#vil analysis

[uniquethingtastemaker]

I have a thought about Vil. I could be wrong, but I wanted to throw it out there. Also, if anyone has evidence for or against my theory, feel free to elaborate. We like healthy discussions here lol:

My theory is that Vil is a touchy person, especially to the people he loves. The reason he doesn’t do it often is because of PR training and being conscious about his reputation. If he doesn’t monitor his behavior, it could not only negatively impact him but also his friends, family, and fans. Vil also covers it up well because he’s so self-disciplined. It’s not a problem for him.

My evidence for this is are the few times where Vil becomes physically affectionate because is so happy that he forgets, doesn’t care, or nobody else is around.

Example 1: Book 6 Kiss and Hug Scene. I don’t think I have to explain more, but I will. If this were any other dorm that came to save the corresponding overblot member, they would not throw themselves at the others (minus Kalim. We’ve already established that he’s a touchy and sociable person by nature, and he loves Jamil).

Heartslabyul? Trey would give Riddle a hug, and that’s probably it in terms of physical affection

Savanaclaw? …I don’t remember what happens at the end of the Savanaclaw sequence in Book 7, but that would be the reactions. For the life of me, I cannot remember. Someone fill in the gap pls

Octavinelle? The only touching would be Floyd squeezing Azul. Azul would try to avoid it so no touching

We’ve already established Scarabia and Pomefiore.

Ignihyde? …idk… I’m kinda on the fence, but I think I’m leaning away from physical affection. I imagine it would similar to whenever he reunites with Ortho in Book 7 at some point. However, I haven't read that in a long time. It could be inaccurate

Diasomnia? Ok, I can see them hugging each other. They love each other a lot. No kiss though

Regardless, Vil went into European physical affection levels

Example 2: (here’s where the arguments start to get weaker but still relevant lol) Bean Day Event ending. Rook and Vil hug really tight, which doesn’t happen that often. Plus, both of them are exhausted in a good way, so another moment where he lets his guard down

Example 3?: Pomefiore reunion in Book 7? They must’ve hugged. I don't remember, but I can't imagine they didn't

I have some speculations that support my theory. However, it’s on shaky ground, and I don’t want to dig to see if my thought process is solid.

Vil is a physical person. He puts a lot of effort into maintaining his body. Obviously, that's not the only thing. However, it is a huge part of it. I think because he's so conscious and values the physical world, he would probably be more inclined to like that type of affection.

This could all be wrong, but it's just a thought. Let me know what you think!!

[thevilqueen]

A misconception I see a lot about Vil is that his overblot was triggered by jealousy towards Neige but that is extremely reductive of his character as well as his hardships on top of being untrue. So I am going to dissect his overblot and what truly led to it.

1- Vil was never jealous of Neige’s beauty or individuality.

A lot of people believe that Vil is envious of the notion of beauty that Neige embodies but that is canonically untrue. Vil has always pursued a notion of beauty that spoke to him and was true to him. Vil and Neige have always been opposites and Vil has absolutely no interest in ever mimicking Neige. Vil is extremely confident in his skills and appearance. Vil doesn’t wish to be like Neige. He wishes to reach the heights that Neige has. Vil wants to be acknowledged as the fairest one of all as himself, as Vil Schoenheit. Vil is always true to himself and he makes a point of being authentic.

2- Vil’s true goal is to stay on stage until the end of the show not just being the fairest one of all.

Vil’s obsession with beauty is only a means to an end when it comes to his true goal.

Vil believes that if he becomes the fairest one of all it will grant him the opportunity to stay the longest on stage, allowing him to finally play the hero. Vil has been convinced that he lacks something and that is why he can’t be the hero.

So he spent his life trying to make up for it until he reached his breaking point at the VDC and it finally struck him then that no matter how hard he tried he still couldn’t seem to reach his goal.

Furthermore, it has been made clear on multiple occasions throughout the game that Vil���s notion of beauty goes way beyond looks. Beauty is a lifestyle to Vil. Beauty embodies his body, his mind and even his soul which is specifically why he overblots. Vil cares about self-growth in every possible aspect of his life even if it seems to be driven by his looks. This also makes perfect sense when you think about these extracts:

Vil was conditioned since he was young to believe that something about his appearance gave off a villainous vibe. It is therefore very unsurprising that he would fixate on becoming the most beautiful. If villains are associated with ugliness/badness and heroes are associated with beauty/goodness then logically if he aims to become the most beautiful in every way he should be able to earn the hero role.

3- Vil didn’t overblot because of envy, Vil overblot because he couldn’t forgive himself for being ugly.

Vil’s overblot has never been about envy only. In fact, he only overblots after he realises how ugly what he is about to do is.

Vil has a strong moral compass and he hates cutting corners, it’s his pet peeve. Someone who would stoop as low as he did isn’t worthy of the fairest one of all title by his standards. Vil’s overblot is about him crumbling under the weight of his expectations and his downfall being witnessed by those around him. That is why at his lowest he believes that eradicating all competition will make him the most beautiful along with making sure that those who saw his ugliness can never tell the tale.

Vil is tired of having spent a life trying his best to still not achieve his dream so he took drastic measures in his desperation.

[mellosdrawings]

The Princes

Ten years later. When marrying a Prince turns a Queen and a Servant into actual Royalties.

Because Vil deserves a real crown and Jamil deserves to be treated better.

NOW I'M GONNA RANT ABOUT MY CHARA DESIGNS CHOICES AND ALL THE DISCOVERIES I MADE WHILE LOOKING FOR REFS! If you only care about art and funny doodles, you can scroll down for a handful of slices of life.

(Don't worry if you can't read my notes, I'm repeating myself better right under this)

Leona

-Lion: As you may know, one of my grievances with Leona is how his hair doesn't look like an actual mane despite being a lion. While I don't want to stray too far from the canon design with the usual drawings, that's the occasion for me to have some fun with a future version. Give that lion a beard and voluminous hair!

-Hair: First, get those bangs out of his face. Despite Leona being very confident, he still has bangs covering his scarred eye. I wanted him to finally own the aspects of him that may be scary to others (his UM, his scar, etc). I actually went with bangs framing his face similar to the ones he had during his Overblot. I wasn't sure whether to give him dreadlocks or curly hair, but I ended up choosing the free curls decorated with some atebas and braids so that Vil could have more fun styling them.

-Eye: Thanks @aria-faye for the idea, I decided to have his eye gradually lose its capacities with time. From a headcanon that, while the eye wasn't directly touched by whatever attack scarred him, the process of healing still had an impact on it and he gradually lost sight in his left eye years after years.

-Body: Not giving him a dad bod (yet, maybe in another ten years), but definitely giving him more voluminous yet casual muscles. Practical muscles with a healthy dose of fat and tissues. Also giving him two full sleeves of tattoos because I decided he should have much more than just his lion tattoo.

-Clothes: Went full Maasai dressing and Kenyan fabrics and beadworks. If you're not familiar with it, please go check it out, it's GORGEOUS!! Crown is beadwork too. He also has one Arabic styled foot jewellery.

Jamil

-Hair: My first order was to remove his double-faced hairstyle and also remove his bangs from his eye. Make him confident enough to show his whole face. Unlike Leona and Vil, he doesn't really want a crown though (he still feels weird about becoming royalty) so instead he uses a braid as crown. Also gave him a little goatee because I like facial hair and Jafar has a beard too.

-Body: He grew up! While he didn't quite catch up with Leona and Vil, he is now closer to their sizes than before, sitting at around 180cm. He kept his breakdancer/martial artist lean muscles but developed a bit of shoulders.

-Clothes: Went full Arabic dressing and fabrics (once more, go check the fabrics, they are pieces of arts). I gave him floral motifs instead of his usual fire/snake motifs (though he does have a snake earring and a fangs necklace) to symbolise his rebirth/blooming. Like Leona, he has one piece of jewellery that is beadwork.

Vil

-Hair: Here it was a bit tricky. Considering Vil's work, he likely changes hairstyles a lot, going from long to short for his roles instead of his wants. So I leaned into the little things he could add to his hair despite their constant changes, mostly jewelleries, beadworks and wool decorations he stole from his husbands. He also cares a bit less about them looking perfect and is allowing himself to be more natural. He doesn't have any facial hair (yet), keeping a youthful appearance for as long as he can. In another ten years though, he might start looking more and more like his father, beard included.

-Clothes: For Leona and Jamil's mental states, the three of them most likely started living in Sunset Savanna so they wouldn't freeze to death. Vil is well traveled so he can handle most temperatures without trouble, and he is used to dressing up in the local get ups. Here I decided to give him both African dress and Arabic fabric, and likewise both beadwork and golden jewellery. I gave him crown and heart motifs so he can keep being himself despite borrowing a lot from his husbands.

There, I'm done rambling. Here's some doodles, followed by some random headcanons.

-Vil does his husbands hair every morning and keeps giving them more and more intricate hairstyles. He developed a whole haircare and beard-care products set for them.

-When Vil is away for a movie, Jamil keeps his hair mostly down save for a few accessories.

-Jamil and Falena get along surprisingly well (to Leona's despair). Vil gets along very well with Falena's wife.

-Jamil acts as a Scalding Sands ambassador and still is the one to care for Kalim when he comes to visit, though this time he's doing it because he wants to and not because he has to.

-Vil got used to his new title immediately but Jamil struggles with it a lot. He still has a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that he is no longer a servant.

-The servants at the palace love Jamil because he always makes their job easier.

-Leona finally decided to put his wits to good use and became Falena's advisor. He still fights a lot with Kifaji about the direction to take with the country, but he managed to make some of his ideas heard to help with the staggering inequalities in the country.

That's all for now!

[rayroseu]

i love how diverse in aging Vil's story is. It would've been easy to surround "Vil Schoeheit" with youthful things considering his character archetype, but I'm glad they're not holding back in adding blemishes whenever they showcase actual aging.

This reminds of Malleus' line that there is a beauty in the withering process of statues/gargoyles. In a way, Vil is like an statue (like a celebrity) but he is as well not immune to aging and I'm glad TWST wrote him as appreciated of aging instead of avoiding it

I know its been said a lot that Vil is not vain. He's not fixated on conventional beauty, but its really comforting to see the beauty icon is the one who believes aging is beautiful as well and is graceful about it, not just on others but also himself yk.

I love the realistic flair of "aging" in a story about really young people and growing up lol

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

hi ms raven :D i was playing through vil's dream in book 7 and i was wondering if you could explain a little more about his character? i remember struggling to understand his motivs leading up to his overblot. the current understanding i have now is that vil wants to be the best or the most beautiful but is constantly getting blocked by neige probably because hes not perfect and it makes others lean towards him and want to support him while vil has reached a level where hes seemingly flawless on the outside making it hard for people to get close to him the way they do with neige? does he crave the validation from others and is that why there was an emphasis on him declaring that he himself is the most beautiful like in b6 and b7? i dont think i really understand him enough and its just been on my mind for a while now TT

I think Vil's got one of those backstories and motives that's easy to misunderstand if skimmed. This can lead to misinterpretations where fans assume he's vain and only seeking to take Neige down for shallow attention. It's a lot more complex than that!

The first thing to note about Vil is that he is a child star. His father, Eric Venue, is also a very successful celebrity, but the public does not know about their familial relationship. Vil has worked very hard to achieve his level of stardom all on his own, without relying on nepotism or riding on the coattails of his father. However, that also means that Vil was under an intense amount of pressure and scrutiny since a young age, and that can really mess with one's self-perception.

Since the start of his career, Vil has only ever been casted in villain roles. His post-OB flashback shows Vil asking his dad "Why do I keep getting picked to play the bad guy? Do I really look that mean?"

And though his father reassures him and calls him cute and charming, the vast majority of other people Vil interacts with judge him and assign labels to him. Children Vil's age "hold [him] accountable for work(s) of fiction", equating him playing villainous roles on TV to him actually being a villainous person off-set.

Similar things occur in his professional life. Film crew members praise Neige for his friendliness and wholesome vibe, but also express that Vil is just too perfect and hard for audiences to relate to, so Vil apparently isn't suitable to play the hero.

So on one hand, you have Vil's peers, who assume that he must be an awful person, just like all the characters he plays. Then you have Vil's colleagues, who put him on a pedestal, calling him "special" but also saying he's not relatable. Both viewpoints isolate and dehumanize him. They indirectly tell Vil--a young, impressionable kid--that he's not capable of goodness or of being a normal person. You also have to keep in mind that because Vil always has eyes on him, he has to maintain a cool, mature, and perfectly curated public image. He has had to grow up extremely fast in order to handle himself in the entertainment industry. That's an INTENSE amount of pressure to be under. So how does Vil react to all this pressure? By pushing himself to work even harder to prove everyone wrong. "I would do anything to be beautiful. The most rigorous training. The most tedious hair and skin care regimens. I would shy away from none of it." This is later repeated in the Tapis Rouge event: “[…] looking for the easy way out. Something I detest. […] I love to see someone with a lofty goal who’s not afraid to work for it.”

At this juncture, I'd like to point out a vital area where Vil's story and that of Snow White weave together. In Snow White, physical beauty is used as shorthand to indicate the goodness of a character. Snow White is pure, beautiful, and innocent because she has a good heart. The Evil Queen is more accurately depicted in her hag form because of how her jealousy twists her into something hideous. When Vil speaks of beauty, it's also in a similar context. He's using "beauty" as a metaphor for "goodness", hence why he fixates on Neige being the "fairest one of all". Neige is the one always playing the hero, and he is also the one the internet considers the most beautiful--so if Vil can become the most beautiful, then surely he, too, can be a hero.

If beauty = goodness, then the opposite is also true to book 5 Vil: ugliness = villainy. And if he is always assigned the villain again and again and again, then its telling Vil that he's “ugly”, that he is a bad person and can never be anything but that.

Not only that, but Vil's worries about permanently being labelled a villain relates back to how his peers and colleagues perceive him. "[...] villains never stay on stage for the whole play. Once their role is finished, all they do is watch from the shadows as the happy ending plays out. [...] All I want is to stay on stage until the end of the show." Vil wants what has always been denied to him: the ability to stand on stage and take a bow with the other actors, to be treated like a normal person that's a part of the group, to have that humanity handed back to him. Why should he be the only one languishing backstage while Neige and other heroes get to soak up that spotlight? He wants to be a part of it, too. He wants to be included.

Let's get back into book 5, present day, now. Vil spends much of this book driving his teammates VERY hard to achieve his vision. To this end, he is imposing harsh restrictions on them, such as new diets, new skincare, new practice routines, and more. This of course garners many protests, but Vil insists on having his way and admonishes those who complain. In these moments, Vil is very much acting like a "villain"--but to him, it's all worth it, because he wants to win against Neige fair and square, earning that victory through his own efforts. "[...] I have no interest in spells that fade when the clock chimes midnight. What I seek is genuine, authentic aesthetic perfection."

Recall that I said earlier that beauty is used as a shorthand for goodness. Because Vil is stating that he wants to win fairly, he is attempting to demonstrate his own beauty--his own goodness--in this bid to triumph over his rival.

But what ends up happening? Vil sees Neige's practice performance and realizes right away that NRC is destined to lose. He tries to take matters into his own hands by cursing a bottle of apple juice and offering it to Neige. While book 5 is vague about what the consequences of drinking that cursed juice would have been, book 7 implies the worst--that Vil had intended to kill Neige with it. Vil went against his own principles (which he stated earlier in book 5) and used a dirty tactic to get Neige out of his way. He can only win if he harms others in the process. I would argue that what triggers Vil to snap and OB isn't his failure to poison Neige (although that's certainly a part of it), but rather Vil realizing he just... proved what everyone has always said about him right. That he's rotten to the core (ie "ugly") and will never be anything else but a villain.

Vil fixates on the eyes of his teammates, perceiving them to be staring at him and judging the moral ugliness of his actions. Like in his childhood, he derives much of his image from public feedback--from the eyes on him. "Please. Don't look at me... Don't look at me with those eyes! Why? I wanted to be the fairest one of all, so why am I so... so... ugly? Ugly?! UGLY?!"

Kalim and Rook try to reassure Vil and remind him that Neige didn't get hurt, so it's okay. But Vil only gets more upset and continues to berate himself. "What does it matter who forgives me?! I can't... I can't forgive myself!" This makes sense for Vil, who is a character that has consistently held the people around him, as well as himself, to high standards. He has betrayed himself, and he is ashamed of how ugly his envy has made him.

After Vil's OB, Rook pretty succinctly states why Vil fails to be "beautiful": because he doesn't believe in himself. Throughout his entire life, Vil has been relying on the words of others to affirm his identity as someone "beautiful", as a "good" person. You can even argue that Vil being so strict with himself is to earn the approval of others, to be seen as the "most beautiful". But Vil never truly believed he was "beautiful" ("good"), and that lack of confidence is ironically what is keeping him from realizing his full potential. "Nobody should believe in your beauty more than you yourself [...] No amount of validation from the rest of the world will ever leave you fulfilled. Even if you wind up old, emaciated, grimy, and stooped over... If you were to truly believe that you are the fairest of all despite that, even the Magic Mirror of legend wouldn't contest your claim. The strength and pride to believe in yourself is what marks the true fairest one of all. Roi du Poison. Fair Vil. I implore you to believe in yourself more than anyone else. Beauty is always with you. At this exact moment, you are the fairest one of all."

In book 6, we get to see how far Vil's character has progressed. When Idia taunts Pomefiore, calling them "wannabe heroes", Vil responds with, "You know, I've always wanted to be cast as a hero, just once. But there are no heroes or villains here. This time I'll be the one who stays on stage till the very end!" He now disregards the notion of labels and is only committed to being the one that puts an end to Idia's machinations.

This point is even further driven home when we see old!Vil, the result of him diving into Tartarus to pull Idia out. Though his dorm members are shocked to see their glamourous leader in this state, Vil laughs it off and announces, without hesitation: "Even though I'm grimy, withered, and emaciated... At this exact moment, I am the fairest one of all." This parallels the words Rook imparted onto him at the end of book 5. ("Even if you wind up old, emaciated, grimy, and stooped over... [...] At this exact moment, you are the fairest one of all.")

It's a complete reversal of Vil OBing. Back in book 5, Vil went mad because he realized his jealous actions made him hideous (even if he still physically looks young and conventionally attractive). But now, in book 6, Vil is content in knowing that his heroic actions make him absolutely beautiful (even if he stands there, old and grey). It doesn't matter what he looks like on the outside, or what other people think of him--because Vil has learned to love himself and to stay true to his principles.

He is deserving of standing on that stage with everyone else. He is human, like everyone else. He’s not THE Vil Schoenheit anymore, he’s… just Vil. This also shows in vulnerable moments late game, like him squealing from excitement at the end of book 6 or screaming in fear in book 7. He still has the image of a celebrity to maintain, but he’s now allowing himself to be less of that “perfect” person, at least around his peers. I believe this is what Vil’s dream in book 7 reinforces. This is most exemplified when Vil faces his OB self and announces, “Oh… This is deplorable. I’m so steeped in envy and resentment there isn’t a trace of beauty to be found. But I won’t turn away from it any longer. I accept this nauseatingly ugly part part of myself. This is… the real me.” I won't get into the details of that dream, since I assume you've played it + it would just repeat what I've already gone over in this post. That’s honestly what most (if not all) of the book 7 dreams do, try to summarize their personal issues, how the dream attempts to placate them with convenient falsehoods, and then have the dreamers confront those falsehoods with what they’ve learned through their own arcs.

[babycatglimmer]

I heard you were reviewing characters...?

If that's still open could you give your review on Rook?/nf

Second time writing this, since UNFORTUNATELY the first time was accidentally deleted (tumblr I hate you)

Anyway, maybe it's a little less detailed than I would like, but still.

Deep Dive in Rook Hunt: The superficial, the beautiful and the honest.

Warnings: Yapping, overthinking, super long texts, character criticism, attitude analysis, character defense and bias.

At first glance, Rook Hunt is shown to be one of the most open characters about the things he feels and values. He is clear and loud about his adoration of beauty, his admiration for living things, and his obsession with people he perceives as "the most beautiful."

Like Kalim and Silver, Rook is described as an honest and genuine person. Despite his flowery words, he is usually determined in his opinion and never strays from what he thinks is necessary. He does not lie or hide his admiration for people, he genuinely seems to see beauty in everything he lives and feels a deep desire as a hunter to know every detail of his prey.

That said, as the events, books, and Rook's own narrative of letters unfold, we notice one thing very clear about his character.

Rook Hunt is superficial.

Despite showing a great appreciation for any type of beauty, we see that Rook never really delves into them. We don't see Rook wanting to get to know anyone better, he just remains a distant and apathetic observer.

Initially, Rook doesn't really get involved in intrigues, or pretend to be interested in knowing the stories of those around him; he actually seems to have a much greater appreciation for knowing little about who his prey really are. Sure, he may know that their favorite color is yellow or that their favorite food is lasagna, but he will never care to know where these tastes came from.

And in the same way that he sees everyone superficially, Rook also makes an extreme point of showing himself superficially. Rook who hides his freckles, who hides any part of his body with heavy clothes and who talks so little about his own life and his tastes. What is his favorite color? His favorite movie? What is the name of his hometown? What are his dreams? These are all questions that no one could answer, because Rook refuses to show this part of him.

Rook is like Cater when we see it from this point of view. Both of them, terrified of letting people delve into their stories, tend to show a superficial and more blatant form of themselves so that people don't try to find out more than they would like to show.

Even the way he is a fan of Neige could be seen as superficial. After all, Rook doesn't know exactly who Neige is outside of the cameras or social media. He doesn't really know who Neige is, but the way he pursues Neige is enough for Rook to admire this pure beauty of the boy. Such a brave boy, with such a dark background, but Rook never cared to really sympathize with who Neige is, or with how much Neige may have sacrificed to be in this position.

Rook admires the idea of Neige, and even the idea of Vil. He is satisfied with these superficial versions that he created in his mind, and doesn't seem to have any interest in going deeper.

But something changes that, an event drastically changes Rook's psyche and makes him see someone beyond the superficial, beyond all social masks, for the first time.

Everything changes with...

Rook is one of the people who were extremely traumatized by the overblots, and none of us talk about it enough.

Initially, Rook wanted to hold on to the "idea of who Vil was." The Vil he knew and admired, his shallow and empty version, would never try to hurt Neige because of an event like the VDC. He wouldn't frame a fellow student, one who is from his own dorm and younger than them, for a heinous crime.

But Vil did. Vil tried to kill Neige, in an act of clear psychosis before his overblot, but the fact was still there. Rook, who saw everyone in such a superficial way, ended up ignoring all the red flags about Vil's actions, he ignored anything that could break his little fantasy and let things follow their course.

However, one thing Rook didn't expect from himself was that he genuinely loves Vil. Even in his overblot, what should have been Vil's ugliest side, Rook saw the beauty in every act and attack. Rook saw the beauty in the ugliness, in the bitterness, in the superficial version of Vil breaking down.

Rook, amidst the chaos of the overblot, realized how much he cared for Vil and how he regretted not having gone deeper. Not having talked more, discovered more, understood more.

This is reflected in the next books and some events. Rook seeks to know more about Vil, to better understand his motivations and history. Rook is dedicated to being on Vil's side, even if he has to break into one of the most secret organizations in the entire world or fight thousands of overblots.

But the trauma haunts him at every moment. The guilt of that day, the guilt of having voted for someone else, the guilt of not having been a better friend to Vil and the guilt of not being one anymore. Nightmares still haunt him, as mentioned in book 6, and guilt eats away at him, as demonstrated in book 7. Rook is human for the first time, scared and confused, but it is only with this humanity that he is able to create more bonds of friendship at school.

It is with the trauma of the overblot, with his mask breaking a little, that he is able to deepen his relationship with Vil, Epel and even Trey.

That said, the real Rook remains hidden, trapped inside himself, without clear glimpses of who Rook is beneath the cheap French until...

Rook is an insecure person. He has no confidence in who he is or in the things he likes.

It is said during book 7 in his dream that Rook tried to talk to his dorm mates about the things he admires and likes to watch, but they ended up getting bored or bothered by the subject and ended up distancing themselves from Rook completely.

Rook and Jade share in this, a love for things that few people seem to have the interest to understand, but a very well hidden need to scream at the top of their lungs everything they love and have this passion reciprocated.

But unlike Jade, Rook keeps most of it hidden. He, even in his dream, wants to keep this shameful part of him locked away from common eyes. But at the same time, when he sees people showing the least possible interest in it, he throws himself headfirst into showing everything.

The real Rook, the one who is so well hidden, is insecure about his tastes and has people finding him strange. He, who remains so confident in the face of other people's judgments, cannot imagine simply showing such a delicate part of himself without starting to cry.

And in this delicate part there is the guilt of the overblot. A guilt that, because of Malleus, was distorted and disturbed in the idea that Vil would be better off far away from Rook. That Vil's problems would simply disappear if he and Neige were friends, if Rook was never there to "betray" Vil.

But this is superficial, this is a superficial and cruel view of their entire relationship. And Rook knows this, Rook when remembering reality knows that this whole dream is an offense to everything that Vil and Rook are.

Because Vil is not a superficial person. He is a person full of layers, dreams and desires, and Rook is capable of seeing Vil in such an... empty way? Disregarding everything Vil has been through and suffered? It's like Rook is committing that betrayal all over again, that of ignoring the truth and clinging to what would make him happier.

But that's not the truth. That's not who they are, their truth goes far beyond that.

Rook and Vil are more than that.

They are...

Rook doesn't see himself as something beautiful. In reality, he seems to have a great disregard and lack of affection for himself, and due to a very clear low self-esteem, he also expects the people around him to see him the same way. Those who could never get past Rook's superficial mask could actually see beauty in him.

But Vil and Epel did.

Vil, who should have been furious with Rook at so many moments. How he didn't choose their group in the VDC, or how he abandoned all of Pomefiore on a suicide mission taking Epel and Yuu with him. Rook expected anger, frustration, and even hatred, but he was met with affection and understanding.

Vil always saw beyond Rook's mask. Maybe not completely, maybe he didn't see all the details of who Rook really was, but he managed to catch the little things that changed everything in Rook's narrative.

What Rook felt ashamed of, Vil took between his fingers and saw as something he appreciated. Even amidst the frustration of losing the VDC, Vil still appreciated Rook's honesty above all else. He didn't feel angry at Rook, or take his attitude as a "betrayal", in fact Vil seemed to feel almost ashamed that he hadn't noticed before that Rook admired Neige so much.

Epel wasn't as graceful, he couldn't see through the cracks in Rook's well-constructed mask, but he simply stopped caring about the riddles Rook told and became attached to the actions Rook took after book 5. Rook, who was so distant and preferred to remain in the role of observer, was finally taking so many actions that seemed completely absurd, but which brought a deep admiration for who Rook is.

Epel and Vil saw beauty in Rook. In his talk, in his passions, in his desires and obsessions. They saw far beyond what Rook is to the world, they increasingly delved deeper into Rook and the person he genuinely is.

Rook throughout book 7 is painfully loved by Epel and Vil. The three of them have seen the ugliest, most shameful, and foolish parts of each other and learned to see the beauty in it. And in that beauty, they find a genuine and honest love, a friendship that has gone far beyond them to the point of creating a small family.

Rook's story, his narrative, the way he changes throughout the events and books is so sweet to watch. Because for the first time, the hunter who originally took up only a second of the story, has become one of the protagonists of the narrative itself.

For the first time, the hunter is more than just a hunter. He's a friend.

[skyenish]

Rook is so full of love, I think we should all strive to be a little more like Rook honestly | book 5 animatic 👸🏹❤️🍎🐍☀️|

(This animatic doesn't have a very amazing structure, so just enjoy the pretty pictures and the RookVil teasing/ book 5 content!)

I think we can all learn something from Rook, because I think no one truly understands just how much he loves almost everything- especially Vil. He saw the beauty in Vil's overblot while also acknowledging that it wasn't Vil at his most beautiful. He loves him so much and genuinely wants the best for him; he sees Vil’s beauty! Remember, even when Vil was at his ugliest, he still saw beauty.

He sees the beauty in pimples, in fat, in tears, in color, in wrinkles, in smile lines, in every single "flaw" a human body can have. He sees beauty in something as simple as a flower or a well-crafted chair, and also in something as complex or horrible as trauma or anger and hatred. He sees beauty in everything that today's beauty standard would call "not beautiful", but Rook knows better. He knows that beauty standards are doodoo! He believes that the most beautiful person is a person that loves themself. Ironically a stark contrast to how Vil sees it, since he relies more on external ways validation to measure beauty. Rook truly believes that a person is only ugly if they're very ugly on the inside.

Rook is optimistic, curious, kind and positive. Yeah the guy may be a little very weird, but at the end of the day he's definitely not a bad dude! He wants to seek and protect beauty and spread it to the world :)

I know we're all mad that he voted for Neige, but it was the right thing to do. If he voted for NRC, he wouldn't have been honest, the main trait vil likes in Rook. He wasn't biased, he simply knew that their performance wasn't as beautiful as it could've been. This doesn't mean that their performance wasn't beautiful of course!

Also the fact that what Rook tells Vil after the competition is so important to his character development! Vil shouldn't need an audience to tell him that he's amazing and beautiful, that’s what Rook means.

If NRC had won it would've ruined the entire point of Vil's character arc in my opinion (though of course I would've loved for us to win). In conclusion, Rook is a neat dude who we should learn from (minus the stalking part cough cough)

Remember, this is just my interpretation of Rook! *drops mic, all your ears explode*

[greenapplebling]

Do you guys ever think about how much of a contradictory character Jamil is?

Like I don't have the energy rn to write a full essay with proof and all about it but?? The way we're told that Jamil is the kinda person to use someone else for the dirty work but when we look at his actions Jamil actually does a lot of the hard work himself and, specially when it comes to Kalim, refuses to take shortcuts for some goddamn reason???

Shipping aside, am I really supposed to believe Jamil when he says he hates Kalim when:

There's a voice line where Jamil says he actually isn't into cooking but does it for Kalim out of convenience, and yet explains (in his school uniform vignette I think?) that it's probably safe for Kalim to eat food from the cafeteria, which makes sense!!! After all, what kinda idiot would poison the whole school (full of elite students btw) just to get to Kalim?? And yet, Jamil still insists on cooking 3 meals a day every day for him...

Jamil does his hair with magic so he doesn't have to waste time on it, but does Kalim's headpiece and makeup by hand every morning (I know that kind of magic is hard and takes a lot of practice but hear me out, he had at least 5-10 years to practice on Kalim)

At the start of the Glorious Masquerade event, Jamil, despite quite literally having a mental breakdown over how much he doesn't want to take care of Kalim or be around him in book 4, seems very anxious and worried about leaving Kalim... FOR 3 FUCKING DAYS

Also how he thinks he's really good at masking his feelings and true intentions and yet Kalim is waaay better at him at masking. Like no one in-game nor most of the fandom ever seems to realize Kalim often masks his negative feelings with a positive and (intentionally) naive attitude. But when it comes to Jamil? Leona, Azul, Vil, Floyd and whoever else, all of them looked right through Jamil's act and some of them even said/implied Jamil is easy to read...

So yeah, Jamil often lies... mostly to himself

[taro-bae]

TWST Rant (!Spoilers!)

I was wondering about the cast of twisted wonderland in regards to their wealth and status. The majority of the twst boys are well off and of high status, but the whole wealth system of twst varies. I was trying to place the cast in order of who might actually be the wealthiest, so this is a little analysis rant!

Wealth and status obviously vary, Royal wealth would obviously be considered more valuable, so I would say Malleus and Leona would be presumably the richest since they are direct decendants of royal families. Malleus considerably ranking 1st, in my opinion, since he is to inherit the throne as first prince, while Leona is the second prince and holds just slightly less power in terms of a hypothetical hierarchy.

We all know from book 6 that Idia (and ortho) is from the Shroud family and will inherit the household and STYX. His grandmother was the original director of STYX that was later passed down to Idia's father. The organisation is highly influential and it is speculated for the Shroud family to be as rich if not more than the Asim family.

After Idia, I would put Kalim. We aren't exactly sure who is actually wealthier between the two but I would say the Shroud family directing STYX would be more influential on a larger scale. Kalim is born to a merchant family, I feel like some of the fandom collectively considers him a prince, but that is simply not true. Kalim is from a very wealthy family of merchants with some royal relatives, but he himself, if not royal in any ways. Kalim himself states "the Asims aren’t royalty, and I’m not a prince. I’ve got some relatives in the royal family, though.” The Asims are clearly very well off with many connections (even how kalim was accepted in NRC through his place being payed for presumably, most likely for connection since the family are merchants).

The following is more tricky for me to place. Vil is a different kind of rich, scaling more of fame and popularity. He's a world-known model with a famous actor father. He is from a privileged status in the show bizz and made a name for himself. We know that he's well travelled and known, from a young age his father always took him all over the world to establish connections and so on. However, I also see Rook being not that far off him in terms of wealth. Rook doesn't exactly have the same level of fame as the other characters, but the Hunt family has Villas in EVERY country within TWST. In Book 6, Rook suggested to MC and Epel to use warp pads or transporters from one of the villas to a closer destination. The transporter situation, according to Epel, is a big deal that requires permission to even have, let alone in every country. So Rook is of very high wealth and has direct ties to the government but is less talked about in that regard compared to other characters. So I don't know if he would be higher than Vil? It's possible.

Riddle is from a noble family with parents who are doctors. I would say they are rich. It is speculated by some that Riddle could somehow be tied to the Queen of Hearts, but it's not specified that he's royalty anywhere. Azul, in my opinion, would follow after. His family does make money, his mother owning a restaurant and stepfather being a lawyer. Azul himself runs Montre Lounge on campus as well as his shady deals. Azul is more bussiness wealthy out of the boys. I would asign Floyd and Jade alongside him. Even running of the fact that Floyd legit has top branded shoes in his vignette. I speculate that Floyd and Jade might actually be wealthier than that (I love the Mafia headcanons), and Jade is able to get expensive gifts and stuff. I wouldn't go as far to say that the Leech family is totally loaded, but they are definelty powerful within the Coral Sea.

The rest of the list is hard to place and up for debate.

Lilia has the advantage of being the oldest of the cast living for over 700 years and being a general to the royals. He has direct ties to Malleus, but I can't exactly place where he would be. In terms of hierarchy, he's a bat type of fae, which we're considered lower class in the fae community at the time, so he would have been seen as less by other members of his society. But he most likely has connections and ties. Dare I say if he wanted to sell his artifacts, he'll definelty be hella rich, lmao.

Clover family, I think they are a typical working class family. They have their own bakery bussiness but work constantly according to Trey, so that must mean they have income but one that you have to keep working for. Trey talks about that when they were busy, he would cook or get his younger brother tickets to spelldrive on allowance money and that parents would stock up on ingredients. Based on that, I would say Trey is off on a more "enough" to live a sustained lifestyle type of money. Like a more casual type of family with a few children (again, children need more money to be sustained)

Next, I would place all the connected working characters like Sebek, Silver, and Jamil. This seems considerably low, but hear me out. They are not exactly poor characters. They are very directly connected to noble people, though. Sebek has a military connected family right under Draconias' command as well puts both silver and him fairly high up. They are not independently wealthy but can experience more luxury lifestyles because of who they serve. Their status consists of being guards of a royal persona. Therefore, they hold a portion of recognition. Jamils case is complicated. The Viper family is born into servitude and are highly dependent on them in that manner. In a way, they could be counted as "working class," but I beg to differ in a way. Working for the Asim does benefit living standards and experiences, for example, even with being able to access better quality foods, living style, etc. It obviously comes with the downside like jamil risking his life for kalims safety (e.g., being a posion tester and constantly doing labour). In a way, despite not having personal property like Kalim, Jamil is still exposed to more luxurious items, products, etc. And it's hard to judge where he is on the richest ranking because he's directly bound to Kalim, almost like a hypothetical "contract" he's born into. More of being born into a rich environment but not being wealthy himself.

Lastly, poor baby Ruggie. Ruggie, being born in poverty, in the slums is the only character in NRC who is specified to be poor. Being born in poverty with his parents both dying early on, he was surrounded by other slum children who he considers siblings and often had to fight for food.He survived through hustling different jobs later on to work his way up. We know he hustles at Montre Lounge and for Leona to make any money and does try to make a bargain for any opportunity. Out of the entire cast, Ruggie is canonically poor.

Epel,Jack, Ace, Cater, and Deuce are ones who are a bit more confusing because they have less information on them. I've been thinking about Jack. His status is not exactly clear, and I can't find any evidence to pinpoint his social standing much. I would place him above Ace. In my analysis, I considered that Jack met vil when they were children, and i think Jack could even be higher on the list. i just can't find anything to clarify that. I would assume vil would have lived in a fairly well-off environment since he was a kid, so the neighbourhood must have been at least middle class or something. Just running off that, I would say Jack might be more middle class to average. He does have multiple siblings that need money to sustain. Ace states before to azul in a luxe couture vingette that he can't "afford the high-brand clothes." So I would say he's off a more average family type of income. With in this rank, I would also place Epel. He did mislead his dormates into believing that he's a noble and Vil suggesting epel to not use his dialect to not give away his actual position. His family aren't mages, which maybe within twisted wonderland would be lower class. But they are farmers from Harveston. Harveston isn't well known but does produce apples that does provide them with some form of trade and income for sure. Cater talks of not having enough money sometimes, but he's a very dual type of character that tends to mask things a lot. I think he's maybe just above average, actually. He claims to occasionally not have money. Someone let me know his father is a banker, but it's unclear how much the Diamond family actually owns or makes, but I think he hides his true position. We know Deuce has a mother who works with the White Rabbit logo trade chain. There's no indication to pinpoint where the Spade family is at, so I would also say around average. We know Deuces father walked out on them so Dylla is the working mother, I'm assuming the family is also a type to have enough money to live but no extra to spend (on stuff like luxury items). Deuce definitely got his wallet up after fixing Malleus's tamagochi and getting some pricey gems from him.

──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────

If you know any information on some characters, feel free to share!

[jangmi-latte]

honestly, looking back in the archives and the museum (YEA I'M BRINGING THIS NACK), if they kept rook and vil's old/initial draft personalities, i wouldn't have fallen for them 😞. yana did so well in focusing in her satisfaction as the director and designer of twst that you literally feel the diversity of the cast.

for those who don't know, rook was supposed to be narcissistic per se. he always carries a mirror and is focusing on HIS OWN BEAUTY instead of others. he's not who our vil is now—HE'S A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT CHARACTER I'M PULLING MY HAIR. tf you mean he'd also wear a mask (smth akin to a ball mask?) so those aren't glasses??? THAT'S NOT ROOK AT ALL WJDJSMDKSKNDKS I LOVE MY STINKY BEAUTIFUL HUNTER

vil was supposed to be 'more masculine' with no make up lowkey reminds me of...that one dude in project sekai (i don't play that game i just remember a purple haired guy there too). he looks like he'd talk with yuu offensively that i'd hold my breath if he speaks. NOT MY VIL I'D INHALE HIS CARBON DIOXIDE EVERY SINGLE DAY 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷

epel's a crossdresser, supposed to have glasses, and wants to be in show business. the whole 160 turn pomefiore had was a whiplash. does that look pomefiore to you??? looks like ohshc to me

AAAAAAAAAAAA I MISS POMEFIORE I'M FOAMING IN THE MOUTH 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[lovelyjasmari]

To anyone who thinks Vil’s arc is shallow or isn’t as tragic as the other ob characters or that his issue about being typecasted wasn’t that serious, daily reminder that Jack Gleeson actually retired from his acting career soon after his Game of Thrones character was killed off. Because he received so much online backlash/harassment for playing him too well. People hated Joffrey so much that it actually affected the actors career. And he was only 22 at the time.

[uniquethingtastemaker]

So, I have a lot of Vil fanfics in the works, right? So much so that the Rook x Reader fanfic I was writing turned into a Vil one. Honestly, it was frustrating. However, it got me thinking about why I like writing for Vil. I thought I'd explain.

Vil is like my Epel. Vil wants to see Epel improve, and I want to see Vil improve. He has so much potential, but it's going to waste! It's ridiculous. Pomefiore is about bettering yourself. He should follow his dorm's code of conduct by focusing on communication skills.

Another thing I like about Vil is he'd be less resistant than Epel. In Chapter 5, Epel has a big inferiority complex surrounding his masculinity. Because of that, he's resistant to Vil's suggestions. On the other hand, Vil values improving oneself above all. In Chapter 6, Vil told Idia that even if there's a 1% chance that something will work, you should go for it. You can say you tried by the end. If you didn't, you wouldn't know if it worked. (I could be totally wrong about that quote, so please correct me if I am.) That's Vil's mindset. He's willing to try different things if it will help improve himself. That's an attractive quality. It's refreshing to write someone so willing to better themselves. In my fanfics, I like to bring out that latent potential.

Another reason I think he would be willing is because nobody calls him out in Chapter 5. At least not in a way that he’s receptive to. Deuce semi-calls him out after Epel runs out. However, Ace sides with Vil. It pushes Deuce to become reactive. Vil is a logical person. He tends to write off other's emotions, especially during Chapter 5. In that chapter, Vil is a master at rationalizing his behavior towards others. He's intimidating and confident. He uses logic to override, demean, and invalidate other's emotions. It's an awful and effective way to shut up an opposing party. Vil portrays himself as always being right. It seems like he's infallible. He can't be swayed or wrong, so people don't challenge him. He'll shred them with his logic. For others, it's not worth the effort. He displays a lot of toxic narcissistic behaviors in the chapter. It makes you wonder if you're crazy for feeling such emotions because he seems so self-assured. It's classic gaslighting. He sucks in that chapter. Vil becomes much better and more considerate in the later chapters, though. It's endearing watching him care about his Pomefiore group so much. He came a long way from being self-absorbed to valuing his friendships. It's part of why I love him. He's the only person to overblot that apologizes and compensates the victims. Despite his progress, he still has ways to improve. That's what I like to do in my fanfics.

Let's also talk about Vil's communication style, because that's the main aspect he should improve. In Chapter 5, Vil is overly harsh because he's stressed. He reverts to what he knows best. His behavior comes from the environment he was in as a child. The entertainment industry is brutal and unkind. Based on his communication style, it's clear he received that kind of treatment. I imagine there's also a level of "I had to go through all that criticism and pain. If I could put up with it, you can too." That's why he's so quick to give a harsh sentence. It's not healthy. However, that's what he experienced the most. Although his dad loves and cares about him (i'm like 90% sure. i haven't read that event, but he seems like the type lol), I don't think he shielded Vil a lot from the abusive aspects. It's clear by how callous Vil can be. I don't blame or fault Vil's dad for this, either. The entertainment industry's toxic behavior bleeds everywhere. There's only so much a parent can do to shield their kid. Besides, the important part is what happens after the trauma. Vil has a good and loving relationship with his dad. That's what's important.

So, in Chapter 5, Vil is fully absorbed in himself and his problems. He's not thinking about other people. He doesn't care about how they feel. The only way to snap him out of this state is to appeal to his desires. I won't tell you the different ways to do this because that's in my fanfics, but that's the basic way to get Vil to listen in stressful situations.

I also connect with his character a lot. A theater kid who has unrealistic and high expectations of themselves. Someone who's exhausted but continues pushing themself to the brink because they won't be enough otherwise. A person prone to burnout but doesn't have time for it. They have to keep changing and improving themselves to remain relevant and important. Someone with such a packed schedule they don't have time for friends outside of their activities. A person who's supposed to be strong, so whenever a problem happens, they try to solve it themself. It often goes awry, but sometimes it works. Either way, it's traumatic. I see a lot of myself in Vil. At least I did.

I became a better person after I left the environment that pushed me to act that way. I learned to slow down and realize I am enough by being myself. It's ok to go at my own pace when learning things. I don't have to be perfect or the best to be important and loved. I can have fun with friends outside of the activities I do. It's ok to have fun and relax around other people. I don't have to be perfect all the time. I discovered I like writing more than acting. However, I still love the performing arts. It's always been one of my outlets. It was why I was able to handle my childhood. Through all of this self-improvement, I became a better person. I was able to overcome some of my self-destructive and unhelpful behaviors. Obviously, I still struggle with some of these aspects, but I have the help I need. I have a good support system (like Vil gets after Chapter 5).

When I write for Vil, I write to help him become a better person. The biggest thing he lacks is interpersonal skills. That's my specialty. I'm fantastic at conflict management, voicing my feelings, and interpersonal communication. My skills help Vil reach his full potential. I want to help him. He's willing to learn to improve himself. That's why I feel so passionate about him. In real life, not many people take my suggestions regarding self-improvement. It's a great joy to write someone who's not only willing but will give it their all. He reminds me of myself in that way. When I first learned about some of my most invaluable skills, I threw myself into it too. I imagine Vil doing the same.

That's why I love writing for Vil.

[yatori-morgana]

(Minimal proofreading)

Was speculating some random mer biology with Mom. First, I mentioned how we're all dying to see if Georgina gets an on-screen merform for obvious reasons — but I also have a question it'd answer.

There are two types of mer I've taken note of: those with human upper halves, and those that are more fishy all over like the octotrio. Do the more fishy mer have breasts similar to us, or don't they? We know the humanoid ones do. Mom and I speculated, if so, they might just have the fat, and it could work for buoyancy. There's a reason we have the phrase "tits up", haha.

We know that male merfolk like the octotrio don't have nipples. Yes, some anime art styles, for some reason, don't draw men with nips, but we've seen that's not the case for TWST in the Stitch event. So that means it was a deliberate choice to draw them without. That's what makes me question if female mer like them would have anything of the sort, even just fat stores or what have you.

If you wanted to speculate a bit more, you could point out that Azul, like tweels, has no nipples, but he's an octomer exactly like Ursula — who is canon and has titties. In that case, it's likely either to:

1. Blend in Elder Scrolls argonian-style

2. Buoyancy specifically

3. Fat stores specifically

4. A combination of the above

It's possible none of that is right, but I can't help but wonder a LOT.

Another thing I brought up is how a lot of us tend to agree that Mer run colder body temperatures. That's when Mom brought up it's possible they run warmer core temperatures because of how cold the sea is. Not their whole bodies — just around their organs, etc. That would mean, if they were injured, they wouldn't bleed a lot very fast because their blood isn't so close to the surface. I then said it would make sense because of how easily that'd attract predators otherwise, so bleeding less would work better. By that logic, they'd still be fairly cool to the touch.

She also mentioned rubbery skin textures because fish.

I then made mention of how, canonically, mer in human forms have healthy, moisturized skin, as it's how their mucus/natural films translated into the new body. That's where Azul got the idea (and resources) for Vil's new toner. I referenced how we all joke about not telling Vil what's in it, but I suddenly remembered something.

Would Vil really be bothered? Think about what goes into many other different beauty products. This might not be too bad in comparison to some things, and he may very well be used to the idea. (Then Mom said, "I mean, you know what's in Botox?" Lmao)

Naturally moisturized skin may also be why Georgina looks rather young in comparison to some. We can still see the shadow of wrinkles, but it isn't very pronounced.

Speaking of Georgina, people keep mentioning her lack of a ring. It's possible she just doesn't like wearing rings over gloves, or it could be different cultures again. Who's to say it's a marital band that bonds her and Mr. Leech? It could even be less complicated than that, even — it could just be a different piece of jewelry altogether. For all we know, it's her earrings. We have no idea because we don't know much about mer culture as a whole, nor do we know the specifics of her relationship with her husband.

AND ANOTHER THING ABOUT MER BIOLOGY.

Have you ever tried taking a bite of plant matter and chewing it with only your sharper teeth? It's not that easy. I can say from experimentation and literal science that flat teeth are better for that sort of thing, yet the tweels never mention struggling with it? They only have sharp teeth, but we know they eat fruits and vegetables, like how Jade ate apples during the Harveston event.

That's when Mom said they might not be grinding it down, but rather cutting it into smaller pieces and swallowing those pieces whole. It could be that they typically don't struggle, as, for instance with an apple, it's the skin that really causes trouble — which could be another reason as to why Jade typically peels his. You know, even though most of the nutrients are IN THE PEEL.

Mom also pointed out that they could have a flatter bit in the back of their mouths behind their teeth they use to grind it down. We wouldn't know because we can't see that far back, haha. That falls into "do they have pharyngeal jaws" territory.

Technically, this is a non-issue, but it bothers me because they pay attention to so many other tiny details, but this, which feels obvious to me, is ignored. I just have weird focuses.

I'd love to hear y'all's thoughts on any of this, if you made it this far. Just some fun speculating and headcanoning.

[mellosdrawings]

(I love drawing Jamil's grabby hands when he's upset lol)

(Book5 spoilers incoming!)

No but on a more serious note. I focused on Jamil here coz my boi just can't catch a break, but the truth is that Book5, for as much as I love it, really doesn't have a satisfying ending.

It's not a matter of "we lost" and me being salty about it, obviously it was very important for Vil's character arc.

Buuuuut... Well, it wasn't the only character arc started in this Book. All previous Books were (mostly) completely focused on the overblotter and the previous overblotter that joined the frayed to help out. Here we don't just have a continuation of Jamil's character arc, there was also Epel and Deuce who got a big thing, and Kalim had a throwaway line that never got anywhere (and I'm salty about it. I wished we heard more about how he felt competitiveness towards Jamil for the first time).

In the context of Jamil and Epel's character arc mostly, losing the SDC is extremely unsatisfying. Jamil finally got handed the spotlight and accepted it, and he still failed. Even when he get the one thing he wants he still ends second. Nothing changes. Rip my forever Number Two loser.

Epel also got a whole arc about accepting to weaponize his cuteness. It falls flat. His finally using his cuteness doesn't make the team win, he doesn't one up Neige, he doesn't fulfill his role as Vil's poisonous apple. Just bad.

If they really just focused on Vil for this Book like they did in previous Books, that ending would have been much stronger. But with the numerous character arcs there, I feel like there should have been another way so that they could all have their respective good ending.

There, I'm done with my rant. Here's a bonus:

[rayroseu]

source

idk if this means something and if its intentional, but Vil overblot's markings has a similar format with Overblot Malleus, they droop on the center and has a net pattern covering their forehead, (Riddle has a similar design as these as well but his markings passes down his left eye rather than forehead), also interesting that both Vil and Malleus' overblot marks has an extreme reference to the motifs of their Disney Villain counterpart (Most of the these overblot marks are just "aesthetically designed" like with Overblot Azul and Leona unless im missing some interpretation here lol)

Obviously, Vil's markings depicts the poisoned apple, while Malleus', if I overthink about it really hard, looks like Dragon Maleficent's face being split apart in flames (if you join together the center part of his overblot flame, it kinda looks like dragon!Maleficents head silouhette) bad edit lol

Its also interesting that those vertical diamonds in the center kinda looks like they're a sword/dagger stabbing through the apple/the dragon's head.

But my favourite part is Vil's markings... the design motif there are akin to Meleanor's laces to her clothes 😭✨

This design with the curved dark lines and hollow vertical strokes inside it, is on Riddle's as well (like on the borders of his overblot heart marking), but this is a special mention bcs Meleanor and overblot!Vil is awfully similar already based on design 😭✨

additionally, "that diamond on the center" thing kind of looks like an imitation to Meleanor's crown

But now, this is making me wonder... Was Meleanor's design created with overblot motifs in mind???😭💔 I remember being surprised she overblotted when that update came out, most of the assumptions about Malleus' mother's death pre-Book 7 is that she was mostly outpowered by the enemy, but rarely does it include that she overblotted too bcs pre book 7, they always emphasized that Draconia's are too powerful and based on Malleus' scenes before book 7 extremely in control of that power that they can just wield it nonchalantly (so it didnt gave off the vibe that they would overblot bcs that means they can be reckless with it (but nowadays i think this makes sense lol))

So with that said, does this mean that even from the start, like with her design, she was always meant to overblot, just like how most of the dorm leaders are the overbloters of each book?? 😭

edit.

random realization too lol but Vil and Malleus' share the same design on their skirt and their legs and maybe arms (but I feel like that design applies to all overblotters), They literally parallel with each other too 😭✨ Queens sharing fashion tips lolol

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

not me doomposting about l*ona again

I pointed out in an older post that Leona seems to demonstrate a unique ability to unite others under a common cause. This is in spite of the lore stating that it's very difficult to get different kinds of beastmen to see eye-to-eye, so much so that Sunset Savanna's acting king, his older brother, has yet to really unify their people.

WELL.

***Spoilers for Leona's Nightmare Suit vignettes below the cut!***

A central theme to Leona's Nightmare Suit vignettes is figuring out what makes someone worthy of being "king". At the start, everyone is reminded of Jack Skellington's status as the "King of Halloween, which makes him the most important person in town. However, Leona's quick to point out that the title isn't what's important, but what one achieves is. He then expresses interest in what it is exactly that Jack Skellington does around here to earn his crown. His opinion of Jack isn’t that good; in the event story, Leona thinks Jack doesn’t pay attention and doubts that he can have deep thoughts. Jack describes his duties as making Halloween the scariest it can possibly be. He drives around in his buggy, walks his dog Zero through the local cemetery, studies and conducts experiments, and reviews the proposals from Halloween Town residents. An important part of his job is considering his people's ideas! But Leona thinks there could be a more efficient way to do this rather than having the king read the proposals one by one. We can see a divide between their ways of thinking; Jack is willing to hear individuals out whereas Leona is focused on efficiency. This is also reflected in how they assign tasks later in the vignettes. Jack has everyone going up one ladder to decorate, while Leona commands the witches to do this task, as its much faster for them to do on their brooms. I don't know if this was intentional, but the way Jack rules feels reminiscent to how Leona often describes his older brother, Farena/Falena. So often does Leona mention that Falena is too kind and cares too much for others, which impedes on the political and economic gains he could be making if he were just more focused on his goals. “[Falena] could just focus on the kingdom’s affairs–you know, his JOB–but nooo, he’s gotta be the caring big brother who’s nice to everybody." (If you want to read a more in-depth analysis of Falena vs Leona's priorities when it comes to ruling, please read this post.)

Leona claims that the qualifications for king around here are actually really simple--and yeah, maybe there's nothing more to his line than this, but considering that in his home country one's order of birth is also a strong determinant, a merit-based system like what's seen in Halloween Town probably is simpler to him. And that means it's his time to shine and be acknowledged when he wasn't successful at earning this recognition back home.

Now, what REALLY surprised me in these vignettes wasn't that Leona knows how to boss around his peers and put their strengths to use (for example, he tells Vil, who has an eye for detail, to look over the embroidery, and Idia, who is a science and math whiz, to handle difficult calculations). It's that Leona is also perfectly aware of the abilities of the Halloween Town residents--people he has only known for less than three days--and uses them and their skills well too. That's an insanely short amount of time to get to know an entire TOWN'S worth of people and what each of them are like... yet he just pulls it off effortlessly????? HUH... This earns him the praise of Dr. Finkelstein, the mayor, Jack, Sally, and Skully. Sally in particular highlights Leona's strengths very concisely, stating that he can accurately assess the situation and give appropriate directions on how to act in that situation. Skully adds that Leona technically doesn't move himself or do any of the dirty work, he's focused solely on giving orders. This makes him a "king" and a leader of equal standing as Jack Skellington. And then Skully--SKULLY, THE OBSESSED HALLOWEEN OTAKU THAT THINKS HALLOWEEN SHOULD BE A VERY SPECIFIC WAY--says that Halloween was made possible by not one, but two great kings this year. It just goes to show how much one can truly accomplish when not barred by a negative environment and a lack of social support.

One definition of "king" that is offered in these vignettes is "the one who can bring everyone together". That's certainly something that both Leona and Jack do, albeit in very different ways. But then, at the end of the Halloween Town segment of the vignettes, Leona acknowledges that "king" can be defined another way. He realizes that Jack is recognized as king not just because he's a leader, but because he's also needed and loved by the townspeople. This, too, is a "king". However, it seems that this is a definition that Leona somewhat looks down upon, as he basically apologizes to Jack for not thinking highly of him at first. Again, Leona prioritizes getting shit done, no matter what the cost of it may be--and even if it earns him the ire of others. This, as I said earlier, puts him in stark contrast to Jack, as well as his own older brother. But here and now, we have Leona finally seeing the strength that a different kind of ruling can have instead of always speaking so disparagingly about it. Even if it's just a little... it feels like he's growing and learning, doesn't it?

The vignettes end on flashing forward to Leona back at Savanaclaw dorm. A few of his freshmen students are goofing off right before magift/spelldrive practice is about to start. As soon as Leona shows up, the freshmen snap to attention and rush off to change for practice. Jack (Howl, not Skellington, lol) remarks that usually the other first years are so lazy, but their attitudes completely changed when their dorm leader appeared. Ruggie chimes in, saying that Leona keeps the entire dorm in line... THJBAEBVUFAEIYAFIOYBVADFILH ThEN HE CALLS THEIR KING THE BEST... AND JACK AGTREESS... WHAT DO YOU MEAN, SHUT THE FUCK UPAS ALREADY STOP POGINTONG OUT HE'S A AGOODFK leADER DFOR YOUE AEPEOPLE YADFJKHAFLIYVDGVYUADGVUEGAVN

In response to the praise, Leona says that simply scolding misbehaving students doesn't make you a king. If it were as simple as that, it would be a pretty cheap throne build only on flattery. The vignettes end with him telling everyone to move their asses to practice. lh WDBHFAIYOEAIYEIYF BUT TAHAT'S PRETY YMASSIVE FOR HS CHARACTER... These vignettes demonstrate that Leona's not fixated on the title of king, but what it means to truly "be" a king and leader. He doesn't value being called a "king" if he feels it's easily earned, he wants to prove himself worthy of it and earn that title through his talents. This all circles back to a thought I had a while ago: that what Leona is after isn't the literal seat of king, but all the things that come with it but was denied of in his childhood. Respect, admiration, recognition for his abilities.

And 💦 Leona doesn’t realize it yet (either that, or he’s in complete denial) but… He also fits that second definition of “king” 😭 He’s the type of person that gets things done (like what he believes should define a king) BUT GIS DORM MEMBERS ALL ALSO NEED AND LOVE HIM…

OOoogohoggoOGH... OTL I hate how well it comes together...