#this is interesting! I'm. not sure I have many fully formed thoughts about it?

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

These Burning Stars

political space fantasy

follows an infamous heir to the Nightfoot empire and a stoic cleric who are hunting down a figure from their past - the cleric’s classmate who the heir challenged to impress her, or die trying

and a hacker/thief who’s gotten her hands on something that could implicate the Nightfoot family in a planet-wide genocide

sapphic & nonbinary characters

[omarwolaeth]

It's such a tiny innocuous thing that really doesn't matter, but I feel like calling duel monsters a children's card game (when it's fundamentally baked into everyday life, and your social existence is judged by what you play and how you play it so very intensely, for everyone in-universe) is an absolute injustice to what it is for that universe of people.

[n0n-sen-se]

💌 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐊𝐍𝐘 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐀𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐫. . .

includes ;; genya, muichiro content ;; pure fluff. a/n ;; stresstember eh? the perfect time to indulge in some adorable escapism! (´｡• ◡ •｡`) ♡

☆☆☆ # genya shinazugawa !

genya regularly receives check-ups at the Butterfly Mansion, thus you tend to bump into him a ton!

this is where things start to take a turn. . . he stops getting so angry and quick to shut you down. . . and instead, he starts watching you train a little more, keeping idle tabs on your schedule, daydreaming of you when he should be focusing on training. . .

then it hits him:

he's got a crush ?!

to this boy love literally feels lethal.

he can't function. at all. he's unable to stand or talk to you for more than a few seconds without becoming flustered and wracked with nerves.

so loving you from afar is the simplest-easiest option.

he stares a ton, and tries hard not to get caught.

daydreams when he shouldn't- and at the worst times- you can only get punched in the face while training so many times before you start to wonder if having a crush is really worth it.

i'm pretty sure anyone could see the reason this quick-tempered boy suddenly turns shy when he's around you.

and he hates admitting it. (what is he supposed to do? he's never been in love before?)

there are times when he's 100% undoubtably sure that you're busy- or far, far away from the scene of the crime. . . he'll sneak into your room (after double checking that the coast is clear, again) he'll leave a few wildflowers next to your nightstand.

just the thought that he's showing romantic affection towards you has his heart palpitating. . . even if it is, technically indirect.

has him paranoid as hell, like somehow even after all his precautions, you'll just know it was him. if you suspect him, or bring it up, he'll vehemently deny everything.

(whenever he leaves flower btw, it'll be up to a week before he works up the courage to bring another bunch, and in between he tries to garner the courage to talk to you. . . without success)

he'd actually get pretty comfortable with this scenario, and eventually saves up enough to produce a small vase to hold all the flowers.

and it feels like the biggest step yet!

its a painfully simple pot, and he feels he could do better, but he's tied a woven red string around the neck to help. . . at least a little.

you know. . . in the future he could tie notes to it. the thought has his ears burning red hot, and he flees the scene just as quickly.

☆☆☆ # muichiro tokito !

honestly, it doesn't fully occur to him that he is a secret admirer at first.

he just one day happens to notice you because you caught his eye. nothing in particular, there was just something. . . bright about your presence.

your eyes? your smile? who could really say. all he knows is that your very interesting to look at when you're around.

even your voice catches his attention, like the sound of bells to his ears. its calming and also so alluring? how are you able to charm him like this?

the couple times you caught him staring he looked away quickly, then he starts wondering why he's afraid of being caught?

that's when the idea of an idea starts to form in his head.

a crush!

honestly, i think he'd smile to himself at the thought. its all very confusing and all very new and exciting!

he'd stare a ton and try to be subtle. . . but then fail at that too. (at this point he's just standing beside a tree rather than behind it?)

muichiro gifts you things that remind him of you: things that are eye-catching and interesting to him.

. . . something that holds his attention as much as you do. . .

mostly things he's found, like the shiniest shells or rocks, broken ornaments or porcelain he's found. the best would probably be a tiny pearl he. . . acquired.

instructs his crow to deliver them to you, which in turn means you get hit in the head with said object- you don't need a more obvious clue to know that his crow hates. your. guts. (don't worry she's just a little jealous)

at first, he completely forgets that he's sent anything to you at all.

until he see's you holding them and it all connects.

silently hopes you to make the connection too. and i don't think he'd mind being caught at all. (its kind of like a fun game he's playing, that subsequently causes the faintest blush to appear across the bridge of his nose)

thinks about you maybe a bit too much, and starts to get excited at the prospect of being in love or a relationship! what would it be like to hold your hand, or even have all of your attention for once? (now he's just smiling up at the clouds like an adorable idiot)

if he writes anything (a note?) its just doodles and drawings he's done that he then hands over to his crow to deliver.

actually very fond of leaving you snacks too. . . or straight up offering to share while (innocently) asking you what ❛all those things in your hands❜ are.

[mrs-gauche]

So, I *think* I've calmed down enough to form coherent sentences about this trailer now, after watching this about a gazillion times. 😂 There is just SO much in this and I still can't believe it's all real.. I feel like people have already dissected every single frame anyway, so here are just my poor two cents (that's a lie, it's an essay lol), I'm sure 90% of this has probably already been said lol, but I just had to write my thoughts down, so there you go. 🫠

But first, can I just ask you guys this.. Does anyone else feel SO friggin overwhelmed every time something huge like this drops? 😂😭 Like, I LOVE the collective excitement and freaking out over all this with the fandom together in real time, and maybe it's because I'm not a native English speaker, but I'm watching the trailer live and within like fifteen minutes there are already a bazillion notifications, messages, people have already made hundreds of theory posts, edits, fanart and shitposts, meanwhile I'm sitting here still looking at the FIRST FRAME and trying to process what I'm even looking at. lmaoo Like, it takes me SO long to take it fully in, calm down and look at ALL of it in detail, while I go radio silent for like two hours, making people think I just died watching the trailer, I guess. lmaooo So.. sorry if it takes me forever until I even go on here and look at everything you guys are posting. 💀 <3

Anyway, so first of all, I'd like to just generally say... Everything about this blew. me. away.

Look. After like 20 years of watching BioWare's entire animation catalogue of the same 25 movements in every cutscene, that it would make you jump every time a character but even slightly moved differently than everyone else, we're now getting a game that is SO INCREDIBLY CINEMATIC, SO SMOOTH, unlike any BioWare game before. A game where everyone just moves and expresses emotions like their own person, making everything a hundred times more immersive and impactful!!

Not only that but there's a BioWare game now with PHENOMENAL LOOKING HAIR and REALISTIC HAIR PHYSICS. Guys, do you understand this is HISTORY??? lmao We've been asking for this for YEARS and it's happening!! 😭

And the cinematography? THE CINEMATOGRAPHY?? Just looking at that very FIRST LOCATION SHOT alone. The camerawork, the composition, the fluidity of movement, the shift of focus, the lighting, the use of MoCap, the facial expressions... As someone who spent a *LOT* of time using the flycam to make cinematic gifsets of DAI, where - with all respect to the devs - 90% of the camerawork basically consisted of "zoom in/zoom out"... this. blew. my. fucking mind.

Like, they did it. They mastered the Frostbite engine on all fronts. And it truly hurts my heart seeing people compare this to Fortnite or whatever, when in my opinion this time they actually managed to find a perfect mix between stylized and realism, in favor of making the characters even more expressive and this coupled with the use of MoCap and the incredible cinematography will make these emotional scenes hit SO hard and.. ugh, I just love it so much. 🥹❤️❤️

With this being said, let's dive into it!

Okay, so I know this is super random, but it was literally the first thing I noticed about this trailer. lol Did you noticed that it said "BioWare" *before* "Electronic Arts" in the beginning, unlike that first... controversial reveal trailer, where it was the other way around? 😂 Not reading anything into this of course (or do I? lol), but.. Idk, I thought it was.. interesting. 👀

So we start off with the first of many amazing tracking shots, with the camera orbiting around Rook in this place devoid of color or life. The note at the bottom made me chuckle "Game engine footage with some costum camera angles", I was like "Oh, so they used the flycam to make this?". lol So some shots of these will look different in the final version (what kind of spoilers are they hiding?? 👀👀).

I do hope that next shot DOES end up in the game though, because holy SHIT, that FIRST wide shot already blew. me. away.

Look at the COMPOSITION of this.

Actually, you could probably take every single location/wide shot of this trailer and hang it on your wall. lol But seriously, the way this place just looks... dead. It makes me think of "void" rather than Fade.. like an ancient graveyard. The raw Fade looks generally creepy, but this is haunting even for that. There's no life, no color, no motion. It's all broken and crumbled. Almost like it reflects Solas' feelings. People are speculating if this place might change depending on Solas' state of mind.. This is the Fade after all, but Solas is here physically and this being the place that was supposed to be the new prison for the gods.. It's probably different from the rest of it.

We also see all seven statues of the pantheon from the ritual site again. Solas "I have the high ground", *literally* talking down to Rook, while standing on two separate cliffs (how did Rook even get there, I wonder? lol), like there is quite literally a rift between them (for now..!) and Solas is keeping a distance, as always. We still don't know how that connection between the two even works, I assume Rook can only contact him while asleep? But to think that this is the place where he is trapped now, where he is even more isolated than ever before, is making me so emotional. ;-;

I love how it's just black and white though. It gives the scene a destinct atmosphere that might be important, if this is where we get to see Solas doing a lot of introspection. In the art of filmmaking, the absence of color is often used to force the audience to focus on the contrast, textures, and tones present in the image, which can evoke a deep sense of emotion.

And speaking of emotions...

"You have no idea what you have done."

We had already heard that line before, but something about that booming, echoing effect they used on his voice sent a shiver down my spine!

"The blighted elven gods walk free. And all because you disrupted my ritual."

To me, he *sounds* much more frustrated here than he *looks* when saying that. lol He looks incredibly worried though, and just so tired. A moment ago, he was SO close to achieving his goal after hundreds of years of preparation and then he failed again... and now there is this completely clueless stranger who got him in this situation, but who he has to rely on now to stop these gods, when he's unable to trust anyone, and yet he can't even yell at them too much, because he *needs* them. He must be so exhausted.

And yes, it is kinda funny how they put "elven gods" in quotation marks. lol

Thank god he still has his freckles though. ❤️ We're actually seeing a lot more texture on his face here than in the gameplay showcase. And yes, not only did he get his eyebrows microbladed but apparently he's also sporting eyeliner and lipstick now. 😌✨✨ The only downside to the lack of colors here is that his super purple eyes are not poppin' anymore. lol

"You battle against gods. They will not rest until you are on your knees. Fearful. Cowering. Helpless in the face of such power."

I love how they play this line so early on in the trailer, that it makes you go "WAIT... IS THAT- NO WAY" and not until the end do we get the confirmation with the most amazing entrance ever.

We then get a shot of what I think has to be Treviso in flames and Ghilan'nain symbolically coiling her tentacles around a crow statue's head, as she's probably about to take over the city. 👀 *falls on my knees the second I meet her in the game* lol

Then there's the shot of this horrifying Blight.. lump.. growth thing that has completely devoured an elf (and several other bodies it seems) with a hair style that has everyone wondering if this could be Felassan! 🥺🥺🥺 As much as I would LOVE for Felassan to make an appearance.. I kinda hope this *isn't* him.. because good god, whatever happened to this persom here must be pretty traumatizing (are they even still alive?) and also, how do we get them out of there? lol Either way, seeing as there are Harding, Bellara and Neve accompanying Rook here, this might be earlier in the game (and this is them dicovering that the Blight is already spreading rapidly?) and yet it already shows us that this Blight is on a whole other level than anything we've seen before, and it's taking every living thing.

Then we see another snowy place (or might this be within the same area?) that's also in huge parts taken over by the Blight. You can also see a dead(?) dragon lying on the ground at the bottom right corner? 🥺

Then Elgar'nan literally pops up right next to Ghilan'nain, and btw, I love how I can't even tell where her body begins or where it ends in this shot. lmao What ARE you, Ghili?? 💀

It looks to me like maybe she was struck by a bolt/spear from a ballista or something? The Grey Wardens tried to take her out maybe? Looks like the power of Elgar'nan's mere presence blows the Wardens away then lol, like they're just insects to him.. and in the blast we can see a person that looks like Evka?? <3333 (please don't die here though 😭)

Then we're getting a first glimpse of a dragon that shows up multiple times in this trailer. Also, to me, it looks so much like the dragon from the Golden City vinyl cover, which has me like 👀👀👀👀

Next there are a few scenes from the prologue we've already seen in the gameplay showcase, but it's coupled with new lines from Varric, that have me super worried. :(

"Rook, you've got this. I've seen your work. You're clever, adaptable. And you don't know when to quit.

My first reaction to this was "Oh god no, that sounds so much like a "passing the torch" kind of dialogue to me" as in Varric either dies (PLEASE NO but it IS super suspicious how he's not seen or mentioned in any other scene so far) or retires his role as the leader of this group and hands it over to Rook. And he just sounds... weary. 🥺 I wonder what he means by "your work" though? Is he talking about things Rook has done before Varric recruited them? Or is it maybe later down the line, after Rook has already proven themselves to be a great leader? 🤔

Then we get another shot of that one dragon and our first look at Harding with the bruised face (whoever did this, come fight me!) and some poor person tangled in.. something, I'm not sure. lol

Then there's a super quick shot of the floating building in Minrathous, followed by Rook opening a gate Aragorn style, which leads me to believe that this is actually somethere IN that floating building maybe?

But the fact that Rook and everyone else seems to be wearing casual clothes in the following shots, plus the architecture in the background has me wondering if they might be at the Lighthouse actually? 👀

Especially because in the very next shot we see Rook, Bellara, Neve and Harding all in casual clothes again in front of a giant eluvian and I wonder if that's the mirror that we've read about in the Game Informer article. The special eluvian at the Lighthouse that can take you anywhere? :o

Speaking of the Game Informer article, it also told us that Rook, Harding and Neve went back to the ritual site after what happened in the beginning, which is probably what we're seeing here!

"You want allies to go after the elven gods. I've got places to look."

Well, good thing we have a clever detective on the team that apparently knows people who would willingly fight some gods. lol Notice how Harding's face is still injured in this scene. 👀 So I assume whatever happened to her must've happened at the ritual site? Btw, I love how the trailer makes it look like they're all in casual clothes and the second they're stepping through the eluvian, they're in full gear? 😂 (I'm sure those two scenes take place at different times though.) It's crazy how much different the Arlathan Forest looks now, without the cataclysmic storm and all. I love the lighting, the colors and the soft rain! :3

Then we get another gorgeous location shot to hang on the wall. <3 My guess here is definitely Anderfels, given the landscape and those "pillar ring" things we've seen before (I still have no idea what those are, the funniest guess is still griffon training flight path 😂 But something tells me those things will be important.).

"I'll be damned! A griffon!"

Davrin and Assan!! <33333 And the dialogue makes it sound like this might be the first time they meet each other?? 🥹🥹 Followed by a scene of Davrin taking care of business and what might be the return of children in DA?? 😭 Seeing that little girl made me so happy, because that was actually one of the few things on my wishlist for DA4, because I always felt like children make the world feel SO much more real and immersive and besides Kieran, children were completely absent in DAI.

Am I trippin or does it look like this child is smiling here, while running away from a horde of darkspawn?? 😶 Kids in the Anderfels are build different, I guess. lol

"In war, victory."

CHILLS!!

Then we see Assan again, who is pinning down a.. thing I can't identify. lol I'm very curious about all those cages in the background though.. 🤔

We then get one of the shots that made me freak out the most, because it's a flippin *underwater* shot of elven ruins??? 😱😱

We know it's elven because if you look very very closely, you can see a Halla statue in the distance, to the left side. I'm immediately reminded of the stories about Arlathan having sunken to the ocean floor! There's also still all that mention of Ghilan'nain's grey "goop" that smells like the ocean and another shot later on of a dragon (Elgar'nan?) emerging from the ocean! 👀👀👀

And aside from all that, it's just such a sick level design!! 😍 What do these ruins look like if you enter them in the game? How do we get there?? There's an eluvian in the middle of the ocean on the newest map that's included in the Collector's Edition! 👀👀 If that one flippin theory of mine actually turns out to be true and there are somehow two parts of Arlathan, one on the ocean floor and another in the center of the Fade/the Black City, I'll do a triple backflip. lmaoo

Then Lucanis jumps in with some incredibly smooth fighting moves against the Venatori... and PURPLE WINGS!! So we were right with our speculation about the reveal trailer! Why does he have them? Is it some connection to a pride demon that revived him? 😂 I don't know, but it looks SO cool!! And after showing off, we hear his first line "I'm ready" with that sweet sweet accent, which is just the cherry on top!! <333

What the heck is up with the sky in this one?? My first thought was the Lighthouse?? 😍😍 Because if you look closely, there are a few wolf head ornaments on the walls? 👀 And this could be in the Crossroads and just like a real Lighthouse, there's a light on the top..? 🥹

Then there's Bellara using some magical device, that looks super similar to the things that were next to the big eluvian in that other scene!

Which makes me think that this might be where we help Bellara find this artifact in order to get the eluvian at the Lighthouse to work properly (since it doesn't seem to work right without Solas, according to the Game Informer article).

"I've never seen this before. There's something kind of exciting about it!"

Not gonna lie, that line and that weird looking device gave me Peebee flashbacks from Andromeda, which I honestly wasn't the biggest fan of. 😂 But Ghil Dirthalen (member of the community council) responded to me a few weeks back on twitter and confirmed that Bellara is nothing like Peebee at all. lol So that's a relief. 😂 I'm really looking forward to learn more about her and every time I see her magical gauntlet, I'm reminded that we're *definitely* not in Ferelden anymore. lol

Anyway, we then get a few shots of the Deep Roads?? Kal-Sharok??? 👀👀 And of course, there's Harding's big reveal of her new magical powers! The animation on this looks sooo amazing!!

Like many suspect, the Titans' awakening might have something to do with this! I totally agree with what Ghil Dirthalen said on twitter recently and, rather than this being Harding having Solas' petrification powers, it's actually Solas who has the powers of the Titans/stone sense/whatever Sandal did to those ogres back then lol. (I need Sandal to return and be her "teacher" or something 🙏❤️) We know of Solas' orb, which was likely created by obtaining the heart of a Titan. And if the Titans are connected to the Forgotten Ones, Fen'Harel was once considered their ally in Dalish legends. 👀

Also, if you look closely, you can see that the moment her powers are triggered, we see the blue glowy effect all over her body, like glowy lyrium veins almost?

And that in turn could hint at something in connection to her blood? So that big injury we see on her (which is still visible in this scene btw!) was maybe the moment her blood came in contact with something that awakened these powers? (We need Valta back to explain! lol)

"What is happening to me?"

That delivery gave me chills again... She is frightened. Ali Hillis is so good. 🥺🥺🥺

Next up is the Grand Necropolis and people have already pointed out that the ceiling we see at that entrance hall or something looks like a GIANT rip cage?? 💀 (What kind of creature would be THIS big???)

First look of Emmrich in-game!!! And he's wearing a fancy new outfit!! And I paused at the perfect moment to catch Rook already falling in love with him, clearly. lmao

There are two characters next to the gate that could be anybody, really. Myrna from Tevinter Nights or Joanna from the short story "The Flame Eternal"? The guy on the right is actually giving me Executor vibes?? 👀👀👀

Then there's Giant Skeleton Monster (Manfred's mom?), and don't even ask me what this could possibly be. 😂 I just hope we don't have to fight THAT (we totally will 💀). I got flashbacks of the Human Reaper endboss in ME2. 😭😭

"Let the Fade draw close!"

There's something kinda... posh about the way he says this? 😂 Like, he's not really intimidated by Giant Skeleton Monster and it's just another Tuesday in the Grand Necropolis and Professor Volkarin is just doing his every day job. lol

Then there are two shots of what I think is somewhere in the Anderfels but snowy again, like that area in the beginning where Elgar'nan and Ghili showed up? And a destroyed watchtower that is occupied by the Wardens. Then we get a *third* and final shot of this beauty again.

"Draw the dragon out into the open. Then attack."

I assume that's Taash?? Sadly, that shot of her drawing her weapon is all we got from her in this trailer, but she looks awesome!! <333 We're gonna be Lord of Fortune buddies, even though we might disagree on the matter of dragon hunting lol (look, I don't want to *fight* dragons, I want to be *friends* with them 🫠😂❤️ I want to see them live their best lifes.. for the most part (I get to the Elgar'nan dragon and the blighted "twin dragons" in a second lol))

We see the docks of Minrathous for a split second and then a first glimpse at a romance scene between Rook and Neve? 👀 At the Lighthouse maybe?

"You and me Rook. Maybe that's what scares me."

What does she mean by that exactly? Does Neve have commitment issues? lol Or is this more like a "We're a dangerous match, Rook. We'll be too powerful of a couple. Like Bonnie and Clyde." kinda statement? 😂

And THEN... Well, then we get probably THE most badass looking introduction/entrance of any character in DA yet. lol And YES, I freaked out SO hard.

SHE'S BACK. Returning like the QUEEN that she is. 🙏 And of course, she has to come down a flight of "stairs" again. lol (And no, Claudia Black did not lie, she just wasn't contacted at the time. 😁) Gosh, that transformation is so SMOOTH. I could watch that forever, it's so darn beautiful. 😍 Again, the way this is done, cinematically.. just *chef's kiss*.

In retrospect, it seems almost like a given that she would be back because.. well, everything about the way DAI ended. lol Flemeth wanted her to inherit her "godhood", and she looks more than ever like her mother now. Remember the designer notes on that last scene in DAI.

Flemeth intends to let Solas have the power, so long as she can pass the essence of her godhood onto Morrigan, a gift Flemeth had always planned for her daughter yet one Morrigan misunderstood as hostile possession.

So, what exactly is she now? Did she receive whatever Flemeth sent through the eluvian at the end of DAI? Does she carry Mythal now?? If so, does Solas know (I NEED a conversation between those two technically "half-siblings", because Flemeth/Mythal is both their "Mother"? 😂)?? Remember when I said that this one dragon that appears multiple times here reminds me a lot of the dragon on the vinyl cover with the Golden City, which is very likely Mythal? So my very first thought was that the dragon is actually Morrigan?? lol Just throwing that out there.

It seems to me that she is with the Dalish/Veil Jumpers in the Arlathan Forest now? (Btw, if you look closely, you can see elven mosaics in COLOR in the background? :O)

"These are the times in which legends are born or slain."

That line goes so HARD aHhhh. Also, speaking of slain, that new outfit is slaying too. <33 Her return also means that the Well decision and potential consequences are back on the table, which will definitely keep me up at night again. 💀

That moment right there. She is everthing. ❤️❤️❤️ I wonder if we're gonna see Kieran again?? 🥺🥺

We then get the most impressive tracking shot and choreography of what I think is Teia and Viago fighting some Venatori?? <333333 Like, seriously, the way the camera is following his movements in this shot without a single cut, makes me think of something like flippin Games of Thrones' Battle of the Bastards. 😱 And those hair physics on Teia as she's swinging around?? Absolutely amazing.

Followed by Lucanis and.. is that Zara Renata (the character with the best name ever lol)?? Fighting over an ominous glowing staff. lol We know these two still had unfinished business with each other after the Wigmaker Job in TN.

Then we get our first in-game look of my man MANFRED (🎉🎉🎉🎉), proving yet again to be the most fashionable character in the whole game, using his pelvis effectively. lol I love him so much.

Then there's another terrifying shot of Giant Skeleton Monster, which almost looks like it's in command over the crowd of people here, like they're possessed or something? Uhg.. As if this thing wasn't scary enough. 💀

"Our gods are back. Our gods! How do we stand up against that?"

Again, CHILLLLS!! Chills all over. It's gonna be so interesting to hear what the Dalish, Bellara or Davrin think about all these revelations!

Then we see the Wardens again, confronting one of the super duper blighted "twin dragons" we see at the end (more on that later).

We see Neve using a barrier or something against a guy who wears the same armor as her, so maybe the Shadow Dragons are corrupted, too?

Then we see Rook dramatically tossing a sword on a table at Weisshaupt? And holy moly, Davrin in that new armor here looks FINE. 😍

Back in Treviso, we see a cool finishing move from Rook, obliterating a poor Venatori guy. That bow on Rook's back though (I need it)! :O

"I believe in all of us. So let's get it done."

That little pep talk from Rook certainly worked for me. lol Like, whatever it is we're doing here, I'm so pumped, let's gooooo!

Then we get literally a millisecond of a frame, where you can see Ghili lying on the floor.. with the lyrium dagger stuck IN HER CHEST??

EXCUSE ME?? They wouldn't just spoil her death like that, right?? lmao Also, that adds another billion questions about this damn flippin dagger and at this point the list of questions is getting so long that I've completely given up speculating. 😂💀 We see how Rook tries to retrieve(?) the dagger but the power it emanates pushes them back?? What the heeellll.

And then I died. No, really. lmaoo

What can I say.

I cried. I screamed. My soul left my body. It happened. We FINALLY saw him. The Dreaded Wolf, He Who Hunts Alone, Roamer of the Beyond, God of Rebellion. The one everyone's been talking about since flippin 2009. And by GOD, he lives up to his NAME.

He's dreadful, he's horrifying. He's a monster, a nightmare. He's perfect. And just like Solas, he's just a Little Guy and bald. 😭😭😭

...At least in comparison to this dragon!! Look at that friggin SIZE DIFFERENCE. Someone measured the size by comparing them to Rook, who we see for a split second before Fenny leaps in. So, make no mistake, Fen'Harel IS the size of a high dragon, like he was described in Tevinter Nights... It's just that this blighted dragon is HUMONGOUS. lol That dragon, let's call him Elgar'nan, because we all KNOW, right?? Who else could it POSSIBLY be?? He's got the horns, he's the dragon on the vinyl cover with the Blighted Black City, he's ENORMOUS!! I've been saying this forever. Fen'Harel vs Elgar'nan, Battle of Gods was all I ever wished to see and FUCK, I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT WISH CAME TRUE. 😭😭😭

And look WHERE they are fighting!! It's Minrathous, you can clearly see the floating building in the background!! Which means the Dread Wolf is OUT. He's no longer trapped, or in the Fade. Remember Sandal's prophecy "When he rises, everyone will see". And he HAS RISEN. lmao And look at the lighting!! It's the same dim, gloomy RED we've seen at the end of the reveal trailer with the eclipse. "AN ECLIPSE AS FEN'HAREL STIRRED". IT'S HAPPENING. Remember the 2020 teaser MURAL.

Is this the Black City or is it the floating building?? Either way, it's BLIGHTED. In the trailer, Minrathous has clearly been completely taken over by the Blight. "All the world will soon share the peace and comfort of my reign", that's what Elgar'nan said at the end of the 2023 teaser, and what better way to take over the world than to start with the biggest capital in Thedas, a nation which built their own empire over the ruins of Elvhenan, ruled by the most powerful mages!

And I am SO scared. You can see Elgar'nan snapping Fenny. The dragon is blighted, and maybe so is Fen'Harel. He's also clearly been through so much. "The Wolf chews his leg off to escape the trap.", is what Cole said in Trespasser. I don't think he always looked like that. In the murals and the 2022 cinematic, he has a lot more fur. And I can't help but think about the devs saying that Solas wasn't always bald either. lmao How are they connected.. are they one and the same.. are they bound to each other.. we still don't know. But I'm SO. F*CKING EXCITED. TO FIND OUT.

Those few seconds of this scene were breathtaking and whoever made this trailer knew exactly what they were doing, because the editing is so perfect as Fen'Harel charges at Elgar'nan in slow-motion and the music cuts out completely while that beautiful wolf howl can be heard and you can almost HEAR everyone's jaw dropping on the floor. lmao THAT's. how. you. do it. *standing ovation* *sobbing*

Okay. Breathe. Moving on. We gotta get to the end. lol

The very next shot is SO funny to me, because we literally just got to see Elgar'nan, the biggest flippin dragon we've ever seen in DA and it's followed by a shot in which Elgar'nan looks SO tiny next to Ghilan'nain. lmaooo

His ego doesn't allow to appear small though, I guess, so he f*cking levitates to top her in height. lmao These two ancient clowns are already killing me.

What's interesting though is that this is the exact same angle from which we left off in the gameplay showcase. And Solas is nowhere to be seen, so... did he literally just "poof" away right there into that Fade prison?? lmao

We get a quick montage of all the lovely monsters we will face. Like I mentioned, there's the Elgar'nan dragon taking a swim in the ocean, I guess? (I hope he drowns. lol) And a shot of what I think is Irelin (from TN and The Missing) doing.. something with some magical device. Someone fighting a magical "automaton" in the Arlathan Forest. lol Harding doing her THING again, acting like Toph from Avatar, literally bending the flippin earth, like a true Child of the Stone!!

And right before the end, there's one of my personal favorite shots, Rook basically bitch slapping a Pride demon into full K.O.?? lmao

The trailer ends with a final beautiful shot of Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire. lol No, seriously. A SUPER blighted pair of angry dragons, seemingly at the same snowy place that Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain popped up earlier in the trailer. 👀👀👀

So, they might have something to do with this? There was a dead dragon lying on the ground in an earlier shot, so maybe the elven gods revived them? If I see Blue and Red, I'm of course immediately reminded of lyrium.. whatever that means. Or, given that they seem to be attacking Grey Wardens in this place... maybe we are looking at an altered form of Archdemons?? Or something similar to Corypheus' dragon? 👀 There is an interesting theory floating around that Ghilan'nain might look like *that* because she somehow merged with her lover Andruil. As I mentioned in the beginning, Ghilan'nain seemed to have been struck by a spear or something.. and in this shot, you can see that the red dragon is pulling a spear out of its body! Sooo... maybe that actually IS her?? And she somehow transformed into two different blighted dragons, representing herself and Andruil??? The tinfoil hat is strong with this one. lol

ANYWAY. The release date is revealed to be 31st of October, making this the best Halloween of all time!! Not only is it perfect because of its origin, Samhain, the thinning of the Veil between the living and spirits.. But also because we all get a chance to dress up as Manfred, walk into the store, buy the game and then go Trick or Treat (but mostly trick) in the name of Fen'Harel, the Trickster God. 😂😂💜💜💜

And that's it!! Now we only have to wait two months before we can all lose our collective shi— NO WAIT, OF COURSE WE'RE NOT DONE YET.

WHAT THE HELL

IS THIS

EXCUSE ME, how do you throw this in there in the background at the very last second, HELLO??? A rocky object, split in half. HUH, WHERE HAVE WE SEEN THAT BEFORE.

Oh, you sneaky sneaky people. The mural depicting a Titan's death.... Remember the description of this place in DAI's files.

"A final eluvian is situated in a beautiful bolt-hole where Solas has painted murals. Fen'Harel was here and wanted to make sure nobody ever found what the other gods were doing. This place was the breaking point for him that turned him against the gods."

Whatever this is... I think it might be the very reason why all of this is even happening. The Evanuris mined the Titans' blood and "something else" before they collapsed and sealed the Deep Roads with stone and magic.

"Terror, heart-pounding, ice-cold, as the last of the spells is cast."

"What the Evanuris in their greed could unleash would end us all. Let this place be forgotten. Let no one wake its anger. The People must rise before their false gods destroy them all."

I'll leave it at that. I'm so so so flippin excited. I want to thank all the devs involved, I'm so full of joy and can't wait to finally return back to Thedas in October. 🥹🥹🥹 (And if anyone wants to get me that "Rook's coffer" collectibles thing for my birthday two days after release, my address is— naah just kidding!! ..or AM I?? 👀😂😂)!! 💜💜💜💜💜

[nocturnowlette]

Fun Hypnotic Ideas #1: Evil Fractionation

This is gonna be a series of ideas I've tried or have thought of that I don't see much elsewhere relating to trance. This is one I have done before many times, and is one of the single most useful techniques I've found.

I'm using the term "Evil Fractionation" because that is what I heard it called the only time I've seen it used outside of me (from a file just called Evil Fractionation that I cannot seem to find).

The idea is simple.

Bring your subject into trance, and have them drop very, very deep down. Do all you can to get them as focused and as deep as you possibly can. Then, set up some form of capturing that state of trance in their mind. I tend to use the idea of a polaroid camera, using the word "Snap!" to act like a flash in their mind and freeze that state of mind for later.

Then, bring up them up, counting from 1 to 10.

Every single number, use the "Snap!" trigger, all the way back up to 10, when you then fully wake them.

Then, after talking with them for a while, or perhaps after they ask what it's for, simply type or say...

8.

They'll instantly drop down to the level of 8, a light trance, due to building the association of that level of trance with that number.

Then, just start calling out numbers, bringing them to whatever level of trance you wish.

7. 5. 8. 9. 6. 4.

Be sure to do small gaps at first, and then start doing bigger jumps to surprise them.

3. 8. 7. 10. 5. 8. 1.

If you enforce this a bit more (it enforces itself by being used honestly), you can use it at any time, and even interweaving it with other induction techniques, dropping them much deeper than before.

However, my favorite part is when you start counting down slowly, slowly, going

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

And then, when you make them think you're about to bring them back up a bit, go...

0.

-1.

-2.

...to your heart's content.

Though, fair warning, I've accidentally put subjects to actual sleep by going a bit too deep.

You can do this during random conversations, trances, really anything (with express consent from a subject while out of trance, of course).

I might post more of these if this does well, I quite like creative ideas for trance, and I have quite a few. Follow and share if you're interested (though I post a lot of puppy-specific hypnotic posts, fair warning).

Thank you.

[calware]

post about me. i added pictures to keep it interesting

i've had a problem for most of my life that i'm currently visualizing as a gray dorito poking into me. it's frustrating, inconvenient, difficult to deal with, and overall makes everything suck a little. many people have told me that this problem is most likely adhd, such as my therapist in high school who said it was "textbook." unfortunately, she was just a therapist, not a psychiatrist, and therefore wasn't actually qualified to diagnose me with anything. this was in 2021 when there were no child psychiatrists in my area accepting new patients (thanks, covid), so instead my doctor gave me a few adhd meds at differing doses to see if any of them stuck (i had literally no reaction to Any of them) and the whole thing went nowhere

so, is the problem actually adhd? i'm an adult now and could pay several hundred dollars (of my parent's money) to get a proper test, but it would make no difference as my issues would not be solved by adhd medication (maybe. i'm worried i somehow messed it up) or any form of accommodations. i don't want to ask my parents to pay for something that likely won't have much impact (and my mom wouldn't be fully convinced anyway. both parents are pretty sure there's nothing wrong with me). i want to know, but the time and money don't justify it. so the best solution i have is to keep going, keep learning which lifestyle changes to make and how to "work smarter". i'll be okay. and i say that with sincerity

whoops, forgot my glasses here. this is another gray dorito-shaped problem, only this one is much smaller. i rarely notice it, and when i do, it's superficial. it's only gotten genuinely bad twice in my life. it's my paranoia, obsessiveness, and, on occasion, compulsions that follow those obsessions. now, i know what you're thinking, which is that it kind of sounds like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. frankly, from my understanding, my issue is so negligible that it doesn't qualify as OCD. like i said, it barely affects me. it still bothers me that it's there, though. i do my best to deal with it, letting my thoughts pass as they come to me and not trying not to give into/breaking out of compulsions, but i just don't want it there at all

this is another thing i could see a therapist about, but does a problem this small really justify the time and expenses of seeing a professional? not in my case (not for me, at least. don't apply this to your own problems if you genuinely want to seek professional help)

i have a goal to have enough disposable income later in life to justify paying a scientist to pick through my brain for my own amusement. because, despite no substantial foreseeable improvements to my mental health after getting a psych evaluation, i still find the idea to be really exciting. i have a strong desire to understand how my mind works, how my brain ticks, why i am the person i am. that's how i know that if i ever played sburb, id have the heart aspect (that's right. you thought that this was just a personal post on my homestuck blog that had nothing to do with homestuck. do you really think i would do that? make off-topic posts solely about me on a homestuck blog? look, i even remembered to draw my glasses this time and i made them homestuck glasses. because i care about you guys) and i am vain and self-centered enough to desperately want someone with a phd to talk about me for an hour. and no, i don't need a therapist to tell me why that is, i already figured that one out allllll on my own

[hackfurs]

As a fellow undies lover, what do you like about them?

I hope you're ready for this essay, anon. I have many, many thoughts on underwear as a kink of mine.

I have always been interested in the "less is more" or "use your imagination" approach to depicting sexy things. Vague shapes, suggestions, an enticing phantom of what could be. Your thoughts get to run wild as you construct a form from lines and curves that might become reality if you play your cards right.

As an added bonus to the imagination aspect, having that sort of barrier between yourself and the subject of your attraction being fully nude adds a level of casualness to an encounter. I sometimes feel like there's a lot of pressure when you share a sexually contextualized space with someone who is naked. It makes me feel like I need to perform more and be very vocal about how much I find them attractive because the other person is risking more by being vulnerable like that with me. In that sense, underwear is a metaphorical suit of armor that still invokes the essence of nudity and sexiness without fully encapsulating all the unspoken rules and expectations of being naked.

Now that we've got some psychological and emotional aspects out of the way, let's discuss the physical.

First of all, there's nothing quite like seeing the elastic bands of underwear poking out from a pair of jeans when someone lifts up their arms or bends over. It practically teases me, and it's often the first thing that gets me into the mood when I'm with someone.

While we're on the topic of elastic bands, one of my favorite details about wearing underwear is when those bands squish or displace body fat and make little indents into someone's thigh's, waist, or even ass if it's a jockstrap. It's like they're waving a flag at me saying "Look how soft and squishy I am! I bet you want to squish it too!" And they're right. I really, really do. Another thing about elastic bands is the tactile feel they provide when you get your hands on them. Slipping your thumbs inside the band around the hips and feeling the pressure against them. Conversely, there's the way that underwear falls away slightly at the small of someone's back, letting you slip your hand inside with little resistance. The way certain body parts may push or strain against the waist band before springing free. It's all about pressure and tension here. There's another aspect that I adore about underwear, and this is something that people who are familiar with my art won't find surprising: seams. The lines holding it all together. Beyond their practical use in the construction of garments, I enjoy seams because they help highlight or emphasize the natural curves on someone's body. Inner thighs and butts are often accented by these extra details that help give you a sense of weight and curvature. This is also why I often include dual-toned articles of clothing where the inner and outer portions of sleeves, legs, etc. are different colors. This applies especially for the butts of characters. I always include a white butt on my characters to make sure that the curve is as noticeable as possible.

And finally, here's the aspect that pushes me a little closer into "freak" territory: my relationship to underwear is very scent oriented. I love being able to bury my face in someone's underwear, preferably while they're wearing it (but it's still good on their own, especially if their owner's scent is still present). It's that mix of musk, sweat, and fabric with a hint of whatever detergent they were last washed in. There's just something about it that lights my brain on fire. As you can see, I am very... enthusiastic about underwear. Hopefully, this answers your question, as well as explain why my body of work is... like that. 🩲

[wilcze-kudly]

While mostly find Kuvira a relatively straightforward character, I do love how the theme of rejection is just so ingrained into her character.

Of course we have Kuvira herself experiencing what many would call the cruellest rejection possible, being literally given away by her own biological parents.

Kuvira: [She angrily turns her head toward Korra as the shot cuts to a wide view.] Don't pretend you know what it felt like! [Wildly, waving her free arm.] The Avatar is adored by millions! I was cast aside by my own parents like I meant nothing to them.

We also see that, while Kuvira is invited with a lot of love by Su, who clearly is open to taking Kuvira into her family, Kuvira clearly didn't feel like part of the family. It isn't exactly concrete why this is the case. We can be certain that Opal, who was most likely working through her own issues surrounding not being a bender and feeling that Suyin is replacing her.

I know it's very easy to theorise that Kuvira was somehow isolated and ostracised from the Beifongs and while I can see this being the case, I haven't seen many people talk about just how avoidant Kuvira herself is.

I mean, Kuvira was horrifically rejected by the people she was meant to unconditionally trust and rely on. As a child who doesn't exactly understand why this is happening to her and that it wouldn't happen again, what better way to defend yourself if you reject them before they can reject you.

I think Bolin hit the nail on the head here. (When will we get a Bolin Kuvira argument i need it in my life)

Kuvira fears rejection. She struggles to form proper relationships, even her one intimate relationship with Baatar Jr had a certain amount of.... padding? If you know what I mean.

I don't doubt that Kuvira had a lot of affection for Baatar. I just think that she still kept a healthy dose of diatance in her relationship with him.

Her relationship with Baatar Jr is actually really fun. It sort of mirrors Kuvira's own childhood disillusionment with relationships.

Baatar also suffers a brutal rejection from someone. Kuvira, the woman he loved, and to some extent, for whom he abandoned all previous relationships tries to kill him. Directly after he pours his heart out to her and and restates his love for her. And now it's him isolating himself, particularly from Kuvira, even when she does try to reach out. (I do giggle at how much Kuvira gets consistently swerved in the comics)

The parasocial relationship Kuvira fosters with her Empire is also worth taking into consideration. Kuvira obviously is projecting her own childhood trauma onto the entire damn country which is my fave part of her character because who does that lol.

I've mentioned this in my comparison of the Earth Empire and Russia in the throes of Stalinism but I wouldn't be surprised if Kuvira cultivating a cult of personality to bolster her leadership is also her attempting to build connections that she deems "safe".

She holds the power in these relationships, she's basically a celebrity and if someone does step out of line, they are betraying not Kuvira, but the Nation. Postulating herself as an untouchable emperess also, once again, allows her a certain level of distance from others.

I'm not sure if Kuvira is aware she's perpetuating her own loneliness. I wanna say yes, because when she is alone, she acknowledges to herself that Suyin indeed was there for her and that she can rely on her. But she's so good at manipulating and gaslighting that she may have tricked herself fully into believing she's the victim, like she had with her warcrimes at the beginning of RotE.

All in all, I think Kuvira is a very interesting character if not one that is simply putting an slightly new spin on tried and true tropes. I will say I find it quite odd how many people take what she says without a second thought when she clearly has a vested interest in lying, but she is very charismatic and fun to analyse lol.

[reds-writings]

Ooo any grump/sunshine day to day with old man Rust!!! Maybe fluff prompt pt.2 #3 or #6!

You’re writings for Rust are incredible please never stop! <3

i mostly combined 3 and 6 with this ask and went with something kinda new?? this features a nurse!reader with a bit of an age gap taking place but nothing crazy. i love the sunshine/grumpy trope so i hope you enjoy!! (also I'm trying out using a placeholder nickname for the reader so i don't have to use y/n as much so pls let me know if y'all enjoy that at all)

When Marty first sprung the idea of a temporary at-home caretaker on Rust the man had half the mind to think the blonde was just being a tremendous chain-yanking shit. But his friend was dead serious and it was less of a ‘think on it’ idea and more of a ‘I got Maggie to pull some strings and a nurse will be coming in next week’ idea. No matter how much Rust reared and protested Marty insisted that he have someone to keep an eye on him since Marty couldn’t be his personal maid for much longer given that it had already been a couple of weeks since their hospital visit courtesy of that fucker Childress. 

Rust didn’t want a damned nurse. He wasn’t some pathetic geriatric fuck in desperate need of some lousy assistance. Sure, anytime he moved too much or stood for too long he felt like he’d pass out from the pain of the wound that nearly took up his whole abdomen but that didn’t mean jack shit. Marty brushed off any complaints without so much a blink and kept reassuring that it’d do the grump some good to have company other than himself or the neverending onslaught of his usual doomsday-esque thoughts. The day you showed up at Marty’s door bright and early on a Monday morning with a smile too genuine for Rust to fully comprehend, you were not at all what he was expecting. 

Not that he really had any expectations to begin with. Maybe that you’d be older. More seasoned. Not nearly 10 years or so his junior. Certainly not possessing such a radiantly pleasant disposition that no one else seemed to harbor anywhere around these parts. He wasn’t above immediately clocking the beauty you exuded but eyeing younger women was more of Marty’s MO than his own. 

You seemed untouched by the vast ugliness of what the world fostered. There weren’t many moments where you didn’t have a look of general felicity painted on the soft planes of your face. It was a habit of yours to wear brightly patterned or colored scrubs that he, at first, deemed a semi-loathsome eyesore (which then eventually grew on him). An array of silly patches and pins allowed on your work bag full of the necessities you slung along for the day’s endeavors with him. Kitschy socks you kept as a hidden surprise within the confines of your clogs that you’d show to him even if he never gave the inclination that he cared about something so trivial. Your unmoving cheeriness translated to a certain form of naivety that had something ugly burning beneath the prison of his ribs. At first, he thought he just felt this brand of annoyance towards a preconceived notion of cluelessness you carried but over time it found itself melting away into a subconscious need to shelter you from the horrors of earth. 

It took plenty of time to chip away at that impossible exterior of his but with your incessant refusal to let his initial gruffness and straight-up disregard of your presence deter you he had no choice but to give in to your efforts of friendly engagement.

Given that there wasn’t much to do for him care-wise besides keep his wounds clean, change bandages, make sure he didn’t collapse, and keep up with any meds he was prescribed post-hospital stay you took on the role of making the passing days a little more interesting than they’d usually be if he were by his lonesome. You’d find little non-exertive exercises to do in the afternoon to keep his muscles from getting too weak. Drag him along to the grocery store to shop so that you could try out some new recipes you saved online. You were steadfast in making g sure he wasn’t just surviving off the cigarettes and beer he’d stubbornly sneak behind your back. You also made it a goal to keep up with trimming that bristly mustache of his and making sure his hair didn't get too unruly. You’ve gone as far as to bug him about letting you practice your braiding skills so that you could fulfill your niece’s creative hairstyle wishes but no dice. One day you’d wear him down enough into agreeance. That was becoming easier, though, wearing him down for just about anything. One look at those doe-ish eyes and the battle he was prepared to fight had already been lost. Rust had a feeling you were more clever than anyone probably gave you credit for but there was no use in acknowledging that your stare was having an increasingly strengthened hold on him. 

To say Marty was absolutely tickled by the noticeable change in his friend’s demeanor throughout this new development was an understatement. It was about time there was something Rust somewhat enjoyed besides stewing over the point of humanity’s existence or yapping on about unsavory ideas involving shit like damnation. It didn’t take long for your attitude and delightful qualities to earn you the nickname Sunny. Marty deemed it exceedingly fitting and even Rust found himself playing into it much to everyone’s surprise. Hearing it from him had a splendid giddiness sparking throughout your system more than you’d like to admit. 

Today you’d driven him out near the water where you both could sit and read for a while. You always stressed the importance of fresh air doing him some good and he never complained. If it meant getting him out of Marty’s bachelor pad here and there he’d let you drag him anywhere as far as Timbuktu. As chatty as you could be, you stayed mindful of any moment of solitude he may require during these daily visits. Sometimes it was nice to just exist and absorb the ambiance the outside world had to offer in each other’s presence and for that he was grateful. 

“You’re starting to walk better on your own, Rusty.” You broke the bubble of serenity, looking up from your book –some light read of a romance– to fix him with a small smile that quirked the corner of your lips. The sun’s fading light drenched your figure in the hues of impending dusk and some nagging part of him found it to be an effortlessly alluring sight despite its simplicity. You’d have to be calling it a night soon but what was a few more stolen moments in each other's company? 

“Yeah, s’gettin’ a bit easier I suppose. Soon enough I’ll be back to mostly functional as opposed to some lame cripple.” He replied in dry amusement, dog-earing the page he was on to bring his full attention to you. Marty often gave him flack for his outgrown hippie look but it added some sort of rugged appeal in your opinion. Not that you’d ever find the courage to forgo any sense of professionalism by making your whims involving Rust Cohle known. But as he looked at you now with weathered blue you couldn’t help but give in to the ideas of something beyond this current format of companionship. 

“Cripple is a bit of an exaggeration. You’ll be up and at em’ before you know it. Though it sucks I won’t be of much use no more.” There was a twinge of sadness in your voice and he hated the frailty of it.  

“Ah…don’t worry, Sunny. There’ll be some other helpless old soul who’ll need you around.” 

“That’d imply you’re just some helpless old fart in the throng of said souls. Which you’re not. Plus, none have ever entertained me as you do.” You chirped in that playful matter-of-fact way you often do. 

“Entertainin’. Hm. That’s new.” He shook his head before looking out toward the water. 

“Even if your physical health will no longer be of issue I’ll make it my new mission to spruce up that self-deprecating brain of yours. Not that I’m necessarily trained within the realm of mental health but I can youtube it or something. I have my ways.” You wiggled your fingers in jest as if casting a spell. In truth, it was as if you already had when you came around all those weeks ago. 

“Can’t get rid of you that easily I’m guessin’.” He shot back in a lousy attempt at a joke. Whether you could read his poorly hidden desire to keep you around or not, he couldn’t tell.

“You know by now I’m like a leech. A cute, fun leech! It’ll take a lot to get rid of me for good,” You paused with a bout of slight insecurity, “unless you don’t want me around to bother you longer. I know I can be a bit much sometimes-”

“You can stick around, Sunny. Can’t have Marty as my only friend. That’d be plain sad.” He was playing it off cool, unaware of the barrage of butterflies he had set off in your chest with that simple statement. 

“I might have to alert the masses now that you consider me a friend. This is by no means a small feat– wait does this mean I can practice my braiding finally?! My niece is getting antsy and I-”

“Don’t push your luck.” He had to look away from the blinding beam of your cheek-splitting smile as he moved to stand up. Without fail, you rushed to his side to place your dainty hand into his so that you could help. The small action sent lightning down the length of his spine. The warmth of your joking jabs about your newfound title of friendship encased his whole being. He couldn’t help but think back on the conversation he’d had with Marty outside of the hospital, about light versus dark. Perhaps you manifesting into his orbit was another indicator that the light just might actually be winning. 

[factual-fantasy]

24 ASKS! :D THANK YOU!! 🧀

Not in my AU she's not! For 2 reasons-

For 1, my AU is built from Mario games and media I personally know/am familiar with. I know a little bit about Mario sunshine and saw a comic where Delfino island was Daisy's vacation island. So I took that info and crafted it into my AU lore! My Daisy's kingdom is populated by Delfino's, and it sits along the coast nearby the Mushroom Kingdom.

The other reason is I only heard of what Sarasaland was like two days ago. I've never played any of the games its from and had no idea it existed. So I didn't add it to my AU and I definitely cant add it now-

But even if I did, I'd have the same problem. Why is Daisy the ruler of these little.. dancing.. skeleton.. guys..?? If she isn't one of them?

@neo-metalscottic (Post in question)

AAA THANK YOU SO MUCH!! :DD And yeah, that was Wendy and Roy! Though her exact reasoning for crying hasn't been fully thought out yet. I was thinking that she was having trouble putting on her make-up and ribbons.. maybe that was something the Koopalings mom would help her with before she.. well.. :( (Also, I do intend to finish/expand on that comic/idea very soon! :}} )

As for Iggy and Lemmy, they're not twins in my AU! Though they are close, they are very apart in age. I don't know what "older lore" you're talking about.. if you're referring to a game or a show, I have never seen it. :( All the Koopalings personalities and dynamics are just going to be made up/decided by me :)

As for their closeness, what brings them together is their eyes and their love for magic/Kamek.

I had this idea that Iggy was born blind, and Lemmy was born with a lazy eye/cross eyed. Kamek was able to use his magic to restore a fair bit of Iggy's sight and reposition Lemmy's eye. The result is their eyes and faces have unusual colors and patterns.. but they can see! And they are very thankful to Kamek for that.

Also that exposure to magic at such a young age has really drawn them into it.. they're both supposed to be really interested in magic and learning how to use it. Thus their closeness with each other and Kamek!

@tallchest13-blog (Sent after this post I believe..?.. orr was it this one-- maybe this one??)

XDD Thank you so much!! I'm glad to see so many folks are interested in my interpretation of the Mario bros!! :DD And good luck with your discord RPG! :}

Well since there are a ton of pirate/seafaring cookies in the game, I assume water isn't a problem. :0 Though it is for Louis becuase he cant swim- (His claw arm is very heavy so he sinks-)

(Link in question)

GOLDEN FREDDY??? XDDD

Tbh that gets a bit of an eye roll form me. I miss the old days when Golden Freddy was just a terrifying Easter egg in the first game.. things were so simple back then.. 😭

@jaybleu25 Ah no worries, I understand. Here, take a look at my 1:AM red scribblings XD

And if its not clear, the last 4 images of that post are all Roy and Wendy :} Hope this helped!

(Post in question)

AAAA THANK YOU SO MUCH!! :DD And yup yup! That's Wendy! :DDD

(Link/video in ask)

Oooo :00 what a beautiful song! :DDDD

(Post in question)

I can see the braid refusing to stay together and eventually unweaving itself. Its all flowy and free~~💫💫

<XDD ?? Huh??

I suppose in the actual games the treasure is like that. But I like to imagine my crew finds actual gold treasures 🤩✨✨

The only version of Robin hood I'm familiar with is the Disney Fox version. I'm not sure what you mean by his "merry band".. 😅

Hmm.. I don't think so. But maybe Tuna has..? Or maybe that's how Louis could have lost his original arm-

@raven-bearden-the-interviewer42

Probably Seafoam's love.. 🥺💙

(Link in question)

I feel like Coco would be the one to get pied trying to protect Red. And Tuna would have been the one to set up the trap XDD

@couchwow

XDD All I could think is of how terrifying the brown creature in the second image is. I MEAN LOOK AT HIM!-

WHAT IS THAT??? XDDD

@neo-metalscottic (Mario bros post in question) (Princess post in question)

AAA THANK YOU SO MUCH!! :D I'm glad you like them! Though I wonder what about the old designs I would combine the new ones.. I fixed/altered all the flaws I saw with the old designs. I'm not sure what I'd keep-

As for Luigi and the Poltergust, he doesn't ever get that. Since Mario is never captured by the Boos, why would he need it? And I haven't decided what to do with E.Gadd yet, if anything at all..

As for Mario and Bowser.. I was thinking that Mario kind'a just said that in the heat of the moment. But he would be willing to take him down permamntly if he ever showed his face again.. but right now Bowser is definitely not causing any more problems for a while.

Mario and Luigi scared the daylights outa him. The hero's of Legend are real, and they're here. Bowser is probably scrambling for means of defense atm and wouldn't dare send anyone over there to cause trouble.

As for the Chain Chomp.. even if Bowser wanted to release it and wreak havoc on the bros/the mushroom kingdom.. I don't think he could. Kamek was unable to control Petey Piranha and rein him back in when he escaped. What make's him think they'll have any control over the Chain Chomp if they release it? It'll probably just turn around and eat Bowser's castle instead- and once its out, how will they trap it again?

And oh yeah, they could beat it. All they'd need is 1 super star and the Chain Chomp would be flattened in a matter of seconds. ⭐💪

@yoylecake420

I know absolutely nothing about him or the game he's from. :( He's made of wood I think..?

@astaherussy (Post in question)

WAAAHAHAGH THAK YOU!! :DDD

And don't worry! I don't intend to rush anything <XDD --I'm trying to take my time thinking the lore through and filling in plot holes-

(Post in question)

<XD Well I don't wanna ramble about the lore until its a little more set and stone. I don't wanna say "this is my idea!" and then 15 minutes later go "well actuallyyyy...."

Maybe so! XD I wonder if its like that in the games.. 🤔

Ooooo I could see that! :00 That could be Urchins weapon maybe!

(Post in question)

XD I guess great minds think alike? That, or Rosalina is just really cool-

@sparkdrawsstuff

I'm sure they've faced all that and more! :00 Also thank you!! :))

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

You know that Weapon Reader you did with Lilia and Malleus? Can do you one with Before and After Overblotting Yandere!Azul (And maybe Yan!Floyd and Yan!Jade) with Weapon Reader? I can see Reader doing this when Azul was asking for something to ‘sweeten’ the deal that he has for them (To free the Students):

Azul: What exactly can you offer me beside your Dorm? You don’t exactly-

Reader (No hesitation): My Body

Azul: Have much to offer- (Realizes what they said) HUH?!? (Is completely off guard by such a suggestive offer)

Reader (Straight faced): You heard me

Jade and Floyd (Both smirk realizing the Magicless Prefect is going be entertaining to have around): Hehehe…

Jack (Surprised and very started by their ‘suggestive’ offer): Are you INSANE?? (Has a blush on his face from embarrassment)

Grim, Ace and Deuce (Spit-Take after hearing what their Friend just offered): W H A T/N Y A H? ? ! ?

I DEFINITELY believe that Reader doesn’t realize that the rules on ‘Offering’ their Bodies is VERY different from their world (Since Demon Weapon offer their Bodies to Meisters to turn into Weapons) which is seen as connecting to their Meisters (Not realizing that what they offered was VERY suggestive until Ace explained it, then I bet their face rivals Angry Riddle’s Face)

I love this so much

🖤🖤🖤

Weapon Reader (2) | Yandere Twisted Wonderland

Azul Ashengrotto

Feeling the weight of the scythe’s blade that was on his lap, he’s desperately trying to gain some semblance of normalcy for him

“Y-your leg!”

“It wouldn’t be just this part. This is only a demonstration. Fully changed, I'm a spear.”

“W-why would I need a spear?!”

“...” You were looking at him like he was the alien here 

“Uh to stab people? I thought you were the smart one Azul.”

He near faints 

Despite his initial shock he eventually gets quite excited about you and your so-called friends failing becoming part of his little crew in Monstro Lounge

With you in his pocket, he’d be unstoppable

Not to mention he could finally get to know you or rather for you to know him at all

Too many times had he chickened out from speaking to you because he was sure his heart was beating loud enough to hear

But if you really were making the offer

He’d take it

And when the day ends he himself will collect you

“Well similar to Ramshackle, it's only right that I protect and exercise your services until the contract is officially in action.”

On account of maintaining your deal, you sigh before following Azul who is trying to hide his blushy smile as he pushes his glasses up with pride

So between being interrogated about your weapon status and plotting with your friends it will ultimately trigger his overblot

When that finally does happen you are more than prepared to throw down especially if Jade is offering to be your meister

When all's said and done Azul’s really upset you are out of his grasp

Next to Jamil your #1 on his ‘make a contract with at any opportunity' list

And it's not entirely because of your weapon status

“Prefect, I was curious if you’d let me…handle you, a-as a weapon of course!”

“If you let me touch your tentacles.”

“W-what?! B-but thats–”

“Embarrassing? Maybe, but I’m not one to let just anyone wield me.”

“I’d love to wield you more than anything~!”

“What?”

“J-just thinking about future…opportunities for collaboration, where’d we both get what we want.”

Jade Leech

His having a difficult time repressing the smile on his face

No doubt having also been deeply engaged in research about you, he already deemed you a person of interest

This was just the icing on the cake

He’s really really hoping Azul didn’t properly explain it in the terms of the contract

If Azul didn’t have use for you, he’d gladly be willing 

He can’t wait to take advantage get to know you better

In all your forms

“We happily accept your offer. And once you fail, we can’t wait to keep you forever properly employ you.”

Now he’s going to enjoy exercising the guard for collateral 

Sevens does he love throwing that weight around 

As he slowly carves into your time with your friends 

“Excuse us but we best be off. We’ve scheduled some time for us to get acquainted with one another.”

He really wants to see you in your full weapon form

He also really wants to know if your sense of touch remains through your transformation

“So this is what you meant about being a battle axe. I expected something more modest.”

“Like a lumberjack’s? Please, with the monsters I’d be fighting this is–what are you doing?”

“Sorry I just wanted to know, can you feel this at all?”

“Y-yes but why are you holding my handle like that?!” 

“Just getting a feel for you, that’s all.”

“Well stop it! This is just weird!”

“Perhaps but you were the one to sign the contract, no?”

“It hasn’t gone into effect just yet.”

“It will. And when it does I’ll be more than prepared to wield you with the skill you deserve.”

Sucks to suck 

He’s more aggravated than he lets on about the contract being fulfilled

Now he’s got to find another way to get ahold of you

And while he’s at it he might just cut Azul and Floyd out of it for good measure

So prepare for any and all situations that need you to transform

“Well this is quite the predicament!”

“It isn’t a predicament! You purposely chose this heavily forested area!”

“I’ve done no such thing. This is all through coincidence.”

“Right...”

“...”

“....”

“Now if you’d transform so that I may cut through this bramble.”

“And there it is!”

Floyd Leech

Is just as excited as his brother

He’s following you everywhere 

Closing in when he finds an opportunity to run off with

“I get to have (Y/n)! Why? Because I need to watch for the contract of somethin’!”

He isn’t as interested in getting Ramshackle as he is in finally getting to play with you

He always thought you were just a cute little shrimp 

But you have claws!

How fun!

Fully expect him to shake you hysterically before full-on asking

“Why won’t you change?!”

“I-I-am-not-a-toy-!”

“You’re telling me! Where’s the knife button?”

“Hahaha! S-stop p-poking me! Hey! Keep your hands off!”

Thinking it might ease his insistent touches it won’t

You’ll transform and he’s swinging you around like a maniac

“Stoooop! You’re going to hurt someone!”

“But it's so fun to swing you around like this!”

“Leech brother put that down immediately! You shouldn’t be swinging a weapon like that so indiscriminately, especially since it's you.”

He’s honestly a little peeved

But hey you were known for never being boring

Now that you have claws he’s more intense with his advances

He’s not immune to blades but he does enjoy a workaround

It doesn’t matter that the contract wasn’t fulfilled 

It just means he gets to have fun trying to catch you off-guard

He’s always been one for a chase

“Ne ne Shrimpy~Where’d you run off to?!”

“Don’t come near me Floyd, I'll cut you!”

“I’d like to see you try!” 

[autistichalsin]

Ty for putting Halsin/abdirak in my brain this is a lovely development. May or may not be opening my art program of choice, who really knows (/j I absolutely am drawing something with them)

anyway

I’d absolutely love to hear what you have to say abt them (mainly bc I’ve seen such a wild variety of takes abt abdirak and I’m curious where you fall in regards to him)

Abdirak is such an ambiguous character so it makes sense to me that there'd be a variety of takes!

There was a lore tweet from his writer a while back that he lost his family as a child and was found by a Pain of Loviatar, nearly dead, and taken in. To me, that paints a picture of a somewhat... I don't want to go as far as to say a tragic figure, but there is something tragic about the idea that this child lost his family and was then taken in by a sadomasochistic cult. That would have been an intensely horrible, abusive environment to grow up in (fitting the themes of this game wrt cults).

By contrast, Halsin also lost his family at a young age, but rather than being taken in by an evil cult, "the Grove became [his] family, with Silvanus as [his] teacher." Halsin got a healthy, supportive environment after losing his family, and given his extremely high levels of empathy and compassion, I imagine he'd be aware of just how much not having that shaped Abdirak.

But then we get to the idea of them meeting, and I'm honestly a bit still confused because that requires clearing up a huge contradiction. Basically, some of the goblin leaders are fully aware Halsin is the bear (Gut and possibly Dror Ragzlin as well), while Minthara goes back and forth on either knowing or not knowing (she says she hasn't seen Halsin if the player asks, yet if he dies and the player uses SWD, his corpse HEAVILY implies he was killed by Minthara personally). Did Halsin ever come out of bear form around any of the leaders?

If so, then it is possible Abdirak was brought in to torture Halsin as well as Liam, which would make for interesting interactions. If not, then likely it was solely for Liam, but there's still ways to imagine them interacting- maybe Abdirak took a wrong turn and found his way to the warg pens? Maybe Halsin had been knocked unconscious, reverting back to his elf form and letting them talk?

From there we have a LOT of directions this could go, ranging from dark (what if the Grove is raided and Abdirak talks the goblins into letting him 'keep' Halsin since they don't need him anymore?) to acrimonious (Abdirak torturing Halsin and Halsin deciding that's just one indignity too many to stand) to sexy (Halsin getting turned on and leading to a consensual but confusing encounter) to strangely sweet (them opening up to each other for reasons they're not entirely sure about but that lead them to see something in each other). Maybe a combination of the above.

I have entirely too many thoughts about them considering Abdirak has like 10 minutes of screentime tops lmfao

[fallloverfic]

@tired-of-life-86 replied to your post "Thinking about how people assuming Seth isn’t into men is also a big reason why. . .":

I feel like Seth doesn't have too much interest in sexual relationships. He wants love more than anything and since lust is a form of love, he doesn't mind that too much either (if it's with the person he loves.) Seth has been hurt, betrayed, defiled, and tortured. He also has not been allowed to mourn. Since he hasn't mourned or focused on healing. His thought process and emotions are just messed up and jumbled. My poor baby, I just wanna see him happy! ❤

I've generally thought he doesn't have much active interest in sex, like I don't think he proactively seeks it out, but he doesn't mind it with partners he enjoys if they want it. He does very much want to just be loved, and he likes making his partners happy. The problem is that we don't have much of him being in a relationship he seeks out on his own. Just one panel of him kissing Nephthys in the past(?) in S01E18, and the time he spent with Horus in Abu Gorab in S02E70 onward. We don't know why or how he fell in love with Nephthys. We only know how he's fallen/falling in love with Horus, and that relationship hasn't been centered on sex, but involves physical intimacy (e.g., the kiss in S02E70). It involves sex, too, but Horus initiated it that time.

I also don't know that I'd agree that "lust is a form of love". Lust is a desire, and physicality can be a way to express love. But it doesn't have to be (e.g., Osiris, Kuentamen, Fenu). It's one reason people differentiate being "in love" and being "in lust" and a commonish-ish phrase is something like, "you're not in love, it's just lust". I again think Seth doesn't mind physicality with people he likes, particularly if it makes his partner happy.

CW: discussion of mental illness, mention of canon cannibalism

I'm not precisely sure what you mean by he's not allowed to mourn? What is he mourning? Do you mean losing Anubis (or at least the Anubis he knew)? Anubis isn't dead and he's working on getting Anubis back.

Or maybe mourning the brother/siblings he thought he knew, or losing his marriage? He hasn't been supported through the difficulties and trauma he's experienced. But I think he had plenty of time to mourn his siblings if he felt the need to during the hundreds of years of his being king (I think it's one major reason he treats Isis the way he does during the trial; her turning her back on him still hurts, but he's had years to deal with and accept it's just part of their relationship, even if he still hates it and feels hurt by it). He definitely still has issues processing his relationship with Nephthys, which he mostly handled through putting distance between them. His attempting to process/attempting to not process everything is likely part of why he was so focused on getting drunk and drugged out of his mind. I think he might have mourned the loss of who he was before he discovered what Osiris was, but what we've learned in recent episodes leads me to think he's used to giving up versions of himself (e.g., changing to a god of war) for what he believes is necessary (e.g., someone had to guard everyone and he wasn't good at anything else).

I also want to see him happy, which is why I'm glad we actually have in many recent episodes. In Abu Gorab when he and Horus were talking, with the kiss, and to a degree I think with Seth fighting the attacking men, and with Seth hanging out a bit with Anubis in Abu Gorab, and with the cat in Hermopolis. I think he's also been more comfortable with Horus in places. It's important to remember no one is happy all the time. It's just not how people work. We find what happiness we can in between the rougher parts of our lives. I don't think Seth will end up fully happy all the time, no matter how the story ends. I think he'll end up happy to a degree, at least, if not much happier than he's been for a lot of his life, particularly since he and Horus seem to be increasingly honest with each other in a way Seth seemingly wasn't with Nephthys, and it's something Seth values (he likes feeling seen).

I think this leads into an important point (that's not really what you're talking about, and apologies for the text spam, please ignore if you don't care, but I felt like going down the rabbit hole): the idea that Seth wasn't happy after the night of usurpation because that (and following events) messed him up, but that he potentially was happy before that, and that doesn't seem true, not just because of what I said about his being happy at points afterward, but also because of what we've seen of who he was and what he did before. We have a lot of evidence Seth wasn't happy even before the night of usurpation. Like yes, he was with Nephthys, they had a kid he loved, he was friends with Isis and got along with Osiris, and he was a very successful war god and had appreciation from the humans, as well as temples. But even when he was with his family, as Sekhmet notes in in S01E36, the four siblings acted "like they were the happiest family on the planet". How much of that was an act, at least on Seth's part, is up for debate. But even outside Sekhmet saying at least some of it was an act, Seth wasn't happy in his life.

The way Seth describes becoming a war god in S02E89, that it was his duty and there was no liking or disliking it, speaks to me of someone who doesn't have a particular interest in what he does for a living (outside being good at it). We're shown later on that he seems to take pride in his martial prowess and winning fights (e.g., in S01E56, in that panel of Seth catching Horus, I honestly think he's having fun), particularly during the trial, but part of that is his arrogance and bluster and trying to convince people he's an egomaniac who needs to be put down, along with his distaste in losing because Osiris told him that he's weak (e.g., how he reacts in S01E56 to Horus at the idea that it was due to Seth's weakness that Horus assaulted him). In S01E05, Seth tells Anubis that being the god of war is not respectable, and that war itself is awful, and he hopes Anubis doesn't become a god like him. This is reflected in how he talks about the horrors of war in S02E88-9 and how he mentions hearing the cries of humans who died in war calling to him in S01E48.

Seth looks so bitter, angry, and pained about this. Perhaps he was able to tolerate it because he had the love of Nephthys, Anubis, and his siblings to sustain him. Perhaps that's part of why he was so desperate they not forget him, because it's what got him through things. As he says in S01E05, "War is sometimes necessary when you need to protect your family, your land." He did all this out of necessity, not love or enjoyment. And he suffered through it. There's a manic gleam in his eye as he looks at Osiris while the dead are screaming for him in S01E48.

And we know at least part of the reason he doesn't like eating (particularly meat) is because his soldiers had to turn to cannibalism (S02E88). He saw a lot of horrible things in war long before Osiris assaulted him, and he just sort of lived with it, seemingly keeping it apart as much as possible from his life in Heliopolis and the people he cared about. Even Osiris seemingly doesn't know Seth can hear the dead calling to him, nor did potentially Isis.

He also doesn't seem to care about his followers at all (even before he starts slaughtering them en masse), and his awareness of them is quite distant, even before the night of usurpation (e.g., he had no idea who Kuentamen was, despite Kuentamen being the/one of Seth's high priests in Heliopolis, and gods having, allegedly, perfect memory/minds). They're convenient when he needs them, and an irritation when not. So while I imagine he appreciated being worshiped (and while he notably still expects humans to respect him), it wasn't that big a deal. As Seth says to FG in S02E85, "What do you mean, how will [humans] worship [gods]? Humans don't doubt us."

And of course we know that he was afraid of being forgotten, and that this is a fear he had that predated the night of usurpation.

As he explains to Osiris in S01E41, "I always just acted angry so that I wouldn't have to hear what [Nephthys] had to say. She was probably afraid of things ending up this way..." He had anxiety about his marriage - and his fatherhood - from numerous angles before he had confirmation that Anubis wasn't biologically his, and that Nephthys had sought out another man. It's not clear if he and Nephthys fought, or if he was verbally abusive, but he used anger to avoid talking to her directly. To avoid her admitting that she was moving past their relationship in some form. Their relationship was messy even before he knew why Nephthys had made it messy on her end.

So his marriage was a mess, he was at times distant from his son (their relationship is shown to be loving, but it had its complications), he didn't care much for his work, and he was distant if not uncaring to his followers, he had anxiety, he had some anger management issues, he had self-esteem issues, he wasn't communicating well with people, and he was prioritizing other folks in ways that were unhealthy for him all before the night of usurpation.

Isis describes the era before the four siblings ruled Egypt, before Seth became a god of war, as "a quiet, peaceful, beautiful era" in S02E80.

But we also know she was completely oblivious to Osiris' lust for Seth and his experiments and Nephthys seemingly being in love with Osiris at some point. Even in the peaceful era image, Osiris looks kind of upset/embarrassed. He might just be reacting to whatever Isis and Nephthys are laughing about, but I think it's notable he's behind her, where she can't see him. Perhaps for Isis it was beautiful. The question is if it was beautiful for Seth.

A lot of Seth's unhappiness seems to come from his being a god of war, and obviously things that came after that with Nephthys, Sekhmet, Osiris, Isis, Anubis, himself, etc. Perhaps he was happier in that time, before he became the god of war. We don't know. But what we do know is that Seth has been unhappy, in various ways, long before Osiris assaults him, and long before the events of the manhwa in present happen.

Why any of this matters: as someone who's dealt with depression and family members and friends with depression, it's very meaningful to me for various reasons that we have a character who might have some form of depression and/or other mental health problems and who also has happy moments, and I like to emphasize moments where he does find happiness. That not only is it possible for him but it also does happen. His being unhappy a lot does not negate the moments he is happy, or at least stable. A lot of folks in fandom look at Horuseth as it exists and are like, "well Seth's clearly not happy; he needs to not be around Horus to be happy." It's the main reason the Seth x Happiness "ship" exists. They expect him to always be happy, as if that's attainable and not kind of exhausting. As if no relationship ever has ups and downs (heck, even the purportedly "happy" relationship he had with Nephthys had downs from Seth's side due to his own insecurities and worries; love doesn't solve everything). But Horus has made him happy. Seth has reached out to him. Seth kissed him while being a bit overwhelmed by his own happiness at Horus seeing him. Seth finds joy in learning. He finds some joy in being good at fighting. He finds joy in protecting people and being useful.

He is happy in the manhwa, at least in moments. And I believe he'll be happier in future, too.

[sophieinwonderland]

i have a question, if youre willing to answer.

i dont want resources, i’ve likely already read them.

we’re a traumagenic programmed system. typically the thought of someone without trauma having this disorder upsets us, because what we went through was so severe that it seems unfair to people without trauma to have to live the same hell as us.

it seems like the only reason someone would be a system without trauma would be by choice.

i would like to hear your explanation for endogenic systems. as i already said, ive read plenty of journals on non trauma based plurality. i dont include spiritual plurality as to me that is an entirely different field.

all i would like to know is your version or perspective of why endogenic systems exist without any trauma whatsoever. when i say this, i mean the type of formative years that would leave a singlet with fondest memories of childhood, nothing bad or stressful, a peaceful parents and environment, etc.

this is not for syscourse, i dont engage with negativity like that.

im open to learning, and i will always peacefully coexist with opposing views to my own, but again, i do my research and have already read many of both the popular and obscure journals on non trauma based plurality that i have found.

-

i dont know if you’ll answer this, though i do hope so, and im not sure how often you get anonymous asks like this, but just in case, you can consider me as anon M.

much respect to you, and i hope you have a good day/night.

-M

Sure!

I'm curious if, in your research, you've also looked into studies into "imagined companions."

These are what I actually find most interesting. Now, "imagined companion" is a loaded term from a singlet-normative perspective that ASSUMES a single consciousness per body. But recent research into ICs have shown a reality that is far more complicated than that, with a majority of ICs seemingly possessing will of their own.

Current research shows about a third of ICs appear to be fully controlled by the host child. These are pretty much what you imagine they would be when you hear terms like "imaginary friend" thrown around. These aren't what I'm interested in.

At the other end of the spectrum are researchers call "noncompliant" imaginary friends. These do have will of their own but exhibit harmful and often bullying behavior. I think many of these would be traumagenic in nature, or at least trauma-affected. If a child's IC is bullying them, that hints that something has likely gone wrong in their homelife, and they're emulating toxic behaviors.

What I find most interesting then is this middle third. Those who demonstrate autonomy while being generally supportive, positive relationships in the lives of their hosts.

It's in this group that we find the strongest evidence of natural multiplicity in children. And it's a pretty massive percentage of the population.

Some studies have shown more than 60% of children have had imagined companions in childhood before the age of 7.

Extrapolating, this means as many as 40% of children, 2 in every 5, would experience childhood plurality, with other people in their heads with their own will.

About 1-in-5 would fall into the category of having these sorts of positive childhood headmates.

To me, the issue isn't a question of why natural multiplicity exists. It seems to me that it just does. Some people are just naturally multiple in childhood.

To me, the issue is what happens to it afterwards. Where do these headmates go? Why do some people keep them?

For the first question, this seems a result of forced conformity. Tell children that their ICs aren't real and that they need to outgrow them, and the ICs will either be forced into dormancy or fuse with the host child.

Their singlethood is sociogenic.

But a fraction will remain. The ICs will be stronger than normal or the host child won't let go of them. And they'll stick around to adulthood. Since they "know" a simple imaginary friend can't be real or think for themselves, they may turn to spiritual explanations for what they experience.

Most will feel alone in their experiences, feel crazy, and never tell others about these headmates.

I'll also add that these systems are usually unable to switch. Switching appears to usually need a dissociative capacity from either intentional dissociative practices such as those in tulpamancy and many spiritual practices, or from trauma.

These systems can learn to switch but it's not inherent to their plurality.

Those are my thoughts anyway! Good day to you too, and thanks for the question! 😁💖

[iambic-stan]

I know this is about to sound like high school drama before I fully explain it, so bear with me. A friend of mine decided to tell a friend of hers about me. We live nowhere near each other and I seriously doubt we'll ever meet, so I was 100% ok with that. She told me she told her friend, "I have this friend and one thing about her is she really likes stethoscopes and listening to people's heartbeats and for other people to listen to her heartbeat..." To which the friend immediately said, "Autistic." I'm not sure whether or not this person was making fun of me, but I don't see it as an insult, anyhow, and I am (unofficially) diagnosed. That said, I don't think correlation necessarily implies causation in many or even most cases. Plenty of cardiophiles are neurotypical and plenty of neurodivergent people wouldn't understand being obsessed with heart sounds, obviously.

That said, I do think there's a relationship between these things in my case. I think it would be a really interesting study that could be approached a number of ways (but I'm no sociologist or psychologist). I wonder if there are a number of autistic people who experience a desire for intimacy in a similar way--by doing something that seems a little strange and/or maybe would be "boring" to most people but satisfies our need for sameness, consistency, routine, reassurance in a world that's overwhelming--that sort of thing. I'm having a hard time coming up with good examples, though. I want to say wanting someone to brush your hair and you wanting to brush the other person's hair as a form of affection but honestly...that seems like a far more mainstream intimacy than using a stethoscope. But it can certainly also be very comforting.

Anyone have thoughts on this?

[animeloverskylarmoon]

Yumichika Ayasegawa (Bleach)- Oneshot

You weren't certain how it happened.

Truly.

Ichigo warned you that he had some crazy friends. Usually you just pretended that they weren't there. With two jobs, you really didn't have the energy to be worrying about crazies in old fashioned robes.

That's why you tried your best to get rid of him. But he just kept coming back.

Like a parasite.

"If you'd like I can give you some tips. Your hair is a mess."

An irk mark appeared on your forehead at the few of many insults that this annoying reaper had directed at you.

"IF I'M SUCH A MESS YOU COULD JUST STOP COMING YOU CRAZY REAPER!!"

Screaming in the middle of the street at a man only you could see probably wasn't doing you any favors. You huff, storming off.

"I'm just trying to help."

He jumped down from his once elevated position, landing right beside you as he walked in step.

"Why are you here anyway? Aren't you reapers supposed to be guards or something? You're pretty casual for someone on a mission." You grumble.

"Things have quieted down since the war. Our head captain just wants to make sure it stays that way."

You nod.

The war.

It's crazy how casual they always speak about those things. While you could see spirits, your fighting ability wasn't anything to brag about. Surely not to be of any use in a war. A part of you felt it. When the war started. You hadn't seen Yumichika or Ikkaku for a while. When they finally popped up to freeload in your home, you acted pissed, but truthfully you were relieved. Because you knew lives were lost.

"Is it scary, fighting all the time?"

That question was presented a bit quietly and Yumichika glanced at you. He could see your hesitance to even propose the question. Sometimes he needed to remind himself that you weren't a fighter like them.

"War is war. Fear is just a reaction to the unknown. I'm not sure if there's a word I can use to truly describe it."

The very serious response was not what you expected.

"However beautiful beings like me don't have to worry about such things."

He then persisted to pose in which you just walked away.

"Hey wait up!!"

Yep, that's how a lot of your encounters went. As agitating as he was at times, you enjoyed his company. You also appreciated him checking in on you every now and then.

"Geez, I'm exhausted."

You dropped onto the couch, not even kicking off your shoes. Yumichika smiled.

"Did you overdo it today? Your wrinkles seem more visible than usual."

"Don't make me end you."

Yumichika laughed nervously at the threat, and you just sighed, lifting your hand as you stared at it.

"Things like beauty, it isn't made for people like me. Just the thought of all that cutesy stuff is exhausting."

Although you say that, you haven't completely banished the prospect of dressing up and going on dates. It was just hard. Most guys wanted a girl to dress up and act a certain way. You did like dressing up every once in a while, but you couldn't see yourself changing your entire wardrobe just to appeal to a guy. You liked baggy clothes and cool sneakers.

Yumichika's eyes are trained on your form.

"Is there a human that you're interested in that you would be willing to do that for?"

You fully expect him to be wearing some kind of mocking expression or follow that up with another poke at your attire, but when you move your hand, that's not what you read at all. Your cheeks tint red at how intensely he's looking at you. It's not often that he's stoic.

You jump upright, bashful.

"What the hell are you talking about! A-As if I would be!"

You don't know why you're getting so defensive. It's not like he accused you of anything. You rise, heading for the kitchen.

"I-I'm going to make food!!"

Marching off stiffly, Yumichika watches you with a small smile.

He'll admit that your meeting wasn't exactly under the best circumstances.

He'd been in Karakura to help up with the increase of hollow activity. 

Back when Aizen was still gathering his army. Ikkaku and Matsumoto had taken one section and he'd planned to cover the next.

"Yumichika!"

Ichigo's call pulled his focus and he was stunned to see Ichigo carrying a woman in his arms.

"She's hurt, I need you to get her back to Urahara-san."

Yumichika didn't need much more instruction. From the worried look, this was clearly someone Ichigo knew. He handed you over, but your hand gripped Ichigo's robes and they both froze.

"I-Ichigo.."

For a moment they both took notice of the fear in your eyes. Ichigo offered the best smile he could muster.

"I'll be fine."

You were hesitant, but you finally released him. He gave one last reassuring look before he disappeared. Yumichika didn't waste any time. He took off himself, glancing down to ensure you were still conscious. Your eyes seemed distant. Your body was covered in bruises. What he could assume was a hollow attack.

"Please..promise me that you'll look after Ichigo. H-He's all I have left.."

Your words were solemn, and Yumichika was the last one to make such a promise. But watching you so helpless, it did something to him.

"I have his back."

At the time, that seemed like the right thing.

It helped you.

When Yumichika got closer to you, it was mostly as a source of entertainment. You were around all the time it seemed and you always had the best reactions whenever he flaunted his beauty. The more he saw you, the more he felt protective. The frequent trips to Karakura were welcomed whenever they had a mission. He was able to do his job and see you. The longer he was around, the more he learned.

Like your relationship with Ichigo.

What he initially assumed as romantic love was just a brotherly bond you'd formed when he saved you from a river as a kid. 

A detail he felt comforted that you openly told him.

"How come you always drop by just to piss me off."

You looked angry, and Yumichika had to admit it was cute. He'd never tell you, but sometimes he just loved to jab to get a reaction.

"I was merely saying you may never get to my standard of beauty, but you're still exceptional in your own way."

"Why does that sound like a compliment and an insult all wrapped in one!!" You fire back.

Yumichika laughed from his position on the roof and you just folded your arms, turning your head in the opposite direction. Nights like this were nice to just sit and watch the stars.

Considering that Yumichika could literally fly, you knew such a view wasn't anything extraordinary to him. It was still nice that he decided to entertain you.

"If I'm so beneath your level then why waste your time."

It was just an angry little ramble, but Yumichika turned. He could tell that you weren't truly upset. But he realized then that you may not actually know how he sees you.

"If I really thought you weren't worth my time I wouldn't even look at you."

The statement makes you turn, and you swallow. Because he's wearing that expression again. Soft and a bit paralyzing in a fluffy sort of way.

"I've made it a rule of mine never to look upon ugly things. What I see before me is quite beautiful."

Your eyes widen at those words. The heat crawls up your cheeks before you can stop it.

"Y-You're just messing with me again!" You point at him accusingly.

He smiles, and it does something to you. When he moves closer, he takes hold of your hand, and it lowers slowly into your lap. 

You're in awe.

"Not so feisty anymore, are you?"

The confident smile on his face is disarming. Especially with the lack of space. You clench your hand into your lap.

"W-What are you doing Yumichika.."

It's almost a whisper. It's when his hand cups your cheek that you feel your heart hammer.

"I thought I was clear, I'm claiming something very beautiful."

His lips descend on your own and you clench your eyes shut. You can't believe you let someone like Yumichika mess with you. Much less kiss you. Although you can't deny that it feels really good. His lips feel so soft, and you've never realized just how good he smells. You feel his hand shift from your lap, sliding over your waist as he pulls you closer. Your blush darkens and he deepens the kiss. At this point you're just barely able to think, much less do much but reciprocate shyly. When his tongue brushes against our own, you pull away with a gasp, covering your lips.

Yumichika licks his own lips.

"W-What was that!"

"That was a kiss, would you like another?"

"N-No you sneaky pervert!!"

In all honesty, you're not sure your brain will be able to function properly if he kisses you again. Your protests are merely to save face. 

This is embarrassing to say the least.

You don't expect it when he picks you up. Letting out a soft squeak, you grip at his robes.

"What the heck are you doing!!"

"I already told you."

He says nothing more, just flash steps into the house.

"W-Wait I'm not prepared!! K-KYA!!!"

It looks like you never had anything to worry about.