#Please add your name

[bamfwizard]

my favorite ship dynamic of all time is "rivals to lovers to rivals again but serious this time but not serious enough to be enemies but also still lovers but kinda lowkey about it"

[scoobit9]

jeeves and the club for inverts

[bittwitchy]

Sebastian Stan. in a bathtub, which is all I actually got out of this movie.

[casualavocados]

so i've been going down several translation holes while giffing kiseki... finding different sources which have their own translations, etc. then trying to choose the words that fit the meaning of the scene im giffing best.

i just wanna talk about two lines in particular that have made me tilt my head and wonder about nuances, so here we go:

the first line/translation i want to mention is from ep9, and is to do with the meaning and intention of the characters/story. it's when chen yi is confronting ai di after he gets out of prison about the time ai di slept with him four years before. i found three different versions of what ai di cuts him off with:

these all contain insanely different meanings in english. i was losing my mind trying to figure out the subtleties of what ai di was saying here, so i reached out to a very helpful speaker of the language who has made kiseki translation posts before, @nikkotinamide , and they said this about it:

and i just got so excited about that...the nuance! the specifics! referring to it as "settling accounts" is likely where the first translation about "the past" comes from, but the other two are closer to the true meaning. however, if you simply went with the revenge line you would miss the complexities that are being suggested in ai di's character.

thinking of that night as a debt he owes to chen yi and has to pay back... as something to be settled - something he isn't even really asking about but more expects chen yi to follow through on... it makes this line so much more poignant to me because it describes his guilt and heartbreak about what happened between them - about what ai di chose to do - in a much more specific and cutting way. ai di expects anger, rejection, and retaliation from chen yi, and tries goading him into reacting in those ways bc he believes he has done something unforgivable (and also that chen yi doesn't (and will never) love him), so he would rather chen yi push him away than risk being that close again.

(un?)luckily for him chen yi is absolutely smitten with him and doesn't let him get away with it. ♥️

the second translation i want to focus on is in ep12 & has more to do with words that don't translate exactly into english, but i went on a similar bender trying to decipher it:

specifically the translation of the last two characters: "堂口 (táng kǒu)" - the word translated here as "office".

bc outside of youtube i found those characters also translated as "headquarters," "gang," and "hall", which are all, again, wildly different from each other. so my best guess was that it was actually a very specific word that highly depended on the context it was being used in, and that context was being translated generally so that non-speakers in the audience would understand. but i wanted to know what that specific word and context was!

so i reached out to a bestie who did some more digging and she found this:

which IMMEDIATELY made me batshit insane because of course that's what it means; of course it's that specific!!

"office" is too professional for where chen yi lives - it's a car garage; it's their front as an auto shop. but it's also not yiyun's "headquarters" because that's the building with the spa where chen dongyang and his husband operate out of: the true central point of the gang. but because of this other line in episode 3, we know chen yi (and ai di too through association; they're a pair, do not buy separately, etc.) leads a specific division of yiyun gang:

so when chen yi asks ai di in ep12 if he's going to the bar or to "堂口" he's asking if he's coming home to the auto shop: their specific division of the gang, (which we knew all along was what he was talking about in the first place).

(...and this is just me continuing with the meta side of it, not the translations, but i also think this connects to what xiao jie and ai di were both talking about when they brought up chen yi's succession as the leader of yiyun:

because chen yi is currently just a leader of one branch of the gang, and young (25 at the point where cdy retires), so to me it makes sense that older, senior members of the gang - possibly even leaders of other divisions - would want that spot. but chen yi is practically cdy's son so get wrecked guys the gang passes to him. 🥰

and that's also why cdy is urging ai di to just come back and be a member again. bc he raised both chen yi and ai di (they are a pair, do not buy seperately) and because chen yi is gonna need ai di to watch his back as he takes over full responsibility. ...im mad we didn't get to see more inter-gang dynamics. that could have been so COOL let me IN.)

anyway those are the two translation bits that have left the biggest impression on me while i've watched and giffed kiseki so far. i just think language is so fucking neat.

[batbabydamian]

Hey, I started reading Robin son of Batman because of your recommendation (I literally have a print of your post on my phone to not forget lol). Honestly? One of the best things I ever read!!!

Thank you for opening my eyes! Damian has been one of my favorite characters for over a year, but I didn't read/watch much of him because of school, life (and probably an executive dysfunction in the mix).

Maya is incredible. I loved her.

I haven't finished all the issues yet, but do you have any other recommendations?

WAH this makes me so happy, i'm glad you still gave it a shot even with how busy life is!! ;v;

i’d love to give reccs, and i’ll try to go a beginner friendly route! tbh you can pick up whatever here, but since you've read R:SOB i’d immediately follow up with Batman and Robin (2011) #1-8! this first arc is what’s referred to in Maya’s introduction, and it's just. so good.

Main Books

Batman and Robin (2009)

Dick as Batman with Damian as his Robin!

#20-22 Tree of Blood: Dark Knight vs White Knight arc is done by Tomasi and Gleason, the team for the next Batman and Robin series

*Batman and Robin (2011)

Bruce and Damian figuring out their relationship as both Batman & Robin and father & son

imo you can enjoy the ride and read straight through this but i’ll add context to avoid as much confusion as possible since there’s the occasional tie-in or offscreen events, like Damian’s death nbd

Batman Incorporated (2012) #1-10

events leading to Damian's death - affects Batman and Robin (2011) from issue #18

kind of a tough read especially with how Talia's written, but a lot of iconic bits like Batcow, Damian's vegetarian declaration, Alfred the cat, "We Were the Best, Richard."

Robin (2021)

another self-discovery adventure, particularly after Alfred’s death and a fallout with Bruce (and questionable writing choices from his last Teen Titans run)

Batman and Robin (2023)

currently ongoing! after a number of events, Bruce and Damian are back as a duo

Damian Dynamics!

Batman: Streets of Gotham (2009) #7, 10-12

arc where Damian meets one of his first Gotham friends, Colin Wilkes

Batgirl (2009) #5-7, #17

Steph and Damian dynamic! "the bad cop, worse cop" dysfunctional duo

Red Robin (2009) #13-14

early Tim and Damian dynamic that of course includes fighting haha. funny enough, accidentally my first intro to Damian LOL

Teen Titans (2003) #89-92

Dick!Batman has Damian join the Teen Titans. Start of Damian and Rose Wilson dynamic that’s extended in Robin (2021)

Batman: Gates of Gotham (2011)

Damian meets Cass and has a brief team up

Gotham Academy (2015) #7

Damian meets Maps Mizoguchi! they have a few other meetings, but outside of that the series itself is a great read!

Robin War Event (2015)

Robin War (2015) #1, Grayson (2014) #15, Detective Comics (2011) #47, We Are Robin (2015) #7, Robin: Son of Batman (2015) #7, Robin War (2015) #2

Duke and Damian dynamic! not exactly beginner friendly but these are the main issues in order for the event! you can also read the TPB version for everything including Tie-Ins

Nightwing (2016) #16-20, #42, #43

#16-20 Nightwing and Robin arc!

#42 Dick on a mission to save Damian! the one appearance of "Wiggles" the dragon

#43 Dick, Roy, and Damian team-up

New Talent Showcase 2018 "Catwoman: Pedigree"

Selina, Damian, and Alfred the cat

Batman: Prelude to the Wedding - Robin vs. Ra's Al Ghul (2018)

Selina, Damian, and Cheese Viking - Damian's fav game shown in Nightwing: Rebirth (2016)

Monkey Prince (2022) #1-4

Marcus Sun Shugel-Shen's main comic, but Damian features as a fun dynamic here before they're in more serious circumstances in Batman VS Robin (2022)/Lazarus Planet event

Superman (2016) #10 - 11

the beginning of the Super Sons! featuring Maya!

Super Sons (2017)

solitary arcs but there’s a few event tie-in issues later

Adventures of the Super Sons (2018)

literally more Super Sons adventures lol galactic shenanigans yeehaw

Challenge of the Super Sons (2020) 

Super Sons time shenanigans feat. the Justice League

Robin 80th Anniversary (2020)

"Boy Wonders" - brief Damian feature as Tim considers his next step in life

"My Best Friend" - Jon's thoughts on Damian and their dynamic

"Bat and Mouse" - refers to Damian's unfortunate Teen Titans (2016) run at the time of release which follows up with Teen Titans Annual #2 where Damian briefly gives up Robin

Extra Comics!

Superman/Batman (2003) #77

Kara and Damian in a Halloween team-up! also the appearance of "Li'l Matches" lol

DCU Halloween Special '09 "Cavity Search"

Damian out on a solo mission for Halloween night. Immediately after is Tim's Red Robin story "Then and Now: Our Father's Sins" which is more somber in contrast but also a good read!

DCU Halloween Special 2010 "Robin the Vampire Slayer"

a Dick!Batman and Robin story featuring the vampire Andrew Bennett

Cursed Comics Cavalcade (2018) "The Devil You Know"

Halloween themed comic with a sweet short story of Damian alongside Solomon Grundy

DC's Terrors Through Time (2022)

"Trick or Treat" a Super Sons Halloween story

"The Haunting of Wayne Manor" Damian and Deadman story - in the end, Boston kinda refers to Nezha's possession of Damian in Batman VS Robin (2022) which was happening at the time of this release

Batman: Li'l Gotham (2013)

lighthearted series that instantly makes me smile with the silliness and Dustin Nguyen’s art i love this dearly

Secret Origins (2014) #4 "A Boy's Life"

a retelling of Damian's origin story

Detective Comics (2016) #1001-1005

Batman and Robin vs the Arkham Knight (unrelated to the game)

Truth & Justice (2021) #6/#16 - 18 Digital First version

cute story of Damian’s birthday! Juni Ba’s art is so fun!!

DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration (2021) “Special Delivery”

short story about Damian! and poisoned pizzas. completely forgot the artist Sami Basri drew Rebirth Damian here before catboy Damian lol Cass’s story “Sounds” is also cute! Marcus makes his first appearance in "The Monkey Prince Hates Superheroes"

DC VS Vampires (2021)

Damian makes appearances throughout this elseworlds book, but the one-shot DC VS Vampires: Hunters (2022) is vampire Damian-centric!

Batman: Black and White (2021) #5

“Father & Son Outing” short story written and drawn by Jorge Jimenez!

Batman: Urban Legends (2021) #20-23

#20 “My Son” Talia and Bruce focus

#20 - 23 “The Murder Club” 4 Parts

Tiny Titans (2008) #33, #39, #45, #47

a few appearances but SO CUTE, LOOK AT HIM

*Batman and Robin (2011) reading guide

i'm mostly trying to avoid the "what did i just walk in on?" kinda feeling when i first started reading comics LOL i'll list the comics where events take place, but you don't necessarily have to read them to go through this book since things are usually explained as quickly as possible in the first page or so

#0 Someday Never Comes

Talia and baby Damian before he grows up to meet Bruce

#1-8 Born to Kill

just an incredibly solid arc for Bruce and Damian!

#9 Court of Owls Tie-In Issue

Damian VS a Court of Owls Talon. While Bruce is occupied with a home invasion of Talons, Alfred makes a call for allies to protect targeted Gotham public figures from Talons. During Batman (2011) #1-11

#10-12 Terminus

Damian challenges the previous Robins sans Steph

Batman Incorporated (2012) is occurring at this time where Talia has placed a bounty on Damian and there's small mentions of that

#13-14 Eclipsed/Devoured

mostly solitary arc! end of it leads into the Death of the Family event

#15-16 Death of the Family Tie-In Issues

Damian and Joker face-off... Alfred's been kidnapped by the Joker, and Damian goes looking for him. During Batman (2011) #13-17

#17 Life is but a Dream - Death of the Family Epilogue

a sort of subconscious check-in through the dreams of Damian, Alfred, and Bruce. Nightwing (2011) #17 features Damian encouraging Dick after Death of the Family events

#18 Undone "Requiem"

Bruce dealing with Damian's death from Batman Incorporated #8

other reactions to Damian's death: Dick in Nightwing (2011) #18, Tim in Teen Titans (2011) #18

#19-23 Denial, Rage, The Bargain, Despair, Acceptance

Bruce through the stages of grief with some batfam appearances in each. also introduces Carrie Kelley into continuity as Damian's acting tutor.

Batman (2011) #19-20 also addresses Bruce's loss

#23.1-23.4

these could be skipped - villain stories, also related to Forever Evil event.

#24-28 The Big Burn

optional Batman and Two-Face/Harvey Dent arc, #23.1 is part of this story!

Damian's resurrection and return

#29-32 The Hunt for Robin

Ras took Talia and Damian's bodies from their graves, and Bruce goes after him.

-> Robin Rises: Omega

continues events from #32. if you don't want to jump to this, basically, Glorious Godfrey and a bunch of parademons from Apokolips are here for a chaos shard which Ra's put in Damian's sarcophagus. at some point, Bruce gets a hold of the shard where he sees a vision that leads him to believe Damian can be resurrected. Godfrey ends up taking the shard, along with Damian's body since it was emitting the same energy.

#33-37 Robin Rises

Bruce hellbent on retrieving Damian from Apokolips and reviving him

-> Robin Rises: Alpha

necessary to read and continues events from #37! Damian's back with a bang lol

#38-40 Superpower

Damian adjusting to having superpowers and being alive again

Annual #1 2013 Batman Impossible

sweet (and funny) one-shot of Damian sending Bruce on a meaningful scavenger hunt around the world while Damian gets to be the cutest Batman for a bit

Annual #2 2014 Batman and Robin: Week One

one-shot takes place during Damian's absence. after Bruce and Alfred find a mystery gift left for Dick, Dick recounts a story he had told Damian from his Robin days.

Annual #3 2015 Moonshot

one-shot Batman and Robin adventure on the moon!

...and of course after Batman and Robin (2011), Damian's story continues in his first solo Robin: Son of Batman (2015)!

[pecusita]

Emotionally wrecked by this edit of the Call Me By Your Name movie + audiobook narration

[spirkme915]

spirk fics i've read recently(ish) and loved

My Heart to Your Heart by greenforsnow @m-b-w - TOS - need a gentle fic? this is it. softness pervades every syllable of this fic!

Through the Wall by Sexy_Lil_Emo - AOS - a fic inspired by nsfw fanart. who needs plot with that?

Malfunction by Maeko - AOS - a nice, short nightcap when you need something sweet to read before bed

Impulse (or, Three Kisses) by decidedlynotheterosexual @decidedly-not-heterosexual - TOS - spock loses control but in the *sweetest* way and they talk about it like adults and this is just soothing and nice

The Proposal by TheKittyCorps @contrascene - AOS - spirk version of "the proposal." laugh out loud funny in parts (yes, hijinks included)

Heirs to the Glimmering World by gunstreet @gunstreet - SNW/TOS - sybok, michael, and sam conspire to get their brothers together!! siblings! tentative first meetings! sex!

De Profundis by Rhaegal (RhaegalKS) - TOS - tmp-era spirk. spock knows he fucked up so he's gonna woo jim

The Kiss by awarrington - TOS - there are some super dated things in this fic (it was originally written in 1994) but this is one of the best i've read dealing with jim coming to terms with his bisexuality and attraction to spock. def don't read if you can't or don't want to take it in context of its time. if you can/have the emotional bandwidth to, then it's well worth it

On the Arrow by Fic_me_senseless - AOS - post-into darkness, heavy read, so much longing, and pain, and it makes you ache in the best way

i'm also in a "watch beyond on repeat phase" so here are my favorite post-beyond fics:

The Steadfastness of Stars by itsnatalie - AOS - this fic. THIS FIC. i was only going to read one paragraph, really. i skipped work, read the whole thing, and now this is in my top five spirk fics

in my life, i love you more by spaceisgay (ChancellorGriffin) - AOS - idek how many times i've read this now. i watch beyond, i read this fic. if they never make a fourth movie, this will be my canon

And Then I Let It Go by kianspo - AOS - yorktown happens, spock goes missing, jim goes after him. this could so be canon too

on the complete opposite side of post-beyond angst is two (YES TWO, we are so blessed!) "spock makes jim coffee" fics that will both make you smile and feel warm all over:

Home in a Mug by Lizzy0305

certainty relief by itsamew @enterprise-me-capn

and (because i can never quite seem to keep these lists solely focused on spirk) one AOS mckirk fic:

retro/spect by slightlycrunchy @slightlycrunchy - best friends to lovers anyone? this is just so so so lovely!

[yoohyeon]

For anyone that buys T*mblr premium you better donate to fundraisers 🇵🇸🇨🇩

[merwynpersonalhub]

ok just giving a god damn warning to people. there is this user (they are mimicking a user on here i think they are mimiking brooke2valley) and they are showing s/h images in asks. please please please if u see a ask from a username that is similar to the user i mentioned DO NOT FUCKING UNBLUR THE IMAGE its a arm thats all im gonna say. im lucky im not that phased with that shit!!!! please block and report them. you can tell if its the mimicking acc if 1) the acc follows you before asking 2) the acc is BLANK. please be careful yall. (also i feel like i need to say its not brooke2valley. its someone being a fucking asshole.)

^^vthis is what its usually gonna look like and sadly in notifications it doesnt blur the image. so i recommend going to the ask box (it flitered i am like 90% sure) and just report it i cant rlly at them or anything bc they will change the name again and shit but like..yeah. be safe

[entirelysein-e]

Please tag me in your fics!!

I don't care if I'm in the fandom or not or what the fic is about!!

I read everything as long as it doesn't include underaged smut

But I'd like to get back into reading and the tags are super wonky!

It doesn't matter if you're a mutual, a follower or a stranger - I just want to read & support other writers more!!

Also if it's not your own work. If you read something and think I would enjoy it - tag me!!

[justsomeoneunordinary]

See, I don’t usually like to think that Hashirama would’ve killed Tobirama if Madara hadn’t given the choice between Tobirama and Hashirama, because those kinds of thoughts usually only come from the anti Hashirama side of the fandom which I could not agree less with if I tried.

But.

The fact remains that Hashirama at some point went from “I will protect my last brother at any cost” to “I will kill anyone who threatens Konoha, even if it were my brother or even my own children” and it’s never fucking shown when that change exactly happened.

Was it when he reached adulthood and he realized for himself that the bigger picture—in his case, peace—matters more than anything else? Was it after Konoha was built and he became Hokage and his responsibilities grew? Was it after Madara left and his heart grew cold?

I imagine it must’ve been a mixture of being Hokage and therefore having more people to protect besides his direct family, and Madara’s betrayal that must’ve struck him pretty badly that he let his heart grow so cold to the point he’d rather kill his best friend/brother/child if they in any way threatened the village resp. peace as a whole than attempting to talk with them first.

But the question remains: What would have Hashirama done if Madara had demanded Tobirama’s life with no other option? I don’t like to imagine that he actually would’ve killed Tobirama, but as much as I devour fics in which Hashirama goes absolutely batshit after his brother dies with relish, canonically speaking, peace would always be Hashirama’s biggest goal. And it’s driving me utterly nuts that I cannot for the life of me say how Hashirama would’ve reacted in this scenario.

Anyway, Idk where I was going with this, I just had to think once again about this and what a fascinating character Hashirama actually is and how little we know about him at the end of the day…

[just-a-living-meat-thing]

GUYS THERES DEATH NOTE STUDY SETS ON QUIZLET. IM SO NORMAL ABOUT THIS

[bittwitchy]

CS: Danielle Rose Russell and Jensen Ackles

[kamidukki]

Hi, please feel free to ignore this if you aren’t caught up with the latest installments of the Akuneko main story. Enjoy things at your own pace. 💜

**Semi-Spoilerish** If you’re all caught up there is a certain character I’m curious about that shows up but can’t find ANYTHING on them. I don’t even know this man’s name, just that he is an entire snack. 🥵 It’s the elf(?) looking guy with long white hair. I do believe he showed up during the chapter that focused on Lato if I recall but he seems to play a bigger part in this latest chapter of the story. If you have any crumbs of information on him I would love you forever and name my first born after you. 😂

Hello there!

Just to make sure, this is the guy you're talking about, right? ⬇️

I have caught up with the main episodes, but not the events so all I can tell you about the elf-looking man derived from there. To be specific, from Ep. 4 Ch. 3 part 7 titled 出会い/The Encounter and Ch. 5 part 8-11 and 13-14.

⚠️ Spoiler alert ⚠️

To be honest, I don't pay attention to him too much when reading, sorry 😭

Indeed, knowing his name would be nice, but I believe that information is yet to be revealed. His name box is always filled with "???" throughout the entirety of Episode 4. What we readers are allowed to know at this point is that he is one of the "valley-dwellers" of the Western Land/西の大地の渓谷の民.

(If this results from my inattention rather than the fact, then I apologise in advance 🙇 I'm pretty sure his name hasn't been dropped though...)

Long story short, the people from there are being kidnapped and the elf guy is looking for them. He refers to the missing people with the word 同胞 (brethren/brothers/compatriot).

The Master, or us readers so to speak, met him by accident in the forest around nighttime. Boschi, Ammon, Muu, and the Master went to visit the grave of Boschi's grandmother. Due to its location, they had to camp out in the forest for the night. The Master, who was awaken from sleep for a reason, heard a noise and went to check the source by themselves.

That was when they saw an injured man, the elf-guy, for the first time. After the Master left for help, the elf was shown to mutter to himself, something along the lines of "A dream? No it's not... So that's what the master of the devil butlers... To think that we'd meet each other here of all places..."

I don't remember exactly what he said, but recall noting that the elf-guy seems to recognise our identity as the devil butlers' master.

(When the Master came back bringing Boschi and Ammon, the man was no longer in the same spot)

You're right about him playing a bigger part in the latest installment, but... /scratch head. Even though I already put a spoiler warning above, I'll say it again just in case. If anyone reading this would like to avoid a major spoiler, don't read what is written below.

⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️

he's apparently the culprit behind the noblemen kidnapping case, an incident Finlay requests the devil butlers to look into

⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️

That's all I can remember for the moment, I guess...? Reading what I myself just wrote, I can't help but be aware that this might not be much. I hope you enjoy nonetheless. If something comes up, I'll add it in a reblog or even make a new post.

Have a nice week! 💗

[aspenicus-is-learning]

I’m happy for Franco and he seems chill but also. Same issues as with Kimi and with Logan. Too soon.

I will be rooting for Franco with my life make no mistake and anything James consonants does that is detrimental to him will be shamed extensively. You have to wait. I don’t know much about Franco yet, but he is at least not a teenager which is good, and he has not even had a full f2 season yet which is questionable but y’know maybe he’ll blow it out of the water (I hope for his sake he does).

I’m still very mad about Logan, you signed him for the season and you made your bed and now you’ve got to sleep in it. I don’t think it’s fair to rip the rug out from under someone mid-season, no matter how badly they are doing. (Which. Like. His car was held together with duct tape at times I don’t know if we can have an argument about his performance when for a lot of the races he wasn’t in the same car as Alex.)

anyway. Fuck James consonants and Logan needs to win the Indy 500.

[k9punkout]

why do you think till sabotaged his opponent in round 2 and didn’t give him a chance to sing? i’ve seen a few different possible reasons thrown around- was he trying to make a statement, that he wouldn’t participate in alien stage the way he was expected to? was he preventing himself from losing? did he see it as his only chance to confess to mizi with the song he wrote for her? something else entirely?

i’d love to know your thoughts on this, your characterization of till is top tier

-atrophiedemotion

AGHHHHH THANK YOU SO SO MUCH <33

personally, I believe he did it for a multitude of reasons, including most of what you mentioned.

first and foremost, he was trying to make a statement. he was showing that he would not live in compliance, screaming out to the whole world that they could never tame him(except they did in r6 but IGNORE THAT). his choice to perform his OWN song about his OWN emotions exhibits a sense of individuality that is rare in pet humans in this universe, and since alnst has such a large following, and Till especially has a lot of people observing his behavior due to Urak calling him "the best in history," he knows that this is his chance to get the message across to society.

in the round 2 description, vivinos said her personal favorite line is when he yells "come on" at the beginning of the song, because it's like he's commanding the audience to follow his rhythm. Till leads his own crowd, makes them feel what he wants them to feel, and while that used to be the purpose of art, it seems to have lost its meaning in the alnst universe, especially with music that is sung by pet humans, so Till accomplishing this is a testament to his "artistic genius".

while the song was about Mizi, I don't think he did it as a confession to her. one of his lines right before the chorus was "you'll never know," so I don't think he ever planned on telling Mizi that he was in love with her, but also doesn't plan on ever letting go of his emotions ("i dont wanna stop"). i think there are so many reasons as to why he feels this way, but that's a Till rant for another time.

the fact that he chose to perform a love song he wrote to the audience says something as well. Mizi is his muse and motivation for both the art he produces and the bravery he exhibits. Using his love as an act of rebellion is a perfect way to show that. He's singing about love the way HE experiences it, and he's displaying the person that it made him. it's all a huge story with a strong message.

and then we get to the murder. honestly idk why it wasn't expected like. why would you give the hostile unpredictable alien hater an ALIEN guitar and expect it to turn out normal. nevermind the fact that he acted somewhat normal in the preliminary rounds you should've known something was up his sleeve. (also the fact that Freddie was BRED to be a damn guitar is like. fucking dystopian in itself. like what is this qu behavior.)

he killed Freddie on impulse the second his opponent tried to sing, because he was NOT abt to let his spotlight get stolen. also because he hates all aliens.

on a deeper note, i think he did it for control as well. much like Luka, the stage is the only way Till can get the feeling of being truly in charge of a situation, with minimal restrictions and less intense consequences. Unlike Luka, Till doesn't taunt or abuse his opponents but overwhelms them instead, thus his performance in round 2 and his killing Freddie. It would also explain part of the "bliss" he is said to feel after killing him.

Of course, another reason behind his bliss is the fact that Mizi looked up at him. he adores having her attention on him, he can never get enough of it ("still it's not enough"), and I think he's happy with it in any form, even if that form includes shock and horror at the stage being turned into a bloodbath. he was looking at her like a puppy after performing a trick and getting a treat as a reward.

it's also important to lean into his more compassionate side, especially when it comes to Mizi. I'm not 100% sure about this, but he might've also been happy to have distracted her from her grieving over Sua, if only for a second. replacing her anguish with surprise that won't make her feel better, but will take her mind off of it. (i think the mess of blood and gore only served to make Mizi's mental state worse, but that wasn't his intention.)

LAST REASON, and probably silliest- Acorn (r2 npc) and Till canonically have beef. I mean, Till has beef with everyone, but Acorn specifically wrote in his goodbye letter: "you're talented. i'll give you that." you can SMELL the passive-aggression. it's beyond me as to why, but it explains Till's lack of care about his life and death.

(MY personal theory: it's canon that Acorn has confessed to Sua multiple times, only to be rejected. he might've noticed how much she loved Mizi and grew resentful of her, and Till might have overheard him slandering her or something and never forgave him since.)

ANYWAYS THANK YOU FOR THIS DELIGHTFUL OPPORTUNITY TO YELL ABOUT ROUND 2 BECAUSE ITS ONE OF MY FAVORITE ROUNDS, AND ABOUT TILL BECAUSE I LOVE HIM SO <3