#she just has zero context for anything

[blackjackkent]

So, what Rakha really wants to do right now is go kill the people hunting Karlach, because they don't have anything else that would qualify as a direct plan other than the creche, and the "paladins" are closer. However, I happen to know that the paladins are level five and Rakha is level 2 and could be knocked over by a stiff breeze, so I think a better bet is a more full exploration of the Emerald Grove first.

I'm guessing that this is the result of a concerted effort on Wyll and Shadowheart's part, primarily - Wyll already knows the people of the grove and Shadowheart has fixated on Halsin as a useful lead. Gale doesn't seem to have any specific plan in mind and, left to their own devices, Lae'zel would already be heading for the creche and Rakha and Karlach would be after the paladins. But between them, Shadowheart and Wyll manage to convince everyone that at least TALKING to the healer in the grove would be a useful start before everyone goes off half-cocked.

Amused because I stopped in to talk to Zevlor and got a disapproval from Wyll purely for leaving the conversation without asking the question about whether the ritual could be stopped. XD Sorry, Wyll. I swear we'll get to a point where you like Rakha, somehow, but I doubt sincerely we're there yet.

Speaking of the ritual, down we go to the grove proper - with a quick stop to talk to the teeth-ling kids.

"Whoa. Hey! Can't say I've ever seen someone like you before."

Without preamble, he shows his hands to her, empty. Then a quick flick of the wrist, and suddenly he's holding out a tarnished gold ring between his fingers.

"Go on," he says cheerfully. "Take this ring. It's lucky."

Rakha, who has very little context for anything she experiences, has never seen slight-of-hand magic done before, nor is she familiar with the concept of a con man. So she watches this little display and is immediately fascinated. Magic - but with no surge of that visible tapestry around the boy, the network of power that Gale calls the Weave.

How?

"That was a fancy trick," she says slowly.

His eyes narrow and something subtle shifts in his expression, a flash of interest. "You haven't seen anything yet, lady," he says dryly. "Go on - take the ring and watch your fortune change!"

Take the ring.

She takes it and looks at it carefully. There is no magic on the ring either, nothing that she can sense. But the boy looks up at her earnestly as he draws a coin from his pocket. "Call it! Heads or tails."

She blinks at him, puzzled by the question.

Pocket the ring.

"Hey, hold on!" the boy cries at once. "You gotta pay for that!"

She does? She withdraws the ring out of her pocket again and squints at the boy, incredibly baffled by the entire situation.

("The boy seeks to deceive you," Lae'zel says impatiently under her breath. "His magic is mundanity. The ring likely the same."

Wyll sighs. "Be kind, the both of you. He wants to show you a trick, that's all. Let him flip the coin.")

Rakha's eyes narrow. She stands there with the ring sitting on her palm and feels foolish. "It's only a joke," she says slowly after a long silence and trying to sort through the words from her companions. "Go on... flip your coin." If anything, she is curious to learn what that means.

"Real sweet sense of humor you got there, chum." The boy looks as if he's starting to regret his choice of mark, but he presses on gamely. "Anyway, you gotta call before the flip. Heads or tails."

A long pause. "Heads?" Rakha says cautiously.

The boy grins, tosses the coin in the air, catches it, and then shows her the side with the head facing up. "Heads it is!" he crows. "See? That's the kinda luck you get from just one of my lucky rings! I've got more where that came from. Real cheap, too. Interested?"

Rakha is starting to understand the situation now that she has seen it play out, and her lips twitch with irritation. [SORCERER] "If there was magic in this ring, I'd have felt it," she says bluntly. "It's nothing but junk."

The boy flinches and raises his hands defensively. "Not so loud!" he hisses. "You caught me, all right? They're not lucky rings." His eyes grow wide, his expression twisting with sudden, exaggerated pathos. "I'm just... trying to earn money for my family," he whimpers. "My father left and my mother... she's so sick. I wish I had better things to sell than... trinkets, but it's all I have!"

Rakha squints. The shift in tone is abrupt enough that she is certain it's disingenuous and that Lae'zel is right - the boy is making a fool of her. There is nothing of value here.

Wordlessly she shoves the ring back in the boy's face.

Return the ring and leave.

#bjk plays bg3 durge #rakha the dark urge #ok so fundamentally this was not like #a scene with much of a point in rakha's case :P #did give me some thinky thinks though #one reason writing rakha is proving to be interesting is that by going real deep down the you-know-nothing rabbit hole #it often ends up a smidge comedic #and there's a challenging balance to be struck between this and not making her come across like an idiot #because i don't think she is! #she's quick - given information to work with she extrapolates lots of things out of a small amount #and makes rational decisions on how to act on that information #she just has zero context for anything #especially when the situation involves slang; it's kind of fun realizing that (for instance) if you didn't know what heads or tails meant #why would you be able to guess? #tldr using this scene that went nowhere as an excuse to write meta about my own character :P #i honestly really like rakha; she strikes me as someone who is perfectly decent (when the Urge isn't taking control at least) #but blunt and almost purely rationally-driven and needs to be met on her own terms #which so far the companions have been willing to do which is nice

[bitchthefuck1]

We as a society need to acknowledge the psychological toll of being the only woman in a friend group willing to argue back when the guys start saying sexist shit. I deserve financial compensation.

#I'm out here in the trenches with zero backup and the only prize i get is a text from a girlfriend after the fact saying i was right but she #didn't have the energy to argue it #someone give me a fucking medal #like in any other context I'd straight up stop hanging out with these people but i can't for Reasons so instead every few months i have to #undergo psychological terrorism over a group meal #it has actually been such a good demonstration of how men will prioritize patriarchal alliance over anything else bc this is a group of #people ive known for years and that i see weekly and the way they will throw me under the fucking bus to agree with a random guy someone #invited that none of them actually know is genuinely insane. good to know exactly how little you value me as an individual 👍 #actually tho I can't describe to you how fucking depressing it is to watch a male friend say something lightly misogynistic and then when #you provide the slightest bit of pushback they just all start to join in and double down and then because none of your other female friends #are willing to speak out they start to get more emboldened and the situation spirals a bit and you're literally standing there getting #dogged on as you're forced to confront the fact that on a fundamental level they dont see you as a real person

[atopvisenyashill]

Is Lyanna really as terrible as some people portray her as?

no, not even a little bit.

the absolute most important thing about lyanna is that when she dies she is only 16. i am someone who works with kids - i work in a library so i spend most of my days cleaning up after tweens and asking teenagers to please stop doing dumb shit- and the first thing anyone who has ever worked with kids and especially teenagers is that they may look like adults but they are NOT. they don’t understand boundaries, they have next to zero impulse control, and every bad thing that happens feels like the worst thing ever because it very likely IS the worst thing they’ve ever experienced bc they have not been alive that long!

and this goes for every single teen & tween character in this series, not just lyanna! shit, i am someone who feels an immense amount of sympathy for joffrey! on one side he’s got his mother telling him he can do anything he wants with no repercussions and on the other he’s got his father hitting him so hard that stannis thought joffrey was going to die. and then he is given unchecked power and told not to abuse it! EYE cannot even guarantee that i wouldn’t use unchecked power to do shady shit and i am a fully grown adult, not a traumatized, irrationally, and deeply vindictive 13 year old boy.

but honestly the most important thing about lyanna is that we have ZERO CONTEXT for what happens between her and Rhaegar. What we have is

Ned’s sparse & guilt ridden thoughts about Lyanna and one (1) comment about Rhaegar

Robert’s angry, entitled, and grief ridden outbursts about Lyanna and Rhaegar

Barristan’s incredibly romanticized, guilt & grief ridden take on their relationship

Meera’s second hand account of Lyanna, told to her by a father who is likely just as guilt & grief ridden as the others, who likely has his own view of Lyanna

What’s important to note is that our view of her is heavily filtered through the eyes of the men that knew her. Robert loves an idealized version of her that never existed. Barristan never actually knew her. Ned is not only viewing her under 200 layers of guilt and grief, but very obviously does not understand his sister, or why she made the choices she did, and struggles constantly with knowing that he will never know her the way he wishes he could, the way he thought he did. Given the way Meera describes Lyanna, I actually think Howland is our most accurate look at her but even that is buried behind years of grief & a fair amount of hero worship and affection (“that’s my fathers man you’re kicking howled the she-wolf” is a line that makes me WEEP for this exact reason; Howland sees Lyanna as his hero above all else!).

All of that to say - we don't even know what Lyanna did that was so terrible! Even if she was a grown woman capable of making rational decisions, we have no idea what her decisions were. She could have been lied to, misled, kidnapped, threatened, just as surely as she could have walked into the situation with open eyes. Even in the show, with a slightly aged up Lyanna - we get, what, just Sam's opinion on Rhaegar and Lyanna being in love because they got hitched? Completely ignoring the fact that we had several women in this series get married not because they were in love or willing but because someone more powerful decided on it and that was that, so there's still no evidence that Lyanna had enough information about the situation to make any sort of informed, consensual decision.

so no, i do not hold lyanna responsible for anything at all that happened regardless of how it happened because she was not mentally mature enough to understand what the hell was going on. a 15 year old is just not mature enough to think “if i run off with this married man, it’s going to cause a cascade of political issues that could have disastrous consequences.” what she’s probably thinking is “this man says he can help me and i am fucking miserable and no one else will listen.” it’s why we don’t throw 15 year olds who run away to meet up with old dudes they met online in jail when they’re caught (or theoretically why we don’t punish them at any rate). There is one person and one person only who is responsible for the massive fuck up that is the Elia-Rhaenys-Aegon-Lyanna-Jon mess and that is RHAEGAR, the person with the most amount of power who used it in the dumbest way imaginable and got himself, most of his heirs, his wife, and his teenaged mistress killed. The only other people responsible are the Kingsguard who kept Lyanna under lock and key while she lay dying and pleading for her brother to come save her.

#lyanna stark #anti rhaegar targaryen #valyrianscrolls #gender politics in asoiaf #mariages in asoiaf #asks #anons

[youremyheaven]

Vedic Astrology Observations

1. Punarvasus tend to be very spiritual if not religious. They find peace in prayer. Another thing I've noticed is that they are very sexually conservative (probably because of their cat yoni). Mariah Carey, Punarvasu Moon was a virgin when she married her first husband and waited until marriage to be intimate with her second husband as well. She was engaged to James Packer for 18 months and they reportedly never had a physical relationship.

Miranda Kerr, Punarvasu Moon was in a relationship with Evan Spiegel for 3 years and waited until marriage. Drew Barrymore, Punarvasu Moon has said that she's been celibate since her divorce in 2016.

2. Mariah Carey, Punarvasu Moon speaking of the nature of light & time , her memoir has multiple chapters titled with light-related names and even sooo many of her songs , including Butterfly (Punarvasus are connected to butterflies)

3. Moksha gana nakshatras embody the trickster archetype. They also often argue or provoke people simply for the heck of it. 2/3 Moon ruled naks (Rohini & Hasta) are Moksha gana and it makes sense as to why they fuck with people just because they can, they have nothing to gain from it and it serves no purpose, they're evil for the heck of it. They'll go to any length to ruin you even if they ruin themselves in the process.

Moksha means liberation in Sanskrit (Sanskrit is a classical language like Latin that is pretty much only used in a scholarly context) and is one of 4 purusharthas or motivations assigned to the 27 naks. The others are artha (wealth) kama (pleasure) and dharma (duty). Moksha would be located at the very top of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which means an individual with Moksha gana naks has transcended all the other base level motivations of accumulating wealth, seeking pleasure and doing one's duty. What is left to do now? If an individual is evolved, they actually seek liberation through their spirituality but if they are not, not only are they unbothered by any ordinary human motives, they lack the ability to devote themselves to anything ordinary because they simply dont care about getting a job or building a house or whatever. this means they also kind of exist beyond normal social norms?? go up against a Moksha gana native/Moon dominant person and the kind of arguments they'll use against you will reveal this nature of theirs. like they will have zero issue using your every vulnerability and insecurity against you just to win an argument or put you down. they hate to look "weak" so they will tear you apart just because they can, with no regard for any history you share. there are people who defend this by saying "oh well i was mad" babygirl everybody gets mad, but if someone isnt raising their voice, being petty or singling you out and bringing up your past to make you crumble, its not because they're incapable of it, its because they have principles.

Moksha gana naks love to play devil's advocate.

4. Rahuvians have bad memory, they probably repeat the same stories in different ways every few weeks lol

5. Saturnian women often marry billionaires according to Claire Nakti and I recently found some more examples of that:

** Mariah Carey, UBP Sun was engaged to Australian billionaire, James Packer who used to date Miranda Kerr, Pushya Rising (both these women are also Punarvasu Moon), Miranda is now married to the CEO of Snapchat.

** Lisa Manobal, UBP Sun is dating Frederic Arnault, a French billionaire

** Elle Macpherson, UBP Sun was in a relationship with Arpad Busson with whom she had 2 kids (he's not a billionaire but he does have a net worth of $500 million)

6. Nominative determinism, literally "name-driven outcome", is the hypothesis that people tend to gravitate towards areas of work that reflect their names.

but i thought i'd use it in the context of astrology and how most people are subconsciously given names that reflect their nakshatras

ex: Angelina Jolie

the name Angelina is an expansion of Angela which is derived from the Greek word Angelos which means "Angel" or "messenger". Angelina has Revati Moon which is a deva ("godly" nakshatra) and Jolie is the French word for "pretty" and Angelina has Venus in 1h and is Pushya Rising (these were two of the biggest beauty indicators according to Claire's research)

(its so cute to me that her name is literally Angel Pretty bc damn right she is)

Yara Shahidi (Revati Moon)- Yara is the name of a water spirit and in Portuguese it means "Water lady" (Yara has stated that her name means one who is close to your heart, but names can have several different meanings) and Shahidi means "witness" in Persian. I feel like all of that really ties together with Revati being in pisces rashi and the last nakshatra that is "witness" to everything else etc

#astrology notes #sidereal astrology #astrology observations #vedic astro notes #nakshatras #astro notes #astrology #vedic astrology #astroblr #astro observations #astro community #12h #jyotish #pisces #punarvasu

[muzyoshi]

Miles Edgeworth's Secret

This post is purely for documentation purposes, and also to inform anyone who may not be aware. This post will contain SPOILERS for the end of Phoenix Wright: Trials & Tribulations, so proceed with caution.

During Case 5, Bridge to the Turnabout, while playing as Edgeworth, you are presented the opportunity to peer into Iris' heart. Specifically in regards to a secret she is withholding from Phoenix, someone she was romantically involved with. During which, if the player fails to present the correct evidence specifically for the second Psyche-Lock, an interesting conversation concerning the nature of secrets occurs.

I have seen talk of this dialogue, but no footage or screenshots, so I took the liberty of getting them myself. The full conversation and my further thoughts will be found under the cut.

You MUST present incorrect evidence during the second Psyche-Lock. This dialogue is laughably easy to miss, which is why I could find zero footage of it. (Sorry if the formatting for this sucks)

(Interesting to note: the music stops playing here.)

Incidentally, Iris' secret is that she developed romantic feelings for Phoenix while dating him in college (disguised as her twin sister). Edgeworth affirms her thoughts, confirming that he does indeed have a secret of similar nature deep within his heart and soul; "It takes one to know one." It cannot be said what exactly this secret of his is, but every real plot point behind Edgeworth has been more or less resolved by this point in the series. He found his path as a prosecutor, the truth behind his involvement in the DL-6 incident was concluded, so... What's left? Reading between the lines, this only really seems to lead us to one answer. It has something to do with romantic feelings. I truly can't see it being anything else, even with a critical mind.

Just mere moments ago, Iris had inquired as to what Edgeworth and Phoenix' relationship was. Edgeworth (famously) responds that Wright is a "dear and indispensable friend". Wonder if Iris gleamed something deeper from that comment, then? ;P Keep in mind: she makes these comments directly because Edgeworth avoided presenting Phoenix Wright's profile.

"he just like me fr" - iris probably

Now, just for completion's sake, let's see what happens when you present Phoenix's profile and break the Psyche-Lock.

I have a lot of thoughts regarding this string of text from the two of them. This is a huge reach from an admittedly shipper-crazed brain, but aren't Edgeworth's retorts here... interesting? He does not know this girl, but he knows that the two of them are important to one another. We can assume it's likely that he is pushing for this for Wright's sake, rather than Iris'. At this point it's fair to say that Edgeworth has some basic understanding of her secret (the feelings, at least), and he doesn't benefit from her telling Phoenix her secret. So why is he adamant that she does it? Especially when he's, apparently, holding a secret of similar nature himself? Projecting, perhaps?

"But it's pointless..." "Why would you say that?"

Why indeed.

(EDIT) I was thinking about this feverishly, and I had another thought. What if the "darkness in his heart" and his "secret" has something to do with jealousy? Still in context of romantic feelings... it starts to make sense that this could fit into the puzzle as well. By this point it was already established to Edgeworth that Phoenix and Iris share an intimate connection of some kind, and with all of this pressuring (including the words the two of them share before Edgeworth leaves the Detention Centre), it sort of adds up. "Uncovering the truth" in order to "get rid of the deep-seated darkness in [his] heart" - could this refer to closure? As in, if Iris comes forth to Phoenix Wright with her secret, and there is some level of reciprocation, would this make Edgeworth's own secret/feelings "pointless" to confess? I wonder.

One last note I'd like to make is that this is the first time we view Edgeworth through the 'protagonist lens', and that a great deal of care was put into having the player truly feel like they are Miles Edgeworth in this moment. His mannerisms, choice of words and thought patterns are decidedly very different than Phoenix's when you are in control of them, as I'm sure most people would agree. Therefore, I feel comfortable proposing that a lot of what he says here isn't filler, and in fact is very deliberately worded.

I think this post also deserves a spot here.

Diehard Narumitsu/Wrightworth shippers are likely already aware of this conversation's existence. However, due to the circumstances necessary to see it, I wasn't able to find any screenshots. I hope this was interesting to read, at least... Thanks for reading!

#ace attorney #ace attorney spoilers #aa3 #aa trials and tribulations #bridge to the turnabout #narumitsu #wrightworth #I wanted to write more but I would have gone on a tangent #there's just Too Much Evidence #I'm interested to hear other peoples' thoughts on this #I try not to let the shipper lens obscure the truth too much #but how can you even argue this one...

[mysterycitrus]

I keep hearing people say to ignore Devin Grayson’s Nightwing but I also see people reference it. I feel like I’m getting mixed signals. Should I avoid it or read it? Are there specific issue I should avoid or read? is the avoiding advice only for people who are new to the comics? Or should I really just avoid the whole thing?

short answer — u do not have to read devin graysons nightwing run. i wouldn’t recommend it to new readers, and there isn’t anything significantly important that happens so like. it’s an easy pass. i do encourage people to at least read what she wrote about, though, because devin accidentally kickstarted the next twenty or so years of bad writing in nightwing books.

the long answer — devin grayson was a writer for nightwing volume 2 from like….. issue #70ish to #115ish. she did a lot of weird things during her run — her takes on dick’s relationships with bruce and slade and helena come to mind — but the most popular talking points wrt her writing are issue 93 and maaaaybe the renegade arc but that is literally the tip of shit mountain.

it’s funny u say that people are telling u not to read it cause based on my experience in fandom it is very, very clear that very few people have read any of the run at all, or even #93 and it’s preceding issues. which is fine, because it’s bad. but it’s important to understand why it’s bad, and how it’s affected dicks characterisation in both canon and fanon.

nightwing #93 is the issue people say to avoid because it features dick’s assault at the hands of a former ally that devin refused to acknowledge was rape until like… 2014. it’s bad. the build up to this point — haleys is set on fire, dicks apartment is destroyed killing everyone inside, dick watches this ally kill a man on his behalf while he is helpless to stop her — is rarely discussed in the context of the scene. it’s a lot, but because people haven’t read it they misunderstand the dynamics that devin had created.

the worst parts about nightwing in the present — his lack of conviction and competence, his sexualisation and dehumanisation, the fundamental lack of empathy for his retconned bg as a poc — all started with devin. literal ground zero. i cannot emphasise how her i incapability to understand that she’d written an assault arc with her self insert as the instigator has played into dick’s status as a character in the 2020s. many people accidentally engage with the same tired, racist tropes that devin herself contributed to, because people simply do not know (or care to know) what she’d written. think about much fanon content revolves around dick being an accessory to his own assault, or being literally unable to advocate for himself, or relying on jason fucking todd to kill his rapist. it’s like im rereading nightwing vol 2 all over again, and that’s not a good thing.

however what people also tend to forget about is the racism. devin grayson introduced dick having rromani heritage into canon, sure, but she did it because she thought it was sexy. we see this with her writing for roy’s navajo heritage too — a lack of research and care, though dick’s was clearly egregiously fetishistic. she retconned the character that assaulted dick into a latina character, and retconned her into being an aggressively sexual and violent person that was at significant odds with her og characterisation. that seems to be a trend with nightwing writers — wolfman did the exact same thing like fifteen years earlier with about the same degree of nuance and empathy.

ig my answer is that nightwing vol 2 is very much a pick and choose run, make ur own adventure type experience. bizarrely, u can get better nightwing characterisation in the titans 1999 run, or batman plus arsenal, which were both also written by devin (heartbreaking, the worst person u kno just made a good point). id be wary of people telling u to avoid it entirely, because i think ignoring its existence just exacerbates the problems devin created. just be discerning, ig. but also read nightwing vol 2 #118-#124 (just after devin leaves) because it is gd hilarious

#sorry for the essay i just. have SO many opinions about nightwing 93 and how no one gd understands it like i do #dick grayson #nightwing #rape tw #dc comics #the ask and the answer

[pigeonpeach]

Genshin bachelorettes and bachelors proposing!

Characters: Jean, Diluc, Eula, Itto, Kuki Shinobu, Kujo Sara, Navia, Clorinde, Arlecchino

Cw: fem reader, fluff mostly, some suggestive themes.

Arataki Itto

Oh this was a hard decision. Not that he didn’t want to spend his life with you but if now was the right time to propose. He isn’t exactly the most well off. His gang camps out in the wilderness and he knows your parent’s expect him to improve. And he wants to. With Shinobu’s help he starts to get a education much to your surprise. Slowly working himself up to have more than a basic reading level. When he can land a more steady income then he’ll propose. He wants to get you the best ring in all of Tevyat. Unfortunately he can’t afford that. But Shinobu advises him to aim for more affordable but still pretty rings.

As for the proposal itself. He’s definitely going for either the big party with friends or if he’s spent most of his mora on the ring already he’ll just ask you on a quiet little walk with just you present. But knowing Itto, you probably would’ve found the ring before all that.

Itto may not be the best in terms of providing money, but he’d never slack off elsewhere. His granny raised no coward! If you’re the breadwinner he’ll gladly take up the house chores. He is a bit dumb yes but he is the most loyal and devoted man you could meet. With unwavering support and loyalty. Never will he let you face anything alone.

Eula Lawerence

Marriage is a bit complicated for her. She has renounced her family yes, she is disowned yes. But the subject of last names is what gets her. Truth be told… her last name is a small price to pay for you. She knows the other option isn’t ideal. If you take her name it’ll ruin your reputation.

But.. she’s certain its you she wants. Its you she wants to come home to. Its you she wants to sleep next to every night. And its you she wants to grow old with and feed birds with. She decides to discuss it with you.

Her proposal is less romantic and more straightforward. She knows this is a serious discussion and doesn’t want any miscommunication or misunderstandings. She wants to know if you would take her last name or have her take yours. The decision is yours sure but eitherway she wants only you to be her bride. No one else. No matter how many letters her family sends.

Diluc Ragnvindr

Oh he’s shy! Diluc’s been thinking for so long. How the naked ring finger on your hands seems to irritate him. How he perks up, red and flustered like a schoolgirl when one of his business partners accidentally calls you Mrs Ragnvindr. Said business partner later told him he should consider getting a ring soon. With that he starts planning.

A romantic little date alone at the winery. He takes you out for a picnic near the lake. There is a great deal of preparation taken into this. The entire slime and hilichurl population nearby is turned to zero. Adelinde planting many flowers along the path he’s planning and in the spot he’s picked out. You can be certain Diluc has left nothing to chance here other than your answer. He prepares the finest suit and the finest dress for you. Afterwards there will be a engagement party.

Kuki Shinobu

She too is also more straight forward and less romantic. One night you two were cuddling as she just randomly asked if you want to marry her. Bit jarring sure but hey at least she asked in a semi romantic context.

She handles all the coordination. You two work like a team to save money for a court house wedding with a killer after party. Needless to say the Arataki Gang is heavily involved in throwing the best celebration ever for Kuki Shinobu.

Kujo Sara

For so long Sara believed she was undeserving of love. That her only place in this world was serving the shogun and keeping the peace. But you gave her something other than the shogun to report to. Her home felt more welcoming with you in it. You didn’t change much yet she felt more at ease. She lets you preen her wings, picking out old or damaged feathers to let new ones grow. But unlike the family who took her in you keep her feathers. You say it’s because you can’t throw away something that was apart of her. She secretly likes seeing you collect them. Maybe you’ll even have accessories made out of them and then that sends her to the conclusion that she needs to marry you. Her position is dangerous yes. But she can’t imagine a life without you.

She very much leans to the traditional methods. Asking your parents for their approval. Setting a nice dinner to ask you during.

The ceremony is quite special, she’s a nervous wreck as she worries about anything that could go wrong. But as long as she has you, she won’t have much. To worry about anymore.

Jean Gunnhildr

Oh she’s been planning this for awhile. She’s had the ring ready but she’s been too nervous. The romantic set up she prepares end up not being perfect enough for her so she plays it off. Until you end up proposing yourself, of course she agrees but she’s embarrassed she took too long.

A traditional and beautiful wedding. She ends up letting you plan most of it as she’s already busy but she’s more than eager to help. Its a biggggg event. The acting grandmaster getting married is treated almost like a festival. The people of Mondstadt send you their well wishes and plenty of gifts. To your surprise alot of businesses offered lower price’s because of Jean. She is well beloved by the nation so no doubt is no one going to overprice it. Catering, flowers, decorations, you used the extra money saved to tip the servers well. The Mondstadt Chapel being the location, it was like half of Mondstadt attended. And those who didn’t receive a invite would wait outside. Lord Barbatos seemed to pleased with your union, with clear skies and only a tickling wind. It’s intimidating walking down the isle to see half of Mondstadt looking at you. But when you see just how smitten Jean looks. How she wipes tears as she tries to maintain composure. You don’t feel as scared knowing just how happy she is. She can hardly keep her hands off of you either.

Your honeymoon is in a nice cottage far from the city as you two go together. Lisa left in charge, knights making sure to maintain the perimeter. Its perfect.

Navia

Her proposal will infact be a crazy set up. Sending you on a goose chase to meet with her, each location being a significant place in your relationship. The restaurant you had your first date at, the alley you had your first kiss in, etc etc. the clues hidden closely. Passerby’s participating by helping out or giving you clues as well. And when you finally find her its in Poission, with the flowers blossoming and the wind in your hair. The guards place a pillow on the ground before she gets on one knee, a ring displayed. The ring her father gave her mother. She wants you to have it. To be hers forever and for all eternity.

The wedding is no less complicated. Creative decorations, dozens of desserts, etc. the macaroons decorated to look like either yours or her face. The cake is beautiful. Youve never felt so pretty as when she takes your hand and showers you in praises that would have you marry again if you could. Just the look in her eyes alone has you under a spell. Pure and raw devotion. A lone tear as she knows she’ll never be alone again. Four seats are left empty. Two for her parents. Two for Melus and Silver. But she knows they’re cheering from the grave as she pulls you in for another kiss and another dance. Navia has been through so much heartbreak. You can tell she’s pained at the fact she cannot do her own father daughter dance, not with her dad or Melus. So you make extra sure to be close. But you… all dressed in white… its a great distraction for her. Reassuring her that she’ll never be alone again.

Clorinde

She is a sappy but subtle person. She goes through the effort of the surprise. Making sure you would say yes though. She prepares only the best, a reservation in a private table, the best foods for you to stuff yourself with. She smiles slightly wiping your face herself. The ring is hidden in a cake, with the box sitting ontop. Protected from the icing. You recognize it immediately.

She’d likely prefer a more small wedding. If you want something big then she’ll compromise but for the most part it is mostly close friends and relatives. Clorinde goes through the typical groom and bride stuff where she avoids seeing you in your dress. Walking in to your dressing room, blindfolded to give you a kiss to reassure you everything is fine. She has the finest of everything picked out. No accidents allowed. Her sword is also still hidden on her person at all times just in case. By the end of the reception your lipsticks have blended into one color as she just got too excited.

Arlecchino

She is a romantic at heart yes, but she’s also extremely business minded. She will make her intentions of marriage clear to you. Presenting the pros of it. She’s relieved when you agree but she decided to stage a proper proposal randomly. She wants to surprise you but not too much. There’s some red herrings for you for a little bit. False headings. Until Lyney and Lynette perform a private little magic show in which she magically appears to slip the ring on your finger. Of course the children are absolutely delighted!

The wedding happens in two parts. There’s the business one. With her harbinger colleagues and others. You got to meet the Tsarsita who bestows you with her blessing, a nerve wracking ordeal indeed. You spend the entire day at Arlecchino’s side trying to dodge the confusing questions the harbingers ask. They feel oh so scary but fear not, for she will not stand to watch her beloved wife be intimidated. If they get out of line she will not hesitate to put them back in their place.

The second one is for the orphanage. All of her children called to attend in the biggest ceremony. A large celebration filled with warmth and joy for you. Your family and friends can come to this one and only this one. It’s something you actually were more than fine with considering her colleagues. The children are so very happy to see their father so happy too. Her hand never leaves your side. You dance until your feet are sore. Unfortunately you teo don’t get to have a honeymoon but the kids will make sure you have no chores for a week straight while you and your husband wife relax.

#genshin imagines #genshin x y/n #genshin impact #domestic fluff #diluc x you #jean gunnhildr x reader #diluc x y/n #arlechinno genshin #wlw #arlecchino x you #arlecchino x reader #arlecchino x y/n #jean gunnhildr #navia x you #navia x reader #clorinde x reader #kujo sara x reader #kuki shinobu x reader #eula x reader #eula x you #diluc x reader #fem reader #silly fluff #arataki itto x you #arataki itto x reader #wlw x reader

[canmom]

Comics mini-Comints: Dungeon Meshi

reread dungeon meshi through to the end. still such a great manga. here are immediate thoughts - if I end up having time and energy I hope I can write something that goes deeper!

ironically i was only a few chapters from the end when I stopped keeping up, but I was struggling to remember all the characters and context, so reading it through in one go was definitely an ideal way to achieve maximum impact there.

ryoko kui does a very elegant job of handling a transition from 'silly antics' to 'big dramatic fantasy' while still keeping the central thematic throughline - eating and being eaten, belonging to an ecosystem, the significance of sacrificing others to achieve your own desires. a lot of setups pay off in a way that feels meticulously planned - and of course the crux of the final showdown revolves around characters attempting to eat each other, of course the big payoff is a huge feast that symbolically unites all the conflicting factions. it is maybe a bit too neat and happy for my taste, but it's undeniably tightly executed - it never loses sight of what it's about. especially compared to something like Frieren, it's an incredibly coherent serialisation, up there with e.g. Fullmetal Alchemist.

kui's art style deserves all kinds of praise - it feels effortlessly simple, but it clearly communicates all sorts of different shapes and body types and it's really fun to see her play around with remixing the different visual elements when she switches the races around. in general Laius's autistic monster loving ways clearly reflect kui's own deeply felt appreciation for all the ways people and animals live (accentuated further by all the extra sketches the scanlators tuck in). in a way you could kinda call it like Parts Unknown the fantasy manga.

the stakes of the final conflict are interesting - there is much to be said about the framing of 'desire' and its fulfilment, of this occult idea of 'the infinite'. lots you could put in relation to other manga, and also buddhism. (in particular I really want to develop a comparison to Made In Abyss, there are so many parallels, it just might be too spicy for tumblr lmao).

one thing I really like about it is how much its fantasy dungeon-exploring setting owes to D&D and other TTRPGs, rather than videogames. monster ecology has been a fascination of that game since the early days of Dragon magazine, and Kui sharply zeroes in on some of the intrinsic conflicts baked in to that fantasy milieu, notably the lifespan thing, while smartly avoiding the traps of 'evil races'. there's some really fun nods to the weirder monster manual entries. and in a story with so many characters and factions, it does a genuinely incredible job of furnishing everyone with understandable, reasonable motivations, conflicts drawn from their context just like the monsters are explained by their ecology.

and one thing that I particularly appreciate is like... how much it is able to simultaneously understand and sympathise with a character and also show us how and why they'd rub others the wrong way. it's impossible not to like our main group, they're all such charming dorks and the manga leads you along with all the crazy rpg party shit they do, but at the same time you definitely find yourself thinking 'guy's got a point' in the kabru chapters lmao. I'm projecting hard bc i don't really know a thing about ryōko kui but laius def feels like the sort of depiction of having an autism that you can only do if you've lived it.

but yeah, it's a fuzzy ending where it all turns out well. but what's the deeper thrust of it all? there's a funny moment where marcille is like 'maybe in the end our journey is about learning to accept death' and the grouchy old gnome guy completely laughs this off as naive, because death doesn't mean anything. and indeed their big plan pays off, and falin does indeed come back just fine. but still, through all of this it asks you to bite the bullet that being a living creature means eating to survive, at the cost of other creatures, with the other side being that one day you too will be eaten. in contrast to this honest way of being is the beguiling fantasy of infinity, where all your desires are immediately fulfilled - this is shown as a dangerous path of corruption that produces madness and manipulability. having limits and rubbing up against the wishes of others, or 'doing things you don't want to do' as izutsumi's arc puts it, becomes necessary for having some kind of definition as a subject. the thing that makes the demon concrete as an entity is a desire, or appetite, that can't immediately be fulfilled.

of course we can connect this to the idea of narrative conflict. a standard advice for putting together a plot is to ask what each character wants and why they can't get it. wanting something implies movement. and indeed over the course of this story, we see that while having too many desires fulfilled too readily leads to incoherence and callousness, equally a character who is left catatonic as their desires have been eaten by the demon must be reawakened to activity by finding a new desire.

it's kinda Buddhist innit. neither the opulence of the palace nor asceticism. desires are what tie you to the world. but mixed with ecology: what a creature does to find the energy to live is what defines its lifestyle, its form.

this is probably where I'd start talking about entropy gradients and shit if i wasn't typing this on a phone at 1:30am lmao.

but yeah - it's a powerful move to go from 'D&D monster recipe show sendup' to 'living with the inherently violent nature of being an organism fated to live in a finite sum game' and yet Dungeon Meshi makes it feel natural and convincing, while remaining tremendously charming and funny throughout. ryōko kui is definitely some kind of genius, and I can't wait to see what her next act is gonna be. it's all definitely making me appreciate the act of eating a lot more.

next story on my plate is probably The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere, which sounds like it will present a very gnarly thematic contrast.

#manga #dungeon meshi #comics comints

[xjulixred45x]

Soft Yandere SatuSugu x Darling Reader: Aditional Headcanons

Genre: Headcanons

Reader: neutral/ some hints of Female

Warnings: YANDERE THEMES, Much shorter than the previous one,SOFT YANDERE GETO SUGURU AND SOFT YANDERE GOJO SATORU, UNHEALTY MINDSET, OBSESSIVE BEHAVIOR, MANIPULATION, Gojo's god complex (minor), canon Divergent (Geto doesn't get corrupted...complelty), Gojo x Geto x reader, strange amount of DOMESTIC FLUFF.

FIRST PART FOR CONTEXT

IF WE CONTINUE WHERE WE LEFT OFF, Geto and Gojo continue to take you out of the house monthly for nights out. They can even change it to daytime outings and make it a much more domestic family day with Megumi, Tsumiki, Mimiko and Nanako.

going to some amusement park, going for walks around the city, to the dog parks (you and Megumi connect a lot thanks to this)--

SHOPPING! Gojo and Geto become threats in this area, they will buy everything you, the twins and Tsumiki want. In your case you just have to look at something for too long and it's yours. Even if you try to avoid it, it's already yours ;)

(don't notice too much that they feel a little guilty for putting you in that state of depression in the first place but they are too selfish to let you go apart from the fact that you are too adorable and pure to be contaminated by the world ---)

Ejemejem EJEM....Lets continue.

They would also LOVE it if you wanted to try on clothes with them, although of course it will take a lot of effort to keep their hands to themselves.

If someone tries something on these types of outings (whether harassing or flirting with you), rest assured they won't do it again :)

although of course, they won't let you see it, but you know better than to believe it when they say "I'll be right back" that doesn't mean they're going to get water or go to the bathroom...

instead you just try to prevent the children from learning their "bad habits" translation: their possessive and obsessive tendencies, which is a difficult thing to do when 1- literally saved the lives of two of them and 2- literally saved the others for a clan of madmen, they are obviously quite skeptical at first with your warnings.

but because neither Geto nor Gojo make a REAL effort to make it seem that they are WRONG.

Mimiko and Nanako are the least suitable, but at the same time they are the ones who make the most effort to understand you and integrate you. So I don't see it as difficult for them to see through, at least, Satoru's behavior, and since before you used to have very prolonged depressive episodes. So they will be something like your allies and they were your main shoulder to cry on at the time.

Of course, they are not willing to see that Geto is not much better, but rather they are in denial.

Megumi is distant, which makes him the least suited of all of them to see what's wrong with all of this. He's barely with Satoru once he grows up, and yet he holds him in high regard, so the chances of him doing anything to help you are low to zero unless Tsumiki gets involved.

He doesn't hate you at all! You're the closest thing he's had to a stable figure, but he's not willing to risk Tsumiki for you, he's sorry, but that's the way it is.

Speaking of, Tsumiki is kind of like your best and worst option, because she IS the one who stops everyone in this house (except Geto and Gojo) from becoming Yanderes, but she can't do anything for you because she has no curse energy, she's worse than you in that regard. but she will always be there for you when you need a friend and want a tooth and nail ally (although the context is not favorable).

I also wanted to take advantage and delve deeper into Gojo and Geto in a way.

Gojo is much less condescending and more empathetic in this situation thanks to Geto, i had already said that, yes, but to make it clearer, we know that Gojo used to use Geto as his moral compass, distinguishing what is right and what is wrong.

For this reason, Gojo tends to imitate several of Geto's most pleasant behaviors when he realizes that this would be more pleasant for you until it come out in a natural way. I mean, Gojo has a lot of Geto and it is thanks to that that he is more empathetic with your situation, Geto helps him be more empathetic and kind.

While Gojo enhances Geto's positive qualities and removes possible negative qualities or thoughts that may bring them, any insecurity is CRUSHED by Gojo and thanks to this Geto is less paranoid than he could be.

Also thanks to this you are not completely isolated, because Geto fully trust that Gojo and he will protect you.

I don't need to say it, but I will, you are VERY spoiled. They are slowly turning you into a spoiled child (only without infantilization, that would be uncomfortable, they have children for God's sake) in the sense that everything you could want, you get (except maybe going out without any supervision). In general, one of their love languages is that, spoiling you.

That's exactly what they did when you first "moved" with them at first, they we're just so excited to finally having you that they wanted to do all at once, give you love, take care of you, spoil you, they even carried you from one side of State to the other just because they could.

Although at first being pampered is strange and somewhat nice, it quickly makes you feel somewhat useless by not being able to do ANYTHING yourself, add to the isolation (more or less about 2-3 whole years, you don't know, only that they graduated in that time) and you have a severe depressive episode(the one i talk about in the first part).

when you went into a that state, both of them, although they didn't show it, were TERRIFIED that you would try something....extreme, so to speak. So they spent a solid week helping you bathe, change your clothes, feed you, brush your teeth, etc.

Gojo seriously thought about giving you antidepressants, but at the same time he was scared by the possibility that they would fuck up your mind even more. That's when they made the plan and fortunately it worked.

They try to take better care of your mental health after that. Nowadays you can even go out apart from the monthly outings even with just one of them! something like more personal individual dates, for example, if you go to have coffee with Geto, chances are that that same week you will go to dinner with Gojo. Maybe these types of dates happen mainly when one is on a mission and the other stays at home.

They try to intersperse certain things to prevent you from being left alone, but when you do, they are constantly calling you or making calls on Sky. If they have to leave while you're asleep, they'll leave a joint voicemail saying how sorry they are that they can't say goodbye properly but that they'll make it up to you when they get home.

and you don't doubt that they will get home.

(You once tried to leave while they were on a mission together, but Geto's curses followed you everywhere, so nope, Even if they are physically there, you have no possibility to go out completely alone, although they are honestly not bothersome.)

When they get Home, expect the already high level of clingyness to increase and you won't be able to move all afternoon or AT LEAST until dinner time. but at least they tell you about the interesting things they did on the mission, bring you some (many) souvenirs and generally "make up for lost time" away from you.

If you had plans to start a family before, both Geto and Gojo definitely remember it and will want to know if you are still going with it. Of course, they were different circumstances, but surely you would like to start your own family with your husbands, right?

(all strictly consensual obviously, even if all this is quite shady, I REFUSE to believe that they would commit r@p3 against you)

If you don't want to, that's fine! They get it, they're a little disappointed not to see their little versions combined with you, yes, but they already have Megumi, Tsumiki and the twins, they can live with that.

If you don't want children but feel a little lonely, they can get you a pet! a cat or a dog to take care of all three but its main function is to keep you company. It's cute when they both arrive and see you snuggling with said pet (they definitely took photos and added them to the collection of cute moments)

their love for you does not diminish because you do not want children, if necessary it will multiply.

And additionally, if you take this route they would probably be filled with doubts about what would happen if they had accepted (things like possible miscarriages, postpartum depression, the possibility that you would die, etc.) and they feel WAY calmer about it.

If you decide that you are comfortable enough to have a child with each of them(and being an actual family someway)....god it would be chaos, in a good way?

Gojo would already be thinking of names, whether for his child or Geto's, it doesn't matter! He loved them the same, apart from the fact that he bought many MANY things for the children (the child was not even born and is already going to be spoiled).

You practically signed a deal with the devil, during the first months you can't even get out of bed! They practically bring you everything and are close to you 24/7.

Tsumiki gives you a hand to have some time alone at least. Megumi comes by from time to time to guard the house when Gojo and Geto leave, additionally asking you if Gojo is giving you trouble (fortunately not) and even leaving some cute stuffed animals (with protective seals).

Mimiko and Nanako are by far the most excited about this, although rather than asking Geto about the situation, they are more interested in what YOU have to say (obviously, Gojo and Geto too, but it's nice that the girls are so up to pending without being suffocating)

✨Scary Dog Privilge ✨ when everyone goes out for a drink when you start to have a baby bump, it's like a switch from "fucking scary" to "hiii sweetieeeee"

Gojo will shamelessly put his hands on your belly, but at least he'll be very careful when he does it. Geto always asks for permission, although if you say no often he will seem like a kicked dog and eventually you will have to give in.

once you have the baby, expect a LOT more gifts not only from Geto and Gojo but from their companions and members of other clans now that the Strongest have children, at least the twins, Megumi and Tsukimi take care of that while you, Geto and Gojo spend some time alone with the baby (no matter who it is).

(It goes without saying, if you have a baby, there is no WAY IN THE WORLD you can get away from them...although it's not really like you want to if you choose this route.)

I would like to say they don't teach their children their unhealty mindset, but again, they see nothing wrong with what they do bx you are happy(now) so it's your job(and maybe also Megumi's and Tsumiki's) to teach them how to love properly.

At least they won't stop you, they see it as the "old times way" but not neccesary Bad. They will still love their children (even if they're not yanderes or share the same view of love and world in general, they are their kids).

In short, they are not bad life companions at all! If only they could have started the relationship normally and controlled their jealousy, overprotection and paranoia in a healthy way......but they undoubtedly love you.

Hope You like it❤️

#headcanons #fem reader #neutral reader #jjk #jjk x reader #jjk x y/n #jujustu kaisen #satusugu x reader #satusugu #gojo satoru x reader #gojou satoru x reader #geto suguru x reader #gojo x reader #jjk gojo #jjk geto #geto x reader #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu geto #jujutsu gojo #tw yandere #soft yandere #yandere geto #yandere gojo #yandere geto x reader #yandere gojo x reader #yandere satoru gojo #yandere suguru geto #poly ship

[cinnamon-guardian]

SPY x FAMILY has a really fun way of making sure “The Big Guy” (Yor) doesn’t solve everything in 5 seconds.

A lot of other stories tend to keep The Big Guy from fixing everything by just writing them out entirely, but it’s honestly kinda trite.

“Oh no, Superman ran into the nth person with Kryptonite! Can the Justice League still save the day?”

“Oh no, Storm got knocked out by a sneak attack. Guess the X-Men can’t count of her really strong weather powers today.”

“Oh no, Goku’s out of town and he can’t reach us yet! Will the others survive long enough for him to make it back?”

But Yor tends not to get written out of the plot that deliberately. She just has zero context for anything that’s going on.

She thinks that she’s living with a kindly widower and his adorable (totally not adopted a week ago) daughter, and that’s basically it for the Forgers. Loid and Anya keep her 100% in the dark, so they never fill her in on the situation because Loid assumes that she’s just a civilian and Anya just really needs this family to stick together.

Loid and Anya have to worry about terrorists and enemy spies and everything while Yor’s just going about her day and feeling peachy keen.

But the second she realizes that someone’s trying to hurt her loved ones:

This is the woman who kicked a man through a metal ceiling. This is the woman who kicked another man so hard that he ricocheted off the walls of an alleyway like a pinball. This is the woman who can kick a car off the road without even trying.

(Side tangent, but I’m only just now realizing how much kicking Yor does. Kicks for days.)

The narrative tension doesn’t come from Yor being in a coma or being far away, it’s that Loid and Anya can’t tell her what’s happening because of their own secrets, so Yor only gets to step in when the situation is already out of their control. And when she does, she puts the fear of god into whoever they’re facing.

#spy x family #yor forger #yor briar #yor briar forger #sxf yor #yor headcanons #thorn princess #sxf thorn princess #spy x family manga #spy x family anime #spy x family analysis #anya forger #sxf anya #anya spy x family #loid forger #spyxfamily #sxf #I just think Yor is really neat okay? #endo can’t let her solve everything but we all know that she could #she could just kick Donovan Desmond into the stratosphere and we would thank her #my favorite detail about this is that anya KNOWS this #and that’s exactly why she pretends to get kidnapped from time to time #she has weaponized her mama and nobody’s the wiser #I might have a favorite character ngl

[wtfsteveharrington]

tequila & strawberry lip gloss / robin buckley x fem!reader (featuring bf steve harrington)

context: listen - steve loves you. he also loves robin. you know what you and robin love? boobies. i fully believe in my heart that bf (boyfriend & best friend) steve harrington would want to see the two ladies he loves getting to have a night of exploration together.

contents: IMPORTANT & LENGTHY (i’d rather over explain than under)- there are zero sexual or physical interactions between robin and steve. zero. robin is into ladies and that stays true here. this is lady on lady smut. just with bonus steve moments. 

that being said here are the interactions:

steve x reader: kissing, dancing/grinding, his assets are mentioned, and he observes the act. some praise thrown in / some teasing energy directed at both but not a focal point.

robin x reader: whew… it got away from me a little bit. kissing, begging, teacher!robin explaining what she likes, praising, nipple play, biting, fingering & oral (both receiving), a little degrading scissoring, overstimulation.

this story also includes mentions of drinking, smoking weed, cursing, all that good stuff. 

author notes: this was a full labor of love and respect. sexualities & exploration is fluid & i just fully believe to my core steve harrington would share. this came purely from my pansexual heart that’s in love with both steve & robin. i have an idea in mind for part two if anyone’s interested

word count: almost 4.4k

part two | part three | part four

You’ve lost track of time since leaving Steve’s house. One minute you’re sharing a way too strong drink with Robin and Steve’s blowing a steady stream of smoke into your mouth.The next thing you know your back is pressed firmly against his chest at Cynthia Prescott’s party while Robin scans the crowd around you. 

Steve’s thigh is between your legs, supporting your body as the two of you lazily “dance” together. All truth being told, he had gotten hard about five minutes ago and was torn between finding some near by closet to absolutely destroy you in and staying on the floor to keep a close eye on Robin. 

Robin who was equally crossed. 

You’re giggling now as Robin grabs your hands, trying desperately to drag you towards the crowd dancing. “C’mon! Unlatch yourself from Steve for just like ten minutes. Two, maybe three songs tops!” 

Steve’s got his eyes closed and head tilted back when you move your ass just right. There’s no way you could leave him now. Not your pretty boy who’s rock hard in his pants. 

“No can do, Robin. Your best friend here has a uhhh — situation at the moment” 

Robin’s gasping when she realizes what you mean, reaching out to smack Steve’s arm. “Dude! So totally not cool!” 

He’s keeping one arm tight around your waist, the other reaching over to give Robin a little shove back. “It’s not like I can help it! I’m in love and a generally horny guy to begin with. Get me high? Zero control over what’s going on down there. You can’t blame a guy.” 

Robin’s pouting now, eyes flickering between the two of you and the crowd dancing. “Yeah well at least you get to be taken care of tonight. I’m high and horny too and I can’t even find someone to make out with, let alone anything else.” 

It slips out before you stop yourself. “I’ll make out with you.” 

Steve’s laughing behind you now, his chest rumbling along your back. Asshole. Robin’s cheeks flush a shade of red you hadn’t seen on her before, her hands anxiously fluttering around her body because she can’t decide where to casually place them now. “Again, not cool. You can’t just joke about kissing around me. I take that shit very seriously. Like, on the list of priorities if you took everything we’ve been through, kissing would still be so high up on the list.” 

You’re opening your mouth to talk but before you have the chance to say anything it’s Steve that speaks first. “She’s not joking, Robin. She thinks you’re hot, has the whole time we’ve been together. I was a little worried about it until, you know, -… Well let’s just say I know she isn’t going anywhere.” It’s taken a few failed attempts at love but he knows he finally found it in you. You were just as whipped as him. Fully satisfied in all aspects that he could satisfy. Robin could just satisfy a different urge unreachable by Steve.

Robin’s eyes are shifting between you both, watching you closely as you lick your lips before giving her a little nod. “I like pretty people who make me laugh. You’re beautiful and you make me laugh. Why wouldn’t I want to kiss you?”

She’s a little hyper focused on you calling her beautiful. Like, kind of really focused on that part of it. Funny? Robin knows she’s funny. Beautiful? Well… It never hurts to hear someone say it, that’s all.

You’re reaching out to lace your fingers with Robin’s and bring her closer to you. “Is that something you’d want, Robin? To make out with me? I probably taste like tequila but my lip gloss is strawberry flavored. I think I’ll taste good.” There’s a groan coming from either side of you now. Both Robin and Steve imagining just what tequila, strawberry, and you taste like. Steve’s head is dipping down to press a wet kiss to your neck. His voice is low but you’re not sure if it’s low enough for just you to hear or if Robin’s even still listening but he just gives a simple, “You always taste good. All of you.” 

Robin’s getting nervous again. Not to kiss you, but because she gets to kiss you. There’s butterflies in the pit of her stomach and she’s thanking the skies above for whatever strain Rick sold Eddie who sold Steve that lead to this moment. “Are you-… Are you sure you’re okay with this? Both of you. Because I’m down and I’m not gonna be weird about it but I don’t want to jeopardize our friendship or your relationship and-“ 

You feel Steve’s head snap up, rolling his eyes at Robin before reaching out to grab her shoulder and bring her close to you. “Just shut up Buckley and kiss her.” 

That’s all the confirmation both of you need. You’re sliding your arms around Robin’s neck, giving a little chuckle as you bump your noses together. “Just let me know if this is too much, okay?” 

Instead of giving a response Robin finally, finally leans in, connecting your lips in a gentle kiss. You’re tightening your arms around her neck and feel Robin’s hands cup your sides right above where Steve has his arms wrapped around you too. All this attention is making you dizzy. 

Her lips are softer than what you’re used to.

Robin’s tongue gently licks between your lips, still a little timid nervous and trying to make sure this is truly okay. You reward her with a soft moan that has Robin pressing her thighs together. Her tongue swirls around yours now that she’s getting more bold and you feel Steve’s fingers dig into your waist at the sight. You slide your tongue along hers, the once dull throbbing between your legs picking up in intensity.

The power you hold in this moment… 

You’re nipping Robin’s bottom lip as she pulls back to get some air. “You’re uh, you’re a really good kisser. Like really good. And that lip gloss? Like such a real strawberry flavor. You’ll have to let me-“ You bring your lips back to Robin’s, effectively cutting off her nervous rambling. She gives an appreciative hum at the interruption and rewards you by sliding your tongues back together. You had wondered what she tastes like before - tonight it was tequila, faintly weed, and the fruit punch she made the three of you stop at the gas station for on your walk to the party. 

“Why don’t get go find somewhere more private for you ladies? It seems we have an audience.” Steve’s voice is snapping you out of the trance that simply is Robin Buckley. You glance over to see that a few people are trying and failing to casually glance over at the spectacle that is the three of you tangled together. 

He takes your hand, lacing your fingers with a little squeeze before linking arms with Robin to lead the two of you down a dark hallway. Steve’s peaking into the rooms while you and Robin trail along before he finally makes a victory whooping sound at finding an empty bedroom. He’s shoving the two of you in, fumbling around with the lock before it finally clicks into place. 

Your hands are back on Robin’s face, thumb stroking over her cheekbones and pulling her into another kiss. She’s got you walking back towards the bed now, her hands slowly sneaking under your shirt. Both of you being careful to make sure you’re not overstepping. Neither of you having any concerns of stopping. 

When the back of your knees hit the bed, you’re pulling your head back to look between Steve and Robin. Neither of them look concerned, upset, worried. In fact, Steve’s just giving you a tender smile. Maybe some part of him knew this was always going to end up happening from the moment he introduced you to Robin and you both ended up a nervous mess. He knew you were curious and didn’t want to be the reason you never got to explore that side of yourself. Who better to trust you with than Robin? Your boyfriend’s stepping up towards you two, cocking an eyebrow at Robin which causes her to blush and lean away from you just enough to give him some space. He’s grabbing your chin, giving you a gentle kiss. And another one. 

“Do whatever you two want. I trust you both. And this one -“ He’s bumping your shoulders together now, giving you one last kiss on your cheek, “- won’t stop talking about boobies. So enjoy Robin’s.” 

Steve steps back with a smile, ruffling Robin’s hair. “Just take care of her, okay? My girl’s needy sometimes and she deserves to be taken care of.” 

Robin’s glancing between the two of you now, grabbing Steve’s arm before he can head back out the door. “Watch.” All three of you look surprised at that. Her hands are letting go of Steve and back under your shirt quickly, fingers just brushing the bottom of your breast. “I mean… If you want to then you can watch. You know, to make sure she’s treated right and comfortable.” 

Listen, he didn’t need to be told twice. Things like this? He’d have to try and steal a porno from the back of Family Video for the night to see two girls like this. The fact that it’s you, the love of his life even if he hasn’t admitted the depth of that love quite yet and his best friend whom he once upon a time also had a crush on? 

Robin wastes no time falling to her knees why Steve panic moves further in the room. Desperately trying to not interrupt the mood but also making sure he doesn’t get kicked out. You’re half focused on him, your silly boyfriend who’s letting you hook up with his best friend so you - “Oh fuck, Robin.” 

You were too caught up in Steve that you didn’t notice Robin’s head going under your dress until she’s kissing you over your panties. “You’re already wet.” Just an observation. You want to make some snarky reply like of course I’m already wet when you feel Robin’s tongue drag over your cloth covered pussy. 

Her hands slide up to grip your ass and suddenly you’re much too worried about what you can’t see anymore. You’re reaching down, gripping at the fabric of your dress in an attempt to rid of it from your body. Once you do? You’re greeted by the sight of Robin looking up at you with playful, inquisitive eyes. “More of a visual learner?”

You just hopelessly nod and use every once of strength to keep your his from rocking against her face. Not wanting to overstep again. “Just appreciating my view.” Robin rewards you with a pinch to your ass that causes you to yelp out. While you’re distracted by the sensation she’s pulling your underwear down your thighs. “Let me focus on taking care of you.”

Robin’s leaning up, instantly burying her face into your wet pussy. No teasing, no taking her time. Maybe part of why she pinched you was because she still can’t quite figure out if this is real. 

Fuck you can hear her licking you out. The smacking sound of her lips as she tries to clean up the mess you’ve made. Your hands lace in Robin’s hair as you give up on the resolve not to rock your hips against her face. 

Between the buzz of the party outside and the buzz leftover from your pregame, your head feels so light. No thoughts. Just Robin pushing her tongue into you as her nails drag across your ass. 

It doesn’t take long for you to learn if you move your hips just, right her nose will bump your clit and - “I’m already close. Why am I close? This can’t be over.” 

To your… Horror? Amusement? Robin’s giggling into your pussy. Giggling. The vibrations against your folds driving you almost as insane as the fact that she’s giggling into you. “Do you wanna come on my tongue, pretty girl? Hmm? Let your boyfriend watch you come for me?” 

Everything’s going right through that empty head of yours and straight to your clit. It’s as if she can read your mind because one of her hands is going from your ass and right between your thighs. She’s rubbing her thumb in circles over the sensitive bundle, pressing a kiss over your folds before dragging her tongue back down to dip into your hole. 

It truly doesn’t take long for you to feel the tension building up in your stomach… Much quicker than you’d like to admit. One hand stays in Robin’s hair while the other slides up your body to tease your own nipple, rolling it between your fingers at the same time Robin rolls your clit between her fingers. You’re short circuiting. 

You could yell out that you’re close but she knows. She feels the way your knees are starting to shake, getting weaker. Your breathing is more shallow and the once steady motion of your hips against her face has become broken twitches. 

Robin gives your ass a firm squeeze, licking out your pussy for all that she’s worth. Every time you feel yourself clench just to be met by her tongue you’re on cloud nine. 

Then, still so much sooner than you want, you tense up. Nothing more than a gasp and her name falling from your lips as your climax finds you. 

Normally people back off when you finish. Not Robin. Her tongue moves softer now, just little kitten licks in lieu of the full out lapping she just gave you. You’re a whimpering mess. A little pathetic in all honesty. You black out for a second, just letting the waves of your orgasm run your body.  

You’re being dragged onto the bed by Robin who’s managing to stumble out of her own clothes during your comedown phase. Once again not wanting to waste time. She’s pulling your body on top of her, seeking out your lips for a series of lazy kisses.

“Teach me.” Robin’s raising her eyebrows at your words, her thighs clamped tightly together and holy shit she’s dripping without even being touched. “I wanna make you feel good, Robin. Tell me how.” 

She‘s getting too flustered. Like she’s in a dream and any second her alarms going to go off. 

But you’re real. 

And you’re on your knees between her legs. 

You’re probably still wet for her. All she can think about is the cool air hitting your wet pussy and if it makes you miss her. 

None of that comes out though. Nope. All you’re getting is just, “Holy shit. You’re so fucking hot.” Which has you giggling as you slide your arms under Robin’s thighs. You’re pulling her hips closer to your face, kissing a line down her inner thighs. “You have such a pretty pussy, Robin. Let me try to make you feel good.”

You dip your head down, lining your tongue up with the base of her hole before flatting it out to lick up between her folds and letting your tongue flick against her clit. Robin is, truly, a mess. Withering against the bed and gripping the sheets. 

This whole time? Steve’s watching the two of you through hooded eyes, trying to burn this image into his head. The back of house pornos will never hold up. He’s not wanting to disrupt too much because holy shit it’s the hottest thing he’s ever seen. He can’t help but give a little - “C’mon Buckley, tell our girl how good she’s doing. She likes it if you’re loud…” 

Our girl. No one will ever know who that turned on more. You’re trying your hardest to remember exactly what Robin did to you, but every ounce you lack in skill you make up for in enthusiasm. Your brain just nonstop trying to walk you through this. (Okay now flick your tongue over her clit. Not too much! Pull back and drag the tip of your tongue across her folds. You’re getting this.) Remember when Steve mentioned the praise thing? Yeah, he wasn’t lying. So when Robin finally, finally gets vocal? All the motivation you need. “You’re doing so fucking good. You’re -… Fuck it, you not a good girl, are you? No, girls who eat pussy like this are good little sluts. Is that what you are, Baby? A good slut?” 

Now you know for sure that before she was still trying to tip toe this invisible line she’s worried about crossing with the two of you. 

Like there was anything left. 

“Can you - Oh fuckin’ hell- No, no that’s already so good.” Robin’s holding the back of your head in place, tilting her hips so your lips are directly on her clit. “Kiss me there. Again. Good girl. You’re liking this, aren’t you? Now wrap your lips around my clit and use your tongue to -“ She’s cut off with a gasp as you do exactly what you’re told. Your tongue flicking over her clit while your lips stay wrapped around it. It takes you a minute to figure out how much pressure to put on her clit, but Robin doesn’t mind laying there while you figure it out. 

You pull a few inches away to catch your breath and the sight of you with a wet chin and glossy lips makes Robin’s clench around nothing. Absolutely nothing. She’s going a little crazy. You’re looking up at her now with the most innocent smile you can muster. “I like being a slut for you, Robin.” You’re trying to make sure she feels comfortable. All you want is for Robin Buckley to fall apart and you be the one to both catch her and put her back together again. One of your hands leaves the death grip you had on her hips, sliding down her sensitive skin to bring a finger between her folds. You watch her carefully before gently pressing your finger into her pussy. “Look at how fucking beautiful you are.” 

Beautiful. There’s that word again. Robin’s going to go fucking crazy and quick. You duck your head back down and go right to sucking on her clit while slipping another finger in. Rotating your hand palm side up and dragging your fingers along her walls.

“Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck. Please don’t stop. You’re such a good girl, aren’t you? Please, Baby. I’m gonna - Holy shit.” Robin’s thighs tighten around your face, one of her hands coming down to grab the back of your head while the other one clamps down around your wrist. You’re greedy now, licking her out through her orgasm. She’s whimpering now, squeezing your wrist while her thighs shake. “Sensitive, so sensitive.” 

You allow yourself one more flat tongue lick from the base of her pussy all the way above her clit. Robin’s hips jolt up from the pressure, more soft whimpers falling from her lips. 

This is the first time you get to see her, like really see her. Hair a mess and covering the pillow under her head. Her nipples still hard from the cold air. Thighs are slick and covered with bruises yet to fully form that you’ve left. 

You’re smirking, clearly proud of yourself. Sure, maybe it wasn’t the best head in the world but no one was complaining. In fact, Robin wouldn’t complain about you using her to get better again. Not at all. You crawl on top of her, kissing a trail from between her thighs, up her stomach, a kiss to both nipples, before finally kissing her lips. Robin’s already broken or else the fact that she can taste herself on you would send her into orbit. She brings one of her legs around your waist, adjusting the two of you until one of your knees is next to her hip and the other knee is pressing in behind her thigh. She’s got a firm hand on your lower back now, the kissing between both of you becoming a little more sloppy. “Too sensitive for much, but I want you to feel.” If this is the only time you ever sleep with a girl, she wants you to have this experience. 

Which, by the way, if it is the last time you’re ever with a girl then Robin’s quite sad this will never happen again. If it isn’t your last time as a whole but you’re last time with Robin, she’s jealous of whoever else gets to see you like this. Fuck whatever other girl you or may not sleep with. 

You wrap your arms around her leg, gasping the second you feel her pussy press up against yours. She’s welcoming the distraction from mentally fighting whatever future bimbo gets this version of you. “Oh fuck, Robin.” All you can do is rock yourself down against her, your hands digging into the soft, fatty part of her thigh. You’re using this grip to bring her leg over your shoulder, a mixture of gasps and moans leaving you two as the new angle let’s one another feel whats going on better. You turn your head to the side and on instinct bite down on her ankle. Not too harsh, just enough pressure. She’s going to have bruises tomorrow… You both will. 

Both of you are sensitive and over stimulated, so it’s just a couple of minutes of grinding against one another. The room is filled with nothing more than the sound of you two rubbing together, just so wet and slick. Your mouth is watering at the idea of licking both of you off of her. The only other sound is one of you gasping when your clit gets rubbed just right. You lick over the spot of Robin’s leg you’ve been biting at. 

You weren’t planning on coming again. But the pressure in your clit? It’s almost too much to bare. Your hips were moving with grace but they’ve lost every ounce of rhythm. The pressure’s building up in your stomach and you could practically tear up with how many sensations your body is going through. 

Robin’s nails start to dig into your skin, her head thrown back and you’re convinced one of the most beautiful sounds on Earth is your name coming from Robin’s lips. Her back’s arched up off the bed, her tits moving in time with your motions. 

In all honesty? Your body takes over and before you realize it your hips are staling as a second orgasm over powers you. Robin’s hips buck up at the sight of you coming against her. “Look at how fucking stunning you are.” 

Sure, the bedroom was getting a little too hot for your preference, but nothing compared to the heat in your cheeks when Robin compliments you. Your nails drag down her leg and you make eye contact as your hand sneaks inbetween the two of you. “Will you come for me, Robin? One more time? I’ve been so good, right? Show me how good I’ve done tonight and let me see you come for me.” 

It doesn’t take much convincing. Robin’s once again a puddle of moans and crying out your name. Your pointer finger dips into her pussy and it’s almost pathetic insane how wet the two of you were. While using your thumb to tease her clit, you slide your middle finger into her pussy as well. 

Then you feel her clench around you. “Holy fuck, Robin.” She’s gripping whatever inch of your skin she can, her whole body twitching under you as her orgasm wrecks her body. 

You give her a moment to come down before adjusting your position. Your legs untangling from one another as you lean in to press a few firm kisses to her lips. “Thank you for doing this with me… It was, truly, amazing.” 

Robin’s wrapping her arms tight around you, giving a breathless laugh. “Thank you? You are so, so very welcome.” She’s smiling at you, pushing your hair off of your face. “We kinda messed up your make up.” Which has you both a giggling mess. You lean in to give her another kiss, letting the two of you stay close together while you both let the night soak in. 

After a few minutes of just soaking up Robin, you finally start to untangle yourself from her. Surely whoever this bedroom belongs to is going to want it back and soon. Your feet hit the cold ground but your body still isn’t quite ready to stand up yet. Across the room? You guessed it. Steve. 

Who’s still entranced by the situation. 

You’re greeted by the sight of your boyfriend, hands pulling through his hair and a soft cock in his lap. He notices you honing directly in on the fact that he’s soft. “Uh, I like totally came on myself maybe… Twenty minutes ago? At least? Honestly you were only about five minutes in when -“ He’s imitating an explosion sound and waving his hands around his dick. You and Robin can’t help looking back at each other and laughing. “Yeah, yeah, I would say fuck you two but since that’s already out of the way…”

He’s flustered at getting “caught” before springing into his typical caring boyfriend and best friend mode. Whoever this bedroom belongs to thankfully has an en suite bathroom that he’s stepping into, returning a few moments later with a hopefully clean hand towel. You and Robin gently clean one another up while Steve hunts down the clothing thrown around the room. 

When all three of you tumble out of the bedroom together, there’s still a few eyes that are honed in. Girls ready to gossip about what who Steve Harrington’s into, boys giving Steve a proud smirk and winking at you linking arms with Robin. The two of you just roll your eyes while Steve steps up closer to put a hand on the small of both of your backs. “Alright, let’s navigate this sea of creeps and get the hell out of here.”

#robin buckley #robin buckley x reader #robin buckley x you #robin buckley x y/n #robin buckley smut #robin buckley x fem #robin buckley x fem!reader #steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington x fem #steve harrington x fem!reader #steve harrington smut

[penguwastaken]

About Brainwashing in Danganronpa

Hello to all 3 of the people who see this account. A few months ago, I made a thread on hit website Twitter dot com about brainwashing in the Danganronpa Series. I discussed where it came from, how it works, and how the brainwashing of class 77-B was never a retcon. The thread got a lot of attention there, even getting a "debunk" on other hit website Reddit dot com (lmao). Due to that, there's been a lot of responses and questions. Since I can't really update a Twitter thread, I decided that I'd make the Ultimate™ Brainwashing thread and hopefully dispel any information on the subject while making my original points more clear and covering things I failed to cover. So here it is: Brainwashing in Danganronpa, how it works, where it came from, and how it was intended from the start. (a 🧵 except not really) *Massive spoilers for Danganronpa Zero, Danganronpa 2, Danganronpa Another Episode, Danganronpa Togami, and Danganronpa 3, as well as the series as a whole*

Danganronpa Zero: First Sighting

Brainwashing has its roots all the way back in the second official entry produced in the series, Danganronpa Zero. During the story's events, Ryoko comes across a secret cult made up of students from the reserve course. They're seen staring at a strange video, seemingly turning them and turn them into mindless zombies.

The video depicts members of the student council killing each other. Ryoko is stunned while watching it. She can barely look away, but eventually through force of will she does. This same video is later used to convince the reserve course to rebel.

The way it's described to work is that it uses their “pent-up emotions,” implying that their emotions played a role in its effectiveness. It's also worth noting that the novel itself refers to what is happening as brainwashing, making this objectively the first depiction of brainwashing in the series right from the second entry.

Danganronpa 2: Now it Gets Dubious

Our next instance of brainwashing comes from Danganronpa 2. The concept is brought up multiple times, such as when Makoto states that the Ultimate Despairs were brainwashed or how the Neo World Program is good at treating brainwashing, though the details of what brainwashing actually means in this context are kept vague.

It's also worth noting that Danganronpa 2 was being written around the same time as Danganronpa Zero and Kodaka wanted concepts from the novel to appear in Danganronpa 2, likely so readers would feel validated. This is why things like Izuru Kamukura and the reserve course play huge roles in Danganronpa 2, it's not too much of a stretch to say that the same applies with brainwashing. One detail we’re given about the brainwashing is from Monokuma, who states the Ultimate Despairs were brainwashed by Junko taking advantage of their feelings. Specifically love, hate, grudges, and "anything really". If that sounds familiar, it’s because that’s exactly how the brainwashing video from Danganronpa Zero was described to function, using their pent-up emotions.

I should mention that Monokuma and Junko are known for being unreliable narrators who often stretch the truth, exaggerate things, and use hyperbole to manipulate people into believing their narrative. Monokuma describes the Ultimate Despairs as “nothing more than Junko’s limbs”, which contradicts the existence of characters like Nagito. Who, while in his despair state, did not work with Junko nor did he look up to her (at least in the normal sense like the other Ultimate Despairs). In fact, it would have been impossible for them to really obey any of Junko's orders as Ultimate Despairs because Junko was trapped inside of Hope's Peak with minimal connection to the outside world. This isn't a definitive "Monokuma is lying" statement, but just note that his word isn't 100% reliable. Meanwhile, someone like Makoto who outright mentions brainwashing, is a much more reliable source.

Danganronpa Another Episode: More Brainwashing! (kinda irrelevant tho...)

The next time brainwashing is used is in the next entry, Danganronpa Another Episode. Though its purpose in this discussion isn’t the most useful, as the brainwashing is caused by Monokuma helmets, which don’t have their functionality explained. I figured it was worth mentioning and describing at least, as its another example of brainwashing at least.

I did figure it was worth adding how the brainwashed children act. They obey the Warriors of Hope’s every command, as if they have zero control over their actions. This is different from how the Ultimate Despairs act, who still some free had free will after presumably being brainwashed judging by the actions of Nagito, who is also in this game.

Danganronpa Togami: I Hate My Life

Okay. As mixed as my opinions are on this novel trilogy, it does feature brainwashing. In fact, it might feature one of the most detailed and important descriptions of brainwashing in the series, and even outright CONFIRMS that class 77-B were brainwashed (sorta).

"Hey um... Tumblr/Twitter user Pengu... what do you mean by 'sorta'?" Well my uninformed reader who I guarantee has probably never read this book, there's a twist. I regret to inform you that the canonicity of Danganronpa Togami is rather questionable, as it depicts an extremely unreliable narrator’s warped viewing of events due to this thing called the K2K system, which means not everything in the novel is meant to be taken literally or at face value.

This doesn't mean that everything should be discarded or immediately dismissed however. This just means that we have to use our brains a little and decipher what the hell Yuya Sato was cooking when he wrote this novel trilogy. In the novel, we discover the existence of the elusive despair novel. When read, the novel will turn the reader to despair and inflict them with the despair disease. This novel is what's used to plummet the world into despair, as well as being what caused the class 77-B to become the Ultimate Despairs. There's no known ways to avoid it, once you read it, it's joever. 😔

As I said earlier, the events of Danganronpa Togami can’t be taken literally. Due to this and prior context, we can safely assume that the despair novel is most likely the K2K's warped idea of the despair video from Danganronpa Zero. Instead of being a book being read that brainwashed people, it was a video being watched. What makes me so sure? Well let's look over the similarities. The way the despair novel works is that it uses cruel words to overload the reader with negative emotions, causing them to snap and turn to despair. That sounds almost exactly like the despair video, overloading the viewer by manipulating their emotions until they turn to despair. This connection's a little bit of a stretch but I'll bring it up anyways. The technology used in the despair novels was originally to bring hope. (Take notes, it will probably be important assuming you buy this connection.)

Essentially, the despair novel works the exact same way as the despair video, but instead it’s a book and you read it instead of watching it. This means that class 77-B and the rest of the world were most likely brainwashed via the despair video, and that is what caused the class to become Ultimate Despairs.

Danganronpa 3: The One People Really Don't Like

And all of this brings us to the most detailed yet controversial usage of brainwashing: Danganronpa 3. Many assume that the anime’s usage of brainwashing is a retcon, contradicting the words of our holy savior Super Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair High School. However, I’d like to debate that. In fact, I'd like to finally put a nail in the coffin of this really stupid debate and finally show you that Danganronpa 3's depiction of brainwashing is exactly how it has always been described.

In Danganronpa 3, we are introduced to Ryota Mitarai and his anime. Using the power of subliminal messaging, it heightens the viewer's emotions and makes them more powerful. What was once a slightly emotional scene is now a complete tearjerker fully capable of tearing at the viewers heart strings! While he acknowledges that there are unethical things that can be done with this technology and it's technically brainwashing, his goal is to use this technology to make the world a better place, even if it can be dangerous. If that sounds familiar, that's because it's what Hope's Peak tried doing with the despair novel in Danganronpa Togami. Though I'll admit, this single point is a little bit of a stretch as there are differences. I just figured it was worth at least a mention.

Using her analytical prowess, Junko gets a rough understanding of how the technology works, so she develops the despair video, featuring the student council killing each other overlayed with subliminal messaging technology to make the despair felt while viewing the video stronger.

The video works on Mikan, however Junko fears that the video may not be powerful enough to fully go through with her plans due to not understanding the technology nearly as well as Ryota does. Because of this, she forces Ryota to create a better, more powerful despair video. A despair video v2 if you will. Junko’s fears weren’t unfounded, as we discover that Chisa had the mental fortitude to resist the despair video, similarly to how Ryoko was able to resist the same video in Danganronpa Zero. This is exactly why Junko needs a more powerful video, one that she knows can’t be resisted.

"Ermmmm, Tumblr/Twitter user Pengu, how come Ryoko and Chisa are able to resist the despair video but Mikan and nobody in the reserve course could?" Good question, the answer is pretty simple. As mentioned before, the video takes advantage of the emotions of the viewer. Mikan is already pretty weak minded, so there wasn't much issue in controlling her. The reserve course already hated Hope's Peak and would take any reason to hate them more, so a video that shows them the sins of Hope's Peak would affect them as well. Ryoko and Chisa have no connection to the reserve course however, and neither are particularly very weak emotionally. Ryoko has the analytical prowess of Junko and Chisa is just a very strong willed person in general, and paired with Junko's lack of knowledge about subliminal messaging when creating the video, it's pretty obvious it wouldn't be that effective on them. All the more reason for Junko to force Ryota to make a better despair video.

The despair video v2 that Ryota is forced to make comes in the form of Chiaki’s execution video, where the stronger subliminal messages paired with witnessing the representation of the happiest moments in their miserable lives and their closest friend suffer makes class 77-B unable to resist. Ultimately this causes them to finally snap, being overloaded with despair, and now they turn into the Ultimate Despairs. (side note this is so freaking cool idc what anyone else says)

This resembles Monokuma’s explanation from Danganronpa 2. Junko used class 77-B’s emotions and years of getting closer against them to turn them to them to despair. Now featuring the added context of her using the video designed to manipulate people’s emotions. This depiction of brainwashing fits perfectly with the information provided throughout the series, even down to the little details. It’s so close in fact that I can say without a doubt that Danganronpa 3 did not retcon anything. “But Tumblr/Twitter user Pengu, that isn’t how the video is shown to work during Hope Arc. Therefore it actually contradicts previous entries and is inconsistent!" To that I say, you’re correct! ...at least about the hope video functioning differently, but that doesn’t make it inconsistent. The hope video behaves pretty differently. Instead of overloading the viewer with negative feelings, it simply just shows them a repeating video loop that turns them into a mindless zombie, likely caused by even stronger subliminal messaging. The people affected can also snap out of this state with some time, as seen with Aoi.

The reasoning for this is actually pretty simple, it’s just different technology entirely. It’s stated that the hope video was developed later on after the despair video. If anything, it behaves very similar to the Monokuma masks from Danganronpa Another Episode, which we also already established uses different technology. The hope video doesn’t contradict the despair video at all because they both use completely different tech. This can also be seen with how the despair video uses subliminal messaging, meanwhile the messaging in the hope video couldn’t be further from subliminal. There is no inconsistency, just two different things.

The reason the hope video needed to be broadcasted everywhere was so that since it would be airing everywhere, nobody would have time for the effects to wear off or resist it. This would turn the world into mindless zombies who obey every command, similarly to the Monokuma kids. It's just that now they don't have to force bulky helmets onto everyone.

Debunking Common Arguments

With the hope video out of the way, I think it’s very safe to assume that not only is the despair video’s functionality very accurate to previous descriptions, it’s also always been the reason for the brainwashing of Class 77-B, long before Danganronpa 3. Even if you disagree and think the cause of brainwashing was never explicitly mentioned in Danganronpa 2, there's still the fact that Danganronpa 2 outright says it was brainwashing. So even if a video wasn't the direct cause of it, them being brainwashed was still always intended (though given the context, I'm certain that the video was always the culprit). Many point to this line where Kazuichi asks why they became the Ultimate Despairs and Makoto says he never got an answer to debunk this. But... this doesn't change anything. He asks why they became Ultimate Despairs, not how. And this is completely ignoring the fact that Makoto clearly has done his own digging into the situation, he discovered the Remnants of Despair were hiding among Future Foundation after all. The Future Foundation had access to brainwashing videos, they found them, so of course Makoto is going to know about the brainwashing. But that's not what he's asking about, he's asking about the why. That's what he doesn't know.

Many also point to Mikan stating that it was her many human relationships that led her to being the way she is. Once again, this changes literally nothing. Mikan was the only one of the remnants who actually knew Junko, she was the only one who spent time with her because she was the first subject. This is why she gets more attached to her, and even why she'd believe what Junko would tell her when they spent time together. Monokuma also says that Junko used "hopeless methods overflowing with charisma and humor" to control the masses. I don't even know why I have to address this, but this statement is so vague you can interpret it as a million things. Like for example, this is how she got Ryota to work for her. While pretending to be Makoto to manipulate the people in the trial, Junko tells them that they all became Ultimate Despairs while coming into contact with her at Hope's Peak and they were subjected by her terrifying influence. Again, ignoring how vague "terrifying influence" is, this is literally Junko trying to LIE AND MANIPULATE them. This is quite possibly the worst example you could have used because we know for a fact that she is lying to them while pretending to be Makoto. There's other examples of Junko trying to manipulate them, like mentioning how everyone hated them and their all Ultimate Despairs at the end of the day. But that's just what this is, manipulation. You would think that the "Junko manipulated class 77-B" crowd would understand that saying "everyone hates you but I saw your potential" is literally manipulation 101. Some say that the brainwashing turned them into mindless zombies and eliminates all blame from their actions. While I would agree that it does make them less at fault, they still have the ability to make choices and still have free will. Their original personalities haven't been overwritten, their brains were just rewired to crave despair. They're still each their individual person with their own ways of feeling despair, and characters like Chisa and Nagito show that they regain their free will to an extent.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

This whole debate stems from people misunderstanding Monokuma’s words and going along with the popular interpretation, which turned out to be wrong. Whether you like the use of brainwashing or not, it objectively isn’t a retcon as it's been developed ever since Danganronpa Zero. Personally, I love the use of brainwashing. I think the way it's developed throughout the series and its usage in Danganronpa 3 is super interesting. If you disagree, that's fine! Heck, if you choose to headcanon that Junko manipulated 15 individual teenagers into all becoming despair hungry terrorists capable but ending the world and fighting off every military in the world in less than a year, that's cool too! But the truth is, Danganronpa 3's brainwashing is canon and it's also not a retcon nor does it contradict anything. Contrary to popular belief, Kodaka was involved with the writing of the anime. He provided a large draft and outline of the plot and oversaw its development. He produced the anime, he did his homework, he knew what he was doing. I'm sure if Kodaka intended for them to all be manipulated one by one, that's what he would have went with. All information implying that it was manipulation is very few and far between and questionable at best, not to mention outweighed by everything implying it was brainwashing. Mind manipulation stuff is not new in this series, its been around since the first game and brainwashing was established in literally the second entry ever produced. Whether you love it or hate it, think it's the best thing since sliced bread or the death of the series, brainwashing was the answer the whole time. Some people just never noticed it, and instead of acknowledging that they were wrong, they stuck with a headcanon that they believed so much and jumped to the conclusion of "retcon". I hope this mega post managed to inform some people, maybe change some minds too. If you still don't buy it, then I guess there's nothing I can do. Thanks for reading all of this though, I tend to yap a lot about this franchise lmao.

#danganronpa #danganronpa 2 #danganronpa zero #danganronpa 3 #dr0 #dr3 #dr3 anime #danganronpa goodbye despair #danganronpa 3 despair arc #dr2 goodbye despair #super danganronpa 2 #danganronpa anime #sdr2 #danganronpa another episode #danganronpa ultra despair girls #udg #danganronpa togami #danganronpa analysis #ultimate despair #remnants of despair #junko enoshima #ryoko otonashi #chisa yukizome #ryota mitarai

[sgiandubh]

Machiavelli took a day off

... when the Telegraph article was written in great haste, by someone blatantly given a last minute task, who had no fucking idea to whom she was talking and what exactly meant the PR vetted or even prompted questions.

Instead of a line-by-line analysis, we'll take things differently, on this page, using the '5 W rule of journalism' (or even non-fiction writing, in general, if you ask me):

Who? SRH, EP of the OL series and one of the two male leads of the TCND series, which will be shortly broadcast by Channel 4, in the UK and IE only (and Movistar in ES). The rest of the world is not concerned.

What? A promotional article, focused on the actor's personality, CV and projects.

When? At a particular moment in time, just after the SAG-AFTRA strike and before shooting OL's eighth and last season.

Where? Crucial to place it in LHR (to imply he is 'just visiting') and God forbid it would be in GLA, which (for some curious reasons) seems to be off-limits.

Why? An actor with solid credentials hopes to keep agents and employers interested, after above OL project is done, which is rather sooner than later. Also addressing (as per the actor's PR agent specific requirements) three particular issues: the Palestine letter, the Bond project and his 'private life'.

Onwards to the three issues at stake, which probably prompted the article. In chronological order, this time. And no, I am not going to address the Scottish independence mention, because this is a sincere, well-known position of his and this page never bitches about people's convictions - also because I educated myself on it and I agree with S.

Palestine:

It was important, for obvious reasons, to push damage control a tad further. Also, strictly from a hypothetical POV, I would be very curious to read your compare and discuss thoughts with regard to this particular post on this page:

A sort of answer came in the Telegraph paper, too. Not only to me (I am less than nobody), but to all the people (of which we were many) who thought he should not get involved in this type of debate:

This is not the first time he uses this specific talking point. Last time known to me was on the day the Queen died, on X (I looked for that post, but can't find it, because I am just a filthy lurker, like that: but it is there).

The really interesting question, therefore, is: does he/somebody monitor what is being said on Tumblr? The answer is, I think, yes, and it shows. Will it stop me talking in here? Nope, as I trust my discerning abilities, for the moment. Other than that, his damage control op does not bring anything new to the table.

Bond:

What can I say, Sir? While there's life, there's apparently hope. But that doesn't translate well, given the context of your interview. That spells desperate and it's not a great picture. Also, let us keep a pious moment of silence in fond memory of a 25 year old who had a dream and the dream went to Daniel Craig (who I detested as Bond, because every girl has her Bond and mine is Pierce Brosnan, amen).

I know people still speculate about it. I have very high reservations and I cannot, for the life of me, seriously consider even thinking about the possibility. He could do it with flying colors, no doubt. Does he stand a chance? I prefer to have zero expectations on it and be floored if it happens. If he naively still yearns/pushes for it, this interview could very well be as abysmal as C's VF tantrum.

'Private life':

Ugh. Slippery when wet. I have already touched the subject in a reactive re-blog of @samheughanswife's post about it and I will not get back to what I said even without reading the article.

Some more extraordinary wording, in here: 'there might even be space for a personal life' - begs the question 'when?' In general? (in general, all men are created equal, too - it's practice that kills the theory) Now? (it is my staunch belief the answer is yes). After OL? (then and now and after Hiroshima, too). Can you program these things? (nope, stars simply aligned) Heh. Enough said. Also, 'might' spells cheap insinuation to me. But that's just me, a blonde voice in the audience.

Now, onwards to the daughter thing. I believe this specifically addresses the cheap, abundant clickbait content on You Tube, hence the vague 'online' reference (not Tumblr, not fans, not blogs - he is not C, he kept it clean). Such as this very recent one (last 'clip' on the topic was five days ago):

The two I chose to share here, which are very conspicuous FAKES, are originating from the same 'source', an account that seems obsessed with S&C and has no problem changing its narrative three times a week, if needed. My opinion? PR induced shite, to prod numbers/interest and see what sticks.

No newborn daughter? I hear no lies.

As for OL leaving 'no time for relationships', ahem. *urv will be thrilled to read that, I bet the farm. As will Flukenzie Floozy, at least her - damn, she was persistent! Also, hello, back to 2014-2016 playbook, aren't we?

No new relationships? Whatever for, when IYKYK? I hear no lies.

'I want a cat' ('because she's great', says my shipper brain on autopilot), 'but I am too scared even for that'. Humph. A very poor lie. But admitting you wanted and got a Ca(i)t scares the bejesus out of you, since 2016. I hear no lies. Yes, I am being tongue in cheek and damn the consequences.

Morality of it?

The easiest solution is never to take personal questions in interviews or panels. Why These Two still do it completely mystifies me.

#shitshow

[kradogsrats]

Schrödinger's King in the Bird Box

Time for a return to the single topic that most torments me in this entire franchise canon: is Harrow in the goddamn bird or not?

Except not really. I'm not going to go over the evidence again. I've done it before. Almost everyone has done it before. It has only gotten stronger. At the absolute minimum, an attempt was made to put Harrow in the bird. That's not really disputable. I admit it. It's over.

This is actually the second time that I've struggled with narrative cognitive dissonance regarding a real core factor of this show (like not "what's the deal with Archdragon reproduction," but something that is clearly supposed to be thought about with the intent that it will eventually make sense), and eventually managed to rotate it so hard in my mind that the way I wanted to see it slipped out of my grasp and I saw it the way it's actually intended. Ironically, I think I may have been thinking about the Ocean arcanum at the time.

Anyway, what previously always bothered me about this question was mainly two things:

It would have a devastating impact on Ezran's character development if Harrow reappeared during s1-s3, but the timeskip and arc of s4-s5 made it so it would also be deeply weird for him to reappear before the show ends.

If Harrow is in Pip's body, both Viren and Pip's subsequent behavior, as well as how Pip is treated by the narrative on a meta level, make absolutely no fucking sense.

But... if Viren doesn't know whether the spell was successful or not? If we are meant to not know whether the spell was successful or not, because it's not going to get resolved in the show itself?

If we accept that the earliest point with any chance of the hooks for this plot being set is late s7—because yes, Aaron Ehasz would do an exact beat-for-beat repeat of Zuko and his mom—that both puts Ezran far enough in his growth for it not to be threatened by the "real" king returning, and keeps Harrow out of the loop for long enough that it doesn't really make sense for him to do anything but step down from the throne in favor of Ezran, anyway. As for Viren and Pip's behavior, if the show isn't going to advance that plot much further during its runtime, there's no reason for us to be constantly reminded of it. The setup has been made, and they can just let it stew because it's not actually relevant.

That being said, Viren's behavior actually does make a lot of sense if "is Harrow in the goddamn bird or not" is a question that is also tormenting him. To that end, I'll be doing some digging here on the nature and context of the body-switching spell, Pip/Harrow's behavior post-swap, and what the hell is going on in the Harrow section of Viren's dark magic dream.

The Spell is Made Up (Unlike All Those Real Spells)

First of all, I think there's been some long-term incorrect assumptions made about the body-switching spell. It's not a known spell: this is Claudia and Viren essentially flying by the seat of their pants... but we rarely stop to think about how that contextualizes the rest of the discussion around it.

The initial plan is to find the assassins and ambush them before nightfall. As Soren points out and Viren himself confirms: if they fail, the assassins will be unstoppable under the full moon and Harrow is as good as dead. Claudia decides to put her mind to that problem, so naturally she stops to flirt with Callum in the library and gets the inspiration for the spell from something he says.

(Fun fact: none of that happens in the novelization. Zero amount.)

She brings the idea to Viren, and they develop the spell from there. It's not really clear if Claudia actually knows whether something like that would be possible, but Viren does know that transferring the essence of a person can be done—he's got a nice little coin collection that proves it.

As for the snake, there's no way Viren "acquired" a two-headed soulfang serpent because he has a book somewhere on how to use a rare, malformed specimen of a dangerous Xadian creature to switch people between bodies. He probably thought "that's weird, but could be useful," or maybe whoever sold it to him just had a great sales pitch. A non-trivial amount of success at dark magic is in having access to rarer and more powerful reagents than your competition.

Anyway, what this means is that Viren has absolutely no idea what success looks like for this spell, particularly when using it on subjects of different species. When he describes it to Harrow, he is 110% talking out of his ass. He sounds like he knows exactly what the spell will do and how, and I think a lot of us kind of fell for that. He needs to sound confident, because if he admitted that he doesn't know if it will even work, with a possible failure condition of "snake eats your soul," well... a) Harrow rightfully wouldn't go for it, and b) he'd look incompetent, which is the worst thing ever.

When he goes to Harrow's room, he casts the spell... but did it work? I think that whatever it did, it did it in a way that Viren can't tell whether it worked or not. Maybe both Harrow and Pip passed out. Maybe Viren just didn't want to hang around for the aftermath—in the novelization, when he exits the room and runs into Callum, his eyes are still black from spellcasting.

Activities of Dr. Pip Harrow, Ph.D.

Probably the thing that has always bothered me the most about the entire Harrow-Pip theory is that yes, literally everything in the lead-up and immediate aftermath of the assassination points to that being exactly what happened... and then the narrative lens of the show completely drops the rope. Pip doesn't even appear in the novelization until Viren's pre-coronation scene, which is funny given his looming presence over half the scenes with Harrow in the show.

Pip appears exactly twice after the assassination—once in s1 and once in s2—otherwise he goes completely ignored. He's not in the background of Viren's office, or the throne room, or Harrow's bedroom. No one ever mentions him ever again. Ezran never mentions him again, in the show or in any supplementary materials. You'd think the boy who can talk to animals might have some interest in his dead dad's beloved pet... but who knows, maybe Pip has always been an asshole and Ezran's actually like "thank goodness I never have to speak to that dude again."

Anyway, in all of Pip's appearances, he behaves like... a bird. A trained bird—Harrow can rely on him not just fucking off—but he doesn't demonstrate human-like intelligence the way Bait does. That being said, Bait is essentially a main-cast character (at least as much as, say, Corvus... maybe even Soren) while Pip is a plot device, and even then it takes until well into the first arc for Bait to show the kind of complex reasoning and initiative that separates him from an unusually smart dog. Pip's human is also a stressed-out king, rather than a rambunctious ten-year-old, so he's probably a bit more sedate overall. I would personally bet, given the way the show has progressed with regard to Xadian creatures, that Pip is as intelligent as Bait.

The point of that is: even if Harrow's consciousness is occupying Pip's body, he's not really doing anything with it. He's pissy, sure:

But is that Harrow's pissy-ness or Pip's? Even if Pip is only as intelligent as a trainable bird, that's plenty intelligent enough for both grieving/confusion that their human is gone and holding a grudge against obvious assholes. Viren cages him, but is that because he flipped out and got bite-y? And was it Harrow flipping out, or Pip? Or is he caged just because Viren's of the general attitude that animals belong in cages? Those who fail tests of love... We just don't know.

A lot of us also, to circle back to assumptions about the spell, have tended to think of a body swap between Harrow and Pip resulting in Harrow flailing his arms around wildly and screeching... but again, we know literally nothing about this spell, nor do we actually know anything about Harrow's behavior after Viren leaves his room. Maybe his body sat catatonic on the bed until Runaan came in and shot him. Maybe Pip, being intelligent, was able to maintain the facade—once everyone's in the heat of battle, it would be hard to notice even significant deviations from normal behavior. Even if "Harrow" appeared to fight only halfheartedly, or give up entirely... well, he hasn't been the same since he lost Sarai. Maybe the spell only partially worked, and only half of his soul is inside Pip, with minimal or no influence over the bird body's behavior.

Viren does appear to take some precautions in case Harrow is alive inside Pip. The cage, for one... but he also has nearly all subsequent important conversations outside of his office. Like I said earlier, Pip's cage isn't rendered in the background of any scene, but since he escapes from Viren's office I'm assuming that's where he's been. Even if Pip was just out of frame in every scene in Viren's office post-assassination through end of s2, the only things he's seen are... Viren eating butterflies, and the conversation between Viren and Claudia about the mirror and her side mission to bring the egg back at all costs. He doesn't know about Soren's instructions to murder the boys. He knows about the mirror and Viren's obsession with it (which he could have known before), but he doesn't know about Aaravos. He may know that Viren stole his seal but only if Viren was stupid enough to stamp the letters with it in front of him (which... look, he could be). The only things he's really learned are that a) his sons are alive, and b) Viren lied to him and the egg is alive.

Now, realistically, if we were meant to hang on to the is-Harrow-in-the-bird plot thread because it's going to be significant within the scope of the show... I'd be expecting to see at least one cut to Pip glowering at some point during all these machinations. If it weren't for the mirror and Aaravos, I'd expect Viren to be yelling all his monologuing at Pip, too. But the show does none of that. Instead, the next time we see Pip, we see him peace-ing out of the show for at minimum the next three seasons, and possibly the remaining two, as well. If Harrow's in there... why? Did he go to find Callum and Ezran himself? It's not actually clear that he knows Ezran can understand animals, so it would be reasonable for him to think Viren is his only chance at ever not being a bird again. Maybe he thinks that chance is gone with Viren's arrest and would rather not spend the rest of his life in a cage. Maybe he really isn't in control of the body.

Back to Viren, though: since Pip refuses to demonstrate any behavior that could be taken as distinctly Harrow's, Viren actually has no idea at any point whether Harrow's in there or not. He doesn't know if Harrow lived. He doesn't know if he succeeded or failed. It's a constant reminder that he's almost, but not quite, in control. Almost, but not quite, good enough to achieve what he wants.

It probably drives him absolutely insane.

Did You Think You Were Somehow Getting Out of This Without Me Mentioning Kpp'Ar?

Just kidding, it's finally time to talk about Viren's dream. We've gone two entire seasons and a two-year timeskip without any mention of Harrow or Pip (though those maniacs dropped the fucking snake basket on us as an incidental but obvious prop early in s4), and then suddenly we get punched in the face by Viren's subconscious.

First, though, I do actually need to point something out in the scene with Kpp'Ar. Bear with me, I promise this is relevant.

Viren sealed Kpp'Ar's soul in a coin 12-ish years ago, and the coin has been sitting collecting dust in his secret dungeon for... some amount of that time. Now he opens the door and finds Kpp'Ar standing there, free—and I will note that I don't believe Viren actually knows how to free people from the coins, or whether it can even be done. His reaction is surprise, followed by suspicion and wariness:

When he encounters Harrow—dead—his reaction is horrified shock, which is fair since the last time he entered the room that way there was no surprise body chilling out waiting for him in it:

Then, when Harrow speaks to him, suddenly alive and unharmed, he drops straight into relief:

Some of this is undoubtedly due to the differences between Viren's relationship with Kpp'Ar and his relationship with Harrow. With Kpp'Ar, after that initial moment of confusion, he's absolutely determined to not show a single hint of ignorance or weakness—this is a trick, or a test, and a passing grade in "light verbal sparring with the mentor you're pretty sure you remember betraying" is a thing that is both normal to want and possible to achieve. For Harrow, who he wants so desperately to call him brother, who he walked into this very room ready to die for, before everything went horribly awry—he not only immediately and willingly goes to his knees, he literally prostrates himself.

... I'll give everyone a moment to get all the innuendo and suggestiveness out of their systems, because that's not the point. This time.

What is the point is that Viren's reaction to Harrow isn't disbelief, but relief. Hope. Kpp'Ar is supposed to be in a coin, and Viren immediately questions how he got out. Harrow is supposed to be dead but Viren doesn't give a second thought to how he's not. Fortunately, Harrow helpfully explains:

Fun fact: back in s1, we don't actually see Viren actually taking action against the assassins. We don't even see evidence that he re-entered the room at all—it's only Soren and Claudia who participate in Runaan's capture.

I haven't actually touched a lot on the complex shit going on for Viren, emotionally, throughout all of this—I mentioned it's was probably driving Viren insane over the course of the first two seasons, but let me elaborate. If Viren successfully switched Harrow and Pip, that means Harrow survived... but he expressed his feelings on the proposal in no uncertain terms, and there's a good chance he will literally never forgive Viren. I don't think Viren thought far enough ahead to consider how to get Harrow into a human body again, but I do think he's dragging his feet on it a little because if he can work things to his advantage—unite the Pentarchy against Xadia and follow through on the war Harrow was avoiding—he'll prove to Harrow that he was right all along. Any chance of that flies out the window with Pip at the end of s2.

If the body-switching spell failed, it means Viren essentially killed Harrow himself. That's the reality I think he grows more and more resigned to over the course of s1 and s2, when Pip remains unresponsive. He had no choice but to take the best chance at saving someone he loved—but this time, instead of saving Harrow, he murdered him.

In the dream, Harrow has not only survived, but credits Viren with his survival. He doesn't just dismiss Viren's show of remorse, but makes his own apology to Viren. He calls Viren brother. After an impossibly long nightmare, everything is okay. All is forgiven. Maybe there was nothing to forgive, in the first place. Maybe Viren was right all along.

Then it all turns sinister with the callback to the coin incantation, and we have a sharp return to reality:

The cinematography here treats Pip a lot more like how I would expect him to be treated in s1/s2 if we were meant to know he was actually Harrow. There's focus actually on him, instead of just other characters' reaction to him. He "speaks"—as I noted in another post—in raspy sounds very unlike his songbird chirps from s1. This is absolutely Harrow as Viren actually left him—even if he's not dead, he's in a warped prison of dark magic, a perverse mockery of himself.

Oh wait.

Harrow-who-is-both-human-and-alive was never an option, and what we've got now is mirror images of Harrow-the-dead-human and Harrow-the-live-bird, and they're going to do to Viren what he did to them.

Now, it's not that none of this makes sense if Viren knows for sure that Harrow is in the bird... but it makes a lot less sense and has less emotional resonance. If Viren knows Harrow survived as Pip, he'd be more likely to question Harrow's human form than his survival—the way he does with Kpp'Ar. He might be more guarded, expecting hostility—which, I will note, is what he gets when Pip enters the scene. Instead, because until now he believed that he actually killed Harrow in his attempt to save him, he's so relieved to see Harrow alive that for that one moment he loses all pride and is ready to beg for forgiveness at Harrow's feet.

Since legitimately none of this makes sense if Viren didn't at least attempt to put Harrow in the bird, we're left with Harrow maybe or maybe not alive, Viren having maybe or maybe not been the one to actually kill him (gonna be a fun one with the Runaan context), and a plotline that is definitely not going to be resolved in the remaining two seasons of the show. I'd be kind of surprised if they even did any more setup for it (like Callum/Ezran finding out it's a possibility, or even a hint drop like Runaan being all "it was fucking weird, he just sat there" or something) outside of future supplemental media.

Conclusion

Either Harrow is alive and in the bird, with the future intent being to do a spinoff story The Search-style, or we're in for a huge bummer of a "actually, it was Viren all along who killed Harrow, therefore Runaan is a good guy and we can all be one happy family" pile of absolute bullshit. Yes, they said Harrow's dead. Harrow's body is dead, we knew that all along. There's a note in the artbook that Viren was actually going to rip the shroud off at Harrow's funeral in order to publicly prove it's his body, because that is an extremely normal thing to do.

The show just treats it extremely weirdly because, even as the only person with any chance of knowing, Viren is in the same uncertain boat as the rest of us. (Actually more uncertain than the rest of us, since he's not genre-aware.) Also it's another chance to torment Viren emotionally, and they'd never pass that up.

Thanks for coming to my absolutely ridiculous TED Talk on this topic, I hope this screenshot now does as much psychic damage to you as it does to me:

#the dragon prince #viren #harrow #pip #for once i was wrong... but now i'm right #oh my god this is so long i'm so sorry

[sunflowerhaven]

Murder drones episode 7 N and Uzi quick ramble, I love them so I just had to let some thoughts out. I'm writing this in the middle of the night after a long day so it might not make much sense Idk.

First of all, N's self hatred is something that I feel has been hinted at before, but him saying that he deserved it when he cut his arm (with a blunt looking saw too) just got to me...

The scene where Nori called him stupid and he agreed was funny but N please.

He has his goofy moments sure, but honestly he's one of the smartest people in the show like dude, don’t sell yourself short like that please!!

The whole scene when they get out of the elevator is so good, both the expressions and voice acting is fantastic. N didn’t really do anything wrong he just had zero time to think about what he was going to do and say. Uzi immediately catching on to that she had been lied to in some way was not his fault.

N always feel like he has to be the supportive, optimistic one. I love him for it but N, it's okay to care about yourself for one minute I promise!

When Uzi sacrifices herself to save N, she chops his leg off in revenge, something that could have been awful in a different context, but it's completely light hearted, a joke between close friends. "Die mad." Uzi I love you. It's just Uzi's way of saying that it isn’t a big deal. It's like she knows N is going to hurt about it, and she wants to break him out of it before he even starts self wallowing.

*edit, I know Uzi didn’t cut his leg off out of nowhere, I'm just bad at gathering my thoughts into words that makes sense (also I was very sleepy when I wrote this, I still am, new episode threw off my sleep schedule completely)*

I could be reading way too far into this, but it's a headcanon I suppose.

(I also do gotta wonder where they officially became a thing, or if they even count as one? I mean they definitely know they like each other but like, where on a scale of "we like each other and we know it but we're too scared to properly aknowledge it" to "we are actually dating" are they? Will we ever know? I personally choose to interpret N writing that as an aknowledgement of Uzi never denying that they were dating in episode 6. Also it was just a smart move in general. For real N stop believeing that you're stupid.)

#murder drones #nuzi #murder drones spoilers #sorry for any typos #english is not my first language #don’t write posts at 3am folks

[anzulvr]

OUR LIFE BEGINNINGS AND ALWAYS // SPOILERS FOR THE DLCS IN STEP 2 for both Cove and Derek!

In which two friends like their other best friend.

COVE / DEREK X READER (head cannons might make a oneshot 🤞🤞)

— reaction

Cove is kinda confused, he never really expected Derek to like you in that way, he never really got any signs (Derek was trying to hide it) but he wouldn’t be upset or anything. You’re all friends in the end, besides Derek was being considerate trying to hide his feelings for everyone else’s sake.

Chalks it up to “Well who wouldn’t like MC?”

(Final warning for Derek dlc spoilers!!)

Derek has always been aware of Coves crush since it’s super obvious to everyone. In his DLC if you tell him you thought he was cute he admits his first impression of you was that you are cute too! So I think after he hangs out with you and Cove for the first time he realizes early on that Cove already likes you so he’d just try to act like nothing but the more you hang out the harder ignoring his feelings get. Derek’s reaction to Cove finding that out that he likes you would be worried cause he doesn’t want to make anything weird. Cove wouldn’t throw their friendship away just cause he’s got a crush on you. Derek would go down a spiral of “what if Cove hates me.” “What if they both never speak to me again.” So just make sure he knows you’re not going to ghost him over this😭

more in cut!!

Extra hcs for u!!🫶🫶

How would people figure out both derek and cove like you?

ft — Mr Holden, Moms, Elizabeth, Lee, Kyra! In that order!!

Derek was over for lunch with everyone and at the table it was just too obvious. They knew Cove liked you but they hadn’t really payed mind to how Derek acted until then. Cove still would have been completely oblivious to it. At home Mr. Holden would say something like “so, you have competition huh sport?” with zero context and wouldn’t further explain when coves all lost. Cliff decides not to break it to him💀Maybee if it comes up sometime he’d give cove advice like in the soirée DLC where he makes him to bring you a flower! He’d always be up to help out cove but cove would be too embarrassed to ask😭

For the moms they’d just tease you how they do with cove and they’d also just mess with Derek in the same manner. Probably not around Cove so he wouldn’t catch on😭 when they’re feeling out of pocket they’ll say something to you both like “I wonder what has him all nervous” once derek is out the room and just laugh while shushing eachother.

Elizabeth canonically knows and she doesn’t care who hears her when she says things lmfaoo

it’s not super regular she hangs out with you since she does her own thing but I feel like she’d be down to gossip about it all the time like. “ELIZABETH GUESS WHAT-” and that’s literally the only time she lets you in her room without arguing about knocking or telling you you’re being annoying 😭

Lee knows every detail she’s so invested lowkey she’d instigate just a little but nothing comes out of it because it’s Cove and Derek. You can’t leave this girl in a room with one of them because she’ll say somethingg 😓

“Hey Cove, didn’t derek ditch soccer’s practice to hang out with [MC]? It’s so unusual of him huh? To willingly SKIP a day to hang out with them..”

“Not really? I think it’s nice, he needs breaks once in a while.”

And then when Lee gets Derek alone for like 5 minutes;

“Hey Derek- do you think [MC] and Cove are cute?”

“Huh? Oh- well yeah [MC] is has the prettiest eyes and they’re so cool and funny and amazing- Coves a awesome guy too but I’m not interested like that ya know?”

“I meant cute.. like together. ”

“Oh. ”

Kyra time!! She’s the bestt

She noticed your little love triangle in that one trip to the mall while she was spying on all of you. The little drink share?? Derek blushing when you snuck up on him and Cove too freaked out to let you drink his smoothie?? She almost got caught by cove when he heard her laugh but he just wrote it off as him hearing things.

She TRIES to help Cove take you places because he drags you to the beach every other day 😭 like “Hey babyyy, you’re not hanging out with [MC] today?”

“Not today, they’re out helping Derek with his brothers today.”

“Oh alright, maybe tomorrow? I can take you two out some place? Maybe the tropical place again.”

“yeah I guess? I’ll ask them if they can later! Thanks mom.”

#cove x reader #cove holden #derek suarez #our life beginnings & always #cove holden x reader #derek suarez x reader #cliff holden #kyra preece #elizabeth last #our life x reader #our life beginnings and always #our life b&a #ourlifeb&axreader #gb patch games #ol:ba #cove x mc