anonyanonymouse

[anonyanonymouse]

Javier Pérez: Carroña (2011)

Ten stuffed crows carefully placed on a shattered red chandelier to look as if they were feasting on a dead animal. 

[anonyanonymouse]

please please please please reblog if you’re a writer and have at some point felt like your writing is getting worse. I need to know if I’m the only one who’s struggling with these thoughts

[anonyanonymouse]

[anonyanonymouse]

May I ask why you dislike Malleus so much?

[For context on why I dislike Malleus: here and here!]

Many of the reasons previously cited above are still applicable presently (though some points may be outdated since those posts were written before book 7). In this post, I will mostly be focusing on why my thoughts on Malleus have not changed despite the new added content of book 7.

I ramble on for a bit, so I put my thoughts below the cut! Ah—but before you read, please be aware that these are my opinions and not meant to be disparaging to any Malleus likers out there.

Me disliking him should not take away any of your joy!! Go out there and love him for me ^^

A lot of the things happening in book 7 were a long time coming, so really I felt as though Malleus finally “losing it” was affirming of all the red flags from before. Since day 1, his loneliness, aloofness, and awkwardness around his peers were key traits of his. What book 7 does is it magnifies the darkest aspects of his character.

We’ve seen several examples when Malleus has fits of rage and his power flares out of control or he at least threatens it. In Glorious Masquerade, he becomes enraged at the realization that the invitation he received was a false one. In A Firelit Sky, he insinuates that he would be upset if people questioned his presence for the trip. He crushes Lilia’s phone in his own Dorm Uniform vignettes, destroying a friend’s belonging because he was upset about not being invited to an occasion. In book 7, we see a flashback of Malleus freezing the whole castle as a child because his grandmother, overtaken by her duties, could no longer dine with him as promised. Malleus’s temper has been a persistent issue since childhood.

We’ve also seen him act callously toward his classmates and misuse magic to force his will upon them. Remember him stopping time during Endless Halloween Night? How he wanted some ghosts to enjoy themselves instead of missing out on being with everyone for the holiday? Now he’s stopping time in book 7 and keeping everyone in their happy dreams forever. Remember how (in his Dorm Uniform vignettes) Malleus thought it would be easier to make the other dorm leaders come to him instead of him coming to them for their meeting? So then he disregards their autonomy and casts magic that’s normally cast on objects on living beings (something which the other dorm leaders take offense to, as it is dehumanizing). He fails to consider their perspective when he returns to Diasomnia (he basically goes, “well, I wouldn’t have been mad if they cast that spell on me!”). Malleus learns nothing from the experience despite Lilia trying to tell him over and over to be more considerate of others and how different they are from him. Now we have Malleus relating his peers to a virtual pet that he never ever wants to leave him.

Malleus can be stubborn and arrogant. He has a very single-minded way of thinking and often does not consider others’ feelings before he makes the decision for them. Malleus can be insecure. He doesn’t even fully realize he is lonely until Yuu suggests it in book 7, but he’s capable of acting on his bouts of intense emotion. He has always had these flaws, and now they are being brought out in full; we’re being forced to confront OB Malleus and all the complicated, twisting feelings of abandonment that come with him.

Let’s make one thing very clear: I don’t take issue with the overblot boys in general; they are meant to be morally grey characters that act in dubious ways. It would be insincere for me to claim “I dislike Malleus because he did bad things!” News flash, many TWST characters have done bad things or at least questionable things that would give you pause. What separates Malleus from the others and makes him egregious enough to earn significant ire from me is the particular actions he takes (which triggers a personal disdain of mine).

Malleus consistently exerts a scary amount of control over others. This is not a new idea; Riddle and Vil are also notorious for being oppressive or controlling, and I’ll be the first to admit that. (You’ll note that those two are low on my tier list too.) The thing is, Riddle and Vil were very overt and open about their demands for obedience. Malleus can be too, but it’s so insidious how he acts within the dreams. He ignores people’s autonomy, gaslights others, and, again, acts like he knows what’s best for them 💀 Other characters have done these things too, but never to the same scale or by exerting this much power. Malleus then resorts to violence when his lies don’t work, even though he’s fully aware of the power disparity between him and his peers. It feels particularly scummy to me because of how Malleus frames his selfish actions and feelings (his wish for Lilia to not leave) as selfless (for the benefit of his peers) and something everyone else would want in order to justify it to himself 💦 I know he is in (or bordering on) overblot so he wasn’t thinking rationally at that point, plus the fact that many examples I listed come from events or vignettes which may not be canon to the main story timeline. Still, there is a concerning pattern of behavior with Malleus misusing his powers or not being considerate of others and failing to grow from those mistakes. You can only go “oopsie” so many times before you harm someone by accident. I expect people to learn their lesson by then and adopt some proper restraint. He keeps claiming his intentions are good as if that’s supposed to dismiss any harm that results from his actions??? No, his actions still harmed people and he has to deal with the consequences of them, not have them hand-waved away or excused. The behavior I’m witnessing is reminiscent of like… having a toxic friend that is constantly told “hey, what you’re doing/saying makes me feel uncomfortable; do you think you could dial it back?” and the friend tells you they’ll try but then never actually changes their behavior or defends their behavior with “I didn’t mean to, so therefore I did not actually harm anyone”.

You can give me a backstory, but a backstory only goes so far as explaining why he is the way he is; it does not excuse him at all. You can say “He’s a fairy! He’s sheltered!” until the cows come home, but when he relies on magic to quickly fix the problems he caused instead of stopping to genuinely reflect on why people are mad at him, it’s hard for me to sympathize. Because of his immense power and status, the only person that can reasonably hold Malleus accountable is himself, and he has not demonstrated to me that he can do that.

Book 7 is essentially the payoff for allllll the tropes and traits I never liked to begin with coming into fruition. That’s why Malleus has stayed where he is in my TWST character ranking. I did not expect the writing, no matter how good or tear-jerking, to change that. Until Malleus shows that he’s fully apologetic, recognizes the error of his ways, and consciously tries to connect with others and understand their perspectives, he’s staying squarely where he is.

Am I saying a character with flaws is a bad thing? No, absolutely not! Flaws are what make a character interesting, I’m not faulting Malleus or any other characters for having them. Am I saying that he is poorly written? No, I think Malleus is actually quite a complex character and he’s been really fascinating to follow. It was so clever how the devs related his virtual pet to wishing for happily ever afters for people in his real life. This magnitude of danger is also just about what I expect of book 7 and the themes of togetherness that TWST was angling for from the start. But the fact remains unchanged that I perceive his attitude as irritating at best and reprehensible at worst.

My distaste for Malleus is based entirely on my own views and life experiences. The specific flaws Malleus has and how he acts because of them don’t sit well with me and the kinds of things I enjoy in fiction. It’s not anything deeper than that!

#YES! YES!!! #trying really hard to figure out how to word this properly #but YES this is all so true and it's why I love his character personally #I'm just a bigbig fan of the spoiled lonely prince archetype 🙈 #if they were to tell me he's spent over a century completely isolated with the few people he knows coddling him #and letting him abuse his power because of his status and position #I would be disappointed if he WASN'T an abusive friend #he's definitely not a character I would expect everyone to enjoy #especially from the perspective of being a friend to someone like him #but I'm so here for the struggle and grief and impossibility he feels trying to integrate into society #you're right about how they've danced around him actually hurting someone irreversibly by using magic to solve his problems #god I want him to realize the scale of what he's doing and the actual risk to society he is being #for him to injure or kill someone and realize he didn't want that to happen and he can't just go back and change it and make it okay again #if Malleus got to feel the genuine consequences of what he's doing I would be DELIGHTED #(again I really hope this isn't rude!!) #(I know it's very annoying to say why you don't like something and have someone go well you're wrong because XYZ) #(NOT what I am trying to do!!! 🙈)

[anonyanonymouse]

if a sword is like an extension of the wielder. and a sword can be said to have its own identity. then can a sword not feel grief and sorrow at being forced to clash with its opponent forged in the same crucible but forced to turn against it. can a sword not cry out in the screech of metal on metal from the pain of betrayal.

[anonyanonymouse]

Since now we have Tsum Silver in JP, I just want Lilia to go through absolute baby fever. HE NEEDS TO TREAT SILTSUM LIKE HIS BABY ALL OVER AGAIN!!!

" . . . I suppose I might have known," Lilia hums, a playful smile tugging at his lips as he lounges against the doorframe and crosses his arms. "Is this where you've been hiding all along, hm? You've given him quite the scare, you know— he's running frantic all around the castle grounds trying to find where you've wandered off to all on your own."

Nestled between the bat-patterned bedsheets and carelessly scattered homework assignments, Silver's tsum blinks sleepily up at him, the picture of unrepentant, bleary innocence. It makes no move to wriggle itself out of the cozy little burrow, and Lilia's grin only softens. In a funny way, he's all too suddenly reminded of those early cottage days— of Silver buried so far into his quilts during the bitterly cold Briar Valley winter, that stubborn tuft of moonlit hair poking out from the blankets like a beacon, a lighthouse drawing Lilia close until he could wrap the child up in the warmth of his arms instead and pepper his giggling face with good morning kisses.

A strange pang pricks his heart at the memory, and Lilia shakes his head with affected disappointment at the once again dozing creature, rubbing a hand absentmindedly against his chest. "I ought to scold you for distressing him so," he mutters with no real heat behind the words, floating the short distance over to the bed and settling down among the mess. "He's a good child, too good for his own heart. I won't have you causing him any grief, no matter how adorable you are— do you hear me?"

A gentle poke to the tsum's plushy cheek begets no response, not that Lilia was truly expecting any with how eerily similar the creature resembled his son in not just looks, but behavior. It merely snored on in complete disregard to Lilia's words, and yet somehow . . . Lilia could swear it looked even more at peace than it had moments prior. Up close like this, if he ignored the uniform tucked around its tiny body, he could believe that he'd somehow found himself seventeen years in the past. He could believe that they were tucked away in the serene safety of their forest home, and that he was once again watching in the dumbfounded awe of a parent in breathless admiration of their baby's first slumber.

Deep in the pocket of his uniform jacket, Lilia can hear his phone buzzing, texts no doubt from Silver asking if his father has had any luck scouting out the dormitory for his wayward tsum. He'll text him back, of course he will— he doesn't want to prolong his son's distress anymore than it already has. But for now, for a moment, he can't bring himself to glance away from the tsum happily sleeping in his bed— perhaps it just might open its eyes and look at him. Perhaps it might yawn, stretching tiny, perfect little arms and sharing a crooked, perfect little smile under those silvery bedhead bangs.

"Good morning, Toto! I had the most interesting dream last night, do you want to hear about it?"

[anonyanonymouse]

I know I'm just reaching, but the sequence of Silver waking up in the Rabbit Race feels so much like the occuring ways he's woken up by Lilia 😭😭😭🙏🙏💖💕💞💕

⬆️⬆️⬆️ This is from the Rabbit Fest

⬇️⬇️⬇️ This is the parallel of it in Book 7

also

one thing I noticed, Silver and Knight of Dawn do have similarities with their magic other than their whole white void magic... ITS THAT THEY BOTH REQUIRE A FAE TO DEVOTE THEIR STRENGTH TO 😭😭🙏🙏✨💖💕💖💕

In Japanese, they basically said the same thing😭😭‼️‼️✨✨ especially the 我に力を！！😭😭(in silver's case the way he says his line is just more ""informal"" (俺に力を) than Dawn, he says "ore ni" unlike "ware ni")

Does this mean in Silver's heart,,, Lilia is Silver's guardian fairy??? 😭😭😭💞💞💞

GRAAGHHH I CANT WITH THEM SJSHDJAJD

I know thats like obvious already but "guardian fairies" for Knight of Dawn, was the origin of his power, every time he wields his sword he dedicates his strength to them, so every battle he endures feels like its for the fairies that gives him strength and in turn, he wants to protect them (and remember that Silver's dream is to be a knight capable of protecting Malleus and Lilia (the faes he loves!!!))

IM GONNA SOB... GUYS IT KINDA FEELS LIKE he loves his father so much, he thinks his strength came from his love to Lilia😭😭

So, the thing that makes Silver strong even against his sleepiness or sadness, is true love, JDJSJDJS regardless if its not Lilia, it could be Sebek, it could be the first years...

Its mostly Lilia OFCC but it can also be from friends and in the Rabbit Fest, the first years, who are his friends😭💖💖💖🙏✨ I'm sure Lilia would be proud AJDJWJS

ALSO now this just makes me think that MAYBE Silver's and Dawn's lineage, requires them "to love someone," or "be loved" in order to be strong???

If so, THAT COULD BE A PARALLEL to the fact that the Draconia lineage also needs lots of love in order to be born... so both Silver/Knight of Dawn and Malleus/Meleanor are people who were born and whose strength centers around love— kind of like they cant exist nor grow up without it 😭😭💞🙏✨✨

WE NEED MORE KNIGHT OF DAWN LOREEE I NEED TO CONFIRM THIS KNIGHT'S BACKSTORY PLEASEEEEEEE😭😭💥💥🙏🙏✨✨✨

[anonyanonymouse]

his man

[anonyanonymouse]

and under my back the Earth turns to spite me as if nothing had happened.

[anonyanonymouse]

[anonyanonymouse]

btw in case any of you were confused it's about dogs as the platonic ideal of piety

[anonyanonymouse]

dance macabre

let us have this dance of macabre!

strums of lullaby accompany our steps

spectators of all kinds eagerly waiting in silence 

people of all race, of all ages

humans and fae alike, mingling into one

isn't this what you always long for, my dearest?

rub away your tears, if you would

look above, my dear!

look how the ceilings crumbled, 

forging a path upon the starry skies

under the sea of stars shall we waltz with grace

one step forward, two steps back

a tango everyone desires

now then, don your brightest smiles!

as we are the prima donna of this palace 

knightly boots replacing glass slippers

briars and thorns, prettier than roses

mere infatuations and lust desist,

only loyalty alone shall exist

hush now, dear

do not loathe me amidst parada

cease your sadness at once

bury your soul deep within one’s eyes

never let those speckles of aurora

be tarnished by the mere sight of carcass 

for I have bestowed you the honor

of taking my hand for this dance

moving in front ochos,

I whisper to you eternal happiness

a promise that’ll never go unkept

holier than the eternal slumber

oh, if only the crowd would cheer!

rather than rotting beneath our feet 

but fret not, my dear 

as we have a long night ahead of us!

[anonyanonymouse]

Malleus tsum and Silver tsum need to fuck nasty style

#mallesil #thank you for your time and goodnight

[anonyanonymouse]

hijo de la luna

[anonyanonymouse]

Dear God.

#the may schedule.......... I am going to die

[anonyanonymouse]

adrift

[anonyanonymouse]