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yuutasprincess · 7 months

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Day 4: Toge Inumaki

Word Count: 1.9k Warnings: Dubcon, spit, thigh fucking, he cums in you, readers kind of mean but not on purpose

If someone were to ask Toge what he likes about you he’d stay quiet. It isn’t that he has something against you, but god do you know how to bend him. He’s wrapped around your pretty finger, hearts in his eyes everytime he hears your name. It all began as a simple crush, a consequence of spending so much time in the company of only two women—Maki, who often scolded him relentlessly and adorned him with fresh bruises every other day, and you, the sweet girl who would tenderly mend his injuries while flashing a mischievous grin at the new blue marks forming on his skin.

Though perhaps "sweetest" isn't the most fitting descriptor for you. It's just too tempting for Toge to resist your playful provocations. A gentle touch on his elbow to draw him nearer, a flirtatious flutter of your eyelashes in his direction, and a few sugary words are all it takes to have him eating out of your hand. There may not be a clear label for whatever dynamic exists between the two of you. While officially declaring Toge as your boyfriend would bring a semblance of normalcy, the thrill of being tantalizingly out of reach is simply too irresistible.

He wants you so incredibly bad, craves your praise, yearning for your attention with a desperation that knows no bounds. Toge isn't entirely sure how things escalated to this point. Maybe it was that one haunting night when you slipped into his room after a particularly grueling mission. He woke up with heavy-lidded eyes, swollen lips, and a throbbing neck adorned with telltale marks. All he had to remember that night was a bad hair day and the lingering taste of you.

The thing about Toge is that he doesn’t outright show his attraction around others. It becomes less fun teasing him when a group is present, his countenance remains stoic, with a subtle quirk of his eyebrow at most when you take the seat next to him and place a hand on his knee. Beneath his collar, an unnoticeable flush creeps up, a nod in your direction and eyes flicking to whoever else is around him.

His biggest struggle is when you slide in next to him when everyone goes out to eat, fingers sneaking between his thighs to paw at his hardening cock. You’re so evil, stifling a laugh behind your drink while he’s slumped in his seat acting as if he’s hiding a smile when really he’s trying not to cum his pants. You don't make it any easier for him afterward either. No, you send a sweet, taunting kiss his way and give a playful wave to everyone before being the first to make your exit.

In his mind, there's an extensive catalog of every tantalizing thing you do to him. He imagines you desiring him just as fervently as he longs for you. He thinks about how good you’d feel most of the time, sure he’s been between your legs. Eating you out as if he’s been starved, pretty fingers digging into the skin of your thighs and lips wrapped around your buzzing clit. But god, he’d do anything to fuck you.

Toge's love knows no bounds; he would willingly follow you anywhere, simply to bask in your presence.

Late-night snack runs are Toge's favorite, frequently evolving into moments that leave him craving for more. So, when he hears a knock at the door, he's quick to throw on his jacket and meet you in the hallway. Maki has a hankering for something spicy, Yuuta's got a sweet tooth, and Panda's in the mood for anything crunchy. Toge, on the other hand, holds no particular preference; if he's lucky, you might reward him with a lingering kiss for shouldering the bags of snacks.

As you walk side by side, the world seems to blur. Your shoulders brush against each other, and his fingertips ache to interlock with yours. He hears your words, but he's not truly listening. Something about Maki discovering a new coffee spot for your group, and while everything you say is undeniably interesting, when he's in such close proximity to you, essentially breathing the same air, his ability to focus is gone.

“I had a dream last night…” it drowns out, his eyes reading your lips to give him an excuse to imagine them wrapped around his- “You were in it.” Ok, now he’s listening.

His head tilts, marked tongue slipping out to wet his lower lip. “Wanna know what happened? I can act it out for you.” you tease, feet abruptly halting, you grab his arm and pull him into a nearby alley,

You guys never make it to the convenience store.

Lips meet lips, and for Toge, it's like drowning. The kiss is everything to him, a fervent, messy exchange of emotions mirroring the depths of his feelings. He can't help but wonder if you can feel just how much he wants you; it seems impossible not to know. His hands find the back of your neck, his slender fingers gently pinching at the skin of your nape, prompting a scoff from you but he quickly pulls you back and slips his tongue to meet yours. It’s overwhelming, he forces himself to breathe through his nose, his every exhale is your inhale as he won’t let you separate.

You’re patting his chest, tongue licking at the roof of his mouth until he groans and you can part. “Wow-” and he’s back on you. “Toge-” Tongue trying to slide back into your mouth. “Hey! Toge-” You have to force yourself out of his hold, lips chasing yours as he whines low in his chest. “Come on Toge, let’s go get the stuff then we can continue this…” But he knows you too well, knows you’ll just tease him at the store.

You’ll talk candy in his ear and cling to him, maybe give him another intense kiss then you'll part ways, leaving him in a state of torment until the cycle begins anew. Toge is caught in the endless loop, unable to bear the longing any longer. He wants you.

"Stay," his voice, so seldom heard, sends a shiver down your spine, leaving your knees weak. You barely hear him speak outside of his curse, and when you do, it lingers in your mind for days. You can see everything, feel the intensity of his touch, but as he said, you don't move. You remain locked in that moment, an unspoken agreement between you both. His kisses are feverish, marking the curve of your neck before claiming your lips.

It’s an odd sensation, having no control of your body as he slips your shirt over your chest, fingers sliding into the cups of your bra to pull your breasts out and pinch at your nipples. A shiver runs down your spine, his head bending down to spit on each tit before taking the left into his mouth and moaning. It’s everything he’s imagined, ok, maybe not exactly like how he pictured this happening.

Toge drools all over your chest, cheeks flushed a deep red as he watches you, your expression is flat but he can see the way your eyes glaze over. The unspoken truth lingers between you both: you want him just as desperately as he wants you, and he knows it. His mouth leaves your nipple with a string of saliva that he breaks with a swipe of his tongue, fingers grazing your sides before unbuttoning your pants.

His hands are shaky as he pulls your jeans down to your thighs, eyes dropping to the way your panties hug your pussy and the noticeable damp spot. His tongue feels heavy, throat itching as he resists the urge to rip your underwear off and tongue fuck you until his cursed speech breaks and you have to push his head away, desperate to reclaim a semblance of control. But he doesn’t do that. Rather, he slides your panties down to meet your jeans and he stands.

Kissing you over and over until your bodies sway and he has to wrap an arm around your waist to keep you standing while the other pulls his pants down enough to let his leaking cock free. Pushing his sensitive tip between your thighs he rolls his hips, breathing heavily in your ear as he grinds against your pussy, arousal coating his length and precum sticky between your legs.

It’s hard to stop kissing you, he’s sucking on your tongue, forcing your mouth open so he can spit into it before forcing you into a sloppy kiss where he can tilt your head back and make you swallow. Toge can't stop the whining and groaning, he wants to cum so bad but the idea of cumming inside you is too tempting. His cock slips into you with ease, your body forcefully relaxed as you stand still in his hold while he humps your shivering body.

There’s so many things he wants to say, wants to praise you and tell you how deeply he feels for you. How if he could he’d fuck you everyday until your pussy is shaped to take only him. You’re so warm, walls clenching around him and cunt gushing with every thrust, he feels so sensitive, he’s never been so pent up. Toge could cum any second, his jaw tense as he waits for his speech to wear off so you can really react while he fills you.

“Shit- shit!” you sound so good, so fucking sweet and breathless as he pulls you in impossibly tight. Arms circling your waist and lips finding your tit again as he sucks on your breast while you try to fill your lungs with air. His hips never stopping as he fucks you, thrusts quick with no specific aim, he can’t bring himself to pull out to the tip when you feel so good. Your hands pull at his hair, head thrown back and knees buckling as he bites hard enough to leave marks on your chest.

What pushes Toge over the edge is the way you look down at him, head falling onto your shoulder and eyes staring directly into his. He’s so smitten, just a glance has him digging his blunt nails into your lower back and hips stuttering as he cums. And when you’re not cumming with him, body trying to catch up with the sudden control of your limbs, he's panting in your ear. “Cum.” and fuck, the way you soak his cock and tighten around him has his brain melting.

When time resumes he has the nerve to look at you shyly, eyes wide and chin damp with his own drool as he softly ruts against you, oversensitivity creeping up on you. “Toge, you pervert” And you grin at him, that malicious teasing quirk of your lips that has him utterly ensnared. His cock twitches inside of you as he focuses on the white ring at the base of his length, he can’t look you in the eye. Too afraid he’ll cum just as quick again.

“If you wanted to fuck me so bad you should have just said so.” this time it's you kissing him, he’s moaning into your mouth and cumming when you spit onto his tongue, his eyes squeezing shut as you grip his hips and force him to keep sliding in and out of your pussy, “Stay” this time, it’s you commanding him. Voice sharp as he bites his tongue and lets you use his body.

Toge knows that you don't possess the same level of control over him that he exerts over you. But he’ll be damned if he lets this opportunity pass. And he knows Maki is going to give you guys shit when you come back in the early morning. But how can he complain when he's dreamt about this for so long.

#don't mention the missing days #jjk smut #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen smut #cw dubious consent #inumaki x reader #inumaki smut #inumaki x you #inumaki x y/n #jujustsu kaisen x reader #kinktober

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orangeblossombitch · 6 months

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Nearly 4 years ago I painted this to work through the horror of witnessing 34 Palestinians murdered by israeli bombs and tens of thousands displaced in only two days, while being surrounded by utter indifference and silence from my uni mates and society. What is happening now exceeds the bounds of horror, I truly have never felt so utterly hollow. I dont understand how i can be in the midst of such depravity and evil, yet the world remains the same. People go about their day as usual, others are too cowardly to even send an email to condemn the one thing everyone had agreed one was wrong; genocide. But people here want history books to make the decisions for them. I know tomorrow we will wake up to no news, because there is no internet anymore, or to the news of thousands of more murdered Palestinians. I have no more respect for the people around me

#art #artists on tumblr #palestine #gaza

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astarion-approves · 8 months

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drabble req? :) would love to see some astarion working on comforting or patching up tav/reader — there’s a lot of hurt/comfort in the other direction out there but soft!astarion is so cute :’) love your work btw! <3

Astarion x GN! Reader drabble (695 words)

SFW, Astarion POV, third person POV, Fluff, shitty pep talks (which I am also not great at,) no patching up but it's kinda cute anyway. A touch of jealous Gale

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“Astarion,” Gale began, the human always tiptoeing around him since the beginning. “Could you…” He shook his head, the man looking unsure with his next words. “Could you check in on Tav?”

Astarion sighed and closed his book, his eyes flicking to the fireplace where Tav sat alone and poked at the fire. “And just why would I do that?”

“Look,” Gale clenched his teeth together, looking over his shoulder to where Tav sat before looking to Astarion once more. “They obviously have feeling for you—“

“Hah! Well that's no surprise. After all, no one can deny my charms—“

“And you obviously have feelings for them.” Gale’s tone was firm, his eyes harsh as he glared back at the vampire, a tint of jealousy swimming beneath it.

Astarion tossed his book into his tent, his arms coming to cross over his chest as he glared right back at Gale. “And so what if I do?!” Now he swung his hands in front of himself, gesturing past Gale and to where Tav still sat. “What the hell do you expect me to do!? Go over there and tell them everything is going to be okay?! That all of the evil in the world will never get to them because I’ll protect them from it?! That these fucking tadpoles in our brains mean no harm and that we’ll all live happily ever after?!”

“Yes,” Gale replied. “That is exactly what I expect you to do.”

Astarion dropped his arms to his sides, pouting at Gale’s answer. He sighed. “Fine!”

Shoving past Gale he made his way to Tav, rubbing his now injured shoulder. He may have overreacted just a tiny bit, but the way Gale stumbled from his shoulder check was worth it.

“Hello, Tav,” Astarion sat down beside them without an invitation.

“Hey.” They gave Astarion a small smile but turned their attention back to the fire.

“I think it’s best if we’re just honest with one another here,” Astarion said with a shrug. “Being friends and all.”

Tav only hummed in reply.

For a moment Astarion let his facade drop. Usually Tav would be eager to chat with him, truly, about anything and everything. To see them pay more attention to the fire than his gorgeous self— something really was wrong.

“What’s wrong, Tav? Tadpole hosting a private party in your skull?”

Tav snorted, another smile gracing Astarion and giving his heart a little flutter knowing that he managed to earn a real smile from them. “Everything?” Tav answered. “Just… everything.”

“Well-“

“And you don’t have to tell me that we’ll live happily ever after.”

“Look at you! Eavesdropping on a private conversation? I’m so proud.”

They didn’t reply this time, just focusing on the flames as they danced in front of them, burning down the pile of wood and sparking as Tav added another log.

“No, things won’t end happily ever after,” Astarion broke the silence as he spoke, his voice soft. “I think that much was obvious the moment we were abducted by fucking mind flayers.”

“Some pep talk—“

“Give me a moment, I’m not accustomed to cheering a person up!”

Tav laughed, but gestured for Astation to continue. “Okay, sorry.”

“Apology accepted.” Astarion bumped their arm into Tav’s. “Now, where was I—“

“Happily ever after, or lack thereof.”

“Right, our eventual demise.”

“Astarion—“

“Look, I’m not good at this, clearly. We’re all bound to die some day, but it’s how we spend our days before the end that matters. You can’t give into these feelings of darkness that haunt you, the urge to give up when things get tough. I’m here for you, everyone in this strange camp of weirdos is here for you— and if you’re hurting all you have to do is say something and we’ll do what we can. Shitty pep talks included.”

Tav nodded and tossed their stick into the fire, no longer playing with the flames that beckoned them. “I’m hurting.”

“I know, darling,” Astarion said and put his arm over their shoulder, pulling them closer. “I can’t change the world, all I can do is be here for you… and I hope it’s enough.”

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tojisbbg · 1 year

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𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙪𝙨𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙙

❝and i am the idiot with the painted face, in the corner, taking up space.❞

♡ izana kurokawa ♡

pt. 1

a/n: i love putting mikey and izana stans through pain lolz.

content: royal! au, prince izana x princess y/n (reader), arranged marriage, shitty/toxic parenting, angst, cheating, izana’s a jerk, swearing/cursing, maybe smut (?), strangers to enemies to lovers, not checked for grammatical errors.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

nothing ever lasts forever.

you looked at the roses that were becoming shriveled up, slowly withering. the cold, unforgiving winter was soon to come. the grassy fields filled with flowers and little creatures of mother nature would be embraced by cold arms, blanketed with snow.

you bitterly grimaced at how this pathetic flower was used as a symbol of love. ironically, it fits.

love?

no such thing truly exists, and even if it does, it’s either fake or bound to die in the future.

you leaned down, picking up one of the sorrowful roses from the royal garden, looking at it with pity. while plucking off the petals, you accidentally pricked your finger from one of the thorns on the stem.

you were startled from the short-lived pain, looking at your index finger as you saw the small droplet of the crimson red liquid.

“you truly are evil.” you whispered, throwing the stupid flower on the ground just like any other worthless piece of trash.

“princess! what are you doing out here in such weather?! you’ll catch a cold!” one of the maids rushed in, concern and fear written all over her face.

“could i never get a second of peace and quiet? what is it that you need?” you harshly spat out, knowing that these stupid women didn’t care for your actual well-being.

they were ordered to for the sake of their pockets being filled.

of course, the world had to revolve around money and green of us filthy human beings.

“the king and queen has requested for you.” she spoke with a low voice, eyes not meeting your glaring ones.

“tell them to fuck off.” you bluntly replied, getting up to walk towards the orchid tree that was located way far back towards the end of the garden. suddenly, you felt the maid drop on her knees, holding one of your legs.

“what the fuck, get off of me!” you tried to wiggle her off, but she shook her head in refusal.

“please, princess! your father has already threatened all of us to have our heads chopped off because of not having you follow your daily routine. you must come or else our lives are at stake!” she sobbed, making you look down at them with a disgusted expression.

“you sick morons.” you grumbled under your breath, agreeing to head inside which made her thank you as if you were god himself granting her a blessing.

the maid escorted you to your parent’s room, afraid that you might not stay true to your words. regardless, you decided to have it her way to save her sanity. after reaching the door of your parent’s room, the maid knocked on the door before entering.

“the princess is here, your highness.” she informed before taking her leave which was your cue to enter. you closed the door behind you, seeing the both of them sitting on the edge of their bed, looking at you with a small smile.

“why did you call me?” you asked, cutting straight to the chase. you knew that your parents were filled with bullshit, all they cared about is being the most powerful kingdom to ever exist.

power, money, fame.

they wanted it all and it made you sick to your stomach. your morals and view on topics that were flaming hot to them largely differed. you just wanted to live a simple life, and it’s not that you’re an ungrateful brat.

you just have the world’s shittiest parents.

“is that how you were taught to speak to people, y/n?” you father snapped back at you, clearly displeased by your response.

“i don’t even speak to anyone in general, so who cares?” you commented with a shrug, making your mother sigh in disappointment.

“well, you will eventually one day in the future. you’ll inherit the throne, have a husband and lead your joined kingdoms until you pass it down to your kids.” she explained to you with a soft tone, nearly making you gag.

“me? marriage? as if.” you laughed, but your parents only looked at you with a serious expression. your voiced died down, now looking at them with nothing but shock and disbelief.

“why are you both quiet? tell me it’s a joke, what’s wrong with you?” you angrily scoweled, but they remained quiet.

“y/n, you’re no longer our little girl anymore. you’re a young woman now, who’s ready to fulfill her duties as the future queen and as someone’s wife.” your father tried to caress your cheek in a loving manner, but you swatted his hand away, on the brink of tears.

“how dare you! does my voice or opinion not have any worth to you guys? how can you decide such a big thing for me without even thinking about if i want it or not!” you raged, wanting to dig yourself a small grave right on the spot you were standing in.

“you don’t have a say, y/n! what don’t you understand?! you must get married, it’s an order by our law and nature. you’re a princess for god’s sake!” your mother scolded you, getting fed up from such childish behavior from you.

“then fuck being a princess, i’ll run away.” you threatened, your tears streaming down your face as your heart ached.

“you know that’ll never work, so stop being immature and try to accept things as how it is.” your father snickered, making you wanna rip your hair out.

“then i’ll end my life.” it was a rather rash thing to say, but it caught the attention of your parents, especially your father. he clutched onto his chest, breathing heavily, which alarmed your mother. she quickly rushed to his side, laying him down on the mattress while you watched with a blank expression.

“how dramatic. he should’ve signed up to become a theater entertainer than be a king.” you scoffed, crossing your arms over your chest.

“y/n! that’s enough.” your mother said through gritted teeth, fanning your father who coughed like a man that’s been smoking thirty cigars a day.

“if you both are done wasting my time, may i leave?” you yawned, getting bored of the same kind of shit that you had to go through nearly every day.

she didn’t bother looking up at you, ignoring your words as a way to indicate that she didn’t care.

“could’ve just said yes, y’know.” with that being said, you turned your heels and walked out, making sure to slam the door extra hard to piss them off even more.

you giggled after hearing the noise echoing through the empty halls, knowing for sure that your parents are probably talking shit about you right now. you hummed a small tune as you walked to your room.

“they’re crazy to think that i would actually agree to this shit.” you talked to yourself as you began to strip out of your gown, throwing it on your bed before walking inside your bathroom.

you shoved a finger inside the tub, checking if the temperature was right. you grinned in content, feeling the warmth of the water as you eagerly stepped in, lowering yourself slowly.

you couldn’t help but feel sorry for yourself. there are thousands of people out there who wished to be in your spot right now, living the life as a princess.

but, they only see your life from a small glass window, not being able to peak further deep inside.

they think that just because you bathe in luxury every day, your life is perfect. what they don’t see is how trapped you feel, how your parents are so controlling over your life, almost as if you were their very own puppet.

why?

you were hidden away from your whole life, envying the lives of commoners. you were homeschooled while everyone else went to public schools. you had no friends nor were you allowed to explore the village because it makes you appear improper. you have to wear bigass, itchy and uncomfortable gowns every day.

you hated it, absolutely hated it with every fiber in your body. if only all of your problems could be drowned like this, then maybe life wouldn’t have been so bad.

“i don’t care what it takes, i won’t be getting married.” you promised yourself, sinking deeper into the tub until you were completely submerged in the water.

...

“no, no! you can’t do this to me! i’m your fucking daughter, not a puppet. please, don’t do this. i’ll do anything, just don’t give me away.” you pleaded to your mother as you sat on your bed, dressed into the wedding dress that the maids successfully had shoved you inside.

“y/n, my baby, please just listen to me. your father and i love you so mu-”

“bullshit! absolute bullshit, stop lying to me! god, all you both ever do is lie! fuck, i hate you guys so much.” you wept, not caring that you had streaks of mascara running down your face.

“you need to understand that your father isn’t in the best condition to rule the kingdom. his heart problems are getting worse, and i won’t be able to take care of everything all by myself. joining our kingdom with the kurokawa’s would lessen the burden on us.” she tried to reason, taking a napkin to wipe away your ruined makeup as you looked up at her with glossy eyes, seeing not a single hint of care or adoration.

her eyes looked empty and you knew that these people would not hesitate to sell you off like some kind of livestock if they needed some money.

“you guys disgust me. all you care about is your benefits and never about me. you want me to get married? fine, i’ll get fucking married. since you guys along with that fucker that agreed to this shit basically ruined my life, i’ll make sure to return the favor.” you smirked, getting up as you grabbed the smashed bouquet of flowers.

“y/n-”

“don’t wanna hear it.” you cut her off, walking off to head downstairs where the chapel was. you saw your father waiting down by the stairs for you, looking at you with a horrified face.

“y/n? your makeup is-”

“does it look like i care? are you gonna walk me down the aisle or should i go by myself?” you impatiently said, making your father’s jaw drop from the sudden change of attitude. you avoided eye contact with him, not being able to bear the sight of how your father looked pleased with the change of heart you had, completely overlooking the fact of how your eyes screamed in despair.

“of course not, dear. come on.” he heartily chuckled, linking your arms together before leading you inside the chapel. your body burned with hatred, every step that you took felt like your legs were chained with weights.

“you could hate me all you want, y/n, but one day you’ll realize that everything that i have done for you is for the best.” your father said, his words completely flying over your head as you knew that it would be no use of saying anything to him.

it’s too late anyways.

the doors opened, a blinding ray of light hitting you as you could picture the chapel looking as beautiful as ever, knowing that your mother hired the best in town to decorate everything. however, you kept your eyes on the ground, being led up the few step as your father finally let go of your arm.

the priest began to read the wedding vows and midway there was a pause to allow the exchange of rings to occur.

your soon-to-be husband extended his hand, waiting for you to place yours on his palm. his skin was tan, long slender fingers with a few veins being painted on the surface of his hand as well. with a heavy heart, you lightly placed your hand on his, making sure to have minimal skin-to-skin contact with him.

“izana?” the priest called out, and for the first time, you’ve heard what your husband’s name was.

“yes?” he answered, his voice deep and smooth like honey.

“do you take y/n as your wife, promising to stay by her side through better or worse, sickness and in health, till death pulls you both apart?” the familiar lines were recited, making your vision become a blur with tears.

those vows, these same sacred words to prove one’s faith and love to each other, it wasn’t meant for you or this izana guy. you had the right to wait for your knight and shining armor, your romeo and your prince charming.

“i do.” izana said firmly, his voice not shaking at all as he was ready to seal the deal.

“y/n?” the sudden intrusion of the voice startled you as you were deeply indulged in your train of thoughts.

“what?” you blurted out without any thought, hearing gasps around the room as you swore at yourself before muttering a quick apology to the priest.

“that’s quite alright, dear. do you take izana as your husband, promising to stay by his side through better or worse, sickness and in health, till death pulls you both apart?” the same lines almost seemed taunting you know, as if it was mocking your situation. you were thankful that the veil was covering your face, as your face was now covered with streaks of your dried tears.

it was never supposed to be this way.

you shouldn’t be up here getting married to some stranger whom you’ve never met before. as the crowd began to silently gossip among themselves, you felt like your knees would give up any minute from how anxious you felt.

you had two choices.

you still had the chance to run away, maybe even go abroad to another village far away from here and keep your identity hidden until you could get on a ship to go overseas.

you don’t take izana kurokawa as your loving husband whom you swear to spend the rest of your life with through sickness and in health.

you’re no princess, and you’re most certainly not qualified to be a queen who should rule such a vast kingdom. to all those stuck up people that are like loyal dogs under royal laws, you’re their puppet that’s being trained to become a loyal dog just like them.

but you weren’t one of them nor did you wish to become like them. you’re not a dog who’ll abide by the rules, trained to serve their husband and a piece of land.

no, absolutely not.

you were a caged bird who wished to be free. you read many books that were stored in the castle’s library. there are about 18,000 species of birds out there, roaming freely to their heart’s desire.

beautiful and colorful wings that allow them to explore different place in the earth. you wished to be like them, you too want to spread your wings and take a leap of faith in life. you want to go to the amazon forest, see the creation of mother nature.

and you knew well enough that in order to do that, you must take a risk. it was a 50/50, but at this point, who cares about the odds?

“i do.”

...

the wedding was over and you were now headed towards the kurokawa kingdom, which wasn’t too far off from your own. it was a two hour car ride, you thought you would be able to rest in the comforts of your own room for the night.

to your dismay, your parents had other plans.

they had the maids pack up your things and have it waiting for you already at your new “home”. to you it seemed like your parents were only counting how much time was left till you would finally depart from them.

assholes.

it was an awful wedding.

all the dishes that were served were shit that you were forced to eat as a child. it’s true that you were a picky eater but you weren’t always like this. the castle’s diet consisted of eating only clean foods to prevent health concerns like obesity or heart problems since they both ran in the family.

to which you weren’t against at first.

but you could vividly remember how when you went down to the village and stopped by a small udon shop to try their delicious meat udon special, your mother soon arrived and ripped you away from the shop before threatening to have you skip dinner.

she would give the same lecture about how men like women who have a nice figure, long lucious hair along with a shy and soft demeanor.

to which you would simply just walk off while she kept on going off, pretty much talking to herself since you didn’t even bother to listen to her bullshit.

the guests were snobby, from both sides of the family. while izana was busying himself on entertaining those fools with a charming smile and soft eyes, you gave everyone who tried to approach you a death stare.

izana kurokawa.

after you both exchanged your vows, it was time to show the god awful crowd the love and devotion you both have towards each other.

a kiss.

you were going to kiss izana kurokawa, who was now your husband. you were going to kiss a man whom you’ve never seen or heard of before until an hour ago.

gentle hands lifted your veil as you slowly looked up, eyes meeting for the first time. it felt like time had stopped, you couldn’t stop staring at him.

he was gorgeous.

the title of a prince was meant for izana kurokawa. he was responsible, kind and caring. snowy white hair that was parted, mesmerizing amethyst eyes with soft white lashes, honey glazed skin and a small smile on his lips.

izana bent down, his face hovering above yours as you could feel his warm breath fanning over your flesh. you closed your eyes, waiting his lips to meet yours.

however, no such thing ever happened.

his lips weren’t touching yours, barely brushing against them to say the least. yet, the guests roared with cheers and you soon came to realization. you opened your eyes, only to see those same lips curl into a smirk as he lazily eyed down at you.

izana kurokawa was not your husband because he too didn’t want to fulfill that role in your life.

you were not his wife nor would you ever be.

“we’re here, sir.” the drive came to a stop as the driver announced the arrival to the destination, pulling up to the castle doors. izana hummed in acknowledgment, as one of the guards opened the door for him. without a word, he left with the slam of the door, leaving you alone in the car.

“what a fucking jerk.” you grumbled to yourself, hearing the driver faintly chuckle as you shot him a glare from the backseat, knowing that he’d see it on the car’s rear mirror.

“the hell are you laughing at, huh?” you boldly spoke up, making him look back with a small smile.

“princess, do not be so naive. our prince is not like those whom you’ve read about in tales like cinderella or sleeping beauty. it’s not my place to talk ill about our soon to be king, but you’ll find out soon enough, so don’t be deceived.” he warned, making you harshly gulp.

the driver was nice enough to pull the door open for you, offering a rough hand to help your get out of the car since your dress seemed like it weighed over a thousand pounds.

the kurokawa kingdom was north from your own kingdom, but you never thought that it would make this much of a difference in weather. your wedding dress was sleeveless, making the cold breeze hit your skin as you shivered.

you noticed how the castle was built on a hill, the grass was barely alive, most likely due to the cold weather. it was a mountainous area after all.

“shall we?” one of the butler interrupted your thoughts, waiting with the door opened as you nodded.

you entered the castle doors, seeing how the interiors were nothing like your boring castle design. it was purple and gold, art works of famous artists hung up on the wall of angelic beings, and the halls smelled faintly of lavender.

“shall i take you to your room, prince-”

“that won’t be necessary, we have to talk about a few things. don’t worry, i’ll take it from here.” izana cut him off, walking down the grand stairs.

“of course, sir.” the butler bowed his head before leaving.

“we have nothing to talk about. it’s nearly midnight and i’m tired, i want to go to bed.” you groaned, trailing behind him as you were now in the living room.

“there’s some rules that you must follow now that you live with me.” he informed, sitting down as he crossed one leg over the other.

“how lovely, i came from one prison to another. life truly loves me, huh?” you bitterly chuckled, crossing your arms over your chest as you glared at him.

“how pitiful.” faux sympathy was painted all over his features, making your blood boil.

“hey bitchface, who do take me as? you think that just because we’re married now, you could do whatever you want with me as you wish? please, don’t make me laugh.” you giggled, getting up as you walked over to him. izana’s face remained unfazed with his previous smug look.

you bent down to come at eye level with his sitting stature.

“i never listened to my own parents rules, so, the fuck made you think that i’d listen to yours?” you taunted, cocking an eyebrow as he maintained eye contact with you.

“unlike your parents, i could have you out of this castle with the snap of a finger. i’m not as sympathetic nor do i give a single shit about you like your parents. you are their child whom they tolerated, but to me, you’re nothing but a nobody. so, mind your tone when speaking to me.” izana strictly said, giving you a sarcastic smile as he was able to see that he made his point across.

you sighed as you walked back to the sofa, plopping down while you waited for him to open his shitty mouth once again to tell you about his so-called rules.

“your room is located on the east wing of the castle and my room is in the west wing, so there shouldn’t be a reason why i should ever see yo-”

“first of all, how fucking self-centered are you to even think that i’d go to your room? you think i’m some kind of bimbo who’ll be all dolled up on your bed or clean up after your ass? i’d rather die than go to you.” you angrily spat out, in complete disbelief that this jackass had the audacity to even think of you like that.

“well that’s a relief, it’s good that you aren’t stupid. the problem is, your manners are so shit.” he scoffed, looking at you like you’re some kind of alien.

“weren’t you taught to never cut people off mid sentence? especially, to your husband.” izana mocked, tilting his head to the side as he knew he was slowly pushing all of your buttons.

“you want me to ruin the price worthy face of your so bad, huh?” you kissed your teeth in annoyance.

“anyways, you should almost never come to my room unless absolutely necessary. we have many maids and butlers, so feel free to ask them about any concerns. second, i really don’t give a shit.” he blurted out, making you choke on your spit.

“what?” you gasped.

“you don’t understand basic english? i said, i don’t give a shit. you’re free to do whatever you please with yourself, you could go wherever you want with whomever you want. your life doesn’t concern me nor should mine concern you. we didn’t marry each other out of love, nor do we consider each other as husband and wife. just don’t make things too obvious. deal?” he stuck out a hand, looking at you with anticipation.

“you got yourself a deal, prince jackass.” you stood up and began to make your way to your room.

all you wanted to do was just sleep everything away. you wanted to drift inside a good dream where there was no mom or dad, no izana, no royal duties and no sadness.

just you and only you.

...

you rolled around in bed, not wanting to open your eyes and have the bright sunlight hit your sight and blind you. but, soon enough, someone barged into your room and it nearly sent you into a coma.

you eyes went wide as you sat up, startled when you saw a few of the maids coming in. you grumbled under your breath, looking at them with a pissed facial expression.

“god, don’t you people know how to knock?” you scolded, making them apologize as you let out a sigh.

“it’s past lunchtime, your highness.” one of them informed you, making you look at them like they had three heads.

“what?!” you screamed, sitting up as your hair was a tangled mess. you were still in your wedding dress, too tired the night before to even have the energy to take it off.

“your bath is ready and breakfast has been served as well. lord kurokawa has gone out for royal duties if you were wondering.” the butler from yesterday butted in, making you scoff.

lord kurokawa? what an arrogant asshole.

“yeah to hell with him, i don’t care where he is.” you yawned, getting up as you shooed everyone out of your room. you hated noise, especially during mornings.

mornings were meant to be peaceful and silent, relaxing and slow. they were only meant for you and only you. you stripped out of the poofy gown before detangling your hair and removing the remaining makeup smudged on your face.

when you stepped inside the bathroom, a gasp of nothing but pure amazement and shock left your lips. it was a gorgeous bathroom, everything covered in marbel and polished. the bathtub looked like a swimming pool, making you quickly rush over to fill it up with hot water.

as you sunk your naked body in the water, a blissful sigh left your lips as your eyes rolled back.

this really hits the spot.

you leaned back, closing your eyes as you began to fall into deep thought. you wondered, how would you spend the rest of your days in this castle? a part of you wished that izana was a little more friendlier, then perhaps you could’ve had a platonic relationship of enjoying life.

well, that wasn’t that case, and maybe you liked it that way.

you finished your royal bath and the rest of the consisted of you lounging in the castle. you had to admit that izana’s criteria and choice of the cooks had to be one of the finest, as both breakfast and lunch almost made you ascend to heaven.

living away from your parents did rise some perks, and to make things even better, izana wasn’t around majority of the times. you were free to dress however you wished, no need for fancy dresses that squished your ribcages and made it hard to breathe.

for once in your life, you were sitting in the living room with a huge bucket of ice cream in your lap while wearing a pair of shorts and tank-top.

and no one could tell you shit about it.

you heard the front door open, indicating that someone has arrived home. one of the maid’s rushed to your side as you shoved a huge mouthful of the sweet dairy treat in your mouth.

“your highness, lord kurokawa has arrived.” she notified, making you lazily hum at her as you were more concerned about the plot of the drama you’re watching.

“cool.” you shrugged before shooing her away, not caring that your fake husband came back from his royal duties.

“is dinner ready?” the deep familiar voice questioned the butler who was removing his very expensive winter coat.

“yes, sir. allow me to help you freshen up.” the butler offered, making izana hum in agreement.

“god, do you wipe his ass after he takes a shit too?” you snickered, making the butler gasp as he looked at you with wide eyes. however, izana remained unfazed before turning to you with a small smirk.

“oh, that’s not his job but my wife’s. however, it seems like she’s too busy being a pig.” he fired back, making you shoot him a hateful glare.

“annoying piece of shit.” you mumbled under your breath before averting your focus back onto the huge tv screen. izana left to freshen up before sitting in the dining space, eating by himself.

you couldn’t help but feel a little bad for him, knowing that he lived inside this castle by himself all his life and did pretty much everything alone. you didn’t know much about the kurokawa family, but you knew that izana was the last person in the bloodline to exist because his family was brutally murdered years ago in a war that nearly killed your father.

your thoughts would soon be gone as you saw the man right in front of you, arms crossed over his chest.

“go to bed, every electrical device that makes noise in this castle must be turned off. i have very sharp ears, so even the slightest sound will awaken me.” izana ordered, making you scoff.

“well, i’m so sorry sleeping beauty, but that seems like a you problem. shove some cotton balls in your ears and go to sleep.” you replied, seeing his jaw lock in annoyance, making you internally high-five yourself.

“you’re infuriating.” he grumbled, turning his heels before heading upstairs to his room. you laughed to yourself in satisfaction, throwing a few more popcorns in your mouth as you continued to watch your show.

---

you groaned in pain, rolling over until you fell to the ground with a yelp. you winced in pain as you rubbed your ass.

“fucking hell.” you cursed, not realizing when you fell asleep on the sofa. you heard a chuckle coming from behind you, opening your sleepy eyes to see the white haired fool sipping his tea while laughing.

“i knew that was gonna happen, you stupid little girl.” izana shook his head in disbelief, continuing to fill out some paperwork. you stood up and marched your way towards him, glaring down at him.

“you absolute jackass. this is why no woman would ever fall in love with you, stupid piece of shit.” you threw insult after insult at him, yet he seemed unfazed by your comments.

“what a rough way to start your morning. you should go brush your teeth to get that bad breath and language out of your mouth.” he smirked, making you gasp in embarrassment as you covered your mouth, forgetting that morning breath exists.

“i hope you choke on your tea and die.” you said in a muffled voice, rushing up to your room to freshen up so that you could give him a proper piece of your mind. but, to your dismay, by the time you came downstairs he was already gone.

“coward.” you mumbled to yourself, settling down at your seat as the maids served you breakfast. you decided that you’ll have an outing to yourself today at the village, wanting to experience an adventure you never got the chance to fulfill.

“excuse me, would you please drop me off by the village today after breakfast?” you asked izana’s butler, to which he gave you a polite smile.

“it would be my pleasure.” he replied, making you contented with the answer as you finished your meal.

you decided to dress in common clothing, a simple white dress that fell below your knees; decorated with strawberries.

“you look lovely, my lady.” the butler complimented, and you thanked him, excited to try new things out.

after reaching the village, you bid the butler goodbye as he promised to pick you up before sunset.

your first stop was the flower shop, eyes glimmering at the colorful plants. there was roses, dhalias, petunias, marigolds and so much more!

“hello miss, how may i help you today?” the lady spoke, startling you a little.

“your flowers are gorgeous! may i take a smell?” you asked, the lady giving you a warm smile before nodding.

you went ahead and took a sniff of every one of them, sighing in bliss at the sweet scent of each of them. nature’s creation was truly heavenly and it made you wish if you could just run away to the woods and live in a cottage; away from the evil that resided in society.

your eyes fell on the lilacs, sitting ever so prettily in the bouquet. you couldn’t help but think of how the color struck you and made you think of your evil husband.

“would you like to buy any of them?” the lady asked and you nodded you head.

“i’ll take those lilacs, please.” you said with a small smile, convincing yourself that it was because these pretty purple flowers would look great in the vase on top of the dining table.

your next stop was to try all the food stalls, looking at your pocket watch and noticing how it was nearly lunch time. you decided to indulge yourself, ordering a bowl of seafood udon for yourself and a side of braised duck meat.

your parents would’ve killed you if they saw you eating like this.

but right now, food is life.

you ate to your heart’s happiness, closing your eyes as you could feel tears of joy forming at the corner of your eyes. you’ve never tasted food this delicious before and it made you appreciate yourself for keeping your will to live still strong.

you slurped the noodles like no tomorrow, gulping down the broth right after. you lipstick was gone, the corners of your mouth messy with the broth as you sniffled from the heat of the food. you quickly cleaned yourself up, not wanting to look like a pig in front of other although you did eat like one just now.

you properly disposed the items and continued your little journey.

suddenly, a weeping little toddler clung onto your legs. you bent down, trying to level your eyes with her glossy ones.

“mama?” she cried, making your heart shatter.

“did you lose her, honey?” you spoke with a soft voice, seeing the little girl nod her head. you embraced the tiny human, carrying her as you tried to calm her down.

“let’s go find your mama then.” you smiled, patting her back as you began to walk around with the little girl in your arms.

“ice cream!” you heard her squeal, amking you hum as your eyes followed the direction she pointed in.

“oh, you want one?” you asked, to which she eagerly nodded, making you chuckle as you walked towards the small shop. you got the little girl a strawberry cone while you got mango.

“so yummy.” she giggled, making your heart swell from her cuteness. you were walking towards the small flower garden, wanting to take a little break and finish your ice cream.

until you noticed a familiar figure sitting on the bench with another person. you got a closer look and indeed it was izana.

with another woman.

you saw him holding her hand while laughing, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she giggled. they both were sharing a slice of cake and you saw the way his eyes sparkled every time she breathed.

was he always this sweet? how he tenderly caressed her skin like she was porcelain.

a foreign emotion of jealousy brewed inside you, a sudden wave of rage filled your insides. it was then that izana’s eyes fell on you, his smile dropping as he saw you with the child in your arms.

“y/n?” he called out your name, and it sent chills down your spine as it felt so new to hear him call you without any insult.

“izana.” you said his name back, making him swallow harshly.

“do you both know each other?” the woman next to him asked, she looked and smelled like a princess, when you looked like a commoner. izana’s eyes begged you to make up some lie, to which you gave him a sly grin.

“why of course we do, right izana?” you taunted, making the silver haired male grow nervous.

“honey, i can explain.” izana turned to the woman, but she looked suspicious.

“there’s nothing to explain. we’re cousins, that’s all. stop making everything so weird all the time.” you giggled, making your very much husband sigh in relief, not wanting his mistress to find about his little secret marriage.

“ohh, nice to meet you. is that your daughter?” his mistress asked, and you contemplated on being truthful, but you wanted to spite izana more.

“yup, this is my little princess. isn’t she the cutest?” you kissed the little girl’s head, making the woman squeal. izana’s eyes widened, not expecting you to lie like this.

“she sure is! wow, you’re so young to be a mom though.” she commented, making fake sad eyes.

“yeah, well, my husband loves me enough to give me such a precious gift. anyways, i should head back now. it was, uh, great meeting you.” you gave her a fake smile before throwing a side glare at izana. the expression on his face is one you couldn’t decipher, but you decided to not pick on it.

you walked a good distance away from the horrid couple, until you felt the little girl squirm in your hold.

“mama! mama!” she urged and you placed her on the ground, watching her run to the figure in the distance.

“oh, my baby!” you heard the lady cry, picking up her daughter a kissing her lovingly.

“thank you so much for keeping her safe, miss.” she noticed your presence, giving you a grateful smile.

“no worries.” you nodded your head, ruffling the little girl’s hair before bidding them goodbye.

---

you reached home, your mood not as uplifting as you had planned. you kicked your sandals off, walking towards the dining table as you placed the lilacs down. one of the maids rushed in, excited to see the bright and beautiful purple flower.

“are these for lord kurokawa?” she asked, making you scoff. the thought of izana made your blood boil, especially after the shitshow that took place earlier.

“no, you may dispose those in the garbage. i don’t want to see a single petal on my sight.” you strictly ordered, grabbing your purse to make your way up to your room. there you bumped into izana, who seemed like he’s been standing there the entire time.

“move, fuckface.” you grumbled, shoving him to the side as you stormed upstairs. you felt him grab your wrist, turning your head to meet his lilac ones.

“the hell is wrong with you? why are you acting like i’m diseased?” his eyebrows furrowed, making you roll your eyes.

“say what you have to say because i want to rest.” you ignored his question, making him let out an irritated sigh.

“since you already know about mai, i don’t think i need to explain myself further-”

“oh, don’t worry. i think i have enough brain cells to piece together that the almighty lord kurokawa has a side bitch.” you snickered, making him glare at you.

“watch your mouth.” he scoweled, making you grin.

“make me.” you challenged, watching him ball his fists as your words made his skin crawl.

“you know what, i don’t even know why i thought i could have a simple conversation with you without wanting to murder you. your parents invited us for dinner this weekend, so act accordingly.” izana informed you before leaving, heading back downstairs.

“got it! i’ll make sure that they don’t find out about your secret fuck buddy lover that you’re two-timing with, lord kurokawa.” you said in a mocking voice, knowing how much he probably wanted to kill himself right now because you wouldn’t let him hear the end of it.

you didn’t know why the situation with izana and his mistress got you so riled up.

you knew that he’s not in love with you nor are you in love with him.

yet, the idea of him with another woman made you furious.

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prince-kallisto · 3 months

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Crowley’s Opening Prologue Speech Comparisons: Manga vs Game

Now that I got my hands on the official English translation of the first volume of the Heartslabyul manga, I have collected yet another edition of Crowley’s opening speech haha!

The official translation is on the left (apologies for the poor photo quality), and the popular fan translation is on the right. I included the fan translation because many have us have relied on the wonderful work of the manga translators, so I thought it would be nice to compare the two ٩( 'ω' )و

The official manga translation reads “Ah…my cherished benefactor. Wicked bloom that doth nobly enthrall…thou art the fairest one of all. Magic mirror, on the wall. Who is the…”

The fan translation reads “Ah, my loveliest highness…Dignified in all your nobility, a most wicked flower. You are truly the fairest of them all. Mirror, mirror, on the wall, reveal this to me. Of this world, who is…”

I put the Japanese text and the official English translation of the in-game lines. The English game translation reads “Ah, my dear esteemed benefactor…My proud, beautiful flower of evil. You are truly the fairest one of all. O magic mirror, thy wisdom I entreat…reveal unto me the visage I seek…”

Since I cannot read Japanese, nor have I been able to find what the Japanese version of the manga says, I cannot attest to the “accuracy” of these lines, or if there’s a flexibility to how Crowley’s lines can be translated. Perhaps the manga adjusted the end of Crowley’s speech to be slightly shorter to save on space? (The Twisted Wonderland novel does not have this speech by the way, at least to my knowledge)

The official manga translation seems to value the rhythm of the words (enthrall, all, wall), and having Crowley speak in an archaic form, with “doth” and “thou art.”

I’d like to add that “enthrall” refers to charm or being spellbound attention-wise. But the archaic version of the word also refers to being bound in slavery. Since the manga translates Crowley with archaic terms, I thought this would be interesting to point out! Perhaps he is “enslaved” by his benefactors beauty, or perhaps in a more literal sense?

Both the EN game and manga seem to keep the identity of the person Crowley is speaking to gender neutral, using “benefactor.”

Crowley’s relationship with his benefactor very very subtly shifts between the game and the manga, but it’s essentially the same thing with different language used. The game calls them his “dear esteemed benefactor,” as in respect or admire. But the manga uses “cherished benefactor,” as if this is someone that Crowley loves dearly and holds them close to his heart. The game does say “dear,” but it somehow feels a little more direct in the manga haha because he’s not just referring to his respect/admiration, but maybe it’s just me. But the game also implies this, with him saying “MY proud, beautiful flower of evil.”

I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts about this! If any of y’all can read Japanese and can compare this to the original game text, I would be honored to know about this as well! \(//∇//)\ Does anyone have a preferred translation either? I really like the game translation, but the official manga with the archaic speech is personally growing on me!

Edit: Part 2 for the ending part of this same prologue speech

#twisted wonderland #twst #twst analysis #dire crowley #twst dire crowley #twst Crowley #twst manga #kallistopost

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jolynejay · 10 months

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I think Ch. 7/4 may have just given us both Crowley's identity as well as the identity of his "dear esteemed benefactor"

Obvs. Spoilers Ahead in this analysis and speculative hypothesis (which will link the prologue to the current events in Ch. 7):

This moment is the moment that sent me down this rabbit hole:

General Lilia essentially calling Lady Malenore Briar Country's "most evil" princess.

I went over the prologue again semi-recently to see if the knowledge we have gathered since the start of the game recontextulizes some things. And while the purpose of the analysis then was different, what I did take special note of was that Crowley is speaking to a different but very specific person. To quote the man himself (from the English version):

"Ah, my dear esteemed benefactor...

My proud, beautiful flower of evil.

You are truly the fairiest one of all."

The way Crowley addresses this person is very interesting because it at once seems very subservient and almost intimate.

But what is even more interesting is the original Japanese phrasing. I will go through the lines one by one to point out the notable details:

ああ‥‥‥愛しい我が君

"愛しい" (itoshii) is generally used to describe something that is lovely, dear. "我が君" (waga kimi) is generally understood to mean "my lord/ruler/master". The translation as "my dear esteemed benefactor" is... alright, though it does seem to detract a bit from the portrayal of this person as someone that has a lot of power over Crowley.

What I'd like to note though is that since Japanese is a very context dependent language this line might also be read a very different way: if "kimi" was used in the context that Crowley knows this person very well, being allowed to address them directly like this... then the line could also be read as Crowley calling this person "My beloved." There is still the underlying power dynamic underneath but it is more finely tuned and something that reminds me more of a pair of royals.

This would certainly not be the first way for someone to understand this line but subtext and double meanings can reveal a lot.

気高く麗しい悪の華

Notable here is mainly that Crowley is using a lot of archaic words to describe the person he is speaking to (e.g. using the kanji "華" instead of the modern "花" - both pronounced "hana," meaning flower). This may indicate that this person is of a people whose culture does not move as fast as the rest of the world's - still bound to old ways of speaking and thinking.

貴女こそが世界で一番美しい

Now, this last line is spicy. The English version of this line is pretty gender neutral after all - the fairest of them all. But what the original line makes very explicit is that Crowley is talking to/about a woman.

"貴女" (anata) - not "貴方" (anata), not "我が君" (waga kimi) but "貴女"

Crowley is addressing a noble woman directly in a manner that implies they are of equal standing. Like a husband addressing his wife.

Now let's circle back to that conversation Lilia, Silver, Sebek and co. are having about Malenore for a minute.

Because what Lilia also calls Malenore is this:

Malenore is the only daughter to Queen Maleficia and she the ruling Lady of "Wild Rose Castle" (野ばら城). Which is known to Silver only as "Black Scale Castle" (黒鱗城).

In other words, Malenore is one of the most powerful noble women in the Twisted Wonderland, she is strongly associated with with Wild Roses/ Briar Roses, and on top of that described as the "most evil" princess by her own general (whether in jest or not is of little consequence).

And this description should ring very familiar after going over Crowley's introductory monolog. A noble, beautiful "Flower of Evil" as it were.

But if that is the truth, then the familiar way Crowley addresses Malenore can only mean that Crowley's true identity is Malenore's husband. Who else would be allowed to speak to her im such an intimate and familiar manner.

Malenore's husband whose status hasn't actually been confirmed, other than he is missing in some capacity. And while I have seen a many transcriptions of his name, no one seems to have gotten it right yet:

"竜眠公レヴァーン"

The Sleeping Dragon Lord Raven

And what is the associated animal of our dear Night Raven's headmaster?

A crow.

A corvid.

A raven.

Crowley did always had something of the mad hatter to him, didn't he? And he might just have something with a raven and a writing desk..

After all, a raven is nevar the same front to back as back to front.

And thus, at the end, we have the lost parents of a little dragon, summoning a human with no magical ability to this Twisted Wonderland - a human that cannot be influenced by blot.

Curious, curious...

Curious indeed...

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland spoilers #twst #twst malleus #twst maleficia #twst malenore #twst crowley #twst raven #twst theory #twst analysis #jo's theory corner #this game is making me go insane #my conspiracy board is growing so muchhh #twst lilia #lilia vanrouge #sebek zigvolt #twst sebek #twst silver

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sleepless-crows · 1 year

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the way greed is a big theme in the grisha trilogy. we even have the quote "what is infinite? the universe and the greed of men." and how with the crows, as much as we joke about them doing it for the money, they aren't greedy. kaz goes on the ice court heist to seek revenge. inej goes on it for her freedom and those of others. matthias and nina were bound by honor for the most part. jesper may have needed the money but he isn't greedy for it. and same goes with wylan. but we can see how much greed indirectly influenced them to be in those positions.

as much as inej said that greed was kaz's god. it really isn't. he works for justice, for revenge. against whom? pekka rollins. the one who shows greed more than kaz ever will. pekka duped two young boys and countless many others out of their money, and some out of their lives. he did all the dirty work for the money. and kaz dedicated his life to avenging jordie and later making sure people like pekka don't do it to anyone else. and he goes on the heist for the money, not because of his greed, but to seek vengeance for what greed has done to this world.

the villain in inej's story is tante heleen. through inej, we see how people like tante heleen care about money more than anything else. she makes sure the girls in the menagerie never earn out of their indentures. she physically abuses the girls and then tells them she has to take from the money that they earn whenever there's blood on their bedsheets. and the second that kaz bought out inej to work under per haskell, tante heleen didn't even care and let inej go because she was given a sum. and she even taunts inej that she'll have her back because she knows she can earn from her. she's incredibly vain and greedy and i'm glad inej stole her diamond necklace in the ice court.

jesper's encounter with greed is probably the most common in ketterdam. people in ketterdam feed off of greed and all the dirty desires of the people. jesper's fallen into a lot of debt because of the casinos scattered all throughout ketterdam. and gambling houses are such a dirty means of profit but that's what ketterdam thrives off.

wylan, on the other hand, was disowned by van eck because of his dyslexia, because van eck didn't believe that wylan could properly carry on his legacy if he couldn't read. van eck goes to such severe means to build his empire, to earn as much as he can, as it is the religion of ketterdam. van eck ordered two people to kill wylan and drive him out to keep his reputation clean because if the merchant council only knew his dishonest ways, he would be kicked out and lose everything. he manipulates kaz into thinking he wants to save the world when he would gladly bring it to chaos if it meant he would have the power and the control. and his greedy and selfish ways are how he falls. and wylan helps bring him down.

nina and matthias are the most noble of them all. they went on the heist for both their people to be saved from the dangers parem could cause. but we can trace their place in the crows back to when they met. he was a druskelle and she was a grisha. a generations long prejudice, a war they've always had to face, because of the incredibly warped mindset of the fjerdans. as matthias says, what must it feel like to worship djel, knowing that he gave gifts to another? grisha power could be djel's hand and maybe the otkazat'sya were jealous and couldn't wrap it around their heads. and so with that came greed for control, greed for their god's favor to the point that they've missed what djel truly stood for. trying to justify all inherently evil actions they had to take when it all stemmed from envy and greed.

the greed of men is infinite, ancient, and common. i just find it intriguing how the crows are always described as criminals who will do whatever it takes for the right price but they are the farthest from greedy. they were shaped by greed, not their greed, but the greed that inhabits this world. and throughout the duology, we see how they all work against it in the end.

#grishaverse #six of crows #soc #shadow and bone #crooked kingdom #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #jesper fahey #wylan van eck #nina zenik #matthias helvar #i dont even know if i understand myself i just had this random thought and i've been trying to write this for hours #well 🤷‍♀️ if it doesnt make sense it probably doesnt

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faefeedee · 3 months

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I can see it clearly some evil feeder slowly shaping you coaxing you to be lazier. Grabbing things for you that they don’t need to. Leaving you treats in areas of the house you go through. As you get wider and heavier making spaces narrower and creating corridors between furniture wide enough to fit through but not comfortably. Setting up a smaller and smaller area of mobility for you until your so hopelessly out of space. Cruel pointy bits and tight spaces if you want to get to anything other than the kitchen, living room or the bedroom. The comfy chair, couch and bed your only solace from achy painful treks at such a heavy weight. You’ll soon forget what comfortable mobility is. You’ll start to ask your feeder to get things and hate movement and standing up. To be crueler the best most tasty food and your favorite hobbies and movies/shows are set up in the shrinking area of mobility between bed and couch. The treks to the kitchen are for more agile people like your feeder now. You start to truly dread walks beyond 10 feet. Humiliating treks beyond that leaves you huffing and puffing. Your world an endless buffet of grazing and guzzling down snacks/candy/junk food with enormous meals that you mindless devour. You’ll come to dread being empty unfed. Being engorged and sleeping off food comas your only joy as you slowly melt as you grow. I like to think right as your near immobile is when your cruel feeder reverses things. Suddenly walk ways are cleared and help withheld cruelly. Insisted that you go for walks across the house no matter how achy or painful. Your forced to waddle across the hallway now lined with mirrors your blissful food drunk state withheld and cruel groped pokes and slaps highlight where you’ve done the most damage to your figure. Then your feeder will make you walk or try to run on a treadmill until you beg it to stop your stamina long gone. Or he’ll make you walk to the mailbox or some simple task like that to remind you it’s too late. Your gone a gelatinous butterball has replaced you. All you’ll get to console yourself is more food more treats. You’ll beg to be fed to have your only joy back as you eat yourself bed bound. Or maybe some sad spark of rebellion or resistance will cause you to struggle your way through your bedroom door to the couch. A useless sweaty mess panting just to prove to yourself you’ll never be immobile. The look in your feeder’s evil eyes let’s you know it’s futile. Your only being allowed to because your suffering is so tasty. All the same you do nothing to resist stuffing your wide fat face. The humiliation of your fate not lost on you as watch yourself become an after school special warning on extreme obesity. Your deviance turns into you sitting up on your own in your bed by yourself. The tv and your thing suddenly are in the bedroom one day and you just sit up as your feeder puts piles of pillows to help you sit up long term and you start to dig into the massive tray on your belly. You realize the mirrors from that hallway are here and you have to watch yourself mindlessly eat your days away as the bed slowly shrinks under you as the days start to blur into eternal indulgence punctuated by only cruel remarks and harsh slaps or pokes. Your helpless as your feeder on occasion uses photos and videos of you to remind you of your old self. Maybe helps you try to stand to show you that you can’t. Reminds you that they’d have to knock down walls to get you out of the house now.

ok so where is this evil feeder bc i need him like rn 😵‍💫

#asks

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koishua · 7 days

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queen of tears spoilers!!

identity is above all else, it seems like. ep 14 of queen of tears ruined me in all the good ways. when the question is "do you want to die as yourself?" vs "are you willing to live at the cost of who you are as a person?", the ultimate answer hae-in gives is no. she'd rather come to peace with the prospect of death with all of her memories of loving and, in turn, being loved coming with her. the death of memories is more painful than the death of her life itself. hyunwoo begging and sobbing in her arms does not deter her, however much she wants to keep on living. as herself. keep on living as the hong hae-in who loved dearly and who was loved, desperately so.

a loss of identity is death to everything that ever had a hand in helping her become who she is now. this brings me to the phrase "death is for the living". the dead do not mourn or face the aftermath of their last breath in the world of the living. the living, those who are left behind, are the ones who truly know what death is. so it is painful when hyunwoo, the man who isn't struck with the terminal illness bound to take her life any time soon, begs almost on his knees for hae-in, the woman who's counting the seconds left she has to live, to give up her sense of self. it's understandable how both of them stand strong in their desires. one fears becoming a stranger to all that she loves and one fears becoming familiar to life without the one he cannot live without. so he does everything in his power to have her take the surgery (all effort is in vain, she will not give up her identity).

i love this episode so much. im still only halfway through it but i had to give my two cents. such a beautifully tragic dilemma of two people who love. one loves by wanting to remember, one loves by giving everything to make her live. have a taste of love again for the first time. he says that he'll be the first person she'll meet and get to know again after the surgery. that he will still be there for her when she wakes up a completely different, empty, and lost person. he wants her to live, does not care if she'll ever even be able to reconnect with him ever again. he believes that she deserves to wake up another day and smile. to still be able to make new memories.

in the end they're both very selfish people who love selflessly.

edit: help me my stomach hurts from laughing so hard oml not him using his face and body card to annoy her into living. using jealousy as a mean to motivate her to take the freaking surgery and live ugh im in tears ahhahahah i love how if she doesn't become convinced the first few times when he's nice, he just intentionally pisses her off or annoys her into doing things to help herself 😭😭 thr only way to get hae-in motivated to live: make her mad at himself and have her do beneficial things out of sheer SPITE

edit 2: NO WHAT THE FOUK JUST HAPPENED POOR HYUNWOO OH MY GOD the way he lost all strength in his knees my god he crumbled in front of her feet he got a taste of what losing her felt like with that massive crash im still in shock i can't imagine having to witness that and trying to get through the car window to help save her and then not find her there?? and then she appears unscathed thankfully and he feels like a bucket of ice cold water drops over his head??? man they have to be so much more careful from now on bc the amount of yandereism the other guy is exhibiting ugh and the evil mother saying she'll help him out with "i can't stop till the moment i die" wtf??? OMG SHE'S GETTING THE SURGERY WHAT WHAT WHAT "i promised i would never make you cry after we get married" WOMAN HE'S BEEN SOBBING HIS SOUL OUT EVERY EPISODE SINCE!!!! 😭😭 ALSO NOOOOO NOT MY BOY SOOCHEOL GOING THROUGH IT AGAIN I CANT TAKE IT PLS MAKE HIM HAPPY WITH HIS LITTLE FAMILY I WILL CRYYYYYYYY he's gonna have MAJOR trust issues lmfao

#tp #cinema time!#queen of tears #my gut is telling me she won't forget a single thing lmfao #NOOOOOOOOOOOOO WTF WTF WTF WTF WTF WTF WTF WTF #WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK NO NO NO NO NO NO NO #I KNEW IT THINGS WERE GOING WAY TOO SMOOTHLY I FUCKING KNEW IT YOU FUCKING BIIIITCHHHH YOU ASSHOLE YOU #OH MY GOD YOU EVIL FUCKING GREMLIN I CANT I CANT I KNEW IT I WAS TOO OPTIMISTIC I FUCKING KNEW IT #HAE-IN MY GIRLIE POP PLEASE I KNOW YOU CAN RECOGNIZE THE EVIL IN HIS EYES THAT AIN'T YOUR MAN #the end of this episode is fr hyunwoo's villain arc he's had eNOUGH #yoon eunseok you fucking bitch fight me

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talonabraxas · 5 months

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Thoth: The Atlantean Talon Abraxas

I, Thoth, the Atlantean,

give of my wisdom,

give of my knowledge,

give of my power.

Freely I give to the children of men.

Give that they, too, might have wisdom

to shine through the world from the veil of the night.

Wisdom is power and power is wisdom,

one with each other, perfecting the whole.

Be thou not proud, O man, in thy wisdom.

Discourse with the ignorant as well as the wise.

If one comes to thee full of knowledge,

listen and heed, for wisdom is all.

Keep thou not silent when evil is spoken for Truth

like the sunlight shines above all.

He who over-steppeth the Law shall be punished,

for only through Law comes the freedom of men.

Cause thou not fear for fear is a bondage,

a fetter that binds the darkness to men.

Follow thine heart during thy lifetime.

Do thou more than is commanded of thee.

When thou hast gained riches,

follow thou thine heart,

for all these are of no avail if

thine heart be weary.

Diminish thou not the time of

following thine heart.

It is abhorred of the soul.

They that are guided go not astray,

but they that are lost cannot find a straight path.

If thou go among men, make for thyself,

Love, the beginning and end of the heart.

If one cometh unto thee for council,

let him speak freely,

that the thing for which he hath

come to thee may be done.

If he hesitates to open his heart to thee,

it is because thou, the judge, doeth the wrong.

Repeat thou not extravagant speech,

neither listen thou to it,

for it is the utterance of one

not in equilibrium.

Speak thou not of it,

so that he before thee may know wisdom.

Silence is of great profit.

An abundance of speech profiteth nothing.

Exalt not thine heart above the children of men,

lest it be brought lower than the dust.

If thou be great among men,

be honoured for knowledge and gentleness.

If thou seeketh to know the nature of a friend,

ask not his companion,

but pass a time alone with him.

Debate with him,

testing his heart by his words and his bearing.

That which goeth into the store-house must come forth,

and the things that are thine must be shared with a friend.

Knowledge is regarded by the fool as ignorance,

and the things that are profitable are to him hurtful.

He liveth in death.

It is therefore his food.

The wise man lets his heart overflow

but keeps silent his mouth.

O man, list to the voice of wisdom;

list to the voice of light.

Mysteries there are in the Cosmos

that unveiled fill the world with their light.

Let he who would be free from the bonds of darkness

first divine the material from the immaterial,

the fire from the earth;

for know ye that as earth descends to earth,

so also fire ascends unto

fire and becomes one with fire.

He who knows the fire that is within

himself shall ascend unto the eternal fire

and dwell in it eternally.

Fire, the inner fire,

is the most potent of all force,

for it overcometh all things and

penetrates to all things of the Earth.

Man supports himself only on that which resists.

So Earth must resist man else he existeth not.

All eyes do not see with the same vision,

for to one an object appears of

one form and color

and to a different eye of another.

So also the infinite fire,

changing from color to color,

is never the same from day to day.

Thus, speak I, THOTH, of my wisdom,

for a man is a fire burning bright

through the night;

never is quenched in the veil of the darkness,

never is quenched by the veil of the night.

Into men's hearts, I looked by my wisdom,

found them not free from the bondage of strife.

Free from the toils, thy fire, O my brother,

lest it be buried in the shadow of night!

Hark ye, O man, and list to this wisdom:

where do name and form cease?

Only in consciousness, invisible,

an infinite force of radiance bright.

The forms that ye create by brightening

they vision are truly effects that follow thy cause.

Man is a star bound to a body,

until in the end,

he is freed through his strife.

Only by struggle and toiling thy

utmost shall the star within thee

bloom out in new life.

He who knows the commencement of all things,

free is his star from the realm of night.

Remember, O man, that all which exists

is only another form of that which exists not.

Everything that has being is passing into yet other

being and thou thyself are not an exception.

Consider the Law, for all is Law.

Seek not that which is not of the Law,

for such exists only in the illusions of the senses.

Wisdom cometh to all her children

even as they cometh unto wisdom.

All through the ages,

the light has been hidden.

Awake, O man, and be wise.

Deep in the mysteries of life have I traveled,

seeking and searching for that which is hidden.

List ye, O man, and be wise.

Far 'neath the earth crust,

in the Halls of Amenti,

mysteries I saw that are hidden from men.

Oft have I journeyed the deep hidden passage,

looked on the Light that is Life among men.

There 'neath the flowers of Life ever living,

searched I the hearts and the secrets of men.

Found I that man is but living in darkness,

light of the great fire is hidden within.

Before the Lords of hidden Amenti

learned I the wisdom I give unto men.

Masters are they of the great Secret Wisdom,

brought from the future of infinity's end.

Seven are they, the Lords of Amenti,

overlords they of the Children of Morning,

Suns of the Cycles, Masters of Wisdom.

Formed are not they as the children of men?

THREE, FOUR, FIVE AND SIX, SEVEN,

EIGHT, NINE are the titles of the Masters of men.

Far from the future, formless yet forming,

came they as teachers for the children of men.

Live they forever, yet not of the living,

bound not to life and yet free from death.

Rule they forever with infinite wisdom,

bound yet not bound to the dark Halls of Death.

Life they have in them, yet life that is not life,

free from all are the Lords of the ALL.

Forth from them came forth the Logos,

instruments they of the power o'er all.

Vast is their countenance,

yet hidden in smallness,

formed by a forming, known yet unknown.

THREE holds the key of all hidden magic,

creator he of the halls of the Dead;

sending forth power, shrouding with darkness,

binding the souls of the children of men;

sending the darkness, binding the soul force;

director of negative to the children of men.

FOUR is he who looses the power.

Lord, he, of Life to the children of men.

Light is his body, flame is his countenance;

freer of souls to the children of men.

FIVE is the master, the Lord of all magic -

Key to The Word that resounds among men.

SIX is the Lord of Light, the hidden pathway,

path of the souls of the children of men.

SEVEN is he who is Lord of the vastness,

master of Space and the key of the Times.

EIGHT is he who orders the progress;

weighs and balances the journey of men.

NINE is the father, vast he of countenance,

forming and changing from out of the formless.

Meditate on the symbols I give thee.

Keys are they, though hidden from men.

Reach ever upward, O Soul of the morning.

Turn thy thoughts upward to Light and to Life.

Find in the keys of the numbers I bring thee,

light on the pathway from life unto life.

Seek ye with wisdom.

Turn thy thoughts inward.

Close not thy mind to the flower of Light.

Place in thy body a thought-formed picture.

Think of the numbers that lead thee to Life.

Clear is the pathway to he who has wisdom.

Open the door to the Kingdom of Light.

Pour forth thy flame as a Sun of the morning.

Shut out the darkness and live in the day.

Take thee, O man! As part of thy being,

the Seven who are but are not as they seem.

Opened, O man! Have I my wisdom.

Follow the path in the way I have led.

Masters of Wisdom,

SUN of the MORNING LIGHT and LIFE

to the children of men.

--The Key of Wisdom

The Emerald Tablets of Thoth

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duncanor · 8 months

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WAIT PLEASE CONTINUE TALKING ABOUT THE LEGATO BDSM AESTHETIC FROM THOSE TAGS IM SO DEEPLY INTERESTED (I care legato so much)

First off, I’m truly sorry for how long I took to answer ya. I often forget I even got an Ask-box ahah!

As to my opinion on why “The Leather/BDSM-like aesthetic is important to Legato’s character”...

I know my original post was a bit vague but it’s truly less about how “cool” he looks, and more about the symbolism of it. Legato outfit is outwardly menacing. It's a silent threat. Similar to those birds who evolve to have brighter colors to warn off predators.

And sure the metal skull looks sick, but it isn't as bone chilling (ah-ah). When he's first introduced, everything just Stop so you can take it in the Danger reeking from him. He’s bound by leather straps, got giant metal spikes coming out of his shoulder like some sort of fucked up pauldron, as well as bits of a real human skull directly sewn into the hard leather of his coat.

(Adding to that my UNPROVEN suspicions that the skull belongs to Legato’s abuser..)

And that’s just his outfit. He’s surrounded by similar things. His weapon is truly the less subtle example of this.

A mix of different truly lethal weapons in the form of an Iron-maiden/sex-toy/stress-Toy. The face of the weapon bound in leather with only one of her eyes being visible. (similar to how Legato usually only got one eye visible because of his hair).

It’s blatant and disturbing. It’s depraved Flesh and deadly Metal.

Then, he gets his spine broken by Knives. And where does that put him?

In a metal sarcophagus pretty similar to (once again) an Iron-maiden. He stays there for the most of the story. Bound to it, stuck, mangled. Yet he’s still as terrifying as ever if not more. Sometimes portrayed similarly to a butterfly cocoon, waiting to hatch and release something more powerful..

And finally, his resident-evil goons.

They aren’t really interesting nor are they developed as anything more than Legato’s barely human servants. They got no dialog, no personality, no free will.. Nothing but an imposing mass of flesh in hard leather binding them, blinding them. They look like they come straight from an Hellraiser movie.

Even Legato’s powers themselves are a manifestation of his trauma. They’re metal wire used to fully control bodies against the will of their owner. Making them slaves and most often than not leaving them as a mass of mangled flesh.

Even Legato’s name itself meaning “bound” in Italian. (Thanks to @jackalandhare for this information btw)

In conclusion,

Legato's whole aesthetic reeks of his trauma. It's suffocating, eerie, menacing and binding in seemingly debilitating ways at times, as well as kinda sexual in undertones. It’s Legato abuse and pain on display. And I think all of these details, this aesthetic is a big insight on Legato Bluesummers as a person and what he went and is going through.

HOWEVER, that is not to say Stampede approach will be uninteresting! The symbolism is still strong with Orange. They tend to channel it through a more solid World Building.

We know they planned to add lore on colored hair in link with sexual slavery. And the design of the metal skull as well as his arm, probably implies some sort of body modification more similar to the other Eye of Michael experiments.

I just think it’s a bit unlucky that the change in aesthetic made us lose this much symbolism wise..

#trigun #trimax #tristamp #legato bluesummers #trigun stampede #character analysis #dunkask #sorry again for how long it took to answer #I fought for my life with tumblr deleting that bad boy 4 times lmao #alright alright #shoutout to the legato enjoyers for the last screenshot #they were nice enough to send me one #legato trigun #Legato #legato #trigun maximum

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the-crow-binary · 9 months

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Alright, it's time.

As someone who is pro-"adaptations should differ in some ways from the original material" because that's basically the definition of "adaptation", NFCV is a good example of the limit it has to have. Or, at least, the limits I have.

When one wants to adapt a story from one media to another, sacrifices are bound to be made. Changes are meant to happen. You cannot put, in your adaptation, every single detail the original material had. It would be too long, you need to choose the most important parts of the original media in order to make it shine properly. Wich means some characters will have to be erased, some plots too, all in order for the adaptation to offer a fluent and enjoyable experience for everyone. Even those who already know the original material. Of course, those people will sometimes feel sad about a part or a character they really liked but didn't see in the adaptation... but that doesn't make the adaptation bad.

In my opinion, what makes an adaptation good, is when it respects the core of the original work. It can be many things (and it's multifactorial). The message it wants to pass on, it's universe, it's characters, it's lore... it varies from work to work (you can have work focusing on a main character's story, in this case making an adaptation without this character doesn't make sense. It can be a work telling the stories of a world, in this case, with no main protagonist, an adaptation can change the characters...). You can add many changes to a work you are adapting to a new media (or new audience), but it stops being a faithful or "good" adaptation the moment you erase the core of the original work.

And that's why Netflixvania is not a good adaptation.

Ignoring the questionable writing, the "CHURCH BAD" theme, the overdose of curses and gross dialogues (and so many other nasty writing stuff)... Netflixvania misses the point of the franchise it's adapting entirely. And the few easter eggs here and there are not enough to make up for it.

You can make Alucard bisexual. You can make the Belmont clan a noble family in Trevor's era. You can make Isaac black. Those are details that does not affect the core of the franchise. It might make a few grind their teeth, but that's all. No, the problems go way deeper than that.

Castlevania's core is it's themes. It's lore. Castlevania is the story of a seemingly endless cycle of revenge, tragedy and wars. Of generational trauma, with the Belmonts fated to hunt the night and kill Dracula centuries after centuries with no escape. It's this theme of having to fight evil all the time because it will never truly go away, with or without the Belmont clan. Dracula is not just a vampire king ruling over vampires, he's the Demon King. He's the Dark Lord. He's Chaos personified, with Death as his servant and confidant. He rules over so much more than just vampires (and there is more than two humans who swore their lives to him). And he brought this fate upon himself.

The Belmonts are not just a clan. They are humanity's symbol of hopes, dreams and strenghth. They are total opposites to and complete Dracula. The Belmont-Dracula duality is essential to the Castlevania franchise. They are the pillars of Castlevania.

What themes does NFCV has? Church bad. Humans bad. Christianity dumb. A bit of father-son tragedy.

The only common theme is this father-son tragedy, but it is barely touched (we don't even have the time to fully appreciate Dracula and Alucard's relationship before and after they first fought.) and it became one of the main themes of the cartoon. And it would've been fine... if the adaptation didn't threw out the window what made Castlevania Castlevania in the same breath.

Trevor doesn't have any duality with Dracula here. We barely mention the fact Leon went to Transylvania to hunt Dracula down. We don't feel any deep connection, when in the games, Leon was literally Dracula's friend. They worked together, fought together, they were unstoppable together, and when Mathias turned, he offered Leon eternity by his side. He cared deeply. And Leon decided... no. His own morals, his dead betrothed's wishes, they came first. And so came these lines from Leon:

"You have become a cursed being and I will never forgive you. This whip and my kinsmen will destroy you someday. From this day on, the Belmont Clan will hunt the night."

And this is why Trevor had to be the one to kill Dracula. Alucard still could've had his tragic moment, seeing his father dying by the hands of his friend is really messed up, and it would've make a potential SoTN adaptation where he would have to kill Dracula by himself this time more powerful (we'll get to Nocturne in due time.). But it isn't what happened. Trevor barely participated in the fight. It was a Dracula VS Alucard starring Trevor and Sypha.

Trevor isn't Dracula's friend, but this promise, this curse Leon put on his own family so long ago, it created a kind of bond beetween Dracula and Belmonts that would last for centuries. I talked about them, about how deep it goes, here and here. Dracula created the Belmonts as they are now. The Belmonts created Dracula as he is now, too.

NFCV doesn't care about that. NFCV turned Dracula into a vampire lord not even capabe of keeping his own generals in line. NFCV belittled the Belmont clan's importance (one brief scene where the court (mostly Carmilla) is like "oh, what, a Belmont? one of those vampire hunters? alive? wtf" is not enough). NFCV belittled Trevor himself (a few nice-looking fight scenes is not enough). It belittled the Vampire Killer (the most powerful Castlevania weapon, created with alchemy and infused with the soul of Leon's betrothed. there is so much tragic story potential around this weapon alone). It belittled EVERYTHING it took from the games. And I haven't even touch Isaac and Hector (they deserve their own post), who have been done so, so dirty.

NFCV ignored so many things that gave Castlevania his identity that it just became it's own thing, wich butcher the franchise's name. So many NFCV fans don't know the games even exist, or mix it up with the cartoon when they have little to nothing in common (Lords of Shadow had more in common than NFCV. And it was not insulting to the OG universe). And let's not get started on people praising the show for being "better" and how some character got "improved" when in reality, it's written by people who don't get said characters or games and stop at the surface. Just like they stop at NFCV's surface. That's why they think it's good. (loving a show doesn't mean said show is good, sorry)

I used to think "it's okay if the adaptation is not faithful, as long as it's good/enjoyable". And you know what? This kind of mentality is what lead to NFCV. I no longer stand by it. (maybe I should thank NFCV for making me see my limits)

And that's not because I'm a purist. As I said earlier, I'm all for adaptations making changes. But I am also all for respecting the source material as well ("respecting" just doesn't mean "doing everything exactly the way it was originally" to me, unlike... way too much people). And NFCV is not.

And as a show itself, ignoring the "adaptation" part? It's not that great either. If you get critical and think deeper about things, you'll start to see everything that is wrong. It's easier to ignore the problems and enjoy the parts you do like when you don't know the games. It's almost impossible to do when you do know and love the games. When you need to turn off your brain to truly enjoy a show, it's not the proof of a great writing.

But oh... That is only the first Netflixvania. :) This far, you can actually call it faithful to the games, compared to the soon to air Nocturne. :) (it actually hurts me to say)

You cannot look at the trailer and pretend it's even trying to be Castlevania. It's an original work who stole Castlevania's name and characters. With the first serie, you could've use the first, maybe the second season to pretend it was trying but "oh, the games don't have enough story to adapt" (shitty excuse btw). But here? Oh, no. No no no. It is NOT trying anything.

It happens during the french revolution, it seems it's gonna tackle racism and slavery (I do NOT trust the show to portray the french revolution correctly. nor racism. nor anything). Richter's tragedy is apparently going to revolve around the death of his mother, so you can say bye bye to the whole generational trauma and the weight of centuries of his family hunting Dracula (since it's not where NFCV went to begin with) and protecting the world now being on his shoulder and how it affects his psyche and- I mean DAMN. That is such a DOWNGRADE. But it's only the trailer. We'll have to wait for the whole season to air to see how bad it truly is. But I do not trust them to make Richter, one of the most beloved Castlevania characters, shine the way he deserves. I do not trust them to make Castlevania shine at all. Nothing this far can make a games' fan think of said games (probably because it's not for the games' fans.)

But we know it won't be about Richter anyway. Just like NFCV, it will be about everyone but the Belmont of the show. I mean it's logic, since it's the way NFCV went. At least that's coherent.

And everyone knows the sole reason why they went from ""CV3"" to ""RoB/SotN"" directly is because of Alucard, the true main character of NFCV. The trailer just dropped and you already have people asking where Alucard is.

There is so much details I could rant about. But this isn't about details (nor ranting, really). This isn't about every little thing that only makes the cartoon even more of an insult to the games (even if those details, piling up, ARE important). This is about the bigger picture. This is about Castlevania's heart getting crippled and shat on in favor of a pseudo-mature show getting off to his pseudo-deepness.

Games and shows are different medias and thus, are bound to have different ways to tell their stories. One is not lesser than the other. The Castlevania games have a story. It has a lore. It has themes. It's character have personnalities. But it's not a cartoon. It cannot show it by literally making the characters talking about how deep they are. They can't make cutscenes just to tell "I have a tragic backstory". It has to be shown in more subtle ways. It uses the decors. It uses the way the characters stand, or walk, or attack. It exploits the few cutscenes and dialogues to tell the most important informations. And yes, sometimes, it has to use the manual to give infos about the lore or characters. That is not a lesser way to do so. It's a way to adapt to the games' limits in order to tell their story. (also, CoD literally have two mangas to it's name. make your choice on wich version you like most)

There is so, so much potential in Castlevania. And if you get into the games, if you play them, if you just read the wiki or look at the posts of people talking about the lore, the characters, the games and analyzing them, you'll know... NFCV is a waste of an adaptation.

#castlevania #netflixvania #maybe people say castlevania has no story because lots of it is told in hints #and you have to actually think and make deductions instead of turning your brain off and eating solely what the games gave you #sigh. big. big sigh.

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