this panel from the world guide of falin being surrounded by other girls while laios is all alone kills me because. that's it. that's the key difference in their journeys.
as laios states himself, he left the village in order to create a home for him and falin elsewhere. a home that won't collapse due to others' hatred and fears like their old home did, a home where they are loved and accepted unconditionally. but as he soon found out, even before earning money, or having walls surrounding him and a roof above his head- what he so earnestly desired was to meet other people who will accept him for who he is as well. instead, he kept being tormented by those around him, shunned and sneered at. his loneliness quickly became all-consuming until he truly had nothing left except for the monsters in the pages of his book, but even that became a target of mockery and destroyed. that's why ever since the day he left the village, he never felt that he truly made the right choice. so he kept running away: unable to resist and unable to accpet.
and an ocean away from him there was his sister, who never managed to fully fit in herself. but unlike him, she met a person who became a home to her and learned what a true friendship was for the first time in her life. and laios clearly realizes that too when he finally sees falin and marcille together, he can tell his sister obtained the greatest treasure there is on her own- the exact thing he never managed to find anywhere himself, thus coming back empty-handed to the sister he left the village for.
but when you read this part of the manga, laios's focus is on falin's loneliness, not his own. he talks about how it hurts thinking about all those moments she had to spend alone because he wasn't there for her, so it almost sounds like he's the one who couldn't bear her suffering and therefore decided to not let her go again. but we do get a glimpse of their first meeting after that almost-decade long separation in the manga, and then we see more of that in the world guide and daydream hour- and it becomes abundantly clear that it was falin who was trying to protect and save him from this pit of loneliness and depression he was in.
so instead of just doing his best to atone for leaving her behind in the village and making sure she is never lonely again, it might also be that laios was desperately clinging to the one person in the world he felt that accepted and loved him unconditionally. those words he used to describe his motivation to stay by falin's side are the exact words she would've used as well; she couldn't bear leaving him behind in this state. in a sense, they were each other's shackles.
but then she did. she died for him and their friends, and ironically enough, it was by leaving him alone like this that he was finally able to stand on his own and put his full trust in others. to have the courage to reveal who he is and give others the opportunity to accept him after such a long time of hiding. it was a long journey, but his hiding finally came to an end when he faced the others after shedding his monster form. and i love that the person who was falin's "home" all those years away from laios, marcille, became just as meaningful to him during their time separated from falin- the first one to find him and show him that he isn't alone anymore. just as he did for her.
so at the end of the story when falin talks about all the places she would like to go, it's not just that she wants to pursue her own dreams- but that she actually feels free to do so and go anywhere she desires. and one of the main reasons for that is that her brother finally found new people he wants to be with; his own home.
So…
okay but if you ever see a male creative who had a string of great work and then everything else he did was dogshit, go to the "personal life" part of his wikipedia and look at his relationships. you'll either find a major tragedy he didn't recover from (completely understandable) or, more likely, there was a woman in his life doing uncredited shit editing his stuff or contributing generally and she's not there anymore.
I told a friend about this phenomenon in literature and he called me weeks later like, I remembered what you said about women doing uncredited work when tim burton came up. he made a string of bangers then everything else just was nowhere near as good. the timeline matches perfectly to when he was with this german visual artist (lena gieseke). he's done some good work in collaboration, but if things were dug into I suspect we would find she did a lot more than people realise.
so yeah whenever you look around like wow women didn't work in history, or, women aren't auteurs, or, there just aren't as many great female writers - societal reasons for that aside, half the time they absolutely did.
Give Floyd and Jade their own cupcakes. They deserve it. If jade was hungy enough to eat Azuls, imagine how hungry Floyd would be.
I don’t think Floyd is in the mood for the cupcakes though
I think azunui liked the cupcakes idk guys u tell me
bb
OH MY GOD IT'S LOVE—😭💗💖💗💖💞
Sebek's sled landing in the same spot Snow White's coffin was blew my mind he wAS REALLY GOING TO END UP IN THAT ETERNAL SLUMBER IF YOU CATCH MY DRIFT
Looks like shit but I BET I COULD DO BETTER ON VIDEO
I'll probably do it soon
Soon
Haha
Soon.
Here's laufey I love her
When Summoned: A museum that has been standing for 100 years is a wondrous thing. My heart leaps for joy at the prospect of encountering exciting works of art!
Summon Line: What a perfect suit to wear to such a long-standing museum. Fufu... What say you, does it look good on me?
Groooovy!!: The ocean is rife with danger. Who knows what may have befallen this happy little crab afterwards...
Home: Time to celebrate their 100th Anniversary.
Home Idle 1: I often see rather strange flora in paintings that depict the Queen of Hearts. I would love to see some of those with my own eyes someday.
Home Idle 2: Every painting of the Fairest Queen depicts her flawless beauty in such a flattering light. It's no wonder that Rook-san admires her greatly.
Home Idle 3: Down in the ocean depths, the Sea Witch's favorite lipstick is very popular. The container is even shaped like a seashell... I recall gifting it to my mother once, as well.
Home Idle - Login: If any of the paintings depicting ocean tales interest you, please don't hesitate to let me know. Perhaps I can help increase your appreciation of them.
Home Idle - Groovy: Riddle-san is even knowledgeable of the tales that come from the ocean. I should follow his example and widen my own knowledge of tales from the surface.
Home Tap 1: I've been improving my own sketching skills each day, of course, so that I would be able to more accurately describe the things I encounter in the mountains.
Home Tap 2: Sebek-kun declared that he would like to test his strength against the supernaturally strong young man that was said to be a child of a god. I know could never possibly consider challenging such a person, indeed.
Home Tap 3: I could hear Ruggie-san's stomach rumbling as he stood before a painting of some apples. They were drawn so beautifully that I can certainly understand how it would invigorate his appetite!
Home Tap 4: The paintings here on the surface are very colorful and I enjoy gazing at them very much. Colors tend to fade the closer they are to the ocean floor, you see.
Home Tap 5: You think that I resemble the moray eel that served the Sea Witch? In all honesty, I also felt a sort of kinship with them too. Especially with our mismatched eye colors.
Home Tap - Groovy: The museum shop has tea blends inspired by all these great people? Thank you for that wonderful news. I must go buy some.
Duo: [JADE]: Riddle-san, is this not an opportune moment? [RIDDLE]: We seem to be on the same page for once, Jade.
Birthday Login Message: Is that supposed to be a present for me? ...Ah, no need to shirk. I will wholeheartedly accept this from you. You see, there are those who would attempt to startle me with trick boxes and the like, so... I was simply wondering what it was that you were planning on giving me. Fufu, I am looking forward to opening it.
Malleus, Vil, Floyd, Jamil and Rook, please! Are waiting outside the building for (their crush) MC so they can walk together. They hear a BOOM and "AHHHHHHHHH" and suddenly they catch MC, who was sent flying out the 2nd story window by a misdirected spell blast. In thanks for catching her, she gives them a sincere and sweet kiss on the cheek? Thank you!!!!!!
Floyd Leech:
You are incredibly thankful you caught Floyd on a good day, as splatting on the ground would be preferable to landing on an already irritated eel. He tilted his head as he stared at the window you flew out of, asking with a pout why you were having fun without him. Once his questioning is over (he wanted to recreate the experiment gone wrong with his VERY lucky lab partner next period), he asked what his prize was for catching you. You ignore the devious pointed grin to give him a kiss on his cheek, a real mistake as he squeezed you extra tight until he felt he was properly compensated in kisses.
Jamil Viper:
Jamil thinks, at first, that he should’ve let you fall on your ass but his ‘don’t let the rich idiot die’ training kicked in automatically. He stared at you with a raised eyebrow, his disappointed mother look getting you to confess immediately to what had gone wrong. When you thank him he’s suddenly flustered, telling you not to bring him into your shenanigans unnecessarily as a real ‘thanks’. When you offered up a kiss on the cheek Jamil found himself thrown off balance again, doing his best to glare and cursing himself for only ever finding trouble.
Malleus Draconia:
Malleus caught you with total ease, looking at you in his arms with an amused smirk on his face. He asked if you were alright, giving you a once over before carefully setting you back on the ground (you don’t think you’ve ever been that high up). Before you’re down though you find yourself wrapped around his neck, your lips pressed hastily against his cheek. Your boldness had always amused him and this was no different, Malleus asking if he could get another if he continued to hold you.
Rook Hunt:
Rook thought he might’ve smelled trouble in the air then, lo-and-behold — a beautiful specimen was offered from the heavens above, falling directly into his strong arms within the blink of an eye. He is painfully curious on how you managed to get in a situation like that, having to compliment your ability to stay stunning even while wildly flying through the air in a panic. He insisted you invite him next time, even the sweet kiss on the cheek you give not enough as he refused to put you down until you agreed to bring him on your next adventure.
Vil Schoenheit:
You can’t help but note that, despite his slim, sleek physique, Vil is actually quite strong. He doesn’t have any trouble holding you in his arms, sighing and asking what caused such a scene. He takes it in stride but you can see he wants to give a thorough lecture (and perhaps a much less elegant ass-kicking) to the person who almost caused you harm. Now, if you were the culprit behind your own almost demise you’d be on the receiving side of his withering glare, no kisses able to save you from the scolding he delivered.