#Hostess analysis

[crossroads-of-the-raven]

Just a Little Something about how long Zane was dead for in Ninjago between Season 3 and 4

In Ninjago Decoded Zane said that he downloaded all 74 episodes plus the holiday special of Jay's game show, 'The Ultimate Ninja Challenge' (a.k.a 75 episodes)

Taking in the schedules for American Ninja Warrior and Wipeout, which appear to be the inspiration for Jay's game show.

American Ninja Warrior is a half hour long show that airs four episodes in a day and another four the following week as a full season (at least when it first came out, IDK about now).

Wipeout is an hour long show (with commercials) that airs a new episode, once a week.

Understanding these two details:

At Most - eight episodes per season, at one season per year with 75 episodes total equals a little more then 9 years (to be precise, 9 complete seasons with 3 episodes of the tenth being aired)

At Least - one episode per week with 75 episodes total equals almost 18 months a.k.a. a year and a half (to be precise, 1 year, 5 months and 3 weeks)

In Compromise for the two shows with a leaning towards the Wipeout influence: Let's say, two episodes per week with 75 episodes total equals 9 months and 2 weeks (this is on the idea of Jay leaving before the filming of the 76th episode).

~

So obviously we don't get a ten year time skip between Seasons 3 and 4 and I clearly haven't factored in how long it took to set up Jay's game show in the first place, however, I don't think it's that far outside the realm of possibility that the time skip was at least somewhere between 9 and a half months and 18 months. This certainly gives enough time for moss to grow on Zane's statue and for angst among the Ninja Team (<- Including Nya, Pixal and Skylor).

Enough time for Jay to get his own game show.

Enough time for Nya to gather what she needs to fix the Bounty.

Enough time for Cole to get a job without people knowing who he is.

Enough time for Lloyd to be with his father before Garmadon's Season 4 self-sacrifice.

Enough time for Zane to rebuild himself only to be kidnapped by Ronin and sold to Master Chen.

Enough time for Pixal to be kidnapped as well and held in Chen's dungeon where the Mechanic pried her open and took her apart piece by piece.

Enough time where Skylor's training was put into overdrive as she had to watch her father put every last detail into place for the Elemental Masters, like a spider preparing its web for the flys.

Enough time for Kai to get his own apartment where he exists alone with thoughts that are far to loud and condemning for a protector who lost his brother, to craft a place for himself in an underground fighting ring that won't ask questions, where he can fight and forget, only to be constantly plagued by his every waking moment asking, 'why wasn't it me', and thinking, 'it should have been me'.

[crossroads-of-the-raven]

Didn't Kai weld vengestone chains together with his powers to bind the Colossi during the Season 9 finally?

I know that this wouldn't work because it literally prevents the use of elemental powers, but could you imagine if Cole could control vengestone? That would be crazy

[moophinz]

I’ve made a post on this already, but after acquiring heaps and reams of knowledge, I’ve decided to go at it again.

(From Mine’s TV Tropes page.)

I cannot stop anyone from wanting to view Mine as bi, and my intentions don’t lie there. But instead, I wanted to bring up that it hardly seems like the intentions of the devs and especially Yokoyama. Mine is a pretty big deal in being a heavily implied gay character regardless of having been a villain, partly due to how he’s just as masculine as his peers and his love for another man is a core part of his characterization where sympathy comes into play. On top of that, they do not shy away from heavy handed hints in his total lack of interest in women romantically and sexually.

Yokoyama is not only a non stranger to commentary on how much he loves Mine, but he’s also made remarks that imply he finds it funny that women are attracted to him though they can’t have him.

RGGO is particularly revealing about this thanks to how much room it gives to focus on character elements they couldn’t do in the actual games.

—A beach event in Okinawa has Kanda wanting to throw a party and see who between them can invite the most women. Mine is less than uninterested, but still winds up getting a few women interested in him. He can’t seem to outright reject them, but gives them very bland answers.

—This is a big trend in other Mine centric stories. Upon being asked by a woman if he’s by himself, he gives a slightly roundabout answer instead of outright saying anything more direct. He agrees to do something with her despite his ongoing lack of enthusiasm.

—As told, he’s gone on dates with women thanks to being unable to turn them down (he’s interestingly kind enough to women even though there’s some popular jokes about him being a misogynistic gay man). But if he sees a woman once, doesn’t really see them again. All in all, this is incredibly different from many other yakuza men who adore women as they slot into the three important status symbols: power, money, and women. All things that Mine brings up at the end of 3 as stuff that wasn’t really giving him any meaning or purpose in life. His line about having any woman he could want goes largely misunderstood. Especially after he ends that line with saying living life that way was a lie.

Comparing an outright love confession to Mine being thankful to have had Katase around feels almost laughable. On one hand, I’m at least glad the person who wrote this acknowledges the romantic feelings with Daigo, but on the other hand… “heavily implied?” With Katase? No… Not every meaningful statement or even so much as breathing the same air as one another between a man and woman is grounds for love.

Genuinely, it feels like they’ve done nearly everything but outright use any direct wording for his sexuality. He’s the only character they’ve gone this far with. Others get more vagueness or subtlety.

(From Majima’s)

(From Zhao’s)

I’ve talked to @04tenno quite a bit about this. And as usual, they’re the reason I know quite a bit, too.

Majima’s section is bizarre to me for immediately throwing out there that he’s a huge ladies’ man. (This was listed elsewhere in his section). Which is just… hilarious. Sure, plenty of irl female fans adore him, but in universe, he’s nothing of the sort and often interacts with women by using a more friendly tone of voice (probably to seem less intimidating) along with other behavioral changes. I also take up issue regarding the way the person who wrote this seems to completely downplay Majima and Kiryu’s relationship to the first game. But that’s a whole other conversation…

Zhao’s section feels incredibly different compared to the other two due to how the person writing it seems to completely lean into the potential signifiers and stereotypes surrounding him and includes other instances beyond that. There’s nothing about him being in a hostess club automatically meaning he’s attracted to women. As such, even a lot of dudebros seem to openly view Zhao as not being bisexual, but instead, straight up gay. This seems to be due to the fact that Zhao is never shown playing into the typical mainstream macho type stuff as opposed to Mine.

I didn’t take a screenshot, but Daigo even gets the assumed-to-be-into-women-because-he-was-next-to-one-treatment. While he went to hostess clubs, he looks so extremely despondent and out of the moment when we see him there. I can’t find it in me to assume he’s attracted to women just because he went to those types of clubs. His sexuality is totally up for debate as several others are as well. And we can all see him however we want. But, overall, immediately assuming things for such and such reasons starts to feel a little off to me. All in all, Mine gets this treatment the worse thanks to his sexuality actually being a big factor in his character.

[crossroads-of-the-raven]

Um ...

So how long ago did Sensei Garmadon sacrifice himself for Ninjago?

~~~~~

You know, how people close to Wu likely treated Garmadon like a normal person (dispite being destined for evil).

And, you know how Wu raised Morro from the age of 6/7 to something like 14/15.

Maybe their was a reason Morro possessed the night watchmen beyond, "he was there".

Or at least why he was messing with him before he did it.

Although maybe he just liked messing with people in life (like little Lloyd) and continued with his antics after he passed.

[flowerflamestars]

I don't know if my continued Rhys Efflorese babble gotten eaten so here it is again. (if I'm repeating myself I'm very very sorry)

Rhysand being so certain that Cassian and Azriel's Illyrian honor and loyalty will keep them on his side without having even a shred of awareness about what Illyrian honor even MEANS much less what it might mean if they feel that HE'S the one who betrayed them first. I'm not sure that Rhysand even has any concept of Illyrians beyond the asshole camp lords that Night put in charge. (Why were they freezing in the mud, huh, Rhys?! WHO PUT THEM THERE?! Why might they not be will to share their whole selves with the Prince of Night, huh Rhys?)

It says a lot about how much faith and respect they had for Shahar (I can't remember how to spell her name right now) that even though she didn't live among them as one of them, they still very much considered her theirs and believed she could (and would) make the future better for them. (This is a thought I had while reading Starlight: the House of the Wind is possessed by the ghost of Rhysand's sister and she's fucking Pissed at him)

Rhysand is very bad a cost-benefit analysis. Particularly because he doesn't seem to have any concept of what a 'cost' actually is, especially when it's someone else who'll be paying it. Or even what a benefit is really. (Dude, you have two business savvy, policially knowledgeable, intelligent humans who are personally invested in keeping Feyre safe. This would be a FANTASTIC opportunity to learn about the state of the human lands and kingdoms and formulate plans based on new information instead of, you know, deciding you already had a perfect plan despite the fact that you haven't talked to a single (not Feyre) human in at least 500 years.(*insert the "no it's the children who are wrong" Simpsons guy meme here*) Or that maybe there's this guy right here with friendly acquaintances all over the place that could be very useful if you weren't, you know, a shithead. But nope, slightly bruised pride too much cost)

Rhysand's desperation for Feyre to only see him in a very specific light is greatly aided by Feyre's equal determination to only see him in that exact light.

Rhysand thinking that, even after learning he fucked off to the continent and got arrested for gambling debts, bringing shit-head papa Archeron into the situation will keep ANYONE in line (kinda love that even though we're all, like, Everyone Gets a Name but then none of us will can shithead papa Archeron anything but shithead papa Archeron)

Rhysand hoping this situation that he doesn't want to deal with implodes while not comprehending that it will implode into A WHOLE NOTHER SITUATION

Do you think he's a bit baffled when Feyre comes to the conclusion that her sisters hate faeries? Like he's perfectly pleased with the situation and happy to roll with it because it'll drive a further wedge between her and her sisters do you think he looks at the perfectly polite chats with Cass and Az despite the glowing siphons and giant bat wings (plus the Shadows in Az's case) and the House Full of Blood Magic/ Lucien FUCKING Venserra situation and think "Whelp, I guess you've got an immortal lifetime to learn some observation skills" (not that she'll learn good observations skills from HIM anytime soon)

Rhysand thinking that Feyre loves and cares about these people and that therefore they are a THREAT to HIM instead of that meaning that he should maybe he should care about, or, a least, try to get along with them.

Elain just keeps smiling a playing the perfect hostess is nearly as infuriating as Nesta snarling in his face. Then she puts Cassian's knife to his throat. That's probably one of them most WTF moments of his life. (someone please tell the Illyrians that Elain held a knife to Rhysand's throat. They deserve knowledge that this tiny human girl was willing to pull a knife on a High Lord for her people (a people they are now part of))

Did he notice that Elain served him some funny tasting tea and just think nothing of it because human food is all shit to him? (Also Cassian had almost zero reaction to Nesta saying that Elain had tried to poison Rhysand, his High Lord/'brother')

(in your Nesta/Eris story, the Valkyrie priestess says something along the lines of "Rhian's sniveling brat son may think the world revolves around him but it doesn't" and "Shahar would be disappointed in him." These statements feel applicable this Rhysand (or all Rhysands really))

Rhysand is about to get a crash course in how loyalty is a two-way street. The Archerons' people (now including a bunch of awestruck Illyrians) are so ride-or-die for them because the Archerons are just as ride-or-die back.

All three of the Bat Boys are in the process of completely loosing their shit in different directions.

Side-note: When Elain offers Cassian tea and calls him sir and Cassian's like "WTF I'm not a sir" and Elain's like "It's a courtesy given to any man with a title" and Cassian's just "naw I don't have a title" and then in her head Elain's like "WTF in what world is General not a title?" It just makes me wonder about Cassian's (and by extension, Azriel's) actual place in the Night Court's (barely existent) court hierarchy.

Side-note the second: While mentioning the Night Court's barely existent government system the thought of Amren having secret peons in place helping keep the court running. It might have started as a bit of a game 'How much functioning government can I make before Rhysand actually notices" however I think it got boring pretty quick through a combination of, 'he barely ever notices anything not shoved directly under his nose' and mild concern that Rhysand might actually notice and stop her and the court will implode even faster than it already is (and she's gotten stupidly attached to some of these colorful insects and would like to keep them around a bit longer) (Side-side note: I'm SO hyped for Amren to meet the rest of the Archerons)

Side-note the third: if there's Archeron ships in Night then there's probably Archeron ships in Summer too right? That could spin the whole Summer-book theft debacle in... interesting ways. (I'm imagining Tarquin talking to Feyre about Archeron ships bringing in supplies to rebuild the city at greatly reduced transpiration fees or something and Feyre's just mentally like "wtf my sisters hate faeries why would they do that" (because she's still operating under that particular delusion) but (because Rhys thinks it's a good idea) she plays along like she knows about it or something and uses it to gain more of Tarquin's trust before, you know, Rhys's whole *brilliant* plan takes place. Imagine how abso-fucking-lutly pissed OFF, Nesta, Elain and Lucien would be. Like, the whole situation would already piss them all off but add in deliberately taking advantage their family's reputation and kindness to do it? Rhysand had better stay well out of stabbing distance. (Side-side-note: Tarquin's, like, less than one hundred right? The dude spent more than HALF is fucking life Under the Mountain. Give him a fucking BREAK.) (Side-side-side-note: Just popped into my head. What if there were babies BORN down there. Like, that's their whole life down there. I just realized that this isn't actually much of a what-if scenario because really we just have to look under Rhysand's OWN fucking mountain to see how that goes.)

I think that's all of the babble for the moment. <3

Oooo so much good stuff here! I'll try to go in order 💜

Rhys is canonically shitty about Illyria and the Illyrians! I almost feel like I'm hitting the bottom of the barrel to give it emotional nuance- Effloresce Rhys has wrapped together all his grief and ego into just. Complete bullshit. Nesta sees this immediately! ( Cassian and Az have. Had to live within this, which I'll get to)

But yeah, that's the center for him in so many ways: he has to The Most Right, Fully in Control, Always in Charge and also does not take responsibility for shit. Ever.

So he belittles it. A warrior culture? Savages. Mor blatantly using Cassian when they were young? Oh that drives Cassian crazy. Azriel is wildly fucked up? No, it's the fault of his childhood not his continued life! Cassian gets close to his literal soulmate? Are you fucking around with Feyre's sister, Cas?

One of my character things for Rhys is that he wants Everything just barely more than he wants nothing. He is SO voraciously is the center of his own world while being so utterly careless with that world. So there is no balance. There's just what Rhys wants.

And he wants Feyre so Feyre is also always right. And just. Canonically does not seem to value her sisters as people so much as auxiliary manifestations of her own self.

They're like her irksome pets Rhys has to deal with.

Cassian's actual rank is going to come back, but I would say that you could easily call Rhysands perspective on the Archeron alliance making 'huh, the dogs AREN'T smart enough to be afraid of bears, and I, a person, find this quaint'

(Elain is going to kill the fuck out of someone over this.)

Poison doesn't matter because Cassian chose a side basically the second he crossed the wall. Even without Nesta. (You could possibly say he has always had a side, and it has always been Nesta.) Further, Lucien absolutely clocked that blood! All these things add together, really.

As for Amren, she's less focused on a functioning government as she is invested in a broad outcome. She keeps her vows. She is, perhaps, playing an elaborate game of wondering what Rhys does and does not know.

Oooo Summer is a stop on the Elucien honeymoon diplomatic carpet bomb, actually. They're not actively trading there, but they're not unknown. Rhys is definitely still hunting the book to use Feyre's Super Specialness.

Tarquin is young and progressive! I know the books utilize this to be like 'oh, he'll give Rhys a chance', without ever clarifying if Tarquin or anyone knows the actual degree of Rhysands willing or unwilling cooperation with Amarantha. It doesn't make a ton of sense. I like to take it in another direction.

[crossroads-of-the-raven]

Ooooo

This just reminded me about the amount of times someone Kai trusts misrepresents or misinterpreted him.

Gonna make a list on of these days - or write a story (maybe both, IDK)

It honestly sucks that the show never full goes into just how tragic a character Kai is because even though you can see it if you examine his character; most people just take to heart all the bad things the characters say about Kai without any thought as to whether or not that character is misunderstanding Kai.

Example:

Kai is a protector who has been raising Nya since he was five.

Kai gave up all that he is (a child) and all that he has, or could have, for Nya to become what she needed (a caretaker).

Kai became a ninja to save Nya from Garmadon.

The Ninja are supposed to protect all of Ninjago.

The Green Ninja is supposed to be the best Ninja, in other words, the best protector.

The Green Ninja is supposed to save the world from Garmadon.

Thus, Kai wants to be the best protector to keep his sister safe.

Kai didn't get his True Potential because he swallowed his ego.

Kai's True Potential had been blocked because his focus on his goal was blinding him to the reason it existed in the first place.

Lloyd was in danger, a child was in danger, this is what broke him out of his narrow-minded focus, this is what reminded him of the reason for his goal in the first place.

Nya is Samurai X, and in a way, she no longer needed his protection.

But,

Kai is a protector, and Lloyd needed protecting so Kai protected him and earned his True Potential.

Now, going back to the original post.

Zane did what he did to protect Ninjago and the Ninja (his family).

Kai and the others are what is left behind.

One in isolation.

One in false joy.

And one drowning in sorrows, thinking, 'it should have been me'

Remember, in the Pilots, Kai is the last to join the team.

According to Cole, he Jay and Zane are a solid team by the time Kai arrives.

In a way, like Lloyd when he's taken in by Wu, Kai was the interloper intruding on a family that had already been built.

Who knows how long the Original Three were training together before Kai got there.

Perhaps, when Kai is thinking, 'it should have been me' - he might also be remembering just how much longer Cole and Jay have known Zane over himself.

Perhaps he thinks the team would still be together if it had lost the new member instead of the old one.

oh my fsm I just remembered that Lloyd told Kai that he was selfish for wanting to die in place of Zane in season four. oh no. ohhhhh no.

[rou-luxe]

the one thing grandpa silvio didn't pass down to jude was the misogyny ♡ we love to see it.

☝ hold that thought!! let me look at this objectively

analysis under the cut, spoilers for silvio's route

I like Silvio in general, but his condescending remarks can definitely be uncomfortable. Instead of the rest of the cast calling MC a "rabbit" or by name, he calls MC a "lady" (but not exactly in a polite way), in both English and Japanese. He rarely calls MC by name, if I remember correctly. It's been a while. I'm not sure what the devs had in mind, but from the surface, it would seem that he views MC more as a "lady", focusing on her gender, rather than seeing her as a person. Though I'm not sure what to say about "rabbit" 😭 I think "rabbit" and "robin" are cuter, though, they're more like endearing nicknames. (Alfons saying "robin" makes me melt)

Although arrogance is a key part of Silvio's character, it seems to be mainly towards MC only rather than the whole cast... he commands her to be his hostess despite her saying no, and the fact that Rio did it instead. Though this was mainly to punish Rio for what he did, did Silvio necessarily have to drag in MC? No. It was mainly for the plot... because MC wouldn't bear being around him otherwise.

Though Silvio does insult the other members of the cast to some degree, he doesn't force them to do anything. Sure, maybe some persuasion to get his plan in at the end of his route, but he's not as insistent on getting what he wants as he was with MC.

However... throughout his life, Silvio has never had a kindhearted woman around him. Despite being a prince, his upbringing had quite a few rough edges. His mother forced him to be hurtful towards Rio. Does that sound like a good mother to you? The main woman in his early life had a black heart, so he's always been skeptical of women. Silvio has had plenty of one-night stands (eg. waking up after one in the beginning scene of his path), but he's never had a deep relationship. It has been stated multiple times that the women who tried to seduce him were only after his money or his looks, not him as a person. Silvio didn't seem to really like his family either. He's always held disdain towards his parents, and his and Rio's relationship is more than complicated.

From his past relationships, I can at least conclude this: Silvio doesn't know how to love someone because he's never been loved. It has been stated multiple times that Silvio gets what he wants from money, that is the way he was raised and how his life had always worked. His wealth has always been the answer, and not knowing how to express himself, he showered MC with money. Silvio doesn't know how to show that he loves someone.

Though Silvio treats MC better near the end of his route, it still doesn't change the fact that he remains rather patronizing. They're an unexpected couple, and Silvio did have a few developments in the duration of his path.

That said, I like how Cybird always has a flaw or two in their characters. For example, Vincent, though seeming angelic and pure, cannot understand certain "humanly" emotional concepts (? I didn't finish his path). Clavis is not always the most cautious and will do the most reckless things to stick with what he believes.

TDLR; maybe Cybird went a bit too far with that one but I can't really hate Silvio for it because it can be explained

Jude though I am proud he's annoyed at everyone equally AGHGHGH 🗣🗣🔥

[clawbehavior]

been following the Netflix kdrama 'gyeongseong creature' which deals with the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1945 in a very clever way. it made me think of the devil judge and of the vitriol kang jisang has towards his son in particular.

what if yohan's mother had been Japanese? yohan's born in the late 70s/early 80s, so second generation from the invasion, when ethnic differences would still be sharply felt. it would add another dimension to yohan's ostracization from everyone. his father hating himself for falling prey to the sins of the flesh with someone he sees as abnormal/unclean (and here i draw from the korean-japanese couple in 'pachinko' where the wife bathes for several hours each time they have sex because of how her husband has defiled her body by being korean). this whole dynamic would be further complicated by class differences, since yohan's mother is a hostess.

obvs the show never suggested this and yohan is self aware enough to have brought this detail up if it were true. but it's an interesting what if/what could've been. it could explain why he doesn't make any mention of searching for and finding his mother. because what if he did but he realized that being biracial in this way was another strike against him so he let it go once he realized she also didn't want him

tagging @briwates because of your rich study and analysis of yohan's mother

[nico00235]

"Oh Lord, Oh savior, save me from the fever my body took as theirs"

This is a redraw of something i came up from an analysis i made about how the kids from LMK are something like the 4 horsemen of Apocalypse

MK being Famine Mei being Pestilence Red Son being War And Bai He/LBD hostess being Death

dont´mind me, my brain is recently being a little bit more silly than usual

[crossroads-of-the-raven]

It also makes more sense for it to be his middle name because the first, Last Name, you say is the one you go by.

That's why most western people's names are ordered like this:

First Name | Middle Name | Father's Last Name | Mother's Last Name

Judging by how Wu said Lloyd's name ---

If Misako's maiden name is Montgomery then Lloyd is: Lloyd Montgomery

If it's not Misako's maiden name then Lloyd is: Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon

And suddenly, Wu, the Ninja, and Pixal are able to Middle Name, Lloyd.

Clearly, one can see the funnier option.

~

~

~

~

~

P.S.

If you really want Montgomery to be Misako's maiden name, then Lloyd's name needs to be written:

Lloyd Garmadon Montgomery

And

If you try to argue Eastern name order, then the name would still have to be changed to:

Garmadon Lloyd

~

Personally, I'm sticking with the ability to, Middle Name, Lloyd - it's to funny to give up.

Montgomery is Misako's maiden name

Mayhaps, but it's far more funnier to believe that it's his middle name.

[pegasusdrawnchariots]

To answer your thoughts on the "eat a fruit" scene: I think it's something about the fact that eating something at someone's house means that you consider that house your friend and trust them, and thus the Count refusing repeatedly to eat anything despite Mercedes' attempts makes it quite clear that he does not consider the Morcerf family a friend! Personally I think it's more about Fernand than it is about Mercedes, but I think Mercedes interpreted it as Edmond saying that he doesn't trust her, specifically (that might also be true; I think the Count/Edmond, for the most of the book, was trying to convince himself that he hated or was neutral at best towards Mercedes, but despite it all he can't help but care about her. Refusing to eat the fruit and honor their hospitality and friendship he's probably also trying to convince himself that Mercedes is not his friend but his enemy)

Okay wow sorry that got long, I forgot how much I love this book lmao

Nothing to be sorry for, friend! I love this book too & could read analysis of it all day ^_^

Ooh yes, I see what u mean! I agree that it was partly about Fernand, especially while Monte Cristo was out circulating in the party & everyone could see him Not Eating & gossip about it (even though when the news got back to Mercédès, she mentioned feeling insulted as the hostess. So it was definitely partly a snub).

But then when they're alone in the garden, no-one is there to witness how insistently Monte Cristo refuses even a bite! ...except Mercédès. It's no longer a public snub against the house of Morcerf — it's personal, his animosity extends to her, & he wants her to know it. Going on yr parenthesis, it seems to me now a very clear "we are not friends, no matter the past we share" message (although Mercédès is Mercédès & she is not one to take that lying down lol)

[reikunrei]

"...the most scared out of all of us."

Several months ago, when I first started playing around with Doctor Who analysis as it pertained to Stranger Things, I decided to watch one of my favorite episodes for fun:

Season 4, Episode 11: Midnight

I posted some screenshots of it because some of the lines/ideas presented in it are very.... y'know. And while I didn't go into the episode with any memory of similarities to st, I found myself surprised by the number of shared details between the two shows. So, I figured... why not make a little postie about it?

So, the episode stars the Doctor and his companion, Donna, visiting a crystalline planet named Midnight. Donna stays behind for a spa day at the so-called "Leisure Palace" that's been erected as a tourist spot while the Doctor goes on a many-hours-long shuttle tour to a sapphire waterfall. The planet itself is extremely dangerous with an entirely uninhabitable atmosphere - there is absolutely no life on the planet, aside from visitors who are in highly equipped buildings and vehicles that stave off the literally vaporizing planet exterior.

Thus, with Donna staying behind, the Doctor is now alone with a bus full of strangers, who tuck in for their long trek to the crystal falls.

Just to get the other characters out of the way for clarity's sake, we have the hostess, a lone passenger named Sky, husband and wife Biff and Val Kane and their son Jethro, and Professor Hobbes and his assistant Dee Dee. There's also a driver and a mechanic on board who are in the cockpit.

The driver explains to them all that they're taking a slight detour, as part of the usual path has been obstructed by debris, and they begin their venture into totally uncharted territory.

While normally the bus has myriad entertainment for the long trip, the Doctor, using his Sonic Screwdriver, shuts down the overwhelming number of devices, which results in all of the passengers talking and getting to know each other better. We get several short scenes of everyone talking and laughing, sharing stories and such. Most notably, the Doctor sits with Sky over lunch and they chat about why they're there. The Doctor explains he didn't come here alone, he's with Donna, but she didn't want to come along the tour. Sky explains that she's recently become single because "she (her partner) needed her own space" and is still getting used to traveling alone.

Prof. Hobbes even gives a brief presentation on the planet Midnight. It's his specialty, and he's been on this exact tour to the falls 14 times now.

This is emphasized a lot through the episode: there's no life on the planet, no one has ever set foot on it or touched it in any actual way, and they really don't know what's out there, aside from the general agreement that there shouldn't be any life that can exist on its surface. As I said earlier, they've even taken a path different from the normal route, so they wind up in places that literally no one has ever been before.

While it's confirmed that both the UD and Dimension X contain forms of life in the shape of the democreatures and the Shadow, the sentiment reminded me a lot of Vecna's whole "unspoiled by mankind" thing; and Henry's exclamation in the VR game that "there's life" in the UD, as if it's a surprise.

Then, suddenly, the bus stops. It shudders, the lights flicker briefly, and they come to a halt for seemingly no reason. Everyone is immediately concerned, especially Sky, who snaps that there's "no point in denying it" when Prof. Hobbes explains that the buses never stop on these tours.

The Doctor weasels his way into the cockpit to talk to the driver and mechanic to see what's up, and they all confirm that nothing is actually wrong, they've simply stopped. As they're stopped, the Doctor goads the driver into lifting the screens on the windows (as seen in the last screenshots) just to get a glimpse of the planet in the few minutes of safety they have behind the glass. However, the mechanic spots something strange.

No further comment necessary.

When the Doctor returns to the other passengers, Sky is still agitated. Dee Dee probes him on his explanation that the engines are "just stabilizing" because they're "micropetrol" engines that don't stabilize. When Prof. Hobbes further asks what's wrong, the Doctor gives a non-answer. Someone throws out the question of how much air they have; Val and Biff overhear and ask, frantic, what they just said. Even the hostess gives a non-answer when asked if they're running out of air, what's going on, etc. etc., until everyone, frightened, begins yelling over one another. The Doctor quiets everyone down and Dee Dee explains that these buses are designed to filter air so they won't run out, shutting down that fear. However, they still don't know why they've stopped.

Then, something bangs on the outside of the bus - two knocks. Prof. Hobbes and Dee Dee try to explain it away with the metal of the bus cooling/settling or rocks falling on the sides. However, the banging happens again and again, moving down the length of the bus. Again, it's (allegedly) impossible for anyone to be outside. The knocking even moves to the back emergency exit, where it begins trying to rattle with the door handle.

"It" is what "Henry" calls the Shadow in TFS rather than "he."

The banging moves to the roof of the bus before trying the main entrance. Biff knocks on the door three times, and the mystery knocking returns the three knocks. The Doctor knocks four times, and it returns four times. Now it's confirmed that it's something sentient. Sky is especially freaked out by this.

When the bus finally settles again, Jethro notices that Sky is sitting, crouched, on the floor at the front of the bus with her hands on her head. The seats around her have been ripped off the floor, as if by some unnatural strength. The Doctor approaches her to comfort her, telling her they're alright and the wall of the bus is still intact, though horribly dented inward.

The hostess can't get ahold of the driver, and thus tries the door to the cockpit, only to find that it's been entirely ripped off of the front of the bus. They slam the door shut before anyone can get sucked out. Thankfully, a distress signal and their location had already been sent out, but the driver and mechanic are dead, "reduced to dust." Like they were...... dematerialized......

The Doctor re-approaches Sky in an attempt to get her to come out of hiding. Jethro comments that the knocking has stopped, but what if that means it's now inside? "It was heading for her," he says as he nods toward Sky, who the Doctor is finally pulling out of hiding. However, when she turns to look at them all, she's unnatural. Her gaze flicks rapidly between everyone as she stares, wide-eyed and blank, like she's studying them. The Doctor cocks his head at her, and she cocks hers back. He asks her name, and she repeats it back to him.

He begins asking if she's hurt, etc., and she repeats the same questions and phrases right back to him. When the others start speaking, she whips her head toward them and echoes their words as well.

Again, no further comment necessary, aside from a quick link to Em's post about doppelgangers and making a special highlight of "when One kills, he consumes."

This continues to frighten everyone, who begin talking over each other and yelling at Sky to stop copying them when she, obviously, continues. Jethro gleefully begins shouting silly things to get her to repeat, specifically yelling "666." Ah, Victor Creel, emo kid Colin Morgan would've believed you when you said it was a demon.

Only when the backup power system kicks on does everyone get startled out of their panic, but as the hostess is telling everyone to calm down, they find that Sky's condition has progressed...

Here I also want to point out the growing change in Sky's physical demeanor. At first, as seen in the previous set of screenshots, her expression is fairly blank. However, as seen above, she starts to appear almost smug. And this continues through the episode; even the cadence of her voice is almost sing-song-y and smarmy. This isn't actually pointed out in the show, nor is there any clear explanation offered, but in my opinion it's likely due to the entity feeding off of/finding glee in the fear its behavior instills in the passengers, and likely beginning to pull from the actual personalities of the people on board to form something other than a blank slab repeating words.

The Doctor speaks with to her directly again, asking if it's really Sky, asking how she's doing this, and pondering what the "next stage" is. When someone asks if it's not Sky anymore, the Doctor says he doesn't think so and ushers everyone to the back of the bus, as far away from Sky as possible (though this doesn't stop her from echoing them).

The Doctor urges them to not even look at Sky, and Dee Dee quotes Christina Rossetti's "Goblin Market," specifically the lines, "We must not look at goblin men, we must not buy their fruits: Who knows upon what soil they fed Their hungry thirsty roots." I don't quite have the bandwidth to delve deeper into this whole poem, as it's quite long, but shout out to the word "roots."

Another shout out to the word "sick" here, especially when we were told earlier in the episode that Sky is queer. Thank you Stav for your words in the words show analysis.

Much like how the Shadow was confirmed in TFS to feed off of fear/is triggered by fear, this entity clearly sought out the fear in Sky and found her a suitable target. It's never outright confirmed or explained, but this is a fairly easy assumption to reach based off of how frantic Sky was, more so than anyone else on board. As for "monster" getting struck down in favor of her just being a woman... well, no further comment necessary, once again.

The Doctor speaks to everyone about how while there's a consciousness inside of Sky, she might still be in there and they have to help her. However, everyone is too afraid to get near her, to the point that the hostess suggests they throw her out instead. Val cries about how she can't even look at Sky's eyes (a sentiment that's been stated already and comes up again; they're frightened by how she's looking at them, which reminds me of the weirdness with eyes and eye-color changing in ST that James and Em have spoken about).

There's a lot of back and forth, with most people hesitantly then enthusiastically agreeing that they should throw her out, because maybe if they kill the physical body, it'll remove the threat, but the Doctor pleads with them not to kill anyone. He asks if they really want to meet this new life form and show they're just a bunch of murderers, or will they decide they're better than that?

Ultimately, all fearful, they, one by one, agree that they could, in fact, throw her out with no remorse.

So much good st2 language, mwah tasty.

When people still don't back down, the Doctor says they'll have to go through him first if they want to throw out Sky, and everyone sorta just goes "...okay." The Doctor asks, again, if any of them could really grab hold of someone and chuck them out the door. His insistence begins making them suspicious, and they all start to turn on him. The Doctor insists he's frightened and confused just like them; he isn't in on this, he's not "working with" Sky, but he, trying to hide his identity and being naturally fascinated by this never-before-seen lifeform, only makes them more wary of him. Val even says that "his eyes are the same as hers... It's a symptom!" and he's accused of lying from the very start of their trip. They all begin to believe that he's somehow involved with what's going on with Sky and threaten to throw him out with her.

Then, Jethro, again, notices a change.

She's latched onto the Doctor alone, likely because of his heightened fear due to having his life threatened. Val once again uses this as evidence that they're working together, but the Doctor ignores her and crouches in front of Sky. He asks her why she's "captured" his speech. He wonders if the entity has picked up that he's the smartest one there as a Time Lord rather than a human, and maybe it's chosen him because he's the only one who can help, whether it be giving the entity "life or form or consciousness or voice," and insists she doesn't have to "steal" it. However, he also sees the look in her eyes, and gets the feelings it's not help the entity wants.

He promises to help her, asking "Do we have a deal?" But the words come out of Sky's mouth first.

When the others ask the Doctor what's happening, Sky answers first, saying, "I think it's moved. I think it's letting me go." As they speak to Sky, they all come to the conclusion that this entity has moved from her and into the Doctor instead. Dee Dee, however, seems unconvinced. She's ignored, though, in favor of listening to Sky as she expresses that she's "coming back to life."

When they get Sky back onto her feet, this conversation ensues:

It's a lot of similar language to stuff about the UD and the flayings, especially irt Will in st2 and Henry listed as being "possessed" in the Weekly Watcher and possibly having an exorcism. I continue to be shocked by how so many episodes in Doctor Who revolve around concepts that are so akin to the Shadow.

Sigh. Once again, no additional comment necessary, aside from another Stav post about blood.

I want to emphasize the change in pronoun use. Throughout ST, most often the Mind Flayer/Shadow and Vecna have had "he" used for both of them, as they've become conflated. However, in TFS, "it" is solely used to refer to the Shadow. Throughout this dw episode, "it" and "she" were used quite interchangeably when speaking about Sky, and same here, we get this use of "it" and "he" for the Doctor, starting out separate with "it went into him" until he just becomes one whole entity under "he." It's conflating things, narrowing it down to be "easier to understand."

Dee Dee shouts that it's not the Doctor who's doing it, he's "just repeating." However, that's what it did the first time, so it's the same this time, right? Dee Dee disagrees, saying that this seems like the progression the Doctor talked about earlier; this is the next stage, not the entity having moved to a new host.

Val, frustrated, insists that she saw it move from her to him, despite none of them having seen such a thing, simply assuming it instead. Even Jethro is hesitant to agree with his mom, but ultimately does so when she pushes him. Everyone begins arguing as Dee Dee continues to say that it's not inside the Doctor, and Sky smugly says that, "That's how he does it. He makes you fight. Creeps into your head... and whispers... inside." It's all very “Henry” being goaded into killing animals by the Shadow in TFS, and the Shadow and Shadow Brenner talking to and taunting Henry in the VR game.

Being egged on and having their assumptions confirmed by Sky, Biff grabs the Doctor and begins dragging him toward the door to throw him out. The Doctor, now frozen due to being controlled/taken over by the entity, cannot fight back and simply continues repeating what Sky says.

However, Sky begins saying things that, through the episode, were established as being things the Doctor specifically says (the phrases "molto bene" and "allons-y" being common catchphrases in this episode and through David Tennant's three seasons). The hostess takes immediate notice of this, since she was present for the times he used these phrases, and she finally really realizes that Sky has taken his voice. Under the clamor, Sky is saying that, "The starlight waits! The emptiness. The Midnight sky."

Acting fast, the hostess rushes Sky and grabs her, hits the button to the emergency exit door, and throws out herself and Sky. The door automatically shuts behind them before anyone else can be affected by the atmosphere, instantly cutting off the Doctor from the entity, and he falls to the floor, muttering that, "It's gone, it's gone..."

Golly, did I say this post would be little? Sorry, I am incapable of making these posts without listing out the entire plot of the episodes so you guys have full context! Anyway.

What I really wanted to talk about irt this episode was the immense focus on fear, and specifically fear of the unknown and how that makes people behave in illogical, dangerous ways. It's a lot of knee-jerk reactions and wanting to swiftly remove the threat before fully understanding what the threat actually is. We don't even know if Sky could have actually been saved! She very well may have still been alive underneath the entity, but in the mess of everything, they couldn't take the time to figure it out and actually try to save her.

Obviously, all of that made me think of things with the Shadow, and especially of Will in st2 when he fully changes as a person/seems to be entirely taken over with everyone else being hard-pressed to break through to him.

However, more specifically, everything else about it just screams the situation around Henward, and specifically what we see in TFS.

"Henry" is dealing with something unknown having taken over his mind and body, feeling urges that do not belong to him that he's being pushed into anyway. But what drives the mess deeper and deeper is the fact that people (Virginia, Patty, etc.) are frightened of him. They think it's him and not something else making him do these awful things. They refuse to actually help him, or even listen to him to figure out what would actually best help him, thus condemning him... essentially to death, just like Sky, all because they simply don't understand and are scared of that.

They listen to their own fear instead of understanding that Henry is scared too. This is also an issue with the fandom at large, but we won’t get into that rn.

Similarly, the Party and the rest of our main cast are, understandably, scared of Vecna. However, it’s clouded their judgement. We all know I’m a huge proponent of the “there’s more than one guy” theory, and thus this issue of conflating people and things leads to poor decisions when it comes to trying to fix the issue, ultimately resulting in a worse outcome.

In Midnight, the rest of the passengers, terrified and frazzled, believe the first and simplest solution presented to them: the entity has left Sky and instead entered the Doctor. Therefore, if they throw the Doctor out of the bus, the problem will be solved; they'll be safe. However, obviously, this isn't the case, and due to their misunderstanding, they would turn a completely innocent man to dust and still have the entity residing among them.

Similarly, in st4, we're presented with a "new" villain: Vecna. Our team has discovered that the source behind everything that's happened to them is this one guy locked in another dimension, hidden in (more or less) plain sight. He is wreaking havoc and boasting about it, but it feels like a very big, flashy way to cover up another, more long-existing villain that's been present since the start of the show: HNL and, specifically, Brenner.

Take a victim -> Push him into unsavory acts -> Mold him into a villain, whether in real life or in retellings (lies) of his existence -> Hide in his shadow and fall out of focus.

It all feels a little too planned, y'know? Because the beginning of everything can always be traced back to the lab, but suddenly it's like everyone has forgotten the roots of the tree and decided to chop off one of the branches and call it good.

Which leads me into a brief thought I had about NINA when I was watching this dw episode, which was spurred by the characters claiming their voices were "stolen" or "captured" by Sky. Especially once Sky fully captured the Doctor's voice and was speaking "on her own." She uses his voice to goad the others into killing him, which, presumably, would have given the entity full control/absorption of his voice.

I've said it already, but the goading feels very akin to TFS Brenner saying things to Henry like "you liked it" irt killing animals, putting words in his mouth and conflating Henry's personal feelings with the desires of the Shadow. Or even of the Shadow and Shadow Brenner taunting Henry in the VR game, telling him that he always loved snapping bones and killing things, but we never actually hear Henry confirm this. The Shadow and Brenner are often "stealing" Henry's voice by way of putting words in his mouth and thoughts in his head that he wouldn't have on his own.

But circling back to NINA specifically, it makes me think of Henward being used as a puppet for Brenner's meddling. Brenner has stolen Henward's voice, his looks, his mannerisms, in order to say and do things that Henward may never have said or done on his own in order to paint a specific picture for El.

And, again, because El is scared, because she doesn't understand what's going on or have the resources to even try, she simply lashes out. Remove the threat and she'll be safe. No matter if this is the real threat; he's an immediate threat in her eyes, therefore he's her target. Killing him is the closest answer she has to "solving" everything.

It's high-stakes situations, fear of the unknown, and mob mentality that results in the passengers on Midnight and our Hawkins gang having their knees knocked out from under them. Without taking the time to think, to stay calm, to mull over their options, they will always come to the wrong conclusions and not fix things like they hoped.

In st4, they're scared and on a time crunch, and with only some of the necessary information at their disposal, they're going to work with what they've got, even if they'd find contradictions if they looked just a little bit harder. They have their immediate threat, someone they can point at and see harm happening because of them, so why see if there's someone else hiding in his shadow? Why waste their, quite literally, precious time when they can, theoretically, still do good with what they have?

[haggishlyhagging]

A few years ago one Robert Byrn, a 40-year-old professor of criminal law at Fordham University, took it upon himself to represent all human fetuses between the fourth and twenty-fourth week of gestation scheduled to be aborted in New York City municipal hospitals. Byrn was himself represented by attorney Thomas Ford, who made the following statement: "The fetus might well be described as an astronaut in a uterine spaceship." As Ellen Frankfort aptly comments:

It takes a certain kind of imagination to assume guardianship for something lodged within another's body—a rather acquisitive proprietary imagination that fits right in with the conception of a woman as a spaceship and the contents of her womb as an astronaut.

The astonishing Byrn incident and the analogy made by his attorney merit some attention for the light they throw upon the deceptions of male myth. Since an astronaut is perceived as the captain of a "vessel," there is a desire to see the fetus as controlling the woman. Moreover, the image of the astronaut in a spaceship is interesting also because in this image the "captain" is very much controlled by other males outside the spaceship (for example, politicians, economists, scientists, flight surgeons, engineers). This makes the analogy particularly "appropriate" in its perverse way, for the fetus is maintained in control of the woman by males outside (for example, politicians, legislators, priests, doctors, social workers, counselors, husbands, "lovers"). Moreover, the analogy involves deceptively circular reasoning, making it doubly appropriate in this doublethink context. For here, a biological event—the presence of the fetus in the uterus—is imaged as "like," that is, imitative of, a technological event—the presence of an astronaut in a spaceship. This elicits an obvious question: Is the astronaut in the spaceship an attempt to imitate the situation of the fetus in the uterus? Elsewhere I have shown that there is (unacknowledged) evidence in ethical writings on abortion of a widespread male tendency to identify with fetuses. This merits further analysis.

There are clues about the source of this fetal identification syndrome (which is frequently fatal for women unable to obtain needed abortions) in Frankfort's description of Byrn as "a childless man who seeks to guard unwanted fetal tissue." Males do indeed deeply identify with "unwanted fetal tissue," for they sense as their own condition the role of controller, possessor, inhabitor of women. Draining female energy, they feel "fetal." Since this perpetual fetal state is fatal to the Self of the eternal mother (Hostess), males fear women's recognition of this real condition, which would render them infinitely "unwanted." For this attraction/need of males for female energy, seen for what it is, is necrophilia—not in the sense of love for actual corpses, but of love for those victimized into a state of living death.

Frankfort's description of Byrn as "childless" also merits scrutiny. For it is the condition of all males to be childless, and there is evidence that this condition is experienced as disturbing to those who are obsessed with reproduction of the male self (which should not be confused with any genuine desire to care for and energize another being). Indeed there are male authors who are very willing (perhaps too willing) to attest to the anxiety of males over their childless state. Philip Slater, for example, writes of "this vulnerability of the male in the sphere of worldly immortality which gives rise to the concept of the 'external soul,' so prominent in magic and mythology." According to his view, a woman need not guess whether something of herself continues on in a new organism, for she can see the child emerge from her own body:

Thus if one translates "soul" in these stories as "that part of me which will live on after I die," the woman initially holds her "soul" within herself. It is only the man whose "soul" always resides outside of himself.

Thus "as men have been lamenting for centuries, his immortality is out of his own control."

According to this view, then, males identify the "immortal" soul with biological offspring, and women should feel fortunate in their role as incubators, shells, hotels, youth hostels, homes, hatcheries for human souls. I have already suggested that it is dangerous for women to accept reductionist theories about the male propensity for "womb envy." Thus it should arouse suspicion that Karen Horney's "womb envy" theory (with which she countered Freud's proposition of "penis envy") has been eagerly adopted by some liberal males (for example, Philip Slater). The problem with such a theory is that the implied criticism stops short of being a genuine feminist analysis. Hags must learn to double-double unthink (Andrea Dworkin's phrase)—that is, to go past the obvious level of male-made reversals and find the underlying Lie. Thus it is a pitfall simply to reverse "penis envy" into "womb envy," for such theories trick women into fixating upon womb, female genitalia, and breasts as our ultimately most valuable endowments. Not only disparagement, but also glorification of women's procreative organs are expressions of male fixation and fetishism. These disproportionate attitudes are also demonically deceptive, inviting women to re-act with mere derivative fetishism, instead of deriding these fixations and focusing upon the real "object" of male envy, which is female creative energy in all of its dimensions. Male hatred of women expressed in such fetishized forms hides the deeper dimensions of envy, which remain unacknowledged. Thus we hear one male say of another's "project" or invention, "That's his baby." We also hear men describe the books, papers, articles of other men as "pregnant" with meaning. Such deceptive expressions provide clues to the deeper levels of deception. They suggest that the procreative power which is really envied does in fact belong primarily to the realm of mind/spirit/ creativity. Yet this envy is not necessarily a desire to be creative, but rather to draw—like fetuses— upon another's (the mother's) energy as a source. Thus men who identify as mothers (that is, supermothers controlling biological mothers) are really protecting their fetal selves. They wish to be the fetuses/ astronauts and the supermothers/ ground commanders, but not the biological vessels/ spaceships which they relegate to the role of controlled containers, and later discard as trash.

-Mary Daly, Gyn/Ecology

[crossroads-of-the-raven]

In all fairness, that blimp can out fly Dr. Beeman's human made UFO which is designed to behave like an actual Alien ship.

That and as of TSS Season 2 the Saturdays can now turn the blimp invisible (Komodo's reluctance aside)

(IIRC they also usually fly above cloud cover)

P.S. What if Epsilon's people were the ones keeping Ben's identity secret every time it looks like Ben should have been discovered in the OG and AF series

I have so much fun drawing them!!

[queenoffishingandcookies]

Umineko AU Ramblings - Genderbent Ushiromiya Family

If You Do Not Like Genderbending, Please Look Away. I'll Try My Best To Avoid Spoilers, But Please Read At Your Own Risk.

Sometimes I think about genderbending Umineko and how fucked up the dynamics would be. For the sake of simplicity and avoiding spoilers for anything during/post Alliance, I'm just looking at the Ushiromiya Family, here.

This is just me rambling here, not a true deep analysis of the characters. There'll probably be lines of thought that go nowhere.

For reasons, Kinzo would remain the same sex. However, everyone from the main family down, wouldn’t be. (Gender, on the other hand, is potentially a different story and an AU of a genderbent AU).

Krauss, Eva, Rudolf, and Rosa would be the opposite sex they are in canon. As would George, Battler, Jessica, Maria, and Ange.

This alone would massively change the family’s dynamics. Considering Kinzo���s misogynistic outlook and the fact that Japan is a primarily patriarchal society - the upbringing of the adult generation as kids, their adolescence and young adulthood, to their marriages and the birth of the cousin’s generation is all made different.

Krauss, as a girl, wouldn’t have the same sense of superiority over the rest of Kinzo’s children as he does in canon. As eldest, sure she’d have some power - but as a girl, in Kinzo’s eyes - and depending on the circumstances, even the family elders who named Kinzo as a puppet head - what use was she as an heiress?

She’d marry out of the family - or in normal cases, should have - to supply the Ushiromiya family with further connection in the upper class’s world of riches and politics.

You know who would actually, in their youth, have the most ‘power’?

Eva.

As a boy, even if Kinzo didn’t care much or pay much attention to his kids, again depending on how involved the elders were - influencing or alternatively abusing their mother with high expectations, because Kinzo had to have learned some prejudices and bias from somewhere, in turn leading to the mother’s strict expectations - Eva would have been raised as heir, not Krauss.

Whereas both Fem! Krauss and Fem! Rudolf would be expected to learn domestic skills and the basics of academics, focus on thought of child rearing and homemaking household management, becoming deft hostesses able to keep keen eyes on connections and silent lips for others but their husbands when requested -

Out of them all, it would be Eva who was expected to carry on the illustrious name of the Ushiromiya’s after Kinzo, have it soar to heights which surpassed that of its former wealth lost to the quakes. For some time, he’d be the only son in a household of three children, a single boy between two daughters.

If not by Kinzo, Eva would have been raised by his mothers - by the elders, potentially - that he was going to be the heir over his sisters, that he would continue the family name and was expected to bring them greatness through his intelligence, something that his sisters could only do in marrying well to wealthy, well-connected men.

While his sisters would be allowed to attend high school, it was Eva who would be afforded a higher education - a proper gentleman’s education. The girls wouldn’t be, had no need to be given such a thing.

Krauss, as a girl, would marry out of the family. So would Rudolf. Eva was going to be the heir, as his mother and the elders said - in this way, they would make the family - make their father - proud.

He was going to the heir.

(Which would really burn when he wasn’t, when Krauss didn’t marry out of the register, when Kinzo, for whatever damned reason, had her spouse marry into the Ushiromiya family rather than his eldest daughter out of it).

(By all means, legally he never even declared a direct heir. It’s assumed at first that it goes to Eva, and then, after Krauss’ marriage and remaining on the register, to the oldest child - strange, but not unheard of).

(I haven’t though much on it, except, perhaps, to say that Kinzo’s reason would be pure spite towards the elders - and then, simply, a lack of caring. What did it matter to him, any of it? The family, the wealth, the prestige…it was his only in name, his body forced to sow the crops the elders got to reap for their own profit).

Like their canon counterparts, though:

It’s not just Eva who is extremely prideful. Both Krauss and Rudolf are prideful, stubborn, as well.

All of the haughty superiority that Krauss throws into being the eldest, being the heir? This gets burned down into a need to prove herself as the perfect young lady, the most desirable, proper bachelorette of the upper echelons of society. The inner economy of running a household, rearing children, being a hostess - that is what she would strive for. But, similar to Eva in canon, I don't think Fem! Krauss would settle for, on several accounts, being deemed lesser than her younger brother.

She'd fight in becoming the most perfect, lovely lady - so that Kinzo and the elders could hold nothing against her, if she wished to achieve further education. What she would look into learning, I'm not sure - but it's still something to at the very least consider, whether she would strive for higher education or not.

(lowkey thinking of Eva and Krauss attending the same university or college, just to potentially get on the other's nerves and show how they are 'that much more' superior to the other).

It wouldn't give much leverage over Eva, no - why would he even deign to give the thought of a girl's know-how time out of his day? an attitude that later bites him in the ass because his only child is a girl - but leverage over Rudolf? Potentially. There, there we have things to look at.

Rudolf, as a lady, is still an incorrigible flirt. Still able to charm the pants off of literally most people - a lady by her sex, and a cougar, a carnivore, otherwise. A smoky mafia lady vibe. Flirtatious and brusque, almost. Her etiquette and the snubbing of it (examples being smoking, a bit rough and lackadaisical in regards to housekeeping and being a hostess).

Different from Krauss and Eva, Rudolf would just barely toe the line of societal propriety of an upper class lady - quite the modern woman. She'd know it all, embroidery and all that - but she'd utilize it like a spider building a web, snakes coiling around prey and paralyzing them with venom. Charming, skilled if a bit lazy at it - and deceptively clever, but deadly.

Something Krauss had reason to chide her on, at least.

A cunning flirt, to make up for Krauss' cutting etiquette and Eva's blindingly superior holier-than-thou everything. Lusting to make up for a lack of love, or affection - which, while I can't say it wasn't there, there likely wasn't much of it in the Ushiromiya Household. Just, pride and expectations and cold limitations put down as law.

That behavior they grew into is comprised of their upbringing, and attempts to - at least in part - fill voids left in them by fair lack of warmth from certain people (elders, parents, you know), and filled only with harsh and high expectations and strict limitations. Which isn't to say that at least their mother didn't care, but I still have to think on that since we get zero information of the Ushiromiya Matriarch.

Rosa would get the short end of the stick, born with a pretty decent age difference between Rudolf, who is the 'baby' of the older siblings - and all of his siblings would have their own issues by this point, learned to weaponize haughtiness and a sharp tongue and intellect and charm and lust as shields and tools.

This poor kid would be so soft, so defenseless, compared to them. Up until the circumstances involving a stuffed animal, the forest, and Maria's mom (in this case). This is me trying to avoid spoilers, because I've been there and it sucked.

I can't really say much about Rosa, here, because I just don't have a good grasp on her character. Like I said, I was spoiled for Umineko just after finishing watching Banquet - and that was some time ago, it's only recently I've begun rewatching a no-commentary playthrough (and it's primarily through the fanfiction on A03. That, more than anything else, it what inspired me to pick Umineko up again).

The siblings alone, the ways they were raised along with the expectations for them, how they coped with it - all of it is very complex in canon, and it changes with their sex, in some ways minutely and in other ways, majorly.

Then we get to look at their marriages. Which occurs after Kinzo's miraculous revival of the Ushiromiya Family's wealth - after slowly loosening and severing the puppet strings of the elders (those alive, at least?) wrapped around his limbs - and the dynamics of the family change.

Kinzo remains silent, as to the matter of naming the heir - and while Eva holds tight to the belief, and even taunts his elder sister for not yet having married...there's a sort of unstability in the air, only furthered by worsening tensions between Kinzo and his wife - and Kinzo, often, disappearing on business trips from their home.

Then comes the acquisition of Rokkenjima by Kinzo, the construction of the mansion....for reference, the Ushiromiya Mansion is built in the 1950's - '52?

The Ushiromiya family is elite, having a personal island and the head of them all is a man infamous for his sheer luck in investing and gaining great wealth in a fairly short amount of time post-war. Still, Kinzo is silent about a heir - silent about his eldest marrying outside the family....

Usually, usually, woman in japan marry outside of the family register. So first and foremost, looking at a genderbent AU, why wouldn't Krauss and Rudolf marry into the spouses' family register?

Starting with Krauss:

Canonically, Krauss marries Natsuhi because he needs a wife to have a child. Natsuhi is essentially forced into this marriage, because her family is in dire financial straits. The marriage is an arranged one, essentially meant to solve two issues. The money issue for Natsuhi's family, and the heir issue for the Ushiromiya's.

In a genderbent AU, things would work...considerably differently.

Natsuhi's family would, quite likely, be in a similar situation - but this is a demerit on their end, because it holds no benefit to Kinzo or the Ushiromiya family. By marrying Krauss off to a member of Natsu's family, a line of shinto priests (and, if I'm not wrong, once-nobles?), there's no connections in other circles of society, no wealth awaiting his daughter or a boon to the family. From a utilitarian viewpoint, it would be a worthless match...

Considering Kinzo had already thrown off the elders by now, unless he was still in the process of trying to do so, it wouldn't be even enough to spite them (unless he was going down the whole 'spite their memory' route).

So, why Krauss and Natsuhi in this au? Why would they still be Ushiromiya's? Unless, even branch family's who no longer carry the name would be there - as in Eva = heir - but I'm aiming for somewhat close to canon here, working off the assumption that Krauss + Natsuhi are still the main household - not Eva + Hideyoshi.

Then again, it could be that Kinzo compares both Natsuhi and Eva. Eva having been groomed by the elders, but Natsuhi...Natsuhi, possibly, untouched by them. Perhaps throwing a bone to an old business partner, or even just lack of really caring...that bares a lot of thinking on, trying to get more insight as to Kinzo's point of view.

That would imply a projection of disdain, of hate or anger, upon his kids though. I'm...pretty sure Kinzo just, didn't care about them much, canonically? I'm aware he was physically abusive, and the effects that had on the siblings lasted their whole lifetimes - but for Kinzo, the abuser himself? Would you remember stepping on an ant, if it was just another pest to deal with, a minor worry in a sea of major ones?

Other then stating in the episodes that they failed to live up to expectations, being vultures...not mentioning Everything Else regarding the episodes that I know the bare minimum of, so I can't give a more in-depth look into the matter.

Anyway, Krauss would be the first to marry. Krauss should have left the family register -

and it's a blow to the system, to Eva personally, when she does not. When a man comes to the mansion as his sister's husband, unable to bear the family crest, and yet it's him who will be the next family head, for all that it is Krauss who is the actual heiress.

(Really wonder what Natsuhi would find work as, though...has more common sense than Krauss though, so the disatrous application of the Ushiromiya Money by Krauss in canon wouldn't come up...)

Oh, feeling particularly evil. Eva, going to Kinzo and wondering why Kristine is still there, bring up that it was him who was the heir - and Kinzo just musing if he, himself, had ever called Eva the heir.

It was always the elders, always mother -

But never father.

Goddamn, that's crushing.

That would also possibly be a major power trip on Krauss' end, one massive 'who is superior to whom now?' type situation. And poor Natsu would get caught in the brunt of the fallout.

Two extremely prideful, extremely intelligent men. The family crest worn by one, forbidden to the other - and it was the other, and the sister, who had been chosen by the father.

...I'm picturing some pretty achillean showdowns between Natsuhi and Eva, not going to lie. Eva being angry and wondering what made Kinzo deem him worthy over his own blood son (not even factoring in his sister here), this man he didn't permit to wear the one-winged eagle. Imagine the (toxic) kabedon to be had here...

Imagine the tension, possibly causing Eva to leave the mansion - or Kinzo or his wife to arrange a marriage for him because of the growing aggression and antagonistic attitude he began to take - worse than the past. If he was fixated on being a good 'heir', why didn't he take a wife and sire a child himself, too?

Which, then leads to the consideration of Hideyoshi's character. Canonically, I believe he started making money by rolling cigars and selling them - even if his business later was a restaurant chain. This post goes into the implications that he started this around the second world war, and was an orphan or old enough to be on his own at that time. Though I think I have slightly different headcanons pertaining to age, that doesn't have much bearing on the likelihood that, canonically, he was older than Eva and decently well-off at the time of their marriage.

Eva would likely already be running his own business, in a genderbent au. I can potentially see Hideyoshi still running a business here, but...man, oh man, wouldn't a pairing like that be a smack to Eva's sensibilities and belief system. His father, pairing him up with a woman just a bit older than him - a woman who works like a businessman, too? Imagine the sheer amount of times he'd put his foot in his mouth.

Assuming, of course, Kinzo would deem a woman 'like that' who was staunchly different from how he expected women to behave, as a good match. Another possibility was that, although not officially a big part of some company or other's success, Hideyoshi was the brains behind the operation - and that's what made her a fitting wife. We don't get much of Hideyoshi's backstory, in canon. We don't get much of any spouse's backstory, really - except in specific circumstances.

...Eva and Hideyoshi, I need more time to think about.

But, in a turn of events, it's ultimately not Krauss who leaves Rokkenjima. It's Eva.

and then there's Rudolf and Rosa.

Rudolf is complicated because there are two marriages. Asumu, and Kyrie. Mentioned in the post I linked above, it's likely that they all met around college and are close in age - Kyrie knew Rudolf first, I believe. Rudolf ended up marrying Asumu though, after he unintentionally got her pregnant - though he carried on an affair with her, and likely other woman throughout it all.

In a genderbent au, Rudolf's flirtatious nature and infidelity bites back on the ass. hard. namely in the form of a pregnancy. Considering she'd be sleeping with (at least) two men, Asumu and Kyrie, either one could be the baby daddy - meaning her father would either force her to marry one of them, or Rudolf could abort the child and cover it up so no one has to know it happened at all.

Rudolf is a selfish person, who thrives off gambling to fill endless vices - namely, lust in place of love and affection, though she gets that too. A child would get in the way of that, her bed frolicking when put bluntly - not to mention Krauss and her mother scoldings and haughty attitude and Rudolf's blatant snubbery of ladylike things - no one, least of all herself, believed her fit to be a mother. abortion would come to mind, no doubt.

shit like this could get her disowned. Unlike rosa in canon, she wasn't tricked or abandoned - doesn't really have a good excuse. Rudolf literally fucked around, and found out.

In canon, this led to a blitz wedding binding him and Asumu. In a Genderbent verse, assuming an abortion couldn't be done - either because the pregnancy wasn't noticed until it was too late or for some other reason, a similar event could occur.

If Kinzo got wind of it, it would be a matter of Kyrie's family vs Asumu's - and we know more about Kyrie than Asumu's. Guess who'd possibly win out, in Kinzo's eyes? A low-middle class family, or an upperclass household with shady potential yakuza connections? I say this, because I'm pretty sure Kyrie's summary screen mentions that she and Rudolf have shady dealings or connections or something and that's how they make bank.

And she doesn't know who the baby's daddy is, had to make a choice between men she was pulling along on a string. She works with one on a regular basis, and possibly the other. Hell of a proposal, that she was pregnant.

Considering even Rudolf in canon thought that Asumu knew about the affair, there's probably always the wonder of 'is this my child?' Which is fucked up all around, because not even Rudolf would know, unless she had a little black book where she wrote down when she slept with who - but especially for Kyrie and Asumu.

If Rudolf hid it, no doubt Kinzo would suspect the truth behind the sudden wedding - if he didn't find out, during preparations or just after.

Put simply, it's a total clusterfuck of drama.

Rosa - she didn't even have the chance to get married in canon. Her boyfriend got her pregnant, and then fucking left her with debt after she took out a loan for him.

In a GB AU, this gives me several ideas. Rosa gets a girlfriend pregnant, and she leaves him with the baby. Rosa does get married, or they're forced to, but they have a divorce somewhere along the line. Darkest of all, Rosa's girlfriend/wife dies.

The lives of the Ushiromiya siblings are like a soap opera.

It's one in morning, so I'll give just a quick rundown of the cousins. Going in order of age: George, Battler, Jessica, Maria, Ange.

George is Eva's only child, and a daughter. In his younger years, what he'd deem useless as a heir - useful only in marriages. His daughter is also the most precious thing he'd ever seen or held, while also being a nail in his coffin. He might have had a child before Krauss, but it wasn't a boy - useless to Kinzo, useless to securing Eva as heir.

George is raised strictly. Very strictly, to be the perfect lady - while also educated far beyond the standards of what he'd once thought a young lady should be held to. Eva, in a genderbent world, would be a bit like Natsuhi...he'd want his daughter to be capable of standing as a powerful heiress in her own right, even if it would have been better for them both if she'd been born a boy. She'd also be held accountable for achieving impossible standards - appearances, grades... not a material want in the world, but a deep need for space to breathe.

Battler, or in this case Valor, is Rudolf and Asumu's daughter. Quite a ways down the line of succession, isn't quite raised like Eva raises George. She gets raised a bit closer to a normal child, behave in school, try to get at least a B in classes...she is cosseted by her father. Kyrie would be a little less cool to her, I think, a little warmer - namely because she could very probably be his daughter and they just didn't know - DNA testing emerged in the 80's and Valor was born in '68 or '69 I think. Heightened tensions in the Rudolf Love Triangle, though.

Would still be raised with higher expectations, though. Good etiquette, good handwriting, maybe dancing...? (these are, admittedly, more stereotypes than what I actually know of a member of the upper crust's education and extracurriculars).

I can't tell if Rudolf would be fiercely protective of Valor, a bit uncomfortable with her, or something else entirely. Fiercely protective because - possibly - Kinzo wanted her to get an abortion, uncomfortable because she had planned to get an abortion herself - and also, what Valor meant between Asumu and Kyrie and herself.

But at the same time, I feel like she'd be done to commit fraud to ruin the father of a kid who teased her daughter on the playground. Maybe because I have a broken sense of humor.

Rudolf is a selfish man, would be a selfish woman - but cares for their kids. They might not be willing to be their neck on the line for them, maybe, but also have the potential to go ballistic for them.

Jessica would be raised strictly - not as intense as 'the world will end' schooling like with George, but pretty damn close. As the next head of the family, one allowed to wear the one-winged-eagle, he has to be above and beyond reproach. Natsuhi is the strict one of his parents, more often than not dealing with the worst of Eva being Eva, but...both of them are prone to wanting to spoil him.

It took so long to conceive Jessica, for Krauss. So, so, so very long. Considering a woman's worth in the family amounted to the connections she could bring and her womb's ability to carry a child - preferably a son - it was...hard for her, especially with Eva.

Though, he did shut up for a bit after George was born.

Maria...there's a lot for Maria, and I don't actually I could analyze his upbringing and how it changes in a GB verse right now. A big aspect is Rosa's abuse and neglect, and I think a large bit of it would remain the same but....I want to read more Umineko, especially turn and banquet, to get a better grasp on it.

It's about 1:20 in the morning, and the way she's raised touches kind of close to home. Not in terms of physical abuse, or the fact that it's very very very heavily implied that Maria is neurodivergent - just some parts of it.

anyway, yeah, this is my rambling on how genderbending stuff would change a lot of things in umineko - not getting heavily into the cousin's upbringing and mental state because my laptop is about to die and I'm not well-rested enough fpr this, nor are my ideas quite as fleshed out.

Please don’t flame me if you don’t agree with this or don’t like it, but if anyone has ideas they’d like to add, I’m all ears.

[somnimouse]

AAAAHHH !! YOU ANSWERED !! i literally squeaked when i checked your tumblr to see that you did !!! such a shame that the setting sourebook doesn't cone in english, but i definitely will be buying!!

oh! and, i appreciate you being willing to tell me about ryu and haru! but can i instead learn about ren? ever since i read your ryu route analysis, i've wanted to learn more about the younger mochizuki :]

sorry about the big ask, and thanks in advance!!!

No worries about the ask! I'm always more than happy to talk about NTY!!! because aaaa I love this game so much. ;_;

Going to put this under a cut because Ren's section has a little bit of heavy stuff, but it's not as bad as Haru's section (which is incredibly NSFL). Ren's section also talks a little bit about Kaori as well, and their dynamic is really, really sweet!

Warning: Contains references to CSA, child abuse, sexual assault and rape. Taken straight from the sourcebook.

To start off, Ren was raised by just his mother, who was a prostitute and wasn't exactly the best example of a loving mother. Ren was bullied in school a lot for this. Other students would insult his mother and insinuate that, because she has sex with a lot of men, Ren, too, must be sleeping with them. He got into fights all the time because of that, and his experience with these bullies was the foundation for his very distasteful feelings toward men.

Unfortunately, his mother eventually got a boyfriend who was also not a very good person. One night, when Ren was in his late-teenage years, this boyfriend snuck into his bed and molested him. Ren took a beer bottle and smashed it over his head to stop the assault, but his mother was enraged and kicked him out.

Ren eventually wandered off and found himself in a hostess club. There was a very kind, beautiful woman there with big breasts who welcomed him. After Ren had spent quite a bit of time drinking, he opened up to her about his life and cried. Much to his surprise, the woman cried as well, and immediately told him, "I will be your family, then!"

... Of course, this creeped Ren out and he thought she was kind of crazy, so he ditched her immediately and resolved never to go back. Who in their right mind would even say something like that to a guy they just met?

At some point, Ren got into a fight with a bunch of guys and lost terribly. They held him down, and a different young woman ended up raping him that night. However, Ren refused to fight back. He thought that, if he refused, he would be seen as gay. He developed a severe defensive response to being assumed gay because of his experience with bullies and his mother's boyfriend. And so, he let it happen.

(Amemiya, the director of NTY!!!, notes that Ren isn't really affected by his rape by the woman and has just brushed it aside. This contrasts with Ryu and Sorato, who have significant trauma and gynophobia because of their experience. It should also be noted that Ren is actually heterosexual, but while his defensiveness at being assumed gay is somewhat understandable, his volatile response is moreso linked to his issues.)

Ren, defeated, eventually returned to the hostess club. The hostess he ran away from never held it against him and welcomed him into her life with open arms, adopting him as her little brother.

This hostess' name? Mochizuki Kaori.

Unbeknownst to Ren, Kaori had a similar childhood. She was molested by her stepfather in the past and ran away from home at the age of 16. She ended up with a boyfriend who was into some shady business, and, one day, she and that boyfriend were targeted and shot by criminals who had it out for the guy. She was saved by Inui Kouichi, and they became good friends. Kaori eventually left her boyfriend and met her future husband, Hagiwara, who loves her dearly and would do anything for her.

It was initially awkward living with Kaori. Ren would turn red and get a boner every time she hugged him because her breasts would push up against him, but after some amount of time, these feelings subsided when he began to truly see her as family. Kaori basically saved him, and that's why he's protective of her.

Kaori eventually introduced Ren to Kouichi, who hired him at sótano as a bartender and a private investigator. Ren has some respect for the old man because of his connection to Kaori, but he ultimately views Kouichi as "too soft." That said, he still obeys his orders.

However, he was immediately awestruck by Kurosawa Ryu, who he views as the only competent man at the bar. He's everything Ren wants to be—cold, composed, ruthless and intelligent. Of everyone at sótano, Ren respects him the most and would follow him without question. He trusts Ryu so much, he even opened up to him about his past. Ryu, seeing himself and his sister in Ren and Kaori, also told him about what happened to Ai. Ryu has a particular soft spot for Ren, but he's also more strict with him than Hiroyuki because Ren keeps getting into trouble with the police by fighting with other guys.

(Funnily enough, after Haru had him drugged and shot him in the arm in the climax of Ryu's route, Ren woke up in the hospital with no memory of what happened. He said to Ryu, "Something complicated must have happened." Ryu vaguely agreed and didn't even mention who shot him or tell him the events that transpired. Thanks a lot, Mr. Kurosawa.)

It should be noted that, due to his childhood, Ren is particularly knowledgeable about the poverty industry and how society preys on the weak and the poor. Despite his harsh, cynical and unfriendly attitude, he's a good guy deep down who also doesn't like injustice. In a sense, you could say he's very much like Hiroyuki in his direct, headstrong approach to issues, and it's why Ryu worries about him just as much.

Some minor trivia about Ren and Kaori that I found interesting:

He really likes rock and visual kei music. Amemiya notes that he tends to really get into the music and "sing with aggressive arm movements" at karaoke bars. Kaori, on the other hand, likes pop music. Her singing prowess is on par with Ryu, who is described as a very good singer, while Ren is just average.

Ren is trying to make himself healthier meals. In the past, he used to survive on things like burgers and spaghetti, but he's learning how to cook.

In Ryu's route, after Kaori's pregnancy announcement, she quits her job as a hostess and becomes a dedicated housewife.

It's noted that Kaori is the only woman Ryu trusts, and this is shown in-game when he rescues Yufumi from the orphanage and hands the little girl over to her.

Ren and Kaori have tried smoking at some point in their lives, but they quit because it was too gross.