#(or at least thats what they seem to imply in that same rant)

[tacharie]

Thoughts for The Montkraken Episode

so, I just finished the chapter and… wow I have a lot to say. I took screen shots for every part I wanted to talk about and I think this rant will be SUPERRRR long so bear with me. Tumblr won’t let me add screenshots so when I have better service I’ll edit the post to add them. These paragraphs are theories and side notes that I wrote after reading a certain section so you’re gonna see my thought process throughout the story. As always, spoilers ahead so I recommend skipping this if you haven’t read it already.

Alright so I was once a hater of this ship BUT… the Shobaru shippers may have a point in this guys 😭. LIKE.. I HAVE THE SCREENSHOT OF SUBARU BLUSHING UHHH. That is not a heterosexual stare feller 🤨…

AHHHHHHH THE FROSTHEIM DUO ARE BACKKKKK!!! I missed them so so much they’re so silly and deserve the best. Honestly the only two I trust in this school cause I CANT. I literally suspect anyone but them, but Imma be so disappointed if either of them are hiding something. I’ll be sad, but like I’ll help 🙄. I was actually so sad when the MC mentioned being the reason they could be in danger like GIRLLLLL DONT SAY THAT PLEASEEEEE. ITS LIKE THE ANGST WITH ADEUCE AND YUU LIKE STAWPOPP. Also when the Vagastorm kids were like “aw yeah Mido wouldn’t lie like that” it makes me happy that people can at least trust him enough to be honest and idk I found that kinda sweet :3. We’re also getting a bit of a timeline, like the One-Eyed Sleeping Beauty Murder being BEFORE the clash (sorry if this was already mentioned I don’t really remember stuff from the past chapters) which could’ve been a trigger.

Also, I feel like they’re trying to tell us that Jiro is Zenji’s brother because when he had that little laugh about the MC being scared of bodies, he said too. When you click the “too?” option, he just says that he isn’t the one afraid. It’s not Yuri as well cause he’s literally a doctor that is in the same room when autopsies are in session. Whatever the case, I assume he was referencing to Zenji, though it being a blurry memory. Little theory tho.

OK SO THIS IS JUST SO FUNNY TO ME. In Chapter 9’s title it says, “Girl Learns Shocking Truth About Monster”. I like to think the shocking truth was the fact he didn’t shower for 3 days 😭. CAUSE THATS THE PART SHE SOUNDS MOST SHOCKED. Idk that part was silly to me. THEY’RE OUTFITS FOR THEIR DORM IS SOOOOOO PRETTY. They ate I fear, a bit more than the other dorms. Also side note, they dropped A LOT of info with just how they word things. For example, Yuri saying “Jiro, you are well aware that I will not be associated with those germs AGAIN.” Soooo Yuri was in Frostheim? I don’t doubt it bc there’s another line that says “I’d rather not recall how bitterly cold that place is” which can MEAN TWO THINGS. I’m super sure that they’re implying that yeah, he was, but then something happened blah blah blah.

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH HYDE AND DANTE??? Like ok bitches, spill your shot to us too don’t be shy. So, confirmed by them, Dante and Hyde used to go to school in Darkwick (which I assume the rest of the teachers are too). That explains their back and forth. WHAT REALLY CAUGHT MY EYE WERE THESE LINES.

Hyde: “…You really are a softie, Dan-Dan.” (Haha Dan- Dan)

Dante: “It would seem that way to someone as cold as you.” (???) “…There are lines that shouldn’t be crossed, Hyde.”

Hyde: “…I’ll keep that in mind.”

WHATTTTT. WHAT ARE THE LINES. GO IN DETAIL ARGHHHHH. This gives us more info on the character individually too. Dante describes Hyde as cold… DANTE. So, it was obvious that this whole happy go lucky attitude was fake, but I expected to be more like Haru’s kind of attitude not like that yk?? now I know how much of a cash grab this game is, but I really hope they aren’t going to stretch the story out too long to the point where you have to P2W cause I haven’t paid a cent and I don’t plan to. I still want to learn more about them and stuff so :(. On the topic of Dante, there was a small flashback where I missed a word in the sentence that Dante said while talking with Alan. “I’m the man you supposedly killed.” Supposedly?? Now, I didn’t my catch this in my first run, but now it’s like wdym supposedly?? Shouldn’t you know? This is giving hella Jiro vibes and honestly, I’m getting sick and tired of these characters having a bad memory.

SPEAKING OF JIRO- he seems to have problems remembering things and they come back to him in the very weird moments (honestly a kin moment). I would like the think that he’s just suffering from the damages he had to go through from the clash. His relationship with Yuri is so… sad to me. Yuri seems to doubt him a little bit and I feel like he sees him as just a specimen, not much of a friend. Meanwhile, Jiro smiles a lot to Yuri and listens to him like a master, like that’s what he’s supposed to do. NOT AGAINST HIS OWN WILL DONT GET ME WRONG. He’s just so neutral about it it makes me a bit like awwww :(. They’re cute tho idrc.

Ok moving on to Haku and Tohma. (Ok at this point I’m getting nervous cause why are we seeing so many characters now. That’s probably just a coincidence). OK THESE TWO HAVE GOT IT GOING. Like there’s tension when you get their chat in the campus but this is like woahhhh… Also I don’t like how Tohma says “our wheelhouse? I see..” it makes me think he’s like implying “so you think you’re a part of them now?” IDK THATS JUST MY LITTLE STRETCH. Also poor Zenji, he’s like “aw yeah I died in vain lol” LIKE OUCH.

Nicholas. I DO NOT LIKE HIM. I REPEAT. I DO NOT LIKE HIM FOR A MINUTE OF A SECOND. The only staff I like are the cats, the grocer guy, and MAYBE Dante. LIKE HES SO… NORMAL?? LIKE THERE’S SOMETHING WEIRD GOING ON IK THERE IS. When MC says “I can’t believe Professor Nicolas would do something like that” I DO ���🙋‍♀️. I am in full support of Yuri finding crimes against this guy.

Also, little other side note, I just realized that Yuri and Jiro have matching earring in opposite ears. It’s so cute.

Ok I might have to go back to the beginning and see what the “goat like anomaly” Jiro is talking about when he mentions the prophecy, cause I said “… the chancellor is a goat??” BUT ANYWAYS. Speaking of the prophecy, I’ll jot it down.

“The whisper of the new moon shall lead the champion to the academy on the solitary island. So long as the champion resides there, the world shall be sheltered from profound tragedy.”

Stating the obvious here, but this is most likely referencing to the last cutscenes we get when we choose our characters. I’ve checked the cutscenes again and there’s no visible moon, meaning it could correlate to the “new moon” portion. (Search up new moon to see what I mean). Assuming Solitary island means death, that would also help with the theory. So, whoever we chose in the beginning might just be the person who won the Laurel Crown.Honestly, this is just a silly little Drabble for a theory and VERY vague. Maybe the champion resides in the events of the past that we still don’t know about but this kinda helps?? Idk I’m just putting what I think at the moment. I’ll probably reread the game so I can get a better timeline. Also, Yuri’s rant about demon particles… doesn’t exactly sit right with me. Were they chosen to be resilient or was it just a birth thing?? Idk but I feel like a lot is missing from his theory. I mean, we’re using human logic to a supernatural cause so I don’t think pacts acting as allergies would work. If they’re not chosen, could it be that the ghouls can make pacts with more than one demon? I wanna see what happens if that was the case. Please comment if I missed something 😭.

Ok Towa appeared. (Why are we seeing so many characters I don’t like this) and we went back to that tree… WHAT IS THAT TREE?? And what the hell do you mean the fruit grew? What is that fruit supposed to be? An anomaly going to birth?? Is it supposed to represent the houses?? Motivation?? It seems so weird to me cause we just got introduced to that tree last episode. Sighs.

OK REN AND RITSU. WHAT IS GOING ON. I GUESS SINCE THIS IS THE LADT CHAPTER FOR INTRODUCING CHARACTERS BUT LIKE … STOP. I feel like something is going to happen with the MC pls 😭. Anyway, those two talking about ramen is so cute please don’t ever change you virgin and lizard looking freak 🫶( with love of course). GROCER GUYYYYYYY. YIPPEE :3!! I love that the cat is the owner and not the human lmao.

Also I will always be a MC defender cause she is so relatable. “Why are hospitals so creepy at night?” GIRL IKKKKKK. Idc what y’all say, the fact that she’s normal is keeping me sane from these freaky deaky events. ILOVE NORMAL CHARACTERS! LIKE MATSUDA FROM DEATH NOTE OR THAT ONE GUY FROM MASHELE. Anyways, I love her little comments and everything she’s so silly. Idrc if she doesn’t have much of a backbone cause honestly, she’s surrounded by danger so the best she should do is listen to the people that are constantly surrounded by it.

ALSO NEW THING. (Well idk if it’s new but yeah).

mention of a Dionysia Breakout. <—— Idk what that is, but it sounds like a little more. I love little details and slip ups thanks characters <3!!

HA! HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHA! I WIN NICOLAS 😈!!! YOU DO HAVE SOMETHING TO HIDE. AND I WILL FIND IT TRUST YOU WILL BE DELT WITH. I WILL KNOW THE PRIOR PAST >:(!! Also, Moby is being soooo annoying tbh. More character descriptions to add: competitive as a teacher. NO ONE WILL MAKE YOU HATE YOU JIRO ‼️‼️‼️ HES SO SWEET He literally asks if we’re scared and says we can hang back awwww. Though he doesn’t understand much, he can use logic and he can at least understand how we feel. It’s a nice sentiment :)!

I can’t take the transformation seriously I’m sorry. I’m still impressed by Yuri’s deductive skills and the transformation just sounded like he was constipated.

THE WHOLE BATTLE SCENE WAS EPIC!! MC HESITATING BECAUSE OF LEOS WORDS BUT STILL PUSHING FORWARD. YURI GETTING FLUSTERED. JIRO SMILING AND TRUSTING YURI’S ORDERS. THE FUNNY EXCHANGE ABOUT MUSCLE WHEN THEY WERE CARRYING THE POD. Those annoying ass pussy sticks we call Darkwick students 😡. JIRO LOOKING BADASS AFTER THE SHOT. URGHHHH I LOVE THIS CHAPTER.

HARU AND PEEKABOOOOO!! AHHHHH IM SO HAPPY I SEE THEM AGAIN!! I’m so glad he’s going to Hyde too cause I’m not ready. Also… the mermaid thing is so weird. For the Montkraken Mermaid, they seem to refer to it as “it” or “that mermaid”, but when they speak of the second mermaid, they use personal pronouns like “he /him”. Haru’s expression as well when he heard someone was abusing mermaid flesh… it’s a new one with a little crease under his eye. It’s such a sad face like, did he know this mermaid personally or was this fear?? Either way, I wanna meet him cause the other one was so pretty.

…You guys know the “I see who you are… you are my enemy” sound that’s on TikTok or reels or wtv? YEAH THATS SONG WAS PLAYING IN MY HEAD WHEN HYDE SAID WE HAD TO DO A SPEECH. HYDE IM IN YOUR WALLS. URGHHHH I HATE HIMMMMM. Call to action my ass IK either Taiga or Leo are gonna get their asses out of the door after the speech. OR BOTH. I’m starting to tweak.

NOOOOO THE SPEECH IS THE NEXT CHAPTER?? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

I feel so bad for Zenji… like I’m so deadass. Dude he sounds so sad about how he’s dead it’s so.. URGHHHH. ALSO I CALLED IT. THEY ARE BROTHERS. AHAHHAHA!! Well it was kinda obvious cause everyone thought it too but WOMP WOMP. Also I love his real name, Taro Kirisaki. It’s pretty :)!! But these lines killed me

“and though I have taken my final blow, my brotherly heart can’t help but worry for my kin. … Not that he has any idea I’m still around.” YEOUCH?? I DIDNT COME TO CRY BRO…

I’m tweaking out because of this speech bro. I’m gonna choose the corniest stuff and hope for the best. “I feel bad please stop for me 🥺” headass.

Taiga is officially my enemy as well. I called that shit about him leaving URGH. WHAT A FLIBBERTYJIBBET!! His outfit eats tho so it balances out. LIKE DAMNNNN. HE LOOKS SO GOOD.

DOUBLE?? TRIPLE??? QUINTUPLE???? HELL I MIGHT BECOME A GHOUL TO GET THAT MONEY GOLLY 😍😍😍!! CAUSE IN THIS ECONOMY??Also thanks Jin you a real one twin. Bouta split this cash with my wife and I’ll send you a wedding invite.

EDWARD. ED PLEASE. STOP PUTTING ME IN THE SPOTLIGHT… well it’s out now so woopy!! I really wonder what the others have to say about that cause they just gave really vague surprised reactions. Well, Ritsu documented it. I love that little guy please don’t ever change you silly.

NUMBER ONE CORNELIUS HATER IDC. Unless I know your intentions I DONT CAREEEEE. YOU ARE AN OPP IT IS ON SIGHT WITH YOU. SAME WITH YOU NICOLAS!! “I didn’t know whether to tell you or not I’m sowwy 🥺” CHUPA MI PITO HOE 😡.

… you’re telling me I didn’t have to do that awful speech because DANTE AGREED?? IM DONE. IM WHOOPING EVERYONE IN THE ROOM AND AURING THE PLACE OUT. FIRST ONES OUT ARE HYDE FOR NOT TELLING ME, NICOLAS, AND CORNELIUS. ARGHHHHHHH. Also, dude, who is that Janitor guy like seriously.

ROMEO??? AND HYDE???? WHAT IS THIS ABOUT BUTTERCUP?? Wdym worked for him?? What is going on… SPECIAL MISSION??? SHO??? OH NAW. I CANT TRUST NOBODY ANYMORE 😭

Towa crying :(. What does the fruit shrinking have to do with it now?? I’m so confused.

ALRIGHT IF YOU MADE IT TO THE END WOW YOU HAVE DEDICATION. Yeah this is my personal yap session to this chapter and it’s so URGH. I’m so excited to see the next chapter and I hope we get to see more and more. Now with the Gala in place, we can finally start WORKING. Based on the timeline, we have about … 8 months left?? So hopefully, for MC’s sake, she gets cured. BYE BYE UNTIL NEXT EPISODE!!

[terriluvss]

Here’s proof Juvia doesn’t bring Gray happiness. He says he has to sacrifice his own happiness, (or at-least implies that) by prioritising hers instead.

This is really sad to see honestly, considering just how little Gray seemed to care about himself throughout the show. He’d constantly try to throw it all away to use iced shell because of his guilt due to Ur saving him in a sacrifice.

And you know who had to go and mess it all up and bring Gray right back to square one? JUVIA

As you all may probably know, Juvia sacrificed herself for Gray in alvarez arc. The same thing that Ur did for him when he was little.

Honestly finding these panels was really hard for me, not out of difficulty finding them but just by looking at them. Gray is shaking. He Is never one to shiver but he is absolutely terrified and traumatised right here. This is the death of Gray’s character, right here is when it happened. He was taken back to that awful feeling he had as a kid, where someone died because of him. Again. 

This right here in my opinion is where Gray really starts to believe this was his fault. Juvia’s happiness, Juvia’s safety, Juvia’s life is all his responsibility right in this moment. He sees it as all his fault. If he had just loosen up, if he had just listened to everyone else, if he just had tried to care like Juvia did maybe she’d still be here. Thoughts like that would be running through his head. Resulting in why we see Gray’s character completely flip by the time 100YQ rolls around.

Juvia tells him that her life belongs to Gray. Meaning it’s his responsibility now, obviously he is having trauma relapse from when Ur died so he starts trying to prioritise Juvia’s happiness over his own. Even if it makes him depressed. He believes, Juvia’s happiness matters more because of his guilt.

That’s why by the end of alvarez arc we see him try to flirt with her, out of guilt. Out of thinking he owed her better. Finally Juvia gets what she wants from the man and all it took was traumatising him. Gray hesitates with flirting with her too, because he knows it isnt him. It isnt what he really wants to say. When he flirts with Lucy, we see him smirking because he feels comfortable and its what he wants to say. When he does with Juvia, he’s frowning. He always looks away. Because he knows it’s not true to him.

That’s why instead of complimenting Juvia we hear him say this ‘maybe it should be mine’ regarding her scarred body. He believes Juvia’s body is his responsibility, and that’s why he says this. It’s not flirting, it’s his way of revealing his mindset through trying to appease Juvia. Juvia says she belongs to Gray, and he finally believes that. He finally believes that scar on her is his fault, and thats why he tells her to remove it, because it reminds him of his responsibility to her and his guilt.

Here we see Gray’s wide eyes of discomfort. His prolonged silence. He’s obviously uncomfortable, in fact he can’t even look at Juvia for very long. It reminds him of the fact he’s not being true to his own happiness, sacrificing his joy for hers. But because our ice boy is so compassionate and guilt ridden he does so anyway. 🥲

And here we see him flirting with Lucy! He’s actually looking at her, and smiling. He looks happy. He doesn’t have to look away because he likes what he sees and he wants to look. It’s respectful, it’s cute and most importantly its authentically him. There’s no wide eyes of hesitation, no anxious frown. None of that, Gray just says that line with no struggle because it’s what Gray really wants to say and this in my opinion will always be the superior Gray. When he’s being himself.

Not once does he take his eyes off of her, not once does he stop smiling, and honestly it warms my heart to see and i’m glad to end this heavy post on a good note. After seeing Gray act so… sad the first half of this post I really needed a pallet cleanser. So I’m leaving this little rant post here, I feel very heavy emotionally after writing this just thinking about the trauma Gray goes through. It really is a tragedy. He’s not allowed to be happy as long as hes with Juvia because he knows its not what he wants. But, unfortunately 100yq gray is completely blinded by guilt and Juvia’s manipulation so I doubt we’ll see the old Gray back anytime soon.

We miss you Gray, please don’t let Juvia turn you into her monster of a self!

[southparkthetwosidesofacard]

I am listening! I am invested! Please yap about your au idea!!

AHHHHHHHHHIIWJHDIEHDIANRRUFIFBFIEBF HFHDB I GET TO YAP ABOUT THIS YAYYYYYY

ok so, I honestly don’t have much of an idea as to where exactly this would go, but just for the basics (which I’m mostly coming up with on the fly, I’ll be honest) here we go:

(this ended up being quite long so everything else is under the break, sorry!)

obviously, ford and bill were not always… separated, as it were. growing up and into his teens and early twenties it was just stanford pines, no “alter egos” or masks or anything of the sort (much as he would’ve loved to be able to hide who he was).

then, when he moved up to gravity falls and began his research, he began to realize that there were so many things that he wanted to do, couldn’t do, because of his reputation. he needed to keep his record clean because if he didn’t, he could easily have his grant money revoked, and any future opportunities in the pursuit of science dashed due to one small slip up. so, he began to look into, well, changing who he was, splitting himself, so to speak, as to be not one but two at the same time.

eventually, it worked somehow (probably through a potion, as jekyll uses in the original book), and he found himself as not just one, but seemingly two people in one body. there was the stanford pines most people knew, the eccentric, odd mad scientist that lived in the woods at the edge of town, and then there was another, completely new facade. bill cipher, named for his often frustratingly vague double speak and extreme use of overly complicated metaphors (yes I’m giving bill’s name a reason, it sort of annoys me that theres no reasoning for hyde’s name in the book but thats a rant for another day).

to begin with, bill seems content with simply switching back and forth at ford’s will, being the way for ford to kick back and let loose with no fear of the repercussions. at least, until ford begins to have trouble getting back to himself. thats when he begins to doubt the true intent of his other self, of bill. its around this time he calls fiddleford. the man may have studied engineering, but in this world he also knows a little something about psychology, and paired with his brilliant mind, ford’s very precise notes of the situation (ahem the journals ahem), and the fact that hes basically ford’s only friend, it felt like the best course of action.

of course, in actual gravity falls, ford does his best to hide bill from fidds but here bill is exactly why ford called him. anyone else would’ve called him crazy, tried to experiment on him or worse, but fiddeford would never do any of that and ford knows it (just to be clear, I do think that if I ever wrote anything for this au college fiddauthor would be heavily implied here).

fidds does his best to help but when bill goes on a rampage one night, going so far as to kill the heir to the northwest family, preston northwest, he knows ford is beyond fucked (just a heads up, the person bill kills being preston may change but idk, we’ll see if I ever actually come back to this au haha). the reason fiddleford originally makes the memory gun in this au isnt for himself, its actually to try and erase the memories of what bill has down from the townspeople’s minds. the only problem is that the next time they see bill all of the memories return and everyone is back at square one. its just too much for fidds, and he begins to turn the memory gun on himself in an attempt to get rid of the fear, pain, failure, and regret that helping his friend brought him.

ford on the hand is mortified by what hes done. I highly doubt that there would be a confrontation type scene, it would be closer to how the book goes, where ford quickly begins to be unable to switch between stanford pines and bill cipher. the au would probably “end” (as in if I turned this into a fanfic/comic/whatever the story would end there) with ford figuring out where stan is, calling and begging him to come up to gravity falls and help him, before ultimately turning the memory gun on himself and ridding himself of “bill” once and for all.

the only problem is that in order to remove bill, he has to remove stanford pines and all that he is as well. now, we all know how this goes in both the show and most aus; stan or ford or whoever it is that is possessed by bill erases themselves/has someone erase them, is weirdly blank for a bit but ultimately regains their memories. well here it… wouldnt work like that. bill(/hyde) is an integral part of ford(/jekyll), to remove bill(hyde) is to remove stanford pines (jekyll), theres no way around that. so, ford sort of ends up in that “blank slate” state for the rest of his life. he called stan prior to erasing himself because he knew stan would take care of him no matter what, and he was right. for the rest of their lives, stan takes care of his brother to the best of his abilities, and while they never get to sail the seas together, and some nights bring unimaginable sorrow for stan, knowing he’ll never speak to his brother again, despite the fact that very man sleeps just a few doors down the hall, they make it work. ford (or, well, whats left behind when you remove everything that makes a person who they are) sees that his blankness hurt stan but he cant do anything about it, and to begin with almost avoids stan, at least before they finally have a talk in which stan reassures “ford” that he’s sure whatever reason ford may have had for erasing himself, it was worth it.

as for fidds, well it mostly works out in a similar way to canon, he does eventually regain most memories but of course some bits are still fuzzy. the fuzzy bits are never fully recovered, as the one person who may have been able to fill in the blanks no longer exists, but fidds is still mostly alright.

the journals… sort of exist? but not in the way that they do in the show, and what does exist stan had from the very beginning. ofc the twins still have to deal with monsters and spooks and whatnot in gravity falls, just not anything that has to do with bill (which means that, of course, weirdmageddon physically cannot happen). at some point, dipper begins to insinuate that the weirdness of gravity falls might have something to do with “ford’s”… situation, which is when stan finally fully comes clean with all he knows about the situation. its not until fiddleford begins to regain his memory, however, that any of them learn the truth of what was going on.

oh yikes, I wrote a lot more for this than I meant to, whoops!

oh yeah, I’m naming this au the “Dr. Pines/Mr. Cipher” au for now, but if anyone has any better ideas or if thats already been used for something else, please let me know!

also, @aaabatteryy I LOVE MARINEFLAMES’ CONFRONTATION ANIMATIC, THAT WAS ACTUALLY WHAT I WAS REFERENCING WHEN I MENTIONED OTHER ANIMATIONS USING A SIMILAR CONCEPT TO THIS AU

oh, and I just want to say that I’ve never watched the musical so thats why this doesnt (intentionally) incorporate any elements of that.

[rocksibblingsau]

The fact that in real life Funk is a sub-genre/borned from R&B and in the troll universe is (implied to be) the opposite makes choosing music for the Funk tribe and assigning irl music to a troll's genre so weird and confusing.

Lets not even start with how Jazz and its different genres, Blues, Disco, Gospel, Soul and others would get mixed into this. It's already difficult to draw a hard line between them in real life since a lot of these genres originated from one another, influence each other and overlap quite often and are even sometimes fully grouped together (R&B been both its on genre, but also the grouping of Blues and Rhythm). It feels wrong to just completely mix them together into Funk or say they are a sub-genre of Funk because how different, nuanced and big each of these genres can be (and how many of them are older than Funk itself), but them being one of the main tribes and R&B already been a sub-genre of Funk in universe doesn't help.

Which leads to the question of again, we're does this leave Jazz? It has many roots in Blues and some jazz sub-genres are often group together with R&B and Gospel (forming the "genre" of Soul music), but most of Jazz can be and IS very different from Soul and Funk. And that is not even mentioning how heavily Jazz influenced Hip-Hop, R&B and even Funk. I think Im having a stroke...

Anyways, it seems that the lesson today is that even though the Troll Tribes are a fun and creative idea it also really simplifies and separates the topic of music genres abd music history, something thats famously complex and interconnected. I didn't even mentioned genres like Rock, Techno, Rock-and-Roll and others that were also pioneered by black american communities and were influenced/influential and share similarities to Jazz, Funk, Blues and R&B.

Aka.: Music genres in real life doesn't exist in a vacuum and wasn't born out of thin air, but they did in the Trolls universe so let's not think so hard about it and just roll with it for the sake of all of our sanities.

(This rant/discussion was born out of me finding a brazillian jazz and soul song that really fitted Funk Branch and researching the history of black-american genres for two hours just to make it make sense some what because I obviously wasn't giving such a good song to fucking Chaz. Anyways the song is De Ontem by Liniker, it's really good and I recommend it a lot - for Branch and in general - even if the translation I found on google was quite bad. If you plan to listen to it, I can write and send you a somewhat better one if you want)

Anyhow, sorry for the insanely long ask. If you take a shot for everytime a mention a music genre, you would quite literally die before the ask was over. Thank you for reading <3

That's kind of a thing with music irl yeah, the genres are messy and almost every song when you look it up has at least two genres it's accredited to. I think part of the point of the movie is that it's hard to stay confined to a single genre and all genres take influence from each other and are born from each other. Pop and Rock were born from the same thing, they just split in different directions.

I take the irl genres of songs as a suggestion. If something seems more like it'd be the Funk Trolls vibe, then it's their music.

[tmasc-confessions]

(same anon as before) i cant help but suspect that mine aren't being posted because i complain about my fellow trans mascs and how they treat me + others in the trans community. i know i cant see all the submissions you wade through but lots of confessions getting posted are complaining about either cis people or transfems, to about the same degree that mine are critiquing transmascs. nothing inherently wrong with posting those of course. im just getting a feeling about it because it seems disproportionate. some of mine were submitted weeks ago and never posted so its not because im not giving you enough time.

i do not mention discourse or any of the terms you guys dislike in my submitted vents. theyre about transmascs because we are the majority on trans tumblr AND in the queer spaces ive been to irl, so it just happens that most of the trans people ive interacted with are transmasculine. i definitely dont at any point imply that behaviour has anything to do with identity. but there is bad behaviour within our own community that i think needs to be pointed out.

this is turning into another vent, but ive felt alienated my entire life because im a gay immigrant. too gay for my own people, but not western enough in my beliefs/values/actions (or whatever it is people want from me) for american queers. and i feel like i cant talk about that problem because the americans always take it as an insult and get defensive on me. my vents being ignored here is feeling similar but i know that at least some of it is me projecting, since i cant see your inbox myself. idk. i could be wrong.

you published my one vent where i complained about people equating fandom discourse with actual oppression, and told me not to speak over people... maybe it was a misunderstanding, but i just meant that theres a key difference between something online that upsets you but ultimately doesnt matter, and systemic transphobia. it wasnt specifically about confessions on this blog, just general tumblr spaces. i dont think im wrong for pointing this out and wanting to focus on real problems. i know part of it is my phrasing, i have never been "nice enough" by western standards (and folks from my culture think im Too Nice which makes me creepy and weird to them lol) and i promise im trying to be better at that.

it seems to me that theres a drive on this blog and throughout our community overall to validate every negative feeling a trans guy ever has, and i get why, but sometimes its impossible to validate everyone (e.g. you didnt validate my upset in the posted vent because that would invalidate the guys I'm complaining about). but to me, it is insulting to imply that seeing a strangers gender headcanon is anywhere near the same as experiencing systemic transphobia so now *i* feel talked over. like i just keep getting told not to talk about whats bothering me bc other people cant handle it?? i really want a space where i can vent out these feelings and i was hoping to do so here. you dont owe me the space of course, but thats what i was looking for.

i apologise for the length but i hope that gave more context. just to be clear im not assuming the mods here are american, all that is just about personal experience irl. i will be patient for your response (or you can publish this as just a vent and no comments). 🐯 ill start using this tiger emoji if i send any more so you know its me

Well, yes, on a vent blog there is a drive to hear everybody out. Of course. That’s how a vent blog works.

And yes… of course systemic oppression is a billion times worse than headcanons online. Nobody’s putting that in question. I 100% agree with you.

But the purpose of this blog isn’t “tell me the biggest darkest most horrible thing that bothers you”, it’s just “hey, rant about whatever you want no matter how big or small it may be because we wanna provide a space for transmascs to feel comfortable saying what’s on their minds without being scrutinised by the community at large.”

So when you send asks saying what is basically the intercommunity equivalent of “it makes me angry that my friends complain about their lunch in the school cafeteria because there are children starving in third world countries”, then you understand why we would find them a little unreasonable, no?

Nobody’s trying to minimise your struggles or put them on the same level as more trivial things like that. That’s not the purpose of this blog. But if it genuinely makes you uncomfortable to see people venting about headcanons or representation or whatever, then this probably isn’t the blog for you, and I’m genuinely sorry… We try to hear people out about their issues and the things that bother them. Yes, even if it’s something silly like “I got the girl’s toy at McDonalds and that made me dysphoric.”

You are free to send your rants and vents as long as they are not at the expense of other’s rants and vents. You wanna vent about oppression? I actively encourage it. But there is no reason to drag other people’s vents, no matter how invalid you might think they are, into it.

Also, no, neither of us are from the USA. Neither of us speak English as a first language at all, actually, I’ve just just gotten good with it by using the internet. And I think 🦚 did the same.

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

HEADS-UP: THIS IS A RANT BTW -

So the other day I was having a conversation about Stoner Hobie which I support

And I said that I think he'd be into it or at least positive towards it because he would be able to see through the xenophobic anti-marijuana propaganda that was government sanctioned in the fifties, pushing the idea that people who smoked weed where either lazy and scatterbrained - or a crazy, insane drug addict.

Especially since he lived and grew up in the 60's and 70's - post Vietnam War. Hobie's from the hippy era were pot had a pretty positive connotation

And then someone was like 'yeah but I don't think he'd like it he just seems too conscious to be a smoker he's way too clearheaded he seems like the type to want to be clearheaded all the time'

And I understand that but like - clearheaded???

He literally says he be at the pub with the mandem.

There are absolutely straight-edge punks out there but Hobie dead-ass implied he goes to the pub often

if having a drink or getting drunk is fine with him then whats the problem with smoking??

I absolutely understand if you don't support the headcanon because thats what it is and its just my silly little blorbo thought

but when you forget that theres millions of people with chronic conditions that smoke cannabis everyday and still manage to be grown adults - and you start using words like 'conscious' and shit its very clear you fell into the EXACT same propaganda I said Hobie wouldn't

Like congrats I pointed out a rock and you still tripped on it - my headcanon doesn't have to be right cause it doesnt matter at all to anyone but me but like......

please make ur justification make sense. please. because if youre speaking about Hobart Brown to me you know my dumbass is coming with the college dissertation with sources

i cant help myself and I think about it all day

[itsbebebrainrotting]

Rant incoming, sorry!!

Do they even know WHY they are fighting and killing??

Im still trying to figure out why tubbo and bad thought to attack red first and then yell revenge when red retaliated. Like, why?? (I'm crow and red main so I probably won't watch the others for the lolz) Chaotic angst energy.

And people keep saying because of Dapper and what Dapper said. And I'm like "what?" Because with that same logic/energy qPhilza can say the same if decided to do the same. "Chayanna said to protect Tallulah no matter what- so Ima kill everyone in sight for whatever reason." That sounds crazy. Right? (Is it just me??)

Like we(their little community/family) been talking and communicating all this time why now does it go out the window? because some random guy who doesnt like us said so? (Quackity did warn them in Brazil tho)

We know the fed dont like us and can't be trusted so why are we not having that same energy towards this guy?

Like I get it, I do. Things are on the line or so it seem but why aren't we actually thinking things through?? Talking?? Coming up with a plan to get everyone and the eggs home. Do we not care for all life anymore?

Its about to be Day 3 and I am so drained from Day 1. Like Charlie's voice, I'm struggling now. My soul is heavy as a red pov.

And yes we won Day 2 but everything has consequences... like please..

I- I just want them to talk for more than a couple seconds.. minutes before thoughts of killing off rip..

*peepoHands*

(I hope it was okay to come to you)

Dont worry about the rant! I like hearing other peoples opinions on things and dont get many asks often so anythings appreciated.

As someone whose main povs are team blue i still understand you entirely but also can explain a couple things (in a similar ranty form lol):

First of all as to why they were killing: I think on day one the competitive nature of the event was at the forefront of blues mind. Bad had been told by his son (who, remember, he literally kidnapped a worker to save) to do anything to win even if it hurt others. Which honestly does imply hostility a bit more than chayannes message. Tubbo also wants chayanne and tallulah (and richarlyson) back like theyre his own children (and has definitely been over excited and trying to prove himself as leader of blue so is being more competitive for his own pride). They were thrust into this situation with all that in mind and just wanted to win by any means, or at least thats the vibe i got.

None of them fully understood the rules of the event either. They tragically fell to the tragic mcyt curse of not reading instructions. They didnt even think about the cursed team until i think it was slime who said he thought red was cursed at which point niki insisted (and still insists) she doesnt think there is a cursed team. Tubbo thought the cursed team changed daily, if you want further proof that rules were not at the forefront of their mind. They just wanted to win since that was what the eggs had said to do. Of course now ccs are more aware of the rules they are keeping them in mind but no one seems to be proposing full teamwork yet.

Funny enough, i think ive mentioned it in a post before but red being their target on day 1 was entirely on accident. Bad killed slime first under the impression he was on green and then continued to go for his team because they happened to be not too far. From what ive gathered, green was bloodthirsty but struggling to find the other teams so thats why blue and red originally started fighting. As for getting angry at retaliation? I think thats just competitive spirit getting in the way.

The whole thing was slightly frustrating personally from a viewer pov because im exactly with you in the fact that they should be talking. They should be figuring out the cursed team. They should be boosting the cursed teams stats. But they didnt understand that and instead went hostile immediately due to the newness of the whole thing.

Even yesterday bad was considering killing red and i was a little frustrated. I get that he was annoyed (if u dont know yesterday blue grinded global tasks but were barely gaining percentage compared to etoiles - at one point they handed smth in and got like 1% - and bad thought kills may have helped them a bit) but blue didnt need to win day 2! If anything that wouldve been detrimental to them considering the cursed team is still unknown (but bbh thinks blues cursed so...). Eventually he settled on bargaining with them by offering something in return for a kill but never got a chance to because he ran out of time. Still, the suggestion was a bit frustrating at the time as someone who was seeing red having a terrible time from liveblogs.

I definitely consider most of day one out of character, as there is no way in hell the characters shouldve been acting the way they did considering all they were supposed to know. Even if qbbh would do anything for dapper he definitely wouldnt outright hurt his friends or risk the other eggs chances of survival. (Also this entirely broke cellbits current arc of being very agressive considering how badly hes been beat down this event.)

Even just hearing about red on both days was draining for me. The one reason im not vodwatching them is that i could feel the draining vibes from liveblogs alone so i cant image what it must be like to main them and while im happy they won, their strategy today was a lot more aggressive compared to everyone else who was trying to tone it down a bunch so i fear for the next few days on everyones povs as the aftermath of that plays out.

Thankfully ive heard bagi wants to unite the teams and bad and baghera discussed getting a group together to theorise about the cursed team so maybe between the three of them things can start moving in the right direction and return to being in character and communicating. Todays the event which may not allow for anyone to unite everyone immediately but i hope they do sooner rather than later.

[capoteera]

Personally, the only dislike i had towards his recent movies was how he promoted them. I know those movies are not for everyone, but the movies have a lot of factors that I don't think people are considering. Sure, you can argue his acting could be better, but that doesn't really change if the story is good or not.

The bother for me was kinda how he didn't have a lot of respect, i guess (idk if that's the right word) while doing press for the movies. Like I know in the past, he's shown up for the press and goofed, but he would also talk about his processes while filming the movie and how much effort he put into it. And obviously, with the different roles he had in the movies, he would need different approaches to filming, so I wasn't expecting Marvel grade responses for his ghosted movie, but I still expected something you know?

I don't exactly remember what he said, but I remember for ghosted. Before the movie came out, he had an interview, and he called the movie like something to watch while drunk?? Or put on in the background?? And I was literally confused 😭. Like why, I feel like that's kinda shooting yourself in the foot. Like, idk if everyone who worked in the movie made a plan to promote the movie like that ... but if i worked on a movie and someone described it like that, I'd but like what the hell🧍‍♀️, or idk if that's just me 😭. I don't remember if he said anything else similar to that, but after I started getting the vibe that he liked, knew his movies were "bad"? I put marks because opinions are subjective but it'd seem like he wanted to promote it like that. At least that's what I get.

Maybe it's cuz he does want to chillax especially after a big project like marvel, but I don't think his mentality for these movies were "oh this movie dosent sound so good ... let me hop on that😈" 😭 i think he just saw it as a fun project to be in, which is completely valid, but when he has to talk about his work and try to sell it, it feels like it's not a job anymore 😭. I don't want to imply that like actors can't have fun when promoting a movie, but I remember for ghosted, TGM, lightyear and now red one where it's basically just talking about captain america (even though he has said he's done with that), playing weird games with the interviewers or just talking about vague topics 😭. For red one obviously he'd talk about Christmas but when every other question he is asked is just asking about how he celebrates THATS WEIRD. Like he's a 40 year old white man what did you expect him to do on Christmas, ask him something about the movie, or just interesting in general 😭.

I understand half the fault is at those interviewers who just ask the same questions over and over or those who just play obscure random games but I feel like chris evans should handle it differently. I will not lie i don't understand how actors and interviewers even decide how to proceed with the interview, idk if it's up to managers or publicist or whtv but I think there is some discussion before the interview even had to start right?? I'm no Hollywood actor but I feel like if I was in his shoes, with the games I would obviously be down but I would also talk about the production of the movie to respect everyone else who worked on the movie (like mentioning how filming was and how it is unique), if they'd bring up marvel I would try to respectfully shut it down and say like "hey that ended, you know, let's talk about the movie I'm currently in, you know? 😭". With the vague questions like how he celebrates Christmas, answer respectfully but also try to talk about how the movie is related to that at least, idk 😭. And I definitely wouldn't say watch while drunk like 😭😭😭.

(Speaking of, unrelated but not really, is it rude to show up to the red carpets drunk?? Just genuinely curious)

😮‍💨

Super sorry for the rant idk where it came from but I guess I needed to get it off my chest 😭

AND JUST TO BE CLEAR I DID NOT SAY THIS INTENDING TO BE HATEFUL TO ANYONE AND IM SORRY IF I OFFENDED ANYONE BUT THIS IS JUST MY OPINION 😭

And Thank You

You’re all good, I’d think many people probably show up drunk I doubt it’s just something he’s done lol

[cavernfullofexistentialdread]

Ok so rant about Jane Seymour/Doe and why I love both of them to the depth of my soul

CLICK IF YOU WANT A HELLISHLY LONG POST

Jane S. and Jane D. are 2 very similar characters. (Besides the names at least) They are both very sad blondies named Jane who are featured in a single act musical about 6 dead people singing about their lives to win a competition. Wow thats specific

Well, as characters/people they are very similar. They are pushed aside and are considered "weird" in an already kinda out there group. Jane S is considered the only one her truly loved and as the one who didn't end on a bad note with Henrat VIII. Jane D is in Ocean's words; "AND SHE'S A FREAKY MONSTER!". Their also very emotionally driven without being directly moody and acting on impulse so to speak. Their temper and voice's are to be feared as kind as they can seem. Just look at the Queen's fight scene and the line in The Ballad of Jane Doe, "BECAUSE WHEN I GOT TO HOLD MY NEW-BORN SON, DIED!" and "And I'm asking, WHY LORD? Is this the way I DIE LORD?" are the examples that best show this. What makes them both so lovable in my opinion is that they are just so damn wholesome and tragic at the same time. Both of them can't BE in their groups. Doe isn't even allowed to know who she is! (More on that later). Jane S. is teased and mocked for what happened even more than the others! Their not allowed to just BE.

As for why I love them on their own as individual characters...

_____________________

JANE DOE/PENNY

Jane Doe is such a special character, she frustrated, she's stagnate. She's in the background. She isn't allowed to BE. Jane isn't in the opening and ending shot. Jane has to be introduced on her OWN. The Ballad of Jane Doe is what I personally like to call "emotion driven medium of beautiful madness". I classify any song that is just supposed to be just screaming, emotion, passion, and various flavors of sadness all thrown into an amazing song that drives the character depicted in the song to their edge as "emotion driven medium". Think "Meant To Be Yours". You just wanna scream these kind of songs out and act like a maniac. The Ballad Of Jane Doe is exactly that. She is so sad and mad and just so full of tired rage. "It's implied the high notes are her screams as the ride shuts down." Click on the official album video of the ballad and that's what the top comment says. "Now that everything is said and done, is there anyone to tell me who I am?". The am has a hint of desperation in it. Just please... just finally say who she is. Her catchphrase and absolute iconic line of "Time eats all his children in the end" is supposed to kind of hint (at least in my opinion) at what her parents were like, as they never showed up and probably just continued on without her. "Time eats all his children in the end" is as pointed out by many as a reference to Kronos, or the greek god of time. Of course my mythology and history nerd self can dump all my info on you, but I won't. To put it simply, Kronos ate all his children as in a prophecy one of his children will overthrow him. However he continued to have children like the lions and eventually it led to Zeus who freed his siblings from his stomach and overthrew him. As for why they reference Kronos, I think it's because in the myth he's this fallen god who's sickly and violent. He's the god of time, this never ending tail of life and death is never ending. The Ballad of Jane Doe is Jane's testimony. A testimony to her pain and impatience at this point, her frustration of staying eternally Jane Doe. A testimony that leads to her finally getting what she deserve. Friends/family. The New Birthday Song entirely captures what I mean. You have to remember, she's NOT Jane Doe. Jane Doe is a concept. Jane isn't Jane, she's PENNY! She's just so interesting is the sense of not knowing where to stand and never being allowed to BE. Oh and also her friendship with Constance and Ocean. (AAAAA THE SILLIES MAKE ME WANNA SQUEAL)

JANE SEYMOUR

"JANE SEYMOUR THE ONLY ONE HE TRULY LOVED!"

"RUDE-"

*ahem* sorry for that. Compared to Penny, Jane is sound. She is stable. She is stagnate, but she isn't trapped in a state of unmoving confusion. What she is a statue long crumpled and forgotten who by now is only known for being another pawn in the Henrat's game of life. (Yes that RTC reference was intended) However she's a stone carving that has "survived" over the years. Her song is about her love for the people around her, even if the feeling isn't mutual. She strives to make her mark. AND GOD DAMN SHE DOES CAUSE I BE SINGING NOTES I WILL NEVER HIT IN THE SHOWER! Her song is sort of a jab as like her cousins. DLYH is pretty obvi in it's joke, AYWD is a little more out there of a reference. Heart of Stone's little nit pick is that "Heart of Stone"'s double meaning, your either stone hearted and uncaring, or your love is set in stone and will always be there. Jane being the latter. She is the mom friend. Her love unbothered. She is an immovable object. And she will remain that way. You need to understand that she is someone dealing with her inner conflict of a love she was never loved by, and wanted to share love with others who only push her away farther. Her role in SIX is strange as like Cathy, she isn't striving for a win, but instead her victory is held elsewhere. She isn't against or with the competition. She just wants to BE. Just like Penny! She wants to hold her ground and shoot up for the stars from there. Jane is loving, caring, yet is filled with underlying sadness, tragedy, and a rage that can be ripped out and screamed. Jane Seymour is a figure to look up to. Alway seeing the positive without blocking out the ugly tears and train wreck. She compliments both Lina and Anne even after they roasted her. She doesn't care, she just wants to set herself down, stay, and tell her message. Her song has NOTHING to do with putting the others down in one way or another and simply directed towards her loved ones. Simply put that she is a mother figure who simply does not care, she is just here to bake cookies and share them with the others. Of course I'm not going to talk about her history with Anne as I don't find in relevant in this, but we can't forget that she can be very emotional in moments of "weakness" so to speak. She's flawed.

Their both flawed. Which makes them all the more human. Penny and Jane ARE human. Not some pawn, not some game, not some head without a body, not some concept. They are their own characters and deserve to be loved and hated. They are works of art in a medium I am eternally loving and appreciative of.

_____________________

Thank you for reading my rant as to why I love Jane Seymour and Penny Lamb so much

[alastaircarstairsdefenselawyer]

sorry to constantly rant on main but I can't get over the fact that alastair spent his last day in paris with THOMAS,,

okay ignoring the thomastair endgame, alastair was in a relationship with charles. he'd been in said relationship, potentially living with charles, at least sometimes, for over a year. it's very, very odd to me that alastair didn't spend the day with him, trying to soak up what little was left of their time together. this leaves a few possibilities for me:

alastair was just out on his own for the morning/afternoon and was meant to spend the evening and night with charles, but blew him off for thomas. I think this is possible, though it wouldn't have been calculated, more like, he lost track of time and when he realized, he decided that he would much prefer spending the evening chatting with thomas than whatever was waiting for him at charles' flat. this could also explain why alastair was late, if he was trying to apologize for blowing charles off the night before. at the same time, it seems a little OOC to me considering how bent up he was when he couldn't find charles in ChOG and at no point in days past did he seem at all concerned about the time.

charles blew alastair off. he had some meetings or other and didn't want to risk trying to reschedule them, some bs. so, alastair was like fuck I guess I'm spending my last day in paris walking around by myself, until he saw thomas at the book shop and was like "well maybe if I'm not alone I can't mope so much, hey wanna go to the louvre". as mad as this makes me, it makes the most sense to me, it's definitely in character for charles, and narratively fits well with the dynamics between the three of them in ChOG imo

alastair and charles weren't together. they broke up at some point, maybe right before, maybe that was why alastair chose to leave Paris. based on charles behavior, it doesn't seem like he takes alastair breaking up with him very seriously, so I have to wonder if it's happened before. however, I would also feel like that would have been a part of alastair's break-up speech at the engagement party? it would also bring up the question of when they got back together, which also could be why alastair was late the second day, alastair might have also returned to Paris at some point (i think it's implied that the carstairs family had been in paris recently) or they could have written each other. but, also, like, why?

of course its also possible that alastair was lying about leaving but considering he refused to even tell a white lie about why he was there (like, "i came for my travel year and decided to stay a bit longer" wouldn't have even been a lie) thats EXTREMELY unlikely imo lol

if you have any other ideas pls share them ive thought too much about this 😭😭😭

[might-forget-this-blagg-exists]

Something I don't know how I want to interpret is Tiziano and Squalo's deaths.

《Warnings: long winded rant that takes forever to get to the point, overemotional pontifications anout squatizi based on remembered details, theres a screenshot of a jjba death scene and also a statue of jesus about halfway through this post》

So, basic surface level, theyre villians of the week who die in battle to the protagonists, not the first and not the last. The villians having bonds with each other is a common trope in part 5, and we see a lot of different takes on this basic setup:

Sale and Zucchero were allies who seemed to have a bond of convenience at least, the fact that Zucchero didn't knowingly sell out Sale even after being tortured is notable imo

Pesci and Proscuitto had a student/mentor relationship where the student surpassed the mentor, the understated half of the duo turned out to be the more formidable opponent, as per Proscuitto's expectations

Ciocolatta and Secco put a spin on the Proscuitto and Pesci dynamic, as well as the general formula as a whole. Cio expressed love for Secco despite his otherwise low opinion on the worth of basically any other human being we can see, and after the heartwrenching twist that there was still humanity and longing for connection in this depraved man's heart, in an even more painful twist of the knife Secco revealed that love was one-sided.

Sorbet and Gelato weren't a fight, but the love they had for each other and their team was heavily implied. Risotto, if no one else, must have had a great amount of love for them when they were alive to have gone to such lengths to avenge their deaths. In their own ways, the Formaggio, Illuso, Melone, Ghiaccio and Risotto fights were each motivated by the deaths of Sorbet and Gelato. (Sidenote that Tiz and Squalo are generally accepted to be a "what if bucci gang fought sorgela" scenario dunno if this is supported but it would make sense)

Carne is in general a mystery, but in this context I think he could be seen as an inversion of La Squadra. They fought to avenge their fallen comerades by betraying the boss, Carne avenges the betrayed trust of the boss by trying to take down the traitors with the sacrifice of his lonely life, smthn like that.

Doppio and Diavolo...I dont know. What comes to mind is that Doppio died waiting for his boss to call him. Despite all his cooing compliments when they shared a body, Diavolo never once mentioned Doppio after he got a new roommate with Trish's soul. Maybe it could be extrapolated as distraction or temporary ignorance, i.e. if he had known or had time to after the fight with GER he would have mourned, but thats not in the text as far as I know.

Are there any other fights...uh, I think Luca and Polpo served similar roles of showing that Passione is in fact a criminal gang full of people who kill and extort people for money? Kind of setting a tone to be subverted, since they're really anomalous overall. Maybe there's some kind of similarity between their situations and Carne? But thats a bit too off topic, I think.

Point is, theres an overall theme of the villians being people with all kinds of relationships to each other, in similar fashion to the protagonist group. And over and over again, this humanity is shown as not being enough for Giorno and the others--who act as judge jury and executioner as their opponents do the same to them--to find any of them innocent.

There's an odd tragedy to the fact that these people were killed, its been pointed out before that Squadra and Bucci gang secretly had the same goal and they could have saved each other so much greif if they'd only teamed up. But in every case, the fight ending on the death of these evil but unmistakably human characters is treated as a triumph every time. No tears from the protagonists are ever shed for them, and no thoughts are spared to their bloody corpses except to be certain the team had acheived victory and was no longer under attack. Half the time, they aren't even mourned by their own teammates.

Ok so thats a lot of prelude. And for what point? Squalo and Tiziano fit right in with all this, right? The spin they put on the formula is really straight forward; a typical brains+brawns setup that ends in Narancia killing both of them with support from Giorno's spare tongue. I mean, I'd argue Carne would have been a better intro fight to hammer home that Unita is a different breed from Squadra altogether, but thats off topic again. Why TF do I keep talking about Carne Im serious I'm trying to stay focused but I keep thinking about meat man,

Anyway. What I want to finally talk about in regards to Tiziano and Squalo's defeats: Tiziano's death was treated as noble, as a stark contrast to every single other villian death I can think of.

Theres even a Jesus's Bizarre Adventure reference.

Like, it's not nearly as much weight as that panel/screenshot of Abbaccio in the clouds, for example. Closest thing I can think of is Proscuitto getting caught in the train wheels or Risotto's last ditch effort to kill Diavolo with Aerosmith, which I feel were moments more in the ball park of gruesome tenacity than noble death? Well, maybe those are synonymous, I dont know.

Point being, Tiziano was out of the line of fire but he threw himself into Narancia's bullets to save Squalo. Not only did this give him liquid to attack with, his death caused Squalo to abandon the boss in his final moments and let pure personal vengeance drive him.

What gets me is that, comparing his death to the other villians, Tiziano's death was given tragic weight by the metaphorical camera. In stark contrast to even Squalo--who died moments after him so Narancia could have his iconic Volare Via battle cry--Tiziano's death wasn't a moment of heroic triumph, it was framed as a tragic but selfless act in just about every way it could be. As if in punishment, Narancia was suddenly cornered by the blood that had gotten on his shoulder that Clash jumped into. And while Squalo cradled Tiziano in his arms, Tiziano spent his final breaths reassuring Squalo it wouldn't be for nothing with a calm, gentle smile.

Basically every take on this moment I've seen has agreed that Tiziano's sacrifice was the strongest evidence for their love for each other being a romantic bond. But to play devil's advocate for a moment, Tiziano was a strategist, Narancia had identified both him and Squalo as the attacking stand users and was in the process of shooting bullets at them while Clash was still in the underground pipes. There was basically no chance he could get away if he ran, Squalo was the heavy hitter and could defeat Narancia only if he had Clash. Aside from just screaming "HE'S GOT A KNIFE HES STABBED SOMEONE" and causing uncontrolled unpredictable chaos in the crowd, or ~somehow~ using Talking Heads redirect the bullets to hit the well Clash was trying to emerge from (which seems to be a bit out of TH's ability), sacrificing himself so Squalo could finish the mission could conceivably be read like a cold strategic move.

It would definitely read like that if Tiziano had a Secco moment upon his death, wouldn't it?

If Tiziano didn't use his last moments to smile at and comfort Squalo.

If Tiziano hadn't been so worried whenever Squalo took damage, so quick to tell him to hide with him in the plaza crowd.

If Tiziano hadn't all but bundled Squalo's wounds as best he could and tried to get him to retreat without saying the word "retreat".

If Tiziano's actions when Squalo was in danger because of the boss's mission wasn't so close to betraying the boss without going all the way through.

If their last words...

...

...One of the most heartwrenching moments that stuck with me just as much as any protagonist death is for a character I'm still not fond of. Cio's last onscreen words were "I love you" to Secco. For me at least, in that moment the cartoonish villany fell away and showed that there was a bleeding human heart underneath. Suddenly his death meant more than just another dispatched murderer. He was unmistakably evil and horrible and deserved every single scrap of pain he got in the 7 page muda and much more. But he was a human.

Maybe I'm thinking of things the wrong way, or theres some detail I missed, but it feels wrong to me that Tiziano's last words weren't "now you have liquid to summon Clash". It was about how this was still a victory for the boss. Squalo's last words weren't "forget the boss, im killing to avenge you" but "how can these traitors keep going after betraying the boss" the moment after he, in spirit, did the exact same thing his opponent did.

It feels to me like their human hearts had been present for quite awhile, but in order to remind us of their villany so the knife-weilding gangster who triumphantly shot them both to death would be just that slightest bit more heroic for his iconic moment, their humanity was swept under the rug before the sledgehammer was brought down. Instead of being human in their final moments, they're regressed into the boss's pawns.

And I don't know how to feel about that.

[donnieluvsthings]

gonna rant about sanders sides plot bc i think about it all the time and need an outlet okay here we go. this got super long so most of it is under the cut.

fyi: i talk a lot about patton and virgil and how theyre doing. i dont think i paint either of them negatively and if i did its not on purpose bc i love them both but just be aware!! also this is just my interpretations/predictions and i wanted to share but its not The Only Acceptable Interpretation and if u disagree then obviously thats fine lol

so i keep thinking about the conflict between virgil and patton. clearly something is weird. i think it probably started when virgil asked patton to stop treating him like “some innocent harmless angel” at the end of LNTAO.

i actually think this was a good interaction—virgil was trying not to hurt patton’s feelings but also was expressing something he was uncomfortable with and he succeeded in my opinion. and patton doesn’t argue, just immediately goes “okay, virgil!” like he says his name, no nickname, no kiddo. he starts trying instantly to check himself and respect virgil’s wishes.

then in embarrassing phases their interactions seem a little more...tense? i’ll list the ones that stick out bc lists are Fun:

patton fakes being scared. virgil: “don’t patronize me” patton: “you mean pantronize” virgil: “whatever!!”

patton corrects himself from saying “bat winged cherub” to “bad....boy” while virgil shoots him a look like we just talked about this

virgil’s talking about how his style is a relic from thomas’ emo phase. patton: “we’re basically style twins!! look out just a couple of cool guys comin thru!” virgil: “okay, patton” patton: “um! sorry...”

virgil seems aggravated, probably bc patton is still treating him like a poor lil anxious baby when the whole point of this episode was virgil showing that they can’t just ignore his role as anxiety. they may be friends now but virgil’s past attitude is still part of him. one could say he doesnt want them to ignore the “dark side” of his presence. wink wink. this could be him maybe building up to revealing that he used to be a dark side, subtly preparing thomas for it.

then SvS. patton and virgil don’t interact directly except at the start and during the trial, but it doesn’t seem as strained. this is probably because theyre both on the same side when it comes to deceit—and i think thats important. in svs, both patton and virgil are anti-deceit, and like patton pointed out in LNTAO, “anxiety and morality are telling you the same thing,” which seems to signal to thomas that he should listen.

also in SvS, janus alludes to the fact that virgil was a dark side and is hiding it:

“so you’ve never been reluctant to share anything with the group?”

“dont.”

“what, i just meant your name!”

“dont.”

“maybe that’s why its so easy for you to see me for what i am! like i said before, it takes a liar to know a liar.”

i’m 90% sure he didn’t just mean virgil’s name. virgil is clearly distraught about where this conversation is headed and that just doesn’t line up with him being hesitant to share his name. his fears over his dark persona and reluctance to share his name have been addressed multiple times, so what does he have to be scared of? unless janus is talking about virgil being a dark side.

moving on! in DWIT, again, theyre both kinda anti-remus. theyre both afraid of him, and as logan points out, theyre both part of why remus is so powerful as intrusive thoughts. they dont argue much; virgil spends most of this ep arguing with logan, actually, which is interesting bc he and logan seem to have one of the closest friendships in the show.

in this episode, there’s a few final pushed that i think lead virgil to confess he was a dark side.

first remus reveals his own name and says “i would never hide anything from you!” and sends virgil a little glance. virgil looks uncomfortable. then, around the 31 minute mark, logan says “you can always talk to someone...subjects who talked about their thoughts often felt better emotionally and physically.” and you can see virgil looking around like he’s realizing something.

and then he reveals himself at the end of this episode. just to thomas, but i’m assuming all the other sides would know as soon as thomas himself does, right? if they didn’t know already. what sticks out to me is that he specifically waits until the others leave. he doesn’t want to say it directly to them. and as for how this connects to the patton-virgil stuff...patton might think virgil doesn’t trust him/doesn’t want to open up to him. and/or virgil actually doesn’t want to open up to patton as much anymore.

then in healthy distractions, we clearly see that something is up between virgil and patton.

patton: “how could he feel b-a-d with his inner d-a-d?” virgil: “i can think of a few ways”

patton: “thomas made his decision and i think we should all just try to settle into it” virgil: “how are you telling me to settle into something right now when you have taken your sweet time to settle into things that you were uncomfortable with in the past”

so honestly i don’t really know what virgil’s talking about?? does he mean the events of moving on and the whole breakup situation?? or maybe he’s calling patton out for taking so long to drop the “angel baby” nicknames/treatment. or its implying that patton didnt know virgil was a dark side and is still coming to terms with it/coming to terms with the fact that virgil didn’t want to tell him & the other sides directly.

or he’s referencing something we don’t know of. either way, their relationship is obviously strained rn and it isn’t entirely clear what the turning point was between DWIT and ATHD.

then we come to the new episode. virgil doesn’t appear in POF at all, not even a cameo. i think thats the first time this has happened since accepting anxiety part 1. the only reference to him is the purple time-clock during the mario sequence and other smaller inclusions in the other video game parts. and then what happens in this episode?

patton realizes selfishness can be good sometimes. he accepts that the world, and thomas’ view of it, are not as black-and-white as he wanted to believe in svs. it wasnt a matter of “callback = bad vs wedding = good” bc thats not how the world works. beyond that, he accepts janus.

and i’m gonna bring up the idea that virgil is super mean and gets away with it. its true that the other sides, especially patton, are hesitant to correct him or reprimand him, which i think is bc theyre afraid of making him think they hate him. this idea could even be in the forefront of their minds if they really are that impacted by virgil not telling them he’s a dark side.

the thing is...virgil IS mean sometimes and he DOES get away with it. often, its just directed at janus or remus, and the other sides don’t WANT to disagree. when its directed at the other sides, i’m not sure its taken entirely to heart, regardless of whether it should be or not.

and we all know how virgil feels about janus. suspicion, anger, and aggression are all things virgil expresses towards janus from the moment he appeared as patton in CLBG.

so this all has been building up to me saying that the virgil-patton conflict has now become a virgil-patton-janus conflict. virgil and janus’ past is going to clash with patton and janus’ new alliance, which will strain the already tense relationship between virgil and patton. even worse, now roman is firmly in the anti-janus field, which will likely feed virgil’s anger, especially if he also blames patton for hurting roman.

and if we DO go to roman’s room next, and janus shows up, and the situation worsens...we might have a full blown “patton & janus vs virgil & roman” level argument on our hands.

i think virgil’s gonna be aggressive towards janus, as he has been, but when thomas and patton don’t dismiss him—when they call him by his NAME, not just “deceit”—we’re gonna get a rehash of “are you seriously siding with deceit?” except this time roman won’t be the one saying “are you seriously so closed minded to think that everything said by someone you dont like is automatically untrue?”

the other sides—or patton and thomas at the very least—are going to see that virgil’s blatant dislike of janus is not entirely warranted. and keep in mind that we still don’t know what happened between virgil and janus to make virgil hate him, so maybe it IS warranted. but its clear now that janus is trying to help (assuming he’s not lying which i rly hope he’s not lol) and i dont think its fair to thomas for virgil to want to disregard everything janus says. thomas and patton will realize this and they’ll have to confront virgil about his treatment of janus. we just haven’t gotten there yet.

its gonna be wild, honestly. i want janus to be fully accepted but it might be a while until we get there, just like patton took a while to understand the whole “grayscale morality” idea, and how its probably gonna take a while for virgil (and janus, tbh) to move on from whatever happened between them in the past.

i also believe this is headed towards a sympathetic everyone ending where theyre all important to thomas, acknowledged by him as important, and all actively working together, no dark sides or light sides, just sides. so yeah

basically, the next few episodes will probably be an explosion of all these char tensions and its probably gonna get worse before it gets better, and thats not even considering logan angst, creativitwins angst, or the orange side. but i think (and hope) it’ll all be fine and im hyped to see where this series goes :p

[bladekindeyewear]

Bloggin’ bout HS^2′s second upd8 continued.  > (==>)

And it had felt so real, almost like he could have reached out and touched him--

--Yeah, the next page is gonna be BGDirk just standing there like I saw before I read the update, right?

> (==>)

> (==>)

Two pages. Close enough.

> (==>)

Hah!  Get fucked, Dirk.  (Even if you’re supposedly one of the better Dirks.)

> (==>)

Yep, all see-thru and everything.

DIRK: You passed out in a puddle of your own drool. And what the fuck is that on your face? JAKE: My face? What do you mean on my face? DIRK: The moustache, Jake. Who’s idea was that. JAKE: Oh! You dont like it? DIRK: I didn’t say that.

Oh come the fuck on.  He looks good in a mustache, Jane-influence or no Jane-influence.

DIRK: We’ve had this conversation before, dingus. I’m you. And I’m me. But I only exist because of your powers. The fact that I’m manifesting here, in the new universe, outside of a dream, is evidence in itself for just how absolutely boned you are.

Now what exactly do you mean by that last part?  How is this a sign of trouble?

--Is it because this Dirk thinks he’s needed?  And therefore shit will be going down?

DIRK: You’ve been a useless sack of shit for two decades. I’m here to kick your ass back into active duty.

...Hm.

I mean, Jake MIGHT be able to help stop this stupid goddamn war, but this IS Dirk trying to help him, so...

JAKE: And what side am i supposed to be fighting on? for jane or against her? DIRK: Against her. Obviously. What the fuck, dude.

Pffff.

JAKE: But you were the one who wanted her to run in the first place! You wrote her bloody speeches! DIRK: Yeah, I did. And every single one of them kicked ass. I wanted Jane to be the democratically elected president. Not a cake-slinging Jeff Bezos with a great rack.

Pfff.  I mean, you didn’t do a great job the first way, either.  It’s heavily implied things in Canon-land were about to go to shit too.

Not as FAR to shit, nor as quickly, but still to shit.  So, really, how DIFFERENT is this from the way you wanted it done, Dirk?  How can you claim this isn’t half YOUR fuck-up too?

DIRK: Don’t worry about it. The point is, you have a chance to make a difference. You’re in the perfect position to infiltrate her operation.

Oh hell no.  Don’t send him back in THERE you utter horse’s ass!  How could THAT be good for his mental health!? What the fuck about Tavros?!?

DIRK: That’s horseshit and we both know it. Jane would take you back in a second. She loves you.

I think Jane’s definition of “taking him back” would be a bit broader than his body or soul could fucking afford.

> (==>)

Eugh.  You really liked the Condesce’s way of doing things right down to her style, huh?  To think you used to love the spoon.  Is that a fucking spork?  Is that zilly Battlespork your go-to weapon now?

Also, it took me a moment to realize those green and orange silhouettes were Jake and BGDirk.  I was a little like “how did Rose get here?!?”.

> (==>)

Have I mentioned how good all this art is?  So much attention being paid to the use of color, to making everything look so soft and streamlined?

Looks like she’s going in for at LEAST a hug.  And the art style might be mercifully light on showing us indulgent details of just how asset-laden Jane is supposed to be.  Shots of Jake’s manly bod aside, something in me doesn’t like the traditionally-sexualized stuff pushed like that in a canon that’s been light on it for so long...

> (==>)

Oh, that... THAT looks fake.  Or like, she’s about to turn around and happily wail on his ass or something.

JANE: Boo hoo hoo! Oh, Jake! Something awful has happened! JAKE: It--it has? You mean more awful than usual? JANE: The opposition has taken Tavros, Jake. They’ve finally shown their true colors. I knew it was only a matter of time before they attacked our family directly!

.....Ah.  Well, that explains it.  She’d never cry like that about HIM returning AFTER STEPPING OUT ON HER.

It’s then that Jake realizes that Jane isn’t mad because she’d never realized he was gone.

Poor pages, huh?  All their most dramatic gestures always undercut.

...It seems like we might see Candy kind of resolved in less of a fucked-up worldstate after all, at this rate?

She seems to have forgotten that she’d been cross with him the last time they met, because now that Gamzee is gone, there’s no one left to talk to.

It’s true. Gamzee’s absence always improves things.

> (==>)

All of it is made worse by the occasional wry glint in her eye, or moment of self-deprecation in the slant of her mouth. It reminds him of the Jane he used to know. Or the Jane he thought he used to know.

Ambition is a hell of a thing.  Seems like she’s drunk of it almost as deeply as Prince Dirk.  I’d imagine this could be a pretty consistent thing with really active Life players when they get actual power, huh?  The way it just gathers to Life players in all its forms -- power over others, status, wealth -- it’s easy to start to leverage it in ways that constitute abuse of power over others from a Riddle perspective.

At first Dirk stands at Jake’s elbow, a one-ghost support staff, before he appears to lose interest in Jane’s rant and wanders off across the office, reading the spines of books and spending way too long staring at a startlingly phallic piece of installation art,

--PLEASE let us see it.

, the provenance of which Jake doesn’t know, but could hazard a guess it wore a codpiece.

Nope, never mind. Interest lost.

> (==>)

Then he settles on Jane’s desk, propping his ghost butt there and sort of just...well. Here’s a picture of what he does.

Um.

Where is this going?

> (==>)

Oh, so the BEST option, then.  :D

Okay. That’s a bit of an exaggeration.

Boooooo.

> (==>)

--Alright, forgiven.

he’s thoroughly exhausted from attempting to pay attention to his supervillain wife while trying not to look at the crotch of a ghost man from his brain.

...Okay, hold up.  BGDirk, are you trying to steer him into doing this for self-indulgent, non-comedic purposes? Or is this a bit of Prince Dirk in there?  (I mean... I can’t definitively say Jake wouldn’t have wanted this.)

And I’m still wondering how all of this is going to be relevant.  IF it’s going to be relevant.  Despite promises to the contrary that are seemingly being ignored.

> (==>)

DIRK: All according to keikaku.

Fuck you.

JAKE: i really didnt think id fall off the wagon so quickly. I dont think being here is good for my emotions to be honest. DIRK: Yeah, probably not. But that’s okay. They don’t matter. JAKE: Oh.

Yeah, Dirk, you suck at this more than you know.  This ain’t going to go as well as you “hope” I don’t think.

DIRK: Don’t know anything about stiff lips, dude. But that’s not what I mean. It’s not because you’re a man. You’re a god. JAKE: Oh right. That. DIRK: The world comes first, even at the expense of all your relationships and personal happiness. That’s what being a hero means. JAKE: I guess...i never really thought about it like that.

You’re also not guaranteed to be fucking right, you know.

There are definitely dichotomies where what was best for the world wasn’t best for the person, so far, and vice versa in Homestuck.  But Dirk’s taking his anime-flavored principles as gospel as usual, and ignoring, oh I dunno, the impact of the heart in all of this.  Some people, ESPECIALLY JAKE and other Pages so far, CAN’T operate at their best until they’re at least reasonably healthy and sure of themselves, and investments to that effect are essential to letting them slowly realize their full potential.  Brain Ghost Dirk is likely making the same goddamn mistake he made with his overbearing Dirkbot back on Jake’s island.

> (==>)

DIRK: Think what you want about Jane, but at least she realizes that none of you can ever be normal, and she never bothered to try. Can it really be a god-complex if you’re actually a god? DIRK: People like us don’t get happy endings.

...Yup.  This is the fucked-over part of Dirk’s worldview coming in full play, here.  And he believes in it so strongly that he couldn’t even fucking leave NON-CANON alone anymore.  Fuck.

JAKE: Thats bleak dirk i dont think i could possibly believe that!

Mmmhmm.

DIRK: Yeah. That’s probably more a Dirk thought than a Jake one. I told you, it’s hard to tell sometimes. JAKE: Is...is that really how dirk felt the whole gosh darned time?

Mmmhmm.

> (==>)

Last page of the upd8.  Well... all I can say is, it’s a good thing he’s a fucking ghost here.  And half Jake, at that.  At least that can limit the damage.  Hopefully giving Jake just enough of a kick in the doing-something direction without being so overbearing that he makes things worse, making for a balance of...

...Wait.

Wait, is that why we’re here?

Maybe that finally makes some sense of all this.  Of this cut, of this small violation of that last sentence in Meat, of--  ah, yeah, I might be on to something here!  Only maybe, but still--!

We’re quite possibly bearing witness to a realm of influence where, through measures outside of his control, Dirk has a balanced impact.  Where this same ideology of his, tempered by Jake’s hopeful mindset and Dirk’s inability to take direct action, might just manage to make things better and actually make everyone happier by the end, while solving Earth C’s fucked-up Candyland state at the same time.  It’s possibly to show the readers (through the lens of a Hope player specializing in positive possibility) that Dirk, had he been restrained, COULD have had a positive impact, even at the same time that we’re shown Prince Dirk at his soul’s most overblown and heinous.

And, if we want to be optimistic..... perhaps this’ll show Dirk, too?

Canon and Non-Canon may not “meet” again.  But that doesn’t stop Dirk, via this fragment of his multiverse-spanning soul, from seeing Non-Canon.  From seeing how well things COULD have worked out, had he held back.  And if we keep cutting like this -- back and forth between the “real” story and these events in Candyverse -- perhaps the moment at which Brain Ghost Dirk realizes what he’s accomplished, realizes how much better things are because he could hold back, will coincide at the end with Prince Dirk finally, belatedly, realizing just how fucked his plan was, and understanding at the very, very end why he has to fucking die?

THAT would be interesting.

I guess we’ll see?  Talk to y’all next upd8.

[genderfreezone]

Do you like the Evil Within 2?

Yeah! Certainly not as much as the first one (i was not immune to being sad they left out fan favorites Jojo and Ruvik's Cube)

The rest of this post is me rambling about things i didnt like about the game, and then things i did like (most of my issues are how they treat the female characters tbh)

Its missing kind of the action-noir-gone-horrifically-wrong feel of the first game. The scare factor also suffers bc our player character has been through this before, hes a veteran at dealing with this crazy shit, it doesnt phase him anymore and by extension it doesnt phase the player. They really like tripled down on the Evil Corporation thing and both the intrigue and horror suffer for it.

This game did not drink its respect women juice (the first one didnt really either, case in point: Everything About Kidman) Sebastian is surrounded by 5+ female characters and only 2 of them survive (and one of them is his 7 year old daughter hes spent the whole game trying to rescue... and yet they never bothered to give her any kind of characterization or agency. A highly empathetic and supernaturally powerful little girl in a monster-infested hellscape?? HELLO???? Lily really had the potential to be the most interesting, sympathetic, and complex character--especially as she slowly lost her innocence--in the WHOLE GAME, but she was just sort of relegated to Plot Device McGuffin) The rest of the female supporting cast are killed off for Sebastian's Man Pain. In fact, THIS ENTIRE GAME IS CENTERED AROUND SEBASTIAN'S MAN PAIN. Torrez is a walking stereotype, shes literally just Vasquez from Aliens. Hoffman was the most likeable and believeable, except when it Turns Out She Was In Love With Liam Or Whatever (psst, guess what, i dont care. Also O'neal was kind of a dick anyway? I dont care x2)

And you know who i SUPER dont care about? Bland-White-Bread-And-Mayo-Sandwich Myra. Where's the no-nonsense firecracker of a police lieutenant Sebastian married? Not here, thats for sure. Her entire personality is "mother" and "worries about stressed-out husband". We got more characterization of Myra in seb's jornals from the first game, where she never even made a physical appearance! Horror media does this SO MUCH, women are either A. Sexy Lamp B. Hurts Men (Sexily) C. Mother or D. Innocent Virgin. It sucks. Do better.

The story lacked the "digging up old buried memories" and "theres more to this than meets the eye" of the first game. It felt too...... Straightforward. Everyone told Sebastian the truth. EVERYTHING WAS EXACTLY WHAT IT SEEMED. It all felt too simple, too easy, like there SHOULDVE been something else beneath the surface. And yet there wasnt. (I watched markipliers playthrough and i loved his theory that Kidman was actually Lily. It had such potential. Kidman's entire resume for the police station was fabricated, who's to say the rest of her past wasnt fabricated as well? It would retcon a lot of stuff and like 80% of her backstory from the DLC, but you know games like this arent above retconning important shit, and at least it wouldve been sacrificed for something with actual intrigue. Maybe it wouldnt even retcon anything! Consider: tiny Lily is taken by Evil Corporation and dropped off in a non-nurturing environment that would lead her to become the kind of person who would willingly join & work for an organization like Mobius. At least wouldve been a nice excuse for why Kidman and Lilys face models looked so similar... other than... yknow.... "WomEN ARe hArD tO DRaWwwwwee")

Okay okay ive been ranting for long enough. It probably makes it sound like i kinda hate this game, but i dont! It certainly doesnt hold the same place in my heart as the first one (which i still have very glaring issues with lmao Kidman deserved WAAAAAAY better), but i do like it! It brings back salty, grizzled, tsundere Sebastian Castinellos. It brings back spooky monsters that kill you dead. It brings back having a fun theatrical over-the-top villain who takes himself a litte too seriously.

I love Stefano. Probably not in the way some other fans do, but i love him as a ridiculous theatrical over-the-top villain. He sucks! And i love that he sucks! I love him BECAUSE he sucks! Hes terrible and exaggerated and completely up his own ass and ITS GREAT. He isnt as ACTUALLY THREATENING as Ruvik was (even in his bad assassin's creed cosplay. I could go on and on and on about why Ruvik is simultaneously a ridiculous AND frightening antagonist and how much i love it but uh..... maybe later) but hes such a FUN villain! Hes the kind of pretentious art snob shitheel i cannot STAND irl, but in this game i LOVE to HATE him. Hes just SO over-the-top you kinda wonder if he actually subscribes to the pretentiousness he spouts, or if hes just being Exceptionally Extra.

The other villains? Theodore was.... forgettable. His monsters were forgettable. (Its like how i completely forgot that Frank Manera was a character in Whistleblower for like... 5 years lmao i guess this game also kinda followed that "having multiple named/characterized antagonists in one game" thing that Outlast did) Myra, i just didnt care. Her final design was kinda cool, i liked the red clusters of insect eyes. Her monsters werent really gross enough to be memorable. The only reson theyre gross at all is bc they kinda look like theyre made of semen. (I checked the wiki and apparently Myra's white goo is "psychoplasm" and her monsters lost 99% of their gross factor. I just dont care.) The Administrator literally just looked like a 3D human model of Maxwell from dont starve, and i have to laugh every time i see him. Hes not terribly threatening, all he does is threaten characters to work faster and doesnt actually follow through on those threats. He doesnt even make fun threats like HABIT or anything. He thinks hes so powerful and ominous that his mere presence will frighten the player but hes just kinda all bark and no bite. Hes The Big Bad Company Man so you know hes gonna get whats coming to him, and you know Kidmans gonna be the one to do it to him, so hes not even that much of a threat. Hes whatever.

Stefano definitely got all of the coolest monsters. Many Arms Buzzsaw Lady was terrifying and i love her. And OBSCURA was just *Chef's Kiss* Anima was cool, she kinda looked like a mix of Laura and Samara. The Harbingers were neat, but really only bc ive got a thing for gas masks. The rest of the monsters werent really unique or weighty/threatening enough to be memorable. Now the first game is a fucking TREASURE TROVE of unique monsters *muah* you got Sadist, Sentinel, Keeper, Amalgam, Heresy, Laura, Shigyo, the Twins, Alter Egos, and im probably forgetting some!! But holy FUCK!!!!! And if we're includong the DLC?? MOTHER FUCKING SHADE. SPOTLIGHT LADY. LIGHT WOMAN.  SEXY LEGS.  Whatever you call her, i fucking love her. Her design is so simple. Helmet. Sheet. Legs. Her voice? Unnerving as hell. Love it. (Also i just personally love the diving helmet. Also like you know how a lot of games have a spotlight mechanic where you have to avoid the light and if it lands on you, you're fucked? LET'S MAKE AN ENTIRE MONSTER OUT OF THAT. She's PERFECT.) Oh and also those weird crawling exploding dudes. They made gross sounds and it was great. (Tbh Keepers still probably my favorite, if only for horny reasons)

TATIANA HOW HAVE I NOT FUCKING TALKED ABOUT TATIANA. Shes like the ONE female character that i fucking LOVE in the sequel. I love how they finally gave her a personality, and that personality is literally just "fuck you, Sebastian" Oh GOD its great shes SO FUNNY. I just.... god i love Tatiana lmao. I love how she makes you kinda uncomfortable too, like she knows something, but she wont tell you bc youre stupid. I didn't like the kind of "all-knowing guide" thing they did to try and make her creepy (like she's a "guide" but then also turns around and is like "no i wont tell you what you need to know bc you """have to discover it on your own""" or whatever") it serves no purpose since she never gave you any actual information, and it didn't succeed in making her creepier, all it did was frustrate me. She was at her creepiest when she IMPLIED she was doing something behind the scenes or knew something you didn't know and then didn't elaborate (not REFUSING to elaborate, just... stopping talking and leaving the statement to hang in the air, like the "getting her nails done" and "its been a long time, detective" and the "now what makes you say that" from the first game) and she was at her funniest when she was interacting with Sebastian from the sidelines, her snide little comments and sarcastic clapping cracked me the fuck up. Tatiana not treating Sebastian seriously was a fantastic touch for a game that otherwise would probably take itself so seriously it would double back around to being silly. Without Tatiana, it would've been just another male-centric gun-toting "survival horror" game, and for the most part, it was just that. She was definitely a much-needed source of slightly derisive comedy and a definite high-point for me, even if they didn't so a great job of making her creepy or fulfilling her "purpose."

Oh I also really love the COLORS in TEW2. The first game fell into the trap of having the colors be totally washed out that a lot of horror stuff does, but it also kind of worked for it. Especially with the color pallette of our main villain and how the whole thing was His World. The saturation of the colors in the second game is a breath of fresh air and gorgeous to look at, and you can even see the color motifs of the game change with each new villain: the game starts out with Stephano has lots of blues and purples and dark reds, when Theodore takes over we get bright orange and yellow contrasted with black and brown, and in the climax with Myra the game goes back to having washed out colors and white (and with her villain design? Let's face it: they were kinda just trying to do Ruvik again) We did get portions that were still kind of wahed out whites and greens and greys, but it wasnt the ENTIRE game, even the big blood-and-brains splatterhouse sections of the first game kinda had their colors weirdly muted for that "Horror Aethetic."

In conclusion, i do like the evil within 2, but i also had a lot of problems with it. And i complain about these problems because i like the game and know it couldve done better, tried harder, and been a LOT more than it was (the wasted character potential is my real overarching pet peeve, probably becuase i loved the characters in the first game, and character development is kind of my whole jam) . But all in all, it was still a fun monster-zombie romp with at least one entertaining villain and fun-to-look-at designs and environments. It wasn't character or horror or even REALLY story driven in the way I know it COULDVE been, but i still had a fun time and enjoyed myself.

[neverheardnothing]

what the hell will winston (and the rest of the tmc gang) even DO while working at axe cap? because axe cap clearly does NOT want quants since axe scrapped the whole team as soon as he came back.

im kinda assuming that it’s just the main 5 of them going to work at the axe cap offices for now. how does axe respond to this? the deal he made was for taylor to come work at axe cap again for a while. he really only wants taylor there. he couldnt give less of a shit about the others (well, he wants revenge on mafee). so what does he do with sara, lauren, and winston?

does winston get absorbed into their IT department? like that poor dude who got yelled at a lot when the power went out at axe cap? that’s not really his specialty though, so i cant imagine him actually going there. or does no one really notice that he’s there and so he just sits around all day and pretends he’s working, but really he’s just dicking around on reddit or working on his own projects. he just tries to keep his head down and blend into all the faceless employees at axe cap before they realize that he’s not actually doing anything all day. what about the rest of the quant team at tmc? what are they doing? in fact, what are all of the rest of the employees at tmc doing? are they also coming along to work at axe cap and we just didn’t see them there initially, or are they all back at the tmc offices just hanging around and continuing to work there. can axe cap fit all these sudden new employees arriving? how many people work at tmc? i have so many questions. back to assuming only the 5 of them go to axe cap.

or maybe the fact that winston is a quant is like a Known Fact and so all the traders at axe cap are wary of him because hes the Guy Who’s Gonna Take Their Jobs. and on the outside his personality is very brash and there’s a lot of bravado there so i can see some of them (not like dollar bill or bonnie lmao) being scared of him initially. ben kim is probably scared of winston lmao. his freakout to wendy about how he should have listened to his mom and learned how to code is coming back now that there’s an actual person here working at axe cap who is the Future of what his job will be. dollar bill and bonnie probably threaten to break his nose in or something while also very lowkey being scared.

back to everyones jobs...

lauren’s job seems pretty relevant. investor relations is important for hedge funds probably and i assume they can always use more people in that department, especially since i dont think we’ve seen anyone there before from axe cap. and if lauren is as good at it as she seems to be, then they would probably really like to use her. though would they trust her to interact with investors since she is the Enemy tm? i dont think they would want someone that hates them to be the person interacting with their investors, especially since the last time that happened, taylor walked away with billions in money from investors that were supposed to be investing in axe cap. theyre not gonna let that happen again anytime soon. maybe axe thinks the pressure of what he “has” on taylor will be enough to keep lauren in line, but still. axe has no idea what lauren could be saying to his investors. 

sara, however, what the hell is sara doing? her job is chief operating officer. which is the same title as wags, but at axe cap taylor will have no real power like they did before, so sara definitely wont either. i honestly have no IDEA what sara could be doing at axe cap tbh. thats her entire section. ive got nothing. please let me know if you think of something.

mafee has a job! he goes back to what he was doing before, but now he’s like the least popular guy in the room. except to ben kim. he’s fucking over the moon that mafee is back as we saw at the end of s4. number of traders at axe cap with even the slightest trace of morals: 2 again. i assume he and ben hang out a decent amount at work now, especially since i dont think anyone else would want to be around mafee because of the whole traitor thing. (ps how the fuck is the interaction between mafee and wendy after that whole “youre a garbage person” thing?)

ben doesnt seem to be the kind to care about his “social standing” within the company falling because he’s hanging out with mafee. i mean he gives a friendly hi to the two least popular people in the room at the moment of Highest Tension. he does NOT give a fuck. i assume winston probably also hangs out a decent amount around mafee because that’s the only other tmc person who is In The Office on the ground floor (since lauren’s job is kinda.. talking to people Outside of the office and taylor is off upstairs making those Brilliant Taylor Ideas with their big brain and being forced to hang with axe. maybe sara is also around there i guess, but she doesnt seem to be the kind to just.. hang about). but anyways this is a prime opportunity for winston and ben kim to interact, im just saying @ brian koppelman and david levien. ben is probably a lil bit scared of winston in the beginning since u know. thats his job taker right there, but he warms up to winston eventually. this isnt a benston post, ill move on now. 

(just kidding. im not done. i know the popular benston thing is that theyve secretly been dating all this time but imagine them meeting for the first time at axe cap in s5. ben and mafee are eating lunch together (acai bowls prob lmao) or something and winston just drops in, kicks his feet up on the table (mafee rolls his eyes) and casually says hi. ben on the inside is all like Ah Shit That’s The Quant Dude because he’s totally been avoiding winston up till now, but the dude is sitting across the table from him he can’t just not acknowledge him. or possibly ben has the opposite reaction. he’s grown a bit of a backbone since the last time quants were brought up. makes a show of not being scared of winston but also not being an ass to him, which makes winston respect him since everyone else here has been pretty hostile to him so far. i think winston probably has a good impression of ben because he was nice to taylor and mafee at the end of s4 and the fact that he and mafee are hanging around, so he must not be That Bad. and winston doesn’t seem to be very into the axe vs taylor rivalry (re the whole comp rant) so he probably won’t hate someone just because they work for axe cap. anyways this is the beginning of their long and healthy relationship. benston endgame yall.)

does wags remember winston? he must. that was quite an Impression he made during his interview. what are his interactions with wags like, if any? is winston all snarky like “ha, you passed on hiring me but im here anyways, fuck you” or is he wary around wags because he’s still thinking about how he got Destroyed in that interview. i dont think the walk of shame out of the building must have been something he forgot quickly. i think wags would be quick to call out winston if he weren’t doing anything while at axe cap. the interaction would probably go something like this: “ur not doing any goddamn work.” “yeah i know, u guys dont want quants, what am i gonna do?” “well, figure something out” (implied or else there). winston quickly figures something out. probably automates some stuff for them or something.

also, do people in general remember him as the guy who was REAL happy after the boxing match? i mean he kinda made a big scene. he was cheering and yelling and screaming “i won!! i motherfucking won!!” after everyone else was sitting around dejectedly because their team lost and they lost money. you have to remember that Weird Guy having a blast after everyone in the room is upset. do they seem him walk in at axe cap and go “ah, that fuckin weirdo.”

god, examining any aspect of billions for more than 3 seconds makes you realize how much of a disaster everything is. id definitely watch a show that’s just the office dynamics at axe cap now that the tmc gang is there. lord knows itd be more interesting than what’s been happening in the show up until now.

[homestucky]

ok ok this is like not anything new but still since i havent been on here i havent fully ranted about this yet. big long rant incoming

re the epilogue (spoilers etc)

ok. i have onl y read meat. but fucking? dirk? dirk? ok? dirk??

no.

i am aware of what happens in candy. i know he dies.

i also know in the version i read, in meat, he becomes his ultimate self, all versions of dirk. as many people have said, this includes AR, this includes bro, this includes even to some degree, LE. its an interesting idea ill give you that. but its also.... shitty and not backed enough by well, anything?

so heres my personal rant about the shitty things in Meat.

when i first finished it i couldnt help but think. was the dirk narrative even necessary? on the one hand it was meant to be the MAIN PLOT and it defined the narration etc, but.... it honestly didnt seem to have any importance. i know it was likely  a set up to imply future stuff like making the next sburb or whatever but like

who CARES? why on earth would that be interesting or important? maybe im crazy but like, the ‘b plot’ which was mostly about character relationships and jobs in earth c, was compelling and enjoyable. the narrative with john ‘not important and not the main character anymore’ egbert had details and conclusions ACTUALLY RELATING TO HOMESTUCK, THE COMIC I LIKE AND WANTED TO READ AN EPILOGUE FOR. it was tragic and frankly very upsetting! im not saying i liked it!! but the tragedy felt compelling and significant. 

i appreciate that dirk as narrator IS BIASED so him saying that these narratives are less important is inherently like. not to be trusted but. just. i cant help but feel like you could have cut the whole ‘main dirk reality affecting’ narrative OUT 

and that seems to me maybe like... not good? if such a central part of your narrative has almost no bearing on homestuck or anything anyone cares about?

but im sure there are other people who found it compelling and necessary. thats fair. cant relate but you do you. there are other issues. 

me saying that the dirk narrative felt weirdly isolated and insignificant sounds pretty weird given that it put jade into a coma, manipulated kanayas mind, effectively killed rose and destroyed rosemary right? WELL that brings me on to the next thing. people have noted that meat barely passes the bechdel test. and hey, sometimes things like that can just be a coincidence or unlucky. but the repeated erasure of the female characters minds, motives, identities and autonomy was????  a little too consistent to dismiss. like ok terezi was still her dope self in a lot of ways. jane kinda did some stuff (under dirks direction, and only shitty stuff but . whatever). 

(sidebar: ofc it doesnt make sense to talk about calliope and roxy in the context of the female characters in Meat but either way they were very in the background. like cool an all, and i always love roxy. and i respect they were mostly just minding their own businesses??? which is fair)

 i just. urgh. homestuck has such a genuinely good track record of giving female characters genuine motivations and powerful abilities etc. the fact that almost ALL the female characters involved were working for or manipulated by DIRK. DIRK of all people. is like... is this even based off the real comic? idgi????

roses loss of autonomy.... rose is such an important character. and she goes along with everything dirk says because dirk is suddenly all OP and ‘theyre basically the same person anyway’ like i get that there was some magic bullshit going on or whatever but at the end of the day rose was still written as weak and passive. dirk as strong and skilled and decisive. i get the undertones.. hes a prince of heart. a destroyer of souls, and identities. he messed with kanayas identity , destroyed roses, repeatedly ignored roxys and calliopes, and god i wont even get started on jake yet. but that doesnt make it satisfying to read. or even really feasible.

so theres a possibility im missing something. but im confused about WHY dirk is allowed this power. in the narrative its waved off as a kind of ‘i guess because im like a prince of heart or whatever and im just super good at managing identities and being a strong boy’ like ok if theres some implication somewhere that that is MEANT to be a bogus explanation id be interested to know because it sounds pretty goddamn bogus. why would this happen to dirk? why? literally? one reason? one that makes sense? because there arent any i can think of. why, in the new universe, would dirk, a prince of heart, manifest into a narrative controlling supergod. and fucking WHEN has dirk showed any actual capabilities in this area before?? he KINDA sucked at it in the game. dirks an idiot! hes smart and capable in like, some ways but. its like

why is dirk so powerful suddenly -> its because hes become super ultimate dirk -> ... ok why -> uh because like. hes just so naturally inclined towards being a great manipulator yknow..... canonically.... uhhhh

it just. canon dirk to epilogue dirk is the most ridiculous leap character wise, skill wise, arc wise, personality wise, with minimal reasonable explanation. 

which brings me on to the next thing. so i roasted dirk and said he wasnt strong enough to be able to manipulate things this well. well, obviously through some other means dirk HAS been afforded this power. but what about his personality? its obviously gonna be warped with self importance and knowing how things ‘have to be’. but hes heartless, cruel and hateful. in some ways it seems like canon dirk levels of ruthlessness, especially when it shows that he is actually doing something dumb and petty like his treatment of jake. that shows that he STILL has emotional connection to people as dirk. he also seems to care about some people, like dave and roxy, and cracks jokes and wants to have ‘fun’. this makes the ways in which hes so warped and cruel seem even worse. maybe on the one hand im giving dirk too much credit, everyone knows he has the potential to be a real bastard. but i dont think that was the trajectory he was on when we last saw him. and if this is truly due to him just.. becoming other versions of himself too including LE and bro and stuff..like. i dont see how it could have gotten that bad without say, roxy or dave noticing. 

‘oh they didnt notice because hes just so good at hiding’ why on earth would i believe that!! dave especially this is kinda insulting for. dave is shown to have an almost supernatural ability to detect danger. partially this might be timeline stuff, knight stuff, but also notably im sure his upbringing is involved too. he was trained to be hypervigilant. who was he trained to be hypervigilant for? bro. bros manipulation and traps. near the end of the epilogue we show that dave IS capable of detecting the mindfuckery thats happening. how would that not set off 1 million alarm bells? theres literally apparently a twisted dirk-bro mutant INSIDE HIS HEAD telling him what to do. i just. know that scene was played for comedy and romance but at the very least thats gotta like???? mess with u if ur traumatised? and thats like , why i think dave should have had an inkling abt what was going on!! this is exactly the thing he hates and fears and was traumatised by! and it just going under his nose n him not even knowing , and still pretty recently being all buddy buddy with dirk seems just stupid and infeasible to me. maybe this is me being naive or kind of a stretch but i just feel like daves danger instincts would have been kicking up a whole assed ruckus that whole time. 

also kind of unrelated but i associate sunglasses with strider style toxic masculinity and hiding things so like. ok transitioning or changing gender presentation is one thing but roxy apparently permanently wearing sunglasses makes me NERVOUS

and ill probably wrap up this mighty rant soon but i wanna also say jake was done so fucking dirty. i know he was like, meant to be, because for some reason god dirk just hated him? like ok petty much. but. urgh jake is such an interesting character with a lot of potential and while i appreciate that him being manipulated by someone who may reasonably have a problem with him may make him do stupid and embarrassing stuff, all the narrative seems to have taken a backward step in how hes represented. jake isnt stupid, dirk clearly knew this in canon and he maybe was the only one even including jake. and there was some acknowledgement of this near the beginning of the epilogue. but then for some reason it goes back on itself. everyone still thinks jake is just completely stupid, including the embittered superdirk. so yeah i guess hes upset with jake or whatever but. its still dissatisfying to be like oh yeah jake isnt stupid he actually has a complex set of motivations and potential etc BUT over the X number of yrs on earth c no one else has realised this yet?? hmm. then his narrative is just gonna end up with him being a total joke and essentially becomes as stupid and incompetent as his worst critics say he is. feasible given the mind control ? yeah. enjoyable to read or having any kind of satisfying bearing on anything? nope!

so anyway. i feel like any criticism i have could be argued back with ‘but oh it has to be this way’ or ‘mind control!!’ or ‘not everything has to be nice and happy !!’ but like. dude. there are flaws. many of them. and seeing characters just get shat on is never gonna be good writing.