#(it only has two characters minimal sets and no monsters

[darchildre]

In non-fishpeople-related Lovecraft news, I also reread "Cool Air" and "The Music of Erich Zann" today. Here is the moral of both of those stories:

If you are in a group-living situation (like a boarding house or an apartment building) and one of your fellow lodgers is kinda weird but not hurting anybody, maybe that's actually none of your business. Maybe you should simply leave them alone.

[kiame-sama]

what twst yanderes do you think could share? I think there are definitely several that could team up!

Warnings; Yandere Relationships, poly relationships, multi-yandere relationships, I already have way too many OC ideas with different backgrounds that fit with the different yandere groups,

~~~~~~~~

Full House: All Named Heartslabyul characters. Each of the card suits are represented (Ace- Hearts, Deuce- Spades, Trey- Clover/Clubs, Cater- Diamonds) and paired with the Queen card (Riddle- Hearts) you have a full-house in terms of poker.

Poisonous Beauty- Vil and Rook already seem to be in a mutually respectful and beneficial type relationship that pushes both to work on themselves and hold themselves accountable. Throw a darling in the mix and they will share beautifully.

Lion Tamer- Leona and Rook share a darling. The Lion and the Hunter both sharing a sweet little lamb between them. Leona has shown a certain level of respect for Rook and Rook already stalks Leona for the thrill of it.

Dragon's Hoard- All of Diasomnia's named characters. Main yandere is Malleus who insists darling is his mate. He is kind enough to share with his retainers and teacher, but darling is mainly Malleus' prize. Lilia is more of a mentor to the group but does enjoy a quick tryst now and again with darling, the most experienced of the group.

Monster Mash- Leona and Malleus. This only works because of darling, otherwise they will be fighting and wanting the other dead. Truly it is only because darling can tame and diffuse the tempers/prides of the monster men to actually get them to get along. Have a harder time sharing given their dislike for one another.

Sea Monsters- Azul and the Twins sharing a darling between the three of them. The twins already respect and listen to Azul, so Azul is giving them a 'bonus' by allowing this little triangle of sharing when it comes to darling and darling's time. The twins often switch between darling and Azul so both are protected at all times. Floyd likes spending more time with darling than Azul but that is because darling is more fun and squishy. Jade adores his time with darling but understands his skills are better suited for being around Azul. Azul will always set aside time to spend with darling and is happy to include the twins during this time.

Octo-charmer- Azul and Jamil. Both have an underhanded way to manipulate others and have a tendency to be patient enough for the long game. These two working together for a mutual darling would be rather dangerous and impossible to stand against. Both brilliant in their own right, they could share a darling with minimal bickering.

Hyena Charmer- Jamil and Ruggie. The Masquerade special at Nobel Bell College made it clear Jamil and Ruggie have a similar approach to handling situations so I think they could make a good partnership when it comes to sharing a darling.

King of Beasts- Leona and Ruggie. They already have a mutually beneficial relationship in how Ruggie mostly puts up with Leona's behavior and Leona in turn protects Ruggie as his second in command. They could share a darling, but Leona would still get the lion's share of the benefits.

Golden Sands- Jamil and Kalim. I am loathe to put them together given the fact that I feel Jamil deserves his own darling after years of dealing with Kalim, but Jamil and Kalim would make a good yandere pair. Darling would likely prefer Kalim's affections given Kalim is less likely to punish darling, but Jamil could also use Snake Charmer on Darling to make them prefer him instead.

Historic Cruelty- Divus and Mozus. Trein is much more patient and lenient with darling as he is in his 50s and he just wants a settled down beloved that he can spoil. Divus is more of the punishment/reward type for whenever their shared darling acts up or gets rowdy as he is in his late 20's/early 30's and is content to be a brat tamer. Both want to spoil darling and are willing to do their own thing to get the results they desire from their beloved.

Elder Fae- Lilia and Crowley. Both are older fae (I'm just assuming on Crowley's part given his features and age/temperament) and both are more eccentric when it comes to how they interact with the world. They could contentedly share a darling together given their attitudes and tempers. Lilia would actually be the main enforcer of rules despite his more exciteable temper as he still has that paternal experience and put his foot down on certain behavior. Alternatively, Lilia is also the one who spoils darling more due to Crowley being a penny-pincher more stringent on funds. The relationship is more focus on Lilia as far as actual relationships go and the frequent interruption from Crowley wanting attention. It works for the two Fae.

Father Crow's Staff- Platonic yandere team-up of the staff looking after Crowley's offspring. Divus is the father that stepped up when Crowley failed to be a good father. Trein is the adoptive grandfather. Sam is the adoptive older brother. Vargas is the adoptive fun uncle. Even the fire fairies and ghosts try to have a hand in protecting/raising Crowley's young. They will be raised in NRC given Crowley is Headmage and lives there most of the time. Probably more protective of a fem-aligned darling than masc-aligned given NRC is an all male school (minus darling) and that means the child needs to be protected even more from untoward students. Lilia is a constant problem as he frequently tries to adopt this little up-and-coming Fae child given how little Crowley actually parents them.

[nebmia]

Reviewing every rpg book on my shelf: 1, Dungeon Crawl Classics

Everything about this game is absolutely dripping with bonkers maximalist bombast that makes me excited to play. To start with book itself is nearly 2 inches thick. Is that practical? No! does it feel like you've got an ancient tome full of roleplaying possibilities? Absolutely.

In a world tending towards minimalism and 'polished' production its so good to have somthing thats just big and fun and unapologetic about not being what it is.

DCC's dice are a microcosm of everything great about it. Not only do they come in shapes they never taught you about in maths class but they also all come with a fun little bonus. One of my sets comes with a stat block for a monster, while the other has a ridiculous table of reality warping effects on which you roll ALL the dice in the set, and inevitably send your campaign careening off into madness. (and it has a frame story about a stoner wizard in a magic van).

And then there's the actual contents of the book, which is probably about 80% spells and ridiculous tables. And the spells are just so good. Each one takes up a a least a full page on average and gives a range of results according to how well you roll, from 'it missfires and things go horribly wrong' at the bottom, through 'it does about what you would expect' in the middle result ranges, to 'actually, this is almost too much' if you manage to get a roll in the 30s.

Alongside being sick as hell, this also has a satisfying effect of keeping low level spells relevent and interesting as their effects scale with the strength of the caster on a variety of axis.

related to spells is the 'spell duel' procedure. I have no idea how well it runs at the table, but the idea that when two (or more) wizards fight their spells can interact and you can use any appropriate spell to try and counter another spell is so increadibly compelling.

Ok, enough gushing about vibes. what about actually playing? So far what I have run is the 'level-0 funnel', which is probably what you have heard about if you have heard anything about DCC. The premise is simple: randomly generate 2-4 level-0 peasants for each player, send them into a dungeon, and then take whoever survives and level them up to become your characters for a campaign.

Not only does these lead to much hilarity as a mob of townsfolk bungle their way through danger but also really fun problem solving as the players work out how best to navigate problems with a shoehorn, a bundle of wood and a live chicken.

Specifically, what I have run is Sailors on the Starless Sea, which is correctly recognised as THE introductory module to use. Its a nice sequence of somewhat open investigation followed by a excellend sequence of bombastic set pieces, all the while giving the players lots of scope to come at things ininteresting ways. It can get a bit unwiedly trying to manage such large number of characters when they do run into combat but if you plan ahead a bit and use various tricks (it would be useful is more of that advice was in the book rather than coming from forums) it is manageable.

And to return to vibes one last time: the art in these books is just so good. We could not be further from the slightly stiff generic highly rendered fantasy art of wotc era d&d. Its all fantastically old school fantasy, so full of character, and just the right amount of rough around the edges. My only slight complaint is that this does include a little too much of old school fantasy art's treatment of women than I would like...There are still prenty of sensibly dressed women and i'm not about to decree that no sexy fantasy women are allowed but the dial is a little further in a direction of objectification that I would like.

[sepublic]

Finally got around to watching Dune Part 2 and that was a wonderfully haunting ending. Everyone just going along in a way almost oblivious, from Stilgar who pushed for Paul mainly for his people’s sake, only to become a fanatic; Or Gurney, who was so caught up in his own revenge plot against Rabban that in his high of triumph, he doesn't realize what he's doing to the kid he was meant to train and protect.

And Chani, especially! The way the film ends with her, it's almost as if... The entire movie is re-contextualized as being from her perspective. It's a story about someone helplessly watching as she sees the monster she unwittingly created, watches everything she knew and loved become perverted. She's the only sane person essentially, so it makes sense to approach the movie with Chani as the audience surrogate.

She represents the Fremen, who they really are, and the horror at what they've become, the death of who they used to be until the colonizers came in. I'm reminded of that scene from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, where Maul is screeching desperately that they'll all burn and die, and nobody knows what they're doing; Despairing cries falling on deaf ears. The final shot reminds us of who was the first forsaken by the Lisan Al-Gaib; Chani, AKA the Fremen.

I wonder what happens to Chani; I'm not familiar with the books, but I wouldn't be surprised if Chani just disappears from the narrative after Paul deposes the Emperor. I've heard through cultural osmosis that Dune Part 2 changes the original book to have more involvement and perspective from its female characters. So I wonder if the book ended with Chani in mind as well, or if that was an addition made by Denis Villeneuve.

Because as it stands, I think there's a lot of beauty if that's the last we see and hear of Chani; The ambiguity. The name and face lost to history; People will remember Paul and Princess Arulan, but they won't know about Chani. Maybe she lives the rest of her life out in self-imposed exile, because at first she could support this for the sake of her people, but now? What has she done??!!?

Maybe she'll be haunted for the rest of her life, thinking about what could've gone differently. How Chani could've prevented things, if only she'd said this. Maybe she considers it was out of her hands entirely given how easily Jessica controlled her, it could've been anyone else; In the end Chani didn't matter. Is this a relief? Or is this just despair, that the Fremen were destined for doom? It's a final note inserted by the adaptation to re-contextualize the source material itself; I've heard people discuss that the films are essentially more feminist than the book, so it's like the underrepresented perspective has been given a voice, be it women and/or Fremen.

And if Part 2 is Chani's story, then conversely, Part 1 is Paul's; Obviously, Chani had a minimal role in the first film. And I think that makes a lot of sense, because we get the background for Paul, the set up, the destruction of House Atreides that motivates him for revenge, and the rest... The rest is the natural conclusion to all that. The first part is us entering Arrakis as outsiders like Paul, while the second part is from the more experienced perspective of the Fremen Chani, who shows us the other angle; Her people being usurped by a white savior. Both films, one about Paul, the other about Chani, and how they helplessly see their clans 'destroyed' in a sense.

I think I recall hearing that Villeneuve intends for there to be a trilogy? So the first two films are about the first Dune novel, and the third and final will cover the next book, which I believe has Leto II; So essentially, a follow up that skips forward into the future to explore what new world order Paul has made. Because if Part 1 is about the outsider's perspective, and Part 2 is the insider's, then Part 3 is how the future generation looks back and sees the past; It's about how the legacy of Paul Atreides lingers on in their historical narrative.

...Everything I just said could all be completely wrong. But in the end, it's quite simple; Chani good.

[scooby-review]

The Scooby Doo Show S1 E1-4

The Scooby Doo show is the third iteration of the franchise, following The New Scooby Doo Movies. Released in 1976, the series returns to a place stylistically similar to Where are You, returning to twenty minutes and losing the guest star aspect of the previous series. This series also sees a return to the horror aesthetics that were departed from within the New Movies era of the franchise, with these episodes being dark and grungy, using more constantly horror inspired monsters and villains, focusing on a creepy atmosphere to accompany the mysteries. 

With a total of three seasons and forty episodes, this series also lasted far longer than either of its predators. Each season was aired during different blocks and therefore sometimes are referred to under different names, however all three seasons were produced under the Scooby Doo Show title. Season one aired as segments in the Scooby Doo/ Dynomutt Hour, a sixty minute slot where an episode of season one would air, followed by an episode of Dynomutt Dog Wonder. 

Dynomutt Dog Wonder is another Hanna Barbera cartoon, focusing on a Batman like superhero and his dog sidekick. The first two episodes of the show were crossovers with Scooby Doo. Alongside these two episodes, the characters would later appear again in the Scooby universe in Scooby Doo and Guess Who, the direct to DVD movie Scooby Doo! And the Blue Falcon and Scoob! 

1. High Rise Hair Raiser

Another new season and another great intro. Consistently they hit it out of the park with these, the monsters in this have forever cemented themselves into my mind despite only having seen one of their episodes. It’s another super catchy song! 

My experience with this iteration of the series is fairly minimal. I believe I’ve seen almost all of season three, and other than that I’ve watched a handful of episodes when they aired on TV when I was younger - something I love about Scooby Doo is that they still air a whole heap of the shows despite them being over forty years old! 

I love the premise for this episode - the gang is broke. In another interesting and somewhat surprising strand of continuity, we see the gang are now out of school, grown up from the Where are You days! I really like this, and I think the series pretty much stays in one single canon until maybe What’s New Scooby Doo, although I’m not completely sure about that. Regardless, without any money, the gang are forced to get jobs, and it just so happens that a construction site nearby is hiring given the recent haunting. 

To start with general changes to the show between the three years since the previous series aired, we have our second change of voice actors! I haven’t touched too much on any of the voice actors yet, nor the first actor to leave, Indira Stefanianna Christopherson, who voiced Daphne in season one of Where are You. Indira has a fair few acting credits in sitcoms, and went on to voice act in Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, another Hanna Barbera series. 

However, this series sees a new voice for Velma, with Nicole Jaffe leaving as a result of her marriage, but later she would return to voice the character in some of the 2000s direct to DVD movies. Pat Stevens took over the role, her voice similar to the blueprint set by Jaffe, and while I slightly prefer Jaffe’s voice for Velma, both work perfectly in embodying the character for me! This Velma’s voice feels more sardonic, whereas Jaffe’s felt more childish, but both capture her nerdiness perfectly. 

Alongside these changes, there was also new music made for the series, as opposed to the New Movies, which not only reused the score and sound effects from Where are You, but also other Hanna Barbera action cartoons. This score is great, on par with the original for me, it stands out so strongly and perfectly matches the aesthetic of this series. 

Moving onto the episode itself, this is maybe one of the best mysteries we’ve seen in the whole franchise. Good luck guessing who the culprit is at the end, but there’s so many pieces, this is paced so well that it’s a joy to absorb all the clues, attempting to piece them together. This goes for the next three episodes too, the pacing of this series is great! 

The main villain of this episode is The Spectre of Ebenezer Crabbe. The character is a sorcerer, we see that a spellbook is present inside of his house (more on this later), his history with witchcraft gives his character an extra layer, not only is he a ghost, but he’s also involved in dark magic. In this sense, the character is evocative of the ghost of Elias Kingston from episode six of Where are You. However I think the spectre stands out beyond that design; the spectre has powder blue skin with piercing yellow eyes, they denote the characters ghostly form clearly, while the characters ashy hair is evocative of his theme of age, with the characters origins coming from rumours he used witchcraft to prevent himself from ever ageing. His 19th century costume also shows this, while the huge red cape is somewhat reminiscent of Dracula, the scarlet shade in capes often connoting the character. 

Starring alongside him is his supposed great-great-great granddaughter, Netty Crabbe. Her design appears far more human, her flesh is peachy, although her eyes and hair are similar hues to her great-great-great grandfather, with their face shapes also incredibly similar. She similarly practises black magic, or at least feigns doing so. She has a far less interesting design, but works well to keep the creepy atmosphere and tone of the episode, and she works well as an extension to the lore of Crabbe’s. 

This witchcraft theme is great, with the villains taking inspiration from an actual person in their universe, spinning a legend. However, as Shaggy, Scooby and Velma search Netty’s house in a stand out sequence, Scooby and Shaggy open a spellbook, in which they have their appearances literally changed by the book, and in this silly little gag, we see the first confirmation of magic really existing in this world. Probably. 

This entire episode raises so many convoluted questions, which often is the sign of a great early Scooby episode. So many questions are raised in this episode, such as the villains using, the seemingly lived in, house of Netty Crabbe, or how when the aforementioned duo are transformed into monsters, neither bats an eye, and my favourite of all, is how Scooby is simply allowed to work alongside Fred and Shaggy - yes, Scooby is allowed to work this construction job while Daphne and Velma aren’t. Crazy stuff here. 

This big city setting, using the construction sight as a base for the villain is great, it’s something so simple yet so fun, the world here feels so vast and large, it contrasts the small town feeling that sometimes came from the empty streets in Where are You, with the busy Pizzaria taking over from the Malt Shop of that era too. Not to mention that these villains work perfectly in this setting, the height given to the spectre enhances the fear that can be created so drastically. 

There are so many fun sequences in here, with just a few lasting a little too long without much meaning. In particular, the boys atop the facade of the house they are building is great, as is the scene in Netty’s house, and the final sequence is amazing! I love this episode man!

2. The Fiesta Host is an Aztec Ghost

This episode has such a great title! 

Despite the previous episode declaring the gang as broke, here we witness them go on holiday to Mexico where they intend on attending a fiesta, however, they are thrown into a mystery when it’s cancelled after sightings of an ancient Aztec King.

To start, the backgrounds in this series are still gorgeous, and I noticed it heavily in this episode, especially as the gang leaves the village of Cinco, which refers to the holiday the gang are in the village to celebrate, with Cinco De Mayo becoming a more popular celebration in the US, and was popularised by those of Mexican-American heritage. 

Once again, we see two villains, the first of which is The Ghost of King Katazuma. The villain doesn’t directly relate to anyone from Aztec mythology or the era; the design of the villain is evocative of the colourful artwork from the Aztec era, which uses strong reds, yellows and deep greys, hinted with green. The King uses a similar colour palette, although with a heavier use of powder blue within the design, but these bright colours blend together well into the design, which again isn’t necessarily based on anyone in particular, but more so the general artwork of the Aztecs Gods and spirits. 

The villain has a menacing presence, and a classic Scooby villain use of projectors, giving the large and ghostly image of the King. He oozes with an exterior of power, partly because of his ability to change sizes, but the general design gives an air of power, from the snowy greys of the ghosts' large fists and beard to the striking Aztec headdress. I assume that the character's face was made the same powdery blue seen as an accent throughout the design to avoid the issue of the beard and skin being too similar a colour despite it now not matching the colour of the ghosts arms. 

Alongside the King, we also have the Aztec Statue Monster. The design takes inspiration from Aztec statues in general, again rather than a specific singular statue. This design appears humanoid, although most sculptures from the era are of deity’s. This design feels like a blend of design elements from these statues. 

This episode manages again to keep the great pacing the season makes a mark with, every scene feels so valuable and is used to great effect, and I love how we move solidly from location to location here, constantly feeling like an escalation of the last - from a hotel to a river to a temple. The Aztec temple feels like the centre of the episode, it looks beautiful and creates this twisting and expansive feeling as the gang are warned against entering, only to live with the consequences of rejecting this warning. I also especially enjoy the scene on the barge, and watching the gang search around the locations for clues on how the villains could have faked everything. 

Fred is given a clearer sense of purpose in this and the previous episode, a pattern that will go on. He’s always been the leader of course, but in a more formulaic approach that I love, the episodes end with him setting out traps, conceptualising them, and in both this and the previous episode, they fail to work. I love this so much! It gives him a flaw, that sure, he can create these grand and inspired traps, however, they won’t always work, it allows the audience to still feel unsure about whether or not this really is the end for the villain, as well as creating a more flawed and rounded character! Great stuff here. 

3. The Gruesome Game of the Gator Ghoul

As a child, episodes of The Scooby-Doo Show would air infrequently, and everytime I caught an episode I would be captivated by a certain grey dog in the intro. Before starting this series, I had assumed he was a mainstay in the series, similar to how Scrappy-Doo would be, I simply guessed he would join the gang on the majority of, if not all of, their mysteries in this series. Yet, every episode I watched as a child he would evade me, I have a vague memory of catching the tail end of an episode with him and Scooby-Dee, but other than that, nothing. 

This, I have learnt, is because he only appears in four episodes in the entire franchise. Sure, he also appears in the Laff-a-Lympics, but I don’t intend on watching that, and it’s pretty outside the general Scooby canon! Still, for a character I have always assumed had a large presence over this series, it was a shock to learn just how infrequently he appears. 

The episode follows the gang as they head to Hokeyfenokee, a parody of Okefenokee, to visit Scooby Dum and his owners, but quickly learn of an Alligator haunting the swamp and their business. 

Knowing this episode featured Scooby-Dum, I was fairly excited, although entirely unsure if I would care for his character. Simply his name is enough to place doubt in my mind, because ultimately I had a feeling that his character would simply be stupid, a nuisance to his cousin's mystery solving. However, his character manages to keep away from those tropes! 

Learning anything about the history of certain aspects of Scooby-Doo is so difficult, but I can only assume Scooby-Dum, and the rest of the Doo family we will meet later, were introduced for marketing and merchandise. Unfortunately, it’s also incredibly difficult to find any lists or images of merch from the time, but I assume that by now, they had realised that Scooby was the most merchandisable aspect of their series, and so, why not just introduce a heap more dogs? I think Dums design is especially great for this, he stands out just enough from Scooby while also being close enough, his design is inspired by detectives, and this alone is enough to drive up his popularity. 

Getting into his design, he’s ever so slightly larger than Scooby, their silhouettes differ by this and his clothing. Dum is also a great dane, however his fur is silver with similar black spots to his cousin. He trades out Scooby’s blue collar for a red one with a circular tag, alongside his cap. Of course, he also has a pair of buck teeth and his eyes range from crosseyed to half open. Often he carries around a magnifying glass which echoes his job of being a detective, it’s integral to his character and both parallels the basics of Scooby while differing him in the ways they work. 

Dum is sometimes characterised a little inconsistently, fluctuating between brave and scared. For me, he works best when he’s at his bravest, it highlights how different he is from his cousin and it keeps him different enough from Shaggy and Scooby as a unit while still being able to pair the groups up. I also adore the handshake he has with Scooby. Although, sometimes he can be somewhat annoying, his constant use of the word “dumb” within his common phrases grows old quickly. But as an additional side character, I am a fan of him!

So much about this episode works so perfectly for me! Not only do we have a great set of side characters, but also a great villain and setting too. 

The Ghost of Gator Ghoul is simply what he sounds like, an alligator ghost. This anthropomorphic alligator stands out best however not by the admittedly memorable design, especially with his beady yellow eyes, but thanks to the amazing voice work done by Frank Welker, who ultimately brings this snarling creature to life. This is what so many of the villains in The New Scooby Doo Movies were missing, character infused both in their designs but also in their sound. I love this guy, especially during the amazing chase scene where the character really gets to shine, his movements are so fun and I just love watching him run around. 

Not to mention how the villain reveal is pretty great, being Ma and Pa Skillet’s (Dum’s owners) sweet receptionist and bookkeeper. The old pair treat her like a daughter, and it makes the unmasking into such a fun moment! 

The villain was in fact so iconic that he made it into both the Cyber Chase movie and video game, and was planned for Night of 100 Frights, but was ultimately scrapped. In fact, many of the villains in this series were featured elsewhere in the series, such as the live action 2002 movie, when usually the series will simply fall back on Where are You’s monsters when they want a returning villain. 

I love the swamp setting, it’s one we’ve seen a few times before but it’s always a treat. The backgrounds in this episode especially are so gorgeous, they’re a delight to watch, oozing with style - an ode to the original gothic backgrounds. 

Everything from the chase sequences to the character moments to the gag driven down time work for me in this episode! Truly this shows some of the best the series has had to offer! 

4. Watt a Shocking Ghost

Four amazing episodes back to back <3 

This episode follows the gang driving during a snowstorm, and when hit by it, they’re forced to stop off at a nearby town, learning it’s been deserted as a result of the 10,000 volt ghost. 

In my mind, this has always been the Scooby Doo Show episode, the aesthetic here is still just as dark as Where are You, with a clear return to the horror influences, the villain is iconic, appearing both in the intro and in the 2002 live action movie, and the outfits here have always stuck in my mind. Seeing it again, I agree with this sentiment, it embodies how this series is different from what came before it, it’s such a fun episode while leaning into darker themes and ideas. 

Another snow setting is something I welcome, it’s fairly similar to the ski resorts from before, but it’s also different enough, this time simply a snow coated town, and besides, I love any excuse for winter outfits for the gang. 

Although most of the gang’s winter outfits remain the same, Scooby does get one in this episode, wearing a green and yellow pointed hat reminiscent of Shaggy’s winter shirt, and a maroon scarf and pair of earmuffs. I still adore all their winter outfits, they’re so fun to see pop up. 

They use this setting to such a great effect, again, it’s completely different from the previous snowy settings. Here we get to explore the buildings alongside wading in the mass of snow. One scene even sees the gang entering a pet shop, which inexplicably sells monkeys - guys stop this! But alongside the monkeys, there’s some mice, and I cannot stress my joy at seeing these little guys pop up. What a shop. 

Not to mention that yet again, they hit it out of the park with the backgrounds here, they’re lavishly painted and match the shows style perfectly. 

I also found myself in awe of how great the pacing of this one was - there are a few moments here and there that I didn’t care all too much for, but otherwise wow! It moves from beat to beat so seamlessly, drifting around this wonderland until the villain is finally captured. 

Having left the best aspect of this episode until the end, the 10,000 volt ghost is an all timer for best villain of the franchise. His origin comes from Mr Voltner, an electrician who was zapped while climbing inside the power plant, and subsequently, he was killed, his volt-filled ghost living on. Already this is an amazing premise, but his design manages to push past just how great this monster already was. At first glance, this character is simply a humanoid tangerine blob, but watching this character is a delight. His body is jagged, each line carved with almost furry looking edges, emulating the feeling of electricity, but what pushes this further are the soft yellow beams protruding from his form, but yet again, this is pushed further by the way these beams oscillate around his body, giving him even more of an electrifying design. These beams are unpredictable, and it makes this villain feel dangerous, mimetic of the electricity bursting from his body. 

There’s a reason he’s returned so many times, in comics, Scooby Doo and Guess Who, Trick or Treat Scooby Doo and the 2002 live action movie. He’s great, truly perfect. 

I cannot begin to express how much fun I’ve had with these four episodes, to the point I deem three of the four perfect. They are exactly what the franchise needed, they’re a return to form for sure, but more than that, they’re a breath of fresh air, they’re innovative and most importantly, fun to watch. 

I cannot wait to continue the series <3 What a strong start to a show!

Next Review: The Scooby Doo Show S1 E5-8 (Coming Soon!)

Previous Review: The New Scooby Movies Episodes Ranked

(Happy Holidays everyone! :))

[hazelkjt]

The Monster Hunter Wilds Beta was a nice distraction from the shit going on in my life. It was a REALLY fun 3 days, minimal performance issues so I’m happy I don’t need to update my PC. So, here are my thoughts as a decade long fan of the series on what I experienced in Wilds.

The Good-

No clutch claw. Ten out of ten change Capcom, thank you.

Removal of gender restrictions on armor WITHOUT homogenizing the armor designs. Just a win all around here, offers such a greater range of self-expression through what your hunter wears. This will be the second time I’m playing a female hunter just because I won’t have to deal with the armor designs I don’t particularly enjoy. (Only other time was because "why not?" during my revisit to Rise a few months ago)

All the monster designs have knocked it out of the park. Chatacabra is a lovable punching bag, Doshaguma’s a nice step up to have a middle tier Fanged Beast, Balahara is a great challenge with easy to read attacks but tricky timing. And then Rey Dau just taking the cake and instantly in my top 20 favorite monsters.

Weapons all feel relatively balanced, so far? At least of the handful I tried out. I’m a pretty casual MH player, never cared for optimal builds or speedruns so as long as the weapons feel fun to play then I’m all good. Still personally feel LS might be a bit overtuned with all the options and non-committal choices it has but I digress. Switch Axe is making a comeback as my preemptive Wilds main weapon with Bow being my backup.

The map is enormous but doesn’t feel lifeless. There’s always something happening just enough to make it feel like an actual environment and not just a video game level. A massive step up from the areas in Rise that all felt kind of boring with how it was just big, flat areas with connecting alleys that you could run on top of. This feels like actual topography that all flows seamlessly into one another.

Did I mention no clutch claw?

The Bad-

Even though I didn’t have any, the performance issues others are reporting are inexcusable. Other people that I know for a FACT own a high end computer can’t get more than 20FPS on medium settings, it’s ridiculous. This game is not optimized in the slightest for PC right now and for a simultaneous release that’s unacceptable. And while I have joked about wanting to see the low-poly models for myself the fact that people are seeing those for their entire time in the Beta is, again, inexcusable.

Monsters run way too often but this might just be a Beta issue with lower health values so I’ll let it off a bit easy.

I agree with the lack of impact on the really big hits but I am also letting this one off easy because it could have to do with the lack of attack power we have in the Beta. We’re literally in the basic starting gear with the basic beginner’s weapon, there’s room for the hit stop and impact to ramp up dynamically the higher our damage numbers go.

I know this isn’t something they can fix by launch (or if they’d even consider fixing at all) but having only six voices in character creation feels extremely limiting. I understand your hunter is fully voiced throughout the entire game now so getting the usual twenty-ish voices would’ve bloated the budget significantly, but the poorly implemented pitch shifter does nothing to make up for their absence. Even just going one or two notches up or down and you can start to hear the artificial “static” of the pitch filter and it’s distracting.

So many control scheme options and you CAN’T turn off the Radial Menu? Fucking why??? I’ve never enjoyed having control of the camera taken away from me while scrolling through my item bar in previous games and now I can’t even fix that. I’ve begrudgingly been forcing myself to learn how to use it, but removing an option that was in the previous two games for no reason is a baffling decision.

Still looking forward to the game’s launch in a few months and hoping that maybe a few of these issues will be resolved by then.

[darkmist111]

Percy Jackson, Reyna Ramirez-Arellano, Ethan Nakamura, and the Child Super Soldier

So something I wants to talk about is the parallel of Percy and Reyna, and their concept of loyalty.

I think we as a fandom have examined Percy and Jason’s swap, compared their characters, and talked about their influence.

I think we’ve also compared Jason and Annabeth, and how their parallels were understated.

However I do think Reyna’s part in this dynamic is understated and under examined, despite her being intrinsically tied to this dynamic.

I also think this matches another unexplored parallel. While Reyna is often sidelined for Jason, Ethan Nakamura is sidelined for Luke Castellan.

And all compare to Percy Jackson to various degrees, and share a interesting concept of loyalty with him.

To preface this I believe their lives follow a similar line, with the key difference being that Percy had support from his Family and Community, Reyna only had support from her Community, and Ethan received only superficial transactional support from family and community.

But I think the dynamic between the three becomes more interesting when you view it from the lens of them as child soldiers and leaders.

But first let’s talk about Percy journey as a hero through the perspective of a soldier.

Camp half-blood isn’t a army, it trains Heroes not Soldiers, but the crossover between the two isn’t minimal. Percy is drafted into the life of a half-blood, but very often baring maybe the first book Percy voluntarily enters his missions. And while some people say this is a type of control issue, in both cases where he goes out on his own circumstances give him reason to do so. In sea of monsters Hermes outright tells him he is necessary for this mission, and we later find out Clarrise is down 2 required questmates. In the second quest, the hunters are down one questmate that was poisoned and Percy only joins after learning this.

While Percy often goes against authority, he also shows deep respect to those who earned his loyalty.

He also fights for his family and home a trait commonly associated with soldiers.

Narratively his arc is one of the reluctant soldier forced into combat because of circumstances that rises in rank due his actions rather than a desire for glory or belief in the cause.

This culminates in him taking the mantle of leadership in battle, resembling a mythic figure of the hero general or king. The type that lead their armies on the battle field from the front, whose singular presence could turn the tide of battle.

And once victorious he changes things for the better, though not a permanent leader, one that leaves a lasting legacy.

At the end though Percy is a mostly reactionary hero though dynamic in his responses.

His dreams are not of creating or conquering, but of family and homestead, and his victory at the end of the series is him using his glory for his allies.

Percy achieves victory by balancing personal family duty with greater duty to his people, gaining loyalty to and from both.

And he’s able to do this because of the support of his family, and his fellows in arms.

Reyna has only one of these.

It’s telling that Reyna is one of the only Demigods whose godly parent we never meet.

Reyna and Hylla are daughters of the Roman War Goddess Bellona, and the girls have collectively spent their lives bouncing between armies and cults.

Reyna was said to have it easy earlier from their father, but due to PTSD he ended up turning their home into a army, preparing for a battle that would never come.

After leaving the sisters ended up as part of Circe cult, that transformed and killed men to varying degrees of justified. After Percy and Annabeth set pirates free, causing their new home to be destroyed, the sisters separated. Both once again joining organizations of War. New Rome’s Legion, and the Amazons.

When she realizes she need to defy her community to save them. Similar to Percy defying her order to follow a higher duty.

After the War Reyna joins the hunters, and we see a pattern don’t we.

She continually giver her loyalty to groups and communities, but rarely receives it on a personal level. Ultimately she cannot separate her family from war or society.

And that ultimately results in her leadership being prone to be undermined, and unable to leave lasting change upon her community other than handing the reins over to new leadership.

She’s a soldier with no home to return to, and thus she cannot put down her weapon.

She’s similar to Percy if he had only systems to be loyal to. She’s constantly seeking a place that will value her.

Ethan Nakamura had it even worse, we don’t get a lot of him and often people view him as a traitor, but was it right of others to expect loyalty of him, even though he gives to see freely even when not earned? Or are we seeing someone seeking something worth being loyal too.

A child of Nemesis, he was always gonna have a uphill battle of being respected by his community.

We see him search for validation for his family but even in Kronos’s army it’s unfound. Nemesis isn’t a particularly power goddess at first glance.

When Percy spares him he resigns himself to death, making one think of the times Percy fell into despair.

In the end he too defies his orders, though unlike Percy and Reyna, Ethan’s defiance costs him his life.

He never rises to a position of leadership, and the only person he seems truly loyal to is his mother who uses him as a cosmic chess piece.

A soldier with no real choice expected to pick a side when neither truly value him. Searching for something to be loyal to in a world that sees no value in loyalty without usefulness.

I feel like Percy being able to see his loyalty in others and how it can harm them is a very interesting concept.

[wanderingandfound]

Well I woke up at fucking five eighteen am so I might as well make this post while I have time.

I enjoy the feminist, queer-normative settings that fandom (at least by surface level appearances) tries to make, but with Dungeon Meshi I'm seeing people take that shallow fun fandom interpretation and then.... ignore the actual setting?

Like hetero marriage with the intention to produce offspring is a big deal here. My understanding is that Falin and Laios were both engaged as children. Chilchuck and his wife had two of their daughters before they were considered adults. In Laios's party pre-canon there was a female character there only looking for a husband, at least to Chilchuck's understanding and he's pretty decent at figuring out human motivations.

Falin is 23, tall-man maturity is 16 and life expectancy in 60. If she wasn't an adventurer (from what I can tell, it's a more disreputable field than other careers) who cares more about dungeons and her brother than societal norms, she would probably be expected to have a husband already.

People give Toshiro so much grief for proposing to her out of nowhere, and I've only finished volume nine of the manga so I don't know if this gets more detailed later, but like, they had been in the same party for a few years at this point? Like yeah, Toshiro doesn't know her as well as Marcille and Laios do, but it's clear he was trying to get to know her better. One of his frustrations with Laios is that Laios kept crashing his attempted dates with Falin!

Here's the thing, all these characters are beautifully flawed as fuck. But the disproportionate hate I've seen towards Toshiro is bad and probably racist. Toshiro is not just fantasy-Japanese, he's also nobility and racially marked as Other on the island. As such, he has so many rules for etiquette/manners/propriety he's operating under. And we have seen that he is rather quiet and withdrawn (he didn't correct anyone about what his name is, when he told his party thank you they started crying, he regrets that he didn't tell Falin how he felt even though he did propose to her suggesting that his proposal was more formal (as befitting someone of his class!!!) than emotional). You know who else is quiet? Falin. She doesn't give Toshiro an answer to his proposal, doesn't seem to talk about it with others, was ostracized in her hometown and at magic school and when Marcille took an interest in her work she decided to just show Marcille the dungeon with minimal explanation as she went, after her first resurrection Laios makes her promise not to sacrifice herself again but he doesn't say "sacrifice" he says "don't do that again" and doesn't catch her quiet protestations that she doesn't know what she did, and she promises anyways! Heck, one of the ways we know she is just as into all of this as her brother is how animated she gets when she finds out they've been eating monsters.

I'm not familiar with Japanese current and historical cultural norms and fantasy tropes. I am sure there's nuance to Toshiro's characters that I'm unaware of. But I don't think we should take Chilchuck's and Mickbell's commentary of his proposal being out of nowhere as if that's the objective truth, and not also informed by their halfling (and presumably commoner) cultural background. Like, fuck, iconic romantic lead of English literature Mr. Darcy has a lot in common with Toshiro, and at least when the latter first proposed there was no open animosity between him and the object of his affections!

Do I ship Toshiro/Falin? No, not particularly. But for a fandom that is very defensive of the autistic characters (and rightly so) I see not a lot of grace being extended to someone whose communication issues are wrapped up in Following The Rules, Not Improvising, and Staying Quiet About Your Feelings.

Anyways, my second issue with people ignoring the heteronormative aspect of the setting is people outright saying that Marcille is motivated mainly by her romantic interest in Falin. Which. I love subtext and shipping but not at the cost of the actual text! Not that sapphic love is simple, but some of the takes I've seen (and I'm talking about longer, intentional analysis, not memes) ignore the nuances we see play out on the page and how Marcille's feelings are a somewhat complicated tangle that she seems to ignore with a philosophy of "it's fine and if it isn't then I will make it fine!" Like, I ship Marcille/Falin more than any other pairing in this show, but I feel that romantic interpretations should enrich and interweave and support the other feelings that are there (fear of others dying before her, first friend, the way after Falin's first resurrection Marcille was like "oh I don't care how you've grown you're still the same little kid to me" because change is scary and time brings death and also by elven standards Marcille isn't an adult yet either). Not bulldoze and flatten the text to use generic romantic interpretations instead.

Dungeon Meshi has such beautiful and thoughtful worldbuilding. There's both fantasy racism informed by biological distinctions, and real-world racism informed by differences in appearances and culture. There's complex ecosystems both in the plants and animals and in the human (and demihuman) societies. The backgrounds of every character inform their choices. Different cultural groups have different beauty standards, and their ages (and gender presentation? not sure how much of that has been intentional and how much has been a mistranslation) are misinterpreted by people not in their group (Namari (who has presumably been around tall-men her whole life unlike Senshi who didn't know halflings were their own thing) referring to Falin, someone she has known for quite a while now, as being a teenager to forties).

Again I'm only on volume 9, but I've been told that there is a canon lesbian in the manga. And without knowing who she is, I feel like she's the exception that proves the rule? Dungeon Meshi was released 2014–2023. I'm arguing that the heteronormativity in this world is intentional, not incidental. Dungeon Meshi has a lot to say about family, including adoptive family (Kaka and Kiki, Kabru, Senshi, Thistle) and so far all the adoptive parents have either been in hetero relationships or single. I think the absence of queer relationships is intentional, and while I'm all for queering the text I am more interested in what that queerness looks like in a heteronormative setting that values marriage and children, rather than just ignoring the setting so that queerness itself is not a source of conflict.

[adacatlovelace]

Random unhinged undertale rambling

The design for Sans and Papyrus is very deliberate with the fact they are always smiling, and their expressiveness comes from the movement of their eye(socket)s. This is not only because they are skeletons, but its also important to note that, even at their lowest points, they both still have big goofy smiles on their face, conveying both Papyrus nature of never giving up hope in people and Sans’ continuing to “put on a happy face” even when faced with the monumental existential dread of knowing that anything that happens, good or bad, matters because of the way time works in the world of Undertale. This isn’t to say that they shouldn’t show emotion but ATTENTION NEEDS TO BE PAID TO HOW THEY SHOW THIS EMOTION IF YOU ARE TRYING TO BE TRUE TO THE CHARACTERS.

Secondly, what makes Sans such an interesting character is the fact that he has gone almost fully numb. He knows how helpless he is to actually change anything and has, for the most part, accepted it and instead of ruminating on it, he’s decided to have a bit of fun with it, and because if he acts friendly it might at least minimize the damage the human will do. He doesn’t even really seem to care all that much when Papyrus dies, unless you specifically PROVOKE him by killing ONLY papyrus at which point he will either call you out for being a Hypocrite or “Ah, you’re just an asshole then. At least you’re honest about it.” because once again, anything that happens GOOD OR BAD will be reset and doesn’t really matter.

Yes, he did make a promise with Toriel, and he outright tells you that if he didn’t do so, he would’ve killed you almost immediately. However, he WILL break this promise if the human threatens him directly. This implies one of two things: Either he is so bound to this promise to this person he barely knows that he will stand by as the human murders everyone he cares about, but no so much that he is willing to die because of it OR that the promise is more of a justification to himself to allow the human the freedom to make their own choices.

Now admittedly this is where I go a bit into my headcanon, but bear with me, I do have quite a bit of media analysis to back this up.

MY PERSONAL INTERPRETATION OF THE STORY is that the narrative is... Well the best way I can put this (hopefully) without sounding unhinged is that if you took the story, changed the names and setting while keeping the core themes, characters and events of the story, you could have a passable sort of sequel to Paradise Lost, namely the War in Heaven and christian mythos. STAY WITH ME PLEASE I KNOW THIS SOUNDS INSANE BUT HEAR ME OUT I BEG YOU I MUST SHARE THIS INSANITY WITH OTHERS PLEASE THIS IS JUST ME INTERPRETING THE SYMBOLISM AND DRAWING LITERARY PARALLELS NOT ME CLAIMING THAT UNDERTALE IS ACTUALLY A STORY ABOUT GOD AND THE DEVIL JUST THAT TOBY FOX MAY HAVE BEEN INSPIRED BY THE STORIES

I’m just saying that, in some twisted way, it could be a story of Lucifer returning to Heaven

1. What kicks it off the events of Undertale is a large scale war between the Humans and Monsters, and while the monsters are the ones banished, the end result is practically the same: Separation between monsters(Angel stand in) and humans (Demon stand in) Humans/Demons did BAD THING and now the two worlds have been separated

2. Im just gonna get this over with and say Asriel (Who’s name is based on Azrael, an angel) COULD be looked at as a stand in for Jesus, an envoy of the monsters who left the undergound with a message of peace and was killed because of it. This is admittedly the weakest point I have considering Azrael is the angel of death, and the whole thing with Chara muddying it up, but my brain gave me the idea of comparing the funny goat boy to jesus christ and I had to at least mention it

3. A common interpretation I tend to see is that the underground is “Hell” and in my opinion, this does not line up with the themes and imagery within Undertale. In Undertale, the humans are the aggressors, and while the monsters are willing to fight to defend themselves, they are almost always willing to make peace if given the right opportunity.

4. The Human is referred as to as being “Fallen” and the Prophecy of The Deltarune symbol describes him as an angel. Put these two facts together, the human is a Fallen Angel.

5. Toriel’s name is Toriel because shes acts as Tu-Toriel. This has nothing to do with anything except that when searching for the origin of her name, I found out that this STUPID pun has gone over my head for the last almost 8 years and now here it is for anyone else who’s missed it.

6. Taking what I said about Sans giving the human a chance to make their own decisions and running with it, Sans acts as the sort of “God” character. This sounded insane to me at first but then I realized you literally meet him in LIGHT BATHED CHURCH WHERE HE PASSES JUDGEMENT ON THE HUMAN and the whole game he acts as an almost omnipresent observer.

7. Now for the endings

Neutral: Reuniting Humans/Hell and Monsters/Heaven is deemed untenable at the current moment due to the actions (or lack of action) the human has taken, but both sides might walk away either a little bit wiser or with a renewed sense of division. Either way, the Underground is changed forever

Pacifist: The human has turned away from violence, even in the most difficult of scenarios. Asriel is reminded of the love they once shared with humans and the two sides become one again. The Lucifer-standin has clearly changed and is brought back into the fold

Genocide: “Lucifer” returns and enacts violence against everything, reigniting the War in Heaven but is now unstoppable. After killing both “God” and “Jesus” they are left with nothing except Chara. I disagree that Chara is the devil or satan, but instead is the personification of violence itself, fueled by ambition, to “gain power and defeat the enemy” which is what caused Lucifer to be cast out to begin with. They ask you/Lucifer if you’d like to finish what the two of you have started and if you have the gall to say no, they “gently” remind you that THEY have always been been in control: Lucifer’s ambition to wipe out Heaven and YOU, THE PLAYER’S ambition to “beat” the game to its fullest extent, even if it means going against the themes of the game, leaving Undertale to be cast aside and uninstalled to for the next game you to beat: “Erase this world and move onto the next”

[adamwatchesmovies]

Nemesis 2: Nebula (1995)

You have to wait a little to understand why people call 1992’s Nemesis a Terminator ripoff. The visual resemblances aren’t there in the first scene. The theme of mechanical infiltrators is buried beneath a jumble of needlessly labyrinthine would-be spy work. That’s not the case with Nemesis 2: Nebula. This is unmistakenly a clone of the 1995 sci-fi classic (despite coming XX years after), which makes it much more fun.

73 after the previous film (and featuring none of the characters we saw during that cliffhanger of an ending), humans have lost the Cyborg Wars. Rebel scientists have developed a new strain of DNA and bred a saviour who can free us from our mechanical oppressors. To escape them, Alex (played as an adult by Sue Price) is sent back in time to 1980. 20 years later, a cyborg bounty hunter named Nebula (Chad Stahelski) arrives to kill her before she can win the battle for the future…

Details have been tweaked. Nebula isn’t after Sarah Connor, she’s after John, who is a woman… so basically Sarah Connor. There’s no Kyle Reese because, as a super soldier with enhanced DNA, Alex looks more like Arnold Schwarzenegger than Lynda Hamilton. The film isn’t set in the United States, it’s in East Africa because… it’s much cheaper to shoot there! Like the T-800, Nebula can infiltrate our society without arousing suspicion. Either with its cloaking forcefield, which makes it kinda invisible in a way that’s ripping off Predator or by hiding off-screen and killing everyone it encounters before they can sound the alarm. It’s vague. I suspect they wanted to mask how crappy their monster looked by throwing a bunch of effects on top. It's a little more likely a reason than filmmaker Albert Pyun choosing to rip off not one, but two Schwarzenegger action movies at once.

This is a perfect film to pair up with Terminator. Obviously, the plots are similar but Nemesis 2 perfectly highlights just what makes the 1984 James Cameron movie so good. Sure Price has the physique to be an action star but she’s got exactly zero charisma and just as much screen presence. Her character is so poorly developed and defined, her dialogue is so limited, she might as well be a robot herself. You basically watch her run around, dispatching one fool after another with the insectoid-looking killer in tow, reducing everything in sight to cinders. You get a sense she might’ve had more material on paper but that many of her lines got cut because of her atrocious performance.

The whole thing’s constructed like a robot made of cardboard and bubblegum. The tribe who discovers Alex somehow knows her name. The beginning of the movie is entirely subtitled because obviously no one there would speak English… until Alex is on her own and it’s revealed she’s known the language since birth. That's a headscratcher. Nemesis 2 repeatedly and severely underestimates how much we’ll like or dislike the people we encounter on this adventure. You’re desperate for something to latch onto. You’re having fun at the movie’s expense, cracking jokes at the lousy production and quoting your favorite lines from the Terminator series when we meet Emily (Tina Cote), a woman taken prisoner by some bad guys. Alex rescues Emily (and her dialogue-free friend who serves basically no purpose). Now, you expect the pair to bond. Compared to Sue Price, Tina is a deity of theater. Obviously, she’ll stick around. Maybe she'll even be the “Sarah Connor” to Alex’s “Kyle Reese”. I know I’m not the only one getting strong lesbian vibes from the movie so you REALLY think something will come of their meeting… but no! From the way the film ends, we’re supposed to dislike Emily and think her a villain! It’s one of the many bewildering turns the story takes.

Nemesis 2: Nebula can be fun to watch when paired with the right movie and crowd. It’s an ineptly directed and shoddily assembled film with a thin plot and minimal dialogue. You can easily follow it while basically hurling things at the screen. It’s no classic but if you’re making your way through the series and want to make an event out of it, then I say throw this one in the mix. (On Blu-ray, July 26, 2019)

[kathleenkatmary]

Western Wednesdays: Grim Prairie Tales (1990)

Not at all what I expected, but I found myself enjoying this quite a bit. Since this is a horror/western anthology, I was kind of expecting horror more along the lines of something like Tales from the Crypt, just with a western setting, but Grim Prairie Tales is doing something very different. I read that the cast and crew felt that they were making a strong feminist piece, and I can absolutely see that in the final product. This really is a very thoughtful piece of genre filmmaking, and the horror really does feel more like the kind of spooky stories you might hear around a campfire, at least more so than the kind of horror I think a lot of people expect going into this, judging from many of the reviews (and my own experience).

The middle segments are the ones that really have that feel of a somewhat bold feminist take. The second segment is about a man who meets a troubled woman while traveling through the western plains, and digs into ideas about the ways vulnerability in women is often framed in sexual ways by horror stories and really, a lot of men in general. The third story is about a family making their home on the frontier, with the "Little House on the Prairie" sheen slowly being chipped away to show what a monster the father really is. There are no supernatural elements in this story. The horror comes from just how monstrous, and sadly real, especially for that time, the father's actions are, and the sadly honest reality of the excuses the women in his life will make for him, even as he's abusing them. It's so interesting to see a movie from the early 1990s, especially one that's both a horror film and a western, be so frank in addressing these kinds of issues in terms of gender dynamics, and particularly in the way men and women are framed.

The first and second stories aren't about gender dynamics or women's issues, but they're still thoughtful pieces about respecting different cultures and the horror of violence. I don't think they have the same narrative heft that the middle two stories have, but they still work pretty well. The final story in particular has a wild animated segment, and one of the most frightening images of the whole movie. So they're still incredibly effective.

And the framing device here is also interesting and effective. It's Brad Douriff and James Earl Jones, two strangers who end up camping together and swapping stories, and in so doing end up ruminating a lot on the nature of stories. It's the rare case of the framing segments being just as interesting, if not more so, as the stories being told. Both actors are electric and have a really fun chemistry. They both do a really incredibly job of making their characters feel distinct and identifiable, and that makes their interactions really crackle, because you can really understand where each one is coming from.

Of course, it's not by any means perfect. I think it did take a little too long to get going, and that sort of issue with pacing extends for the whole movie. The stories all feel like they have wildly different pacing, making some feel like they're moving way too fast and some feel like they're moving kind of slow. The scares are also minimal, which I don't generally mind, but I do feel like the movie would have benefitted from slightly better building of atmosphere. The beginning has some atmosphere, largely I think thanks to the fact that the darkness of the western setting at night kind of inherently comes with atmosphere.

This movie was actually shot by the great Janusz Kaminski. It was one of his first jobs as a cinematographer. There are some shots where you can see the skill he'd become so well known for, some beautifully framed shots of the western countryside. Unfortunately, Grim Prairie Tales doesn't seem to have ever received a DVD or Blu-Ray release, not do it appear to be available anywhere streaming. So the only way to watch it is on youtube, where it's been ripped from the VHS release. Which means that it's presented in 4:3, cropped and pretty rough quality that makes everything look very dark but also washed out at the same time. So none of the shots are presented in the way they were originally lit and framed. It's hard to really comment on or criticize any of this stuff as a result.

I really do hope this gets a Blu-Ray release at some point. It's not a masterpiece, but it deserves to be seen by more people, and in its originally intended state.

[junow-honours]

The Aggressor

I am very stoked with these images. Like the last two posts, I decided that I wanted to change the existing designs of my characters, because I’m looking for more interesting and macabre designs for my WIP game. I used AI to generate the ‘turntable’ of each character, so you can see what the whole design looks like as a 3D model.

The first image is by far my favourite, and will be used as the primary ‘Aggressor’ image, alongside the other images in my previous post (these were great too).

Made some notes on some associations I had with these images (most likely pulled in by the generator):

Pharaoh mask- Egyptian- Hieroglyphics. Looks like an ancient depiction of a god (or demon)

Demonic or Satanic- the AI generator seemed to lean towards very macabre and disturbing imagery

Reptilian, or insect-like. The teeth has been translated into an almost scaly, armoury shell- like that of a slater insect. And the tooth headdress resembles one of those lizards with the thrilled neck (love these associations, because when I designed the original character, I was looking at the anatomy of predators in the animal kingdom. Also like this idea of armour- war plays a big role in tabletop games, so the knight would be a good archetype to look into- or executioner who wears an intimidating set of armour)

The Xenomorph in Alien. Probably the most well known science-fiction monster. The Aggressor’s large helmet resembles the long head of the Xenomorph

Mad Max- Dystopian steam-punk. The use of masks is so interesting, the Aggressor needs to be the one character with his face completely covered (balaclava), whereas the other characters still have some skin showing (although only minimal)

Cyborg

Punk?

BDSM masks- latex

Roman coins- the side profiles look like the profiles of gods printed onto ancient Roman coins. Good idea for creating tokens or currency within the game

Michelangelo’s drawings of men wearing helmets- very complex (almost art nouveau-like) helmets. Also reminds me of Howl’s Moving Castle? Stretching it, but small associations like this are what I want the viewers of my work to experience. I want them to point out at random things and make conversations from the memories associated with those things

^ Maybe then.. The Aggressor’s territory can look similar to Howl’s Moving Castle, extremely cluttered and overwhelming- This is also usually how ‘hell’ is depicted, it’s cluttered and deserted- like an abandoned town or a dump. Also thinking about the film ‘Labyrinth’ and that lady with that massive backpack in the dump- love her

[vinetabris]

not only have i decided to watch all the movies, i’m going to give little reviews for each movie too, so get ready

Godzilla (1954)

Wow! I had seen a couple of Godzilla movies, but never the first. I’m used to the more campy/silly side of the old Godzilla movies, so I was surprised that the first movie was so different and dark (thematically, not just because it’s a black and white movie that has a lot of scenes that take place at night lol). Despite it’s age I feel it still holds up really well, even with the technological limitations of the special effects. One thing that I was surprised by was the focus on human suffering. In the other movies I’ve seen the suffering is kept minimal, or is offscreen, or the city is evacuated. In this movie you can really feel the fear of the people affected. Between people screaming as their homes are destroyed, or crying as someone else dies, or are shown wounded. They make it really apparent how the people are affected. There’s one scene in particular of a woman holding her three children saying “We’re going to be together with Daddy soon” as the buildings burn around here that felt particularly brutal.

There were two versions of this movie, the original and the Americanized Godzilla: King of the Monsters movie, which was re-edited to include an American main character, and removed some scenes. The one I watched was the original, not sure if I’ll watch King of the Monsters as, from what I understand, it changes the impact a bit, and I quite like the darker tone of it.

And of course this movie really captures the anxieties Japan had when it came to nuclear weapons. The whole reason why Godzilla is awoken and attacks is because of nuclear weapons testing. There’s a scientist character in the movie who develops a weapon that can be deployed underwater and pretty much vaporize everything nearby in the water, but he keeps it a secret because he’s so terrified of the government using it, or it falling into the wrong hands (he says he wants to wait until he finds a greater use for it, though what that could be I’m not really sure). Even though Godzilla is attacking and he has the only weapon that could stop him, he’s still hesitant to use it because he feels that even if he destroys his research, the knowledge could still be taken from him and used for destruction. It’s only after he sees the suffering of people on television that he agrees to use his bomb on Godzilla, but only after destroying all his research. Then, he gets on a boat that takes him near Godzilla, where he gets into a diving suit with the bomb and sets it, however when the people on the boat try to pull him up before the bomb goes off, he cuts his line, and stays in the water to die with Godzilla, meaning there’s no way for he bomb to ever be recreated. I found it really interesting, acknowledging the need for weapons, but also being so afraid of them being abused that he sacrificed himself.

At the end of the movie it does show Godzilla vaporized and turned to bones, so I don’t know if the next movie is supposed to be a different Godzilla, or if he comes back from being bones somehow, but either way this movie is definitely worth the watch if you’ve never seen it. I can understand the hesitation one might have due to the age of the movie, but honestly I enjoyed it and do recommend to fans of monster movies.

8.5/10

just found out there's only 36~ Godzilla movies

which is less than what I was thinking cause I thought there was like 50 of them

so like, what if I just did a big ol Godzilla marathon

[prokopetz]

Hello, person of many recommendations, I come seeking your web of knowledge. I know this isn't TTRPG, but do you and or any of your followers have recommendations for games where you play as a Creature. Just, an absolute thing. Claws. Teeth. No shade to the recent beloved cat game, but I'm talking a monster. If not, no sweat, just discussing trends among friends.

Since you say it "isn't TTRPG", I'm assuming you mean video games, though I'll note that nowhere in your request do you actually specify the medium you have in mind – if I've guessed wrong, that's on you!

That said, a few favourite video games where you play as a Creature:

Realistically, you’ve probably already heard of CARRION, but on the off chance that you haven't, it's a stand-out in the genre. A stealth puzzler with medium-weight metroidvania elements where you basically play as The Thing. This one really leans into playing as a creature with no fixed body plan, so you’ll have to be prepared for occasional physics engine jank as well as omnipresent body horror.

They Bleed Pixels is sort of an edge case, since you’re really just a purple-skinned schoolgirl with claws, but as it’s widely accepted by the Tumblr community that creepy little girls are a kind of Creature, I’m counting it. It’s an ultraviolent precision puzzle-platformer, and if the character design is a bit low on monstrosity, what you do to your enemies more than makes up for it.

Zapling Bygone only came out a couple of days ago, so I haven’t yet had a chance to see everything it has to offer, but I like what I’ve seen to far. Though it might seem redundant to include both this and CARRION on the same list, they’re two very different takes on the idea of a metroidvania starring a tentacled whatsit that goes around killing and assimilating its enemies.

Nohra is another creature-escaping-a-lab game, this one in the form of a Celeste-style precision puzzle-platformer. (I recognise that I’ve thus far plugged nothing but metroidvanias and puzzle-platformers, but well, you knew who you were asking, right?) Quite short, but also free on account of being a student project. The monster’s design suggests that someone on the dev team was definitely a furry.

Maneater probably isn’t quite what you have in mind, being a self-described “open world SharkPG” in which you play as an actual fucking shark, but you can’t deny that a shark is in fact a Creature. Not quite as Grand Theft Auto as the trailers make it look – there’s legit RPG gameplay here, though it leans a bit too hard on the novelty of its premise to really make the most of itself. Still: fucking shark.

Sea Salt has you playing as not one Creature, but many – specifically, a devouring horde of Lovecraftian beasties which you direct as a single unit. The Steam tags notwithstanding, it’s not really an RTS; the logistical play is minimal, and you just have the one mob of critters to direct – it’s more like a bullet hell game where you direct your characters using a laser pointer.

As for forthcoming titles, Necrofugitive is a side-scrolling beat-’em-up where you play as a shape-shifting zombie thing escaping from prison in a shitdark medieval setting. Like They Bleed Pixels, above, whether this one meets your criteria depends on how you feel about essentially humanoid Creatures, though in this case the shapeshifting element pushes the humanoid envelope a little.

[josnhoes]

Halloween.... Spooky scary skeleton 🎶

Okay since halloween is near what if humans do not exsisted in two world but as a myth, like we humans make mythos out of thin air or drugs

And child yuu just appear one day?

I'm assuming you mean twst so I'm going to write it that way. But if you meant a different Fandom feel free to message me again. Also since you didn't pick 3 characters I'm going to do a more general version then focused on characters.

Edit: I ran out of steam and only did the first 3 dorms.

Content warning: Monsters, child reader

In the world of Twisted Wonderland there are a few truths none question; the great seven where revered, the races of monsters where to do their best to keep the peace the great seven created, and humans where nothing more then myths. Though the stories of humans where common, told as tales of fun and whimsy most of the time. There where a few cases of stories where humans where dangerous, abducting monsters to have friends. A set truth about humans aside they didn't exist was if you befriended one, and treasured them in return of their loyalty they would help your magic grow. Young monsters often sought out humans for fun and with hopes of becoming a mage worthy of being seen along side the great seven.

The world of humans was real, a reality mirroring the monster's own. Where humans where viewed by monsters like fairies are to humans; to humans a majority of monsters where to be fear. But just like the monster world their counterpart was viewed as fake.

On rare once a millennium event the realities overlapped allowing for travel between realms. Though usually it was with out incident, but on occasion someone fall through. A monster and a human switched places. But none truly knew of this.

Mc was little even for their age. Though their age was small as well, not even in double digits yet. So waking up in a strange place alone was not ideal. In fact it was the opposite of what any child would want. Alone, lost, and hungry you could do nothing but cry. A cry that caught the attention of a certain Tengu headmaster.

Crowley was in shock to find such a little monster alone in the mirror chamber and approached. Only for the little one to scream. At the fearful wailing he took a closer look and was in shock to find the child was *human*. Oh how fortunate for his school chosen to host such a rare guest! It was a sign and he couldn't wait to see who you chose to bestow power upon, would it be one or many?

Once you're calmed down and reassured no one would hurt you, he asked how you arrived. The answer of you didn't know wasn't ideal but no matter. Soon you found yourself bounced between dorms to find someone for you to bond with.

Heartslabyul was first. The dorm leader refused at first finding no possible way a human could exist, as such he was very hard on you for the first week. The werewolf was strict on everyone but especially himself lest he become a mindless beast. Trey the gentle living doll however was kind and managed to help Riddle realize you where human and not some monsterling shape shifted. Once that gets out the school is vying for your attention. The various monsters in Heartslabyul did their best to keep the havoc to a minimal for your sake.

Savanclaw has a mixed reaction. The sphinx dormleader Leona was the worst at having mixed feelings. He wanted the promised power a human could offer, but you where a child and children where such a pain to deal with..or so he claimed. Most of your care while with them is from Ruggie the resident Knoll and Jack the werewolf wind spirit hybrid.

Octavinelle was the first to have actively tried to bribe your affections. Even with out the bond you brought profits galore. Everyone wanted a deal with Azul the water element Slime, as such his power was growing and growing. The twins a pair of sea serpents where extra busy keeping the lounge in order as many monsters fought to get contracts for a chance to meet the small human.

[pochipop]

＃ GENSHIN IMPACT !! ♡ — WHEN THE WIND LEADS YOU HOME (KAZUHA X SNAKE-HYBRID!READER).

#. synopsis! — at birth, you were smuggled away from your small village at the dying request of your mother. thought to be a bad omen, a sign of divine retribution, you were cast from your birthplace in liyue and placed inside the cart of an unsuspecting merchant just passing through. you were raised by the people of mondstadt, —by the winds of freedom and the overlooking anemo archon. your life has been pleasant, despite its rough beginning. . . yet a single truth remains unchanging: you're cursed. a quarter of your dna is sullied by that of a snake's. your left canine is replaced by a sharp fang that secretes venom at will, while the other remains dry and human. scales line the length of your stomach, and you're sensitive to smell and taste, leaving you with minimal diet options. the worst part of it, however, is that there are only two ways to break the curse. you'll either have to kill the one who placed it on you or reach a soothing state of emotional bliss powerful enough to break away from its chains. lisa once advised you that true love might do the trick. . . convinced that your self-described flaws leave the second option unattainable, you set sail with kazuha and beidou on the crux in search of anyone who can help lead you to answers. a year passes before you realize it. little do you know, you're much closer to closure than you ever could have recognized .

#. characters! — kazuha .

#. warnings! — angst, depictions of abuse, misogynistic themes .

#. word count! — 8.2k .

#. alt accounts! — @ddollipop (nsfw) @yyolkchi (reblog/spam) .

#. others! — navigation & masterlist .

A young woman stands below a rumbling sky, her frail arms curled protectively around her swollen belly. The baby in her womb will never know a mother’s gaze. . . Pain is sure to befall the forsaken child of a village outsider. She steels herself for the worst when a rough hand grasps at her shoulder. Tears glaze her eyes as droplets of rain begin to fall from the clouds. The sky seems to be crying for her, mourning the joy she once held so close.

“How could you do this?” Her father demands.

She’s heard this far too many times now. She knows, she knows, she knows, and she’ll know on her deathbed in time.

“A child conceived out of wedlock is shameful enough,” he says, “but a child fertilized by an outsider? How twisted. How sinful.”

The young woman wants to scoff at his condemnation. He of all people should not be looking down on anyone at all. He has no shame in feeding his own flesh and blood to the wolves. He has no shame in dooming his own grandchild to a life of suffering. And yet, she ponders, he has the will, even now, to believe that he’s above her. In spite of it all, she says nothing, lest the punishment be worse than death itself. Her father is a cruel man, hiding behind a mask, —a facade. The people of his village may think him to be good and righteous, but his path is stained with the blood of many, including that of his very own family.

He cares not for the will or wellness of others. He seeks control and power. As long as both are to be afforded to him, he will sell his only child up the river and throw her baby to the monsters that lurk in the forest without batting an eye. He proved as much when he sealed his fate, offering his allegiance to wicked, powerful spirits for the hefty price of his soul.

“The both of you will pay with your lives for what you’ve done,” her father says, grip tightening on her shoulder.

It hurts, and he can tell as much by the grimace on his daughter’s face. She takes what she can in stride, but his nails pinch at her skin and his hold whispers the same sickly tune as the sword sheathed at his hip.

The end is near.

She knows it so well that she can feel it in the very marrow of her bones, and when the baby inside her kicks, she fears her child has come to realize it as well. Her end will be her child's beginning, —but she knows nothing good will come of the life inside her that she's carefully nourished for months on end.

"Your child will live like a snake in the grass for your sins."

And so it was.

She gave birth that very night to a child sullied by the touch of a serpent. Along the torso, the baby was left with ghosting scales lining from lower chest to lower stomach. All those present were horrified, —and her father said it was divine punishment for fornicating with someone outside of the village. His blood ties with evil spirits beg to differ. His daughter lay devastated, body aching from the ordeal. Any hope she'd secretly held for survival was snuffed away. . . Every limb was limp, all her strength sedated, each blink of her eyes bringing her closer to eternal darkness.

A young man just a few years her senior held her baby close to his chest. His lips ghost the back of her hand, —and when he steps out into the storm with her child in his arms, he knows he may never return.

You're here again, —wherever here is. Your body feels heavy, like it's made of pure lead, and you struggle to breathe as your mind reels from this complete and utter lack of control. There's a very distinct scent in the air, and somehow you know it all too well, like the back of your hand, and yet you can't ever seem to place it. Somewhere off in the distance, thunder resounds from the heavens. It's so loud that you can't help but wonder if some egotistical God is flexing power for the sake of it, just to watch regular people fall to their knees and beg for mercy. You steel yourself for the chills, and moments later, they creep up your arms and down your spine like little spiders, spindly legs making your body hair stand on end.

"How could you?" A man's gruff, enraged voice demands.

It's so loud that it makes your ears ring, but in the same breath, it sounds so far away. It always happens like this.

"How could you?" The man repeats, louder this time; meaner and angrier. "How could you do this?"

You can feel yourself bristle with every word he speaks. No matter how many times you've heard this same scene play out, it never gets easier. Each time it feels existential; like it'll never end, like you'll never forget the sound of his voice. Upon your wake it's always gritty, a long-lost memory that doesn't even seem to be your own. But right now, in the midst of it all, you wish you could drown yourself in the rainfall.

"I'm sorry," a woman says.

She sounds like she's been crying. Her words are laced with desperation, —yet there's a hollowness to them that haunts you. Her voice almost sounds like it's coming from inside you, like she's found refuge in the cavern of your chest or the pit of your stomach. You want to reach for her somehow, but your body still won't move. Something heavy is holding you in place, and try as you might, your eyes won't open. Or, if they are open already, the dark void around you would never let you know it.

"You bring shame upon this village!"

The man's condemnation is louder than even the thunder that seems to howl in disapproval.

"Please," she begs, choking on a sob, "please father! Have mercy!"

A stomach churning sound cracks through the black air. The girl weeps. Your heart splinters at the mere idea of what's happening beyond the boundary that seems to exist between your plane of consciousness and the place this scene is happening in. Selfishly, you're glad you don't have to bear direct witness to it.

"I am not your father!" The man grits through his teeth.

You feel a calloused hand grab at your face, four fingers on one cheek and a thumb on the other. It pulls on your head, straining the column of your neck. A plea for your life bubbles up, but your lips stay sealed as if you've forgotten how to spread them apart.

"You filthy wretch."

The hand slips down, now gripping at your throat. It squeezes with malice, but you still can't move, —can't scream for help or even attempt to fight back. You're powerless. Your air supply is ruined, running lower by the second, and try as you might you cannot will your mouth to move.

"Y/n," a voice calls from the depths of the darkness.

It's male, —but it's a different person. This one is soft and delicate, like a guardian angel. You know it from somewhere.

"Y/n," it repeats as the hand on your throat squeezes tighter, threatening to force the head off your body.

In contrast, another hand grips at your shoulder, shaking you gently. It seems to be willing you in an opposite direction, sinking you into the darkness and away from your assailant. Your body begins to tingle, as if it had been numb the whole time and you simply had to wait it out, —wait for your muscles to remember their jobs again.

"Y/n."

Your eyes open and your body shoots forward. Anxiety pulses through every vein like a lightning; setting your insides ablaze. The pant to your breathing tapers off after a moment or two, and you force yourself to glance around.

This is a room on the bottom deck of the Crux, —the room you share with Kazuha. It's tight and cramped, but it serves its purpose well enough. A shaky breath slips between your now-parted lips. You curl your fingers just to make sure the option's there.

"That same nightmare again?" Kazuha asks, —but he doesn't seem irritated or annoyed.

He never does.

Maybe he's too caring for his own good, but he's never complained about you. In fact, it's rare to hear him complain at all. He's a young man of many words, but seldom are they negative. Instead, he prefers to offer prose to the most mundane things; wearing his rose-colored heart on his sleeves as they ripple in the wind.

Unable to find your voice, you nod in confirmation. You swallow the sob that creeps up your throat.

"You're safe," he assures you, moving a few strands of hair out of your eyes. "There's no reason to be afraid now. The seas are still, the sky is clear, and I won't let anyone hurt you."

You don't realize you're crying until he swipes a gentle thumb below each of your eyes, doing away with the teardrops you've shed.

"I bit my lip," you murmur, nearly gagging on the metallic taste of blood that finally begins to register on your tongue.

It's overwhelming.

This has happened so many times before, but it never gets easier. It always hurts the same.

Kazuha shuffles to the other side of the room, rummaging through a collection of his things. He pulls a small, brown baggy from the pile, fiddles with the string until it loosens, then pulls the little sack open and removes a cloth from inside. He returns to you, pulling the material away to reveal a handful of bright red petals. You're not certain what plant they're from.

"Thoma gave these to me," he explains in a soft voice, "they have medicinal properties. Many people in Inazuma and Liyue use them to numb the pain of wounds."

You let him pull your lip down. The closeness feels intimate, —but there's always been an unmistakable wall between yourself and Kazuha. Maybe it's all in your head, but you can't shake it. You can't shake the foundation of your relationship. You wouldn't dare.

He avoids the single fang that hangs in your mouth with ease, placing one of the petals against the wound. You wince at the initial contact, but within a handful of seconds, you feel the pain lessen and lessen until it tempers off to a distant sting.

"Do you. . . Want to talk about it?" Kazuha asks gently, leaving all the room in the world for you to turn his request away.

He just wants you to know that the option is there if you'd like to take him up on it. It's always there.

You reach up, and he takes the hint, removing his own hand so you can hold the petal there yourself.

"I'm sorry for waking you up," you apologize, averting your gaze somewhere else, —but nowhere in particular.

"That's not quite what I meant," he jokes, giving you a sympathetic smile.

"I know," you reply, "but I am. I just wanted to make sure you knew."

"You don't have to be sorry," he answers, hand pulling toward your own.

He stops himself just before his digits ghost against your skin, fingers curling back like he'd been burned by something unseen. Kazuha takes his hand away.

"I know," you repeat, biting back a smile as to not agitate the wound on your lip. "You always say that."

"And you always apologize," he counters playfully.

And he always does this, sending your heart into a whirlwind of emotion. As long as you're cursed, you know this gap will always exist. . . As long as this fang sits in your mouth, slitting through your lips and tongue, there will be distance between the two of you that affection can't seal. As long as you can taste his essence from the scent of dandelions and spring winds, cracks will always remain that desire can't repair. As long as these scales thread along your body, —these open wounds will never truly heal, and old scars will never be left to rest.

There will never be a well enough to leave alone.

"I just wish everything were different sometimes," you admit.

"I don't want to be selfish, but sometimes, I get lost thinking about what everything feels like to everyone else. People who are normal."

"That's not selfish," Kazuha replies. "I think everyone wonders what the world is like through the eyes of others."

"I don't want to scare people anymore," you say, voice catching in your throat. "And I'm tired of hurting myself. I'm sick of having nightmares and turning down food because it'll overload all my senses. I want to eat whatever Xiangling makes us when we dock in Liyue Harbor. I just want to be like everyone else, and I don't want to have to kill anyone else to do it," you ramble, pressing down on the petal far too hard.

Kazuha reaches up, grasping at your fingers. You pause, embarrassed by your sudden expression of frustration. He guides you to a softer touch.

"Let yourself feel," he says softly. "Your body isn't meant to house all your emotions until it bursts. Send some of these feelings off with the tide when they wear you down; send the others up to the stars and hope for a granted wish. Lay them on me, let me shoulder some of it for you when it gets heavy. But don't let them choke you."

You swallow, gaze falling to your hands.

"You've got a busy day ahead of you," he mumbles, "and the sun won't rise for another hour or two. You should get some more sleep. Lay back and I'll tell you a story."

"How's the meal?" Xiangling smiles, her eyes squinting into little crescent shapes. "I did my best to make the flavors a bit more subtle so everyone could enjoy it! I know I'm a bit heavy handed though, so I hope I went easy enough for you especially, y/n."

You return her smile, feeling grateful for her efforts. Oftentimes, you joke that the worst part about your curse is your lack of ability to enjoy most foods, —but this is absolutely divine. It's tempered enough to not upset your extremely delicate senses of smell and taste, but not subtle enough to be flavorless. You can taste the layers from the broth, to the veggies, to the small bits of perfectly cooked protein thrown in here and there. Everyone at the table seems to be enjoying themselves, and you're thankful that you haven't ruined this meal for anyone else. 

"It's delicious! Thank you again, Xiangling!" You tell her, and she lights up like Yoimiya's fireworks bursting through the night sky in Inazuma.

This was really needed after the rough start to your morning. 

"It's great," Beidou nods in agreement, "probably the best food any of us have had since we last saw you."

Though the Captain laughs, it's painfully true. You're used to eating the same foods by now, but even you've grown tired of grilled fish. . .

"The flavor is soft, but in a balanced way," Kazuha notes, "—I'd like another bowl, if it's not too much trouble."

"No trouble at all!" Xiangling jumps a bit as your friend requests seconds of her cooking. "I'm so glad you like it enough to ask for more! That means I'm doing something right!"

Beidou chuckles, lifting her own bowl up as well, saying: "I could go for some more! How about you guys?"

The entire crew shouts out in agreement, and you giggle to yourself. They may not be "proper" by the standards of many, but they're like family to you. After all the time you've spent voyaging with them, it's impossible to think of them as anything less. It's been over a year now since Beidou welcomed you aboard her ship, accepting you as a member of her crew. To this day, you can still recall the way the tension melted like ice under harsh summer rays the moment Beidou stifled their worries with her assurance that you were to be trusted. They took her word like starving peasants to a free meal, —with joy and very little hesitation.

When they caught wind of your differences, they accepted you. . . Their questions never felt mocking or degrading, simply curious and asked with interest, never with malice. The adjustment to the open seas was hardly an easy one to make, and you'd often yearn for Mondstadt, the place where your heart ran free amongst cobble streets and laughter. But it was a choice you made for yourself, the very first of its kind to turn your life around so drastically, and you haven’t looked back since. You return home to visit every now and again, always greeted warmly by those that raised you as their own, but they know why you ventured off and why you cannot return until your heart has settled.

Though Mondstadt is where your roots are sewn to the earth, you were born in Liyue, according to the man you've always seen as your father. A gentle and caring soul, William was a traveling merchant who ventured out to Liyue many years ago expecting to return with vegetables from a small, obsolete village far removed from the major city and harbor. Instead, he got much more than he bargained for, and somewhere along the line, you wound up in the back of his wagon. The rest is history by now, you suppose.

He raised you as his own, helped you through the trying times you had growing up, especially as someone cursed with the DNA of a snake. William did all he could for you, no matter the cost, and never left you in the dark. He was there to soothe the ache of your wounds when your fang would puncture something it wasn't supposed to. He was there to try a million different recipes, searching for ones that wouldn't overwhelm you. He was there to tell you that it was okay to be different, —that it wasn't your choice to be born like this, and even if it were, you'd still be worthy of respect.

"How about you, y/n? Would you like some more?" Xiangling asks.

"No," you shake your head, "I'm full, but thank you! I really appreciate everything you've done for my friends and I."

"Don't mention it!" The vibrant girl replies.

You sit with the crew for the rest of brunch, laughing at the silly jokes they make, adding comments when the timing feels right. When everyone has had their fill, you venture off, agreeing to meet up with everyone else by sundown when the Crux will set sail again.

"Mind if I join you?" Kazuha asks, a soft smile playing on his lips.

"I don't mind at all," you answer, "in fact. . . I'm glad, actually. I don't like to be alone in Liyue. The people here are lovely, don't get me wrong, but. . ."

"I understand," Kazuha says, "don't worry."

You relax. He's a calm person by nature, and it's soothing. It has been ever since the first day you met him.

"Actually, the reason I asked to tag along with you was to ask how you're doing now that we've found a solid clue," he explains. "I can only imagine that such strong feelings must be overwhelming to a degree. If you'd like, I'll hear any of your worries."

Your heart sings. He does this every time, —sweeping in like some sort of fairytale prince. And the worst part of it all is that you've fallen for him, as cliche as you know it to be.

"It does feel. . . Strange," you acknowledge, seeing no reason to lie. "I mean, I lived so much of my life being so unaware of everything, and sometimes, I wish I could be that person again, you know? I was happy then, and I didn't feel it was necessary to know where I really came from. I've lived with my curse since birth as well, so it's not like I think about it every second of every day. It's normal to me." 

You glance over at Kazuha to find him listening intently, just as he always does.

"I miss the feeling of being indifferent to it all sometimes. Of course, I'd like to be rid of it, —but if what Lisa said is true, the only way to do that is to kill the person who put the curse on me, and I don't know if I'd ever be able to do that."

"Wasn't there another option?" Kazuha quips.

"Technically," you acknowledge, "but she also said love might be the only way to reach that kind of emotional serenity, and I. . . Doubt that I’m cut out for that.”

Then again, Lisa is the hopeless romantic type.

"Who knows," Kazuha says, "the closer you get to closure, you might feel differently."

"Maybe," you shrug, "if this actually goes anywhere noteworthy."

Having reached the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, you part ways with your dear friend who sets off to purchase a few items from Bubu Pharmacy to keep on hand aboard the Crux while you chat with someone very important. If anyone will know anything about strange rumors in Liyue, it's likely to be him.

"Hi, Mr Zhongli," you greet him politely, "—thank you for taking the time to meet with me."

The laugh that follows is deep and dismissive in a way that soothes your nerves. He may be an intimidating presence, someone who commands respect with his aura, but Zhongli is kind and helpful above all else.

"It's nice to see you again," he smiles warmly. "When you mentioned you were from Mondstadt that last time we met, I assumed it would be quite a while before you ventured back to Liyue."

"Ah, well, Mondstadt will always feel like home, but for now, I'm still traveling with Beidou and her crew. I join them in whatever journeys they take," you explain.

"Still searching for someone, I presume?" Zhongli inquires.

You nod.

"That's why I'm here, actually," you seize the opportunity to transition into your main topic, "recently, a crew member heard some kids talking about a man that supposedly lives somewhere in Liyue. He made his way to the harbor with a high fever, muttering something about a serpent child years ago. . ."

"And you think he may have been talking about you?" Zhongli asks.

Your face falls for a moment, but you can't say you're surprised. He's known for his intelligence around here, as well as his connections, so it's no wonder he caught on, and even more so, that he caught sight of your fang somewhere along the line. Not that you go out of your way to hide it by any means, either.

"What clued you in?" You question out of nothing more than plain curiosity.

"I noticed you had peculiar dietary restrictions last we met," he explains, "and now that we're speaking and sitting so closely, I can see one of your teeth seems to be a bit. . . Unusual, for a human."

He chooses his words carefully. You offer him a coy smile to let him know he hasn't upset you with his observation.

"As for your request, I do believe I can be of some help," he notes. "A man I've done business with on several occasions has always had strange rumors surrounding him. Though I find idle gossip a tedious endeavor, it was impossible not to hear slivers of chatter from time to time. That being said, I think the man you're searching for is Tao, —a retired ore expert who still does odd jobs for those that seek him out."

"Tao," you repeat, "do you know where I can find him?"

"He and his wife still reside in Liyue. Give me just a moment to fetch some paper and I'll write directions down for you," Zhongli says.

"Thank you!" You say, excitement seeping into your words.

As promised, Zhongli writes exact directions down for you, and you set off with Kazuha at your side, barely able to suppress your anticipation. He loves seeing you like this, he really does, but on the off chance this man knows nothing and the rumors are simply skewed versions of reality, he knows the fallout won't be pretty. Still, he can't bring himself to ask you to weigh your expectations appropriately. The fact that he can see right through you would likely be embarrassing enough.

"According to Zhongli, it should be just up here," Kazuha says.

You nod. With a shaky hand, you knock on the door of a quaint little house. When it opens, you're met with a beautiful woman who gives you a gentle smile that soothes your anxieties. Kazuha stands at your side.

"Hello," she greets, "what can I do for you?"

"Um, I'm sorry to bother you without notice, but does Tao live here?" You inquire.

Before she can reply, a man steps into view. He looks kind at first glance, though a scar runs from his temple to his lower cheek on the left side of his face.

"That'd be me," he says, "how can I—"

He pauses, eyes widening when he gets a good look at your face. It seems that he knows you, recognizes you as a long lost friend, despite having never made your acquaintance.

"Daddy?" A small voice says.

A little girl, no more than eight, grabs at the leg of his pants.

"Who are they?"

Tao blinks, seemingly snapping himself out of his daze.

"Just some friends, sweetheart," he tells her, "why don't you go help mommy prepare some tea for our guests, okay?"

The girl nods quickly, swapping the cloth of her father's pants for the bottom of her mother's casual dress. When they've slipped out of sight, Tao turns to you once more.

"You look so much like your mother," he tells you as tears gather in his eyes.

"You can tell who I am?" You question.

"I'd know you anywhere," he says, "I held you when you were first born."

Kazuha thinks he should hold your hand, offer you some emotional support as all of this washes over you. He stops himself just short of your fingers, thinking he hasn't the right to do so.

"Please, come inside," Tao ushers the both of you in, "make yourselves at home."

You sit with him at a table in the kitchen as his wife and daughter prepare tea on the opposite side. With pleasantries out of the way, you tell him your name, given to you by the only man you've ever known to be your father. It likely isn’t by blood, but he cared for you in your youth in a way no other man did, and he always returned to Mondstadt for you.

"Your father's name," Tao says, "what is it?"

"William," you reply, "he's a—"

"Traveling merchant," Tao finishes for you with a gentle smile on his face.

"You've met him?" Your eyes widen.

"I haven't seen him in many years by now, but he was always a kind young man. Never sought to scam anyone out of their Mora, —always honest with his business, even in hard times," he replies.

Kazuha stands up from the table, approaching Tao's wife. He asks her to dilute his cup of tea with water when she pours it, to which she nods and seems to be happy to oblige.

"He's still as honest as ever, especially when it comes to Mora," you say. "He knows what it's like to go without, but he made sure I never did. Even when he had to leave for a while, he never left me empty handed. I've lived happily, despite the. . ." You trail off.

How much did he know, exactly?

Tao nods like he understands where you were going with everything.

You clear your throat.

"If you don't mind me asking, could you. . . Tell me about myself? Whatever you know, it would mean the world to me," you request.

He couldn't possibly say no.

. . .

The storm rages on outside a filthy little hut that looks as if it could be torn apart in the wind. Tao kneels next to a weakened woman, her newborn held close to his chest as she struggles to breathe. The birth has taken a massive toll on her already ailing body, —and he knew it was only a matter of time before she passed on. She was a few years his junior, and he'd grown up with her. His feelings for her were hidden deep inside, and there they would stay. In the wake of her pregnancy, her father, the village leader, had not taken kindly to the news. Though Tao was privy only to the knowledge he could see on her skin, the bruises, welts, and scabbed over cuts, he knew more than enough to be disgusted. He pulls his gaze away from marks on her neck that clearly take the shape of fingers.

To be pregnant with a child out of wedlock was one thing, and in the eyes of the village leader, it was sinful enough on its own. But for said child to be the offspring of a village outsider was wholly detestable in his eyes, and his daughter would not fail to suffer the consequences of her actions if he had any say in the matter.

And he always did.

"Tao," she whispers to him, —voice strained and soft.

Her head is swimming, body aching, mind somewhere far away already. She knows her fate, has long since accepted it, and has but one wish left to beg for.

"Take my baby away," she pleads, eyelids drooping even as tears slide down her temples to seep into her hair.

Tao knows that if he does, he must leave now. There will be no time to do so later. Her father will return shortly, and if he is to get his hands on the child, the end will not be met without bloodshed.

"Please," she reaches out with her last shreds of strength, "please. . . Make sure my baby is safe."

A choice has to be made. He wants to save the both of them, —take them somewhere far away and meet their every wish and whim. She may not be in love with him, but his heart beats for her either way. His heart beats for the baby in his arms that he did not father, though he wishes he did.

He takes her hand in his, swallowing the sobs that threaten to erupt from deep inside his caving chest. The world as he's always known it is shattering to bits before his very eyes, and there's nothing he can do to stop it. When she goes limp, he sheds no more than a tear or two. The time for crying has long since passed. Now is the time for action.

He places a kiss on the back of her hand, but vows to take his feelings to the grave. When he stands, the weight of the world seems to shove at his shoulders, as if daring him to lie down beside her and die.

But he can't. Not when she used her dying breath to beg for the life of her newborn child.

The villagers are in a panic. Word of the baby born with serpent scales has spread like wildfire, even in this treacherous weather. They fear divine retribution. This is the first of many bad omens, they say. Tao sneaks himself into the surrounding forest, the cursed child pressed to his chest. There are no whines, no cries, no noises at all, but the child is undoubtedly alive. Alive and beautiful, resembling the mother to a T.

Tao travels through the trees until he catches sight of a familiar covered wagon. He knows the young man that travels in it, —not well, but enough to think him a good person. Desperation claws at Tao's chest, pulling him in a million different directions. He can't return to the village he's called home for as long as he's been alive. He'll surely be killed at worst, or outcasted officially and left in the same position he's in now at best.

Getting to Liyue will be a treacherous journey, and two grown men won't fit in the wagon. In the end, Tao does what he must. He places the forsaken baby, born of so-called sin and cursed with the scales of a serpent, into the back of the stationary wagon. The young merchant, William, Tao believes his name to be, sleeps soundly in the front, resting as he waits the storm out. 

"Please," he whispers to the strangely silent baby, "be safe."

Tao then moves onward, seeking Liyue out by foot. The rain has soaked him through and through, but he moves onward, no matter the cost. By the time he manages to get there some three odd nights later, running on empty with a high fever burning his body up, all his mumblings about a serpent child and a poor young woman's corpse are chalked up to the sickness driving him a bit mad. The rumors plague him in Liyue Harbor, but he stays there despite it all. . . Work is available, and it leaves him with the opportunity to make something of himself in the world outside the village. 

The covered wagon sets off when the rain subsides.

It's Mondstadt bound.

. . .

Kazuha swaps the teacups you're each given. You don't notice, —too enthralled by Tao's retelling to care. His wife doesn't seem shocked by the admissions, leaving you to believe she already knew of his past and had been willing to accept him not in spite of it, but as a part of him.

"You. . . You were the one who left me in the wagon?"

He looks almost ashamed as his gaze draws downward. Tao nods solemnly.

"If things had been different, I'd have raised you as my own," he clarifies, "but back then, I. . ."

"No," you shake your head, "it's okay. I'm glad you chose to do for yourself as well, and I'm glad you've gone on to live happily. My life has been peaceful, I'm proud to hail from Mondstadt, and I. . . I'm proud to be my mother's child, even if I never had the chance to meet her."

"When you were born, the timing was wrong. I didn't really know how to take care of myself, nonetheless a baby, and with your condition I didn't really know how to help. You had. . . Scales on your body, and you were so quiet that it scared me half to death," Tao admits.

"I still have the scales," you quip, attempting to make light of it.

But Kazuha notices that sad edge to your voice. He knows you wish they were gone, and if he could take them away, he would. Not because he thinks you’d be any more or less worthy of his affections without them, but because he knows the heartache they’ve caused for you. He can't help but think he isn't quite capable of that, though. Not now, maybe not ever. 

"Definitely not as quiet anymore, though."

Tao gives you a small laugh. He's little more than a stranger to you, but it feels like you've known him for a lifetime. Just speaking with him has opened up new doors for you, —has given you information about your past that you once thought to be long since lost to time.

"I'm glad," he says. "I've thought a lot about what I would say to you if I ever saw you again. I just never expected it to actually happen."

You smile.

"About the leader of the village, —my mother's father," you begin, unable to call that man your grandfather, "do you. . . Know if he's still alive? If there's any way I could find him?"

You can't kill him, and a part of you already knows that. Even if he did leave your mother to perish, even if he put this terrible curse on you. . . It's hard to imagine yourself taking the life of another living, breathing person. Still, you'd like to meet him, if only to show him that the forsaken child he was ready to throw to the wolves became someone so much more impressive than he ever could have dreamed.

"I'm afraid I can't say," Tao replies.

"That night was the last time I ever saw him, or anyone else from the village, for that matter. I haven't heard anything about them, but I do know the homes there have long since crumbled. Sometimes adventurers take shelter in whatever's left of it all, but that's about as much use as anyone can get from it."

"Nothing was left behind?" Kazuha asks. "No journals, letters, belongings?"

"Not that I know of," Tao answers, "and certainly nothing that could point anyone in the direction of their whereabouts."

"We could still go, if you'd like," Kazuha says to you.

"That's alright. I don't think I'd want to see whatever's left," you answer.

He nods, keen on respecting your wishes. This journey is about you, after all.

The conversation goes on for hours, never lolling. You and Kazuha share stories of being out on the open seas, and when Tao learns he's from Inazuma, he asks many questions out of sheer curiosity. You learn about the life of the man who saved you, and he learns about yours. It's edging on late evening by the time Kazuha notes that you should be returning soon, as the Crux will be departing after sunset.

Tao hugs you goodbye, and it feels comforting in the same way your father's hugs have always been. He asks that you visit him again sometime soon, —and his wife promises to do her best to accommodate your sensitive senses so you can have dinner with them in the future. His daughter waves goodbye to the both of you, but hugs Kazuha's side before scampering back to her mom.

"I think someone likes you," you giggle, nudging his arm.

A blush tints his cheeks.

"Ah, you think so?" He replies.

I know so, you think to yourself. And that makes two of us.

You slept on it; turned all of it over in your head, —processed the good, the bad, and the ugly. That night, you weren't plagued by the same nightmare. Your mind was at ease. Kazuha was happy to see it, happy to feel the way your longing had all but tapered off into nothingness.

With nowhere else to turn, you accepted everything for what it has always been. Nothing will bring your mother back. There's very little chance you'll ever stumble across her father, —so whatever anger dwells within you against him, you do as Kazuha suggested and you let the tide take it out to sea, swallowing it whole. Maybe you'll never be like everyone else. . . Maybe these scales will always dwell on your body, maybe you'll forever be stuck biting little puncture wounds into your mouth every now and again. Maybe you'll never know what it's like to dine and drink as everyone else does.

And that sucks, —but it's nothing you can't handle. You've done it your whole life, after all.

Above all else, you have family and friends, people that love and care for you. Your father, biological or not, will still be there to greet you when you return home. The citizens of Mondstadt will welcome you with open arms, just as they always do. Cursed or not, you have Beidou and her crew who would seemingly go to the ends of Teyvat for you, just as you would for them. You have Kazuha, who never misses a beat in loving you, no matter the kind of love it is. Maybe one day you'll gather up the courage to tell him you've fallen for him, —and if you're lucky, he just might reciprocate. But if things simply stay as they are for now, that will be just fine.

You're alone in Liyue, and for the first time, it doesn't feel quite so scary. The air is crisp and clean along this rocky slope, and the sun has barely begun to slink its way out of the sky. The colors up above shift, dusty pink into pale yellow, and you trail your fingers along the ground. Green blades of grass offer you comfort, though you're not sure you need it right now. This feeling of security and hope. . . It's all new, and the intensity brews inside you, bubbling up with an intoxicating twinge of peace. Internal peace. For once, you're not chasing after something. Being here, alone, under a slowly setting sun with a soft breeze passing through is enough. There's likely nowhere else to turn, but it feels elating, —like you've been waiting for this moment your entire life.

Well, you ponder, I guess maybe I have. . .

And now that it's here, there's no existential feeling of grief. You've feared this end since the beginning of it all, scared that being left with only a single option would drive you to the darkest places one could ever go. But you don't feel like you're drowning. Instead, as you suck in a deep breath, letting the air expand your lungs until a little ache lingers, you feel at ease.

"Y/n?" A familiar voice calls out to you from behind.

It's Kazuha, and you recognize that pang of worry on his tongue. You glance back at him, offering up a lax smile. He seems to soften at the sight of it.

"Come sit," you offer, patting the ground beside you.

He does.

"Are you alright?" Comes the question you knew was little more than right around the corner.

"Yeah," you nod, gaze trailing back up the sky.

Little wispy clouds move along at their own pace, giving the illusion that time has somehow slowed down.

"I'm. . ."

It dawns on you that you don't really have the vocabulary to describe it, —although you're sure Kazuha would have the perfect word for it if you could manage to explain yourself well enough. The thought makes you giggle.

"I don't know what's funny, but I'm relieved to see you happy," he says, and it's so earnest that your heart skips a little beat.

"I'm relieved to be happy," you admit. "I didn't think I'd feel like this. I expected something more devastating, something I'd curl up into a ball and cry over or whatever. But now that everything's at its end, and there's probably nowhere else to turn, I feel weirdly calm. Like it's all okay, even if it's not."

Kazuha nods.

"I can sense that your heart has settled," he answers. "And there's no desperate edge to your voice anymore. It used to linger on anything you'd say, —and I recognized it because it lingers on my own sometimes as well. You've been in search of yourself for as long as I've known you, but this. . . Feels like meeting you as the person you've always yearned to be for the first time, and I'm honored to make your acquaintance."

When you look into his eyes, there's no longer any deep seated worry. It's soft and calm, like the tune he hums absentmindedly aboard the Crux.

"Kazuha," you say, attempting to bite back a smile, but it spreads across your face in spite of that, "I think I—"

"Wait," he halts you, bringing his face closer to your own.

Your heart begins to hammer away in your chest, pounding like a drum. Your face drops at the suddenness.

"Y/n, smile again," he requests, and you force your lips curve up at the ends.

"With teeth," he elaborates, an urgent undertone simmering below the simple words as a hand cups your cheek.

You follow his instructions.

He stares at you, and though you cast your gaze away, you can't bring yourself to feel judged or even embarrassed. Kazuha's hand slides from your cheek to the curve of your neck.

"Your fang," he breaks into a grin, "it's gone."

A small gasp escapes you as your tongue darts to the spot where your single snake fang has always been. You've cut your tongue on it more times than you can count, —but now, it slides gently over a much smoother, less dangerous canine. A human tooth to match the one on the other side of your mouth.

"It's gone," you breathe out, "it's gone." 

You turn away from him and he removes his hand. Your brain barely processes the loss of his warmth amongst the intense feelings that swim throughout your mind, body, and soul. You can hardly believe it, but the reality blossoms again and again each time your tongue nudges at the spot where your fang has always been up until this very moment.

Breathing in deeply, you notice that you can smell mingling scents being carried by the breeze that's swooped in from your homeland of Mondstadt. The scent of sweet flowers. . . It's not overwhelming at all; —just a sugary accent to the fresh air, and you can't taste it on your tongue. Even when you try, swirling spit across your taste buds just to catch a trace of something, there's nothing to latch onto. It's dull, but you can't bring yourself to mourn the loss.

Your heart blooms when you steal a quick peek at the skin under your shirt, only to find that all the risen, ghosting scales have disappeared without a trace. For the very first time, you're seeing your body how you've always envisioned it; —human, and nothing less than such. For the very first time, you feel like your skin is really, truly your own. It's not been sullied by a man you never wish to meet, a man who took your mother away from you before you ever had the chance to meet her gaze. This body has not been touched by his curses, hasn't been marked by his ill will for you. Tears prick at your eyes before you can register them.

"I don't understand," you say, but a smile still pulls across your face. "I certainly didn't kill anyone."

Kazuha laughs, light and airy. It feels like sunshine on your skin.

"That wasn't the only way to break the curse, remember?" He reminds you.

Right. . . Lisa said the curse could likely be broken one of two ways. Murder or emotional bliss.

"True love might do the trick, sweetheart!"

"I don't understand," you admit. "I always thought the love would have to be reciprocated before. . ."

"No one ever said the love had to come from the outside," Kazuha says. "Over the months we've spent together, I've seen you grow. Not into a different person, —but into who you were always meant to be. It may not be my place to say this, so forgive me if I'm crossing a line, but I truly believe that nobody broke your curse for you."

For someone so infinitely earnest, it's hard to believe this is the most sincere you've ever seen him.

"You think I. . ." You trail off, eyes drifting to your own hand as it rests amongst the grass.

"I know you did," Kazuha corrects. "You broke your own curse. You did it all by yourself because you're strong, and you should recognize that. Give yourself credit. Let that reality wash over you like the evening tide, —drown yourself in it. You held the key to your own fate, and you chose how to use it. There's nothing more precious than life itself, and you've taken yours back. Never let yourself forget how much you've overcome."

He's right. He's so painfully right.

"I broke my own curse," you whisper, still reeling from the shock of it.

You want to shout it from the mountaintops, —show your family and friends from both Mondstadt and Liyue alike. You want to eat all the foods you never had the chance to try, see the look on Xiangling's face when you tell her you're more than happy to volunteer to be her taste tester now that strong scents and tastes don't overwhelm you completely. You want to tell Tao that you've rid yourself of any and all forsaken titles put upon you unfairly at birth. You want to thank all the people who've helped you reach this point, from the man who aided in your escape, to the only real father you've ever known, to Beidou, her crew, and especially Kazuha, who never failed to reach for you when you fell behind.

And you'll do all of that. All of it and more, —because there's a lifetime of living waiting for you. There's hope out on the horizon. For now though, you sit along this rocky slope in Liyue. You're not alone, though it would have been okay if you were. A new day looms just around the corner. You're free from the curse that's plagued you all your life. The sky rings out in a chorus of color.

Kazuha inches his hand closer, closer. . .

You take it.