#that she's associated with music and isn't an anime

[triptychgardener]

What does becoming a furry in Homestuck mean? (In reference to your recent Nepeta post)

Okay so the thing is the way that Homestuck treats furries is honestly kind of equivalent to how it treats queerness. As in, Homestuck initially treats it like a joke or a thing to mostly sneer at. Homestuck was very much part of the wave of disaffected ironic assholes of the Newgrounds and Something Awful type, especially to start with, and that sort of relied on shitting on demographics that were seen as weird and permissible to find cringe and make fun of.

Jade comes onto the scene, and a lot of people sort of groan at her whole furry shtick. Jade is largely, however, just a pretty sincere character, and even though she feels some embarassment over the idea of BEING a furry (i.e. her distaste for the idea of actually wearing a fursuit) she nonetheless begins the admirable refrain of combining the finest qualities of humanity with the elegance and nobility of the animal kingdom.

Her earnest affection for all things anthropomorphic sets up more than just her excellent taste. And as much as she is a bit of a pattern-breaker, one pattern she doesn't break is that of having a Signature Animal.

The four beta kids have a bunch of different things associated with them: the four elements, four items, four musical instruments. But the animals are practically integral to who they are as people and characters.

John's attachment to the bunny is obvious, and helps to spur on one of the most emotional scenes in the comic. (For him. Him specifically.)

It's also something deeply precious to him, as it's a gift from every single one of his friends in a very roundabout fashion!

For Rose, Jaspers is half the reason she decided to play the game in the first place. She missed her dead cat so dearly she was willing to play a game that might end the world for it.

(Pictured above, Rose lying about her feelings, water is wet.)

Dave seems to at least feel some affection for crows, or at least shame when he kills them.

And his fusing to become Davesprite is what allows him to survive as a "copy" of the original Dave. Once again, Dave's disaffected irony giving way to the necessity of becoming a furry to save the world.

And for Jade, of course, Bec.

And it's notable that, by the end of the comic, at least THREE of our main beta kids have merged with their animals, and, in a way, become the best versions of themselves.

Jade obviously gets to achieve her dream of becoming a furry, and in doing so gaining power and agency that she was always denied due to her position in the story.

Davepeta, as I stated in a previous post, is the true Final Form of Dave, the pawn that made it to the end of the board, the only surviving character from Homestuck's "original" timeline, and is truly happy with themselves.

And Jasprose appears to have fully hurled herself through the walls Rose put up around herself to protect her image, and thus absolutely mortifies Rose. She just seems to be having a great time.

Homestuck evolved from a story that was deeply cynical and mean-spirited about furrydom, to a story where three of our four starting protagonists, in their truest most powerful forms, combine the qualities of man and beast to achieve self-actualization. And to bring this back around to queerness, these three characters also happen to be canonically queer. So there's that.

This isn't even to get into how this might relate to Troll Lusii and the concept of "growing up" to be more like one's parent on a planet raised by animals, but that's for another day.

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

Omega vs. Hemlock scene in "Confined"

I can't stop talking about "The Bad Batch" because I simply love it so much. So, here's more to talk about. Let's discuss Omega and Hemlock's convo about Batcher and the end of the episode. I think it does a really good job contrasting both characters' values and views on life.

Hemlock views life from a "strong vs. weak" perspective and in terms of how useful they can be to his goals. He doesn't believe Batcher will be able to survive. Her domestication has made her "weak" in his eyes. He's a man ruled by logic, power, and control. We actually can hear this power shift between Hemlock and Omega when he threatens Crosshair. The moment he dangles Crosshair's life in front of her, the music shifts to that familiar, chilling leitmotif associated with Hemlock. He's in control of the situation now because he has the power to hurt Crosshair. This renders Omega powerless and she pleads for her brother's life. It's a neat detail. Back to the previous topic, Hemlock views what is weak and useless as expendable. To him, death is a mercy compared to what could happen. Batcher's fondness for Omega is a weakness because she will not be able to fend for herself. Yet Hemlock's cruel treatment, keeping her a feral animal, will. He also uses the possibility of Batcher's demise as a means to control Omega. He wants to break down her will, especially since she cares so much for others.

Now, we have Omega. She values life, kindness, and second chances. She's a great foil to Hemlock who only views life as something to be toyed with and weakness as something to be eradicated. She keeps insisting that Batcher will be ok because Hemlock doesn't know what will happen. She believes in others despite their flaws and sees the best in them. It's one of the reasons why she's so endearing. I love that she tells Hemlock that Batcher deserves a chance (after this line, we cut to Emerie and we know homegirl needs a chance to fight Hemlock). It's only when Hemlock threatens Crosshair, something he can actually control, that Omega becomes powerless. But something out of his control? Something that has been touched by Omega's kindness? Hemlock has no true power over that.

And to me, that's why the final scene of Batcher's howling in the night is so important. At first we hear her howls and we assume that Hemlock was right. However, by revealing Batcher is ok, it proves that Omega was right. Hemlock isn't the all-powerful man he thinks he is. Showing Batcher's survival tells the audience that Omega's values are more powerful and she will come out on top even if it isn't always easy.

[bvbygrl-writes]

Season of The Witch (2)

Pairing: Jacob Black x Witch!Reader x Edward Cullen

Word Count: 2k

Summary: (Y/N) (L/n) is 19 and still trying to figure out the world. She isn't sure of a lot of things but she is sure of one: she's gonna have her cake and eat it too.

A/N: Look at me, posting consistently! don't get used to it. Anyways, enjoy chapter 2! Edward will be introduced either in the next chapter or chapter 4.

Warnings: N/A but it will be 18+ at some point most likely. Minors and blanks dni. Also I didn't edit any of it so ignore any typos.

Chatter from below and music from your speaker filled your room as you flopped back onto your bed after a well deserved shower. With Jacob, as you now knew him to be, coming in and out of your room earlier with your furniture, you didn’t want to risk any more magic related injuries as you did earlier, leading to you having to manually unpack the rest of your knick knacks. But in the process, you sweated a fair amount but as you looked around your room, it was well worth it. 

Your mind drifted back to the symbol on his arm earlier, trying to place where exactly you had seen it. Jumping from your nest of blankets, you glanced over the plethora of books on the shelves, skimming the titles carefully.

Occult runes & symbols. Snatching the book from the shelf, you hopped back onto your bed, flipping through the pages quickly, mind fixated on the symbol from earlier until finally you landed on it. “The Quilete people, like many indigenous tribes, have a rich and fruitful history. Legend says that some of them have the spirit of the wolf within and the ability to shapeshift into the aforementioned animal. In addition to having warmer body heat, they also have enhanced speed, super strength, and pack connection.” you read out loud to yourself. Gliding your finger across the page, you continued to read on the history and associations with them. However, the sound of your door opening caused you to whip your head up, slamming the book shut.

“Your parents wanted me to tell you dinner is ready. Me, my dad, and the Swans will be joining you for dinner, hope you don’t mind.” Jacob said, now wearing a shirt much to your disappointment. Gulping, you nod, watching as he tries to look at the cover of your book. You spread your hands across it, hiding as much of it as you could. “Aren’t you a little old for a diary?” You scoff at his words, tossing the book behind your pillows.

“It’s not a diary. Plus, there’s nothing wrong with a little healthy journaling.” You retort, hopping up from your bed as you smooth out the wrinkles in your long skirt, centering your necklace on your chest. Glancing at the mirror on the wall, you fix your hair before walking over to him, shoving your finger into his chest. “You should try it sometimes.”

“Whatever you say. You look nice, by the way.” you look up at him, mouth gaping some. Your eyes remain locked for what feels like forever before you brush by him, looking down the hall towards the stairs.

“Thanks.” You can’t even see him but you can feel that cocky smirk he seems to be wearing since you met him.

As you approach the table, Jacob pulls out your chair for you before making his way to the otherside, sitting next to an unfamiliar girl. She’s about your age with dark brown hair and a set of eyes to match it. She’s wearing a striped top that hugs her form nicely. You watch as she looks up at Jacob, saying something to him that you can’t quite make out which causes him to laugh. You roll your eyes internally, glaring holes into the side of her face. ‘Of course a guy that hot has a girlfriend. Dream on, (Y/n/n)’ you think to yourself as you finally take your seat. Sat beside your left is Charlie, Mr.Black on your right, your parents on the ends of the table, Jacob is across from you, and the girl you don’t know to his left.

“(Y/n/n), this is Bella, Charlie’s daughter! I’m sure you girls will get along great.” Your mom says, causing the girl, Bella, to look at you. You wave at her awkwardly as she smiles. She seems nice enough. “I hope everyone is hungry! I made quite a lot so feel free to help yourselves to whatever you’d like. I’ve got dessert in the kitchen!” She squeals out excitedly, motioning to the feast on the table. There’s a colorful salad, a basket of garlic bread, two lasagnas, and a pitcher of different drinks all arranged beautifully on the table. Your stomach groans with a hunger you didn’t even know you had.

As everyone eats, you observe Jacob and Bella carefully. You watch as he whispers something to her, causing her face to blush pink, swishing her hair over her shoulder coyly. You stab at your lasagna aggressively, shoving the fork in your mouth. There’s no reason for you to feel this way, you’ve barely known the guy for a day. But still, you always had an active imagination and the moment you had a crush, it was turned to one thousand. Watching on, your envy grew more and more until Bella’s cup fell over, with a bang, spilling all over her shirt and lap. Your eyes widened as silence fell upon the table as Bella stood up, attempting to wipe the mess from the table.

“I am so sorry! I-I don’t even know how that happened, I was nowhere near my cup.” Bella stammered out. Your eyes flickered over to your mom who was already looking at you. Judging by her face, she was not very happy with you. Even though it wasn’t purposeful, you still felt awful.

“It’s okay, dear don’t worry about it! This table is a little off balance, we’ve been meaning to fix it for a while.” Your mother assured her, covering for you with ease. You hopped up from the table as well, running over to help her clean up the mess. “(Y/n) why don’t you take Bella upstairs and give her something to change into?” She suggested, nodding her head towards the stairs.

“O-okay.” you stuttered out. You didn’t trust yourself to say something not so incriminating. You grab Bella’s arm, leading her up the stairs towards your room. As you shut the door behind you, you rush to your dresser pulling out a t-shirt and jeans before handing it to her.

“Thanks.” she says with a half smile before beginning to undress. You turn around towards your balcony, giving her a bit of privacy. You hear her sigh as she unzips her jeans. “God, that was so embarrassing.”

“No problem. And don’t even worry about it. I’m a total klutz myself. Granted, I’ve never done something like that in front of a guy I was dating.” You shrug. As you hear her rezip herself into the new jeans you turn around. She gives you a puzzled look, tilting her head.

“You mean Jacob?” she questions. Unsure of how to respond, you give her a hesitant nod. She chuckles. “You’ve got the wrong idea. Jacob is just a friend. A close one, sure, but nothing more than that” she pauses for a moment, as if she can’t decide if she wants to tell you something before she speaks again. “I’m into girls.” she says a bit quieter. You celebrate a bit inside.

“Interesting.” you respond. She looks at you, taking in your expression. It looks as if a lightbulb has turned on in her head. She raises a brow, giggling some.

“He is single, by the way. Plus from the sounds of it, he’s taken quite a liking to you already. I wouldn’t worry about it too much.” you go to argue but render it useless. With the way you’re fidgeting with your hands and biting at your lip, you know there’s nothing you could rebuttal with.

“I-I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks, Bella.” she nods before heading towards your bedroom door, shutting it softly on her way out.

After the fiasco that had taken place earlier, you thought it’d be best if you stayed up in your room until the guest left. Even though no one knew it was you, you did and that was enough to riddle you with embarrassment. For the past hour, you just replayed the scene over and over in your head, staring at the ceiling as if it would offer you any form of comfort. You were so in your head that you didn’t even notice the sound of the door opening.

“Didn’t want you to miss dessert.” you rolled your head to the side to see Jacob, a few cookies on the plate in his hands. He closed the door, getting closer and closer until he crawled in next to you onto your bed, setting the plate down in between you two. Sitting up, you smiled at him before grabbing one, biting into it with a content moan. 

“Thanks. Look at you, being nice to me.” you joke. He laughs, scooting a bit closer to you. His eyes flicker from yours to your lips. Your body tenses as he moves his hand to your face. He holds it there for a bit before swiping the corner of your lip.

“Had a bit of chocolate on your face.” before you could respond, he licks the chocolate from his thumb, eyes not leaving yours for a second. “Delicious.” he mutters. You inch your free hand closer to his on the bed, his warm hands soothing the natural coldness to yours. He moves his hand on top of yours, his large hand engulfing yours.

“You do this with all your Dad’s friends' daughters?” you ask. He shakes his head, his eyes flickering down to the bed before looking back up at you.

“No, just you.” your insides feel like mush. In your old state, boys never really paid you any mind. They were too focused on every other girl. Even the guy who asked you to prom ended up ditching you halfway through for a girl from his theater group. It was rare for you to even speak to a guy, let alone be holding hands with one on your bed. You could feel your heart practically beating out of your chest.

A rare moment of boldness came over you as you moved closer, throwing your legs over his lap, laying your head on his shoulder. You gasped as he moved his hand from yours to your waist, his warmth encasing you in the most comforting way. The two of you just sat there for a moment, the cookies growing cold and forgotten as you enjoyed each other's presence.

“Are you doing anything tomorrow?” he spoke, his voice vibrating in his chest. You glanced up at him, noticing him already looking down at you.

“Not that I know of. I’m pretty much done unpacking.” you responded. His hand glided over your head, gently massaging your scalp.

“How about I come get you? I can take you on a ride on my bike, show you around town a bit.” he throws out there. You feel that mushy feeling in your gut again.

“I’d love to.” you reach into the pocket of his jeans, grabbing his phone as you create a new contact, adding your name and number before sticking it back in place. “Text me. Or if not, you know where to find me.”

“Sounds like a plan.” he says, a genuine smile on his face. You smile back at him, nuzzling your face deeper into his chest. His head rests on top of yours, the two of you staying like that until a howl is heard in the distance. Jacob’s body tenses under you as he clears his throat. “I need to get going. Text you later?” you try your best not to frown, nodding at his words. ‘Must be his pack.’ you think to yourself. He sighs deeply, reluctantly removing himself from you as he makes his way towards your bedroom door, quickly running out. 

The door doesn’t stay closed for long though as your mom opens it, wiggling her eyebrows at you. “Had fun? You must’ve because everyone else has been gone for hours!” you grab a pillow, shoving it over your face.

“Mom, please!” you huff out but, she ignores your plea, hopping onto your bed, your body bouncing from the movements.

“He seems like a really sweet boy, honey. I like him for you! I know you’re an adult but, you’re really growing up now. Soon you’ll be getting married, having babies, and-”

“Enough!”

3

[theamityelf]

ignore this if you’ve already said something like this, but do you have any headcannons on Danganronpa characters with Percy Jackson godly parents.

Oooh, so like the inverse of my PJO Danganronpa AU! I haven't done that yet. I'm torn between just giving a straightforward, in-a-vacuum answer for this, and fully migrating the characters into the Percy Jackson universe and letting that inform my answer. I'm doing the latter now, but you can send another ask if you want "in a vacuum". Also, I might have a different answer if I think about it longer.

THH

Makoto- I think I want him to be a mortal, for this. I think I want it to be a Rachel situation, where he accidentally ends up involved in a quest with some of the demigods, and then he gains godly powers of some kind as a reward or consequence of helping them. I see him interning for a god, after everything is over. Maybe he's an operator for Iris. Very humble beginnings, is what I'm saying. It's wild that he keeps having a pivotal role in saving the world, and showing up in prophecies, and being approached by the gods themselves. He's not innately powerful; they just think he's neat. If I had to give him a godly parent, though, it'd probably be Hestia. Even as a mortal, I might say he has the blessing of Hestia...which is a thing I just made up, btw. If Hestia has any equivalent for Artemis's Hunters, he's one. Just a person who hangs out with Hestia and doing hero stuff with the blessings of Hestia. Instead of Artemis's values of wilderness, archery, etc., he champions Hestia's values of home, hearth, family, and safety. I feel like he's been offered immortality but turned it down. (Side option: he's a satyr. Not what I'm going with, but it's an option.)

Sayaka- My first thought is Apollo, for the arts and music, but I'm also feeling her as an Aphrodite kid who can charmspeak. Yeah, I think Aphrodite for her. Her skills as a singer and dancer are her own.

Leon- Oh gosh. Gotta be Apollo, I guess. Baseball = archery. He does both. And he thinks he can tap into his dad's musical gifts without any respect for them, which is why he fails.

Mukuro- Ares. And she has the same mortal mother as Junko. (An argument could be made for Athena, but I'm going with Ares.)

Junko- I like Dionysus's association with madness and frivolity, for her, and I do want to go with a god or goddess who very much isn't about what Junko is about, just to keep from letting her unique vibe be lost to some hand-wave about godly inheritance. I don't want to go with one of the scary-sounding ones. (Plus, if this were taking place in Camp Half-Blood, which I doubt it actually is, being the daughter of the camp director would allow her to avoid scrutiny in a lot of ways.) That's my in-a-vacuum answer. But...I think the not-in-a-vacuum answer has to be Apollo. First of all, he's Apollo in both Greek and Roman form; she has access to both "camps" in a way many don't. Second of all, I like the idea that she has a twisted version of Apollo's gifts. The gift of prophecy is the tedium of foresight. The gift of sunrise is the curse of waking– the inevitable end of comfort. The gift of art is a deadly creativity. No one thinks to pay that much attention to another Apollo kid; Apollo has lots of kids! But she's secretly very dangerous.

Chihiro- Ooh! Ooh! Hecate. Besides being the goddess of magic, she's also the goddess of crossroads, which fits Chihiro's personality and talent. (Like, imagine a computer program as a set of crossroads. Each branch of an if statement, etc.) Also, it would be cool if Chihiro can do magic.

Mondo- That has to be Hermes, right? He looks like an Ares kid, but travel and outcasts are way more in Hermes' domain. Mondo would love to have winged shoes.

Taka- For some reason I'm really getting Demeter vibes. If pressed to defend it, I can imagine someone wondering how someone so "uptight" could have a nature goddess as a mom, since nature is so chaotic, and Taka responding that animals are chaotic, but argiculture and crops are very orderly and precise. There is a right and wrong time to sow anything, a right and wrong time to reap anything. Oh, I think I'm getting Demeter from his "staple food source" line. That's it.

Hifumi- Another Apollo.

Celeste- So many ways to go about this. First of all, do I want one she would be proud of and lean into, or one she would be embarrassed by and overcompensate for? Right away, I'm feeling Dionysus for her. I even said in one of my "Kamukura Wrangler AU" posts that her eyes are wine-colored, and her self-indulgence just seems so great for Dionysus. But Nike would also be a cool one, both for her Ultimate and for how much she would hate being associated with the sports shoe brand. I can imagine a gag where Celeste proudly says "I am a daughter of Nike," and Aoi cheerfully replies, "Oooh, I love Nike's!" Celeste would be so annoyed. I genuinely can't choose; they're both so great.

Sakura- I'm not feeling Ares at all. I can see Athena, but...Sakura's strength isn't really for war. She works hard and strives for excellence, but she's a practitioner of martial arts for their own sake, not to exert them over people outside the constraints of sanctioned contest. I'm not feeling a war god for her. If I were going to put her anywhere, she'd be partway between the strategy/wisdom aspect of Athena (so, more Minerva) and the arts aspect of Apollo. I think what I'll say is that she's a daughter of Deimos, god of fear and dread, which manifests in the way others react to her. The effect wears off if someone takes the time to try to feel anything for her but fear, but a lot of people don't. She herself is very peaceable and kind, and she values her friendship with anyone who doesn't fear her.

Aoi- I think Nike makes maybe the most sense, but I'm going to give her Poseidon because I want to. Despite being able to breathe underwater, she usually holds her breath while swimming, because she likes to. She finds the challenge thrilling. If she's breathing underwater, it's usually for social reasons like talking to fish or sea nymphs. And having her intelligence underestimated is very Percy Jackson of her.

Byakuya- Oh, I'm torn. My first thought was Hades, specifically because he would be insufferable if he was a child of the Big Three (though Pluto would be more apt, because riches), but in keeping with his mortal family's whole deal, and my aim for the THH group to all be in the Greek pantheon, I think Athena is the fit for him. His father is still a Togami; Byakuya was given to his father by Athena, born from her head. That's part of his justification for his inflated sense of his own competency. Not only is he the Togami heir; he's also a son of Athena. Imagine canon Byakuya if his mother was also a goddess. He's going to be insufferable, and I'm fine with that.

Kyoko- She...So the thing is, she...She said she can hear the footsteps of the god of death, and...Once again, I'm tempted to say Hades, or perhaps Thanatos. I'll go a different way with it, though; I feel like making her dad a god feels too close to outsourcing her feelings of abandonment from Jin onto the inherent premise of the Percy Jackson universe, and I don't want to do that. Jin has to just be a mortal absentee father. (Although daughter-of-the-god-of-death Kyoko would be so, so cool in a vacuum. And her gloves could be partially because her touch can kill. AHHH!) I'm going to say Nyx. Goddess of night. Helpful for a detective (like, she can probably see in the dark and stuff), but not fully making her detective skills a direct byproduct of her godly parentage. Plus, Nyx is the mother of Thanatos, meaning her hearing the footsteps of the god of death can still be relevant. The real question is how Jin had a kid with night itself.

Toko- It's either gonna be Apollo or Aphrodite, and I'm going with Aphrodite. Toko would have a field day with "What? You've never seen such an ugly daughter of Aphrodite?!" But also exposure therapy for her deep resentment of attractive people. They're her siblings, and they care about her and defend her, even if she's kind of sour.

Hiro- Gotta be Apollo. He's great at random day-to-day prophecy.

SDR2

Hajime- I'm thinking he's also a mortal who something supernatural happened to. Maybe he was chosen as the Oracle of Delphi, or maybe he was abducted and given trace amounts of ambrosia until something weird happened to him (to create Izuru). Maybe both. Whatever the case, the answer is none, lol. I'm feeling "bored Oracle" for him.

Imposter- Um, Janus. God of beginnings, gates/doorways/transitions, time, duality, and endings. Initially, I said this because Janus is depicted with two faces and that seemed fitting for an imposter, but I think the focus on choices and transitions also suits someone whose sense of self is so fluid.

Teruteru- I think it's gotta be Bacchus for him.

Mahiru- I wish I could give her Iris, but I want this cast (except Hajime) to be Roman! So I'll say Minerva.

Peko- Bellona. Same/similar backstory with Fuyuhiko, though; she's just a demigod who got abandoned and left with a well-known family of demigods.

Hiyoko- I'm giving her Apollo for now, but I'm open to changing that.

Ibuki- Discordia, goddess of discord and troublemaking. (As you can see, I like giving the most dangerous people benign ones and vice versa.) Ibuki likes noise, she values her own uniqueness, and just generally I think this one works for her.

Mikan- Gotta be Apollo, for the healing. This means she and Hiyoko would be half-siblings, which certainly paints their relationship in an interesting way.

Nekomaru- You know what? I'll give him Jupiter. His eyebrows are lightning, and I never give him attention in my other AUs, so he can have Jupiter.

Gundham- I am feeling Diana for him. Yes, I know, but still. It's cool. The wilderness, the moon, it all just suits his vibe so well. The impact this would have on his backstory is manageable. Everything said to be the case about his mother can just be about a human step-mother.

Nagito- I kind of want to make him the Octavian equivalent. Like, a legacy of Apollo who serves as the Roman augur. Parallels with Hajime being the Oracle on the Greek side. He has a unique relationship with Fortuna that parallels Makoto's unique relationship with Hestia.

Chiaki- Going with Somnus, god of sleep. She has the ability to make others tired, but she chooses not to use it like that. Mostly, she exercises her power over herself so that she can power nap frequently and stay up all night playing video games.

Akane- I feel complicated feelings about saying this, but I really think Venus for her. The reason I feel complicated about it is that it feels too close to giving the people who mistreated her in her life a magical excuse, but I feel like even ignoring that whole aspect of her backstory, she doesn't read to me as a daughter of a war god or goddess; she reads as a passionately emotional person who is inured to hardship/loss and values strength as a result of the environment in which she was brought up.

Fuyuhiko- I'm going to say he's a distant legacy of Pluto and a direct son of Minerva. This would make him half-siblings with Mahiru.

Sonia- Daughter of Pluto. It would be cool if she could summon gems and precious metals. And she would also enjoy speaking with the dead.

Kazuichi- Gotta be Vulcan.

V3

Kaede- I almost didn't go with Apollo just because I said it so many times, but then I remembered that moment in Chapter 6 where the in-universe lore suddenly decided that Kaede had a twin, just to service a bait-and-switch about her being another Junko, and with that in mind, her also being a daughter of Apollo is just more of a connection to Junko.

Shuichi- I am feeling Nemesis for Shuichi. Goddess of retribution, evening the scales. It fits his kind of...simple? Way of viewing the world, where punitive justice isn't something that he enjoys, but rather something that he finds inevitable.

Rantaro- Hermes, certainly. The travel aspect, the social aspect.

Ryoma- He's a Nike, I think. He is burdened by victory and excellence.

Kirumi- If anyone gets Hera or Juno, it would be her. I think I will say Vesta, though. The Roman form of Hestia. She is less blessed by Vesta than burdened with the compulsion to satisfy everyone.

Angie- Ooooh, despite the obvious connections between Apollo and art, I'm feeling Morpheus for her: she knows everyone's dreams. Her art skills are just a separate thing where she practiced and got good at a genuine hobby of hers. Her demigod abilities are her insights into the minds, wants, and fears of others. Also, I'm going to say she has frequent waking dreams and waking nightmares, because it feels right for her whole vibe.

Tenko- I wanted to go Athena or Bellona, but I think I'm actually feeling Mars for her. She probably becomes a Huntress of Artemis, or works under Circe.

Korekiyo- I checked to make sure the Muses count as goddesses, and it seems they do. Therefore, I'm going with Clio, Muse of history.

Miu- Gotta go Hephaestus.

Gonta- I feel like it's got to be either Apollo or Athena for him. I'll say Athena, since his devotion to a particular study reads as an Athena kid trait to me.

Kokichi- There is a part of me that really wants to say Hermes. But I think I'll say Dionysus. Dionysus is the god of wine, parties, madness, chaos, and the theater. I think a lot of that energy is what Kokichi both thrives on and languishes in– especially theater.

Kaito- Is Astraios too obvious? He's getting Astraios. He feels drawn to the stars, and I don't think he loses anything if that feeling becomes supernatural.

Maki- Okay, she'll be a daughter of Thanatos. But she lies about it at first. And she can kill someone with a touch, but only if she chooses to, so touching her is an act of trust. (Cue sentimental moment where one of her friends, probably Kaito, touches her arm or something and she's surprised.)

Himiko- I kind of want to be subversive and not say Hecate, but I will actually give her Hecate. She would be really proud of it.

Kiibo- Well, he's a robot. Maybe an automaton made by a child of Hephaestus or Vulcan.

Tsumugi- She gets Janus, too.

[thelunarfairy]

The melody of death

Sumire and Tsukasa sang the song for Nene, Sumire sang it before she was taken (because Aoi went in her place), and Tsukasa afterwards.

The way she was taken, surrounded by a black shadow and several insects, happened both times.

So, the tradition

In short, the reaper will choose someone to steal his soul, and to prevent this from happening, people gather together while singing and weaving baskets to protect the person who heard the reaper's flute.

Nene wasn't asleep, but her soul was unprotected.

She was really attracted to music without even realizing it.

Now an interesting association, they say "we will weave the God of yorishiro"

Real meaning of yorishiro:

Yorishiro is an object capable of attracting spirits called kami (God), thus giving them a physical space to occupy during religious ceremonies. Yorishiros are used during ceremonies to call kami to participate in worship. The word itself literally means “substitute approach”. Since a yorishiro actually hosts a kami.

In other words, they create a yorishiro to attract a God, this God will help them to protect the soul of the person the reaper wants to take, while they stay next to that person throughout the night.

So basically, before, the old village was forced to hand over young girls as sacrifices to prevent the supernaturals from spreading and devouring people. Later, they discovered how to avoid this through the use of yorishiros, and even then, it was necessary to protect the person who was chosen by the reaper.

Currently, the school is protected by seven yorishiros, when almost all of them were removed, the supernaturals began to invade the school, attracting the reaper (the number six) to take someone's soul.

In other words, the yorishiros also serve as a form of protection against this soul-devouring reaper, knowing the real meaning of the word "yorishiro" means that each of the school's yorishiros has a fragment of a God in them, where it can host the God himself. Remembering that in real life yorishiros can be objects and animals too.

It is a sign that there is possibly more than one God. One is used to protect the school (maintain the balance between humans and supernaturals), the other wants to free himself from imprisonment (the creature under the house? Isn't it just some kind of reaper?)

The creature in the house used the same insects as Hakubo, which could mean it is a reaper as well.

Hanako would be working as one of the seven mysteries at the behest of the God, but he betrayed him in pursuit of a wish that only the "reaper" could fulfill, and he could only do so in exchange for the removal of the seals that limit him.

Hmm…I don't know

Maybe I'm rambling too much.

[sleeplesssmoll]

Hey, I also finished event and isn't ending feels kinda rushed? Like it's kinda weird how Jessica did so much to make Blonney stay, but the second Vertin asks her to go with her, she agrees immediately and doesn't mention Blonney at all? Even when Blonney made almost the same proposal?

There are a few things I think could use some refinement but I do think Vertin and Blonney's proposals had a few key differences.

First off, we see how the humans treat Blonney. With limited access to the outside world, this gives Jessica her first impression of humans beyond Green Lake. They belittle and tease Blonney. In Jessica's eyes, Blonney is the most amazing person she knows (not that she knows many) and she still gets treated this way.

Jessica's conclusion: I would never fit in. I don't want to see the outside world. I will make Green Lake the perfect place and we can be happy here together.

Later, she meets Vertin and the others. She notes they are different from the people she normally deals with. As the story goes on, they team falls into “roles”. Tooth Fairy is the mediator. Sonetto is the one who gets stuff done. Horrorpedia is an information bank. Vertin is the problem solver who puts all the information together. She is the one they hand the clues to and with Horrorpedia's assistance, work through the mystery.

While Jessica was acting the entire time, the team's reactions are genuine. Vertin being the emotional support after she kills the butcher and asking her what her wishes are later are genuine acts of kindness.

Conclusion: Vertin isn't just a clever person, she's also nice. Jessica even mentions she's grown to like Vertin when they are talking about wishes.

Then we have the ending. What makes Blonney and Vertin's proposals different?

It starts here:

Blonney trying to bargain with her without truly understanding the problem. Jessica explains that in the time Blonney was away she grew up and changed. She doesn't want to wait anymore.

Here Blonney tries again, making an offer she may not be able to uphold (parents). She lists a bunch of things she likes to do to tries and convince Jessica but Jessica had a taste of the outside through Blonney's colleagues. Jessica brings up the fact one day her true form will be revealed and she'll be treated like a freak. She also doesn't understand a lot of the things Blonney is bringing up. Overall the proposal feels flimsy. Blonney is not only saying these things to try and escape. She truly wants Jessica to be happy too but she doesn't know how to accomplish this.

Vertin tries another route with similar intentions. She walks Jessica through why it wouldn't work because even if she stayed, things would get stale for Jessica. Keeping people here is not the key to her happiness, it only numbs her loneliness.

Vertin addresses her fears of rejection, loneliness, and boredom. After this, she brings up the crazy things she's seen around the world to entice her interest. She is not using discos malls to convince Jessica, but instead the dreams she has of music, meadows, and arcanists tomfoolery. She is offering her the life of an arcanist not the life of a human like Blonney did. Blonney is beginning to embrace her heritage, but she still has that human lifestyle etched into her persona. The things she offered are more associated with humanity than arcanum.

Then Vertin says this:

She promised to give what she can offer. There are no grandiose claims like Jessica who thinks she can everything someone needs or Blonney who wants to offer things but she doesn't have the means to really do it. Vertin is offering to do what she can. That is also why she is the only one able to make a promise. I don't even think Jessica used the word "promise" when she was making her offers meaning there is extra weight behind the word in her eyes.

Bonus headcannons that no one asked for but this is the perfect place to put it. Thanks for the opportunity anon lol

Have you ever had a friend gets along with animals? For example, stray cats approach them on their own. Bunnies, naturally skittish creatures, warm up to them quickly. The squirrels get way to close and they chill. I think Vertin could fall into that category.

In this moment, Jessica can sense her intentions and finds them to be genuine. (This is an assumption, I don't speak bambi.)

Anyway, this is how I processed the ending.

I'm biased because I loved seeing Vertin, Madam Z, and Tooth Fairy in this event but one thing I'd definitely fix is the translation.

I am certain they wanted to use the word "interested" but we ended up with "attracted". This is great meme material but as a lorecrafter, it really gets in the way. The devil is in the details of this game so it's easy to overlook/misunderstand something because of clunky translation.

[dootznbootz]

Hi, what do you think about epic the musical as an Odyssey fan? Just curious

As an Epic the musical fan, I LOVE IT! Everyone's so talented and I love the music style!!! It's super fun and creative and it's amazing that Jay basically writes it all himself!

As an Odyssey fan... It's INCREDIBLY different. To the point where it's more "Odyssey inspired" than the actual Odyssey. But that's the thing. I wouldn't say Jay WANTS it to be word for word Odyssey and I DO think that'd be...kind of hard to do? Especially for Modern day.

It still has most of the "spirit" of the Odyssey though I feel like which is SUPER important. I'm saddened that very few adaptations really "balance" Odysseus' assholery and "goodness". I love "shithead Odysseus" but personally, I'm happy as long as an adaptation keeps to a "family man who wants to go home" for the most part :D (I really fucking hate the whole "Odysseus! The clever, swashbuckling hero who gets all the babes! ...He has a family?!" bullshit. That's very much not him. (He likes shiny things, yes but that's it)

More personal rambles below :D

I think it's interesting that Polites in Epic is more "peaceful" when in the Odyssey, he's called "captain of armies". And the fact he's killed right away when he was one of the last men alive.

Also Odysseus' and Eurylochus' friendship! I think it's sweet in the musical while in the Odyssey, it's quite tense. It gets more and more tense in Epic later on obviously but in the odyssey, it's been tense for a WHILE. Also!

Shout out to Armando Julian! Eurylochus' actor! I see a lot of people talk about Polites, Poseidon, Circe, and Hermes and they get a lot of fanart and love with their songs (rightfully so, ofc!!!) but Armando is really talented and people really sleep on Luck Runs Out! I'm about to become a vocal nerd for a moment. He's got a wonderful vibrato! I really love how he sings "feed" during Full Speed Ahead and "Captain, please" during Remember Them for example. His voice really fits with "speaking on behalf of the crew".

I know most people have a lot of feelings with the Circe Saga but I think that Jay did a great job considering... everything. Book 10 and 12 of the Odyssey are very complicated and I don't blame Jay for not wanting to delve into EVERYTHING with that. Odyssey Odysseus gets SA'd twice and while "I'm Not Sorry for Loving You" makes me worry, I really do think Jay will pull through with how fucked up Calypso's situation while still not having the graphic scenes in the Odyssey. It would be very hard to not only have what was basically an exchange for his men to be turned back to humans but if he interprets it happening throughout the entire year like some readers do, then that's really hard. :'D To truly portray Odysseus' fear of Circe while still having her be morally gray. As she very likely didn't mean Odysseus harm after a certain point but he was still afraid regardless.

Not only trying to not have such disturbing stuff shown in his musical but also, I think Jay was possibly trying to be considerate of Madeline Miller's Circe fans while still trying to show Odysseus discomfort and distress???? 😅 Sounds weird but like, as soon as I heard Circe talking about the nymphs being like her daughters and that she protects them, I thought that. That book is HUGE and I'm sure that many fans of it don't necessarily want to see Circe's "I do whatever I want. I don't need a reason. Woe, Oink be upon ye." as the most likely reason they were turned into pigs in the Odyssey is that ODYSSEUS is associated with them (the boar scar, the metaphors when talking about him in the Iliad, his trusted Swineherd Eumeaus, BOAR TUSK HELMET. Like, that's kind of the animal that represents Odysseus. (even when a spear pierces through a boar's hide, it'll STILL charge as they're that ferocious and determined...Just like Odysseus, a man who should be dead but isn't because of his will to go home. Homer didn't write them being turned into pigs necessarily as a "Men are pigs" thing.

I think the modern shift in how the situation seen today and other media of the Odyssey is why he wrote the songs he did. And considering it all? He did a good job navigating it. I'm very happy with the results!

I have more thoughts probably but those have been stewing in my brain for a while :D I definitely look forward to the next sagas!

[dyemelikeasunset]

for the dommor motifs, i guessed that don was eros in line with her representing feeling, and mor is psyche bc she represents thinking. i wanted to hear more about the marilyn and van gogh motif too! for dom, is it bc she’s objectified through her work like marilyn was? and van gogh with his mental health struggles?

YES you got it. I love that you mention both the Eros&Psyche theme along with the Marilyn&Vincent theme because those two are a little tied in with how I explore mythologized figures in you&i and what they mean to us

The Marilyn and Vincent theme is also heavily inspired by the two songs: "Candle In The Wind" by Elton John, which is about Marilyn, and "Vincent" by Don McLean (Vincent is also commonly called "Starry Starry Night" because of the opening line and was used as the title for the cover by Lianne La Havas performed for the Loving Vincent animated movie, which is the version I associate with Mor)

I explore Mor's relationship with Vincent van Gogh multiple times in you&i, generally boiled down to "mentally ill artist with an ear injury." Her visuals were specifically inspired by the Starry Night painting because of the signature swirls, which shows in her hair (the way it curls at the end, her laid edges, etc)

Candle in the wind was a song written about Marilyn Monroe and talks about the objectification she suffered in order to become the modern world's first sex symbol. The comparison isn't a hard reach, but one thing I don't discuss often enough is that Dom's modeling style is actually marketed as "dark, androgynous, and sexy." Considering how young she was when she started modeling-- and her ignorance of her asexual identity-- a lot of her issues with dissociation between her body, her work, and her mental health become a little clearer

I considered naming the chapter "Marilyn & Vincent" but I really liked that there existed two songs about them. Music is art, acting/modeling is art, and painting is art. In general, a lot of what Dom & Mor connect over is art, and I liked the chain of references. Naming them after songs-made-about-artists also helped to cement the theme of identity, not belonging to the self, and also themes of self-expression through mythologized figures (like their Eros&Psyche theme)

Also the series title, "It Was You & I & The Afterlife," is supposed to be broken down into 5 syllable > 5 syllable (It was you and i > and the afterlife) I liked that both "Candle in the wind" (5 syllables) and "Starry Starry Night" (5 syllables) repeated that motif

[rabarbarzcukrem]

Black Rose Musical save me

So they're starting with Mikage's backstory? Interesting

Actually, I wonder how they'll go about showing that Mamiya was Anthy all along

Mamiya doing that quick spin with Anthy, and then Utena with Tokiko...

I love the "Burn" song, it does a good job at setting the mood for this arc

Ok we're getting a reminder of Utena's story and what happened in the previous musical

I love the way Saionji tosses his hair lmao. Cunty. And how he runs away with that pathetic "UaUaAaaaa!!". he's such a loser

I like how these musicals really want us to associate "the princess was wrapped in the scent of roses" not necessarily with Dios, but with Anthy. She appears every time this line is sung

Ooooh even during the "on the previous episode" part, Mikage and Mamiya are already watching everything from the shadows

Btw, Mikage's voice sounds really similar to the original in my opinion

The parallels between Mamiya and Anthy are so clear, "if you say so, senpai" = "if utena-sama says so"

Akio being introduced so casually when it's obvious that he's super important to the plot also reflects how it happened in anime

Utena/Anthy and Mikage/Mamiya parallels..Mmmm delicious

I looooove how the whole cast is gradually presented (one relationship by one) and then at the end there's Akio with Anthy. Such an amazing way to show the way all these relationships connect and mirror each other

This musical's theme song being about light, mirrors and never letting go of something that might seem like an illusion...huh...

The scenes simultaneously happening on the stage impact each other - Akio is talking with Utena in the tower, but at the same time pushes Kozue towards Miki. Only a stage adaptation would be able to portray it this way

Wait....No kanae?? :((((

Holy shit Mikage's songs have such a creepy sound with the choirs in the background

(Also Mikage pushing Miki, imitating what Akio did to Kozue)

THE ROSE STABBING SCENE. Intense as hell

The contrast between Kozue entering her Dark Era and Wakaba whining about exams lol. Isn't that a perfect encapsulation of the spirit of RGU. The tragi-comedy of it all

The choreography !!

I wonder if there's any significance to the fact that when the cast is standing still singing zettai unmei mokushiroku, Anthy is copying the dance moves of the supporting dancers

The fact that Black Rose duelists have the same skills as the members of the student council showed by having both of them fight Utena at once?? Clever

Also, power of Dios possessing the sword showed by Dios literally fighting alongside Utena

Shame that Kozue didn't do that dramatic falling on the ground thing after her rose got pierced

The egg being called "a cage of freedom". That's a nice way to put it

Saionjeans appears!!

I love shiori already

I can't remember, does Shiori call herself a prodigal daughter in the anime too? Either way that's something I'll be thinking about for the next few days

They did the blood sucking scene 👀 while Shiori and Juri's gay shit was happening 👀

Shiori thinking Juri was reaching for the boy, when she was actually reaching towards her...

Akio walking with the same posture as Touga did... HMMM

They even managed to keep the water motif !

Shiori's horrified expression when she sees her picture...The actress is too good

SHIORI AND JURI FIGHTING SCENE

How did they manage to make them even gayer??

Shiori and Juri taking off each other's roses AAAH

I love that Nanami consistently breaks the fourth wall, it's a perfect thing for her character to do

Wakaba screaming after being stabbed was so heartbreaking...

Akio throwing away that hair clip in the exact same way Touga did with Saionji's exchange diary. Once again: HMMM

Wakaba singing the lines from the first musical about the book she'd read, but this time with her voice breaking, on the verge of crying. I can't stand this

Saionji and Wakaba both singing about a prince on a white horse - Saionji mocking Utena by this, Wakaba actually idealizing Saionji. God, it works so well

Wakaba's duel broke my heart. The actress is so good at capturing the desperation and sorrow in her voice

For the first time Akio is implied to actually have been the one to give Utena the ring...and the way he grabs the supporting dancer and shoves him to the ground. He gives off such sinister vibes

The friendship song is both hopeful and sad because it proves what Akio said - Wakaba had her moment of happiness and specialness but then she had to go back to her normal life of the supporting character. And also because of the fact that while Wakaba and Utena keep singing, Anthy had to go meet up with Akio.. So even though it's heart-warming to see them spend quality time together, none of them really understand what the others are going through

This killed me

"Do you have someone important to you?" And we see the duelists with their black rose counterparts

I almost feel like Mamiya in the flashbacks has slightly different mannerisms that the one in the present impersonated by Anthy.

Mamiya with the candlestick literally SITTING on the COFFIN

"Is (Saionji) going to waltz his ass back in here?" Lmaooo

Did I just imagine it or did Mikage slash Utena on her arm, similarly to how she injured his arm before the duel

Is "Imaginary living body" playing?!?!? Hell yeah!!!

Mikage actually seeing Dios helping Utena fight? Interesting! That's something I didn't expect

I loooove the curtain falling and revealing the projector. That's what I mean when I say that a stage adaptation brings the best out of this anime. There are so many fun visual things like this

I think this arc must have been incredibly difficult to pull off in this form, without being able to do quick cuts and transitions that could be shown in the anime. But they did such a good job! Actually, they kept surprising me with clever ways of adapting the themes of the show to fit this adaptation. I was constantly impressed

The last thing left to say is. PART 3 WHEN

[finisnihil]

I’m OBSESSED with the new animated short oh my GOD. The way that in the beginning Black Swan is leading the dance and she comments about being on the hunt and then the violent tonal shift to Acheron leading the dance and the way the dancing is so brutal with Black Swan being obviously scared and in pain and the way Acheron swings her around like they’re fighting??? The way Black Swan keeps turning into a flock of crows or ravens or swans that try to fly away but are dragged back into a form like Acheron is a black hole and whenever they do try to scatter again they look like a blood splatter??? The part with the predators hunting the very panicked and fleeing smaller prey animal and being completely overwhelmed by the force of their attack like Black Swan is?? Also! The predators shown typically stalk their play or lie in wait to trap their prey somehow like a cheetah, a bear, a shark, a spider, a Venus fly trap, etc and it contrasts with how Black Swan was stalking her prey, Acheron, thinking herself to be the hunter while being ambushed in return. It'a all so good the way there doesn’t need to be any dialogue for the story to be told just the ever increasing intensity of the music. Also Acheron’s memories being in black, white, and red because those are the colors in which she sees the world? And the end when she’s walking away and the bodies are falling from the sky??

Also it was interesting to see Black Swan so visibly vulnerable. As it stands in the story right now we’ve never seen Black Swan out of control of a situation. Not really. Even when something unexpected happens she takes advantage of the chaos to fulfill her a goals further and uses them as weak spots to exploit to take back control. In her and Sparkle’s companion quest she humors Sparkle for a time but it’s obvious that Sparkle isn’t the one in control of the situation because as soon as Black Swan declares the game redundant Sparkle scrambles to keep her invested showing this game can end any time at Black Swan's behest. Seeing her so overwhelmed in such a domineering and brutal way reminds one that Black Swan isn't invulnerable. She unknowingly approached an Emanator and suffered the consequences of challenging a vessel of an Aeon's power and will. Seeing her so violently shaken by the encounter it's no wonder she's helping Aventurine and takes the first opportunity presented to grab the Trailblazer and flee when Acheron is set loose.

Acheron almost seems like a different person when she's in combat and you can see the shreds of humanity she holds onto disappear. Acheron IS dangerous and she's far outside Black Swan's league and Black Swan knows this. She teams with a fellow underdog, Aventurine, and proceeds to distract Acheron with somebody of somewhat equal power, Sam, to escape her gaze and therefore any kind of wrath that could be invoked.

Also I'm noticing a motif of red eyes in characters being associated with an animalistic brutality or loss of control linked to one's humanity. You see it with Blade and Jingliu, who have Mara, and now Acheron, who's an Emanator. Very interesting indeed.

[gmanwhore]

I NEED to talk more about the Horsemen I am begging for questions for them or like questions about my Nightmare Mode guys I think about them too much. But yeah.

Ok so each aspect of the apocalypse has like. Things associated with them!

Death: Heart, emotions, connection

War: Soul, achievements, luck

Famine: Mind, intelligence, strategy

Pestilence: Body, ability, cycles

These are usually what the other Nightmares base their alignments off of, based on what they feel most aligns to them as people. It's an awful lot like old pantheons of gods where you pray to specific gods, or are a follower of specific gods based on what you need. In fact, you can pray to the Horsemen by dedicating an act to them or offering a certain kind of sacrifice! Their preferred acts and sacrifices are:

Death: Killing (obviously), poetry, music; (your own) blood and tears

War: Games, duels, any sort of victory; the blood of your opponent, an impo

Famine: Feasts, hunts, harvests, poisoning, bonfires; food offerings (usually apples)

Pestilence: Sculpting, painting, any form of creation at all, pranks, causing mischief releasing rats or bugs; bodies of dead predator animals

Death and War are hereditary titles passed down really whenever the former Horseman is tired or has an heir old enough to follow in their footsteps. The Wang Diyu family are both hereditary Horsemen, and rulers of a completely different land so sons are sent to be the Horseman of Death to learn to be a leader, then can become King. Yan Luo is seen as a fluke because she wasn't born a male (little do they know: 🏳️‍⚧️). War is passed down to really whoever, it's more of an honour than a privilege (Teutates is the daughter of Ah Puch, but he did earn his place. If he didn't Ah Puch would have found someone else.) and they are all generals of a huge army who are in service of. Themselves. Ishtar can't actually produce an heir to replace her (any child she makes gets teleported to hell) and Shub isn't ready to retire yet, so Pestilence and Famine haven't changed since the Congregation was formed.

Each Horseman also has their own symbols! I mentioned them in a headcanon post but:

Yan Luo: Dragons, skulls, and crows

Teutates: Horses and wolves

Shub: Snakes, apples, and dogs

Ishtar: Rats and locusts

THEY ALSO do just straight up have horses. The horses are just normal horses who are dressed up to look like their owner, and they have names given to them by their owners. Last list of this post I swear:

Yan Luo: Cadaver

Teutates: Ragnarok

Shub: Pumpkin (Later Applesauce to replace Pumpkin)

Ishtar: Botulism (Later Salmonella to replace Botulism)

So yeah!!! Again. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE ASK QUESTIONS PLEASE I LOVE THESE THANNNNGGGSSSS

[pillowbugs]

a teenage (14-15ish) elesa to go with her fellow baby nimbasa city celebrities here!

(proof of process, notes and hcs under cut)

some notes:

why. why did her ace have to be a zebra of all things. no hate to the animal but fucking hell am i dreading the possibility of having to draw blitzle again, or worse, zebstrika. horse proportions + stripe patterns = a real tough cookie to draw. if i never draw elesa with her pokémon again this is probably why.

(actually while typing the above, i just realised her ace is black and white. really ties her association with unova / submas together which is pretty neat.)

on a more positive note, i had a lot of fun with the design! was going more based on her bw1 appearance (given it's closer on the timeline) but with the preppy popular kid look thrown into the mix.

her original hair colour is black (as in bw2) but here it's dyed blonde with blue streaks.

headcanons time: i was thinking elesa would've come from a rich family, with both her parents being successful businessmen who wanted the perfect daughter to show off. her image is definitely controlled by her parents to some extent - her clothes are fancy and expensive, but fairly normal. even her hair was first dyed blonde to match her father and give her parents the perfect blonde hair blue eyes daughter. fortunately, they aren't at home much, so elesa has some opportunities to make small changes such as the blue streaks and her jacket (more on that later).

despite her parents' expectations, elesa is in fact much more interested in fashion, design and battling. she's an intern gym trainer at the current nimbasa gym (was thinking the gym leader would be a musical actor but nothing concrete) to not only prove that she can strike out on her own without her parents, but also to hopefully secure her future once she turns 18 and can move out and cut contact with her parents. the gym leader has taken a shine to her, encourages her to follow her dreams and is already planning on making her their successor.

by the time of bw1, when elesa talks to bianca and her father to encourage them to let bianca go on her own journey, it's a reflection of her own growth as well - she followed her dream despite her parents and found her own happiness and success, and she wants to inspire other people to do the same.

between the twins, elesa is a lot closer to emmet at this point - in fact, she isn't really close to ingo at all. that comes later after she's known emmet for a longer time. her friendship with emmet surprises a lot of people bc it's literally the popular cool kid befriending the weird kid no one else really cares about (besides his brother).

on the other hand, this is exactly why they're friends - emmet is not only grateful to have any friends at all, but elesa is also someone frequently misunderstood because of her appearance, lonely and the right amount of silly (reminds him a bit of someone...). also she loves electric types which is verrry cool. elesa finds emmet's bluntness and genuineness extremely refreshing compared to how much everyone else works to pretend and fit in. he's also the first person to see her for who she actually is and not her parents or her reputation.

the jacket is a bargain buy she saw in a shop once when she and emmet were out on the streets, and she mentioned her parents wouldn't let her get such clothes as much as she loves the jacket. emmet bought it for her for her birthday.

her closeness to emmet but not ingo is reflected in her design - blue and white feature much more than black and red.

her blitzle's name is chromatic, or chrom for short. she doesn't know about fe awakening for the record.

as a trainer, while she definitely trains mostly electrics, she does have a few off-types for coverage outside work - a lilligant, cinccino, cryogonal and later togekiss.

proof of process

[theraggedygirl11]

Hello, it's me, again, talking about my Hades x Persephone wip lmao

This time I want to talk about another member of the band and the deity I chose for him in my au.

Today it's Kris's turn!

Kris's deity is Freyja!

There were other options for him before I landed on Freyja.

At first I pictured Apollo, god of arts, music and poetry, light/sun, knowledge, prophecy and healing (and many other stuff) as Kris's divine "guide". He's the inventor of music with string instruments (Kris plays guitars). Kris is the other one in the band who writes lyrics (poetry). Apollo is a healer, and I can easily see Kris as the "healer" of the group, trying to help the others when they feel down or ill (ginger shots?).

The second one was Aphrodite, goddess of love, passion, beauty and sexuality (and some other stuff linked to the amorous/sexual semantic area). We joke a lot about Kris being a princess or a queen or about him being a lesbian, especially after the Stožice outfit that made us go crazy. Giving him a female deity linked to sensuality seemed a good choice.

But then Freyja arrived. She's a female goddess associated with love, beauty and sex, but not only! She's also a warrior goddess and rules over Fólkvangr, the other heavenly field where she welcomes half of those who die in battle. Kris isn't only sensuality, he fought for his identity, both as a person (him accepting his "feminine" side, his longer hair) and as a musician in the band (stepping outside Bojan's and his father's shadow and shining by his own).

Besides, Freyja's animal is the cat, and sometimes I see Kris as cat coded in his behaviour.

[deltastra]

My Thoughts on Tower of God Season 2 Episode 7

BAM VS EMILY (Urek lol) LETS GOOOOOO

WEBTOON SPOILERS WAS TEASED BUT NOT OUTRIGHT STATED

Rating: 7/10

Summary: Ohhh boy I had to read the chapters againt to make sure they weren't pulling my leg but man...I have mixed feelings. First half was ehhh okay? Second half I liked!

He's such a fanboy, so adorable!

And with that, we can see why he's an Irregular lol. His ideal was honestly the most unique out of anyone's when it comes to the tower. Climb to the top? NAH I WANNA GET OUT OF HERE.

AND THAT'S MY FAVOURITE VIOLE QUOTE!

Okay so here's my take. I read the webtoon again and saw that they really did follow it as much as possible, Viole and Urek barely fought. But I still feel like they could have gotten away with animating an actual fight? Heck, add more dynamic camera movements like in episode 1?! Sigh. (I did see a bit more shaking and impact in this fight though so it isn't that bad)

A very important scene! While people can be annoyed over Minseng getting in the way of the fight. This shows that while Viole cares a lot about passing the tests for the sake of his friends, he will not disregard the safety of his CURRENT team and will even risk his own life to protect them. I love Bam so much.

Now I try not to nitpick over slight dialogue changes or cut content but...sigh.......PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME WHY THEY CUT OUT THIS OTHER PART OF THE DIALOGUE?! Please tell me he said it in japanese and the subs got it wrong ;-;. It's very important because it shows that Urek isn't as "awful" as a person he portrayed himself to be. He let them live because Viole literally prioritised his teammate during their fight. From that, he saw that not only is Viole pretty strong, but also that he isn't like those Rankers who send people to their deaths. In the Tower, someone as kind as Bam is very rare.

By removing this last piece of dialogue, Urek comes off as cocky (which yea, he can be. But he's also a somewhat good person). Now an arguement can be made that the original dialogue was not that subtle, so they omitted it and let the scene speak for itself. I would agree, but with all the stiff characters and facial expressions, it's hard to tell when they are trying to be 'subtle'. I'm getting a bit off-topic, moving on!

YES THEY'RE PLAYING 'BUBBLE IN THE WINE GLASS'. LETS GOOOO I ALWAYS ASSOCIATED THIS OST WITH UREK!

I always loved the reveal that Urek wasn't actually there to mess around or assert his authority. He was there to help preserve wildlife! I remember my jaw dropping over this reveal because it was all the proof I needed that Urek is actually a pretty good guy!

Haha. Love the casual reveal that he's working with Yuri too lol.

No seriously what the hell is that. I swear I didnt see that in the webtoon.

OKAY JINSUNG'S FACE LOOKS BETTER HERE

THAT WAS NOT IN THE WEBTOON. SIR WHAT IS THAT. WHY ARE THEY ANIMATING THIS. Music went hard tho.

YES. HERE. JINSUNG'S FACE IS PERFECT HERE (for anime standards).

I loved this scene because it shows that after what Viole did. Team Sweet and Sour no longer fears Viole. To them, Viole isn't a FUG slayer candidate, but a fellow teammate. It's a nice way of showing that now, Wagnan will not be the only one who's comfortable around Viole. Everyone will support Viole as a teammate.

It's amazing how one act of kindness can resonate so much in someone. And that kindness wasn't even towards Arkraptor himself, but the girl he lowkey sees as a daughter.

People make fun of Yihwa for not being able to do basic household chores and that Hwaryun was "roasting" her for it. But like Horyang said, this encounter with Urek and the lies of Yihwa's family being exposed is testing Team S&S's resolve. They will face worse as they climb higher (*cries*), if they can't handle what they saw in this episode, they can never climb the Tower. Yihwa was sulking in her room because she didn't want to face reality. But Hwaryun's "insults" were said in a way to motivate someone as proud as her to get up and start doing something about it!

I LOVE HER! Okay but in all seriousness, this is an anime-only scene that I actually like. In the webtoon, she just declared she would cook and we don't know if she actually did it, it was implied that she was about to, but was stopped.

Here? SHE STARTED COOKING RIGHT AWAY. WHO CARES IF THE FOOD WAS HORRIBLE. THIS ANIME-ONLY SCENE SHOWED THAT SHE ACTUALLY TOOK THE INITIATIVE TO DO SOMETHING NEW AND GROW!

Like I said, anime-only scenes are not bad as long as it enriches the main story! This is a prime example of that! (Apron cute too!)

And I love how they took the time to actually animate this part of the webtoon instead of just taking the easy way out and just adding voiceovers while Wagnan goes out to see Jinsung (like what happened in the webtoon). Also the way all the tension between the guys was cut by Yihwa's silliness?! Love it! I miss Team S&S so much!!!!!!

Haha. Don't know why they made Wagnan give one lollipop instead of three. But to be honest, I genuinely forgot that this was where Jinsung's lollipop obsession started.

AND FINALLY KARAKA IS HERE! OKAY TIME FOR MY FIRST IMPRESSIONS ON HIS ANIME COUNTERPART!

I'm not too nitpicky about his design because I get that it's very complicated to animate it consistently, so they had to smooth him out. Shame, but hey I get it!

His voice surprised me, I never pictured him with THAT voice. Not a fan for now, but maybe it'll grow on me?

Oof. Even I felt that jab.

WAIT SO UNLESS HORYANG STRETCHED THE FABRIC. DID THEY BUY THE SAME APRON BUT A DIFFERENT SIZE JUST FOR HORYANG?! THAT IS SO CUTE.

This was in the webtoon too but I love Yihwa. She really dresses the part for whatever responsibility she's given lol! She's locked in!

Oh..this shot was beautiful. I like it.

Alright so sadly, Viole vs Urek was not as great as I hoped, even if I was cautiously optimistic. But I'll acknowledge that they followed the events within the chapter almost perfectly. I still think a few extra scenes showing Urek's power would've been better, or at least more camera angles and movements to show his intensity.

I did love the second half of the episode more though! I appreciated the extra scenes! Karaka was revealed and I may need more time to get used to him.

Now I also want to talk about Crunchyroll's treatment of the Tower of God anime. Not a fan. This was the same issue in season 1 but now it's somehow worse? Like come on they literally messed up the subtitles and played the NEXT EPISODE's subtitles instead. They also took 4 years to announce season 2, which led people to believe that it took 4 years to work on this anime, when really, that may not have been the case. I'll avoid making baseless speculations but it's sad to see Tower of God treated this way while manhwa like Solo Levelling get the A+ treatment from them.

Part of me is just happy we got a season 2 to begin with, but I also wish a bit more effort was put in, the first episode of season 2 genuinely gave me hope. But now it feels like the episode was just used so that it can look good in the trailers. Workshop arc will have more fights, I hope the studio has more time and resources by then. (I want to state the fact that I am not claiming that the studio doesn't care about Tower of God. I believe they do care, but lack the time and resources. If they didn't care, episode 1 of season 2 would not have been THAT good!)

Sorry this post took so long, I watched the episode when it first came out (that's why I knew of the Urek = Emily joke). However, I just didn't know what I wanted to say about this episode, did I like it or not? I feel more on the neutral side.

Well, next episode is in a few hours! See you in a few days lol.

(Funny how I said that I didn't know what to say about this episode, and yet, this post ended up being one of the longest for my ToG anime reaction posts.)

[writteninlunarlight-years]

hello there! i would like to request a matchup! ꒰⁠⑅⁠ᵕ⁠༚⁠ᵕ⁠꒱⁠˖⁠♡

fandom: obey me!

gender: female

pronouns: she/her

sexuality: pansexual

zodiac sign: gemini

appearance: i'm around 5'10/around 175 cm, my hair is currently black (i dye it a lot), i have green eyes and round face; people usually think i'm younger than i actually am. i have 6 ear piercings and a sun tattoo which i love sm, i like to experiment with different makeup styles

personality: i'm an introvert, not too social. shy but only at first. either 100% or 0% energy, nothing in between. quite sarcastic, i can get emotional really fast though. i'm loyal and honest, i tend to get stressed very easily. i often find it hard to go out of my comfort zone

likes: animals (i have two cats and a dog!), books/mangas, baking, music, rain

dislikes: heights, darkness, crowds, snakes

extra fun fact: i collect plushies~

that's all, i hope it's okay!<3

MatchUps~

(My matchups are still closed, but I am doing this for a kind friend doing a match-up for me! I will post as soon as I am mentally ready to reopen my Match Ups again! Thank you all!)

Obey Me!

Satan

Headcanons~~

Satan enjoys your innocent looks the most. He associates your innocence with his beloved cats, who are so cute and innocent.

Satan asks for many reading dates with you and loves it when you two can swap books and discuss what you like and dislike about the stories. He even has taken hand a time or two at Manga. Maybe you can convince him to read more.

Satan is also an all-or-nothing person, especially when it comes to his Sin. He only reserves 100% of his energy for you once you start dating. He will be his usual self-present but has yet to fully invest any other time, primarily if it involves Lucifer's plans.

Satan will assist you in any task out of your comfort zone for the price of a few private cuddles. He will ensure you are content and happy before he worries about himself. Please don't tell his brothers that.

Let him pick out your jewelry. He thinks it is a personal way for him to show ownership over you if he gets to choose all the jewelry adorning you.

He loves your animals. Even though he isn't much of a dog person, he will make an exception for you. Your cats, though, are treated like gods in his presence.

Satan enjoys a rainy day spent sitting indoors with you, playing soft ambient music, and reading a new book together.

He will steal your cat plushies only to make you a warm nook in his room for you to curl up in.

Blurb~~

It was a cool day in hell. Rain softly pittered on the roof of the place you call home. With it being a weekend, the House of Lamentation was packed, especially since Lord Diavolo and Barbatos came over accompanied by Simeon, Luke, and Solomon. The house was lively as everyone played games, ate food, and, of course, argued over nothing at all. For you, however, this was indeed hell.

Now you loved the brothers, the angels, the lord, and even Solomon. What you hated is how this giant house suddenly felt too small with its many people. You were not enjoying being crowded by everyone, so slowly, you went to the back of the room for some fresh air. Little did you know your demon was overseeing you to ensure you were alright. Once safely away from the others enough to finally breathe, Satan swooped in and took your hand. He guided you to the library where you two could hide; lucky for you two, Mammon had just said something foolish, so all eyes were on him.

Once safely nestled in the library, Satan was wrapping you up in a blanket, turning on the record player, and pulling out the new book you had got him. Gently, he rested you against his chest, allowing you to get comfortable. After a few protests and worries that the others will notice, he calmed you and began to read to you. Hours had to have passed when the brothers finally realized their numbers had dwindled, and they searched for you. Imagine the horror on Mammon's face when he finds you and Satan cuddling, fast asleep.

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

OC Facts

Thanks @mysticstarlightduck here, and @somethingclevermahogony here!

Rules: share facts about your OCs!

Lexi Morgan

Has haphephobia (fear of touch)

Has only had her birthday fall on a school day twice

Met Ash in third grade

Knows all of her friends and acquaintances' birthdays and schedules

Must color code everything

Likes country and classical music

Really likes saying fancy vocabulary words

Hates olives

Favorite colors are yellow, magenta, and teal

Likes gardening and riding her bike

Plays the violin and is in a theater class

Follows elementary school friends on social media

More Lexi: OC in three, OC in fifteen, Picrew, bag, origin, bingo, unusual associations, interview, questionnaire one, questionnaire two, two truths and a lie

Maddie Morgan

Has a lot of unopened LEGO sets she is slowly working through

Almost exclusively wears overalls

Likes her hair super long

Loves science, math, and gym

Hates lettuce

Is in choir

Likes bright and pastel colors

Likes rock music

Joins robotics club

Most people like her but she isn't sure why

Gets bored easily and tends to roughhouse

Loves video games especially if you can press buttons

Her favorite animal is the tiger

More Maddie: OC in three, OC in fifteen, Picrew, interview, two truths and a lie, questionnaire one, bingo, questionnaire two, bag, origin

Ash Hathaway

Likes her hair short

Lives with her mom, dad, stepmom, sister, and half-brother

Her taste in food is either very bland or outrageous

Tucks her shirt in and likes high-waisted pants

Wears combat boots

Despite being a telepathic empath, cannot control emotions

Wears multiple rings across each finger

Has a dark sense of humor

Wears a belt that she hasn't bothered to replace in a while

Likes board games

Is decent at aiming

Likes punk music

Hates honey

Likes science

More Ash: OC in three, interview, Picrew, origin, two truths and a lie, bag, bingo, questionnaire one, questionnaire two

Gwen Amante

Loves books

Has four younger siblings (and soon a fifth)

Enjoys psychology and personality tests

Loves knit sweaters and boy's pants (for pockets)

Doesn't mind the outdoors and appreciates nature (reading in nature is heaven)

Trilingual (English, Mexican, Italian)

Doesn't like seafood

Prefers calm, dull colors

Plays the drums in a school and after school band

Loves learning about people

Guilty pleasure is a blend of coffee and tea

Is a surviving twin

Loves alternative rock

More Gwen: OC in three, OC in fifteen, Picrew, questionnaire one, questionnaire two, origin, kiss, two truths and a lie, interview

Tagging @mk-writes-stuff @melpomene-grey @dyrewrites @talesofsorrowandofruin @rickie-the-storyteller

+ ANYONE ELSE

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites

@nebula--nix @literarynecromancy @honeybewrites @the-golden-comet