Officially Wrote Out The School Information. Will Probably Keep Everything For This Under The Tag "Twining

the froshies get so close they start to unlock sebek's lore

Mind-dump analysis of Sunday and Welt

Non-romantic, though you can see it that way if you want. Basically musings on their dialogue, body language, trauma responses and their views of the world. Based on my noggin, my experiences, and my knowledge on psych and philosophy. Mentions of trauma, and Aventurine. Spoilers for 3.0. Come chat with me about it in the ask box pls oml. (html broke read more link sorry)

So I was writing an Astral Express Sunday headcanon thing, and realised the part with welt I had more thoughts on than I could handle !!! So I decided to make a bigger breakdown of it from my perspective weeee. 1.7k more thoughts...hehe. Includes pics.

So, Sunday is essentially coming into this new world (the astral express lifestyle, the knowledge and involvement of other planets issues, everything not just Penacony) for the first time, and in a vulnerable state at that. He was trained and groomed to be who he was basically his whole life, and not just the positions of power and control, but his position he gave himself also of protector of his sister. That's been taken from him, all of it, his role, his direction, drive, everything. To say the man must feel lost is understatement of the century.

So when he is confronted with Welt Yang, a mysterious and stoic man who displays his intelligence by deciphering there's something up with his disguise, questions him on his motives, etc, but then seemingly confidently starts to trust him, he is...confused?

First, Welt says multiple times that he knows how he feels, he's had to leave a home quickly too, but doesn't elaborate. So his reasons are already determined at least somewhat by his empathy for Sunday. That is a lot for Sunday to work through. He mustn't have really related to anyone in his life, even his sister due to their vastly different experiences despite being in the same spot. To have someone, and quite quickly, especially after what he just did, sympathise, empathise, and relate to him...thats intriguing, and confusing, and probably a bit suspicious.

Further, when going to meet Robin, Sunday outwardly questions why Welt is giving him the privacy to speak to her, refusing to be a bystander for his benefit. Welt answers:

'i believe you're the kind of person that has the ability and desire to use everything to your advantage... but that everything does not involve Miss Robin'

Sunday pauses, and thanks him. It's confusing, unexpected, and yet another puzzle into Welt's character. I think this moment means an incredible amount to Sunday. Ultimately, his sister is everything to him, where everything started, and Welt has given him the space and freedom to do the thing he is so nervous for, he is dreading but must do, one of the hardest things he's probably ever done, say goodbye for an indeterminate amount of time. Who else has probably shown him this sort of seemingly genuine act of kindness, goodness, before? Probably no one. Plus, despite not really outwardly discussing his relationship with his sister with Welt before this, Welt shows an understanding of Sunday's care for her, to the point his usual nature and methods don't apply to Robin.

So that's why Sunday asks another question, after saying goodbye to Robin

He's starting to see himself in Welt, I believe, in some way, when he says 'I had a feeling that you would never give up on someone who needed help' which is reinforced by his 'help' of Sunday just now. But I think what Sunday is maybe confused about here is why him, why here. He is confused why they 'help' him, a 'nortorious fugitive' and a 'friend they never knew', rather than people in new worlds, people he deems perhaps deserve it more, people who he thinks Welt should care about. I believe, here, he is still viewing things zoomed out, from a grand perspective. He sees 'people' as an entity, much like how he did with his plan, saving them from misery by keeping them in the dream. But Welt goes on to explain that it's the people he meets that are his trailblaze, but on an individual and connection scale, not 'helping peopleTM' like he tried to.

And that means Sunday, it means Tingyun. Sunday even asks directly, then, 'why me?', and Welt repeats his previous answer. 'i know how you feel.' despite what he's done, he offers him empathy, help, and connection. It's alien to Sunday. He has heard the worst of people's deeds, was tormented by them, wanted to save them from themselves, yet Welt is just accepting him.

Then another thing, Welt sits in the audience watching Sunday become himself, say goodbye to his old self and everything he once knew, literally becoming whole again, and slightly unsure of how he exactly he will be once both halves combine. This moment is so so intimate, so deeply personal, perhaps the most personal I mean he's literally talking to himself, becoming himself, shedding everything he's ever known, starting a new life. And Welt isn't just watching. He says:

'Regardless of the outcome, you will have a witness. I'll be waiting for you in the audience.'

Here, he does multiple things. One, he is promising Sunday he will be here for him and almost continue to accept him in whatever shape or form after he's done, giving him the respect and time to do his thing, and the support he wasnt planning to get. Its like...almost a threat, saying he wont let him run away after, but not quite. its also a signal of protection. He is staying with Sunday through this obviously terrifying and massive moment, at a safe and respectful but supportive distance, something Sunday was planning to go through alone. Also, he says he'll wait for him. That's so...personal. ugh, it's too much. And the thing is, Sunday lets him, thanks him, wants him to be there. Trusts him enough to see him at almost a most vulnerable point in his life. Crazy stuff.

Plus, during this line, the camera zooms in on Welt's face for just a few seconds, emphasising how big this is.

Now I'm not sure if we should assume Welt can hear everything Sunday says to himself. The theatre is empty, afterall, but I dont know. Sunday says he's scared, says why he's scared, tells himself he doesn't like himself, parts of him. It's so goddamn personal, heart wrenching, truly. And there's a line here I want to discuss quick.

'to save more lives, you must first understand what they live for and what they die for. The best way to achieve this is through personal experience.''

This is a reflection of Welt's words, his reason for trailblazing. It shows he's taken them to heart, ponders them, realises that to truly help people like Welt does, he needs to know them, not see them as an entity from above.

Also, when done, Welt makes a gentle joke that covers the supportive gesture of his acceptance of 'either' of Sunday's selves. He almost dismissed the whole act as if it was casual, while subtly acknowledging it's significance, and gently showing his support, so it all doesn't make Sunday feel uncomfy.

'Well, how should I address you now? Mr Sunday or Mr Wonweek?'

I love it.

Then Sunday has the confidence to request staying with the Astral Express Crew. Knowing the others might hate the idea, but having enough confidence in the fact that Welt at least seems to want him there.

'You are one of my trailblazing goals.'

Sunday looks visibly touched by this statement. the feels.

So let's now skip to the Astral Express, where he's been on a while let's say.

After all this, Sunday and Welt almost have this unspoken deep connection somehow. They have shared a deeply personal moment for Sunday, and Welt has shared more with Sunday about himself than he ever has with anyone on screen that we've seen before.begins to respect Welt Yang quite tremendously really. Sunday now has time to sit, think, reflect, and probably torment himself with thoughts.

I think he has built this ridiculous level of respect for Welt, perhaps more than for most in his life. And also intrigue, confusion. He perhaps observes him. It is obvious Welt has a troubled and mysterious past, the extent of which is unknown but suggested, yet the man has a poise about him that seems stable, secure, confident. It intrigues him, maybe makes him a little envious even that despite this man having no set 'home', travelling the trailblaze with seemingly little control over things Sunday feels he would lose his mind over, he still seems confident in himself.

You ever feel like you're pretty self sufficient and able when alone or most of the time, but theres that one person where you're in their company and it's suddenly like all your brain function has dimmed and been transferred to them and they're now the 'thinker' and 'doer' and you're just there mostly looking pretty?? That's Sunday and Welt sometimes. Sunday was so used to being everything, controlling everything, seeing everything, that now he can relax that, or rather forced to let go of all that, as hard as that is, he finds himself inadvertently letting Welt take over a bit, observing and involving himself but Welt taking the lead. It's perhaps part of a trauma response to having to grow up too fast, to not being able to have had the points in life where you can trust and let someone have control for a while without risk. So as a result of this trust and acceptance he has built with Welt, his brain just sort of...relaxes a little. Welp.

That's displayed well in the infamous 'mom speak to the doctor for me pls' scene, I think. Cute.

Okay it's the end now, I could probably yap more but my thumbs hurt. One more musing though:

I wonder what it would be like for Sunday and Aventurine to meet, after all of that. They, ultimately, had a similar journey in terms of them making a big decision, a big 'attempt' at something bigger than themselves intricately linked to their identities and core beliefs, having to face parts of themselves along the way.

Now that Sunday has shed his 'grandiose' demeanour and plans, I wonder what it would look like for them to meet on equal terms. (Obviously not really knowing how this whole thing will have affected Aven coming out of it).

These two men, as literally mentioned in the 'combining selves' scene for Sunday in the theatre, are fundamentally opposed. One has been made to and has had to build his life and principles on control. One has had no choice to and built his life on luck, lack of control. It's such an interesting dichotomy to me.

There's also this interaction with Welt and Sunday before meeting Robin:

'I had a hunch and decided to try my luck. Seems I can be lucky sometimes'

'its not like you to leave things to luck'

'I'm trying to change too'

It's twice, in this long section, that Aventurine/luck is mentioned, at least. I wonder how he would view him should he know more, and now that he seems to have a certain begrudging acceptance and respect for luck/chance.

OKAY IM DONE FR NOW HAHAHA come discuss with me if u want :3 hope you enjoyed.

Here, take this, its not safe out there

(づ ᴗ _ᴗ)づ♡

The drama is 400 years old and NRC is learning all of it in excruciating detail

If Crowley DOES turn out to be Raverne, everyone at NRC and possibly on Sage's Island as a whole will need to be wearing earplugs for the next 48 hours minimum after Lilia finds out, because that is approximately the amount of time he's going to spend yelling. And Crowley would deserve it

when thinking about twst my mind always eventually bounces back to thinking about the little first year gang, because they're such a disaster group.

like arguably, none of them on their own are grade a troublemakers (except Grim). If we're going by chaos energy on their own, characters such as floyd, kalim, jade, lilia, ect. probably wreak more havoc. hell most of the dorm leaders, as intelligent as they are, are so arrogant that they cant seem to stop pissing others off.

but the first years have the terrible curse that their brain seems to fall out of their asses the moment another first year is nearby.

ace is the best example, we know from chapter 7 that he has a good head on his shoulders, but the moment an opportunity to mess with deuce/prefect/grim arises he throws all caution out the window. despite the voice inside his head screaming danger he can't ignore the siren's call of starting shit.

deuce, on the other hand, is a character that literally can't seem to avoid bullshit. He's trying so hard to be better and YET he keeps getting wrapped up in these looney toons ass situations. he's the unluckiest first year, and is also easy to anger and even easier to fool.

Epel is a good enough student when he's surrounded by the rest of pomefiore (who are arguably more insane than him) but he also can't ignore the allure of chaos. imo he's the enabler, with a personal philosophy of "you can solve every problem if you hit it hard enough"

jack tries really REALLY hard to not get involved, but he's also too emotionally constipated for his own good sometimes. remember that scene in stitch's event where he tries to help riddle and azul with carrying heavy items, then to cover up for his display of kindness he tries to be all like "psh yea you guys don't look that strong" and riddle prompty obliterates him for saying that. yea that. keeps shooting himself in the foot

ortho seems like he'd have a good head on his shoulders, but he has the same amount of social tact as idia. i mean he's really nice right up until the situation gets dire, and then he starts calling his friends idiots. he's absolutely correct btw, but ortho don't say that out loud

and finally sebek, who tries really hard to not be associated with the rest of these hooligans, but is argueably the worst person here. yells at everyone, insults everyone, sebek is the friend you cannot take out to eat because he doesn't know what an inside voice is and doesnt understand why he has to wait so long for his food despite the fact you're with a group of 7 during the busiest time of the evening.

Grim is like. the final piece to this puzzel. all the first years need a bit of chaos to get truly started, and grim cannot stop causing problems

*Puts brief case down on the table and takes off glasses very seriously* “So about that AU we discussed that one time.”

TWST OC facts

Some fun facts about "T", my Yuu-adjacent character who fills the same ecological niche, just... always exists alongside Yuu rather than solo

He arrived in Twisted Wonderland at around the same time Yuu did, though nobody saw him pop out of a coffin. Due to his natural sneakiness, most just assume he slipped out during the chaos and nobody noticed

He has nicknames for everyone, pretty much never refers to them by their actual names. These nicknames range from ridiculous to kind of cool, but mostly ridiculous

Notable ones include: Cater getting called "Camera," Lilia being "Batsy," Floyd being "Zappy," Jade being "Kraken," and Azul getting nicknamed "Squid"

It's unclear if he's calling Azul a squid on purpose or if T genuinely doesn't know he's actually an octopus and nobody has bothered to tell him

One of the actual reasons he calls every by nicknames is because he.... genuinely can't remember people's names very well. If someone says another person's name to him, he can generally piece it together, but actually remembering someone's name? Rare. The nicknames are how he keeps track of people

He wears sunglasses everywhere, regardless of the situation. It could be dead of night in a rainstorm and he'd still have them

Actually found out about Malleus' identity before Yuu did. Twice, in fact! However, he managed to forget both instances and only actually got a proper reveal around book 5

He has a sort of unsettling presence, almost like an uncanny valley effect. If he's happy and relaxed, it's subdued. If he's upset, well...

He's also very protective of his friends, and will dedicate significant amounts of time to bothering the people who pull anything. Despite his playful demeanor, it can flip like a switch in just a moment if someone he cares about is threatened

T gets along very well with most of Diasomnia, with one notable exception: Sebek. Sebek strongly dislikes him, and the two are often seen bickering. T thinks Sebek is hilarious, and will often make a pointed effort to annoy him

The primary reason that nobody's really stepped in between them is that nothing T says or does is particularly mean-spirited, and no real lines have been crossed yet by either of them

Sebek's name is one of the few T actually remembers, mostly because of the amount of times Sebek has repeated it. T still insists on calling him "Sparky"

In a last ditch attempt to save your people, you offer your life to an ancient god of war and blood. Unfortunately, your translation of the ancient text was a bit off. You're married now.

I need you to understand that when I say "comments are appreciated!" I mean that I will reply to every one of them. I mean that an email with an ao3 notification has a higher priority than a message from my mother. I mean that I will have entire discussions in the comment section if you're up for it. Message me on tumblr and I will have the same discussions on an even more unhinged level. I will dissect entire personalities and ships and fictional political structures and worldbuilding with you. I will become your new best friend. You already ARE my new best friend. At the last battle, I would raise Anduril and say "For my ao3 readers" while a single tears rolls down my cheek, and dive into the fray. I would upload from beyond the grave if someone asked about the next chapter

The thing that gets me about book 7 is that what pushed Malleus over the edge wasn't just "Losing Lilia." Of course, that was a lot of it. Losing the person who raised him, who's been in pretty much all of his memories– that would affect anyone, really.

But that wasn't the final nail in the coffin. What was the last thing that happened before he overblotted?

Silver broke down. It was the moment he saw Silver cry that he made the choice to cast that spell. It wasn't just about Malleus losing his parent guardian, but Silver losing his father, and anyone else losing the people they love. That's what got him.