#Iukasylvie

[spmcomic]

My mother thinks it is callous how Count Bleck tells Nastasia that no one could ever replace Timpani even though Nastasia has been nothing but his closest and most loyal follower. What do you think of this scene?

i think you could definitely interpret that first statement as callous when said to nastasia's face like that! however, timpani wasn't a follower. she was his partner. she and nastasia really don't compare, dynamic-wise. nastasia would never view herself as an equal to the count, at least during the game. so i don't think being a loyal follower would ever really let her "replace" timpani, and the count knows it. nastasia is also just... a very different person from timpani, and both of them hold timpani in too high regard.

nastasia was a little emotional and desperate when she said that, i think, and the count brushing her off was a natural response. even if i do agree that it was callous, i also think that there wasn't any other possible way that interaction was going to go.

as for the second half- i interpreted that as more of an offer for nastasia to stop supporting their goal if she wanted, knowing what the count is after. knowing the gravity of what she's helping him do. she's here by choice, and they both confirm that she freely joined him with that exchange (and doesn't want to work to stop him, other than trying to *talk* him out of it). i figured the implication was that all of the minions were still by the count's side by choice, because they all like him and he's kind to them by giving them that choice.

like... it's complicated by the fact that if any member leaves the team, then they won't get their perfect world when it's all destroyed. but also... he couldn't do this without all of them. they really do believe in this perfect world he's promised them.

[akechi-stole-my-heart]

I have been looking up Goro Akechi from Persona 5 and I have noticed that he's popular in Japan but more Western fans seem to misinterpret and hate him while ignoring the theme of adults abusing and exploiting youth. Do you have any idea why?

I'm probably not the best person to ask this since I know so very little about Japanese culture, but I'll still give my take. I've been told that it's generally a trend that Japanese people like villain characters more than Westerners do. I don't know if you've played Persona 4 so I'll refrain from saying their name, but the main antagonist is consistently at the top of Persona 4 character rankings in Japan, for example. I don't know why this is, but it probably contributes.

But something much more specific to Akechi is the lack of cultural understanding for Akechi's backstory. We don't have "throwaway children" in America, being born out of wedlock is not nearly as big of a deal, and generally his entire childhood is something that Americans would not understand the same way Japanese people would. Akechi is the ultimate victim of Japanese society, but if you haven't done your research, that's extremely easy to miss if you haven't grown up in the culture yourself. And so it's much more difficult for Western audiences to sympathize with him and understand why he became the person he is.

[stardusttshowers]

O'Chunks is the least unhinged among Count Bleck's group

this is an interesting thought! in regards to the game itself, i can see o’chunks being the most.. mundane perhaps? he doesn’t have special powers like nastasia’s hypnosis or dimentio’s magic illusions, but what he does have is this very strong personality! he often hams up his dialogue with various expressions or phrases, and he is often the comic relief i think. he’s honestly a super interesting character to analyze and interpret! speaking of interpret.. i can agree to this with my own interpretation of o'chunks i believe. my o'chunks is very much a "low in intelligence, but high in wisdom" sort of character, and he's very much in touch with those around him. he's rather grounded even compared to nastasia or the count, and i believe it's that groundedness that makes him the heart of the team! he knows a lot of street smarts and stories from his past that can help both himself and others (although i would say that he needs an o'chunks for himself, because he goes through many things throughout the game ;_;)

any time given to talk about o'chunks is a wonderful time and i thank you for asking this!! i think the world needs more of o'chunks out there tbh, he's a very underrated character!!

[anglerflsh]

Do you read manga?

not often. I am reading the first trigun now because I saw it on my dash one times too many, but usually I don't pick up manga - or other types of comics for that matter

[goldenkamuyhunting]

It'd be interesting if Satoru Noda got a public conversation with Hiromu Arakawa of Fullmetal Alchemist fame like he did with Makoto Yukimura of Vinland Saga fame. Both Noda and Arakawa are from Hokkaido and have similar tastes in male characters.

Oh, sure, it would be very interesting!

i would love to hear them talk, though, I think, ultimately they went into their stories with very different mindsettings.

I wonder if it'll happen, after all they're very famous mangaka by now.

We'll see. Thank you for your ask!

[ciorane]

Have you ever read the Scar-centric Fullmetal Alchemist fic Sons of the Desert?

i havent! ngl i only ever read kimblee fics aha :')

[huebris808]

Do you have a favorite character from Kaiten Mutenmaru? Mine include Tetsujin Granchio, Sick Valachlorophenol, and Crocell Xylel.

sorry to the late reply on this!! my favs are thia & tetsujin!! honorable mention to whatever azott and karagi got going on

[celestialpaperhaze]

Dimentio Analysis

My thoughts on this Dimentio post, recently shared with me by @iukasylvie! The post: https://altermentality.wordpress.com/2016/02/10/flair-for-the-dramatic/.

! CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR SUPER PAPER MARIO !

Okay before I address the article, I should establish my own Dimentio headcanons. I see our silly jester as a sociopath, in that he can't feel love in the same way as other people. Like Bleck, he has a void inside of him, but Dimentio fills it by feeding off of others. Basically, he likes playing around and taunting people because of how emotionally reactive they are, it's how he fills himself up. Mimi's his favorite to mess around with because she's VERY reactive. As for why he wants his own world: he wants to put on a show. The whole of existence, dedicated to entertaining him. The only characters I can liken this to are the Celestial Toymaker (DW) and the Collector (TOH).

Now first off, the article references SPM in the context of "commedia dell'arte", which was a form of theater in Italy during the Renaissance. This form of theater had three types of characters: innamorati (the star-crossed lovers), vecchi (the powerful elders of society), and zanni (the clowns). The common plot of these plays? Two young lovers, hindered by the elders, who end up turning to the zanni to reach a happy ending.

Of course, Dimentio is a zanni character type. He may not help the Count reach his happy ending directly, but his actions do lead to the wedding with Tippi so, in a sense, this does fit the archetype. And of course, I don't have to tell you who the innamorati characters are. Anyone who knows a lick about Shakespeare probably already knows the love story of Blumiere and Timpani uses a pretty strong "forbidden love" trope, but it's interesting to see this somewhat supported by other forms of theater arts! To say Nintendo and Intelligent Systems had commedia dell'arte in mind when writing SPM's story would be a stretch, but it's always cool to see some elements match across different eras and types of storytelling.

Moving on, does Dimentio care about the other minions? The article eventually concludes that yes, he must, because how could you live in a castle with four other people and not grow to love them? My headcanon lines up with this pretty well--after all, Dimentio words the Count's lie about creating a new world as a "betrayal", and a betrayal facilitates caring enough to trust someone in the first place (points at Olly's entire arc with Olivia in The New Void). But Dimentio doesn't know *how* to love, and his version of "care" is different. He likes having the others around, but as players in his game, as entertainment. That's how he sees it. He fixates on them specifically for a reason he'd never care to explain.

New Void Spoilers Below.

You could say he fixates on Luigi, too, which might seem strange when they had far less time together. Shipping aside, I think canonically Dimentio fixes on Luigi because he's the key to everything, he's a highly valuable asset and Dimentio knows it. In the New Void, this isn't exactly the case. Dimentio doesn't have anything to gain by making Luigi suffer, it's just pure fun. Sure, he COULD torment some Shaydes or D-Men instead, but they're dead and they're boring. Dimentio's also been in the Underwhere for...awhile, and Luigi is a familiar face. In his own way, Dimentio's been a little lonely. It's just that, his way of acting on this feeling is to turn it into a game of psychological warfare...

New Void Spoilers End.

Overall, the strongest part of the article is the description of Dimentio's ideal world. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of darkmarxsoul's Chaos Trilogy, but this depiction of Dimentio's universe might be the best I've ever seen. “Dimentio’s goal is to maximize the amount of drama in the universe…a world with the dials of mortal anguish and despair and even joy set to maximum volume, and the banishment of the mundane. A world where he pulls all the strings to ensure this happens. The Ultimate Show.” Chilling! It's like Bill Cipher's whole Weirdmageddon deal, except rather than maximizing weirdness, DImentio would be maximizing drama, flair, and theatrics. All the world's a stage, and whatnot.

I LOVE this idea for a world of his so much that it's a wonder I haven't started writing fics centered around it already! All these new people living what they think are just ordinary lives, not knowing that it's all being orchestrated by a being that craves mere entertainment. Life as a musical, maybe a comedy tomorrow, or maybe a tragedy next week--all because Dimentio wants it to be. I mean, that's absolutely horrifying when you think about it! Enough for a brief existential crisis maybe! But it's also very cool >:)

In summary: what do we think about Dimentio? I think he's a sociopath who doesn't understand love but desperately wants to be entertained. The article's description of Dimentio's ideal world is scarily accurate and also has a LOT of fanfic potential. Dimentio himself is fun and silly, but also dangerous and probably not someone you'd want to interact with in real life.

As this is my opinion/interpretation, I'm too biased to say whether or not this aligns well with canon. But what do you think? Do you think this all fits Dimentio perfectly, or do you have other thoughts?

[let-us-cultivate-our-garden]

@iukasylvie

I tried a thing and this sparks something in myself. An idea to write, hehehe. 🤭

Here is the link if you want to try it too

[spmcomic]

Can you elaborate on your comment that there is some Flowey in your Count Bleck?

this will be getting into some late-game comic stuff, so read at your discretion.

flowey and my count bleck share the trauma of being originally a sweet character who has been toyed with by a being with terrifying powers, and this experience has corrupted them into someone who is ruthless and violent toward the world. flowey's trauma stems from asriel's death at the hands of humans (that "kill or be killed" mentality had to come from somewhere), and the count's stems from the prognosticus.

and that mentality is something they share, in a way. "kill or be killed." "let's destroy it all." flowey focuses on the player as a playmate, addresses the being with the terrifying power to reset time as a friend. the count becomes a similar way, focusing on the prognosticus more and more as the extent of its powers (such as the power to reset time) become clear, feeling like it's his only real companion in a world that begins to feel less and less alive.

flowey's situation is of course based on the world he exists in and has mechanics explaining how he came to be and what his deal is. blue doesn't have those mechanics- in the comic, his mentality becomes more akin to eldritch madness. this is a gradual descent into panic and apathy, as was flowey's when he started to grow bored of his existence and experiment more with his own powers. blue might not have flowey's abilities, but he does gain more of that sense of "peeking behind the curtain" of his reality starting with this most recent development in the story, and he will not like what he sees.

and then there's also the musical parallels that i enjoy. both characters have two themes, where their previous identity's melody is hidden within the more villainous song.

[ladyloveandjustice]

Why is Akio Ohtori pathetic in Adolescence of Utena? It astonishes me that Ikuhara would depict him as such because he's practically a Titan in the original series: an imposing, seemingly invincible monster in human clothing who induces fear and hate in the small people he preys upon. Why does he easily die in the movie even though his defeat came with a great sacrifice in the original series?

I mean, I’d argue he’s pathetic in both series, he’s just able to keep up a very good facade in the first one for a much longer time. He’s not a monster or inhuman, he’s a very scummy dude with a lot of power at his disposal who can manipulate a ton of children as an adult, yes, but also wouldn’t be anywhere if he didn’t have his sister’s power to exploit, or have her taking every blow for him. Even in his final fight against Utena, he didn’t actually manage to win a sword fight one on one against her, he literally had to resort to using his sister as a human shield then havie her stab her in the back. 

In the movie, his role is limited and he’s more of a pathetic ghost because the theme is “the princes are all dead and can’t save you”. If you read the movie as a spiritual, or vague sequel to the original series, this could be a surreal, metaphorical representation of how Utena and Anthy are processing having finally left Akio behind (”killing” him) yet still having the trauma he caused lingering and trapping them. That they’re finally seeing him for the pathetic person he is- that’s part of their process of breaking free.

[stardusttshowers]

My sister was shocked that a Mario game could be dark, unhinged, melodramatic and like a soap opera when I told her about Super Paper Mario.

i can imagine!! super paper mario is very much a departure from other mario games, but it’s what makes it so special i think!

funny thing is, i think that’s actually what drew me to super paper mario in the first place! like I didn’t know all of the details for it until i watched a let’s play about it in 2019, but i knew it was rather dark for mario game standards and i was intrigued by that. the game has lots of humorous and fun moments, but when the dark moments hit; they hit!

like… there’s so many moments in the game that hit very hard for me, and have even made me cry!! It’s honestly one of my favorite mario game stories and character casts!

[zommiethebutcher]

Fun times!!

Last song listened: whatever I last listened to on the Lofi Girl main, otherwise All Time Low by Stella because a friend shared it, I think it was Luke? [checks] Yes, it was! \o/

Currently reading: friend fics at the pace of a very distracted snail

Currently watching: Watching Magia Record between new eps of Frieren and Solo Leveling!

Currently obsessed with: superpapmar

Hmmm. I have more tumblr mutuals now! Idk if y'all do stuff like this but: @celestialpaperhaze @mochilorddrakeinferno @iukasylvie @hollyisanonymous and whoever else who sees this and wants to do it!

I was tagged by @glass-clown , thanks a bunch-a!

Last song you listened to: ヘドバンギャー！!/Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!!! by Babymetal ^^ ~

Currently reading: The tutorials for Post-Shift 2. Here's a copypasta that has One page of the night 6 tutorial.

Currently watching: Hmmm mostly Astral Spiff's vods (I'm working through all of Lethal Comoany, currently) video essays? The last of which was "Why Did We Forget Baldi's Basics?" By Minaxa

Currently obsessed with: Modded Lethal Company, my friends' very cool creature collector idea, still Bendy & the Ink Machine, some Sonic (specifically Sega Genesis & some Dreamcast era stuff)...

I will tag (in no particular order): @artnerd1123 @bleudinosaur @sapphireclaw @lightkrets312 @fvaleraye @carnation-damnation @captainshyguy @footsteps-on-the-dance-floor , & anyone else is free to hop on! No pressure, have fun !

[anglerflsh]

What do you love about Chrétien de Troyes's Arthurian romances? I find it surreal that French literature practically created the Matter of Britain as we know it; Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory was based on French Arthurian stories

I find them to be written in such a charmingly 12th-century way that it is impossible for me not to enjoy them - I'm not particularly knowledgeable on arthurian tales (I am familiar with the basics, of course, but not more than anyone else is methinks), but I do enjoy "court romances", as they're called here. It is plain old fashionation with the concept of knighthood on my part

[goldenkamuyhunting]

What are your fandoms besides Golden Kamuy?

Hum...

if you mean in which series I'm currently into I've to say at the moment I'm taken by "My hero academia" and "Moriarty the patriot". I'm also a die hard fan of "Joker Game" which nobody knows but which I wholeheartedly recommend and will keep on recommending till my dying breath because it's so damn great.

There are other things I'm following but not with the same interest.

Of course I have other series I followed in the past with the passion of a thousand suns but, since they're old, I'm not sure if it's worth mentioning them (okay, "Joker Game" is old too but people, just give it a chance!).

[linkspooky]

I love your analyses because they help me understand my favorite series better. But it surprised me to read your claim that Chisaki's father used him as a tool for the yakuza. Did I miss something when I read My Hero Academia?

It’s never directly stated but it’s sort of implied? Sometimes readings of stories are in between the lines, you have to infer something based upon the details given. For example it’s never directly stated that Chisaki was the one who put Pops in a coma. It is however, heavily implied by the way the characters talk about their disapproval of Chisaki as leader, the cut to black in the scene above, Chisaki’s increased mysophobia and disturbed state plus his obsession with Pops probably being signs of the guilt he feels for putting Pops in a coma and taking control of the Yakuza - even if he believes it was done for his own good. 

So, my belief that Chisaki was used as a tool for the mafia by Pops is just an inference. All I can really do is show to you the evidence I put together to come to this conclusion. 

Number one - Chisaki and Shigaraki are parallels. They are set up to clearly foil one another. They were both taken in by the leader of a criminal organization at a young age. They are both, considered to be the heirs of the leadership position of their criminal organization now that AFO and POPs are both bedridden and unable to lead themselves. 

It is a canon fact, therefore directly stated to us that Shigaraki was groomed to be used as one of AFO’s Tools. This is a literal disagreement they come to, AFO thinks he has the right to own, possess Shigaraki’s body and use him as a tool to further his own goals. This is also the only reason that AFO took him in the first place. 

However, before we knew that Shigaraki was directly being abused by AFO he showed several signs of being an abused child. General instability, a lack of an identity, he didn’t seem like a fully developed adult personality because he wasn’t raised to be one.

What do we see the moment we’re introduced to Chisaki? The same kind of instability, and tendencies towards shows of violence. Chisaki even describes his constant state of stress and displeasure the same way Shigaraki does, like a constant sickness. 

The thing is we know from Shigaraki’s behavior that kids aren’t just naturally like this, they’re not born violent they’re made to be this way. Someone took these kids and pointed them at others and used them as tools in fights. If we go by the foiling then, Chisaki’s childhood was probably just like young Tenko’s, just constant exposure to violence.

Kids do not have any ways of coping with this constant violence they’re exposed to. Kids who have been exposed to so much often lash out in violence themselves because they don’t know any other way of dealing. They are small panicky animals under enormous stress, just trying to make the feelings of stress go away. Children exposed to violence oftentimes become violent themselves. 

If AFO raising Shigaraki taught us anything, it’s that Chisaki’s insane desperation to protect the yakuza, and also his feelings of sickness and alienation from the world around him. The place that he didn’t belong anywhere else but the yakuza didn’t come from nowhere. He was probably raised as a tool to feel these things. It’s either because Pops deliberately did it, or he neglected to take care of a child exposed to that much violence in the proper ways or shield him from the violence of the world. Either way it’s still a case of abuse. 

Number two - Yakuza trash to be used and thrown away. 

In Chisaki’s mind, he is entirely dependent on Pops, and the Yakuza and he can’t exist outside of him. Everything he does is in service of the Yakuza and in the name of protecting them. This is how a tool thinks. Chisaki views everyone around him as a tool, because he was raised to think that way - because ultimately he views himself as a tool as well. That also just seems to be the prevailing attitude among the yakuza. 

All of us are only tools be used to pay back the debt we owe to the man who gave us worth. Chisaki recruits people with this belief, because it’s what he believes himself to be as well. He is a tool, who has to pay back the favor that pops did for taking him in, and according to Chrono he’s had this belief since childhood. 

So Chisaki’s breaking point is this. 

What are humans to you? 

Chisaki has been using himself as a tool all his life, but the moment he suggests using someone else as a tool Pops draws a line. Apparently, the boss is okay with using him and other people that way, but not with this one girl. This is what I believe to be why Chisaki was improperly cared for as a child.

He was taken in by the mafia, but not as a child, but as an asset to be used. At this moment Chisaki realizes that he has always regarded pops as family, and done this place to protect his home, his family, but that Pops doesn’t consider him family. Chisaki is a tool, and it’s the realization that his place is just the tool of the yakuza that makes him finally snap into being the Chisaki we know now. 

In a way, it’s ironic because Chisaki is actually a perfect Yakuza. He would do anything, spare no expense, sacrifice everything for the sake of his family and the family's dignity. He would do anything for the sake of Pops which is how a tool should function. The problem is Chisaki turned out too good, too efficient, too unfeeling to the point where even when Pops stops giving him orders, all Chisaki thinks about is what he has to do to protect the Yakuza and what he has to do in his boss’s best interest, and always pushes things too far. It’s because he doesn’t have that humanity to hold him back he turned out this way. The humanity that a tool probably wouldn’t need.