the renewed Mr. Tesseract theories and origin stores going around because he's just too perfect to continue the current story!?? I'd always pictured a Mobius variant eventually entering the picture, having succumbed to the power of the Tesseract after needing to save Loki in some way but never in a million years imagined before now that *our* Mobius could end up in that exact situation...

Plus tbh I almost feel Loki going about their self-sacrifice in such an isolated way, reliving all those centuries determined to find a solution without involving anyone else, had an obviously noble goal but a means in such a misguided way which has almost ensured Mobius will do something similar.

Mobius isn't okay. He's on a timeline that can never be his (partially to escape the memories of Loki by his side everywhere he looks in the TVA and hopefully so that back in the flow of time Loki can at least see him again as some form of company still), looking at a life I think he greatly admires but wouldn't personally want even given the choice, and seemingly the only one left directionless and without purpose with Loki being gone.

It wouldn't be a stretch to think loneliness would turn to frustration (because he's done nothing but repress *everything* in the past and deserves to finally burst and be angry and figure out how to express his emotions), confusion, and finally desperation at the thought he might be the only one who cares enough to burn things to the ground in an attempt to either find Loki again or bring him home. I've been headcanoning that similar to Loki in the last episode, Mobius will start putting himself more and more at risk searching for a solution and cut everyone at the TVA off while doing so to keep them from worrying about what he's getting involved in and stop him, which of course eventually leads right to the Tesseract as potentially one of the only methods left of traveling to what I assume is the end of time or somewhere similar.

Bonus points if Loki is watching every moment, unable to do a thing as the Mobius he knows slips further and further away while experimenting with the Tesseract until finally he can't see him on the timeline at all anymore, and as he mourns a crackle of blue energy opens nearby. Loki immediately realizes what's happened and calls desperately for Mobius, but when the figure who exits steps closer he's all cold, hard lines and an blank, electric blue stare. Temporary amnesia v4.0 let's go but make it even more angsty this time 😂😅 Eventually the Power of Love™ wins out of course but that's pretty much my dream arc for now!

[reksink]

for the ask thingy, how bout 4 or 7?

4 - Favorite iterator? MOON. NO CONTEST. She's wonderful, sweet, beautiful, and I love her so dearly I do have to say I am a bit bias because I already really love 'Summoned by tragedy but this chooses to be kind' type characters, but Moon takes everyhting I love about them and expresses them tenfold She was already nice to begin with, that's why she named herself Big Sis Moon after all, and even after all the pain she's gone through, if you're kind to her, she'll be kind to you right back. Which I find so very sweet Especially with her conflict with Pebbles. Even after all the hurt he's caused, even when it's in her right to completely cut contact with him forever, she still chooses to care for her brother. And together, while they're both still doomed, they have each other now. They're still family after all is said and done and I love that so much And I just love how sweet she is the slugcats. I did a pearl-quest on my Survivor run, and while getting all the pearl was incredibly diffcult, the pilgrimage to Moon made it all worth it, hehe. Her dialouge is so charming and is such a treat to read, and they way she talks back to the scug while reading every so often melts my heart. And the way she starts calling them little archaeologist after enough pearl reads is perfect ALSO IN GOURMAND CAMPAIGN WHERE SHE SAID 'My last vistor was even sick' I CAUGHT TEAR. SHE CARES ABOUT THE SCUG, SHE TAKES SO MUCH Also another thing I like it how she's responsive to how you treat her. Again, she's kind if you're kind to her, but if you've hurt her/if you're rude she response to that. That just makes her more grounded to me, that she's a person that's already gone though enough and she won't tolerate rudeness especially in her weakened state A run-up for a favoite iterator would be No Significant Harrasment. I will admit I haven't read all of the brodcasts yet, so I could be missing important information about him, but for now to me he's a silly goofball. A goofball that truly loves and cherishes his friends deeply and is willing to do anything to make sure they're okay I think about his Garbage Wastes brodcast a lot. How he sounds so deseprate and broken hoping for Moon to say something. For her to be okay. I also really like he's talks with Red Sev, they feel like such good friends and they're great comforts for each other during Spear's campaign. Also I have a running joke in my head that he's 'Green Zacharie from OFF'. It makes no else laugh but me, and I've expected this 7 - Favorite in-game creature? SCAVENGERS. I LOVE SCAVS SO MUCH!! Again, very bias pick because I absolutely love observing intelligent life without human (or in this case Ancients) interfence BUT LOOK AT THEM!! Scavs are such smart creatures and their animations and gestures truly reflect that these are intelligent creature worth understanding and loving They have personality, moment to moment goals, fun interacts, and I could wish them for hours OMGA I also feel to special when a scavenger/a groups of scavengers starts following me around. I feel like I'm part of a family, that the scavengers are geniunely interested in my slugcat and want just be around me or protect me Sadly my love for scavengers is the reason why I can never play Artificer's campaign. I can't bring myself to hurt scavenger, when I do it on accident I reset the game pfffff. I can't imagine the heartbreak I'd go through knowing I can't even look at a scavenger without being ready to kill it If I ever finally sit down to do it, I'd love to analysis the art around each Scavenger Toll/Territory. My goal would be to pick apart their artwork and camp layouts to see that it means about the region's cultures. Like what they vaule in their art, what patterns certain patterns could mean, what's similar what's different, the works!! I love scavenger so very much, they're so precious to me, and if we ever get offical merch for them I'd buy like 10, hehe

[maedhrus]

Oohhh this was a while ago but. Pls talk more about Edward doting on Thomas during his pregnancy. He would be living his absolute best life getting to spoil his husband 🥹

don't worry, i quite literally never stop thinking about domestic!joplittle!!! they are my whole words and i'm chomping at the bit waiting for even the slightest excuse to talk about them!! 💖💖

ned little has ALL the makings of a victorian wife guy. that thomas (who is, objectively, the best man he's ever known) agreed to spend the rest of his life with edward is a gift he'll never be able to repay. but he adores thomas with every fibre of his being so the very least he can do is dote on a man who is so unused to being cherished

thomas tells him about the pregnancy around two months in. thomas knows earlier but is very terrified that he'll lose it etc. and doesn't want to get his or edward's hopes up. but he has very bad morning sickness and edward worries that it's some lingering Arctic Illness and so thomas tells him to get him to Worry Less (unsuccessful)

edward weeps upon hearing the news. just buries his head into thomas' stomach and weeps for a long time

he then becomes absolutely riddled with fear because holy shit so much can go wrong?? what if something happens to the baby??? what if something happens to thomas?????? edward considers himself a steady man but he knows that that's a loss he couldn't possibly survive

thomas is also worried that something will happen but to the baby, not him. it just seems like too many things have gone right in his life and surely he won't be so lucky as to have this child successfully? but he also knows that edward's prone to worry, and thomas is prone to sensibilities and so reminds them both that thomas' mother had four children, edward's had twelve. genetics are on their side if nothing else

still, edward will not be deterred from doing everything he can to minimise thomas' discomfort. he helps him dress in the mornings, fetches him tea, warms water so thomas can sit in a hot bath, allowing edward to gently wash him, kiss at his bump

this agitates thomas initially ("i'm not an invalid, edward. thomas blanky had one leg and got less attention.") again, he's a man for whom work is literally his lifeline, but as the pregnancy progresses and he gets more and more exhausted, he enjoys slipping into the luxury of care

more than once did thomas fall asleep in their living room, reading a book or sewing, and woke when he realised that edward was carrying him upstairs to their bedroom, setting him on the bed with a kiss

thomas had always had a sweet tooth but it worsens during pregnancy and it has edward making weekly trips to town to supply thomas with boiled sweets, chocolate, all manner of deserts

and edward enjoys this! it distracts him from thinking about how the pregnancy can go wrong and he gets to dote on the man he loves! who is giving him a gift beyond measure!!!

they both fall into absolute bits when the twins start kicking for the first time (it was early in the morning, edward practically woke up to thomas crying and pulling at his hand) and they often fall asleep with their hands pressed into thomas' stomach

(the twins eventually arrive in the dead of night and thomas cries and kisses at the soft hair on their heads and edward sobs and runs his hand over tiny fingers because now there are two more impossibly small humans who he will spend his life adoring)

[shalpilot]

What happens ate Port Anaty...?

you've opened the flood gates. Mildly tipsy, this is gonna be a ramble.

So for my oc crew I have a few arcs vaguely planned out/set into a timeline. Port Anaty takes place after the ~seeeeeeconddd~ish... arc/saga where they've picked up one extra crewmate. begrudgingly. Like, he's not even official by the time the arc starts but he definitely earns his place by the end I can tell you that much.

To set the stage: We are already on the Grand Line. Tyro (left) + Kuri (right)

are the sole (official) members of the Nautilus Pirates and have pretty much just set off. They made a brief stop in Alabasta where they got roped into burning down the records room at Rain Dinners by Habba

who kinda owes like. a lot of money to the casino. and is also a very recent ex-member of baroque works. So they cut their trip a little short because there's assassins after them for helping this guy out and also maybe a warlord??? for some reason????? why is he involved???????

So they make a very quick getaway. they pull up in Port Anaty, which is attached to a large island with a pretty odd landscape. Sheer cliff faces out of nowhere, steep drop offs, and four seasons on one island? at once?

they reunite with Habba and are yelling at him when all of a sudden they. get mugged.

this is Roethbar. (with a slightly different design- he won't have the white tuft in the rest of the images!)

He politely asks for all of their valuables, and when Tyro explains that they don't have anything; they're just researchers (lie via omission- they just also happen to be pirates. and habba is also there.) he gets VERY excited and brings them to see his daughter, who is in a tower that looks over the port town. "brings them to see" is a little misleading, though. basically what he does is

yeah !

When they regain their bearings, Roethbar insists that they tell Odette, his daughter, stories from their travels.

after a little bit of discussion,

Tyro takes over. She doesn't tell a story from their past travels, though, and instead gives a story about a queen who cried pearls and her escape from the king. Roethbar questions her about where she heard that tale, and she waves it off as just being an old fairy tale she heard growing up. Roethbar concedes that they've done what he asked of them, especially since Odette enjoyed listening to Tyro. Before he escorts them out, Odette asks if she can invite the trio to the play tomorrow night.

Roethbar is ultimately swayed and agrees to let them come watch the show.

He then throws them off the tower.

Kuri catches everyone- (His Devil Fruit lets him change the state of matter of his body- so he can make himself liquid/gas/some weird in-between states) and him and Tyro grumble about whatever the hell it was that just happened. Habba, who's been surprisingly well-behaved this whole time, is like... you guys. We Have To Go To That Play. Kuri (who does NOT like Habba, like, at all, ever since he almost got his sister killed in a fire (sort of on accident)) scoffs and insinuates that he wouldn't peg Habba as the kind of guy to be interested in plays. Habba says he's not, but that guy was Roethbar. You don't just turn down Roethbar. He gets two blank stares in response. ...C'mon, guys, Roethbar? Captain of the Eclipse Pirates? You- oh my god you are newbies. Habba gives them the gist- you don't want to piss this guy off. His mood changes on a whim, and he is an incredibly powerful Devil Fruit user. You cannot let him get the upper hand on you, no matter if you're in a fight or not. Honestly, it was probably a good thing that Kuri and Tyro had no clue who he was- if they'd known and been afraid of him, he could've used that to his advantage. But yeah, they have to go to that play so Roethbar doesn't get pissed and completely annihilate them all. Also, they should do their absolute best to not piss him off in any other way, so its time for an outfit change, baby!!!

While out outfit shopping, Tyro actually runs into someone familiar- but when she tries to say hello to Odette, she shushes her and pulls her into an alleyway. See, she's not supposed to be out here, especially not when she has a performance tonight, but Tyro's story was just so inspiring she had to give freedom a shot. Odette's mostly talking to herself, justifying sneaking out, promising herself that she'll be back in the tower before she has to start getting ready for the play, clearly stressing herself out, and Tyro asks if Odette's... ever? been out on her own before? Odette tells Tyro that no, when she does go out it's only for very short walks and she's always accompanied by someone on her father's crew. For her own safety, of course! She's so beautiful that who KNOWS what could happen to her if the wrong person saw her. (Tyro admits to herself that yeah, she is pretty.) Tyro then offers to escort Odette around the port town- they probably have about the same amount of knowledge about it, so they'll both have fun exploring together! And they do :D The whole time, Odette is switching between having the time of her life and fretting about getting caught. Odette's also dumping quite a bit of info about her dad- he's barely home, and when he is, it's to see how Odette's rehearsals are going and barely anything else. He usually sets right off back to sea as soon as her performances are done. The whole situation has been setting off alarm bells for Tyro since they got launched into her tower, but what finally cements that she wants to do something for Odette is when she spots someone from her Father's crew out on the town and runs away to keep from being seen. When she catches up to her, Tyro offers to take Odette along with Kuri and... nope, just her and Kuri! No One Else Is On Their Crew. I mean, Roethbar leaves as soon as the play's done, right? And then he won't be back for how long? By the time he finds out Odette's gone, they'll be halfway to the New World. Odette balks at the suggestion, but says she'll consider. Tyro does tell her that her life here is safe, but it's not right. In the end, it is her decision, and Tyro wants her to do what she wants.

Odette doesn't realize, but that's the moment she made her choice.

The play that night goes pretty well. It's a massive spectacle piece, the auditorium is packed. Odette is a star. Tyro is completely enraptured by her acting, Kuri is also having a good time, and Habba hasn't fallen asleep! Probably because he's on edge about Roethbar being in the audience, but heyyy a win's a win. Everything is coming to a close in the play, then Odette stumbles over her line. Instantly, everyone can feel a shift in the atmosphere.

Someone very, very strong, is very, very mad.

Odette scrambles to get back on track, and though she's nervous, she pushes through and doesn't make any more mistakes. Once the play is over, Tyro rushes backstage to find her to see if she's made up her mind. While she's looking for Odette's dressing room, she overhears Roethbar yelling. He's angry and disgustingly disappointed in his daughter for making a mistake- clearly, she needs more time to practice, and less time running around outside. Odette is trying to apologize to him this whole time, but she can't get a word in and is clearly upset. Tyro barges in on them, not caring (or believing, at this point) how "dangerous" Roethbar is. She yells at him for not appreciating what a talented girl his daughter is, and for locking her away like she's some treasure to be kept in a chest.

Roethbar laughs.

That's exactly what she is.

He draws his sword, and as he does, back in the auditorium, audience members rise from their seats and surround Habba and Kuri.

Roethbar explains to Tyro that his Devil Fruit allows him complete, total control over anything he owns. He conquers so he can control everything. The people on this island? All his. The islands themselves, smashed together from four different original locations? All his. And his daughter, of course, is his. And he's not going to let a little pirate fill her head with thoughts of freedom.

Obviously, there's a fight. Kuri and Habba are fending off the audience members and members of the Eclipse Pirates while trying to find Tyro. Tyro is face to face with Roethbar, who's daughter is begging him to let her go. Odette gets shaken off to the side, and Tyro is barely able to dodge Roethbar's attacks while she grabs Odette's hand and runs.

Obviously, they try to run. Unlike the port, Odette knows the auditorium like the back of her hand. It's directly connected to the tower, so she's spent countless hours inside. They run into Habba and Kuri, and keep up the pace through the halls while looking for the exit. Odette directs them, and finally, they reach the doors. Habba breaks them open and tries to push everyone through, when suddenly the floor shatters and they're separated again. Kuri and Habba can only look on from above the massive sinkhole that's opened up as Roethbar descends on Tyro and Odette.

Obviously, there's no way they could win. They've only just started their journey. And now it seems like it's going to come to an end. Roethbar hisses at Tyro. How dare you try to steal my daughter away from me. How dare you fill her head with thoughts of freedom. How dare you try to escape. Tyro tries to fight back, but her harpoon gets shattered and cast to the side. It's all over. Roethbar raises his sword.

And Odette takes the blow.

Both Roethbar and Tyro scream. The ground quakes again, but this time, it's not from Roethbar's Devil Fruit. No, this time, in a burst of shock, rage, and absolute terror, Tyro has unleashed a power she didn't even know she had. Roethbar collapses.

Habba and Kuri struggle to keep their footing and consciousness. Habba tells Kuri to run, which he refuses to do until his sister is safe. Habba refuses to let him go down in the now ever-expanding pit and scooping up a still wailing Tyro. She screams at him to let her go, to take Odette with them, but Roethbar is already starting to stir. Habba apologizes, truly, deeply, but he can't let Tyro go back.

There's no saving her.

Habba grabs Kuri as well and gets them all far, far away as fast as he can. They're back on their ship and setting off before Tyro can even begin to process. She's furious at Habba and screams for them to turn around, but Kuri stops her. Kuri hates, hates that he has to tell his sister that there's nothing they could have done, but it's true. They're new. They're weak. There's only two- No, only three of them. Truly, there was nothing they could have done except not go in the first place. And now all they can do is run.

[letyukisayfuck]

was it ever mentioned in the novels about kyon's reaction in the stargaze scenes during the endless eight? after koizumi says "should i do it?" in all 8 variations not once did the anime show his face when koizumi said that. it's so intriguing to me i wanna know what expression he had exactly

so this is actually a really interesting example of the anime adapting the novels in a very deliberate and stylized way (and one that i didn't initially pick up on the first time i watched endless eight).

the stargazing scene being in every episode, first off, is an excellent touch; and there are two moments in it in the novel that i consider noteworthy. one is this moment, and the other is one that i think only happens in one of them and lacks kyon's narration.

i'll go over both here, and draw from both the official and fan translation for the most complete picture possible of how this plays out in the novel.

the second moment in this scene that interests me happens a little bit before the one you're asking about, but i consider it relevant to the context, so i'll go over it first. it's right after haruhi gets tired of messing around with the telescope:

(yen press official translation of endless eight:)

(baka-tsuki fan translation of endless eight:)

(in the anime, we see haruhi and mikuru sleeping in this position; but if i'm remembering it right we don't get kyon's internal dialogue.)

and then, shortly after, we get this exchange:

(yen press official translation of endless eight:)

(baka-tsuki fan translation of endless eight:)

(i very much prefer the fan translations overall, and the word choices are a large part of that. my absolute favorite line in the entire series is in endless eight's fan translation, actually; the official one doesn't compare in my mind.)

but back to my point, the novel has the implication that kyon doesn't want to acknowledge the expression on his face in that moment; deflecting by stating that because he doesn't have a mirror on hand he can't see it. it clearly drives koizumi to back off, though, and play it off as teasing.

so the anime handles this in a way i find very interesting, by showcasing a variety of angles and movements but very specifically always hiding kyon's expression from the audience. the method is different by necessity of now being in a primarily visual medium, but the implication and the result are both the same.

we don't know for sure exactly what his expression looked like, and most things in haruhi are at least a little bit up to audience interpretation, but i'm inclined to think it was definitely a kind of 'back off'/possessive sort of expression that koizumi took as intended. kyon's dismissal of it is what leads me to think that, because he has a tendency to specifically brush off any non-platonic thoughts he has about haruhi; and koizumi's reaction to it, i think, is genuine rather than an act (though at the moment i do think he initially meant it seriously, and playing it off as a joke is an act on his part).

(endless eight is honestly a fascinating and glorious prelude to disappearance; i keep finding hints of things that come up again later! the anime gets across the tragedy of it in a way the novel can't hope to, but the novel is able to elaborate a little more on the one loop it focuses on. both have their benefits.)

[storywestistrash]

STORY.

Make an appointment with a doctor !!!! Take ur health and well-being seriously and give urself the compassion you’d give another person. unless polish doctors are all (100% of them)(zero exceptions) seeking to harm you via witchcraft .. if that is the case…. I don’t know. That’s scary. (Old man Manga panel meme) (can’t send images)

Anyways.

As a guy w some experience being a patient.. esp for mental health / chronic pains … there be some bitch ass doctors in the world. It sucks. But it’s never a good idea to ignore ur body and brain !!! It does not do good things man.

Finally, DONT BE FRANK CASTLE ABOUT IT. SUFFERING ISNT NOBLE. YOUR WIFE AINT EVEN DEAD !!! TAKE CARE OF YOUR SELF OR I WILL DO IT FOR YOU . SOMEHOW .

-cab <3

augh thank you cab........... that is very good solid advice but unfortunately i am a massive hypocrite............

and also ive just been told by doctors that im 'prone to extreme stress reactions' or whatevss. any discomfort goes away the second i do anything requiring more focus than staring at a wall so its clearly just uhhh. psychosomatic they call it i think

i probably strained a muscle and gave myself a heart attack over it 👍 big dummy

[aureatchi]

i was out yesterday in line getting a drink & there was a couple in front of me…i found it so cute bcz when asked to pay they both held out their cards & started to fight over whose was on top for the cashier to take :’) HAHAHA js sharing a piece of love i’ve seen recently

[happi-tree]

👀 your pfp is from your fae amphibia au right? i would love to know more about it <3333

Actually, my pfp is from a different Amphibia au that I haven't talked about at all on here! I've tentatively called it "the raven and the dove" and it's roughly based on the movie (the MOVIE, not the books) The School for Good and Evil and my friend @toonteller came up with a lot of it (hi, toon, hope you don't mind the tag!). If you're at all familiar with the characters from that, Anne takes Agatha's role while Marcy takes Sophie's and Sasha takes Tedros'. You don't have to be familiar with the characters at all for the au to make sense, though!

Basically, Anne and Marcy are two girls growing up in a rural village. They've been friends since they were very small, sticking close together and facing the mean-spirited remarks of their peers together. Marcy happens to stumble across a book one day that tells her of a magical place that trains the heroes and villains of fairytale stories and becomes very determined to find it, while Anne rushes along after her because she doesn't want to lose her only friend and sincerely doubts that any good could come of this. The two of them end up getting whisked away to The School For Good and Evil, where they are promptly deposited into their respective schools - Anne into the School For Good, which trains heroes, and Marcy into the School For Evil, which trains villains. And obviously this is a huge mistake, because not only does Anne want to get back to her parents, but also Marcy cannot possibly be evil! There isn't a vindictive bone in her body! The headmaster, Andrias, tells the girls that the only way to prove Marcy's innate Goodness is a true love's kiss (because villains don't get one of those in the stories, right?). They end up causing quite a stir among the students, as they are both generally disruptive and the first to enroll from outside the fairytale realm in a long time, and the shenanigans draws the attention and disapproval of one Sasha of Camelot, heir to the throne of the Storied and the School For Good's golden child. And. Well.

Quite a lot of chaos ensues in an attempt to get Marcy into the "proper" school and get Anne home, including but not limited to a Marcy corruption arc (and one for Anne, to a different extent), some identity/morality/sexuality crises on the part of Sasha, magic and shapeshifting, a slow dance (with evil overtones), gay archery lessons, ruminations on the societal expectations of beauty, attraction, gender roles, and morality, women covered in blood, true love's kiss(es), and LOTS of impractical fantasy costume changes. It's quite a bit of fun (and Sashannarcy endgame, obviously), even if I haven't thought about it in awhile! :DDD

[bloodofgrapes]

I’m so obsessed with the way you draw nrmt ;-; You draw them like actual men… it’s a huge problem among aa fans where one of the two of them (usually edgeworth) gets written or drawn as a tiny long-eyelashed hairless submissive twink and it’s like. They’re Grown Men. And no one will ever be able to convince me that edgeworth would let his guard down/let go of his control-freakiness enough for some of the shit he’s portrayed as doing lmfao 🫣 I’m certain a big part of it is that you’re gay and You Get It lmao.. I’ve sent you way too many asks in the past few days and i’m sorry if it’s weird but idk you’re my fav ace attorney artist and i appreciate you sm

Alrighty, finally free enough to tackle this anon. So, before I say anything, I want to preface this with my belief that there’s no right or wrong interpretation of a character in fandom—I love to see the immense variety of ways that characters are depicted, and I think it’s fascinating to get to see through the lens that people view them. What I will be talking about in this ask though, is my (and clearly anon’s) personal preference. I just wanted to get that out of the way, because I would be very unhappy if people read this and thought that I judge any interpretation of the characters I spend much of my time talking about on the hellsite.

With that out of the way, I do agree with you anon. I’ve hesitated to answer asks like this in the past (you’re not the first to say this), but you have put it in a way that I think fits how I feel about them. I am a gay man—I love men in any shape or form they come in, but I truly adore masculinity. Hairy belly and ass, boxy builds, square jaws and hands, receding hairlines, deep voice, the works. This is not to say that these characteristics cannot also be feminine, but I am approaching this in the context of speaking about male characters, and the things I enjoy from them—but make no mistake, I love effeminate men just as much, especially in the variety of ways that they can manifest.

Which is a good lead in to something I have always loved about Edgeworth, from the first time I played these games nearly twenty years ago: Edgeworth has always struck me as inherently traditionally masculine, even in spite (or perhaps because) of his more flamboyant tastes, such as wearing a bold pink suit, jabot, preference for frilly things and flowers, etc. He’s not what any boomer would call a man’s man, but I feel like a lot of fandom overlooks that he’s barrel chested, deep voiced, stoically cold, and prone to masking or outright shutting down his emotions. As a gay man these traits really resonate with me—I embody many of the same things, while also having a certain air of “fruitiness”, if you will.

I’m in my mid-thirties, and while I believe it’s never too late to have heroes or feelgood characters, it’s a little unusual for me to have a character that makes me feel “seen”, at least in the way he does. Being a trans man specifically, I’ve spent much of my life grappling with the inherent masculinity and femininity I was born with, so it’s always been a comfort to me (even if I didn’t quite realize it when I was younger) to see a man that sacrificed absolutely none of his masculinity while wearing frills and a bright pink suit. So I love depictions of him (and Phoenix, because I think he’s viewed not dissimilarly in this fandom) that lean away from the typical shiny smoothness of most anime, and more into making them standard 30-something males. As I said in the first paragraph of this, it's all personal preference, there’s no right or wrong way to vibe with these characters, but I appreciate you anon, because I do think that we’re in a very small minority in this fandom, and while that’s not a bad thing by any means, it’s nice to see a kindred spirit <3