#Dim Hope

[shiningdesignersreflections]

Chapter 4: Dim Hope

Narrated by Lilibet.

Narrator: I bring Benjamin back and give him a new outfit and parts. The tricky thing about him, however, is that he needs a lead heart.

Narrator: The lead heart is a unique part of the toy guard. It's their heart, and every toy guard has one.

Narrator: And so I ask for the best, strongest guard to be brought to me.

Choose "You took a guard's lead heart?"

You: You took a guard's lead heart?

Narrator: He gave it to me of his volition after hearing my request.

Narrator: When a guard comes to me to inform me that their captain has gone missing, I'm examining Benjamin... now a changed man, by yours truly.

Narrator: Benjamin has changed beyond recognition. He's carrying himself tall in a sleek uniform, wearing a badge shining through the dark of the night.

Narrator: When the guard leaves on my command, Benjamin looks at me with a smile and lowers himself to plant a kiss on the back of my hand.

Benjamin: You saved my life, Your Highness! I'm yours and yours only now!

Lilibet: And just how exactly do you plan to repay me? I can't...

Narrator: I take a good look at him, from head to toe. Be it his uniform or parts, everything he has is a gift from me.

Lilibet: I can't see what I can possibly want from you.

Benjamin: You might recall that, back in the garden, I promised to tell you this museum's most precious secret.

Benjamin: There is an old bell tower in the depths of the Maze Woods, and in there you will be able to find the tunnel that leads to the outside world.

Benjamin: The tunnel will provide a fast and convenient choice if you would like to see Queen Lilith.

Choose either "Are you leaving the museum?" or "Are you going to see Lilith?"

If "museum," ...

You: You're leaving the museum? Where would you be able to go, though, if you leave here?

Narrator: This museum isn't home... to me, home is where Queen Lilith is.

If "Lilith," ...

You: You are going to see the Queen? But you don't even know when she'll be coming here next...

Narrator: I would definitely love to see her, but I don't have forever to wait for it to happen.

--

Narrator: Benjamin fixes me with a stare. He probably thought I'd be excited or happy hearing what he'd said... but no. On the contrary, I feel disappointed.

Lilibet: Was that all you had to tell me?

Narrator: He knows what I most crave, but it really is no big deal, because it is no secret that most of the toys at the museum miss their owners.

Narrator: But I have been at the museum long enough myself to have learned a few things about this place that might be unbeknownst to newcomers.

Lilibet: The bell tower does indeed lead to the outside world, but we as toys will be deprived of our ability to move the moment we've left the museum.

Lilibet: Tell me this: how am I supposed to go and see Queen Lilith if I can't move?

Benjamin: No, Your Highness. Your chance is just around the corner.

Benjamin: I was once left to rot in a corner of the museum, but that's also where I was fortunate enough to have learned some interesting information.

Narrator: I fix Benjamin with a firm stare and carefully observe his expression. Sure enough, I do see what just might pique my interest swimming under those fervent eyes of his.

Lilibet: I take that to mean that Queen Lilith will be coming to the museum soon?

Narrator: The smile on his face confirms my thought.

Benjamin: I would never dare lie to you, Your Highness. I think this would make for a great opportunity for you to leave the museum and go back to the Queen.

Benjamin: And I want to be someone you can rely on for solutions, Your Highness. Nothing stops me from serving you, if only you would allow me to serve you.

Choose either "Did you take him up on his suggestion?" or "Why was he trying to help you, though?"

If "take suggestion," ...

You: Did you take him up on his suggestion?

Narrator: I didn't... it's always been my plan anyway. He just so happened to say my plan out loud.

If "help you," ...

You: Why was he trying to help you, though?

Narrator: Why wouldn't he want to? I'm his queen, and the fact that I'd saved him is all the more reason he should help me.

--

Narrator: Benjamin tells me everything he knows.

Benjamin: An insider told me that Queen Lilith would be coming to the museum for an inspection on Starsnow.

Benjamin: I'll help you escape Swan Castle on Starsnow Eve. You'll be able to make it out just fine if you make it through the skylight of the bell tower's roof before anyone catches us.

Benjamin: You shall be the most perfect of all to Queen Lilith, and I'm certain she'll bring you back home.

Lilibet: ...Will she really?

Benjamin: Of course.

Benjamin: And that's because you're no longer the same person you were. I'm sure you'll leave the Queen with a strong impression with your violin skills and rose fragrance.

Benjamin: And I'll rob the other toys of their abilities for you, so that the noisy robotic nightingale and Queen Erinka won't stand a chance against you.

Lilibet: You're a smart one. You know exactly what I'm thinking.

Narrator: Benjamin takes a deep bow to me. When he raises his head, I see his eyes burning with excitement and fervor.

Benjamin: I dare not venture a guess at your heart, Your Highness! But I just can't imagine such amazing abilities befitting anyone but you because you're our one and only Queen Lilibet.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 5

[justskyla-art]

rhinestone eyes

[cosmicdreamgrl]

yeosang x 230617 music core for @epiphanytear

[huiyi07]

hey so do you guys ever think about how often Diluc is referred to as the ‘uncrowned king of Mondstadt’ since he’s like the only male heir to the noble families and like it or not, where Jean is the authority of the nation, he’s pretty much the symbolic face of Mondstadt and the values the nation projects— and despite his temperament, Diluc has learned to embrace it wholeheartedly. He’s charismatic, extremely righteous, and he blazes bright and gives the people of Mondstadt a fire that guides them in the dark, quite literally. Like he’s literally Bruce Wayne lmao

But he doesn’t want this, no, and here’s the proof- maybe he did, once upon a time, before everything happened— but he doesn’t really care about wine, he only cares about the winery because of the people in it and his father. He’s righteous but doesn’t give a damn about the rules and the knights of favonius. After what happened to him, he’s clearly a rebel at heart now, not some charming superhero who does everything expected of him, unlike before. In summary, Diluc was someone who was quite literally ready to become an (uncrowned) prince, pretty much royalty in every way except title- and on surface level, he still is, but he throws that mantle away in secret whenever he can.

And then look at Kaeya, his brother who’s always lived in his shadow. It’s easy to see that now, people don’t really project Mondstadt’s values onto Kaeya the same way they do onto Diluc, since lots of people hardly even remember that they’re brothers. And yeah people still think kaeya is reliable and nice, but also because of how Kaeya built his image after Diluc left— an excessively over the top personality that pretends to be sadistic, mean, and at the same time dripping with false charm. So despite that people still find him approachable and nice as expected of a knight, hardly anyone would call him befitting of a prince.

But Kaeya is actually so painfully and authentically ‘princely’ and kind, deep down— the way he deals with children, his fierce loyalty and willingness to protect people at all costs, his self sacrificial tendencies that most often appear for Diluc’s sake. Even the tidbits of lore we get about him scream aristocracy- his ‘ceremonial’ bladework, Alberich family secrets that reveal just how central they are to the kingdom of khaenriah. This is kinda obvious to any player who’s bothered to learn anything about kaeya, but to the characters in game, there are very few that know that side of him.

And whereas Diluc is forcibly projected the title of royalty and secretly rejects it, Kaeya was actually born into it- his family is very important to Khaenriah, and much like how he does with anything related to his past and heritage, he loudly and outwardly rejects anything to do with ‘royalty’. Diluc outwardly rejects what Kaeya shows (a darker, more ‘means justify the end’ nature), and Kaeya tries to hide what Diluc projects (a sophisticated and aristocratic upbringing).

Honestly? It’s as if they were swapped at birth. Kaeya’s real hidden nature, even after everything that happened to him, remains to be so unwavering and people-oriented, while Diluc’s true personality changed drastically over time. Not that Diluc isn’t unwavering or whatever, but Diluc mostly actively rejects relationships and prefers to do everything alone, obsessed with the idea that he doesn’t want anyone to get hurt, whereas Kaeya always, always yearns for companionship and for people to be by his side- solidarity.

Diluc is the poster image of royalty, but his brother who hides in the shadows is a real king. They complete each other, balance each other out, represent the parts that the other hides. I don’t know if hoyoverse always meant them to be that way, but damn they basically represent each other’s parts of themselves that they lost. Yin and Yang, two halves of the same whole.

[rosemarie333]

moon nak women are def the type of people who were told as children “if you’re friends jumped off a cliff would you follow them?” LMAO

i thoroughly believe moon women need to be careful what type of energy they surround themselves with and what they taken on from others energies. due to their yin nature and how the moon absorbs and reflects light off it, not creating light for itself, moon naks can easily absorb the other person and can easily lose their sense of self to attempt to please the other. you want a witch? they’ll be the best witch for you. you want a cook? they’ll pretend to be the best cook. YOU WANT A BONNIE? THEY WILL BE ANOTHER BONNIE lol! like they think they can only want what others want and easily can be manipulated by others when stepping into their own 😭😭. i forget who said moon women play into people’s fantasy’s but that’s such a true statement.

i know it falls under the earth rashis but IDC they are super “malleable” and seems to sway like the ocean, but they will be less like that if they have sun,saturn, or even martian naks in their chart. my advice to moon women, BE CAREFUL WHO U SURROUND YOURSELF WITH! you CAN unknowingly take on peoples energies and habits easier than you may realize. i think when moon women surround themselves only with people who are confident, successful, smart, and capable they will reflect that within their own lives. when i think of an example i think of muni long (idk if she’s lunar) who has said she can’t be around everyone because people’s energies can influence her, that’s what moon women should think like. you can’t and shouldn’t be in every room, only surround yourself with the greatest.

i hope that isn’t another ketu way of sucking off of others energy but if moon women are gonna do it (isnt a bad thing but can get extreme) then DO IT THE RIGHT WAY🤭🤭🤭

#unpopular opinion

[seonghwacore]

SEONGHWACORE 1.1K CELEBRATION @hwanswerland requested: a sparkly inception seonghwa!

[sunderedstar]

good books of 2024

according to meeee.

there is no order here, at least one of these was published ages ago, I'm just working my way through my 2024 timeline, godspeed spiderman. 🫡

Metal from Heaven

surprise hit of 2024. top of the charts. stunning, spectacular. gorgeous. Metal from Heaven FUCKS. almost every single main character is an explicit spicy toxic hot mess of a lesbian committing literal highway/train robbery, the bad guy is literally named Industry, leading to such peak sentences as "I am going to kill Industry." the prose is synesthetic in a way that most writers cannot sustain for a full novel but which here culminates in a moment of pure blissful Neon Genesis Evangelion that I will not elaborate on due to spoilers. the author pulls out the FUNNIEST lines, and also the most abrupt and heartbreaking tragedies. we're not here to be subtle, we're here to put the pedal to the metal until the engine explodes. such a damning, whip smart condemnation of industry, capitalism, power. all in the form of Lesbians. also the phrase 'clown orgy' is mentioned. this shit is like gideon the ninth with CRUNCH. NSFW.

but don't take my word for it. take amal el-mohtar's.

Absolution

Absolution is a hard book. requires thought and rigor at all times to absorb what's going on - and also a reread of the entire trilogy beforehand, because there's time travel nuance involved, which makes it next to impossible to sum up the plot coherently on its own without spoiling things. jeff vandermeer described it partially as 'fuck that alligator from the movie' and - valid. the first 60% had me; the later section...swapped gears drastically, which meant it took a while to hit its stride (aka until it reached Area X again). in hindsight I was just not prepared for one of the POVs to be the Freudian, violently stoned, unreliable narrator love-child of Karkat and Dave Strider whose perception/conception of the heart of the Southern Reach is extremely phallic. and then suddenly cannibalism happens. I liked Annihilation and Acceptance better, but damn. it almost feels like this should be the set up to another trilogy. much 2 think about.

Yield Under Great Persuasion

I don't know why I didn't hear anything about this one before it came out! (instead, I only saw posts about rowland's other book released this year, running close to the wind - which sadly did not hit for me at all). Yield Under Great Persuasion is just ridiculous enough to be fantastic. stubborn little gremlin man, big mad about Pumpkingate years after the original inciting incident that set him at odds with his love interest, attempts to pack his little rucksack and run away from all his self-inflicted gay problems, fails, is forced to deal with said personal problems by direct goddess-intervention. you know it's gonna be good when the guys are hate-banging by page 2. a short, delightful mix of (extremely silly and low-stakes) enemies to lovers and hurt/comfort and working out your emotional and communication issues on page style comfort food. self-indulgent in a fanfic way that is rowland's trademark in a taste of gold and iron (which was also fantastic and probably deserves a reread now.) NSFW.

The Spellshop

between this and yield under great persuasion there's an odd cozy fantasy pairing here. a self-isolated shut-in spellbook librarian who lives for her work escapes the fall of her city and sets up shop back in her old hometown on a severely magic-deprived island. there's some internalized trauma being worked through, against a simply charming backdrop of community and solidarity and magic spells. really. I was. charmed. which is a rare reaction on my part.

The Hunter's Gonna Lay Low

the curveball of the list, The Hunter's Gonna Lay Low is a translated (gay) Korean web novel, and it's the perfect intersection of a decent translator meeting an author who knows what they're doing. notorious tumblr user @spockandawe has a write up of the plot and its major themes here, but in essence it hooked me with its hunter/super-hero meets Pacific Rim setting, its themes of gifted kid burnout and unacknowledged trauma with the weight of the world on his shoulders, and the fact that the author clearly plotted out all of this in advance, with minor details from the opening chapter being extremely plot relevant a hundred chapters later. also, the characters are FUN! the relationship compels me. clownery abounds in all the best ways, while the world-ending stakes are also scarily sky high. its translation is currently incomplete as far as I'm aware, which is literally this story's only downside right now, since you can read it online for free - but so much of the main story is up and translated already that it's hard to imagine how much higher the stakes can go, and I'm dying to know if these two make it through and get the happy ending they deserve. a delicious repast.

Apostles of Mercy

I'm gonna rant here. this is the story of a series that got the redemption arc it deserved.

if you don't know, axiom's end is lindsay ellis's blatant Bayverse Transformers female lead alternate history fic. period. she has openly admitted this. you can easily and clearly pick out the Optimus/Megatron/Starscream expies. and that first book was GOOD. it understood the assignment. loved it.

then...truth of the divine happened. book two of the series. was frankly. god awful. it was like twilight's new moon, where the main character's depression saturates and therefore stagnates the entire narrative, in this case to its detriment. it dragged. the entire appeal of first book of the series is the bond between the main character and her new definitely-not-a-Transformer life partner, and book two managed to both sideline that - the entire point!!! the main thing you're reading it for! the alien time! - and introduce the most skeevy and (for me) unpleasant to read human hetero romance of all time. it was so unpleasant I actually forgot how bad it was.

somehow. somehow. palpatine returned. after I spent three years mourning what could have been. book three saved it. Apostles of Mercy addresses the whole damn skeevy toxic mess that was book two and refocuses on what matters - the alien love interest and a LESBIAN love interest. yes. it's true. once again the sapphics won. we now have a book where the main character is reliving lesbian sex memories as an alien-robot-insect-definitely-not-a-Transformer mindmelds with her so I mean. good job team? her love interest also acquires an alien life partner of her own to expand this into potential alien foursome range? the assignment is once again UNDERSTOOD. in terms of the action scenes, to quote myself while reading it, "I can't believe I'm saying this but you needed to channel far more Bayverse" [for book 2], and doing so for book 3 has produced a work of art. I would say skip book 2 entirely and thank me later, but experiencing how bad the series got at its darkest point is part of what made book 3 such an exhilarating high in comparison. possibly that was the goal all along, impossible to appreciate until now. I just need lindsay ellis to get the contract to write the currently-in-publication-limbo books 4 and 5. because the series deserves it. it only just got good again! NSFWish because I can't remember currently how explicit they got all these months later, forgive me.

The Deep Sky

yume kitasei is new to me, but this book hit some interesting notes as a sci fi debut. it too is about gifted kid burnout and imposter syndrome, funnily enough, in a thoughtful take on the standard sci fi concept of 'a bunch of rigorously trained young adults are sent out into deep space as an ark to save a dying humanity' that actually does discuss how fucked up that is as a concept, both for the kids as they grow up under enormous pressure to win a spot on the mission and for all those people being left behind, in what might just end up being an overhyped waste of resources, since civilization sure is still kicking when they leave. the summary on the book is somewhat misleading - asuka, the main character, doesn't fall under suspicion until wayyyy late in the book, and spends the majority of it in a pseudo-detective role that is absolutely sanctioned by those in charge. she's not 'an immediate suspect' like the book blurb insists. go figure. it didn't knock me out of the park like most of the books above, but it was an engaging little read.

The Bees

a weird one from 2014, picked up on a whim - it's literally about bees! fictionalized bees! with personalities and priesthoods and caste politics and everything! I cried about it to be honest. very plotty, somehow all of it neatly taking place within the Lifecycle of A Bee™️, which takes some real craftsmanship to pull off and make compelling as a narrative. since I'm an unrepentant Raksura fan, I was like 'wow...how Raksura coded...' knowing full well that Raksura are dragon bee people, not the other way around. also the Raksura could never be as toxic (complimentary) as these bees are. 😂 it's just good literature your honor.

honorable mentions:

Heavenly Tyrant

has not come out yet. but let's be real. it's on the list in anticipation. it's what she deserves.

The City in Glass

I love nghi vo's work, have read and adored all of the singing hills cycle novellas. it took a month for my library hold on this book to be available. and then I promptly got distracted by metal from heaven and the hunter's gonna lay low 😂 I will read it!!! the first eight pages were good! vitrine's voice is very good! I've just had a very busy end of the year interrupting my everything. (update: I read two more pages and it immediately and promptly popped off. whoops. guess I'm reading that next. whenever I have free time again...)

[yaoibanker]

[ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ]

[cadexiety]

"maybe in another universe-"

"why not this one?"

[romancantthinkofausername]

nsh ponders existence while they're mere centimeters away from slipping off and dying

[lightandfellowship]

From this Reddit post by Roboloid.

Since this was posted by Roboloid, who hosts a site dedicated to cataloging UXDR assets, I'm pretty sure this is Baldr's actual in-game asset and not a fan edit.

While I imagine Roboloid's intentions were simply to make a punny joke with the assets they had at their disposal, the KHDR fan in me is just excited to see what the rest of Baldr's eyes and eyebrows look like underneath his hair. His eyebrows are slightly shorter than I anticipated, and he has prominent eyelashes on the side of his eyes that go completely unseen in his normal sprite.

A good reference for people making Baldr fanart, too.

[dilf-in-peril]

We'll be able to tell when HBK hands NXT over to Phil because suddenly all the kids stop doing the HBK bouncy sells and start selling like sluts.

[clegfly]

OKAY OMORI MANGA CHAPTER 9!!!!!

I did not make a bingo this time mostly because I forgot BSJSJSISI but. I do know some mutuals rely on my insanity to find out what’s cooking in this little dumpster fire so. Here we go!

What I want to first point out are the things I enjoyed here because there was not much- firstly, basil’s characterisation- because despite the HORRIBLE narrative changes here (the manga’s horrific pacing issues have stooped to a low almost as low as chapter 1 here) he manages to stay extremely consistent and well characterised! His actions actually adapt and change to orient around this new narrative in an incredibly in character manner which is really nice to see!!

His near-instant reaction to immediately shift the blame onto himself in an almost outburst-like fashion, to insist sunny’s superior morality and to use that as reasoning for his own “actions”- “it must have been me because it couldn’t have been sunny. He’s a good person”. And basil IS in active danger here- Aubrey is enraged and actively threatening here, but basil, likely accustomed to it at this point, flings himself into danger so long as it protects sunny. Absorbing all the blame and getting himself hurt. It’s so painfully basil, and it makes me so happy- basil’s portrayal in this manga has started to become my favourite thing about it. All of my favourite changes come from him, and hes the character I’d say has stayed the most in character this far. It’s really refreshing to see after some of the BRUTAL mischaracterisation in this chapter!!

Secondly there were some really neat visual choices here. Specifically in the drowning sequence!! Somehow- almost LAUGHABLY- the manga managed to ignore including thalassophobia, so now we can safely say that the manga has gone out of its way to avoid EVERY SINGLE PHOBIA SEGMENT!!! Woo hoo!!! Unless you count arachnophobia’s appearance in headspace in chapter 7, which I DONT because it didn’t serve the narrative function that it’s meant to- progress sunny’s character development. God I can’t wait for him to just RANDOMLY become courageous and able to fight something instead of slowly accustoming himself to it using the advice of his sister from the past and realise that courage and will to overcome and move on that was inside him all along!!1!2!3!3!2 god I LOVE that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

…I digress! I’m supposed to be talking about positives here.

I. REALLY like this panel. I love the SEQUENCE here even more, but I just want to say that this. REALLY made me laugh KAJSKSKS. I don’t know it’s just something about a door randomly spawning in and omori just busting it open and staring sunny down while hes fucking fighting for his life- god it just. Got me. Have a little urgency man!!!!/j

Anyways. Yeah this is a REALLY awesome take on the underwater sequence.

Having sunny actively having to choose between omori- able to drag him into the safety of white space, but likely also kill his physical body, leaving him to drown in the depths but be safe forever within its endless walls- or mari. His beloved sister, determined to save bim both from the waters, but this life and guilt he has condemned himself to, determined to guide him through and encourage his choice and bravery to overcome it all.

And sunny chooses mari.

The artificial, sterile, manufactured comfort of white space could never beat the true, real, warm comfort of mari’s arms- of reality, of life, of HIS life. It could never beat the promise of her embrace, of her smile and encouraging words. It could never beat the promise of- well, life. Mari is life (bittersweet and ironic) and omori is death here- and sunny is already beginning to learn to choose life when it is offered. To choose his real friends, to choose to comfort THEM instead of turning to recreations, to choose to make an effort to improve their lives as well as his own- that is what this scene establishes. Hell, it almost makes up for the lost character development from the phobia scenes!!! Almost.

And hey MARI IS BACK IN THE NARRATIVE WOO HOO!!!!

ALSO!!!!!!! HERO IS HERE!!!!!!!

🎉🎉🎉

Okay thats it thats all I liked. Buckle in.

Aubrey. And the hooligans.

Jesus. FUCKING. Christ.

Hey guys!!!!! Hey!!!!!!!!! Remember when Kim was. Actually. Fucking REALLY RELUCTANT to leave Aubrey alone and stopped to check to see if she wanted to come or if she truly needed a moment to herself (which she does NOT give her at all and actually leaves in order to encourage her to talk to people shes got issues with). Because she knows she struggles with it. Because Aubrey is her best friend and she loves her. Remember that.

The hooligans also have. Absolutely ZERO incentive to leave here!!!! Literally NONE. Sunny and kel do not even fucking FIGHT THEM. NOTHING HAPPENS. Kim just goes “Aubrey you need to sort this stuff out!!!! Anyways bye!!!” And then they all fucking dip??????? Genuinely WHAT. It’s. It’s not hard to. Write that part in???? At all????? Why did you just destroy their characters for the sake of pacing so you could clear all the hooligans out sooner to progress the scene??? I GET Kim’s approach here, but- it’s NOT in character and NOT the way you go about it. You don’t just ditch your friend with extreme trauma and abandonment issues with a bunch of people she has deep rooted issues with and hope they “talk it out”. That’s not gonna end well for ANYONE involved. OBVIOUSLY.

And. DO NOT. Get me started on Aubrey, her character, and the absolutely DIABOLICAL changes to the narrative made here.

WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCKKKKKKK. DIE. ACTUALLY DIE./j

First of fucking all!!!! THE PHOTOS.

THE FUCKING PHOTOS. God this manga REALLY can’t seem to get the photos right. I am SO terrified for the truth sequence now. PETRIFIED in fact. Which judging by the rate we’re going will probably be in like three or four chapters!!!! Yippee!!!!

Anyways. Uh. Brushing aside the fact that these are STILL SCRIBBLED OUT, which violates SO MUCH of Aubrey’s character and desire to preserve everything left of Mari she has control over which is scarce at that point by just… carrying them around and not trying to clean them at all like in the game, WHY ARE WE FINDING OUT ABOUT THESE. NOW.

WHY. THE FUCK. ARE WE FINDING OUT ABOUT THESE. A DAY EARLY.

WHERE. IS THE SUSPENSE AND INTRIGUE YOUVE BEEN BUILDING!?? THE MYSTERY??????????

We are meant to find out about what basil “did”AFTER Aubrey learns to forgive him. After she realises how shitty shes been to him. Not in this edgy fit of rage????

IN FACT!!!! This outburst is supposed to be dedicated to Aubrey’s anger over everybody’s desertion of both her, and MARI. MARI SPECIFICALLY.

MARI IS NOT MENTIONED ONCE IN THIS ENTIRE TIRADE. ONCE. ALL OF IT IS DEDICATED TOWARDS THESE FUCKING PHOTOS.

How are we supposed to see that Aubrey is stuck in the past, left behind by everyone yet simultaneously pushing them away in her blind hurt rage, clinging onto mari, her rock, her shining older figure and role model who left her behind, honouring yet plagued by her memory everyday????? How are we supposed to see just how much her feelings revolve around the loss of the most important person in her life???????? Have we forgotten how hung up Aubrey is on defending mari and her memory??????? How desperately she clings to and fights for control of anything left to remember her by, desperately doing anything she can to protect those few precious things and keep them safe????????????????? Because she doesn’t seem to give a SINGLE shit about her in this fucking manga. She mentions her TWICE, and even then it’s just off hand comments about her death that she uses to make a point about SOMEBODY ELSE. It’s NEVER about mari and what she meant to her and her anger about how both herself (though she tries to conceal that vulnerability and moment of selfish hurt and rage) and chiefly MARI was left behind and forgotten and not cared for anymore, it’s more-so used as just another reason to prove a point shes making about someone different when almost everything she does in the game is BECAUSE of mari.

That aside!!!! Let’s talk about how the manga hates SUBTLTY!!! And AUBREY!!!!!!!

Her immediate shift of the blame from basil to sunny with NO fucking proof or incentive at all is LAUGHABLE. She is so EASILY swayed in this conflict shes been having for FOUR FUCKING YEARS with a simple “basil didn’t do it” from just KEL?????? A BASELESS statement of “no he couldn’t” IMMEDIATELY changes her mind and she goes to blaming SUNNY FOR IT.

Hey???? WHAT THE FUCK??????? WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK????????

WHAT THE FUCK WAS THIS ALL FOR????????

Now. I DO understand that it’s likely basil didn’t have anyone defending him during these four years, and he certainly wasn’t going to tell Aubrey any different, but YOURE TELLING ME THIS ISSUE SHES BEEN STEWING OVER FOR NEARLY HALF A DECADE WITH BASIL IS IMMEDIATELY RESOLVED WITH THE SLIGHTEST “no” FROM SOMEONE COMPLETELY UNINVOLVED???? SHES WILLING TO COMPLETELY DROP IT AND MOVE ONTO SOMEONE ELSE THE MOMENT ANYONE DISAGREES WITH HER ON IT?????? AFTER BULLYING BASIL RELENTLESSLY FOR IT FOR SO LONG???? GOOD FUCKING GOD.

In the game, she learns to accept and FORGIVE basil for what he did, before learning it wasn’t him to begin with (after the good ending of course), because that is one of the game’s core themes, and even though what basil did greatly hurt and impacted her, leading to her holding this grudge for years, she can UNDERSTAND it and forgive him for it- in the manga, she cares so little that she’s immediately willing to change “targets”, like shes just some hateful machine rather than a hurt, scared and traumatised girl, at the slightest push in the other direction. The strength of this grudge was what made her choice to forgive so impactful- it stuck with Aubrey and made her do things even worse than what basil did in retaliation to being hurt, a grudge so deeply rooted that she hurt him for it- but it is so, SO unbelievably weak here.

SPEAKINGGGGGG of new targets!!!!!

OH MY GOD. WHAT WERE THEY THINKINGGGGGGGG

Aubrey immediately turning to sunny with no proof, no basis, no idea, no ANYTHING, spitting VERBATIM so much of the impactful dialogue from sunny’s own mind RESERVED FOR THE OMORI CONFRONTATION and simultaneously removing some of the impact there- it’s SO horrible I can’t even put it into fucking WORDS. God this manga SUCKS. IT SUCKS. It removes ALL the impact and subtlety from slowly piecing together that it was SUNNY who ruined the photos and NOT BASIL, that he was being PROTECTED BY HIM, establishing that part of their relationship to later use against the player in the truth sequence, and just shoves it in your face. THIS IS AWFUL. JUST. JUST AWFUL.

Anyways!!!!! HERO APPEARANCE YAYYAYAYAYAYAYAYYA!!!! WOOHOO!!!! Please let’s all collectively pretend that’s all that happened here okay????? Please?????????? For my own sanity.

To end off- I’ve almost lost all hope for this to improve. As we approach omori’s endgame, I shudder to think of all the ways that the manga can and WILL butcher some of the most beautifully crafted and emotional scenes I’ve ever experienced- rather than gush over all the ways it may adapt them like I did in the first few chapters, when my hope for it remained.

I don’t have any hope. It’s devolved into slop which tries to bear ANY drop of substance once in a blue moon, and I’m sick of pretending it’s anything but that. It has so much potential, but it doesn’t care to realise it- because it doesn’t care to tell any semblance of a story. It hates pacing, it hates character, but hey!!! We added a pretty visual metaphor in here!!!! Isnt that something???? The omori manga is the best!!!!!!!!

[amagnificentobsession]

I’ve noticed many, many, of the people I used to see posting, in RP and out, that I interacted with in all my *forms 😉* are no longer participating on the site.

We all know assuming can get you into trouble, but because of the timeframe of certain situations, combined with the actual pain of realizing there may be no beautiful closure for our beloved Ineffables, I can only assume they coincide.

If you are taking a break, good on you knowing you need it, whatever the reason may be. But please don’t assume you are not missed. You are.

*But I’m only 1 person, no one will miss me.* Multiply that by 10 and you could be 1 of 10 people in another’s GO Tumblr life that may have needed to walk away.

You are missed. Truly missed. 💔

I thank Someone everyday for the artists, poets, storytellers on Tumblr, Reddit, AO3. They continue to create, inspire, and love this fandom. They know this fandom belongs to US.

TO US. WE are the ones who fraternize, deeply love, find a connection to a beautiful pair of humans that have come to live in ours hearts and will forever be Crowley and Aziraphale.

From both of our hearts: AMagnificentObsession

@muriel-not-the-dim-one

♥️🔥✨

[mintjeru]

i love him already, your honor

open for better quality | no reposts

[annt-i]

I start school up in TWO DAYS ,, but anyways; hit this request when you can or when you want, anyway.

We need more Alex Rider in School, he’s always in school which end up in bad situations in the series.

I NEED HIM WHIPPING UP THE MOST JUICY PAINTING OF ONE OF HIS MISSIONS, ASAP !!!!

I hope this is what you meant dawg, I've got Alex painting that scene from Point Blanc where Greif was telling him he is going to be dissected. I also hope school's been alright for you so far.