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botanicallyinclinednerd · 3 months

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Things I've worked out so far for my Merlin Soulmate AU:

Soulmates and soulmarks are their own subset of magic, and one that Uther can not eradicate, because everyone is born with soulmates

So he does the next best thing and makes it practically illegal to find one's soulmate, mandating the use of gloves and long-sleeves around anyone that is not immediately blood related (soul bonds are solidified through touch)

(Except in the cases where he found someone with a soul mark that moved (a sign that their soulmate was born with magic) in which he would force a parade of citizens to come touch until he finds them. (Very rarely does he find them in this way))

Uther repeals most of the laws surrounding soulmates that ensure their rights. Such as the law that protected bonded soulmates (soulmates who have solidified their bond through touch) from having to testify against each other. In fact, under the new laws he made, if someone refused to testify against their soulmate, both/all would be assumed guilty of the crime in question and punished accordingly

Uther, being very classist and viewing common folk as inferior, also passes a law nulifying marriages between noble and common born soulmates, and outlawing any future marriages of the kind. So people that had been noble for decades were stripped of their title and standing and forced to return to their lives from before (in many instances this part was not strictly enforced, and it caused a lot of outrage when a noble spouse DID abide by this and shun their common born soulmate that had been their partner.)

Uther also repeals a law that allowed nobles to lend their noble status to their platonic soulmates, suddenly making GENERATIONS of nobility commonfolk.

This causes resentment from these nobles, as well as their friends. Sorcerers are not the only ones trying to kill Uther in this au, he wrongs just about everyone.

The only reason he continues to stay in power is because he's so brutal and he fosters a strong inner circle with similar views as his (or so he thinks in some cases)

Uther only had one soulmate and it was Ygraine. However, Ygraine had another soulmate and it was Nimeuh.

Nimeuh tried very hard to dissuade Ygraine from agreeing to the enchantment that lead to her giving birth to Arthur, and it was Ygraine that had to persuade Nimeuh into agreeing to even do it, as Nimeuh knew the risks and did not want to risk losing a part of her soul

She does anyway, despite her every effort

Uther makes it illegal to talk to others about their soulmates or soul marks or to show them to anyone.

Now even before Uther's bullshit, it wasn't polite to just ask, or to ask to see someone's marks (unless that mark was your own, then it was fine, lots of people wanted to know what the representation of their soul looked like)

But this made it so the generation(s) raised following the purge had next to no knowledge of soulmates (Same as with magic) or what made them "evil"

Well, they're magic. Measures of destiny, pieces of ones soul displayed on the skin of the people most important in one's life. And when a piece of one's soul dies, it's agony.

It was no secret that Queen Ygraine was King Uther's soulmate.

In the years of and following the Purge, those particularly bold and angry would whisper, "His entire soul died with her."

Everyone's soulmarks are as follows:

Merlin's is a fluttering blue butterfly

Arthur's is a gleaming golden crown

Gwen's is a forge bucket filled with lavender

Morgana's is a crescent moon with a bright star rotating around the bottom tip (thank you to @clotpoleofcamelot for the idea!)

Percival's is an acorn that is beginning to take root (thank you to @jgvfhl for the idea!)

Leon's is an owl in flight holding an arrow in its talons (I'm not entirely sold on this one, so if anyone has other suggestions, I'm open to it)

Gwaine’s is an oak with his necklace's symbol carved into the trunk (thank you to @donttouchtheneednoggle for the symbol idea!)

Lancelot's is a sword crossed diagonally over a shield with the crest of a winged beast

And Elyan's is a forge hammer circled by chainmail links (thank you again to @donttouchtheneednoggle for the idea!)

Arthur, Elyan, Gwaine, Gwen, Lancelot, Leon, Merlin, and Percival are all soulmates with each other. Gwen also has a soulmate in Morgana, and Merlin has a soulmate in Freya

(Merlin's soulmark for Freya does not start moving until she is cursed, and Merlin asks Gaius what it means. He has a crisis when he finds out, as he puts together that Arthur and Gwen (and Lancelot, but thats not an issue) must know that Merlin was born with magic.)

Merlin before that point is not aware that his soul mark on his soulmates moves, marking him as a born sorcerer. Should he have known this, since Huneth would know due to her soulmate being Balinor? Yeah, he probably should, but there's a lot Huneth didn't tell Merlin in the show and it might not have occurred to her to tell him, or even that he'd find his soulmates in Camelot.

Morgana's other soulmates are Morgause and Mordred.

Leon, Gwen, and Elyan find out they are soulmates when they are kids. The thing about young kids is that they don't really care a whole lot about rules that they don't understand, rules that no one explained, rules that don't make sense. You cant go swimming and catch frogs in full clothes with gloves! So they don't. And it's just the three of them present when they find out that Leon is soulmates with both Gwen and Elyan

(Gwen has known that she and Elyan are soulmates since she held him for the first time. Siblings that are soulmates are unusual but not unheard of)

They agree not to tell anyone, as they don't want to get in trouble

Leon and Arthur soulbond by accident.

Arthur comes over one day to Leon's estate and Leon, who does not have gloves on as he is in his home, greets Arthur with a hair ruffle without thinking.

This is in front of Leon’s parents and a guard, so there is no covering it up when both boys have the exact same reaction, and Arthur asks what that feeling was

Leon (a teenager at this point, maybe 15-16) is TERRIFIED. He just broke the law in front of several witnesses, and soulbound with the king's son. He's expecting to get executed or banished

Neither of those things happen.

In fact, Uther is not even mad. Leon is well on his way to becoming a skilled and respected knight, and he comes from a loyal noble family going back generations. If anything, Uther sees Leon being Arthur's soulmate as a sign of his loyalty and a garentee he will serve him well (Never let it be said that Uther isn't a hypocrite)

It's not long after this that a young Arthur asks Gaius what it means when a soulmark moves. Gaius stiffens and slowly explains that it means that the soulmate was born with magic. "But I thought magic is evil?" "According to your father, it is illegal, yes." "But I thought soulmates were supposed to have positive lasting impact on your life. Leon does." And Gaius is feeling a mix of emotions, cause if Arthur is implying what he *thinks* he is... "Arthur, do you have a soulmark that moves?" And Arthur nods and shows him the butterfly with the gently flapping wings. Gaius instructs Arthur not to tell or show anyone this, especially Uther, as it could be dangerous not only for his soulmate, but for him as well.

Arthur listens to Gaius and doesn't say a word to anyone, including Leon (if he had, they might have figured out they had all the same soulmates, and Leon could have pointed him towards Gwen and Elyan sooner)

Gwen almost doesn't take the job as Morgana’s servant because TWO of her soulmarks move and her parents warned her and Elyan (who shared most of the same soul marks as her) never to let anyone see, to never talk about it, or it would put both them and their soulmate(s) in danger.

A downside to always having to wear gloves it it makes it rather difficult to dress someone, even if tools had been invented to help with the process. One day Gwen gets frustrated and Morgana tells her to take them off if it would be easier. And Gwen freezes a bit. Because Morgana is the king's ward, and this is a bad idea, she's encouraging her to break the law. But then Morgana takes off her own gloves and wiggles her fingers at Gwen "It's fine, Gwen. No one needs to know. It's a stupid law anyway." And Gwen turns away, heading for the door, and for a second Morgana thinks she's gone too far and is about to apologize when Gwen flips the lock on the door, ensuring it's secure and coming back, removing her gloves as she does so. Morgana grins and promises that nothing that happens before that door gets unlocked will be repeated to anyone.

Morgana holds out her hand for Gwen to shake and after a long moment Gwen takes it. And their marks for each other go warm and and this feeling of *rightness* settles over them both, they've found another piece of their SOUL

This is how Morgana gets confirmation that she has magic, by asking to see her mark on Gwen and realizing what it means that her mark *moves*

I have more that starts moving into what changes and stays the same to canon, but this is already so long that it will have to be another post. If anyone has any clarifying questions, please feel free to ask me!

#liv writes #bbc merlin #merlin #arthur pendragon #sir gwaine #gwen #guinevere pendragon #morgana pendragon #sir lancelot #sir percival #sir elyan #sir leon #platonic soulmate au merlin edition

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thequeerwizardcouncil · 6 months

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Transgender Visibility Day Two: Estrogenic Boobaloo

Alternatively,

Transgender Visibility Day Two: Testosteronic Dickaloo

It is now Transgender Visibility Day for the other half of the world!

Let us celebrate, but firstly before anything else. The council would like to give out a few statements.

While this is an amazing celebration of our resilience and continued resistance to transphobia, we mustn't forget

Our fallen, the many killed in hate unjustly. Nex Benedict being one of the most recent

Our fellow queer in Palestine, Sudan, the Congo, etc. We mustn't forget about their suffering whilst we celebrate here so freely. Though we should care about all of the people not just the queer and trans in those places being subjected to the most inhumane conditions by tyrants.

The many bills, laws, and legislation trying to be passed to further erase us. Especially the KOSA bill, and quite sadly in Florida recently having passed legislation to ban minors from social media as an attack on us to be put in to effect in 2025.

With all of those being said, we should all continue to fight for those causes, continue fighting censorship. Continue fighting genocide. Continue fighting slavery.

We ask you all to continue spreading the word of these causes, these evils that must be stopped. As the council is bound by metaphysical law, we may not exit this and help you in the way we wish.

Fight KOSA, and censorship

Fight for our fallen, whether it's the unjustly banned, those dead from self harm, or those murdered in cold blood

Fight for those still persisting, the ones showing a fervour of resistance to fight oppresors.

We draw our strength from solidarity, it is what has allowed us to continue. Let it be the reason we win this war.

Anyways, here is our second message to all Transgender beings out there:

You are valid, you know you best. And we mean it. We may be filled with wise wizards, but we know that only oneself knows itself best. You know your identity better than anyone. Even when it can feel like your body disagrees with your true self, or others don't see you for who you are.

Know that even with all the pain, the grief, the hate, we and many many others fight every second for you to be you. For you to be safe. For all of us to be ourselves.

And we will see that day come, and by that day we hope for all of us to have survived, to tell stories of our battles, to guide a new generation of queers.

We just ask you continue being you, and being safe, and you will see that day come we guarantee. Even if it doesn't seem like it.

This world is a dark room covered in oil, we are a small candle of hope. And when it seems too dark, our hope will light the room with a burning fervour. To free us from this room. To burn down our prison.

We love you and appreciate you for who you are, please continue as you're the only one of you.

"in the dark we endure, and in the light we fight for who you call impure"

happy transgender visibility day

- The Queer Wizard Council <3 <2

@skyethebisexualwolfwizard

@im-a-wizard-who-dont-crime

@thebutterflyoficeandwisteria

@bisexualchemistry

@sassy-piece-of-parsley

@flirtyambiguouswizard

@ballisticallytestedwensleydale

@the-moth-wizard-of-mayhem

@aroace-wizard

@serious-tabaxi

@agentldiddy

@parkyrtheelvishbard

@autistic-dinos-and-dragons-lover

@a-goose-in-a-trenchcoat

@sapphicdragons-3

@transgender-wizard

@jhomikle

@cynical-artificer

@anne-androgynous-android

@asheslab

@luminethefoxincabin13-ts

@incrediwizard

@amethyst-aster

@ash-the-tiefling

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@bi-gender-sorcerer

@somecallmekay

@be-gentle-with-littluns

@ladyofspoons

@slymewitch

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@frogpantsthebloodgod

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@mango-lord-of-poison

@detectivewizzard

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@hyper-lynx

@chaos-wizard-nyehehe

@song-de-lune

@lord-devere

@waluigis-elbow

@so-um-brasileiro

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alex-the-nonsensologist · 9 months

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Wish Rewrite

Thought I’d try my hand at rewriting Wish for fun. In my version, Asha is Magnifico's daughter. This gives them a more compelling relationship, a more plausible reason for Asha to find out his secrets, and officially makes Asha a royal princess to boot. Additionally, Magnifico is a sympathetic tragic villain, and Amaya has passed away. While I would love to see a fully evil version of Magnifico that’s better written, along with an evil Amaya (I LOVE @hah-studios‘s version here), my version of the story features a twist that heavily depends on his relationship with Asha.

Of course, this version would be 2D animated (or at the VERY LEAST have more ambitious and stylized CG that perfectly mimics 2D), and have songs written by people with actual musical theater backgrounds.

I am not a writer, so I apologize for the disjointed and clunky ideas.

Opening Storybook

“Once upon a time, in a world of magic, on an island in the Mediterranean Sea, there was a little kingdom called Rosas. The harvests were never quite plentiful, the town was barren and gray, and the work was long and hard. The people of Rosas knew life could be better, and spent many days wishing it were so.

“A young man, who called himself Magnifico, spent years studying magic to become a master sorcerer, in order to better the lives of those around him. He believed magic was the solution to make one’s deepest desire come true. The King of Rosas was impressed by Magnifico’s skills, as was the king's daughter Amaya. Magnifico and Amaya fell fast in love and soon wed, becoming the new king and queen of Rosas. Together, they brought joy and prosperity to the kingdom. It was a celebrated occasion when the queen announced she was with child.

“Unfortunately, the queen fell ill and died shortly after giving birth to the princess. The king was saddened by the loss of his wife, but he vowed to raise his daughter to become a worthy queen like her mother, and to better himself as a sorcerer so that such tragedy would never befall anyone ever again.”

Young Asha and Magnifico

Every Disney heroine this era has had an intro flashback of them as a child, so it only seems fitting Asha should get her own as well. We cut from the storybook to a scene of Magnifico, with a visible gray streak in his mostly brown hair, showing young Asha the stars before tucking her into bed.

She asks if anyone wishes on the stars anymore. Magnifico explains that people stopped doing that because the stars never answered. Perhaps the stars could be magic, but no one has ever been able to study them because they're so far away. Perhaps one day.

🎶 At All Costs is reframed as Asha's lullaby.

Transition

Asha finally falls asleep and Magnifico kisses her on the forehead. Camera pans up to the night sky before fading to black. For a short moment, there is complete darkness, then some very faint sparks of light. Someone is calling Asha's name, but their voice sounds very far away, before it’s suddenly clear and Asha wakes up; it is morning. We are now in the present and Asha is 17. This establishes that she's always had the same odd dream of a dark void with faint sparks for as long as she can remember.

Present Day Asha

Asha is studious and hardworking, but is frustrated that her father does not trust her with more important duties. Magnifico is training her in magic to succeed him, or at least he promised he would, but he seems hesitant to teach her more advanced magic than the basics. Asha has memorized every law textbook assigned to her, as well as a handful of magic textbooks she snuck from her father’s study.

Today Asha is going down to give a tour to new visitors, and she takes this very seriously. Dialogue implies Magnifico was hesitant to let her do this, but eventually gave in, hinting at how overprotective he is. Even more than wanting to prove her worth as a future ruler, Asha wants to connect to the people, and secretly wants a friend her own age.

Dahlia and Simon

In this version, Dahlia is older, and renamed to something like Yuki or Bianca to more subtly reference Snow White instead of Doc. Simon is also older and serves as Asha’s bodyguard, and references the Huntsman from Snow White instead of Sleepy. (Two new character designs would be created to reference Doc and Sleepy, and the seven teens are relegated to one-off townsfolk.) “Dahlia” and Simon are the only people Asha is close with, since her father is reluctant to let her leave the castle except on supervised royal duties. “Dahlia” serves as an auntie figure, and Simon is very understanding of Asha’s frustrations of being cooped up in the castle and occasionally lets her sneak off (but he always emphasizes safety and resourcefulness). She can confide in them when she feels she’s being ignored by her father.

🎶 Welcome to Rosas

The song would be cheery at first glance, but on closer inspection, it’s apparent Rosas has seen better days. There’s some cracks in the buildings, and the murals and statues have lost some of their shine. The townsfolk and Asha explain it’s just a bunch of minor hiccups, and they’re working on it.

The visitors ask if there are rules for wishes being granted. Asha and the townsfolk explain the basic rules (which include no wishing for death or harm, no making people fall in love, and no wishing for the dead to be brought back to life; as a shout-out to Aladdin). Also, Magnifico does not grant them right away, but needs time to make sure the work is done just right. After all, magic is a science as well as an art.

When the visitors ask the townsfolk about wishes that have previously been granted, they're told about relatively simple things, like being given a new food cart or a pet cat. This foreshadows what Magnifico does with their wishes. When the townsfolk are asked if they had ever wished for something more significant, they stumble for an answer. They say they're just content with what they have, but they seem unsure. Some of the townsfolk appear lethargic, and some even slightly fumble during their dance routine, but manage to make the big finale. They ask the visitors if they’ve been convinced to live in Rosas and are given a noncommittal answer, “Too soon to say. We'll just stay the night and see how it goes.” Asha brings the new visitors to her father. (Sabino’s character design can be re-used here as one of the visitors, as he’s no longer Asha’s grandfather in this version.)

Side note, I would love it if some of the townsfolk were given a few notable quirks to stand out. The artbook for this movie was lovely, but in the final film, all the townsfolk sort of blend together into genericness. The only one I can recall from the movie with clarity is the girl who wished to fly and meets “Peter Pan” in the end. Even Ecanto’s “We Don't Talk About Bruno” had memorable townsfolk and most only had a single line of dialogue or less. The seven teens would of course feature in this song number.

Present Day King Magnifico

Magnifico's hair is completely gray and white now, and he’s got wrinkles under his eyes. He seems burnt out from his job, but puts on a professional face for his subjects and visitors. Asha is the only one Magnifico shows any tenderness. But for the most part, Asha feels her father has been distant for a long time.

Magnifico thanks Asha for bringing the visitors and tries to dismiss her, but she argues she should start sitting in on the wish-granting sessions so that she can properly learn to take over from her father. This is an argument they have gone over many times before, and her father finally relents today.

The inciting incident

They begin the consultation, starting with Sabino. Magnifico specifies that the wisher must meditate and reach deep within themselves, and recall their desire with every fiber of their being, which manifests as a wish orb. In this version, while a wish orb contains the many memories of the wish in question, handing it over does not automatically erase the memory of it from the wisher.

When Asha and Sabino’s backs are turned, Magnifico does something to the wish. This hints that Magnifico steals wishes and plants false memories, so that the wisher is unaware that they were granted a false wish. In many cases, Magnifico grants a much simpler wish than what the wisher desired (This is hinted at earlier in “Welcome to Rosas”.). Magnifico finishes collecting wish orbs and tells everyone to come back later tonight for them to be granted. Asha wants to stay and help her father more, but he quickly dismisses her.

Later that night, when Magnifico grants a false wish for Sabino, and Asha is suspicious because she knows it is not what he actually wished for. (Sabino’s wish could still be the same one from the movie, perhaps refined to something like, “I wish to leave a lasting legacy that will inspire the next generation, and that I won’t be forgotten.” And when Magnifico grants the wish, it has been reduced to “Your wish to write a memorable song.” or something along those lines. Side note, in the movie I was totally expecting Asha to tell her grandfather that he already inspires her everyday, so his wish had in fact already been granted, so I was quite disappointed when that did not happen.)

Magnifico deflects and dodges the question, and tries to gaslight Asha into thinking she misheard or misinterpreted Sabino’s wish, and that this is why she’s not ready and should wait a while before she’s taught more magic, and basically shoos her away for the night. Asha is too frustrated at her father to dwell on the discrepancy she caught, and storms off.

🎶 This Wish

This song is reframed to be a more straightforward “I Want” song. In this version, Asha wishes to be taken seriously and supported by her father. She feels quite alone and wants someone to believe in her. “Please stop seeing me as a helpless child. …I wish someone would notice my potential.” Star descends.

Star

Would of course, follow the scrapped shapeshifter design from the artbook. I refer to Star as male here, but I am also open to the idea of them being designed as a genderless character. I also think it would be fun if Star could rapidly switch between art styles when he’s excited (2D classic, CG, 2D sketchbook, 2D Picasso, CG mimicking stop-motion / paper puppets, etc). Maybe he can also occasionally transform into his chibi form from the movie when sneaking around.

Star is very weird, almost like an alien. He seems to have general knowledge of various things on Earth, but can never seem to get them exactly right. For example, he never transforms into a normal animal. There’s always a fantastic element; instead of turning into a normal rabbit, he turns into a jackalope. In addition to having a personality inspired by Peter Pan and Genie, he is also a less chaotic version of The Collector from The Owl House and Discord from My Little Pony.

Star would also be incredibly powerful. Instead of only making animals and plants sing, he can also change their size, color, species in the blink of an eye (and maybe even change their art styles). He can spontaneously conjure random outfits from all time periods (including the future) for the animals to wear. He can also change the shape of the landscape; at one point, Asha could suddenly find herself in the middle of an elaborate maze that Star conjures to tease her.

🎶 “Star’s Song”

A new song inspired by Genie’s “Friend Like Me” and Maui’s “You’re Welcome”. Replaces “I'm A Star”, which I didn’t really like. (It had far too many words to poorly explain weird worldbuilding, and I wasn’t a fan of the rhythm. Though to be fair, I dunno if the worldbuilding in my version is all that strong either, lol.)

Star basically shows off all kinds of weird things he can do with various transformations and conjurings. He elaborates he comes from “someplace beyond the edge of the world” and that he’s often found Earth fascinating, but never found any reason to descend until he heard Asha. There’s something special about Asha he can’t quite put his finger on. This foreshadows the reveal.

Valentino

Quick detour, I don’t hate Valentino. I think there is great story and humor potential, especially in regards to his deep voice provided by Alan Tudyk. Unfortunately, in my version, I felt Asha’s sidekick needed to be someone who could quickly keep up with her. At first I thought about changing him into a bird, but then I thought it would be funnier if he was a pet goldfish and Star granted him the ability to fly and breathe out of water. Fish Valentino is happy to not be cooped up in a pool, but is fond of Asha and content to stay with her instead of flying off. For the most part, he offers moral support and perhaps helps Asha make friends with the other animals, but otherwise I don’t really have many ideas for what to do with him.

The Middle Part

Admittedly, I couldn't come up with a definitive idea for this part. Basically, there needs to be a reason for Magnifico to be occupied and unaware of Star’s presence; a reason why Asha does not immediately tell him about Star. One silly idea I had is Asha immediately tries to tell him, but we turn around and find Star’s conjurings and alterations gone and everything is back to normal. Magnifico brushes this off as Asha having a weird dream and tries to tuck her into bed. Star reappears later and explains he wants to run around and have fun first before being “studied” by Magnifico. Other ideas include:

Asha thinks Star is the answer to Rosas’s and her problems. Star agrees to grant various wishes, and let Asha take the credit, in hopes that her father will notice her and finally take her seriously and teach her real magic. Star thinks this will be a great opportunity to see more of Rosas and have fun, and Asha is frustrated enough with her father being dismissive of her to agree to this.

Alternatively, Star will teach her magic. Problem is, Star’s magic is wild and unlike anything Asha has studied in her father’s books. Star is incredibly powerful and Asha has to constantly ask him to tone it down. She runs around trying to fix the chaotic results of the wishes he grants, and this attracts the attention of her father.

Alternatively, with Star’s help, Asha grants small wishes, and fixes things around town. For the most part, everyone is grateful, except for one grumpy older citizen (maybe an older version of Gabo) who remembers “the good ol’ days” and thinks Rosas needs more competent rulers than Magnifico and Asha. An argument breaks out and attracts the attention of Magnifico. Alternatively, again, this could also be replaced with someone who instead wants a selfish wish like a mountains of riches, or to be king and replace Magnifico, and Asha refuses to grant it, leading to the argument.

🎶 “Not What I Expected”

Montage of Star and Asha granting people’s wishes. Includes lots of hijinks of Star overdoing things and Asha getting Star to undo them (For example, someone asks for a new cottage, and Star conjures a giant mansion with mismatching colors and architectural details, and upside-down rooms.). “Dahlia” and Simon help them to ease tension with the townsfolk, especially after Star reveals himself to be a non-human magical being. The seven teens can also appear here again in one-off gags. Along the way, Star and Asha experience the joy of community and begin falling in love with each other. Star slowly learns about being human and cares about the townsfolk as much as Asha does, and Asha is given the freedom to take charge and be responsible but is also surprised to find just how good it feels to finally connect with the townsfolk after being cooped up in the castle for so many years. Star and Asha both find each other fascinating and full of energy, and are glad for each other's support.

Perhaps there’s a dance with the townsfolk. When earlier during “Welcome to Rosas”, the townsfolk were lethargic and clumsy, here they are more spirited and coordinated. Star is incredibly happy and shines bright, and his light “melts” away Magnifico’s false memory spells. The townsfolk finally wake up and are confused as they recall their true wishes and do not understand why Magnifico lied to them. Asha and Star go to confront Magnifico.

Confronting Magnifico

Star senses something in Magnifico’s study. They find a secret room that holds the records of every wish Magnifico has ever stolen. Asha is in disbelief, but can’t ignore the fact that her father has been distant and negligent of the town for a long time. And maybe this would explain why Magnifico doesn’t teach her magic or let her do anything, because he had no intention of giving the throne to her. They find some documents about using wishes as life force, and conclude that maybe Magnifico was using everyone’s wishes to become immortal. Magnifico walks in on them.

🎶 “Everything I Do”

Replaces "This Is The Thanks I Get?!" and "Knowing What I Know Now" This new song is not quite a villain song. It’s a duet between Magnifico and Asha, of them arguing back and forth. Asha argues to her father that he’s lost sight of his responsibilities and that he only cares about staying in power; Magnifico argues that Asha is naive and could never understand that everything he does is for her benefit, and she argues back how could she when he never tells her anything.

The reveal

Magnifico had an impossible wish: to bring Asha back from the dead. Baby Asha in fact died almost immediately after birth. Magnifico could not bear losing both his wife and his daughter, and desperately wished for Asha to live again. However, no magic can bring the dead back to life. Instead, what ended up happening is a new baby was created from Magnifico’s wish orb. In his anguish, his desire was so strong it brought a new person into being. (Side note; this does in fact mean that the original baby is still dead, so Magnifico had to secretly bury a dead baby to hide the fact that Asha is an artificial human taking her place. Perhaps a bit too morbid of an implication for a modern Disney movie, but my mind likes to go to weird places.)

At first Magnifico was happy. It was a miracle come true. But over time, the magic would run out and Asha would begin to fade. Magnifico used his own magic and tried to wish again to fuel Asha's form, but it took a toll on his health and age. This explains why his hair turned white so quickly. So eventually he began using his subjects' wishes. The more heartfelt and significant the wish is, the more powerful it is, which is why Magnifico ends up replacing the townsfolk’s wishes with simpler things and false memories that didn’t require much magic.

As Asha grew older and became a more complex human, more wishes were needed to fuel her. This is why Magnifico refuses to teach her magic, because he is afraid that she would accidentally use up the magic that makes up her being instead of the magic that a regular sorcerer would draw from the environment around them.

Magnifico grew more desperate to draw in new citizens to get more wishes, while also exhausting more wishes from the townsfolk already living in Rosas, leading them to become lethargic. Keeping track of so many wishes and false memories to cover his tracks took a toll on Magnifico’s mental state. Also a growing bitterness that he has to live with this burden that no else could ever know, and perhaps resenting the people of Rosas for getting to live worry-free.

This is why Star answered Asha's call: she is a living wish who made a wish of her own.

Asha's death

Magnifico and Star fight. Asha gets caught in the crossfire trying to stop it. It’s a heart-wrenching moment as glowing cracks form all over Asha’a body. She looks to her father with absolute terror in her eyes as cracks spread across her face. Her legs snap. Magnifico runs to his daughter a second too late and just fails to catch her body as she disintegrates into stardust.

Star stares in disbelief as Magnifico screams in agony: “YOU COULD HAVE LET ME SAVE HER!” He looks like he’s about to attack Star in revenge, but quickly gives up and falls to his knees.

“...Nothing matters anymore.”

There is no need for an evil book as a lazy plot device. Years of paranoia and bitterness have reached a breaking point with Asha’s death, and now Magnifico’s magic is corrupted green by his anguished heart. He transforms into a monstrous dragon-like creature (in homage to Maleficent). This creature is blind with rage, and in a great roar it bursts from the castle, causing it to collapse. The creature summons storm clouds that cover the sky and fierce green lightning that strikes the town, destroying buildings and terrorizing the townsfolk. Monster Magnifico also spreads a green fog that drains everyone’s energy. As the good king he brought joy and hope, but now as a monster he brings only despair. (Inspired by Madoka Magica, when magical girls turn into witches.)

Star attempts to stop Monster Magnifico while also shielding the townsfolk from harm. Rubble from the buildings collapse and bring the camera to black.

Beyond the Edge of the Universe

A short moment of complete darkness and silence.

Slowly, faint sparks shine in the darkness. Asha’s voice weakly asks, “Where am I? ... Who am I?”

The faint sparks grow into a kaleidoscope of colors. Asha has been reduced to a single spark. Her consciousness floats in the chaotic void beyond time and space, where Star comes from. She quickly feels overwhelmed in this sea of color and sound. It’s a great big cacophony of voices all jumbled together, like musical instruments all playing off-key all at once.

A blue light in the distance grows brighter and closer before it reveals itself to be the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio (Disney's first wish-granter). She welcomes Asha’s consciousness. “Hello, little one.” She explains this is a space between worlds, where the emotions of humanity reach far across time and space.

“Listen carefully…” The Blue Fairy helps Asha’s consciousness tune into the voices of the void to hear the words clearly. These voices will be familiar to the audience.

Asha’s consciousness hears the hopeful, longing voices of Snow White, Ariel, Hercules, Rapunzel, and Moana. (This can include snippets from their “I Want” songs.)

She hears the wicked laughter and the dark, selfish wishes of Maleficent, Ursula, Jafar, Scar, and Facilier. (This can include snippets from various villain songs.)

She hears the sad voices of Cinderella, Belle, Quasimodo, Tiana, and Mirabel at their lowest points. ("There's nothing left to believe in. Nothing." and other such lines.)

(Yes, this basically establishes a Disney multiverse. As I’m writing this, I think visually this could resemble the Ahtohallan scene in Frozen 2, but in space instead of in ice.)

(February EDIT: I randomly thought it was also be a neat idea if all magic in the universe originates from this realm. Pieces of magic fall into the different worlds and adapt to make their own unique rules depending on the world. For example, Cinderella's fairy godmother could come from here, as well as the drop of sunlight that grows into Rapunzel's flower. A drop of magic could fallen into a certain world, becoming a trident and transforming the local sea life into merfolk, who would then go on to build Atlantica. Little sparks seeping to random worlds could also explain certain things in otherwise non-magical worlds, such as why toys and video games come to life.)

Not many humans come here after death, but Asha is a special case, as she is literally made up of hopes and dreams. She is spontaneous life (The Blue Fairy of course has experience in this department.). Asha’s consciousness finds herself moved by all the voices of the dreamers and wishers throughout the universe, and thinks she wouldn’t mind going to sleep forever in this void. She just feels so tired. She almost fades away until she hears Star's voice, her father's voice, and the people of Rosas whose wishes made up her very being. She remembers being human. The spark of Asha’s consciousness shines and she returns to her human form. The Blue Fairy asks her, “What will you do now, little one?”

Asha hears the anguished cries of the people of Rosas in trouble, and she decides she must return to help them. The Blue Fairy smiles, and tells her, “Before you go, there’s someone who’d like to meet you.”

She gestures behind her to reveal Queen Amaya and the baby Asha. Asha is stunned to see them, but is overcome with emotion, and Amaya embraces her.

“I am so proud of you, Asha. I wish I could have stayed and been your mother. Please, take care of your father for me.” Amaya gives her a kiss on the forehead, and the baby Asha gives her a happy giggle. The Blue Fairy tells Asha to close her eyes and think of home.”

Return to Rosas

Asha is reborn in a great big burst of light in the sky and gains a new dress made of starlight. Monster Magnifico has not noticed her and is still rampaging the kingdom. Asha sees Star has been defending the citizens, but is exhausted, and Magnifico finally manages to strike him down. Finished with Rosas, Monster Magnifico turns to the coast, intent on continuing his destruction to the mainland.

Asha descends to help Star get up. He is surprised to see her, but her appearance reinvigorates him, and explains the situation to her. They turn to the frightened people of Rosas and promise them that they will fix this. They take hold of each other’s hand and fly to confront Monster Magnifico.

🎶 Combined This Wish and At All Costs Reprise

Monster Magnifico does not recognize Asha, and tries to strike her, but she and Star conjure a magical shield. They dodge lightning and repel Magnifico’s fire breath. Asha begins singing, determined to reach out to her father. There is a moment where it appears Magnifico has gained the upper hand.

“Dahlia” and Simon are inspired and lead the townsfolk into the song. Asha and Star, combined with the hope of the people of Rosas, shine brighter than ever before, dissipating the fog and melting away Magnifico's monstrous form. The storm clouds are cleared away in a shower of sparks. Asha grabs her father’s unconscious body and holds him tight in her arms as she slowly descends to the ground and sings her lullaby. Magnifico is very disheveled (maybe even a little bit of fanservice with his top torn off), but is otherwise alright. He soon comes to.

"...Amaya? ... ASHA!" Magnifico is in disbelief, but overjoyed to see his daughter alive and well. He embraces her and bursts into tears. “I thought I lost you! I thought you were gone!”

"I was. I disappeared beyond the edge of the universe. But I came back!"

Rebuilding Rosas

They turn to the townsfolk. Asha gives a speech about how not every wish should be granted, but that does not mean they’re not worth pursuing. It just requires careful consideration, and being open to finding a something new. (Someone with better writing skills please step in to write this speech without making it too sappy.)

Magnifico is greatly ashamed of the harm he has caused and steps down as king. Asha understands if the townsfolk do not want to see them anymore, but promises to do what she can to help them rebuild, and to help them pursue their dreams in an ethical manner. Star concurs. The townsfolk, having been touched by her earnestness and genuine emotions from when she helped grant their smaller wishes, embrace her with open arms and express that they would love if she remains their ruler. They are hesitant to forgive Magnifico, but think it's for the best that he be allowed to stay with his daughter.

Cut to some time later, and there is scaffolding all throughout town and the castle. Star and Asha have been using their magic to help with the rebuilding, with mixed results. Progress has been slow, but the people are hopeful. Asha and Star hold daily consultations with the people who were granted false wishes. Some are easy to grant, while others Asha advises that they can pursue on their own. (The girl who wished to fly meeting "Peter Pan" can be re-used here. I honestly thought that was a clever bit. While she could easily fly with magic, I like that the movie implies she'll find more meaning in learning to build a flying machine.)

Asha visits the original baby Asha’s grave. She renames herself. Perhaps to something like Stella? “I loved being Asha, but now I think it’s time I return your name back to you. Thanks for the loan.” She conjures some flowers for her and Amaya's grave, and goes to join the celebration.

🎶 “Finale Party Song”

Asha/Stella, Star, the townsfolk, and even Magnifico join in on the grand finale. Asha/Stella and Star kiss, and Hidden Mickey fireworks light up the sky.

End Credits

While the end credits were cute, I would revise them to include characters from the missing movies (the package films, The Rescuers, Black Cauldron, Meet the Robinsons, etc.). I would also change some of the character selections (For example, I'd have the three kittens represent The Aristocats, instead of just Marie by herself. It always annoys me to no end when they market Marie by herself. I'd also swap out Yokai/Professor Callahan with Baymax. What an odd decision to have Yokai of all characters represent BH6.). And also have some of the characters be animated instead of just still images. (I liked for Cinderella's credit they had a trail of sparkles surround her, but it would have been even better to actually see her transform from her ripped dress to the ballgown.)

Closing notes

There are a lot of things in my version that could use some more polishing, like the build-up to Magnifico's reveal about Asha. There should be at least one scene that foreshadows that the times when Magnifico tucks Asha into bed is when he magically absorbs the wishes into her to fuel her.

In addition to the whole wish theme, I thought it would be neat to also include themes of legacy, to tie in to Disney's 100 Anniversary. Disney Animation has come a long way, but is still capable of making big missteps. With many of the old talent gone, it's understandable that passing the torch to the next generation would make anyone nervous, but despite it all, I do have faith that Disney Animation can make a comeback. They've been through low points before; we just have to wait and see.

#wish rewrite #includes a plot twist and a connection to the Disney multiverse #disney wish #wish 2023 #wish movie #princess asha #king magnifico #star boy #star x asha #asha x star #wish critical

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iamafictionfreak · 10 months

Text

TIS THE SEASON TO BE MERTHUR!

Just... Look at them!

I miss everything about this show. Even the very bad CGI and the weak-ass plot points/armour/conveniences/contrivances.

One Christmas Eve, almost 11 years ago, the entire Merlin fandom was butchered into tiny little distraught pieces. It didn’t matter if your favourite character was Merlin or Morgana, Gaius or Gwen. The showrunners held no qualms in destroying your dreams for Gwaine or Perce. The writers did not hold back in their aim to crucify the smile on your face, to forever turn it upside down. No ship was spared. All hopes for the show to finally commit to their original intent, to bring peace between peoples, to save Albion, to allow Merlin his freedom and Arthur the truth, was brought to a bitter, fatalistic end.

Not that I need to repeat this to you, you know what happened, but it’s worth reiterating that this travesty occurred… on Christmas Eve.

CHRISTMAS. EVE.

Christmas Eve.

The night before Christmas, the night before the day where all rules are broken and we can frolic like children around a decorated tree filled with twinkling lights, our collective hearts were shredded.

This event (once we recovered a tiny bit from the shock) gave birth to a plethora of astonishingly well written, poignant, devastating, hilarious fanfictions that had helped nurse our wounds, for nothing could TRULY heal (except a follow-up season with the original characters, come ON BBC) us.

After nearly 11 years of watching these brilliant entries grow, I never thought I’d jump on this bandwagon and write my own fic.

But I've had a few very shit years, as have many people around the world, and I started to wonder as we do when we want to prove magic can still happen.

My brain decided that it wanted my hands to write the most indulgent, likely over done fic in existence for the fandom. This thought stuck with me throughout the year – I was being STALKED by myself – and wouldn’t leave me the hell alone. This hasn’t happened in a long while.

Still… you’ll eyeroll at the idea. It's so OBVIOUS, I'm embarrassed by myself.

What if Arthur discovered Merlin’s magic from the get-go, from episode 1?

WAIT. Hear me out…

So, Merlin saves Arthur for the first time and Arthur SEES. He sees his eyes glow.

He knows he should tell his father, but his instincts are screaming at him. Honour is at stake. This stranger saved his life. How could he reward it with an execution? So, a chance needs to be given, doesn’t it? A chance for Merlin to give up magic forever and live a life of goodness, to turn away from evil and serve Arthur…

Except Arthur can’t help but wonder. About Magic, about Merlin and magic, about the law and all the whys attached and his place within this chain.

But he also can’t trust this peasant who cavorts with the devil, practices wickedness but smiles like a child and offers compassion to everyone. Someone so duplicitous must be dangerous… except Merlin’s an actual idiot! And it’s getting really difficult to keep his guard up.

But isn’t that how sorcerers work? They twist the mind with pleasing ideas, they tempt and coerce, they manipulate.

And slowly, Arthur finds himself being manipulated too. For how could he ever want to trust this man- but he does. He does.

And we’ve never been allowed to see Merlin deal with a S1 Arthur who’s in the ‘know’. Who’s forcing him to keep it secret, who’s threatening him with trial by fire, a young Arthur who’s ignorant, arrogant and so desperate to understand what he cannot trust.

Then there's the layers, royalty versus peasantry, friendship versus alliances, goals versus ideals.

I want to write a fic where this trust is built from the ground up. One of the things about the show that made it impossible for me to let it go is that the ‘relationship’ between Arthur and Merlin fits exactly zero categories, yet all of them.

Master and servant.

Friends

Family

Allies

Enemies

Romantic ideals

Platonic soulmates

Absolute Soulmates

I could go on. And it's one of those rare shows where the writing would be given more oomph if the males leads had dared cross a line or two.

Realistically, they weren't even friends. They were master and servant who'd become a little co-dependant. Arthur could never admit to anything more because of his station, but would he have been able to being completely himself around Merlin if he'd known the truth? We never see Arthur truly be himself. He wasn't allowed to be, not even with his wife. There was always a wall - it was how he was raised and any attempt to develop was killed by plot.

We never saw Merlin completely free, not with a single person. He started happy and healthy and innocent. A liar. He ended up bitter and terrified and angry and alone. Still a liar.

What would he have become if there'd been one person he could truly trust- not Gaius. Not a man already broken and brainwashed by his own self. A victim of the system just as much as he perpetuated the hate and completely unaware of the trap he lived in.

Many of the characters in the show have the versatility and potential to be written a trillion different ways, is it any wonder that fics continue to be written?

Well, I wanted to explore a slow burn development of trust, with Arthur learning how wrong he was, how much he’s trampled on, and all about the seemingly normal peasant boy who meant more to the world than Arthur could possibly understand. What would they have become if they’d been given the time, hm?

When they were young - yes, I'm going there - wild and free.

What of Morgana, what if she could have trusted? What if she could have understood? Would it have turned out differently? Would she have still become the other side of Uther's coin?

Would Merlin still have ended up alone?

There’s lots more I wanted to touch upon, it’s a big what if, but that’ll have to wait for another post.

I’m writing a 5 part prologue that occurs between episode 1 and 2. I’m hoping to release it for Christmas and then take the time to write the rest of the season.

Unless… you guys think it’s a waste of time? Let me know.

In the meantime, I’m STILL SUFFERING (fucking show) and it's making me write, write, write!

(gifs not mine)

#merlin #arthur pendragon #merlin bbc #merlin emrys #guinevere #morgana #Gaius #uther pendragon #fuck uther #potential #merthur #merlin fanfic #merlin fandom

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drawnfamiliarfaces · 6 months

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First Ninja can easily defeat Chase during Heylin Eclipse. If he finds out about this phenomenon, will he take advantage of the opportunity?

Well, perhaps not easily, but his chances of winning certainly rocket from 15-25% to like, 75-85%!

The thing is, we do not know many details about Heylin Eclipse, the only sure thing is that Chase seems to be unable to use magic freely (but he still can participate in showdowns and use Wu, which imo require some?? sort of minimal magical capacity) and transform into his dragon/lizard form. It also seems that the same magic usually assists Chase in being/reacting faster, since he is easily caught by Wuya (but she is also weakened?? so). Does it just takes away that buff he acquired since becoming Heylin or is the Eclipse actively nerfing him (making him sluggish)?

However, just as Chase himself said, despite lack/suppression of Heylin magic, he is not helpless - he has strategy and experience on his side and not to mention probably 100 tricks up his sleeve AND its one of the rare instances his motto of 'using Wu as a crutch' is nowhere to be seen, because he literally had Serpent's Tail hidden in his gauntlet! (talk about aces in sleeves huh!)

(I kind of wish there was a bit more of that smart and experienced Chase in the episode, instead of what happened.)

So that's mostly the reason why I think First won't get a win too easily. But of course the main question is would he even use that opportunity? TBH I don't think he will go out of his way to do it.

(kinda radnom babbling on under cut, u can ignore it, the point of anwer was said xD)

In my mind, after First VS Chase event, First is too busy doing his stuff to actively worry about Chase. I mean, this guy still has a Sorcerer locked under his town attracting/causing chaos and monsters, and a Ninjanomicon to write and to prepare the future generations to keep Sorcerer locked and Norrisville safe, and probably other dozen things he has to worry about (and unlike Chase, First got only this mortal life and time to deal with it all, lol).

And while, sure, while Chase is a menace and a threat to any capable warrior, Chase also has been around for so long: he has clearly established his place in Hierarchy of Dark forces loooooong before Ninja came around. And yet while participating in wars and causing trouble, he is yet to be the supreme overlord of the world or whatever, so?? Chase kinda leads an existence of eternal evil final boss, doing his evil things and what not. Mostly he is too busy collecting cool warriors, like pokemons or trader cards or whatever.

I feel like in some sense First would understand the whole 'letting evil exist for the sake of the world balance' thing. Because like the XS last episodes established - Chase's existence is a sort of necessary evil that keeps balance from being upset too much on either side. Selfish and Cruel enough to be evil, but also Reasonable and Honorable enough to be sorta neutral good...-ish? I guess the right alignment would Lawful Evil? Though it doesnt really fit completely right, but it somewhere in that ballpark.

(On a side note, IMO about the Sorcerer - he is pretty much clear is not necessarily just Evil, he is more of Chaotic Evil. And Chaos is sort of also neutral, in a sense?? I mean Sorcerer was running around turning people into monsters, causing havoc across continents to gain power to... I dunno, be unstoppable? Cause more chaos and pain? Destroy everything?? Perhaps his goal was to make the World be like Chaos Realm/Land of Shadows? Who knows??? His motivation is as mysterious as his defeat in the finale, lol. But his deal feels more like those World-ending Spiders That Eat from XS, because it seems to me, he basically just gained more power for sake of more Chaos, not like... rule the world or something.)

Also while Chase is bugging First, he is kinda... not actively doing world-ending evil stuff to First's knowledge?

It's like... bothering First is distracting him from doing other evil stuff (he still probably has some schemes going on, but like in the background, not related to First), so First is like 'I could waste energy and effort to put an end to his reign of terror...but i guess i can let him bother me if it stops him from actively doing evil, just for a bit ' (but Chase is certainly doing evil, just nowhere First can see lol).

But, let's suppose First does figure out about Heylin Eclipse. For it to be of any use to First, it has to happen soon and in his lifetime, when he is still physically capable to take on Chase. He also got to plan out how he would defeat Chase (kill or capture him, how to do it and etc.). AND he also got to plan it around his duties to Norrisville. So like, if by incredible stroke of luck, all of it aligns? First might attempt it and most likely win!

But i feel if, it would take much longer (like say 30+ years) for Eclipse to arrive, First would not prioritize capturing Chase over his duties in Norrisville. This dude already wasted most of his life to defeat the Sorcerer (and like a bajillion creatures and monsters to do it), AND he is gonna waste his afterlife to keep him locked up too, just let the poor man rest! xD

(There is now an image in my head of First looking at Chase and going 'Not My Problem' and just peacing out of there.)

So, yeah, while I'm sure First can defeat Chase during Heylin Eclipse, Im not so sure he would actively dedicate himself to doing it.

On ANOTHER, much more shippy note (that u can ignore if its not ur thing), there is something very delicious in the idea that First, knowing such a blatant weakness of Chase's, and just doesn't do anything about it. Perhaps it's because, in some way, First prefers to fight Chase in full power, a much honorable battle no matter if it ends in defeat or victory. Or because it feels like such underhanded tactic of striking when his opponent is at their weakest. Maybe it feels this way because, they are enemies in name only because of their moral alignments, not because either of them actually hate each other (that much lol).

Ooooo just imagine, First and Chase confrontation during Eclipse, Chase fully expecting First to take the opportunity (because its what he will do), but First does the unexpected, and instead of ending the fight, he steps back and that stops Chase on his tracks. And somehow they end up waiting out the Eclipse together, First keeping an eye out for his weakened enemy, while Chase, despite all his previous flirting and needling, is geniuenly baffled by First's behaviour. He really did expect First to take the chance, after all the annoyance and bothering, and just generally First being exasparated with him. But here they are, with Chase at his weakest and First watching his back.... Trully strange.

*eyebrow wiggle*

but thats just silly shippy thoughts haha. I do feel like First will 100% use that opportunity to whoop Chase's ass just to vent all the frustrations about the trouble and annoyances Chase caused.

anyway ye sorry for rambling ;D

#que?#ninja showdown #my immortal soul #lsorry if ur ask was gen anon i made it a lil bit gay in the end lol #i want so badly to write out some of my ns/mis ideas im GONNA EXPLODe its becoming not enough just to write down my unhinged notes for art #<- previous tag was there when i first drafted this ask. but honestly i started to write and yet it still makes we WANNA EXPLODE #i have too many ideas and not enough energy to write bros TToTT

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monstersdownthepath · 7 months

Text

Monster Spotlight: Dandasuka

CR 5

Lawful Evil Small Outsider

Bestiary 3, pg. 225

These motley fellows are among the least of the Rakshasa, the Earthbound Evils born when a mortal soul undertakes a profane and corrupting ritual to permanently bind their soul to the world, reincarnating each time they die rather than passing into the afterlife. The Dandasuka here (which I will be shortening to Danda from here on out) work as spies and assassins in service to more powerful Rakshasa, jobs that feel odd for creatures which prize jewelry, bright clothing, baubles, and jangly bits on their outfits often to the point that they look outright ridiculous and comical. This, however, is befitting of their general attitude which can be accurately summarized as "murder clown."

For the most part, Danda remain out of sight by virtue of spamming their Change Shape ability, which allows them to take on the form of any Medium or Small Humanoid creature as they will. Masquerading most often as children, halflings, and gnomes, Danda utilize good, old-fashioned skill checks rather than relying on magic in order to keep anyone from sussing out their identity or mission, making use of their +19 to Disguise and +15 to Bluff to trick and mislead onlookers, deflect blame, and impersonate whoever they need to in order to get close to their targets. Like all Rakshasa, Danda possess a constant Detect Thoughts on themselves that's empowered to always read surface thoughts without needing to concentrate on a target for 3 rounds, making their disguises and lies all the harder to crack as they learn what they have to say by reading the minds of everyone around them.

That being said, when normal words fail, Danda have the casting power of a 2nd level Sorcerer, which doesn't sound impressive, and in truth isn't particularly astonishing... but it does mean they have five spell slots full of Charm Person and/or Ventriloquism, which are incredibly flexible in the hands of a creature that's trying to get into places it's not invited. It's also got a handful of useful cantrips, such as Daze (which is useful for a creature that expects to be among commoners and low-level guards), Ghost Sound, and Mage Hand. Outside of its Sorcerer levels, a Danda can use Clairvoyance once a day, which is especially handy for narrowing down where its target is or isn't and gathering intel from a distance.

Once in battle, Danda transform from patient plotters to cackling, maniacal jesters, dancing and cavorting and making terrible, black-hearted jokes at the expense of their targets all the while. They're absolutely vicious little buggers, far more than you'd expect from such small creatures, and they revel in bloodshed to the point it's actually a downside for them. Offensively, they CAN wield weapons, but prefer their Claw-Claw-Bite for 1d4+1 and 1d6+1, respective, due to the enjoyment they get from flensing people with their bare hands and teeth. Those absolutely gigantic chompers of theirs tack 1d4 bleed damage onto the bite, bleeding their victims out in short order if they can't staunch the flow. If the Danda has some method of getting the drop on its foe--such as its 20ft climb speed, its +17 to Stealth, or if it's disguised as an ally--it can add +1d6 Sneak Attack damage to all of its attacks as well, and multiple Danda sent on the same mission can flank for one another to quickly tear apart most enemies in short order.

That bleed damage, however, is sometimes to the Danda's detriment. These horrid little beasties are plagued by a hunger for mortal flesh and blood that requires a level of willpower to ignore that they often do not have if they don't gorge themselves before a mission, which the book notes often leads to them suddenly stopping their attacks to lick blood off their claws or even the floor, or pause to consume a chunk of flesh cut off an enemy. Unlike the Gaki, who's hunger is so overwhelming they suffer a mechanical penalty when being offered food, the Danda have enough self control to reject anything offered by an enemy, so this quirk of their behavior tends to serve more as a DM emergency mercy button, having the untouchable little gremlin pause its attacks to bite down on a nearby corpse.

I say "untouchable" for one specific reason, and it's not their DR 5/Good or Piercing; it's their disproportionate 20 Spell Resistance, which is basically immunity against the magic of all but the luckiest of mages at the level one can expect to encounter one of these beings. A caster at levels 1 to 3 has such a low chance of piercing that SR that they're better off using crossbows and darts (since those actually bypass its DR), and even spells which ignore its SR will have to contend with +5/+9/+6 saves, and non-casters don't have any easier of a time thanks to 19 AC! Their bleed damage, climb speed, and Stealth checks also make them excellent hit-and-run baddies, using Spring Attack to initiate before scampering back off into the urban sprawl, hurling insults and cruel jokes back at the party all the while as they struggle to deal with the latest bout of damage.

As assassins go, Danda aren't exactly the most subtle. Their jangling jewelry and gaudy appearance and tendency to stand atop an enemy's corpse and make a gaff about their death to a horrified audience doesn't exactly lend itself to killing quietly, but if you need to send a message, there's few creatures who'll do better. They're also cheap; a Danda's rapacious hunger for the flesh of humanoids means that they're comically easy to bribe compared to most supernatural assassins, and offerings of garish clothes and expensive jewelry can be easily supplemented with decadent meals crafted in whole or in part from other murder victims. Just make sure they're fresh; Danda aren't ghouls, after all, and one risks offending them if they're offered rotting or substandard meat.

You can read more about them here.

#Monster Spotlight #CR 1 to 5 #Pathfinder #dungeons and dragons

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karniss-bg3 · 11 months

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Hello! I've read all your stories about Kar'niss and liked them much. I've also dug recently into drider's lore and learned that driders can cast spells, but didn't understand whether all driders are able to do this, or not. How do you think, can Kar'niss cast any spell or not? And what would happen if he met other drider? Thank you in advance :)

Hiya! I'm glad you've enjoyed the writing.

According to the lore I've found, all driders can innately cast certain spells.

All driders could inherently cast clairaudience /clairvoyance, dancing lights, darkness, detect good, detect law, detect magic, dispel magic, faerie fire, levitate, and suggestion once per day. Dhairn once noted that these abilities were essentially the same as those owned by powerful blessed drow and used this fact to dupe driders into supporting his cause by calling them blessed creatures of Lolth by pointing this out.

Out of that list, the idea of any drider using levitate is a new fear I didn't know I had. Enjoy that bit of nightmare fuel, you're welcome.

Drider also carry over any spells and abilities they had pre-transformation. So if a drow was a wizard, they'd maintain their wizard spells once changed. While I don't know Kar'niss' full ability list, everyone who has fought him knows his default go-to spell; Sanctuary.

This spell has intrigued me a bit. Even though the information claims that drider can cast like clerics, wizards and sorcerers, it specifically goes into the cleric domains driders can cast from. I've checked all four; Chaos, Destruction, Evil and Trickery and none of them list Sanctuary as a spell drider can choose from.

This leaves one option, Paladin. I had an ask sometime ago where someone spoke of their ideal class for Kar'niss being Paladin. The more I thought about it the more I was like "Yeah, actually." There are other classes that can use the Sanctuary spell but they aren't included in BG3 as options, so I'll assume they don't exist in this realm. But it gets even weirder! The two oaths that can cast this spell specifically are oath of devotion and oath of redemption. In BG3 oath of redemption isn't available as a subclass but there is a fair amount of comparisons to be made. Truth is, either of them have cross-over characteristics that fall in line with Kar'niss' devout way of life. It's far too much information to pack into one post but I'll leave the links here to read over and compare at your leisure.

Paladin - Oath of Devotion

Paladin - Oath of Redemption

As for your second question, driders are known to be solitary creatures. However, they have also been reported to pair and live with a few driders and a collection of giant spiders. So Kar'niss could reasonably get along with other drider if the circumstances are right. If they are still Lolth-sworn he's more likely to be aggressive toward them and may even seek to destroy them. I think he might like having other drider around if only so he doesn't feel like the odd spider out, or just to have someone else to relate to. Thing is, I think his focus on the Absolute is so strong he likely cares for little else. Only Her approval matters, only Her attention matters, everyone else is a side character in his heroes journey.

Thanks for the ask!

#baldur's gate 3 #kar'niss #drider #bg3 #karniss #baldurs gate 3 #answered #drow #Paladin #oath of devotion #oath of redemption #theorycrafting #long post #my ADHD mind strikes again going on random tangents #I may meme him to be a bard but paladin really suits him as a whole

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nextstopparis · 1 year

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actually you know. the 5.05 conversation is horrible the worst so frustrating and wretched to sit through i want to rip my hair out and sob interesting because arthur sort of… does go through an arc while trying to parse out what merlin’s thinking? and he gets so so so close but ultimately decides to leave it alone for some reason? like, okay.

at first, after he asks for merlins opinion, merlin only gives him vague answers. he says things like wanting “a fair and just kingdom for all” and wanting arthur to “become the king [he’s] destined to be” without clearly stating (to arthur) what he believes a fair and just kingdom for all means. who it encompasses. what kind of king arthur is destined to be. what that destiny entails.

we know, obviously, but arthur doesnt. its always interested me how when merlin says “a fair and just kingdom for all” arthur automatically takes that to mean that merlin is telling him to turn magic away. like, its just vague enough that for arthur, who doesn’t consider magic users to be in the equation, who does not consider them as part of his people in order to incorporate their needs and stuff within his laws, it means to not accept the disirs demands. but for literally anyone without those prejudices, without that life long indoctrination and belief, it could also be taken for all. like. all all. everyone. including sorcerers. so while merlin is saying one thing, arthur takes it to mean something else completely—and merlin. doesn’t correct him. just makes another statement that could mean two very different things depending on how much context you have.

anyway. my point is that, at this point, arthur was mostly thinking of legalizing magic as a means to an end. something he must do to save one of his men. like obviously he’s considering the consequences it would bring and exactly just how significant of a thing it would be but… he’s not really doubting his view on magic at this point.

but then he asks merlin if sorcery reigning once more is what merlin would want. he looks at merlin closer. sees how tense and silent he is. probably sees his glassy eyes and just how uncomfortable he looks. then he changes his stance. up until this point, a fair and just kingdom for everyone meant the exclusion of tolerating magic. up until this point, those two things were just obviously/inherently mutually exclusive to arthurs mind. but then he sees merlin and changes tactic. says, well, “maybe my father was wrong” and “maybe the old ways aren’t as evil as we once thought”. starts looking at merlin intently and admitting that perhaps theres another angle to this (an angle that, whenever he has started to consider, hes been immediately turned away from).

which i thought was interesting. idk. everyone always like HOW DID ARTHUR NOT SEE!!! and like. same. but also i think he did see?

#was going through my drafts and found this #to be honest i think maybe arthur thought that merlins internal struggle was more about mordred than magic #like i think he thought merlin was that messed up over needing to decide to kill mordred rather than forsake magic #idk if this makes sense but anyway. just watched the scene again. he is very adamant on getting merlins opinion #bbc merlin #ignore me

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neonscandal · 8 months

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I saw a video these days about jujutsu and I saw something that I never realized that Megumi is not a good person because he is willing to do anything for his sister, which makes him selfish and that he only saves those who he "deems" to be a good person and who qualify as a good person for him. his morality is very black and white just like geto. There's a line from him that is very realistic, especially today in the manga, that sorcerers are not heroes, an example saturo gojo.

Just Megumi dodging these harsh allegations.

You mean Megumi Fushiguro, son of Toji Fushiguro Satoru Gojo?? Character alignment wise, I oscillate between considering Megumi a True Neutral or more of a Lawful Neutral where "Lawful" is being applied generously.

Megumi is incredibly principled. The baseline for his evaluation of a person is distilled down to an observation that "I won't kill you so, in return, you shouldn't kill me." In a lookback at his days before Jujutsu High, we see that he is more than comfortable beating the brakes off of people who violate this basic tenet, even if they don't infringe upon it with him directly. Despite the rule as he lectures the delinquents, his application of it is very in line with Geto's ideology that the strong should protect the weak and keep the strong in check.

Geto considered all non-sorcerers to be weak against curses thus it was sorcerers' responsibilities to mind the herd. Megumi is a bit more discerning which is a reflection of his strength and perceived weakness compared to his peers. It also factors the flaws and inherent ability to be evil into his consideration. What set Geto astray was the fact that, as the strongest, he couldn't fathom the weak to be a threat. Based on Megumi's actions, those that deserve protection, like Tsumiki and Yuji, are those who are selfless and act on others' behalfs even to their own detriment. So, doing anything for Tsumiki, not even his blood relative, is a reflection of her purity of character. He's not one to cause harm to innocent people but does consider past harm as damnable offenses (like the truck driver who struck a kid in the juvenile detention center... who may or may not have been the driver who killed Rika Orimoto).

I think the big difference here is the fact that... Geto was a part of "The Strongest". Megumi is not. While he was great against non-powered up delinquents, people within jujutsu society remark that he's not good at hand to hand combat. Further, at this point in the anime, we now see that Megumi, at any indication that a fight was going poorly, either had a death wish or didn't see a way out that didn't involve summoning Mahoraga... even against Todo. EVEN AGAINST HARUTA. One could argue his morality is less to do with the idea of omnipotence as was the case with Geto and more to do with the fact that... he's not out here trying to die for someone who will later cause more harm to the world than he can cause good.

It's true, Megumi is aware that sorcerers are not heroes. In fact, he probably thinks those who are foolhardy and believing that they're helping people are especially laughable. Consider the fact that Megumi Fushiguro is a person who was bought and sold... twice... by sorcerers. He's got no choice in the matter as to the path he's on but he's got a tempered sense of reality that is informed by the fact that sorcerers die all the time, students and adults alike. He's just trying to make it out alive and with as much autonomy as he can and that informs an illusion of choice as to who is worth potentially dying for.

While his ideals definitely seem like they could lead him down a similar path to Geto, I think his motivation informed by a sense of self-preservation that he's willing to forego on principle differs greatly from Geto's perception that no harm would ever come to him at all. Geto experienced a foundational upset that altered his brain chemistry but Megumi is aware of his own weakness all the while and will still choose to fight. Please also remember the whole reason he even agreed to go with Gojo in the first place was to make sure Tsumiki wouldn't have a shitty life. He blindly chose a life fraught with peril so she wouldn't suffer at the hands of the Zenin. He, a child, essentially agreed to indentured servitude to protect her because, alone, he could not fend for her.

RE: Gojo as a hero... I am not so foolish as to say he is, but I am not uninformed to say he isn't either. He is simply flawed. Both in essence as a character and in the execution of his ideals. But consider the fact that, as The Strongest:

Gojo doesn't have to bend to the will of the elders that he disagrees with, he could simply kill them.

Gojo doesn't have to take missions just as Yuki Tsukumo refuses, he could let others continue to die in vain.

Gojo doesn't have to stick his neck out for Megumi, Yuta or Yuji, what matter are they to him when he has godlike strength?

None of the above would make him a villain to simply.. not participate in the rigamarole of jujutsu society because, with his strength, it's not like anyone could force him to. Doing the above also doesn't make him a hero; however, knowing that he could just go off and do whatever but he chooses the path of great resistance to cultivate abilities in others so as to better prepare them to be sorcerers and, as much as he can, protect them from the burden of their responsibilities. He's earnestly trying to improve facets of jujutsu society that he doesn't necessarily have to suffer because it's the right thing to do and it benefits kids who come up after him. In comparison to what he could be doing, he's trying to make a difference so the world doesn't lose another person like Geto to the reality of what it means to be a sorcerer.

In a broader sense, Gojo also meets the literal requirements of a hero as a literary device as he is a legendary figure seemingly born of divine descent and endowed with great strength and ability. This is just offset by him being canonically grating to like... everyone around him but Geto and just, generally, a silly, goofy lil guy 🤪✨

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botanicallyinclinednerd · 3 months

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More stuff about my Merlin soulmate au:

Something I think I forgot to mention last time is that soulmates take comfort in the presence and physical contact of each other, feeling safe and content with them by their side.

The other kingdoms view Uther's policies on soulmates to be barbaric and cruel, and is a contributing factor to the tension and conflicts Camelot faces with the surrounding kingdoms.

Morgana still goes evil in this one lads, but with an important change of her anger being exclusively directed at Uther, Arthur, and Merlin. Gwen is her soulmate and she loves her, she wants Gwen at HER side. Her rage at getting a vision of Gwen becoming queen isn't because she is queen, but because she's ARTHURS queen (I do want to clarify that Gwen and Morgana's relationship in this au is platonic, but it only makes sense for Morgana to want one of her soulmates to rule beside her, and her other soulmates are her sister and a child)

So all the attempts on Gwen's life are gone (though both the shade plot and the dark tower might still be in play, but with the intention to get Gwen back all to herself, not to harm her)

(Merlin does not know Morgana is one of Gwen's other soulmates until after he poisoned her and Gwen let's slipped that she's really worried about Morgana, but at least she knows she's alive.)

(Gwen being Morgana's soulmate is a treasure trove of angst that I do plan on exploring fully)

The Coming of Arthur is going to be fun in regards to Morgana and Gwen (and Leon)

Morgana promising Gwen that no harm will come to her, not with her by her side.

"I know it's not fair of me to make you choose between soulmates, but Gwen, I can bring peace back to Camelot. Magic can be free again, soulmates cherished as they are supposed to be. Please, join me."

But the thing is, Morgana isn't just asking Gwen to choose between two halves of her soul. She knows both Leon and Merlin would never forsake Arthur, and if she chose Morgana, she would also lose both of them, not just Arthur. It's an unfair position to be in, an impossible situation (she chooses anyway. The Morgana she knew never would have ordered the death of innocent civilians to punish those who would not obey her. Something happened to the girl she loves, shes having trouble recognizing the holder of a piece of her soul)

(Gwen still goes to the dungeon to bring Leon food, though it goes a little differently, with Leon learning that Morgana is her soulmate. More on that in another post)

Arthur is going to repeal the laws against soulmates and magic as soon as he becomes king (he has been aware of Merlin’s status as a sorcerer for years and is unable to see how magic can be evil and corrupting when Merlin is one of the best people he knows and his soulmate to boot)

Due to most of them growing up under laws that prohibit talking about soulmates, it takes everybody far too fucking long to realize that they are all soulmates with each other cause no one says anything or compares notes.

I know its mean, but they finally figure it all out following Lancelot's death

(I have tried to figure out a way for him to survive but I really don't think he can)

(Poor Gwen all alone in Camelot breaking down while helping care for people because she feels Lancelot *die* with only Gaius to help her. No other soulmates available to hold her and help her feel a little less empty, a little less alone.)

Everyone experiencing the same pain and all knowing they just lost Lancelot leads to conversation.

Because while everyone in the group had been bonded with Lancelot, not everyone is bound together, which is totally possible, but Arthur knows he's soul bound to half this group, it would make sense to check if there's others in the group.

I will make a separate post about the events of the darkest hour cause I think this would get very long if I had it in here

Now, something I haven't gotten into yet is the magic part of soulmates (so far it's mainly been the destiny and social ramifications and interpersonal details)

Soulmarks are magic, and in some cases, an individual can develop a soulmate ability, a single ability that can be used in regards to exclusively one's bonded soulmates

Now these abilities vary in strength and specificity, some are dictated by touch, others apply no matter where they are in the world

Some soulmate abilities I've come up with thus far are:

The ability to always know what direction their soulmate is in relation to themself

The ability to know when their soulmate is lying to them, and a more broad varient of always knowing when they are lying period

The ability to always instinctually know what it is their soulmate truly means when they speak (I'm very tempted to give this to Gwen because I think it would make things interesting with Morgana, but I am worried it might break things a bit)

The ability to know what their soulmate is feeling emotionally by looking at them or touching them (I think I'm going to give this one to Leon?)

An ability confined to touch that brings to the soulmate's attention what their body most needs at that moment. (It's requires intent to be put into use, and it doesn't necessarily make the soulmate do that thing? It's not compulsory. It's more "Hey you're fucking exhausted you need sleep," or "Crying sounds so nice right now," or "Dude, EAT," and they can still fight these things, if they choose to, but those things are now at the forefront of their attention (making them more likely to be heeded))

Now, an ability I've thought EXTENSIVELY about:

A very rare and (before Uther nuked everything having to do with magic and soulmates) coveted ability that allows someone to, through constant touch, share their life force with their dying soulmate in order to keep then alive.

So say, for example, somebody (Soulmate A) is actively bleeding out from a fatal wound. The soulmate with the ability (Soulmate B) would have to touch soulmate A, skin to skin contact, and have this desperation, determination that soulmate A will not die, they won't let them.

Now, a couple things would happen.

One: Soulmate B's soulmark on Soulmate A's skin would move in some way to the point of injury (the method may vary depending on what their mark looks like. Like if the mark was a flower, the stem may extend and the mark itself stays stationary, or if it's something that's alive it would just fully move) and start "healing" the wound

Healing being in quotes because

Two: The injury is really being transferred partially to Soulmate B, enough so that the injury to Soulmate A is no longer immediately fatal, for the duration that they keep contact with Soulmate A. This buys Soulmate A time to be healed properly, but if the underlying injury is not healed in a timely manner, both Soulmate A and B could die.

Healing Soulmate A would also heal Soulmate B, as it was never truly their injury (though it sure feels and acts like it, and can be just as deadly if help isn't gotten in time.)

Because this ability is so inherently magic and is considered a spell, Soulmate B, even if they have the capacity to use other magic, can not cast a healing spell while using this spell, as it's only possible to cast one spell at a time.

I am naturally giving this ability to Merlin.

But the thing about abilities like this one is that it's impossible to know if you have it or not until the situation calls for it for the first time. It's impossible to know until your soulmate is dying right in front of you. Until you reach out and wish with every fiber in your being that they survive and they DO

The other thing about this ability? It can only be used once per soulmate. One get out of death free card and that's it

I haven't fully figured out if the dark tower would still happen, but if it does, Merlin would discover this ability saving Elyan's life (with the help of the knights who have to on the fly learn healing magic or else lose *both* of them)

That's going to be it for this post as it's starting to get long, but I have other posts I'm already working on. Also, if anyone has any questions, ideas, or suggestions in regards to this au, please feel free to send them my way!

#liv writes #merlin #bbc merlin #arthur pendragon #sir lancelot #gwen #guinevere pendragon #morgana pendragon #sir elyan #the knights of the round table #platonic soulmate au merlin edition #sir leon #i might be able to save lancelot during the shade plot but it would be angsty as fucking shit and they might end up choosing to let him go #if the saving your soulmate from the brink of death ability feels a bit wonky its because i first developed this au and this ability #in a modern setting with doctors and hospitals and surgery and systems in place to accommodate situations like this #its a bit more iffy in a medieval world where a cold can be a death sentence and the only way to really ensure survival is magic #the next post will get into some scenes scattered through the time line including gwen and leons conversation in the dungeons #all of them actually involve leon and id apologize for that but it would be disingenuous so i wont #i love him okay and i enjoy writing for him hes the main character of my heart

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linkspooky · 2 years

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Jujutsu Kaisen, Chapter 211 Thoughts

Plot twist! If you’re a Megumi Corruption Arc truther like me, then you saw this twist coming. Tsumiki, Megumi’s idea of goodness, and virtue is not who she appears to be. Saving Tsumiki was Megumi’s entire goal for entering the culling games, and now she’s entirely beyond his reach. Why did this happen, and what does this mean for Megumi’s broader arc? Thoughts below.

1. I Selfishly Choose who to Save

Megumi’s entire ideology is a contradiction. He believes that Jujutsu Sorcerers are not heroes, that they’re just arbiters of the law, they are just meant to ensure fairness in the world. They’re cogs who are not supposed to make individual judgements but acting under a greater principal. Yet at the same time, he also wants to be someone who selects who he can and cannot save based on his own personal preferences.

Jujutsu Sorcerers are agents of Karma, just like the justice system is supposed to equally enforce the law on all people, Jujutsu Sorcerers aren’t really supposed to either make judgement calls or go out of their way to save people. They exorcise curses. A “cog” implies they are not making personal judgements, they are instead acting as an unthinking piece that contributes to the function of a greater machine. Megumi is aware of the greater role of Jujutsu Sorcerers, that they are not heroes, they are cog, and he even says being a Jujutsu Sorcerer rather than a hero he is not obligated to save anyone. Yet, at the same time he wants to make personal judgements on who to save.

Megumi is supposed to be an unthinking piece in the machine, and yet he is thinking for himself. There is the contradiction. He is attempting to have his cake and eat it too. However, if you eat the cake, the cake is in your stomach now, it no longer exists, so you can’t have it anymore. Megumi makes his judgement calls based on what his idea of a “good person” is. Someone like Yuji, or Tsumiki.

In fact, it almost had to be someone like Tsumiki who was corrupted or possessed because Megumi’s entire idea of goodness in other people is based off of his interactions with his sister.

Here we have another contradiction. Megumi wants to make a selfish judgement based on his own standards of good and evil, but he actually doesn’t really have any of his own morals. His idea of goodness comes from without rather than within. Megumi’s idea of a good person is based off of Tsumiki, and Yuji. He doesn’t see himself as doing the right thing, or even have an idea of what the right thing is.

He extolls their “goodness” in order to downplay his own. He doesn’t really have values to speak of, besides wanting them to be good or happy. He knows the laws exist. He knows the role of Jujutsu Society. He’s not ignorant to those outside sources, but I’d say over and over again Megumi acts on an individual basis rather than a collective one.

Megumi disregards the outside law and isntead believes entirely on his conscience, which is his personal judgement on who to save. Gojo even picks up on this flaw of Megumi’s, his tendency to extremely suppress himself and his own sense of judgement and downplay himself in order to raise up other people.

Megumi loves his sister, but he also idealizes her and puts her up on a pedestal to make himself seem worse in comparison, because Megumi’s self esteem is actually pretty low. He’s not capable of seeing himself as being kind, even though Tsumiki went out of her way to show him he has his own way of showing kindness, Megumi just chose to believe she was just trying to spin his shortcomings in a positive light. Megumi does not believe that he himself is good, he just believes in Tsumiki’s goodness. There are good people out there like his sister, but Megumi is not one of them.

Megumi loves his sister of course, but his relationship with her is unhealthy. He’s got her up on that pedestal. Idolization of any kind is never good for a relationship. It does not help that the real Tsumiki is no longer around for Megumi to interact with. She was taken away from him too suddenly. Not only can he not talk with her ot argue with her or do anyting with her due to her being in a coma, but right now she has the image of a perfect, suffering maiden.

If she’s sitting on a bed doing nothing she can’t do any evil, she can’t say anything negative, she can’t do anything but sit there and wait for Megumi to save her. None of these things really contribute to Megumi’s ability to see Tsumiki as a complex human being with her own thoughts and agency.

Megumi has effectively objectified her. Not in the sense that he’s sexualizing her, but that she’s an object, she cannot see, think, or feel while she sleeps and Megumi has decided to center his entire life and objective around saving her. She is right now effectively princess peach in the castle. She is the reward for the hero at the end of the dungeon. Megumi’s want to save his sister isn’t bad of course, he’d want to save his sister from being cursed, but Megumi has made it his entire objective.

He’s even willing to go to any length to save her. He’s even shown killing for that goal, something we know Tsumiki would disapprove of. But, the point of her being an object is that Tsumiki is not there. She cannot argue or disagree or tell Megumi she doesn’t want him to do these things for her.

Would kind hearted Tsumiki want Megumi killing people in order to earn points to rescue her from the culling game? Probably not. Does Megumi really care? No.

Tsumiki is the image of perfect innocence in his mind, and therefore he has to be the guilty one, he has to go out of his way to bloody his hands for her sake. Eventually that just turns into Megumi justifying his darker deeds to himself.

Megumi’s ideals come from an external source, he is copying Tsumiki’s ideals and trying to uplift her, and because of that he doesn’t really have any internal moral reasoning. He just does what he can to protect the few people around him, Yuji and Tsumiki included. Which is why what happened in Shibuya completely destroyed Yuji, but Megumi was able to move on rather fast because he needed to save Tsumiki right away. He iddn’t have time to mull over morality and guilt.

How could Megumi going “We don’t need to think, we just need to jump in and save Tsumiki?” possibly go wrong. Megumi’s pedestalizing of Tsumiki, and making her into a helpless damsel he needs to dirty his own hands to save, making her the objective of his quest has led to this exact oversight. Megumi never even considered the possibility that Tsumiki could either be possessed, or not as she appears to be because in his mind Tsumiki is essentially perfect.

Which is why he walks straight into a trap. Because he wasn’t thinking. Because, he told Yuji to just not think about it. This is essentially all of Megumi’s ideals breaking down right in front of his eyes. Jujutsu Sorcerers aren’t heroes, so he can’t look at the bigger picture or what saves everyone he can only selfishly choose who to save. Jujutsu Sorcerers need to justify their worth, and Megumi justifies his worth as a person by saving good people like Yuji and Tsumiki.

So, what if he can’t save them? What if Megumi worth then?

Megumi’s philoopshy is now broken down because his entire goal of entering the culling games, is to gain enough points to save only one person instead of trying to look at the big picture or end the entire games. However, every effort he and his friends put into gathering points is now pointless (lol) because the one person they wanted to save can’t be saved. Time that would have been better spent doing other things is now wasted because of the decision to focus all these resources on saving one person and Megumi has nothing to show for it.

Megumi’s entire reason and justification for being a Jujutsu Sorcerer in the first place is to save good people, and if he can’t for Yuji and Tsumiki then that’s just gone, what then? Megumi’s just left gobsmacked. It’s appropriate the last words of this chapter are “Who... are you?” because Megumi doesn’t truly know who Tsumiki is anymore. He’s made her into an untouchable ideal. If he knew her better he might have seen through the imposter’s act.

If his sister is well and truly gone, and everything Megumi does is for the sake of his sister and good people like her... then what else is left for Megumi to do?

#jjk meta #jujutsu kaisen meta #jujutsu kaisen theory #jujutsu kaisen #jjk spoilers #jujutsu kaisen spoilers #megumi fushiguro #tsumiki fushiguro #yuji itadori

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