IT BEGIIIINS.

now that I can think semi-coherently again...whooooo's ready for Friday WEEHOO

Oops. It's a second headcanon compilation!

Don't worry, the next one will be back to our normal schedule of regular text posts and not headcanons

Masterpost

Ok but what if they all came back for chapter 7

woot woot Princess Hobie :D or maybe he’s a witch or smth idek at this point but he’s the prettiest in all the land

Bonus under the cut:

Without shading

+ outfit inspo:

gown (both of them combined)

necklace: (as you can see it was barely used as a reference 😭😭)

finger covers?? knuckle dusters?? idek

anyway noooo Tumblr ate the quality goddamnit

as always, constructive criticism and feedback are welcome and appreciated! <3

Slight volume warning

He was just excited to finally be invited to something :(

hey do you think we could petition the programmers and overall people who design Twisted Wonderland to make Yuu more prominent in the game?

we just did the Glorious Masquerade thing in eng twst, an event legit about magic vs no magic, and Yuu hardly had a part to play. I love this game man, it kills me inside we do so much nothing when at the literal beginning Yuu's called a beast tamer and mega important

my review of the fontaine archon quest act v:

i thought the sumeru story was sad. I THOUGHT THE SUMERU STORY WAS SAD

There’s actually a hidden meaning to Baru’s cryptarch title, Agonist, that’s not stated in the book. Yes, it’s explained she picked the name because it means “one who suffers”, and by god, she certainly suffers. But it’s also a term used in biochemistry, . It simply means a chemical that activates a receptor; for example, serotonin is an agonist for serotonin receptors. But there are two types of agonists - endogenous (ones that the body produces naturally), and exogenous (drugs). Keeping the serotonin example, the medication buspirone is a serotonin agonist, as it essentially tricks the receptors into thinking that it is serotonin.

And that’s just it! Baru is tricking the empire into thinking she’s faithful to them, that she’s a loyal agent. She’s doing the work they expect of her, and they are (hopefully) none the wiser. So when she betrays them, much like quitting a drug cold turkey, the empire is going to (again, hopefully) fall apart. I think this is an extremely clever hidden meaning, and since Seth Dickinson studied neuroscience, I think it’s safe to say they were aware of this definition when they gave the title to Baru.

[Watching.]

"Leo; Do you hear voices, by any chance?" "...Yes." "Ah, so that would be the Cobweb."

This phrase has been haunting my brain for weeks, so I figured I'd draw something about it.

Where there's food, there's Ruggie.😂

Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew. Meanwhile history is being made via everyone actually agreeing on something despite Idia being dragged into it yet again.

I love these guys, omg.

what about dangerously yours

My Nosferatu character Liêm, who’s just a funky lil’ man with some funky scary hands.

Current era + pre-Embrace (circa 1930s).

🔥 For the Masquerade series

so this has....apparently become a hot take in the recent times but

i think that disliking the masquerade series for its tone is something that is perfectly acceptable, even if said person is in love with the locked tomb.

i've seen bits of this debate here and there, and while i understand where the baru defenders are coming from, i sympathize more with the locked tomb people (and not just because i love the locked tomb!)

i baru post a lot. i've answered an ask about baru where the person asked me to give a recommendation for it based on liking the locked tomb. i gave my honest opinion there, and in tags elsewhere: recommending these series next to each other without appropriately warning the reader about the darker tone, themes, and narrative of baru is not only rude, it's negligent.

while i understand that tone does not a book make, it is also vital to a narrative, and i believe that baru and tlt differ greatly in tone, and that should be disclosed from the outset.

i don't have the post saved (and if i did, i wouldn't want to specifically call someone out anyway) but i saw someone sarcastically saying that "of course tone is more important than the similarities on a narrative level" (not a direct quote), as if tlt and baru are really that similar on a narrative level.

these are, of course, my opinions but i don't think they're similar narratively unless you count the most basic premise of "queer protagonist against imperialism". here's the thing (at the risk of being wrong on the internet)

The locked tomb is not focused solely on the Empire at a systemic level until bits of the second book and more dominantly the third book. Are there elements early on? yes. are they in your face, immediately relevant or a key aspect of the narrative, especially on a first read through? no! Baru kicks off with it. tlt's empire is not graphically homophobic. Baru's is, and it is fundamental to both her character and pieces of the narrative.

They're similar in the chivalrous figure dying at the end of the first book, they're similar in the weird brain stuff, in some of the weird bits, but at a fundamental level, Muir and Dickinson are telling stories of empire in different ways at different levels. Baru hates the Empire from the outset, is constantly working against it while she's working for it. Harrow and Gideon are not like this from the outset, and because those are the central characters for the opening two books, not the BoE, not the other Lyctors, it does change the narrative. resistance to the mechanisms of empire in tlt is not the focus from the outset (but definitely becomes more important as the larger story unfolds and we move outside the bubble of the nine houses)!

I understand the urge to defend Baru when people from the locked tomb fandom do read it on recommendation of it being similar to tlt and end up disliking it for how dark it is. i understand wanting the narrative to be spread despite how graphic it is, partially because that is the reality for a lot of people. i wholly acknowledge i'm speaking from a place of privilege in terms of violent homophobia like baru faces and as an american in a world that has been colonized by america and other wealthy nations, so i cannot fully identify with baru as a protagonist or those who associate on a deep level with her. if you do, i'm not saying that's bad or that you shouldn't recommend the book! i do, but i do so always with the caveat that it's dark and graphic and that the narrative is heavily centered in this darkness.

i think the masquerade series is a valuable series, but i think recommending it to locked tomb enjoyers and expecting them to love it because they love the locked tomb (and especially the critique of colonization that muir is building) or hounding on locked tomb enjoyers for not liking baru because of how graphic and violent it is can be uncomfortable and potentially triggering for a lot of people. tone is not everything, but it is key to enjoyment, and questioning why books are lumped together the way they are can be beneficial.

i remember finishing tyrant and reading the author's note dickinson left, where they state they're not sure when they'll finish the fourth book because the series is draining to write. i remember sympathizing to that, because reading it is draining. i mowed through the locked tomb books in a matter of days. each baru book took me months. the depth of the locked tomb is there i'm not saying it isn't, but baru's is like a painfully gaping wound from the outset, where tlt keeps it hidden until near the end of the first book

i'll end here by saying that both of these series are dear to my heart, and both sit in my top five favorite series of all time. i understand the urge to defend baru, who feels like an underdog compared to the largely more popular tlt, i tend to do it all the time. i do think, though, the conversation surrounding these two series and how they relate to each other can be better and more productive, and generally more generative in discussions of current advertising practices of "book similar to x book, so you'll like book!"

Never got the chance to say this from how busy I suddenly got, but I really want to say this about Glorious Masquerade.

I've played Twisted Wonderland since JP launch, and in that time, I can count only two times that I was sad to see an event or a campaign end. It was the Octavinelle chapter campaign and the first Beans Day event. I was sad for several reasons, one of them being that they were the very first events, and I found joy in them. But I also grew attached to Octavinelle and to Azul especially because of those events. After those events, I never cared about the other events enough to feel sadness over seeing them end. Many of them were fun, and I got to learn so much about the characters, but I never felt emotionally attached otherwise.

Halloween events had always irritated me for being too long. The first Halloween burnt out many fans, and I witnessed this firsthand in my servers and in Tumblr. So when I heard that Masquerade was going to last till December 1, I had an "ah shit here we go again" moment but in a tired way.

But Glorious Masquerade was different. For the first time after two years, I would be looking forward to a new part. For once, I did not mind that the event lasted for more than a month. It was painful to wait a week for a new update, and yet there was a thrill in waiting for a week. Because if it was a 2 day wait, I think it wouldn't be as enjoyable since those two days are used to process what just happened. I loved every single moment of the event. Of course, Azul being the SSR for the event made me enjoy it 100x more than usual, but I was able to enjoy everything. I loved that moment when Jamil and co teased Trein about his wife. I loved learning that Riddle used to cut his hair himself until Cater stopped him. I loved seeing Epel use his UM to protect Riddle. I loved seeing Ruggie and Jamil use their UMs to use other students as bait. I loved Malleus telling Rollo that he views his magic as a gift that he can choose to share with the people he cares about. I loved Rollo and his complex relationship with magic and mages. I loved the high stakes that this event had. I loved the way Neige and Chenya protected Rook & Epel and Riddle & Deuce. I loved the concept of the extinct flower sucking up magic until a mage has no more. I loved even the diary scene that would have been cringe normally but was somehow endearing to see. I loved Azul finally revealing his UM incantation. I loved the rhythmic where Malleus, Azul, and Idia sang. I loved all the HoND references. I loved... everything. I was excited over every little thing, which I thought was not possible anymore after being exposed to TWST for so long.

When I reached the end of the Glorious Masquerade event, I felt so sad. I would not be looking forward to a new update for this story. I felt a sadness that I hadn't felt in more than two years, and I almost wish that this was the endless Halloween event because I wished the moments that Glorious Masquerade gave me lasted forever.

So as we finally move to new events, I just want to say thank you TWST for giving us such a wonderful story. The writing was amazing and spectacular, to the point that it beats out some of the main story episodes. I had some of the most fun I ever had this year thanks to this event. I genuinely enjoyed this event. As Diasomnia chapter arrives, I just want to say that I am really looking forward to what TWST has in store for us, and I can't wait for a very thrilling episode.

finding out starfall is also a thing in ac0tar is hilarious bc i read things like starfall ball and im like damn what’s happening in dorne