#It was a reply to a question iirc

[shuicheese]

Where do people go once they graduate?

the horrific world known as life, the horrifying life of becoming an adult truly begins after they graduate

You graduate and realize true horrors ♡

[the-bloodline-embrace]

"If this sort of thing happens every now and then, maybe finding a harp here won't be that hard after all. Shall we take a look around? Maybe we'll find other intetesting things.

Of course, if you'd like to stay and chat, that's fine too. We have all the time in the world later for musical perfomances~"

"Your choice of colour is impeccable, by the way. Is there anything I can do for you?"

@theladyinred-askmaryidv

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

i cant really tell if yuu's involvement in ace's character is more for fanservice reasons or because they really did play a part in his character development.

like in nbc we have malleus choosing to focus on finishing the task at hand as quickly as possible so that they can then find the prefect rather than drop everything there at that moment and prioritizing finding yuu. (iirc) and compared to that we have ace who does put a lot of emphasis on finding yuu especially when no one seems to remember it during the halloween event it feels very traditionally fanservice-y ? and i cant really tell where the line is drawn for ace anymore. and you did mention a lot of other points in another post that you made esp with ace's dream recently dropping and the fact that hes the only guy whos dream yuu was actively involved in idk its a little confusing for me i hope im making sense TT no shade to the shippers im just a little slow in comprehending it all bvbvsjdj

your posts are always really neutral and accurate it just helps to clear up a lot of my confusions and questions i have when playing so thank you for your hard work!

[Referencing this post; you might also find this related post useful in the discussion of Ace and Yuu's relationship!]

DISCLAIMER: I do not mean to invalidate or detract from Ace x Yuu or Malleus x Yuu shippers or anyone who may interpret their relationship as romantic. You should ship what you like and have fun doing it. My reply aims to be more objective, but that should NOT impede on your enjoyment or whatever it is you choose to ship.

iufipaerasfeao Thank you for the feedback! I'm glad you find my posts helpful. I try my best to be objective when it comes to analyzing the story and characters, but there's no true way for someone to be completely neutral. There are definitely times when I have an aside to insert my two cents on a situation or I get super heated about a particular topic. Hopefully I still leave enough space for everyone to come to their own conclusions.

I think it's both fanservice and because Yuu actually plays a big part in Ace's character development? Like, it's technically fanservice but it does not feel egregious because it fits Ace’s teasing nature and Ace's bond with Yuu has been established from the start. He was the first student we met at NRC and we spend so much time with him since then; there's no way Yuu wouldn't have had an impact on him, especially when book 7 is now paralleling the two as people with insecurities about being weak/unable to do anything + not contributing enough and Yuu encouraging him when he finally gets his UM.

I commonly see people joking about Malleus having "missed the meeting about Twst not being a dating sim" and holding him up as "the main love interest". (And to be clear, Twst isn't a dating sim, nor do all Twst fans see the characters romantically; I am only speaking about this in a romantic lens in the context of this post.) However, I think there's a very strong case to be made for Ace as well. The thing is, I also feel that Malleus and Ace fundamentally appeal to two different groups of yumejoshi. Malleus is the tall, dark, and mysterious type you can "fix", the type of guy that would burn the world down for you. Ace is the teasing and approachable boy-next-door that has your back and supports you even when the entire world is against you. This is also evident in the ways they're set up in the main story; Malleus is introduced in a way that encourages much more "filling in of the gaps" due to how little he actually shows up in front of Yuu in the main story. It gives the player a lot of space to imagine what their relationship with him is like because there isn't a ton of interactions in canon to go off of. Meanwhile, Ace has many more canonized interactions with Yuu (eating lunch, doing homework, watching movies, playing video games, etc.), so the effort of thinking about what they actually do over the course of their relationship is already done for you. There is an established friendship and connection with Ace, but you barely see Malleus enough to truly have a strong impact on him or to change him. Does that make sense?

IADUPADF9A9FSBdb I do find it sort of funny that Malleus is basically like, "Oh, something unexpected happened (ie Yuu is missing). We'd better solve this." Not really showing much emotion about them being gone in Nightmare. (Malleus only gets annoyed when Leona begins to take charge; he is not mad at the fact that Yuu is gone.) Meanwhile Yuu is missing in Endless Halloween Night and Ace is the FIRST person to excuse himself to check Ramshackle for them.

If you consult the fandom and the fandom alone, you'd think the situation would be reversed. Edit: Malleus does have his moments of intimacy with Yuu (which I won’t be getting into here because then I fear this post would veer into shipping wars), but the English speaking Twst fandom has a VERY strong bias for Malleus x Yuu. Because of that, there is a tendency to misinterpret or misattribute every little thing that Malleus says and does to support the idea that "Yuu is his most important person". (For example, even though Malleus provides no reaction at all when Skully kisses the back of Yuu's hand, many Malleus fans claimed that he would be very jealous or would harm Skully for doing such a thing. In another Halloween event, Glorious Masquerade, people believed he was angry at Rollo for harming Yuu even though this was not the case; the event states that he was mad because the invitation he had been extended was a fake one.)

It is because of thinking like this that a lot of English speakers genuinely believed Malleus would OB in book 7 in a desperate attempt to prevent Yuu from returning to their original world. Misinterpretations, headcanons, misattributions, and personal projections were conflated with canon, leading to many people to believe that Malleus was closer with Yuu than they actually are. Instead, Malleus ended up OBing because he feared Lilia leaving and he barely even considers Yuu after he OBs. And, ironically, Ace is the character whose dream prominently features Yuu and a scenario in which Yuu doesn't have to leave them forever. It was always Ace that we had a strong relationship with, not Malleus.

Ace is often overlooked even though he has far more canon interactions with Yuu in the main story. I think this could maybe to chalked up to a combination of him being "boring" compared to the literal DARK FAE OP CROWN PRINCE M. Draconia over there and the fact that so many of those "gaps" are already filled by the main story. There's less room for imagination because the game has already defined what Ace and Yuu's relationship entails. Malleus is just so much more appealing when it comes to intrigue and mysteriousness. When you look at it objectively though... Yuu only meets Malleus face-to-face like 5-6 times for brief conversations. (Edit: I’m not counting voice lines because those are arguably directed at the player, not Yuu, to endear the character to you and/or all characters get similar voice line fanservice. The canonicity is questionable since the same familiarity in voice lines is not carried over to the main story.) 5-6 times… That's not nearly long enough to make a huge impact or change in his life (unless you as the player extrapolate and imagine more Malleus and Yuu interactions outside of the ones we see in the main story). At best, I think you could say Malleus is glad he can have a special little friend who doesn't know of his name and status? He doesn't really change because of that relationship though. Malleus doesn't even show up until book 2. But Ace has literally been there since the beginning, canonically spends tons of his free time with Yuu, and has been through several near-life experiences with them (several OBs). He has the chance to bond with Yuu. Malleus does not. (He has given Yuu advice once, sent them a card once, and reassembled a stage for them once; all other interactions in the main story are short talks.)

It makes a lot of sense that Ace would be the one "touched" by Yuu's influence, whether you see it as romantic or platonic. Both he and Malleus (and all the other characters, really) get their moments of fanservice--but very few characters' development is directly impacted by Yuu's presence. Yuu might be there for most of the main story, but they actually get only a few moments to engage with the other boys in the cast to the point of actually changing them. It feels like the changes that occur are more often the result of the other boys (Trey standing up to Riddle and holding his hand afterwards, Epel and Deuce bonding on the beach, the twins telling Azul he's lame but also being the first to check up on him following the OB, Idia finalizing his farewells with Ortho, etc.) Ace just so happens to be an exception to that, as Yuu very clearly plays a big role in his development.

[sreegs]

the post-automattic tumblr employees (automatticians, iirc) that are publicly posting as staff and trying to argue with tumblr users who vehemently hate the site are so adorable. this is how it's always been. users pretty much hate staff. this is why, in the old days, it was discouraged to identify as staff unless you had the stomach to put up with a bunch of hate mail and arguments.

you're also not going to win over any users by describing tumblrinas as ungrateful for the site's existence, or unreasonably angry over recent changes. you're just gonna look like a 30+ year old engineer taking pot shots at teenagers.

tumblr's current owner (automattic) got some trust back early in the acquisition when they greenlit some changes users had wanted, and ad-free went over mostly smoothly, but any trust you had was shattered with Tumblr Live. The snarky posts from automatticians are making it worse, the worst offender being the person you have running emporium.

this is how tumblr users have always acted before automattic came in and bought tumblr. this is not new. this is why users say things like "staff is out of touch".

y'all need to understand this before you try to snap back at angry users, or before you make vagueposts insinuating the tumblrinas are ungrateful.

maybe examine why tumblr users are angry, what they're angry with, accept they're valid reasons to be angry, and question why these business decisions are being made. like, "hey yeah why is tumblr live still there if everyone hates it?" or "why does moderation seem worse these days?".

then maybe if you understand what's causing the anger when users say "fuck staff" and you'll know not to take it personally. maybe you can take the urge to post snarky replies and redirect it to questioning your bosses' decisions to go ahead with these features that are universally hated

learn, adapt, overcome.

read, comprehend, post.

or just stop posting

[lu-is-not-ok]

Hello! Just wanted to say that I've been reading your posts and analyses for awhile now, and I really enjoy them! So, I also thought of sharing a sort of theory of mine, bc I'm very interested in hearing what you might think about it.

For starters, these lines from Jia Xichun are very intriguing:

«No amount of pain could wake it from... whatever this dazed state it's in. As you can see...»

«... it must've been long driven mad from pain. Reminds you of the tricks from back home that could induce such an effect, doesn't it? Big brother.»

For two reasons. 1. This is the first time (iirc) in the story where Hong Lu doesn't reply and stays silent and seemingly uneasy; 2. The fact that this "dazed state" as it is described actually kind of reminds of Hong Lu's usual behavior a bit?

To elaborate, after her lines the attention was drawn back to the Priest, and his face was described as "serene". And who's facial expression was also described in a similar manner, precisely, with a literal synonym? Of course, Hong Lu, during the TKT Intervallo:

«The culprit wasn't the only one who suddenly began to behave strangely. Hong Lu did, too.»

«His face relaxed into a tranquil look, as though he was ready to let something go.

... Or perhaps... that was an express of liberation.»

And also to mention how the Priest started reminiscing similarly to how Hong Lu tells stories about his family (but idk, I'm afraid I am starting to reach even harder for this😭)

All in all, my theory, if you can call it that, is that perhaps those "tricks from back home" where actually performed on Hong Lu. This could potentially explain his constant aloofness, his reaction to Xichun's words (she brought up some of his traumatic memories?), and why exactly he has one of the most deranged IDs — because he has already been long driven mad from pain.

I really hope I worded this well enough, and I don't know if I sound like a lunatic or if I actually cooked something when I was thinking abt this at 2 am. And well, I'm also probably not the first one to think of this. But anyways, still thought this is worth bringing up!

Well, I hope you enjoy the Xichun Sin Analysis I just posted earlier then! That being said, there is something interesting I want to bring up with regards to this theory you pose, as it's tangentially related to the bits you reference and also it's been sitting in my head for a while now.

First point - I definitely agree that when Xichun brings up the "tricks" that can leave people in a similar state to the Priest, it's something Hong Lu has experienced himself.

We see Hong Lu has a tendency to avoid topics that bother him at all cost, like how he actively tries to redirect conversations in Hell's Chicken when he's being questioned regarding what he thinks could lead him into Distorting and when he senses Meursault is about to verbally lay into him. It's a tactic he employs very often as a distraction from the weirder things he says.

Interestingly enough, I believe Canto 7 is the first time we see Hong Lu avoid topics not through redirection, but through shutting down. That interaction you brought up isn't the first time in the Canto that he's rendered speechless either. In part 1, he's shown to respond with silence when both Rodya and Sinclair comment on their dislike of Xichun, being seemingly uncomfortable with the way they're talking about her.

And then there's a scene even earlier on in Part 1 that left a really, really major impression on me. Which. I can talk about now!

This, I believe, is the first time in Canto 7 where we see Hong Lu properly shut down in response to something. Something about what Xichun has said made him completely stop what he was doing earlier. His entire approach to the conversation changes in this moment. Earlier on he was excitedly asking questions, trying to give advice and gather information, but after this moment, Hong Lu is rendered completely passive, his lines being reduced to only responding to Xichun is saying in a very... honestly weird way.

It's not obvious in the transcript by itself, but his tone is... odd, compared to the way he was speaking earlier. In addition to that, every expression Hong Lu has during this conversation after this point are ones that actively have him not looking at Xichun, either using his closed eyes sprite or looking to the side sprite.

This moment struck me very, very heavily the first time I got to it in my plathrough. Part of it is because of the weird unnatural shift Hong Lu's behavior takes in this moment that I wasn't even consciously noticing until a reread. The other part is that the exact words Xichun says to Hong Lu that triggers this are ones that reminded me of something very specific in Dream of the Red Chamber.

There is a chapter fairly early on in Hong Lu's source novel that I can only describe as Bao-yu being verbally and emotionally abused by his father for the entire chapter. His father takes Bao-yu along as he shows off his garden to his acquaintances, and every time Bao-yu speaks up, whether by being prompted to or on his own, his father chastises him excessively. I don't remember the exact words, but the framing is pretty clear about the fact that Bao-yu's father sees his son's behavior as being a source of embarassment to himself in front of his acquaintances.

The kind of abuse shown in that chapter is downright stomach-churning in how realistically it is potrayed. It's genuinely upsetting and one of the main reasons I was unable to continue reading much further past that point.

I don't think it's a coincidence that Project Moon decided the thing that made Hong Lu have a shift in his behavior was being told him being himself is a cause of embarassment for someone else in his family. ...And I think Xichun's immediate reaction shows she realizes what is happening as well. It's very telling she doesn't bring up Hong Lu 'not getting better since the last time they've met' until this moment.

Because I don't think the thing he hasn't gotten better from is his upbeat, naive attitude. I believe it's his trauma response he's exhibiting right here. To become passive, downright submissive, and simply take everything that's being dealt to him without objections.

...Which segues nicely into the second point! Because the 'serene daze' shown on the Priest? The tranquility and peace Hong Lu exhibits in TKT, which is outright called out as strange by Dante? I believe it's the exact same as the trauma response I highlighted earlier. It's the immediate instinct to just lay down and take the pain because trying to fight back would only prolong the suffering.

The line about that expression being potentially "an express of liberation" is very telling. On the one hand, this Canto only further cements the fact that Hong Lu is just as passively suicidal as Yi Sang was before going through Canto 4. On the other, it directly ties back to Hong Lu potentially believing that the less resistance he shows, the sooner he'll be freed from suffering.

I already briefly went insane over the following line in a seperate post, but it feels extremely important to bring it up in here as well.

This line. This. Fucking. Line. Directly creates parallels between Oblivion and Naivete, drawing parallels between Donqui/Sancho and Hong Lu. And it's not that hard to see why.

We see that Donqui/Sancho's choice to embrace Oblivion, to completely try and erase her former identity and fall into a dream is motivated by her wishing to escape her reality, to stop thinking about the bloodshed and violence.

This line, and what we see of how Hong Lu acts throughout this Canto, is making it clear that Hong Lu's naive attitude, his constant willingness to assume the best of everyone around him, is just another part of his trauma response I've pointed out earlier.

It's how he escapes the violence he's been subjected to, the reality he's been living in. After all, the explanation he gives for why he wasn't afraid when the Time Killer tried to kill him... is because he understands why people want to hurt him. He didn't fight back when his siblings tried to kill him, because he knew why they would want to do that.

Because he tries to assume the best of everyone, tries to understand the reasons they do what they do, tries to be naively innocent, he's able to accept the pain and let it happen. Because if he can't, if he's forced to face none of what was done to him was justified... Well...

...This is where I would like to jump off and go on a tangent about my own theory. You see, you bring up the story the Priest starts telling to compare it to how Hong Lu acts with his anecdotes, but I think there's something much deeper going on with that story. Look at how the Priest begins it.

It's very clear the story he's telling is him directly comparing someone among the Sinners to Lorenzo, the Bloodfiend he's talking about. Dante's narration doesn't specify who the Priest means, as they only mentioned that "He looked at us", but it's clear from his words that he means a Single Specific Person here.

On my initial readthrough I assumed this was about Donqui, as this is her Canto after all, but... I no longer believe that's the case. In fact, I believe that the Sinner being used as a parallel to Lorenzo here is Hong Lu.

Let me give my evidence first.

One - We know the Priest, even in his daze, still recognizes Donqui as Sancho. The way he ends off his story says as much.

It's clear from his words and his actions that he's actively blaming Sancho for what happened to Lorenzo, and what he believes has happened to Cassetti as well. This would align with the feelings all of the named Kindreds we mett express towards her. So, to me at least, it's clear that the Priest wouldn't compare Sancho to Lorenzo in a way he has here.

Two - The framing of the scene and what follows later puts a lot of focus on Hong Lu.

Hong Lu is extremely present during this scene. Not only is the Priest compelled to share the story right after we see Hong Lu shut down at what Xichun has said, but the CG that follows his story inexplicably includes Hong Lu in it, listening intently.

And not only that, but soon after the Priest is taken away and Sansón tells another story, we get the moment of Donqui telling Dante she thinks it's Hong Lu's turn in the Golden Bough horrors.

If this were a game made by anyone else, I would take this as a self-aware joke pointing fun at how much focus Hong Lu has gotten in a Canto that's not his and move on. But this isn't anyone else.

This is Project Moon, who have a very Notable Track Record of hiding extremely important reveals and foreshadowing in one-off lines during comedic moments, especially in Limbus. See Canto 2 and Hell's Chicken. I genuinely believe the reason this joke exists here is to draw our attention not only to the parallels between Donqui/Sancho and Hong Lu, but also to the moments where Hong Lu is already the focus.

Three - The phrasing the Priest uses to refer to whoever he's comparing to Lorenzo.

The way he addresses this person and the rest of the group is very interesting, as there's emphasis put on his choice of the word "friends" to describe them. This feels important, as earlier on, in Part 1, Hong Lu himself denies Xichun's assessment that the Sinners are his faction, deliberately calling them his friends. Just like here the Priest calls the people accompanying the one he's directing the story at their friends.

So... what does that all mean for Hong Lu to be directly compared to Lorenzo? Well, let's take a quick look at what Lorenzo's story is.

Lorenzo is initially described as a Bloodfiend filled with positivity, to the point that the Priest thinks he didn't have anything to actually confess for. We see him think the way he's able to eat so many hemobars in one sitting as impressive, seeming completely oblivious to the the fact it's a clear sign the hemobars do nothing for Bloodfiends nutritionally.

This attitude completely changes however after Lorenzo tastes blood for the first time. He completely loses himself to obsession, spending hours licking a syringe just to be able to taste it. He completely loses his hope in the hemobars, having the drastic realization they do nothing, and lamenting how much longer he has to keep on living like this.

The story ends with the Priest remarking that after that shift, the only time he had seen Lorenzo genuinely happy was when he was about to be buried alive, when his head and brain were already completely decimated to the point he should be dead.

This... is already a lot.

Lorenzo's initial attitude, his positivity and naive belief that the hemobars are good despite the evidence to the contrary, are extremely close to how Hong Lu is right now. Upbeat, oblivious, always assuming the best of others. Hong Lu's passively suicidal tendencies could also track to Lorenzo's ending, how it's clear that Hong Lu is extremely willing to accept his own death.

...And then there's the whole middle of that story. There's a lot of different things this could be foreshadowing for Hong Lu's arc, but one thing is clear - he's not going to stay his upbeat self forever.

Every hint we've had about Hong Lu thus far. The implication he knows there's something that could make him distort all the way back in Hell's Chicken. The way we're told this Canto that Hong Lu's eye is dimming right after he comments how Donqui's twinkling eyes show she's "lucid", or living completely detached from reality. And then this, him being directly compared to a story of a Bloodfiend who upon finally being hit with reality begins to spiral and completely lose all his hope.

It all points to the idea that Hong lu will be forced to face his reality. To understand that his hemobars do jack shit and always have, that perhaps his family have never truly cared for him. And that realization could very well be the thing that finally breaks him.

I mean, his IDs already point to it, no? After all, Fanghunt Lu, possibly the most violent and deranged Hong Lu ID released thus far, one released alongside this part mind you, is shown to be actively thinking about and doubting the nature of family. "What even is a real family, I wonder?"

I'm just saying, if there's any Sinner who deserves to go utterly apeshit in their Canto, it would be Hong Lu. Let. My guy. Break Everything.

[goldenshrikecomic]

Question about those necklaces deer wear. Iirc, Iralee has her 3 necklaces on because it's to show she has 3 wives, right? So, do all deer wear them? I noticed that one of the does in the recent pages also had a necklace (and a buck) when Iralee says that "lovers should wait." Or is that just an optional thing/different for each herd?

I've answered this so many times pn different platforms so I'll make this the ultimate reply:

Accessories are 100% optional. Some like to wear them, some don't. Many like to match them with their loved ones, being lovers or family, or friends, just like us humans.

There's no marriage in GS. There's nothing official about becoming mates, including accessory wearing. Some simply choose to do it. The lovers shown during Iralee's speech are a good example. They're in love and do it with style.

Another example of fasionable mates are Riptail and Cutlass, who wear matching scars because they're metal and into such things instead of accessories.

Iralee wears her three necklaces to feel closer to her three sweethearts, who she sees very rarely. I know I sometimes refer to them as deer wives but it's because I find it endearing. There's no wifes or husbands in GS.

But then again there are Coastians, who have tons of rites and customs completely cut off from rest of the deerkind, so maybe they have a rite for those who want to become official mates. They likely wear more accessories too. Coastians are my go-to for weirdness, but they won't be explored in the comic unless, in time, I feel it's needed.

[adachimoe]

Mystery Meat

One of the recurring mysteries in-game is whether the beefsteak served at Sozai Daigaku is actually beef; I believe Naoto mentions this too. Per Persona Club P4, there has been an effort to make "Inaba Beefsteak" a thing in recent years in an attempt to revitalize Inaba's culture, but since there's no meat farms local to Inaba, no one knows where the beef comes from, thus the town has started to spread rumors that it's not actually beef. (IIRC one of the NPCs mentions it might even be fox meat since a fox was spotted at the shrine?) In the "from the devs" comments, Atlus clarifies that it really *is* beef, but no one knows where it comes from, making it questionable where Inaba is purchasing its beef from lol...

The other source of "mystery meat" is Aiya. English speaking players wouldn't realize this cause it's specifically called the "Mega Beef Bowl" in English, but in Japanese, the rainy day special is just called the "Special Meat Bowl". This name doesn't specify what the meat is, thus furthering the conspiracy/mystery about the meat used in restaurants in Inaba lol. The book notes that it's 3kg of rice and 3kg of meat, and when customers ask the owner what the meat is, he replies, "Sheep head and dog meat, since it's authentic Chinese food". (This is a reference to "selling dog meat under a sheep head [sign]" -- an expression about being misleading, deceptive, fraudulent, etc. Note that this also applies to Aiya in general since the owner is also LARPing as a Chinese guy when in reality his family name is Nakamura and he was born and raised in Inaba lol.) In actuality, the meat is cheap, but still good, pork.

[gacha-incels]

do you have a post debunking the tsunul video about projmoon? i claimed projmoon is misogynistic and people keep linking the video 🙄 iirc you debunked it before but u know how the tumblr search function is

yeah sorry I was in the hospital for a bit unexpectedly and I’m just trying to recover from this stupid fucking illness flare up thats kicking my ass 😭✌️so I haven’t posted in a while and I’ll probably remain offline for a bit after this check in. I don’t do this like tit for tat debunking where I watch these “fandom” videos, so personally I think the best way is for you to be presented with the straight facts of what happened, then what’s going on with South Korean society, how this all affects one another , etc, and with this knowledge you can then formulate your own arguments because you’ll actually understand what you’re saying.instead of just repeating it. Like you get what I mean? I think this works pretty well… When someone sends u a video as a response, you never really know if they understand what they’re sending or if they just see it as an “I win” or a “now I can keep playing my gacha guilt free” button lol. uh my basic post regarding PM fans making these videos or linking to them, I wrote it here

Reply from when he for some reason mentioned my blog and misrepresented it (unfortunately and weirdly would not be the first time for some reason, I did not know this person existed before people told me about him here? lol)

Twitter user citrussalt’s replies to him & her translation of the IT Union chairman’s tweets regarding the real meaning of unfair dismissal. This I believe is one of the most important aspects to the case, and one that, if you’re simply looking at this situation to exonerate PM, you will completely blind yourself to the country’s systemic misogyny and how it relates to the case so that you can simply say “it was ruled that this was not an unfair dismissal”

I posted something similar here

and responded to the overblown claims regarding the kgcs here

Post with some of the earliest article links of the event in korean

PM pressing criminal charges against various unions/labor activists have been dismissed. they never pressed any against the incels that accosted them I guess! lol

Mimi (Wonderlab) taking her webcomic down and no longer wishing to be associated with project moon. She has faced mass harassment by both western and eastern fans, and has said she has more grievances with PM she has not mentioned.

Monggeu reveals PM told her to not make her work (Leviathan) “Too PC”

Project Moon references DCinside jokes

Continued with Ilbe jokes

monggeu (Leviathan) extremely poor treatment working at Project moon

if you’re talking to someone who only understands this style of arguing I mean one of their VAs had misogynistic social media posts but he was not subject to scrutiny and firing like vellmori was for hers

Newer: SK limbus fans ideologically verify, stalk, and bring one girl to a suicide attempt because they only want “pure” fans returning to the game, not anyone who questioned PM or KJH’s leadership

I think those are all the basics, I hope it can be helpful, if you are looking for any other post in particular lmk!

[mogruith]

Since I know you feel pretty positively about it as a plot point, I wanted to ask. IIRC, given he romanced her, does the child thing ever come up with Coranzan and Minthara? Does he have any larger thoughts on it?

No pressure to answer, ofc. I just wanna see if it's something you've considered within their back and forth.

Hiya Red! Thank you so much for the ask!! 💖 Sorry it took me so long to get around to answering this, things got a bit busy/weird this week.

But oh boy. Have I considered it?? Only the most normal of amounts of consideration. It's TRULY a struggle for me to stay on topic in this reply, but I cut so much to be as concise as possible.

Thing is, I've actually been thinking about this since I "datamined" the SWD lines myself back last December, never expecting them to become canon. I've always seen it as an interesting topic, given how often she reflects on her mother and her upbringing. It always feels like she's on the brink of some realization about herself. I suspect that might've been the original intent of some of those lines.

Anyway, on to the actual question-answering under the cut.

Does it come up for Coranzan and Minthara? Yes. It absolutely does.

The worst part of this update's execution is she would definitely mention it at least towards the end. So I guess it's up to us to headcanon it!

I imagine it's revealed shortly after Orin's demise - relatively late in the campaign. This is also on the heels of the alurlssrin conversation; the first time they express long-term commitment to one another. If she wasn't sure that he was going to be there for the long term, why should she say anything prior to that?

After Orin's death, she's really shaken up and comparing herself to Orin in terms of generational trauma.

"[Orin] was cruel, maniacal, sadistic. You could have been sisters." Minthara: "Given what we learned of Orin's mother, that is painfully accurate. We were both born of trauma, both raised by parents who protected us with one hand and tormented us with the other."

To me, this is a crucial moment where the gears are turning - there's some self-awareness of the kind of life she's been born into and realizing that it could have been something else. This is a natural segue to considering her role with her own child - and that maybe she needs to adjust its direction from what she learned.

And I think she'd bring this up in a reflective manner - not really sure what she can or should do about it just yet. Just that maybe things should be Different.

Coranzan's Thoughts

You are a better judge on this than I, my friend, but I don't think it's odd for drow to just decide they want to have a child and they make it happen through whatever means available to them. Especially in the noble world. So, I don't think her revealing this to him would be particularly shocking by itself. Her choosing to reveal it after keeping it so closely guarded might be the only thing he's somewhat surprised by. But the circumstances or whose it is? Largely irrelevant unless something about it threatens them - which I'm sure she'd mention if that were the case.

She's Minthara's daughter. Finding a home for her and raising her is important to Minthara. End of. Coranzan needs no other details.

The fact that she tells him about her daughter at all demonstrates some level of inclusion into something that would not be his business under ... traditional? circumstances. Revealing this is exposing a deep vulnerability and a willingness to be transparent. Initially, he's not exactly sure what she expects of him, if anything, but he understands that this is a Big Deal to her and it's extremely important that she's including him.

In the longer term, assuming Coranzan gets the chance to be part of Minthara's daughter's life, I think he'd like to be as involved in her life as much as possible and I think Minthara would encourage it to some degree.

Not for any ideas like father figures or something weird (to drow) like that. But like I mentioned, I think she's realizing that things could be different from her "traumatic" experience. Coranzan's a good example of that difference. Especially after witnessing how incredibly different his relationship is with his sister, Z'ress. Their sibling relationship, with seemingly unshakable trust, is something entirely unimaginable to her with her own family. And for Coranzan and Z'ress it's not a weakness. It's a strength. Something that's been demonstrated over and over while she's been fighting alongside them.

There's... a million other things I can rant about when it comes to this topic. From Coran's parents and his past dealing with kids, more thoughts on Minthara's mindset regarding this, and some other data-mined stuff that has implications for this plot, but it's way too much for now. I will never finish this post if I get into that.

For now, I'm gonna throw a few tags here for folks who have expressed interest in their relationship but I keep getting intimidated out of writing about it (and then I go posting about the most controversial topic she's had in a while - go figure).

@nemo-of-house-hamartia @moriarfer @pavusprince - no interaction expected, just keeping those who have asked about them in the loop.

[angstics]

can you talk more about the significance of the monty clift poster in blue velvet?

absolutely. when i rewatched the film a month or so back, it impacted me instantly. thinking about it now, it's still so affecting. such a meaningful choice.

the scene im talking about is directly after dorothy (isabella rossellini) shows up hurt and naked, and embraces jeffrey (kyle maclachlan). sandy (laura dern) is very hurt that jeffrey was secretly sleeping with dorothy (and that she found out this way). there's already a lot of subtext here, but the primary thing to know for my incoming point is that the whole film is about perversion, sexual trauma, and trauma response -- as related to the underbelly of american suburbia AND american mass media ("blue velvet" was a pop hit!). one basic reading of this scene is that jeffrey's perversion (perversion of sleeping with a vulnerable, dangerous, older woman -- and kissing sandy while doing it) is finally revealed to sandy. it's the answer to her "i dont know if you're a detective or a pervert" question earlier in the film. and it makes her painfully sob and slap jeffrey.

jeffrey leaves. 10 seconds later, we cut to sandy's room, which is the only time we see it iirc. and it opens with this image

it's a poster of monty clift (40s-66 actor) late in his life. the camera moves back and reveals we're looking at a mirror. sandy is leaning on the poster as she calls jeffrey. crying, she says "you lied to me." jeffrey replies, "sandy, please, forgive me. i love you." sandy replies, "i forgive you, jeffrey. i love you. god, i love you. but i couldn't watch that. is she okay?" and the conversation continues from there.

so, it is very striking that this sudden scene of forgiveness and unconditional love despite (or in understanding of?) perversity begins with a shot of a poster of monty clift.

clift had a hard life. i dont know if or how often he was happy, but just on paper it was difficult: he was too famous, prying press, drinking/drug problem, privately gay/bi, terrible health problems, facially disfiguring accident, labeled difficult to work with (which made him unemployed for the last 4 years of his life, before he died at 45 of a heart attack). maybe mentally ill too. also, he was constantly gossiped about for his relationships with older women. this came from both the public and his industry. so, for reasons including and beyond his sexuality, monty clift was othered. made perverse. the underbelly of americana

he was a total star when he started movies. a heartthrob, a box office AND critical draw, a new kind of actor. he directly inspired many, including ofc jimmy dean. he remained big for a bit (even after his accident in 56) but died before he could salvage his image.

so. again. david lynch choosing to begin this scene about learning about the perversities of someone you love, and choosing to love them anyway, on monty clift... is really impacting. im invested in the "blue velvet" story, so im already emotional, but im also invested in my complicated relationships with stars (including monty). it's emotional to see someone real so derided for who he is being loved this way (and all the symbolic acceptance of queerness, substance dependence, all sorts of perversion). sandy not only loves monty, she LEANS on him for support when she's in pain. she's talking to monty as much as she's talking to jeffrey -- and she doesnt even know it.

this is the first and only time we see this poster -- first and only time we see ANY poster of ANY star (iirc). her wall isnt even collaged. the film frame is filled with monty at first. it's such a striking, purposeful image.

it's david lynch's great empathy for this real person and great love for films & film culture. it's a quiet, loving tribute. it's the whole point of the film

also, id like to point out that "blue velvet" features a number of old hollywood actors, most prominently dennis hopper, dean stockwell, & hope lange, who all acted during the film's setting (55-65). it's a tribute to them as well. an empathy, an understanding, an acceptance. it's emotional on that front as well

[aziraphales-library]

Lost Fic #182

1. Hi - I’m trying to find a fic in which Crowley has to abandon his flat because of “creeping holiness” spreading through it and bleaching the whole place white. Thanks! And thank you all for this amazing resource! - @stumblingoverchaos

2. Hi, First of all, thank you for all of the work you do on this blog, it's been very helpful to me. Second, there's this fic I'm looking for. Aziraphale found Crowley as a snake and took him home, but Crowley was acting like an actual snake. Over time, Crowley stole energy from Aziraphale overnight but he still wasn't acting like himself despite being able to retake human form. At the end, he was okay though. I think there was also a sequel, where to protect Crowley from the thing that caused him to be snake-stuck (snuck) Aziraphale had to trap him and use his (Aziraphale's) blood for a ritual. He also asked Crowley to trust him because he wasn't allowed to ask any questions. If you could help me find this, I would be incredibly grateful, as I could have sworn I found it through this blog the first time yet have been unable to find it since. Thanks! @alex-de-bayre

3. hello !! i know you have hundreds of asks but I've been looking for this fic for so long. it's adult omens, and i'm pretty sure it takes place in the Bentley? Crowley ends up on Azi's lap and there are some d/s dynamics to it, and Crowley ends up finishing from praise alone. it's definitely less than 2000 words, and has nothing too explicit. i know it's not the most conventional ask but I've been searching for a while, so maybe the librarians will have better luck? - anon

4. hello!!! ive got a fic to find, and i think i actually got it from here but idk what its called. the most distuinguishing thing i can remember is that aziraphale is discorporated after being hit by a bus, right before he started telling crowley about his feelings. the bus driver is a nice old guy on the brink of retirement who feels really bad, and crowley lectures/yells at the dead body before he miracles everyone to forget. i really looked that fic, but i mustve not bookmarked it :( thanks for the help in advanced, godsent mods! - @o-lord-heal-this-bike

5. Hi! I'm looking for a specific fic. It was an adult omens fic, and all I can remember is that it started with focus on Aziraphale and Crowley holding hands on the bus. I THINK it's from Aziraphale's POV, and he is nervous. Iirc, Crowley just stares ahead and the kind of don't mention it while it's happening. Any ideas? Sorry it isn't much to go on! - @acheemient

If you know any of these fics please include the number in your reply! Thank you :)

- Mod D

[lara-cairncross]

Hello hello! I love your pixie hollow AU so much! I especially love how Donnie, being disabled, finds a way to work with his disability instead of them trying to fix it,,, idk it tugs on my heartstrings how he adjusts and instead invents something extremely cool (the wing brace and damn it looks cool) that not only functions but also highlights his broken wing (like how amputees show their prosthetic/bionic limbs instead of hiding it in sleeves or leg pants to tell the message "why should I hide it? Its part of me" thing AAAAAAA)

Anyways onto the question-- (lol) I saw from an ask reply that you said that Raph picked two talents? I know what the egg is (animal.. right? iirc), but what's the other one? :))

thanks once again!

I’m so happy you love it!! And yes— Donnie building something to both work his disability AND show off his talent was super important to me! I’m glad everyone seems to like that idea too :DD I won’t go off on too much of a rant, but as I’ve said before, one of my biggest disappointments in the Tinkerbell movies was the fact that Tink got her damaged wing,,,, fixed by magic bullshit.

instead of. yknow.

tinkering a solution.

(genuinely what the hell were the writers thinking that that one—)

but anyway, the other “talent” Raph picked was the scouting talent! I couldn’t find anything definitive, but I’m fairly sure the scouting talent is represented during the choosing ceremony with a porcupine quill, so that’s what I went with!

fun fact tho: Raph still technically doesn’t have a second talent. He’s an animal fairy through and through, and the egg was the only item to do that whole glowing thing during his choosing ceremony! He ended up picking up the porcupine quill just because he wanted to— and everyone kinda just accepted it as, okay, well I guess he wants to be that too. So he did lmao. Raph doesn’t have any of the scouting talent abilities, like far-seeing and far-listening, but he’s really strong and knows how to deal with animals, so he’s kind of an honorable scouting-talent to the Hidden Hollow :DD

[inevitably-johnlocked]

I've been trying to find out when / where the headcanon that John and Harry are twins came from. I'm assuming it's connected to Sherlock's "It's never twins" comment, but other than that I'm at a loss. ;-)

Hey Lovely!

Ahh, this is a good question... iirc the theory first percolated when people began deep-diving the official BBC John's blog, and in a reply to a "comment" made by Harry, John said "God Harry you're 36", and when one of the books confirmed John was 37 around ASIB/TRF. That post goes a bit more into my thoughts on why I believe they're twins, but essentially it boils down to Harry and John being literal mirrors of each other if they're twins.

The theory then expanded more when "twins" became a common theme in the series, leading to people to speculate about Janine/Moriarty as being twins or at least siblings, and then EVEN FURTHER that S5 will actually be a "twin series" which essentially will play out the "real S4" (I've personally backed off on this latter theory a lot over the years, but it's fun to think about), as many of us believe S4 is Fake / Unreliable Narrator / John's Alibi /Blog Theory / John's TAB (this one I DO still believe. I just can't reconcile with the OOC-ness of the entirety of S4. Occam's Razor, though, states that S4 was bad because it was... well, just shit writing LOL. But theorizing is funner).

But back to John and Harry, I am 100% in the Harry/John are twins camp, and even wrote a lengthy meta about Twin Theory and its relation to John ages ago. I love the idea of them being twins; in Harry, John LITERALLY sees himself which is why he has a hard time facing it in-canon (especially with regards to his sexuality [mentioned in this post]). It's never been explicitly confirmed on the show, but I know I and many others accept it as such, heh heh.

Anyway, check out those posts linked above, as they are old but generally explain my rather unchanged beliefs on the matter.

I hope those help, and let me know if you need anything else to rabbit-hole down! <3

Feel free, all, to add more if your memories are better than mine, LOL. Twin Theory was already A Thing™ when I entered fandom Pre-S3, so Fandom Olds may know more, please let us know. We all love fandom Rabbit Holes LOL.

[steelycunt]

do you have any recommendations for books set in the UK in the 70s and 80s? I’m sure I could do research but you seem to have good taste. I’m american and want to get a read on that time for fic purposes… thank you (and no pressure if you don’t wanna reply, I feel it’s a silly question tbh but thought I’d try!)

hmm to be honest as much as im interested the period i don’t know if i’ve come across that much fiction set there!! a lot of my 70s/80s fiction seems to set in ireland instead. but on my list to read is the line of beauty by alan hollinghurst which is set in 1983 i believe? although i think it revolves around a pretty old money family so i don’t know how indicative it is of the social condition at the point…shuggie bain by douglas stuart is a scottish novel (and one of my favourite books) partially set in the 80s iirc though it ends up in the nineties..a great non-fiction read is no future by matthew worley which is an academic work charting british punk from 1976 to 1984…obviously punk and music-centric but covers a lot of the political and social situations at the time which punk and post-punk acted as a cultural response to, a sort of intense nihilism and a sense of social decline which fuelled a lot of the punk movement…honestly the music being made in the period is probably really useful for getting a feel of that sort of thing i would say!! and not just because i love it lol

that’s pretty much all i have for fiction but it’s a really fascinating time in british history and there’s so much out there..some particularly interesting bits for me (especially as someone very interested in the recent history of british trade unionism (which wielded huge power in this era compared to now)) are the miners strikes in the early 70s which led to regular powercuts + 3 day weeks and overthrew the conservative heath government, the rock against racism movement and concert in 1978 (covered in a 2019 documentary white riot) in response to the rise of the far-right white supremacist national front party in the 1970s (a bit more about this in a recent documentary called fighting the far right), the winter of discontent 78-79 under the labour callaghan government which saw widespread trade union strikes and also the coldest winter in britain for like a decade and a half…and then from 79 obviously you’ve got thatcherism and the miners strike and mass unemployment. cold war developments and euromissile crisis which saw revival of the campaign for nuclear disarmament and the greenham common women which is also a fascinating bit of history in and of itself.

pride 2014 and billy elliott are films set in this period which i love although they’re both 1984-5 and specifically about the miners strike and also very well known lol so that’s probably not that helpful. withnail and i 1987 is another great film it’s just so exquisitely bleak. sorry i could not be of more help with specific recommendations in terms of media but if there’s anything you’re interested in or u have any other questions this is kinda what i live for lol so id love to chat abt it though im purely an enthusiast and definitely not an expert!!

[kaerwrites]

Since it probably won't make it into the story, what is your head canon on the short lived nick damen romance? How and when did it start and end, what was the duration, was there any hurt feelings, who broke up with who etc. Is Nick secretly pining the whole time? Is he jealous of Laurent or Jokaste?

It won’t? 😈

This is a great question! Thank you for asking!

Please take caution for those who want to read my reply: Damen and Nikandros were teenagers when they had a sexual relationship. Additionally, they live in a culture where slavery is normalized. If this conversation will trigger or upset you, skip this post. My answer is not explicit but I don’t want anyone ruining their day, and to be honest, I don’t have the patience for Puritanism. (Edit because I’m afraid this sounds like I am equating the two: I’m not. I don’t want anyone upset or hurt or triggered and I also don’t want anyone going on a weird bad faith rant. These are unrelated to one another. PLEASE take care of yourselves.)

Answer under cut.

IIRC Damen became sexually active at a very young age. I imagine he and Nik were inseparable for most of their youth until Nik went to serve in the Kingsmeet.

Nikandros was there for some (most?) of Damen’s early sexual explorations. Akielons are not given to public fornication, no, but calling some slaves for entertainment while you’re chilling with your best bro? That’s different. There were probably a few times they experimented with each other/shared someone/devolved into small group sex. In those early times it was just fun and exploration like any other kind of adventure they would share.

Nikandros was picked to serve at the Kingsmeet when they were 15. Damen was proud but jealous and, let’s be honest, watching the games and his friend’s athletic showing turned him on. They slept together one on one for the first time after that, and that’s when Nik caught feelings.

Two years apart while Nikandros served, Damen oblivious to the fact his friend’s had spent the time nursing this idea that he would be coming back to something. By the time Nik’s service was over, Damen had matured past group sex parties (for the most part) and had tried out a few (short-term) relationships that usually ended when his attention strayed to someone new. I love Damen but he was a bit of a fuckboy, once upon a time.

Damen didn’t think anything of sleeping with Nik when his friend’s returned. It was fun and it was hot. But Nikandros would get jealous when Damen looked at or slept with other people, even slaves. Finally they realized that they were on different pages in terms of what they wanted from each other. By the time they were 18, they agreed it was best for their friendship if they were no longer intimate.

Nikandros, in my mind, will always be in love with Damen - but he realizes that it will never work between them and Damen is not going to love him back in the same way. He’s capable of feeling romantic love for someone else, but it will never be the same connection as he has with Damen. He’s managed to move past feeling jealous of every fling or one night situation his friend indulges in, but seeing Damen get serious about someone and commit to a single person is not something he’s experienced yet and will be more difficult than he realizes, because he really didn’t think it was possible.

(In canon, Jokaste’s Prince de jour comment makes me think that not only is she referencing Damen’s past, but that even with her he still takes slaves and anyone else who catches his fancy and she just puts up with it/does what she needs to to pull his attention back when needed.)

For this universe, Laurent is currently a political arrangement, a child, and a brotherly figure for Damen- so Nik doesn’t have any reason to be jealous of or dislike him. I do think it’s going to be difficult for him when he sees Damen fall in true, deep, lasting love with Laurent - but he won’t have the reasons to hate Laurent that he had in canon. So I guess we will see what happens!

[antspaul]

i read your replies on cults/high control groups and thought hmm, i'm not sure 'unless you literally live under a rock, you know people who have been or are currently in cults' is true - in that i know nobody religious/spiritual at all irl except my now-dead church of england grandma, etc. but your point about MLMs made me stop in my tracks because actually thinking about it as a high control group in the same way - with inside terminology and high demands on loyalty and kind of rote ways of counteracting outside disapproval/questioning - made my brain go '!!!!'. not really a question so much as thanks because that's interesting and i'd never thought of it that way. but, as it's an ask box, a question: what was the point in your life in which you realised how you lived/the people you interacted with wasn't how everyone else was? were you very entrenched in it i.e. only saw other people in the group, or not? (feel free not to answer if you'd prefer not to of course!)

MLMs are SUCHHHHH a cult, omg. It’s an incredibly common comparison for people who left them to make! My favorite cult podcast, Trust Me, did a pretty good interview with a former high-ranking member of LulaRoe which explores this.

There’s also a pretty substantial overlap between people involved in an mlm and people involved in a cult. This is because cults often discourage members, especially female members, from having regular jobs. MLMs appeal to these women because they claim to offer flexibility and financial independence while also giving them a source of income (and many cults come with very high financial requirements to membership). my mom (despite working throughout my entire childhood) was briefly involved with pampered chef, mary kay, and probably a few other MLMs i don't remember lol

to answer your questions: (below the cut because it's long)

i grew up in an area where nondenom fundie churches weren’t uncommon, so a lot of the stranger parts of my childhood probably flew under the radar. but i always knew that i was different because my parents and everyone else in my group told me so! they very much wanted to impress on us that we were special because we were among the few had access to the Whole Truth. everyone else was Of The World and not worth my time (unless i was trying to convert them) and also probably possessed by demons.

it was also very easy to tell that i was different than my peers because all of them went to brick and mortar churches and i didn't. in fact i was taught that brick and mortar churches were physical evidence of Religion and Tradition (basically synonyms). And Religion was evil because its practices were rooted in the thinking of men, corrupted by the Devil, and did not actually reflect God's Will.

i was very entrenched in the group and believed in it wholeheartedly. i'm not sure i ever truly enjoyed being a member, though; i found it very painful and confusing to believe that my friends were evil.

i went to public school for k-12, thank god. my parents wanted to homeschool us, which was recommended by my cult leader and what a lot of kids my age in the group did. but iirc, they couldn't figure out the financial side of things and eventually just decided to enroll us in our local school. i am so incredibly thankful that i wasn't homeschooled. otherwise i doubt that i would have had the sort of experiences that resulted in a slow burn deconstruction for me, starting in middle school and coming to a head around the time i left for college.

i wasn’t completely discouraged from making friends, but i wasn't particularly encouraged either. essentially i was not expected to prioritize those friendships at all. since my group was quite decentralized (it's quite small and national, meaning that my family was the only family belonging to our particular splinter group within a 2-3 hour drive) i grew up feeling quite alienated from my peers and yet did not have another social group in the cult to replace them. i had friends at school, and there were other reasons for my social isolation (autism/adhd - not that my parents believed i had those problems, lol). but in general walking around thinking that you're special and different and what happens on the earthly plane simply Does Not Matter In The End and also The Rapture Is Imminent doesn't exactly lead to a fruitful social life, lol.

i genuinely appreciate the conversation & am glad that that those posts resonated with you!