Repository for all my Twisted Wonderland thoughts. I'm currently writing
A Million and One Minutia, which will be crossposted here. My main blog is grayathena.
Welcome! This blog is going to be a repository for my various thoughts on the mobile game Twisted Wonderland, from reblogs from others to my own thoughts on the game to my Twisted Wonderland fic A Million and One Minutia.
What is A Million and One Minutia?
A Million and One Minutia is my fanfiction centering on my TWST Yuusona, Gray, and her interactions with the other main boys as they learn about the differences between their worlds. Sound interesting? The AO3 link is here, and I will be gradually crossposting chapters to tumblr.
Hey if you See This can you reblog this or comment on this with a character you headcanon as aromantic, asexual, or both. It can be canon it can be founded on absolutely nothing I just need more aroace stuff on here #yay
Did you at least kiss the gun before shooting me 17 times â yâall, we have a contender for one of my favorite twst fanarts ever right here. I canât stop staring omg
When I was initially writing AMOM, I sort of had the idea that Malleus just couldn't hide his horns for some reason, but it was more along the idea that he was struggling with, like. Just not being capable of tucking them away, like he could only try to hide his true form so much before it came popping out at the edges of his disguise.
But after reading Book 7.5 I'm realizing. Can he just not put them away because they're his goddamn magical antennae. Like, he needs them to regulate his magic so they have to stay out whereas things like his tail can go away if needed and one come out for special events. Cause that makes. A lot more sense.
I mean, Silver is a human(!!!), but he's also adopted by Lilia (someone Baur respects a lot) and Sebek's only friend
If I'm not mistaken, Baur knows how Knight of Dawn looked like, so what did he think when realized Silver looks suspiciously KoD-shaped?
granted, things got pretty wacky when they were escaping the castle, he might not have actually processed what Dawnathon's face looked like! although I guess it is the kind of thing that sticks with you through the centuries, and if anyone was gonna notice...
(continuing my "old Bauru looks exactly the same but with a BIG mustache" agenda)
alternatively, he's gotten a lot better, but his daughter is still working with him on...certain things involving humans.
As a kid I loved the Disney connection theories like "Tarzan is the little brother of Anna and Elsa" and whatnot but one that always stuck out to me was the Hercules and Ariel cousins theory.
For a bit of context: in Greek mythology Triton is the son of Poseidon who of course is the middle brother of Zeus and Hades. Taking in the fact that Ariel and her sisters are Triton's children that would make them cousins (removed once or twice though) with Hercules and any children Hades had.
It's also heavily insinuated that Idia is a descendant of Hades (if the flaming head of hair didn't give it away enough). With Rielle being a part of the royal family it's almost a given that he descends from Triton even if it's not directly from Ariel. Perhaps one of her sisters who took the throne after the death of their father.
Either way it's hilarious to imagine Rielle and Idia as cousins (it's way too distant now obviously) because Idia is so obviously an introvert in every possible way while Rielle is the complete opposite. I do hope at some point we get to see them interact because it'd be super funny.
Oh, these theories đ¤ I thought they were popular in Disney fandom circles, so theyâd spill over and touch the Twst fandom eventually.
I donât think Idia is a descendant of Hades. He never speaks about Hades as though the guy were an ancestor. Additionally, itâs implied that Idiaâs flaming hair is the result of his familyâs bloodline curse, seeing as Ortho suggests that Grimâs similar flames may be indicative of how a curse manifests âlike how it is for [Idia]â.
I know that Twsties have suggested that Idia is part merman (due to Styx HQ being located in the ocean + his strange mix of physical features), which by itself Iâm not entirely convinced by. For related readings:
Strange traits as a manifestation of his bloodline curse
Is Idia non-human and/or mixed? / part 2
Is Idia a demigod?
While the idea of Triton being descended from Poseidon is true for irl Greek mythos, the connection is more dubious in the Disney (and thus Twst) canon, especially considering how inaccurate the Disney films are. Doesnât mean we canât still play around with the idea though! I like to imagine the introverted Idia shrinking into himself at large, lavish extended family gatherings myself. Typically, that comprises of various aunties and uncles twisted from the Olympians, but thereâs no reason why the annoying cousins canât join in on the fun.
In a universe where Idia and Rielle are related, I like to think Idia steers clear of him đ§ââď¸ knowing Rielle as the chatty and overly curious airhead cousin. But Rielle canât help wondering what sort of person Idia is!! Heâs always hiding and doesnât speak much, so Rielle wants to meet that forlorn stranger and make that connection. Idia would rather die What luck that theyâll run into each other at the competition between their schools/j
Iâd love to see all the RSA boys interact with all the NRC boys at some point⌠Every possible combination, pretty please đĽşđ
TWST AU where Yuu seems to have accidentally time traveled back to the start of their first year at NRC, except they quickly switch to thinking they must be in some kind of alternate universe because everyone is being so nice and comparatively well-adjusted? Even Grim! Ace just shows them around the school grounds and Deuce arrives of his own volition to introduce himself, Jack shows up at Ramshackle house like I heard someone was staying here so I brought food, two minutes later Epel arrives with extra bedding from the Pomefiore dorms, Sebek is like hello if you have any troubles I will assist, Ortho gifts them a phone right away like welcome to school I took the liberty of adding me and my brother to your contacts, it's wild.
Anyway, turns out the other freshmen also just time traveled. Everyone has it figured out by the time Ace doesn't trigger Riddle's overblot (it's still impending but Ace is NOT doing the tart thing again), but for the first couple of days it's a comedy of misunderstandings, with each of them thinking they've somehow butterfly effected events into changing right out of the gate.
how are you miss raven i hope youve been doing well ^^ today i have more thought on b6's yuu after reading your post that you posted a while back on book 5's yuu
i really liked that you mentioned that the yuus of each book are meant to be foils of each overblotter and i think the writing team really cooked when they decided on that direction for yuu ^^
which leads me to a little idea thats been growing in my mind since i started reading book 6. what if similar to idia, b6's yuu was an elder sibling and unlike the other yuus theyre absolute wuss. full on scaredy cat and overthinker (not so much a foil but just hear me out) but for those that they love, theyre willing to ace despite of the fears and doubts that they face which i think would be a good contrast to idia whos long resigned to his fate because he thinks he cant change anything.
i want a meek yuu similar to yuuya so bad,,, someone whos scared shitless with the odds painfully against them but still tries nonetheless even if it wouldnt amount to anything esp with their lack of magical abilities,, it would be a pretty nice contrast to the already previous more "solid" yuus who all have big dreams or bright personalities. that small difference between yuu and idia despite their similar personalities would make a really really nice contrast and maybe even impactful for idia since theyre that similar
[ My thoughts on manga!Yuus for books 5, 6, and 7 | More on book 5 manga!Yuu thoughts | Book 5 manga!Yuu as a theatre tech kid? ]
adkhlbag8yowrwqba I could be doing better, but I'm doing my best to hang in there!!
A lot of people like the manga!Yuus for the diversity they're able to offer that the plain in-game Yuu doesn't. It helps to sell that idea that "Yuu" is "you" and therefore can be anyone.
Mmm... I think having a scaredy cat Yuu might be a little too similar to Yuuya. It would be fine if Twst had the time to differentiate them, but since every manga Yuu is only around for one book and isn't allowed a whole character arc or to change much, I don't think this would be a good way to go. Previous manga!Yuus haven't felt similar to their respective OB boy's personalities either, so I think it's more likely our book 6 Yuu will be someone unlike Idia personality-wise.
I've suggested the ideas of book 6's manga!Yuu being an older sibling that is better coping with the loss of a younger sibling + a hopeful, heroic manga!Yuu to contrast Idia being resigned to his fate before too; please see the first post linked above.
I don't know if I'd personally label the manga!Yuus we've had so far as "[having] big dreams or bright personalities"?? đ¤ Yuuken and Yuuka are pretty down-to-earth and grounded but have their own personal goals (the significance of which is large for them, but I don't think they're "big" in the grand scheme of things). Yuuta seems content helping out at his humble family restaurant. Yuuna's the only one I'd say has "big dreams" (she wants to be a model in Tokyo) and a "bright personality" (she's bubbly). I'm sure we'll have even more variety in the manga!Yuus to come, but as I said before, Yuuya already fills that "meek Yuu" spot and I think Yuuken + Yuuka fulfill our "stoic Yuu" quota. I guess there's still room for an introverted or just a quiet Yuu, but they'll have to do extra legwork to differentiate that Yuu from the rest.
You know how Floyd nicknamed Riddle âGoldfishâ/âGoldfishyâ? And how this nickname was selected for Riddle because heâs âtiny and redâ???
WELL.
I would like to propose my crackpot theory to add onto thatâď¸đ¤
***WARNING: Please be advised that there will be mentions of animal abuse and animal cruelty below the cut.***
Within the world of plants and animals, there are certain ones which are bred by humans for specific traits. Sometimes this is to humans' benefit, like breeding crops with a higher yield or animals with meat that is finely marbled with fat. However, there are also plants and animals which are bred purely for aesthetic purposes. The most infamous example of this would be the pug, which boasts a stout body and a flat face, traits which lead to their suffering. Pugs struggle to breathe with their flat faces and have chronic pain from their deformed spines. Do humans care? No, they keep producing and buying pugs because that's just "in fashion"--at the cost of these poor creatures' health and wellbeing.
Now allow me to introduce you to the horrific world of ⨠goldfish breeding â¨
This is something that's been around for over a thousand years, and it's very popular in east Asia, including Japan (Twst's country of origin). I believe this practice originated in China, as the color red is seen as a symbol of good fortune there; goldfish breeding started because people wanted to produce and keep extremely red variants. This later spun off to creating all kinds of other traits which are aesthetically prized by humans, but unfortunately bring immense suffering to the goldfish themselves.
Here are some of the monstrosities that have come out of goldfish breeding:
The bubble eye goldfish has fluid-filled eye sacs which can easily rupture or become infected. Furthermore, the sacs impair the fish's vision. Its lack of a dorsal fin makes it difficult to swim, and the fish has to expend much more energy just to stay upright.
The celestial eye goldfish has eyes the permanently face up. It is difficult for them to navigate because they literally cannot see in any other direction.
The telescope goldfish has eyes that bulge so far out of the sides of its head that it is at constant risk of injuring itself.
The lionhead goldfish has tons of fleshy tissue growing on its head. It can get to a point where the fleshy growth obscures the gills and nostrils, making it difficult for the fish to breathe.
The ranchu goldfish is so plump that its spine and swim bladder are compressed and bringing it great pain.
Okay, so why did I spend all that time giving you examples of goldfish that were bred to be pleasing to humans at the cost of goldfish health? What does this have to do with Floyd's nickname for Riddle? Because if you squint your eyes, this could be interpreted as a metaphor for how Riddle was raised.
In this metaphor:
Riddle = the goldfish
Mrs. Rosehearts = the goldfish breeder
academic success = aesthetics
loneliness and unhappiness = the goldfish's lack of health and wellbeing
NOW THINK ABOUT IT.
What does Mrs. Rosehearts, the "goldfish breeder", want of her son (the "goldfish"? Academic success ("aesthetics"). And she will do whatever it takes to get him there, even if it makes him lonely and unhappy. This narrative is even stronger when you remember that the trait initially selected for the goldfish was vibrancy of its red color. And what color is Riddle associated with. That's right, it's red.
Another detail that enhances this reading is what Georgina tells Riddle in 2-5 of Eternity Float: "The goldfish people keep in their homes are small, but when they're left to grow in the wild, I hear some can grow into giants."
Let's assume, in this case, that smallness is the trait that is being selected in breeding. We want the smallest fish possible. So we breed small goldfish, and then release them into the wild. At that point, Mother Nature takes over and more diversity is introduced into the goldfish gene pool. Over time, these goldfish, once bred to be small, enlarge to a normal size.
If we think of Riddle as a fish made small due to the lack of stimulation he gets while kept indoors and forced to study, his mom, our hypothetical goldfish breeder, is keeping her fish that size. But what happens when Riddle attends NRC, away from his mother's direct influence? He may not grow in height, but his worldview has expanded. He learns many things that, while considered normal to everyone else, are brand-new experiences and sensations to him. Prior to this, he couldn't tolerate people disobeying him or the rules, and had never touched a video game or social media before.
Looking back at the examples of bred goldfish I listed, you could extrapolate them to be parallels to Riddle. He's frailer than his peers, his eyes are sometimes described as "bulging" when he's mad, and he is narrowmindedly focused on a single goal (his eyes forever locked on them). His head may not be bulbous, but you could argue the growths equate to how much information he was forced to absorb as a child. We also don't know if Riddle has a fucked up spine, but I'd imagine that sitting at a desk and poring over dozens of books would eventually wear at it.
If you believe in the theory that Mrs. Rosehearts is perpetuating generational trauma and that she experienced a similar upbringing as what she is currently putting Riddle through, well... That just makes this all the worse, doesn't it? It's generations and generations of goldfish breeders putting goldfish through pain because, at the end of the day, what is most important to the breeders is that they made the prettiest (smartest, in this case) goldfish (child).
What is this extended metaphor getting at? Riddle is the goldfish, and if he continues to exist under his mother's care, then he'll suffocate and suffer. He has to break free and return to the "wild" (normal world, beyond his mother's control).
Of course, I'm not saying that Floyd necessarily knew all of this or that this was the Twst team'sboo intention from the very beginning. I just stumbled across a goldfish video on YouTube and spiraled into this insane analysis www
Can I be honest for a moment? đ The âonly 10% of Twisted Wonderlandâs population has magicâ thing really doesnât make sense with how frequently magic is used as apart of local events outside of Sageâs Island. I find this bit of lore annoying enough that I wish they never included it in the game at all. Considering small percentage has to account for all or most of Briar Valleyâs people, I just donât think how the devs thought this lore would make sense with how much magic we get to see elsewhere in Twisted Wonderland???
Quick correction: itâs NOT 10% of Twisted Wonderlandâs general population that have magic, itâs a statistic specifically describing the human population. Fae therefore do not count in this calculation. Humans appear to make up the majority of the population anyway.
This is the current list of story events which take place outside of Sage's Island (note that the majority of events do take place on Sage's Island, so we're excluding like 20ish events from this list):
A Firelit Sky - no magic is involved; they rely on tech for fireworks.
Harveston Sledathon - magic is used by participants to pull their sleds.
Glorious Masquerade - there is a smaller magic school in this area, so of course there would be more magic here; it seems like the local population has non-mages that can join in the festivities using already enchanted instruments that let out magic sparkles.
Cloudcalling on the Savanna/Tamashina Mina - no magic is allowed in the wrestling.
White Rabbit Fest - magic may be a part of the Rabbit Run race, but itâs not entirely clear since some elements could be clever traps or just the Queendomâs strange flora at work. Deuce does cast magic, but the local bullies do not seem to be capable of it.
LitB with Stitch - not counting this one since this is a completely different universe.
Stage in Playful Land - Fellow has very little magic (which is true of most people in that 10% to begin with), but apparently the park was constructed with the help of some powerful mages.
Vil's Red Carpet Cadets/Tapis Rouge - some stylists at a high-end boutique use magic to help their clientele.
LitB with Nightmare Before Christmas (1 and 2) - not counting these since this is a completely different universe.
Eternity Float - no magic used by locals; only the NRC boys use their magic to terrorize the bride and groom (mages are not required for an Eternity Float)
Within these stipulations, the off-island events still have a majority (7ish out of 10) which donât involve the locals using magic in significant ways.
Most of the major annual events and holidays don't technically require magic for celebrating either. There's some events that require magic, like the interscholastic tournament and magic competitions, but these are associated with more magically-inclined groups (ie arcane academy students and fae) instead of the general population.
Itâs true that there are some occupations locked behind magic (like medical mages and magic marshals), but these industries have never been described to be particularly huge. These are probably highly specialized jobs with few that can perform them. Assuming that Twstâs world population is similar to that of our world, 10% of that would still be hundreds of millions of people. There would be plenty to occupy the specialized magic industries.
I personally donât think the way Twst portrays magic in its population is an issue, especially given that many NPCs are without magic. (More of my thoughts and examples here!) I think we just perceive magic as actually being more common than it actually is because we spend the majority of our time with student mages that have great potential. This will paint our perception of the rest of the world the few times we do venture out there.
I had a funny thought. What if there is a festival going at NCR and a dunk tank is set up. All the dorm leaders would be one sitting in the dunk tank.
The only ones that won't come out looking like a drown rat would be Vil and Kalim. Kalim would be the only one that thinks it be fun.
Who be dunk the most, it might be a mixed of Riddle, Leona, and Azul. Leona would taunt thoses that couldn't throw. The tweels would dunk Azul until there is a limit put on thoses that can play. We all know why Riddle and Azul would by the main story.
Who would you or Raven would try to dunk?
Kalim splashes around in the dunk tank like he's swimming while Vil does a stylish hair flip that looks straight out of a hair product commercial đ I think Azul would also be pretty comfortable in the water, given he's a merman.
I definitely feel like a lot of students would gunning after Riddle (for being so strict) and Azul (for scamming them; the twins themselves would take turns dunking him for funsies). Leona, Kalim, Vil, and Malleus are generally liked (at least within their own dorms or with certain groups), so they'd be pretty safe unless someone who particularly hates their guts comes along. Idia is... trying to make himself as small as possible to not get targeted. (See this post for dorm leader popularity, and this post for general dorm sentiments about their dorm leaders.)
I personally wouldn't want to dunk any of them because I know I've got a pretty bad throw and I'd probably get taunted for it I am so very kind and would not wish harm upon my peers đ As for Miss Raven, she'd try to dunk Azul (due to personal vendetta and feeling bitter about him deceiving her in the past) and/or Leona (he's so high and mighty, she thinks it'd be a nice change of pace to knock him down a peg and make him all soggy).
Now I wanna give my thoughts on the NRC dunk tank! How does everyone respond to being dunked?
Riddle: He knows what he's in for, so he's cool with being dunked... the first few times. The third time Ace comes back to dunk him, he's starting to get PISSED. Has to remind himself that the rules of the dunk tank allow people to dunk as many times as they want. Ace is having a blast.
Leona: One of the dorm leaders to get dunked the least. He looks like he's asleep on the dunking platform, but every time someone comes by to try and dunk him, he opens one eye and gives them the worst glare known to man and they back off. He's eventually dunked by Rook, who waxes poetic about a lion in a watering hole or something while Ruggie laughs his ass off.
Azul: Floyd dunks him twelve times in a row, then meanders off to do something else. Jade stands off to one side and offers helpful throwing tips to people trying to dunk Azul. Azul does not like the experience of being dunked, but is also angling some way to get profit out of this.
Kalim: Having a blast! He loves bobbing around in the dunk tank and the feeling of falling! His tank's a party! Very encouraging to the people in line who are trying to dunk him. Wants Jamil to join in, but Jamil is too stressed trying to manage the towels for Kalim and hoping he doesn't get a cold from this.
Vil: Not thrilled about this, but he knows the rules of the game and he's willing to play. Wears his best, most waterproof makeup. He needs a break every thirty minutes, though, to do some skincare. Getting dunked in pool water a bunch is not good for you.
Idia: He tinkered with the booth the night before so it would take an inhuman amount of strength to actually dunk him. He's super proud of this, but Ortho figures it out pretty quickly and removes it. Gets dunked several times because people want to see if his hair will go out. It doesn't.
Malleus: No one wants to dunk him :(. They're all too intimidated. This is not helped by Sebek stalking around the booth and threatening to knock any balls out of the air if they so much as threaten to dunk Malleus. By the time Lilia comes over and dunks Malleus, the water is mostly frozen over.
You ever think about how much we the player love Grim in book six? You ever think about how despite him hurting you, you still worry for him and want him back home safe? You ever think about how the first thing Grim does when he wakes up at Styx is cry because he remembered attacking you? And he didn't know why he'd do such a thing because it's you.
Do you ever think about how much you and Grim love one another? Do you ever think about how you go literally to the pits of what's essentially hell to save your furry companion? How in at this point you and Grim have grown so close that there's no hesitation to do this? To face the underworld if it means getting Grim back?
Iâve been playing the new story update in EN and thereâs something about it that feels so⌠refreshing, almost? Like, I like all the events and things okay, but getting new main story is so delightful. Iâm playing through it like, yup, these are my boy. Iâm home.
First, I would just like to say that A Million and One Minutia was one of the first fics I ever read upon getting into Twist near the end of last year and the amount of detail you put into describing all the various Twisted Wonderland differs from Grey's world from the media to geography to tech to the differences in her physiology is astounding. Not to mention the characterization is so spot-on and Grey's story touched my heart and had me in tears a fair number of times.
I find myself struggling a lot to write the boys as their flawed emotionally-constipated selves while still showing they're taking the steps to grow, even if at a snail's pace, but reading your fics and headcanons and analyses have been really helpful.
Thank you so much for all that you do!đđđđ
((Honestly the more I think about it, Night Raven is every school counselor's, child psychologist's, and social worker's worst nightmare, there could be entire books and Netflix documentaries on just how much of a disaster this place is even without all the overblots holy shitsnacks))
This ask took me forever to get to I'm sorrrryyyyyy.
But! I'm so glad to hear you liked my story! I'm honestly surprised people are still reading it and giving it kudos. I really thought it would die off a month or two after the last chapter posted, but I'm still getting emails of new kudos every other day!
Worldbuilding is something I typically really enjoy. I loved noting all the little things that could be different from our world to Twisted Wonderland, and even making an actual emotional arc for Gray in the end.
I'm glad people like the characterization of the boys! Sometimes I do feel like I made them a little bit too nice? They're pretty assholish in canon. I mean, not all the time, but a lot of the time. It can be really hard to walk that line! I feel like making them too nice kind of makes them... weird? Bad? Like, if they're not slightly dicks, they're not my boys! I'm glad that my writing has helped you, though.
I mean... NRC's not that bad.... is it? *Glances at the school again.* Um. Okay, it's not... great... These kids really don't have a lot of oversight, huh...
I can just imagine the social worker going to the school and immediately throttling Crowley. YOU LET AN UNACCOMPANIED MINOR INTO YOUR SCHOOL????? YOU MADE THEM LIVE IN AN ABANDONED, HAUNTED, HEALTH CODE VIOLATION OF A DORM???? AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE OVERBLOTS.
