#// FUNNY THING IS... this isn't even the whole cast either!!!!

[gachagon]

Wolfgang's deceit and hypocrisy

A deconstruction and analysis of Wolfgang's behavior based on what he said and did during Chapter 1

I kept thinking about why Damon didn't exactly get along with Wolfgang because it seems obvious that he doesn't like him due to Wolfgang's somewhat pompous attitude towards the idea of Ultimates. Wolfgang contrasts Damon's view of Ultimates in that Wolfgang believes all talents are equally valuable to society, and Damon doesn't.

Wolfgang says he doesn't believe anyone there was capable of murdering their "friends" and that the killing game wouldn't even kick off because he believed in the inherent goodness of Ultimates as a whole.

Damon disagreed with this notion and believed everyone had the capacity for violence regardless of their Ultimate status or not. He also disagreed with the idea that all talents are equally valuable to society and that some are more frivolous in nature than others.

Wolfgang believed in a lot of "hopeful" ideals however, I don't think he was telling the truth when he said these things. His actions spoke louder than all of those inspiring speeches he gave to the rest of the class.

In fact, I think Wolfgang agreed with everything Damon said, but he didn't want to admit it for some reason. Wolfgang said he believed in a fair trial and letting people explain themselves, but when Eva claimed she was the Ultimate Liar he immediately resorted to turning the others against her by casting suspicion on her.

He said he believed that all talents are equal in value, but when Eva was revealed to be the Ultimate Mathlete, he didn't stop any of the others from mocking Eva over it. (I will also point out that while as hilarious as Cassidy's Bargain Bin joke is at Damon's expense, he doesn't tell her off for making said joke at all either.)

And Wolfgang said he didn't believe anyone there would kill anyone, but he was constantly taking "precautions" for the Killing Game. "Just in case" someone decided to do something. He agreed with Desmond's idea of bunking together, he at first doesn't want to investigate the pharmacy but decided it's a good idea to let everyone know what's inside anyways, and when he got the mysterious letter telling him to meet in the boiler room he brought a knife with him from the kitchen "for protection" supposedly.

Wolfgang says a lot of things that he clearly doesn't believe, him and Damon are exactly alike. But the difference is that Damon is honest in how he feels about the Killing Game and Wolfgang is not.

Where his hypocrisy comes in is how he judges Damon for his honesty, and makes it seem like he too isn't distrustful of others during the game. And I think the reason for why Damon specifically doesn't like Wolfgang is not just because he is a hypocrite but because he's purposeful about his hypocrisy. He isn't like the rest of the class in his hypocrisy in that he's not doing it by accident, he's doing it on purpose because it keeps him in control of the group.

And the funny thing about it is that it's kind of Damon's fault that the others adopted Wolfgang as their defacto leader. During the mock class trial, Damon was the one who defended Wolfgang's integrity and instinct as a lawyer to get the others to continue to believe in him so they could solve the murder.

But Damon didn't defend Wolfgang because he had some belief in the inherent goodness of Ultimates. He did it because Damon believed Wolfgang's *talent* as a lawyer is proof enough that he's well versed in situations like this. It wasn't about Wolfgang as a person, but his ability as a lawyer. And I think this is why when Damon just says what he thinks Wolfgang is confused by it because he thought Damon was like the rest of the class, hopeful and naive.

And obviously, later on Wolfgang states that he sees people, Ultimates, as more than just their talent. But I don't believe him. I think from the way he treated both Eva and Damon that he silently agreed on the idea of some talents being lesser than others. And he just puts himself in the position of not believing in what Damon says because it's unpopular with the rest of the class.

Wolfgang can subtly take all of the credit for solving Cara's murder, while Damon gets no recognition and because Damon has an unpopular opinion about Ultimates and Talents and the Killing Game, Wolfgang can become their leader very easily (which is exactly what happened)

But he doesn't truly believe in any of it, he's a biased person through and through who has his own selfish goals, and egotistical opinions just like Damon. I think he just didn't come out and be honest because being honest would've shafted him with the likes of Eva and Damon.

Wolfgang is leading them all with blind optimism, when he himself isn't that optimistic. I think this is why his Blackmail letter mentioned him having a Wolfish mind as well, because he is essentially a wolf in sheep's clothing leading a herd of sheep to their potential doom. Keeping them in the dark on purpose so he can continue to be seen as the leader and beacon of hope.

And if you think "Wolfgang wouldn't be that self centered to do this" I think he is, purely because of how he behaved during his death. Diana mentioned him saying things about being seen as great, trying to prove himself to someone, and not being able to measure up to another person.

I think Wolfgang is the exact type of person who would feed on other people's admiration in a situation like this. "It doesn't matter if they believe in me for a foolish and naive reason, because they believe in *me*. And as long as they have their faith in *me*, nothing else about this situation matters. Anyone who doesn't put their faith behind my ability to lead is irrelevant and isn't a part of the group."

(hence why Eva and Damon were constantly shafted by Wolfgang as outsiders)

[theyapper0]

THE HEAVEN CAST!!!!! WHOOOOOOO!!!!!

So first off, we got a redesign for the Exorcist Angel armor. I wanted to keep the colors light so they stand out when in Hell. I was also hugely inspired by Crusades armor, since the Crusades fought for religious territory, I thought taking inspo from there made sense.

Then we have Lute, Emily, Sera and Adam's designs. I'll explain it all under the cut if you're interested!!!

LUTE!!!!!!!!!! Sorry guys but she's basically a different character with the same name at this point

So I think that Lute was like a mentor figure to Vaggie, she was the closest thing Vaggie had to a (sorta) mom but it's defiantly like a student-master relationship.

I think that Vaggie trusted and cared for Lute deeply, she devoted all her time and energy into training in order to make not only Heaven better, but to make Lute proud. Lute was a HUGE driving force Vaggie's martyr complex.

But they were close!!!! The care wasn't just once sided, I think Lute did love Vaggie. I think they both care for each other SO much, that's why it will hurt SO MUCH when it's LUTE as the one to de-wing and banish Vaggie. She LOVED her, she TRUSTED HER!!!!!

Trust that I will be delving deeper into this in the future ✊✊✊

So Emily and Sera's designs and roles in the story are pretty much the same, I liked them in canon! They were fun and offered an interesting addition to the show!!!!

The main thing I chose to change was basically their hair and skin color tbh. I understand what the show was TRYING to do, w the fact that they're supposed to be black (and apparently those are supposed to be dreads in Sera????) but.......... It wasn't good.

With their canon skin color, I know a lot of angels have gray skin but to me, it looked like the designers didn't know whether to make Sera and Emily (especially Sera) gray or flesh colored, which then resulted in them trying to meet it in the middle and left us with this,,,, really ashy looking black skin in some shots which I didn't like.

I decided to just make them a darker gray so they can both be seen as black and also keep consistent with angels having gray skin :)

ALSO THAT ONE DOODLE WITH EMILY LOOKING AT CHAGGIE, I PROMISEEEEEE THAT SHE DOESN'T LIKE EITHER OF THEM LIKE THAT, I JUST DID IT TO BE FUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!

(I think the ship is cute but personally, it's not for me ^^)

And finally..... ADAM!!!!!!!!!!!

So like Lute, Adam is basically a completely different character with that same name just slapped on.

I REALLY didn't like him in the show to be honest. I think we was an enjoyable character at times but he's totally like my second to last fav character (with my LEAST favorite being Lucifer LOL). I think it was an interesting take on Adam definitely!! To see him so cocky and full of himself bc of his title but....... It was just very...... Viziepop with the whole "original dick" thing......

Adam is the literal FATHER of humanity!!!? He is EVERYONE'S FATHER!!!!!! I don't understand the point of making him mean aside from the fact that he's supposed to be an opposing force in the show, but even then, just because he's the opposing force, doesn't mean he's gotta be a huge jerk!!!!!

I think it could be more interesting and add more nuisance to the story is Adam WAS this sweet, caring guy who, like the protagonists, is only doing what he thinks is right!

I'll delve more into Adam in my next post BUT everything he does is out of his trust in God and the Seraphims, he trusts them wholeheartedly and despite the fact that the Sinners of Hell were once his children too, he does what he must because his flaw isn't that he's egotistical or an asshole, it's that he cares and trusts with his entire being.

He's also best friends with Kris Kringle

[slowlysoluminary]

Still working on that chapter. Don't worry, it's coming along! Yesterday i was trapped at a party for 10 hours and, being the introvert i am, decided to take a break from drawing for an animatic by trying to draw for this au instead. don't know why i didn't just do artfight lol

FULL KING REFERENCE PACK + SIFFRIN DUO POSTGAME REFERENCES

Notes and details under the cut

sooooo howsabout postgame content?

the original post talking about postgame can be found here but it doesn't go into too much detail

So post-game resetfrin and gloop. they go with the party, kinda like a lot of twohats aus? resetfrin goes with the party because they know mirabelle and kinda know isabeau from when he would get apprenticed by the king (long story), but also because resetfrin acted so much like the old siffrin they used to know that it felt odd to leave him behind.

gloop, however, WAS the old siffrin! the party knows this, they found it out in the last loop, and they've formed such a bond with them that it's as natural as it is in the original game. the only issue is: gloop has changed SO much. physically, mentally, even a pronoun change - the party wants to help her out, but they want to explore who this New Siffrin is, too. Isn't it ironic that the new addition is the one you know far more of than the old addition?

resetfrin stays siffrin because... uh. because he's always been siffrin? there's no conflict there. gloop, after getting their memory back, ALSO goes back to siffrin, because that's who they really are and they acknowledge that loop is their own person. they don't want to be reminded of their time as gloop, either.

so... they're both Siffrin. And they're both technically the same person. do you see the issue?? the two of them didn't. the party did.

there's a comic I'm thinking about making to explore the processes and conversation that happened to initiate the name changes. the long and short of it is they can't BOTH be siffrin, but neither of them want to be siffrin if the other one can't also be siffrin, so they go on separate journeys to find a new name. they come back together with the party afterwords and they both ended up picking the same name so it's back to square one.

they talk to the party the second time and after a lot of brainstorming land on Orion for resetfrin and Lux for gloop. it helps the party distinguish between them and helps me establish the difference between postgame content and in-game content

(plug moment but these names were suggested by @the-bitter-ocean who gave me like. a whole list of things i could choose from. oh the life saver. i didn't even think about what names they would've picked until xe helped. and ohhh theyre so good. he also has some amazing aus including a miraloops au that you should go check out. pretty please)

the hair thing is SUPER IMPORTANT i originally only did it because they needed a way to separate themselves from eachother, but i realized they would also have done it to separate themselves from the old people they used to be. very poetic. 10/10 thank you brain for the excuse

the colors for orion's alt outfits are just a limited color pallete, they're not actually the colors afaik. (<- says the creator) but Lux's colors are 100% the colors, yes. their star body is different from loop's, where loop's body is solid black and lux's seems to glow on it's own. do you see where the name lux came from.

it's really dysphoric. imagine being turned into a ghost against your will and losing your memories, and them after gaining your memories back you turn into a completely different body AGAIN and it's STILL not the original body you had. i would cry.

gloop/lux's eye is still blind. even as a ghost they lacked depth perception. L. since resetfrin wasn't with the party to lose his eye they don't have any vision impairment

actually, about that. funny little thing. if siffrin wasn't there to protect bonnie, who did? haha hehe. hey why does odile have her arm in a cast...

KING TIME

okay i got a lot of questions about it so i double-checked on the original post and. yeah it DOES say the king's name. both in the text and on the image. but you'd be forgiven for missing it because it's pretty small on the image and there's a lot of text to read through

anyway pre-madness king's name is Lazare!! he originally looks like the lithe dude on the left. he's scholar-ish, came to vaugarde on vacation before losing his memory, yadda yadda... a lot of his information is on the original post so I won't repeat anything that's already been said

he picked Lazare a few days after losing his memory. he never told his name to anyone in the town he was staying so all he got was "travelling one" and he really genuinely thought that was his name for a hot second until he realized that Vaugarde really likes adding -one to titles

i made his hair curlier! after drawing the king for the chapter cg i realized i did NOT makw his hair curly enough when drawing Lazare. his hair type is almost exactly mine, though mine has more define curls, so drawing it is a BLAST!!

Defender arc Lazare! He bulked himself up to come off more physically and mentally strong. is this a trans allegory? is the King trans or was the body craft just to match his perception of himself? not sure. At this point in time he's already travelled with siffrin for a bit so i like to think he's a teensy bit protective. somewhere between friend snd father figure. cool guy

you know who's not cool? this guy vvv

this is where the King becomes the King :3 his hair is OBNOXIOUSLY long, almost rapunzel-like but nowhere near as bad. it always covers one eye but it doesn't really matter which one.

the crown happens like... VERY shortly before he makes the wish and starts freezing people in time. hes lonely and isolated and its something like coping with his delusions about everyone being out to get him

that's not the way he thought in the original loop, but after the reset his descent is much faster and harder than the last. when Siffrin starts climbing the tower, yearning becomes animosity as he thinks Siffrin finally betrayed him like he "always knew they would." or something.

hey 16yo sif jumpscare!!! wasn't he on the original post too?

.

anyway!!! that's it! that's all! i swear it's all. inevitably I'll have to make gloop and resetfrin full references but I'm happy with the ones i drew in the original post which I'll probably end up pointing people to if they want to draw either of them. the king was the one i worried about most because he's so different from canon, and same goes for the postgame designs. even coming up with new names was worrying because they're practically not even the same person from canon anymore

but that's the fun thing with aus, isn't it? lol

cya

[vicmillen]

Why Danny should be tossed into the Gotham cast

A short medium long list of reasons, by me:

It funny.

Lady Gotham being an nuisance. A mostly benign one but still a nuisance.

Danny being a even bigger nuisance in retaliation because men can be so petty.

Ol' Batsy getting multiple headaches. Must be his age catching up.

Jason.

Oh sweet, a whole species of enslaved undead waiting to be rescued and rehabilitated. Hmm wonder what's the deal with all the owl motifs?

Did I mention Jason? Oh I did. But how about his magic sword? You know the glowy lightsaber that's powered by his soul or something?

Bird watching is fun. Bat watching is even more fun. Until they start watch you back but eh

The rouges here feels more homely then elsewhere. More malicious to the living then your average Amity haunting, maybe. But the commitment to a theme is very familiar, as is the frequency of attacks.

Another fake clown to soup up! Huh? What do you mean he's human? Humans can't get souped like that don't be silly lol.

Wait. Huh. Well that explains everything and nothing.

How To Manage A Ghost Kingdom 101: a joint lecture by Timothy Drake-Wayne and Jason Peter Todd, teenaged entrepreneur and crime lord, respectively. Targeted student: one future Phantom King.

Advanced Anger Management with Jazz. Targeted student: one Jason Todd and one Danny Phantom.

How To Not Be A Cult Leader Part I, a group therapy lead by Tim. Attendee: one ol' Batsy, his son Stabby Robin, and one Ghost Boy.

So many liminals for a place without a 24/7 portal to the afterlife. Wait what's that green pool underground?

Why and most importantly, How is there ecto detectors in the batcave- wait no actually that explains how the Fentons got their first funding for their cursed research.

'It's good to practice for the future.' -Clockwork, probably.

'Enrichment is important for the growth of a Protector.' -Frostbite, probably.

'Peace is not an option.' -Paraphrased by Danny, probably.

Moving from most haunted city to most cursed city isn't exactly an upgrade, but it isn't an downgrade either, so.

Have you ever considered fighting the bad vibes of your city with cutesy lil blobs? Well you should. Not it's not causing a slime infestation what are you talking about.

Finally someone that is both willing (untrue) and able (we'll see) to deal with the various curses in Gotham. Yay...

No but seriously Danny-make friends with rouges while actively beating each other up-Phantom would fit right in with the Robins.

It's Jazz's dream job working in Arkham... Well it's actually working on dismantling the cursed thing, but baby steps, baby steps.

Imagine the everlasting trio getting onto the bats watchlist within a week. Separately.

Sam for Ivy The Second tendency; Danny because he's poking around old dionesium researches that he shouldn't know about; and Tucker because he's having fun (one-sided) with his new online friends. Oracle is deeply unamused.

Ellie should never meet Damian. They'll be such good bad influences for each other.

[superkooku]

Have you listened/watched epic? And if you have what’s your thoughts?

Personally I think it’s a good thing to show to a friend new to Greek mythology. I just finished watching the last saga and I have to say I loved it, beautiful. Sad it ended tho :(

It might not be very accurate but I love the hardwork the cast put into it and so I love it very much

My thoughts on Epic the musical

So yes, I know about Epic. I even participated in the secret santa thing and am what we may call 'a winion'.

I just finished watching the livestream too ! I especially loved seeing the cast members were reacting to the sagas (Luke Holt was so funny in this 🤣. Also, Jorge carrying Mico like a baby in 'Just a man' and Mason being extra the whole time... so many gems in that livestream)

Since Epic is finished AND I have animatics of the Ithaca saga, I'll use this opportunity to make a more in-depth review of the musical. Instead of separating it in "good" or "bad", I'm reviewing it criteria per criteria.

The cast

Like I previously said, I LOVE the cast chemistry. They're all so fun and lively. I follow some of them separately, like Janani or Troy Doherty, and they're just delightful. Especially Troy as Hermes, he always manages to make me laugh. Every single time 😂.

Also, he gives me a bit of Mettaton vibes since he's extravagant, always over the top and a bit self-absorbed (the Hermes persona, I mean, not Troy Doherty himself). Maybe that's why I like him so much :3

And of course, there's Jorge, mr. Jalapeño, the man with the plan. I love how both passionate and humble he is, how he takes the time to thank everyone and just how much of a bundle of positive energy he is. I know it's an internet persona, but what I can see from him is some hopefully really nice guy in real life too.

Anyways, awesome cast chemistry, everyone made me laugh and they're all having a good time.

The music

This music is so beautiful 🥰. All the motifs, the emotions, the instruments, the voices ! If I had to rate Epic from the music alone, it would be 5 stars. I'm not saying this in a professional angle or anything, it's my personal feeling.

Seriously, I don't really have that much to say about the music because, to me, it's just that good. I love the variety, how different instruments synch themselves and, yeah.

The characters

Annnnd that's where the blind positive praise stops, unfortunately 😂.

Don't get me wrong, it's not awful either and there are good points. My favorite Epic characters are Hermes and Athena.

The rest ? It's mixed. In order not to make this too long, I'll focus on only some of them.

The story is very character-driven so I won't really delve into it in detail.

Odysseus : he's a good protagonist, especially in the first act. His dilemma is interesting, he has a strong personality and I like that he is just a broken man and not some mighty overlord... except in the Thunder and Vengeance sagas. I feel Jorge exaggerated the monster message a bit too much, imo. Odysseus is supposed to be a witty liar, a warrior of the mind. Not someone like Achilles who solves problems by fighting or fights gods like Heracles, much less freaking Poseidon.

Poseidon : okay ! I liked him in the first act, because FINALLY Poseidon isn't a surfer dude. He's a terrifying force of nature that was angered by mortal hubris (though the hubris thing isn't explained by Epic). In Get in the water, he kept his intimidating side. Because he's, yk, the king of the oceans, one of the most powerful Olympian gods. But his defeat partially ruined him for me 😂. It just doesn't make sense. Why is Odysseus afraid of Scylla and even tip-toes around Hermes, who is friendly, when he can stabby-stab Poseidon ? Why didn't Poseidon counterattack? So many questions.

Zeus : my problem with Zeus is easier to explain. Again, he was awesome in the first act, less so in the second. What I loved initially is how regal he was. Powerful, intimidating, kingly, but not evil either. He warns Odysseus of the gods' will and of fate, which always realizes itself in mythology. In Thunder Bringer, he's fine. His lustful and flighty side is shown, but we could interpret his intervention as avenging Helios and punishing the ones who ate the cows, instead of "Zeus is evil". But in God Games ? He's so pettyyyyy and childish. Where is the kingly attitude ? This "Beast Zeus" should come against Kronos or Typhon, or maybe when Athena and the others threatened his position. Not after a freaking game ! He just strikes Athena with thunder because she won fair and square. At LEAST Luke Holt absolutely killed it, so it's cool to listen to.

Penelope : she's underdeveloped :( . Okay, her bond with Odysseus was respected, they're adorable together. On her own ? Eh, she's fine. Which is a shame because she simply didn't have enough room to exist outside of Odysseus. Also, the fact that she doesn't interact once with her son is criminal imo.

I do have some other issues with characters like Circe and Calypso (basically they're declawed compared to the Odyssey), whereas I'm completely fine with others like Eurylochus, Telemachus or every god except Zeus and Poseidon. Though they're not perfectly accurate either but I don't have problems with them.

The crew in general is also underdeveloped, so I didn't feel much for them (until discovering the scrapped Elpenor and Perimedes songs/lh). They played their roles correctly.

I hated the suitors (that's a positive in Epic) and laughed when Antinous died. Though I wished they were more pathetic and less threatening. Musically it'd be worse but story-wise more fitting.

The story

Overall, it's fine. Most of the best points come from the Odyssey itself, the one change I liked the most was having Odysseus and Poseidon meet (not the way it ended though).

Also, story-wise, I prefer act 1 over act 2, because it's less over the place and more grounded.

But emotion-wise and music-wise, forgetting about the Odyssey, act 2 wins the cake.

Those were my thoughts on Epic :3

I tried not to judge it too much according to the Odyssey and some of my friends are more demanding on that plan (for perfectly legitimate reasons btw). But it's hard to separate Epic from the wonderful work of Homer and it's lacking in some areas.

Still, this journey was very fun, I love all the passion Jorge, the singers and the animatic artists put in, there are a lot of good things about it (I can't mention everything). I don't want to rate it because it's too rigid of a system. I listen to the songs on loop and, ultimately, I'm thankful Epic exists :)

I may come back to this post and reblog stuff if I have new relevant thoughts to add. I'll probably rank the sagas in another post.

[kimbap-r0ll]

Can I request you the Dorm leaders with gender neutral S/O, Disney known for making musical, so I was thinking making S/O sing all the time, background music just come from nowhere and even others around then sing too

Hi, thank you for the ask! This is a really cute and funny idea ^^

Dorm leaders x gn!s/o who sings all the time and brings a musical ensemble with them

Riddle

While he would usually hate noises when he doesn't expect them (ie loud voices in the library caused by Ace and Deuce) he absolutely loves your singing

Will he tell you this to your face? No, probably not at first. He has made hints towards it in the past, saying things like "hey you sound really good!" but then there's the part where suddenly you get a whole background cast singing with you. NOW he's shooketh

I think he would've first thought it was a bit weird? Like is this your unique magic? But overall, I think he wouldn't mind as long as it doesn't cause any damage or breaks any of the Queen of Hearts' rules

Definitely try to get some of the animals that are around the dorm gardens to sing or at least dance with you like they do in Disney films lol. I think he would find it adorable

Leona

He found it annoying but then got used to it haha. Like he just thinks it's funny now when you suddenly burst into song and the whole classroom gets filled with passing students also singing about how Professor Crewel's class is too hard

You singing alone though, he loves. He's also too shy to tell you upfront but you have definitely caught him looking at you with a warm look in his eyes when you hum and accidentally get eye contact

Probably assumes this whole musical situation is your unique ability. If it's not, he's just confused even more. I think you should use it during a Spelldrive competition!

Have you tried waking him up using this? Definitely will make him throw a pillow at your face, but it might be worth a funny prank

Azul

While he says he loves the arts, he was not expecting musical theater as his forefront. Now he's here, with whom he sees as the love of his life, singing and dancing about how you are going to get "your head in the game" for Spelldrive with like 30 other students

He's not the greatest with crowds, but does find it somewhat amusing how you are able to conjure up so many people at once. Does this mean the Monstro Lounge gets hella packed from time to time on accident? Maybe!

I think he would love you singing by yourself and will constantly tell you this. Ursula much? He probably tried to steal your voice when you two first met haha. Either way, he wants to hear you a lot

Believes it's your unique magic whether or not you think so. I think he'll be stubborn about it for some reason. But! He does think it's really cool, perhaps you could teach him how you make it happen

Kalim

Absolutely loves it! He's also singing along if it happens to be a song he knows. For example, everyone suddenly bursting into "Prince Ali" would be awesome!

Does Jamil appreciate this? From time to time like when Scarabia is throwing a party then it's sort of like a big moment and you're technically helping him with managing the whole event.

Kalim also isn't shy about telling you that your voice is amazing. He's probably said that first when you two met and you were mindlessly humming to yourself while doing homework with him.

If it happens to be your unique ability I think he would think it's the coolest one he's ever witnessed (even though he can basically conjure water). Definitely sing tunes he knows, since that will make students and him all join

Vil

Y'all were made for each other haha

While Vil is strict and loves quiet times, he's also a theater kid at heart. You two know basically every musical song out there so whenever you burst into song, not only will students (maybe animals?) join you but he might as well!

You guys need to do duets PLZ. It will be soooooooo cute. Sure, that doesn't mean 40 other students will suddenly start singing so it's not as big, but it's very heartfelt. I think he would love random singing

If it's your unique ability, he definitely thinks it's cool. Just keep in mind not to cause a musical to erupt when he's stressed out though, since that could result in him laughing or throwing magic in your direction

Idia

He hates crowds. The first time you caused "That's How You Know Her" to begin in the middle of you two hanging out at the courtyard he ran away because you made literally every student in the periphery start dancing and singing

He thinks you have a beautiful voice. He's shy about telling you this, but I think he would absolutely cherish every tune you hum or sing. If you happen to record them, he keeps it on a device so he can listen to you when he's sad

If this is your unique ability I think he would be amazed since this doesn't seem like weak magic at all. He does wonder if you enjoy crowds a lot since you cause people to join you for a little musical number, but overall he does think it's neat

I would say he appreciates you singing alone more than in a crowd. Ortho, on the other hand, might appreciate your big musical numbers more!

Malleus

Thinks it's really neat, he loves the energy you bring!

He wasn't expecting a big turnout for his birthday party at all when he invited you, but seeing so many fellow Diasomnia students very wholesome made him tear up a bit :')

Outside of your musical endeavors, I think he also appreciates your voice a lot. He can sing (literal evidence in the games) but he doesn't do it often. He likes to listen to you more than anyone else, but you two should totally do duets

If this happens to be your magic, then he's impressed! It's not every day that someone can make people appear out of nowhere or people nearby join you in a musical number. If Malleus is proud, then you should know you're literally one of the strongest magic users out there haha

[burning-academia-if]

Heyyyy em! I stole an ask... I'm gonna send it around lol

So Spell gone wrong ROs get transported to some place in time where little bitty MC is the one to find them...

How does that go??? 😏😭🤣

Omg baby MC...back before their Whole World collapsed

Rook: Rook meeting MC at an even younger age than when the two became friends and feeling incredibly odd about being allowed to see you at every stage of your life so far. He's actually pretty good with kids, and I can see him entertaining MC and playing them before sending them on their way (also resisting temptation to say something to MC's dad, which I find very funny considering how MC's dad would not like Rook either)

Beck: I think he'd find MC as a child the cutest thing, and would immediately want to spoil them lol he's the best with kids out of the whole cast, and he'd play with them or tell them stories to distract them before returning them to their parents (with a sugary treat as well, although shh it's a secret from your parents ok?)

Rhea: It takes her a moment to realize who this small child is that has bumped into her. She isn't entirely sure how to interact with kids, but she'd smooth out her usual stern expression and try to make herself gentle, asking where MC's parents are and if they'd like her help to find them. Feels a strange pang in her chest when she hands you off, although she can't tell why

Zoe: Another one of those moments where their Older Sibling mode is activated lol quick to make sure MC is fine before hesitantly asking about their parents. When MC points them out, Zoe feels an instant weight on them. You, small and innocent, and your family rushing to collect you, whole and complete. There's nothing they can do for you, and they can only watch you run back to your family with a heavy heart

Lars: Please, he finds you annoying enough as an adult, let alone as a Small Child LMAO I think his reaction will vary depending on what kind of child you were, but he neither knows how to interact with child or really would want to, even if it is MC. Plus, I think he's too wary of the potential consequences of it so he just acknowledges it's you before moving on

???: Strangely enough, they don't feel they have a right to approach you. Instead, they watch as you interact with your family, anger flaring in their chest at the knowledge of the future. The image is false now, lost to the sands of time. If only the young child they see could have stayed unmarked by the trials to come in the rest of their life

[witchofthesouls]

AHHHH, I KEEP THINKING ABOUT IT!

Okay, I think the handling TFP/Aligned Orion Pax was weakened by the background inconsistencies that were supposed to ground his personality and motivations.

And that's why Orion Pax can come off as an asshole, weirdly tone deaf, or very naive, yet deep inside the revolution as a competent head.

It's as if the writers took so many cool things to prop up the guy, but let it compete with "How Orion Pax and Megatronus were Different" and made a mess.

And, depending on your view, it either was half-heartedly addressed or done masterfully.

Saltysaltdog did a really great analysis on Megatron's feelings of betrayal and humiliation of letting Orion Pax so close to everything, and it's found here: click

The biggest gripe I have with the whole thing with the characterization of Orion Pax is twofold: 1) the writers didn't leverage Orion Pax's unique, and let's be honest, precarious position, and 2) didn't expand deeper the fundamental differences that essentially broke Orion Pax and Megatron apart and started that catastrophic civil war.

The setup is there. Megatron and Orion Pax are distorted mirrors of each other. The major differences are driven by what was socially appropriate for them to consider as pathways.

The Cybertron that came to was deep in the grips of a well-established and well-entrenched caste system. In that kind of society, it isn't just money that decrees social mobility. The very hierarchy of the society is driven by cultural and religious norms on the "worthiness" of each group at various set levels. And from that "worth," it not only dictates the rights of the members in a caste but decrees the appropriate behavior and outlets as well as dictates how relationships between members of different castes are maintained.

So Orion Pax is a giant "FUCK YOU" to all of that. His very presence would have pissed off so many parties that isn't funny.

As in, I honestly believe he's alive because his initial seclusion from civilization had given him key skills and behaviors that saved his ass and Alpha Trion's personal care.

Yes. There would have been bullying. Yes. There would be complete resentment and hatred. Yes. There would have been social orstracism from his own colleagues.

Even individuals who are lumped with him as "caste climbers" or just sympathetic/pitying would have stayed away by the dangers of their own reputation being tainted.

"You're nothing but a bauble and an ornament. Merely a prized pet for Alpha Trion. One day, he'll lose interest, and that day, you'll go back to where you belong."

Orion Pax defied the appropriate ways of inclusion to their occupation and way of life. He doesn't have a frame or a specialized ability that's related to information. He has no achievements, no accolades, and doesn't even have a sponsored education from a prestigious university or any useful connections.

Orion Pax is both an outsider and a representative. He needs to be extremely mindful of everything: his words, his tone, his body language, his own work... are all subject to scrutiny.

(And it either shows his sneakiness that he's able to shake off all eyes when he descends down to the gladiatorial game, his ability to lie by omission or obfuscation, or his colleagues relief with him out of sight.)

That very grey area would have left deep impressions on him. It would explain his passiveness, the perceptiveness, the way he speaks, and the careful plans he quietly does by the sides in a need-to-know basis.

Violence can come in many forms. And in a world where your worth is tied to your caste, then Orion Pax should be deeply familiar with the various ways it can be soft, sweet, and utterly insidious. A velvet wrapped steel glove. A dagger from the shadows. A poisonous treat. A deal of bad faith. A betrayl from a kind face.

Remember: Ratchet went through the proper channels and with the appropriate frame to match his function. Of course, he has that shield against so many grievances and injustices as well as many prejudices that color his perceptions. Look at the differences in how he recounts the brotherhood between Megatronus and Orion Pax and the outcome of before the High Council.

Orion is both given privileges that Megatron and his cohort wouldn't have, but it's also a noose around his neck. He is severely handicapped by Alpha Trion's deliberate meddling to keep the reincarnated Thirteen/the Matrix's newest Prime nearby and simultaneously well-informed and in the dark.

Unlike the miner-turned-gladiator, Orion doesn't have that option for bloodsport. His too low-caste for the avenues of security by the high-caste, but too high-caste to partake in the low-caste culture. It's acceptable for them to be physically violent, to be in bloodsport, to solve their grievances with their fists.

It's vastly different to the complete ruination of an individual's life that Orion got thrown into the deep end: reputation, finances, personal and professional relationships, involuntary reformat... The power games of the higher-castes are completely different ball-game.

He's stuck with his own thoughts because there's no way he can voice doubts to Alpha Trion (the mech who gave him such a position, advice, and unrestricted access to the archives) nor to his colleagues (who either hate his guts or would sell the information because information is power and the Hall of Records is a major point of power).

Look at the people he attaches himself to. They're rather straightforward: Megatronus, Ratchet, Jazz, Bumblebee, Arcee...

He's drawn to their ease yet still holds himself in a certain degree of formality because that's how he managed to survive in a snake pit. And that's too deeply ingrained into him at that point. People read that negatively. Megatron once saw that but didn't understand what it truly meant. Megatron saw his willingness to give up so much and his privileges, but he didn't understand the extent of the scars that Orion mentally and emotionally has.

Ratchet would be one of the few that really perceives that. The medic may not fully understands but he keeps trying, and the war eventually breaks down the barriers.

It would make so much sense about his strange notions, why he doesn't allow Megatron explore "his" world, why he keeps everything to himself, why he relatively comfortable with others outside his "caste."

This guy would literally ruminate the entire work day (both legal and subversive) until he fell asleep after rechecking the locks 27365837 times so an assassin or unfortunate "pet" didn't come into his room.

This could explain why he basically highjacked the damn meeting. Orion Pax has unrestricted access to many records. He knows his history. He can read between the lines. His A-game was on, especially in this endeavor.

Was it a well-intentioned plan to draw fire to himself because he had Alpha Trion’s strange degree of protection compared to the others? Was it panic because he knew all the ways to kill a person until death was mercy? Was it Plan 27-b because he thought all the ways it could go wrong? Was it his well-honed instinct demanding him to divert and pacify, but careful with the words (soft and fluttering with hidden danger with what is unsaid) to keep avenues open because to have the Primacy bestowed upon them would be an honor and completely legitimized the movement? Did he see the noose closing around Megatron and couldn't bear witness to have it strangle him, too?!

There's so much going on here. It all hinges on cultural absorption and clashes and the meddling by an ancient fart of an oracle, and it's just so tragically fascinating.

[meanbossart]

Alright, I am like 90% sure there is ONE line in A Novel Experience touching on Gale GTFOing rapidly, so I don't think there are answers in there for me. So I come to you and ask-WTF went on between Gale and Drow???

Alright, so

There are two versions to what happened to Gale in my first campaign (the OG DU drow campaign that this whole universe is based around), lets begin with the technical version. As I've only somewhat recently come to understand, my Gale was bugged. I had 1 interaction early in the game that slightly veered into romance which didn't go anywhere, and first chance I had I clarified that I was not interested in him that way (the whole reason why It happened in the first place was because i misunderstood his dialogue). Despite this, and despite me turning him down in every romantic interaction following, I kept getting them and my interactions with him were as if we were romantically involved. I even got one exchange (the one about muscles glistening and cheeks flushed) twice, and rejected him both times.

So, later in the game once DU drow and Astarion sucessfully 5d chess-ed their way into falling In love, I was surprised to still be informed i had to "break things off" with Gale if I wanted to get with him. Which I did. And he gave me a whole spiel about it.

Now it's crucial you understand this was early in the game's release, I went into it completely blind and I had never played a game like Baldur's Gate before, so I was not familiar with the mechanics at all, which... Kind of led me to believe Gale was just like that normally.

From that point on I was highly amused, but for roleplaying purposes I decided my drow would have been highly annoyed and a little creeped out. And so I proceeded to be extremely rude to the guy at every chance I got. This eventually resulted In him pursuing the crown of Karsus despite me (rudely) telling him that was a very dumb idea.

The second version of what happened, as I already touched on above a little bit, Is the Narrative one. As I mentioned I had no clue what was and wasn't supposed to happen, so I just... Went along with it within the role-play.

So our beloved DU drow gets worms. He goes on a grand adventure with this weird possy of people to find a cure. When the tiefling party comes everybody except Astarion wants to get into his pants (because I left him on the beach for like a week and then proceeded to be The Rudest to him, sorry babe, I didn't see your pale ass and the asshole dialogue options were Really funny).

Someone else who Didn't seem to wanna fuck him was the wizard. He said he just wanted to show him a magic trick and he (and, I'll admit, me) really thought that was just that. The scene unfolds, Gale tries to teach DU Drow to cast a spell but his 9 intelligence says No. The unsolicited date ends abruptly because Gale is upset that a champion fighter without a single cantrip makes for a shitty wizard. DU Drow thinks thats the end of that - It's Not.

Then what proceeds to happen is a long, annoying, somewhat unsettling dynamic where Gale continually tries to pursue him throughout the game, coming to the point where the guy I'm Actually interested in thinks we are together - and when DU drow tells him verbatim that he had no idea they were even a thing in Gale's mind, he has to hear him whine about it. Add to that the fact that all Gale talks about is his ex-girlfriend, DU drow is (kind of justifiably) led to believe he must be a Profound weirdo to whom he cannot ever say even a Neutral word to again lest he becomes any more infatuated with him - 0r whatever the hell is going on.

Whether it be DU drow's own inflated ego or the actual truth, when Gale begins to pursue the crown he also assumes he's just doing it to spite him - so he isn't the kindest to him about that either.

And within this narrative that I concocted around a simple bug that didn't let me end a romance, I cannot imagine Anyone getting on particularly well with Gale within my main party. Drow thinks he's madly in love with him, Shadowheart is probably a little confused but she trusts DU Drow's word on the matter more than the Wizard's, Astarion thinks... What Astarion thinks.

So, no, they didn't part on the best of terms.

Before anyone gets mad, I assure you - I've completed the game again since then, I realize this is Not the intended Gale experience. He's a hysterical and deeply interesting character and only Slightly clingy and weird.

But, you gotta admit, this is way funnier.

[tigsbitties]

looks at you hi would you be down to talk about your visions for the randy dialup timeline. or if there's any other bits you're itching to talk about. if otherwise take this instead

oh sweet jesus he looks like he's being raptured

but yes i am ALWAYS down to talk about my randy dialup timeline visions bc i think about it kind of a lot? Bc like if it was a one off gag that would be one thing but the fact there apparently IS more to be elaborated on there and it just won't ever be kills me inside. it's great

I think my main hangup regarding a Randy caused the dialup scenario is he's not. particularly smart? (I don't think Randy is particularly dumb either but like. I certainly don't buy him as an inventor/brain surgeon/ all the other whimsical bullshit callum is) Nor does Randy really have that same level of ambition.

Which leads me down the train of thought of well. there certainly is a character in the main cast who's both smart and driven enough to build their own head and potentially figure out how to do that to everyone it just isn't Randy.

So much how in canon Callum Crown the idea is actually made up of three people in a trench coat, i imagine "Randy Jade the joke candidate that accidentally won" wasn't a solo operation either. I'm positive that Oliver is involved in the Randy dialup timeline in some way shape or form, I simply do not have confidence in Randy on his own. Although i do have to wonder about it. Because Oliver does not strike me as a "making huge decisions for other people because i think it's for the greater good" type person at ALL. esp not in this context. so i have to assume his involvement is likely unwilling at a certain point. I also have to wonder about Karen in this timeline-- bc the original situation was three people acting as one figurehead right? So it would make sense in a bizzaro timeline like this it would instead be a trio of the three main datebles, but i can not for the life of me see Karen wanting to get involved in a Randy scheme for any reason (especially in a world without gingi) other than it having to do with Oliver? Because i buy them being friends in other timelines. Like maybe Karen's gotten roped into whatever this is because she was trying to help her friend out and it spiraled out of control? Ill get back to you on this

(I'm pretty sure Randy getting voted in as a joke is a concrete thing we know? like in the discord somewhere. even if its not I chose to believe that's what happened. bc its funny)

I def feel like im totally off base in my approach, given i don't really have a whole lot of puzzle pieces to work with (esp given that randy diaup timeline is still ultimately a gag) but those are my main thoughts currently.

(Also pondering what randy would have to gain out of causing the dialup in the first place? the only potential shared theme i kind find between him and callum in this regard is "going to drastic measures to prove your own usefulness because until now nobody had faith that you would accomplish anything" But that level of drive/determined spite isn't something we really see in base timeline randy? just something i could see potentially developing if pushed really hard in the right direction.)

[nellie-elizabeth]

What We Do in the Shadows: The Finale (6x11)

It's so wild to finish watching this finale and then hop over to Tumblr to see people lamenting and grieving for this epic queer-bait on one hand, and then other people throwing a party because Nandermo is canon now, and I'm just like... what show did you all think you were watching? lol. This was a fun finale.

Cons:

This finale cemented once and for all that the Guide was pretty useless as a character, and I hate saying that because I love the actress and I wanted her to have more to do. But her final character beat is that Cravensworth's Monster is really horny for her? The alternate ending where she's a detective on the case of the vampires was really funny, and it was the first solid bit they've given Kristen Schaal all season, and that bums me out. They even get in a last mention of Nandor's feelings for the Guide, which again goes nowhere and isn't funny or clever or interesting. So that's a bummer.

Also, I want to be careful here because there's all this extra weight put on finales to be some big thing that both shatters and preserves the status quo and that's an impossible standard to live up to, but, the one thing I do wish for was a bit of a resolution or at least an escalation on the whole "the vampires have fallen down on the job of conquering the new world" plot. It's just that the season started with that, and I didn't need some gigantic world-altering payoff, but some sort of circling back in a way that felt like things ended with a bit of momentum into the nebulous future might have been nice? Not the end of the world, but whatever.

To give space to the people who are sad about Nandermo, I will say I wish this show had had a bit more of a substantial relationship to the queerness of all the characters. For all that every single one of them is casually mentioned to be sexually attracted to multiple genders in a way that's really freeing, the only core romantic relationship on the show that has story-lines and gets narrative weight, is between Nadja and Laszlo. I honestly would never have expected or even wanted this finale to be some big grand "Ross and Rachel are finally together" moment for Nandor and Guillermo, but if I reflect back over the show as a whole... yeah. I do wish the queerness of the entire cast had been slightly less incidental in some way? It's more a reflection on some adjustments they might have made over the years, rather than a complaint about this finale in and of itself.

Pros:

Honestly, as I said above, finales have such a weird heavy lift in the TV world, especially when it comes to a comedy like this show. You have two options: either the show ends with a big change, the status quo splintering off and leaving you with a bittersweet sense of time passing (i.e. Friends), or else you basically say: and things go on thusly forevermore, and even if you're not here to see it, they're still out there being themselves. And frankly for this show, any ending that wasn't a preservation of the status quo would have felt disingenuous to me. Because the core tenant for these characters is that they're vampires and they'll continue on indefinitely being who they've always been. It's the core tension of Guillermo as a character, that he's a human with the impulse to grow and change, and his chosen family is frozen in time in a way he can never fully understand or be a part of. It's the thing about the show that makes it a good sitcom, but also doesn't lend itself naturally to some big climactic moment where everything snaps together.

So what do they do with it? They go meta! The episode starts with a setup as if it's going to be about Cravensworth's Monster turning horny and offering his dick as a gift to the Guide, and what they're going to do about this situation. But then, just as everyone's discussing it and giving their cut-away interviews to camera, the documentary crew suddenly declares that they have enough footage and they're done. Everybody else takes this completely in stride, but Guillermo is devastated and confused. So many years, basically his whole adult life, he's been followed around by these cameras, he's had his life structured into narrative arcs, and now... what? What was it all for?

One of the core strengths of the "found family" thing in this show is that the jokes can keep rolling while there is actually a subtle underpinning of sweetness to certain moments. So here, nobody takes Guillermo's reaction all that seriously, they all play off the end of the documentary filming like it makes no difference at all. But, at the same time, they all do something to acknowledge Guillermo's pain in their own way, and try with the typical clumsiness of this gang of vampires to offer him something in the way of comfort. Early season Colin and Nadja and Laszlo and Nandor wouldn't even have bothered to pretend to give a shit that Guillermo is upset, but here we have Laszlo offering to play a tune on the piano, Colin giving empty platitudes and talking about the nature of found family (even though he says he lost his found family in the early twentieth century and has been forced to hang out with these people instead). You have Nadja, using her new keen insight into human psychology to explain to Nandor why Guillermo must be upset, hitting the nail on the head by remarking that Guillermo probably feels like his opportunities for growth and development have passed him by. She uses her hypnotic powers to give the audience the perfect ending they would want, and we'll get into those alternate endings a little later on. And Nandor - Nandor gives Guillermo the stage to speak to the cameras and offer his own resolution, and makes earnest entreaties for them to stay together and be partners in fighting crime.

It's silly, and they all fumble it, and it's not actually reassuring or comforting except that the very effort in and of itself proves that they care. And that proves that these vampires are capable of change, doesn't it?

Guillermo really got the Main Character treatment here at the end, which is honestly his due: he's the one who has to grapple with the documentary ending, with the knowledge that this isn't even the first time his friends have been followed by cameras, that life is cyclical and that everything he's been through isn't new or original. He has to come to terms, in a meta sense, that he's a character in a sitcom. And so he goes for the sentimental ending: he helps put Nandor down to rest in his coffin one last time, acting as a familiar in all ways, and then he tells Nandor goodbye: that it's time for him to move on. He calls Nandor "Master" and when Nandor says he doesn't have to do that, Guillermo says: "I know. But you'll always be Master to me." And then he closes the coffin, slowly and with finality. Both actors give genuinely solemn and touching performances in this moment.

The end.

Of course, a camera still rolling in the corner of the room picks it up when Guillermo doubles back right away, interrupting the crew packing up their equipment. Nandor is pleased to see that Guillermo hasn't left after all, and Guillermo explains that he just wanted to give a satisfying conclusion to the documentary. He has no intention of leaving Nandor! And Nandor treats him as a friend and an equal, inviting him to share his coffin (although not, ostensibly, in a sexy way). Turns out, despite Guillermo's worries that the whole crime fighting thing was a whim and that he'd have to do all of the work, Nandor has actually been working hard on his secret underground lair, accessible only through a secret coffin-shaped tunnel through the earth. Our last glimpse of Nandor and Guillermo in the narrative proper is the two of them plunging through the earth in a coffin together, on their way to Super Hell. Or, I mean, their secret underground lair from which they'll fight crime.

I loved it, honestly. Guillermo's awareness of narrative convention, this whole season being about him stepping back and making his own choices, and then Nandor asking for Guillermo to come back, and Guillermo ending up where he wants to be without any false promises between him and Nandor. They are not a Master and his Familiar. They are friends, and equals, and it was honestly exactly the ending that makes sense for these two. A balancing point between the stagnation inherent in a character like Nandor, for whom change is almost impossible, and a character like Guillermo who had to go on a whole journey to figure out where he wanted to end up.

And then, we've got to talk about Nadja's three proposed "perfect" endings for the viewer. She hypnotized us into three parodies: the first is a Bob Newhart thing, where Nandor wakes up next to his husband Guillermo in bed, having had a crazy dream that encompasses the whole plot of What We Do in the Shadows. I saw some people saying that this was "making fun" of the viewers who shipped these characters, but like, guys, this show is nothing but making fun of everyone. It's all that, it's all jokes, it's all goofy. We got to hear some version of Nandor call Guillermo "honey," we got to see Guillermo kiss Nandor on the cheek. It made me giggle, it was so delightfully absurd. And it really revealed that the creators of the show understand what the Nandermo part of their audiences were picking up on - it's saying, yeah, some of you wanted this as an ending, but can't you see that the two of them having some grand romance at the last second would be genre-and-tone-breaking? I loved the line where Nandor was saying that in his dream, he and the other vampires all were having a lot of sex with each other, and "not you, Guillermo." Amazing.

The other alt "endings" provided by Nadja, available at least on Hulu as extra features, are great also... and I saw by reading some of the reviews of this episode that it seems people genuinely got different endings somehow when watching live - people reacted to the Nandermo Bob Newhart thing as one of the "alts," but I saw it as the actual content of the episode. The reviews that I saw all had the "Usual Suspects" ending as the one in the actual episode, with the others as the alts. That is fantastically troll-worthy behavior and SUCH a good note to go out on, the idea that some people might see one of the three endings and genuinely not know there's more out there. Through these endings we get to see Sean and Derek and some other frequent guest characters play bit parts, which is a fun way to give some of the extended cast a last hurrah.

I want to end by saying that if you're feeling hurt or betrayed by how this show ends, I want to honor that feeling as legitimate to you. But for my personal take? I don't think this show did anything wrong. Like, politically or structurally or tonally. My personal opinion is that this has always been an irreverent show where nothing really matters and nothing really changes, and this finale managed to actually feel like a sweet sendoff to the characters. Evidence of growth like I mentioned above, as this vampire family actually does make space for Guillermo's feelings, albeit in an unconventional and insufficient way. But this was never going to be a show where everybody got suddenly sentimental and sincere and confessed their deep personal truths to each other. It's a show that might wink at you, that might have Nandor say he's glad they won't be on film anymore, that might have Guillermo hopefully pushing to find out what he means by that... but that will always end with Nandor not picking up what Guillermo is putting down, that will always have another silly punchline waiting around the corner. This is a show that made me smile and felt really special in how bizarre it could get. And I did feel, on a genuine, emotional level, like this was the perfect way to end the show for Nandor and Guillermo's relationship.

As Nadja says, nothing is going to change - they'll keep on doing what they've always done, but now there will be nobody to film them doing it. And as Laszlo says, "We’ve had lots of laughs. Sucked lots of blood. And then fucked each other senseless."

This final episode gets high marks from me!

9/10

And the show as a whole, I don't feel like there's much more to say that hasn't been said above, which is probably another sign of a good finale: this was a real wrap-up of the chaotic and goof-ball energy of one of my favorite comedy outings of all time. It kept me good company these past few years, and Guillermo de la Cruz is always going to be a Character of All Time in my book. I'm sad to say goodbye, but what a send-off!

8/10

[goblin-the-clown]

I know the reason people compare Kokichi and Shin is that they're both huge liars but I really don't think they're that similar beyond that. I thought I'd look into this a little, I haven't watched anything to do with danganronpa v3 in a while though so sorry if I get anything wrong.

Spoiler warning for danganronpa v3 and your turn to die

From the moment you're introduced to Kokichi, it's kind of made obvious that he's going to be at the very least a hindrance to the rest of the cast, with the whole ultimate supreme leader thing and the fact he's established as being an annoying little brat right off the bat. Depending on how much you like danganronpa you can either see this as a big mistake because it's predictable or a genius writing choice because you don't expect him to be an actual threat (unless you've played the other games in which weird evil twinks being the antagonists are kind of a pattern).

Speaking of weird evil twinks, Shin is the first character you meet in the game, albeit a mysterious shadowy version of him, but if you have common sense you can definitely make the link between the two once you're actually introduced to him. So you're pretty much suspicious of him already, but the game keeps putting you in situations where you have to be alone with him which puts you on edge, except nothing actually happens. Yeah there are a few moments where he gives you a little jumpscare or says something slightly weird but it's glossed over pretty quickly and never mentioned again as far as I can remember. It's pretty obvious that Sara and the rest of the cast aren't suspicious of him, and he's even being a big help to everyone by trying to find a way into the laptop, so you start to trust him as well since he's not doing anything wrong. And then the main game begins and you are immediately back to being suspicious of him again when he claims to be the keymaster.

Personally, I think Shin's introduction is a lot better than Kokichi's, but that could just be because I'm biased or I'm misremembering something. I don't think Kokichi is a bad antagonist necessarily, in fact I think the antagonists are one of the series' strong points, I just think he's a little predictable especially after having an antagonist like Nagito. Speaking of Nagito, I think his introduction is a lot more similar to Shin's rather than Kokichi's since he is also the first character you meet in the game and kind of hang around with for most of the first chapter. People do compare Nagito and Shin as well, which I completely disagree with too but that can be it's whole own post.

Anyway, back to the reason people actually compare them. The lying.

Unlike Shin, Kokichi's reason for lying seems to just be that he's a compulsive liar, and a really bad one at that. He says ridiculous things and then once you question him about it he immediately gives up and tells you it was all a lie. Is this bad writing? I have no idea. But I do know that this absolutely nothing like how Shin reacts when you catch him in a lie.

Shin actually attempts to be a decent liar, and it works a lot of the time as well, everyone believes him when he says he's the keymaster because he hasn't really done anything that suspicious up to this point so they have no reason to doubt him. Something I forgot to mention about Kokichi is that no one believes him, ever. Even when he's telling the truth. It's sort of a boy who cried wolf situation and this isn't the case with Shin. Kanna believes him because she's naive and she wants to believe in the best in people, which makes everyone a little less wary of him because "Well Kanna is on our side so surely she'd tell us if he was up to something". This just leads to Kanna going along with his plans (albeit usually being tricked) which is actually kind of funny when you think about it.

Something kind of similar to this happens with Kokichi and Gonta but nobody falls for it because they all know Gonta isn't the brightest and Kokichi is just going to take advantage of that. Everyone fucking hates this guy as well, did I mention that? Yeah everyone actively despises him and prays for his downfall. The only person who actually liked him was Gonta and he quite literally indirectly killed him. But I'm getting off track.

Shin's reason for lying is actually explained, he's extremely paranoid and knows that his chance of survival is basically nothing, he lies and manipulates others because he thinks that's the only way he can survive the death game. Meanwhile, Kokichi seemingly does it just for fun, or at least that's what he wants you to believe.

Another thing that's similar between the two is that they're both putting on persona's, but the thing with Kokichi is that it's left completely ambiguous where the real Kokichi ends and his persona begins. This is one of the things I actually like about Kokichi's character, it's pretty interesting if you think about it, I also think they did a very good job at making him unlikable but that proves to be a massive problem later on (I'll get to that soon). With Shin, we know what the real Shin was like from the AI, the flashbacks and the way he acts at the beginning of the game. He's kind and awkward and overall just a fairly normal guy, which is how he acts at the beginning of the game. You're tricked into thinking how he acted at the start was all a lie but in reality it's how he acts afterwards that is the persona he puts on. It's hard to say whether I like Kokichi or Shin more in this category because I think they're both intriguing in their own ways but I just like Shin and your turn to die better as a whole so it's no surprise I might be a little biased.

Ok, this is the part where I start getting really mad and going on a massive rant about how much I hate this. Their deaths.

Kokichi's death is just absolutely awful. Not the death itself necessarily because I actually like the thing that they did with tricking people into thinking it was Kaito who died, but what it means for Kokichi as a character. We are basically told that Kokichi has been the good guy all along despite all of the horrible shit he did (including being indirectly responsible for the deaths of two people) and we're supposed to feel bad for him. I don't feel bad for this guy and I'm glad he's dead. What the fuck does being an annoying little bitch and constantly lying to others have to do with trying to stop the killing game?? It literally did nothing! This isn't even a "Despite how hard he tried he still failed" moment. Kokichi isn't a fucking idiot he would know that that obviously would never work!! Am i missing something?? Am i misremembering this entire game?? How does being crushed in a hydraulic press help anyone?? I am just completely baffled by this. If anyone has an actual explanation for this can you please tell me why he did this?

Ok, now let's talk about Shin's death, which in my opinion is amazing (especially compared to whatever the hell that was). The game never tries to excuse all of the shitty things he does, but no one is this game (out of the participants) is truly a bad person. Sure some of them are jerks at times and do selfish things but that's just because they're people. It's no secret that danganronpa is a very over the top and unrealistic series, and that's not really a bad thing but your turn to die is a lot more grounded in reality in terms of the way the characters are written so you can't really compare the two. Also, in danganronpa the main cast is working against each other, in your turn to die they're working together. So obviously there are gonna be a lot more horrible people in danganronpa than in yttd because you can't feel bad for all of them when they're murdering each other.

Ok I went off on a tangent, now let's actually talk about Shin's death. Shin's death is arguably one of the most impactful in the whole game, because he is one of the most important characters. Even as he's practically sacrificing himself for Kanna he still doesn't want to die and tries to escape, which obviously ends horribly for him but it's incredibly realistic. No danganronpa, not everyone is going to accept their death and sacrifice themselves for a group of people who (let's be honest) are strangers. Even when he's bleeding out he still manages to make his way to the rubble room which just shows his sheer determination despite knowing he's going to die. His final gift to Sara isn't anything big, he didn't try to end the death game, but he gave her the thing she needed to get back up again after she thought all hope was lost.

I think that's just about everything I wanted to go over. Like I said I haven't watched a v3 playthrough in ages so I could be completely wrong and i'm also not a professional in writing. I just thought this was a weird phenomenon and I wanted to show just how actually different they are. Anyways, I'd like to hear your opinions and whether you disagree or agree with anything I said. Thanks.

[itseasytoremember]

I feel like I should talk about some books/ series I've read that I've really enjoyed but I refuse to get a good reads. Here is a list of a bunch of fun/chill feel good fantasy and sci-fy books that I really enjoyed, especially the audiobook version!

Fred the Vampire Accountant series by Drew Hayes: Genre: Low Fantasy/ Comedy.

Mild mannered accountant Fred gets selected by a sadistic vampire to be turned, with the presumption that the power of being a vampire will drive him mad and he will destroy the city. Instead.... He goes back to work, with some new business hours and potentially some new clientele! This series constantly flips the traditional literary monster tropes in a fun and satisfying way, if maybe not the most complex way. The books are broken up into series of short stories, which i like!

I'll say it, The first short story is a little cringe on my most recent reread, and I really thought they were gonna pull an incel protag, but they don't, it's a fake out and the whole series is a cozy read of a man collecting a found family of misfits!

Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett

Genre: high fantasy/ satire

The only critique I have of this series is 48 books isn't enough. Terry Pratchett is what I wanted Jk Rowling to be. I know it seems like a lot of book, but it's actually just 4 smaller series that all take place in the same world, plus a bunch of one-offs that build it out.

I recommend starting at either the nights watch series, which is a fun fantasy/detective Series, or Monstrous Regiment, which is a stand alone that is basically if Mulan was set in a British military comedy. Fun, funny, and stupidly clever. 1000/10 also they recently had all the audiobooks redone and they are excellent.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Genre: Hard science fiction

Probably my favourite science fiction story of all time. What would you do if you woke up in a strange room, alone, with such a bad case of amnesia. Amnesia so bad that the only thing you know with any certainty is that the world is ending and you are supposed to stop it.

Great premise, fantastic characters, and truly a rollercoaster of a story. So much fun from beginning to end.

Murderbot series by Martha Wells

Genre: hard science fiction

Corporate security in the distant future is so important that corporations know humans cannot be trusted to do the job. Thats why they created SecUnits; half bot half human constructs that are designed to be experts at two things; stopping their contracted humans from killing each other, and killing any humans their contracted humans order them to. There is even a chip in their brain, the governor module, stopping them from going on murderous rampages. Our protagonist is one of these SecUnits, and their governor module may not exactly be in working order. While murderous rampage is definitely something that is possible for them to do, they would much rather just do their job and watch media. Fun and short books that ask progressively deeper questions about morality, ethics, humanity, and, honestly, love!

Paladins Grace by T Kingfisher

Genre: romance (smut), dark fantasy

WHEN I TELL YOU I WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS TO BE A ROMANCE BY MY LIBRARIES BIO. "What happens to a paladin when their god dies?" Stefan from SNL voice: this book has it all, murder, slow burn romance, graphic sex scenes, perfumery, court room drama, divorce, rat god! Do I need to keep talking? Rat. God.

As You Wish by Carey Elwes

Genre: non-fiction

If you are a fan of Princess Bride please do yourself a favour and listen to this. Read by Carey Elwes and most of the surviving cast and crew, this is a series of stories from behind the scenes of one of the greatest romance movies of the last century.

NPC's series by Drew Hayes

Genre: fantasy

After a group of non player characters witness a party die at the local tavern, they decide to bluff their way through the quest, in the hopes of saving their town from the king's retribution. A world away, a DM struggles to understand why it seems like the gaming module is changing its plot before his eyes.

Convergence series by Craig Alanson

If two of the last things your guardian told you before they were killed were that 1. Magic is real and 2. You are a wizard, would you believe them? That doesn't really matter for Kazimir Wolfe, as he has more immediately pressing, if not more overall important issues; namely, he's on the run from the police, and the FBI, and a mysterious organization that is connected to his aunt's death. Fun and funny ongoing low fantasy series

[chrysanthemumgames]

Hi again!

This time I come back after re-reading the entire thing! Of course, aside from fixes to small continuity error and other stuff like that, it didn't change much from the last time I've read it, so I won't be saying anything new in terms of how much I love it and so on! It's just awesome as usual!

But I have a few questions I'd love to delve into, that I just didn't ask when the book wasn't finished, either because I didn't think of them or because I sort of preferred to wait for it to be actually done.

Sorry in advance for the long post though! It seems I'm unable to keep things short!

On a Hades romance playthrough, especially with a reserved MC who doesn't overtly flirt… Who among the other ROs and other people close to the main cast notices or suspects that there's a spark of "something" between Hades and the MC at the end of book 1? Considering just how much of a slow burn this route is, there isn't much to see yet, romance wise, but I feel like some people may realize something is starting to "shift" there.

When dining with Hera during her visit in chapter 6, if the MC tells her they like the Undeworld and what not, she ends up commenting "A shame". This line always had me reeling, but I didn't re-ask about it after first reading the entirety of the book so I'll do it now. Did she know what Demeter had planned to do? I always wondered why she'd think it's a shame, and it's pretty clear from the climax of the story that Zeus prefers the MC to stay in the Underworld, so I don't imagine it would be something like Hera knowing her husband wants to bring the MC back against their will. And there is no reason for her to have wanted MC to be unhappy for whatever reason. So it only leaves the option of her knowing about Demeter's plan in my mind, but maybe I'm missing something?

After the whole Eurydice and Orpheus thing, Hades says "There are some fates which very much deserve the fight. I know not what yours is, but if it turns out to be one you don't want, I am glad you have the power to change it. Not that this means I wouldn't do everything I could to help as well, of course." - it makes me wonder… Since for the duo of lovers their fate should have been for Orpheus to fail and that changed in my playthrough's case with my Dionysus' influence, I was wondering if in the scope of this story, the MC's "fate" should be the original outcome of the Persephone myth, with the "spending half a year in one realm the other half in another", and any other outcome is a result of having changed fate? Or is this not a part of their story that's truly decided by Fate in this interpretation of the myth? Also side note if it's the case, I think it's funny and kind of poetic that my MC basically traded his fate with Eurydice? Because his fate should have been spending half a year here and half there, and her fate should have been being separated from the one who came for her again after he failed and returning to the Underworld alone. But here, she managed to make Orpheus sort of succeed thanks to MC and now THESE TWO will spend half a year in one realm and half in another, while my MC managed to make Demeter fail and make it so he could go back and stay in the Underworld full time.

And final one! How much did Pirithous and Theseus get to know about what happened after Demeter dismissed them? At the very least in a scenario where they actually kidnapped the MC, not one where MC followed willingly. Not only I'm curious of Pirithous reflected upon his actions, but I'm also intrigued as if Theseus was "satisfied" of sorts that MC managed to go back (if that was indeed the case), considering he seemed against the kidnapping at least to a degree. If they even COULD keep informed, since they are demi-gods living as mortals as far as I understand their situation. I was just always interested in these two since they only appear in that short part of the story but what they do is HUGE.

And that's it. Sorry again for such a long post, and thanks for indulging me if you decide to answer even only some of the questions!

So!

I think a few of the others have picked up on things. I would say Charon and Hekate definitely know something is going on there, and friend!Hermes might have picked up some vibes as well. Even Alekto might have had a passing suspicion, though she doesn't quite consider it her business, and so doesn't devote much thought to it. People will tell her things when they want her to know them, you know?

Hera didn't have specific information about Demeter's plans, but she did know that it was likely she would take some form of drastic action. From her point of view, the arranged marriage was something Zeus did to screw with her (Demeter), and he was likely to reverse his decision once he'd had his fun with it/gotten some kind of concession from Demeter. So to Hera it seemed likely the PC had just found someplace they enjoyed, but their being taken away from it was basically a given.

There isn't really an assumed or default end for the story (or rather, not one that is more mechanically likely than another), but sort of yes! The PC ending up with a different outcome from the source story could be seen as their fate-subverting power at work. :)

Pirithous and Theseus are basically aware of the trajectory of events after they left, and this is because they're eventually brought to the Underworld for trial by the Erinyes. This is dealt with in the first chapter of the sequel.

Thanks as always for your kind words, and no worries about the questions!

[popculturebuffet]

Any ideas for what HH/HB finally crossing over will entitle?

I"m glad you asked!

First my thoughts on the whole thing: It's amazing and welcome as fuck. I do genuinely feel bad for Helluva fans having to wait an extra month if they don't have prime (I do at the moment so i'm safe), but the mountain of positives outweigh the negatives: an even bigger audience for Helluva, ad free ways to watch, finaical security for seasons 3 and 4 of Helluva, and the big one: the universe can finally be a cohesive hole. There's too much good to complain. We even got my new best friend here

We'll probably never know anything about him but I love him.

So as for how the actual crossovers will go, it's probably going to be a mixed approach.

For the big, expected (by both the crew and their new corprate sponsors who while not having control creatively will still very much want this), crossover.. it took some thought. My best guess out of the many options is a dedicated special. A big half hour or even hour long crossover between the two. The other setups are a full on two parter between shows, or a looser one that starts in one show or ends in the other. An abott elementary style one where we see it from two perspectives seems less likely as while both shows have slightly diffrent tones it's not enough that they coudln't easily crossover. And a big juicy event also means there's more than enough room for sequels or to have the various cast members show up on each others shows after for cameos or small apperances.

It'd also be easier to pull off story wise: Both shows are seralized and with the main plots likely mapped out , it's a lot easier to just have a few specials with the two casts bouncing off each other. Something like the shorts where they easily slot into continuity, but it isn't a requirement to the rest of the series yet. I could be wrong, but I don't see viv having the two stories suddenly BADLY need each other to survive.

What I do see.. is the world opening up and tha'ts what i'm excited for. Don't get me wrong, seeing these idiots all interact? It's already great. We only got a brief tease, but already Charlie and BLitz play perfectly off each other, both being showy and theatrical, but Charlie being a bit more polite and awkward around Blitz's full force assholery and all in brining the casts together. Ther'es a LOT you can do here with these two both on a funny level (Moxxie being a royal suckup, Blitz is bound to piss off vaggie almost immeditly, the surly cat and the surly dog interacting, nifty liking badboys being around a rather sizeable one whose not in a comitted realitonshpi, stolas being a formal royal now).

ANd a story one: The two teams are running competing buisnesses, one offering salvation the other quick revenge or closure. Yet while originally Blitz was just likely going to be another one of Charlie's rogues gallery now.. we get it's not black and white, the thing Charlie struggles with most as a person. For Charlie there's right and there's wrong and she can be mildly judgmental or miss the fact people sometimes do bad things because of circumstance and then just keep digging themselves a bigger hole. She gets people can change and it's her strength and what the hotel's based on: but dosen't get some things are just not inherently wrong. Sex and drugs (most drugs) aren't inherently bad, but some people , an dby some people I Mean valentino, can use those to abuse the fuck out of people and consolidate power.

IMP is an inhrently bad thing in her eyes... but for our heroes.. it's all they got. Millie's backstory in Ghostfuckers REALLY put a lot of that into perspective: Imps generally have a chance to either be servants, work office jobs or be easily disposable mooks. It took a fist fight and a convincing argument for Milie to even FATHOM an imp could go into buisness for themselves. Blitz nearly died not for stealing the book, but because Satan was pissed he wanted anything more for himself. For IMP... this is a chance for a better life. A way to move up. Something better.. and something Charlie REALLY can't begrudge them and somethign the sinners, all of whom are trying for the same thing her way, can't really fault. Blitz' fuck you at the trial and getting off scott free, and to the general public having a former royal now as his secretary, it gave them hope. it did the kind of thing Charlie is trying to do: help her people up. There's no easy answers. IMP is doing something mostly wrong for entirley selfish reasons and sometimes people who aren't really evil like Amberlynn (A tad offputting yes. Even.. nuh-uh), get hurt.. but it raises hard questions.

And on a plot level.. Lucifer kinda screwed them over and would be in an awkawrd postiion as his not showing up at the trial nearly got Blitz killed and had stolas not made his mixed bag of a sacrfice (Saving Blitz' life was a good thing but the way he went about it shattered what was left of his relationship with his daughter), he would be dead. It' ssomething he geninely will have to face if he's in the crossover and I can't see a reason why he wouldn't be. There's a lot more there than I thought and I can't wait to see it blow up

Lucy also nicely transitions me to the BIG get from this: the world opens up. With things being what they wer,e Season 2 of Helluva and 1 of Hazbin could only hint at each other with things like the fizzybot or small nods.

Now.. they don't have to keep space and while I don't see the main casts interacting all the time.. I see a lot of supporting cast crossover. We can see how Charlie interacts with the rest of hell, possibly see how the rings or even the sins were created in either show : See WHY Lucifer and Lilith put say someone like Mammon in charge of anything. How the sins see charlie. I've speculated on it, plenty, but it's neat to see it play out and how the Vee's could posisbly conquer the rest of hell. Their scheme has more weight when we can actually see them affect rings other than the one their stuck on. How will everyone react to Lucifer being back? Can he fix things with the other? Will he date Ozzy's assitant because yes i'm still shipping that. Will Charlie or Lucifer punch mammon in the face lik ehe richly deserves? Ther'es a LOT of great ideas bubbling in there now the cast can just freely explore. Viv could even take off the restriction Sins can't move from ring to ring or find a way around that and recurring characters can show up like wally, chaz's ghost, the sins , fizzy, and so many more in each show. Not having to imply it allows it to have the kind of good shit you can pull out with marvel and dc, but without the weight of 80 years of history. The future's wide open.. and I hope to see what it brings.. and also more of whoever the fuck that guy is.

[superkooku]

I love Percy Jackson and I LOVE ranting abt it. Percy Jackson has a special place in my heart and I love ranting abt how I hate how they represent Apollo. Like I could rant abt how I hate how they represent Apollo then praise Rick for giving us Lester papadopoulos 😂

I understand you 100% since it's how I feel about Epic the musical 🤣.

I really love the songs, how they are composed AND simply listening to them, the cast's dynamic with each other, the animators' talent, Jorge's inspiration and him as an artist in general because he's humble and funny.

But I just find the story kinda decent at best, because yeah Odysseus isn't cheating on Penelope, we have the basics but on the other hand... too many changes, too many important moments of the Odyssey are either absent or mishandled, etc... I'm in the mood for rambling about every single choice I slightly disagree with.

So yeah, I completely understand where you're coming from, considering you find an adaptation fun but can see the inaccuracies and the potential for greatness by respecting the original story. And Apollo is a big example of why. There are so many cool aspects of him I rarely, if ever, see in adaptations. He's usually depicted as either this easygoing lover boy or as this stupid jerk who's full of himself. Or a mix of both depending on whether he's demonized or not. Neither of these two characterizations encompass the slightest bit of his complexity, his passionate nature as a deity, his status as a protector, a defender but also a bringer of plague.

Here's a thing about PJO I'd have preferred and would belong very well in an other adaptation.

Tell me if you agree : what if Apollo was the deity teaching the young heroes rather than Dionysus ? It just fits more (and Apollo could have some cute moments with Chiron considering he raised the centaur). We'd see how versatile he is with different domains and how he's protective with the youth, especially his own. He wouldn't even be punished to do that, he just would just accept to take some of his time to help the youth. Because Apollo didn't need to be punished to raise Chiron and Orpheus, did he ? Though that would imply not making the Olympians terrible parents all the time and respecting the source material 😅).

Yes this is yet another "let Apollo be Dadpollo" post. I'll never stop until I'll find something that satisfies me. I did find one story with Dionysus being intimidating so I have hope.

Speaking of Dionysus, I'd just let him be this fun exotic traveler capable of making a whole kingdom insane in 2 minutes, a wild card whose help always has unexpected consequences and overall some very theatrical support character with darker undertones.

(to the people who reblog, I'd prefer if you don't tag this post PJO or Epic since it's mostly me rambling about potential ideas and I don't want my post to invade either fandom space.)