#Prologue Analysis

[fogaminghub]

https://www.fogaminghub.com/post/explore-the-chilling-choices-of-until-dawn-s-prologue

🌌 Ready for a spine-tingling journey? In our latest blog post, we breakdown the choices you face in the prologue of Until Dawn. Follow Beth as she navigates through the ominous Washington Lodge and make decisions that may haunt you! Don’t miss out on the chance to influence this harrowing tale! 🔥💔 

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hey Raven, hope your doing well. I was rewatching book 5 and something struck me. Crowly stills does his thing to get yuu/mc to host the NRC tribe at Ramshackle. But compare to previous chapters hes seems a little nicer, i guess? He offering renovations and upgrades ( a positive), instead of just threatening to cut yuu's food budget or something (a negative).

Where im going with this is, do you think Crowley may have felt a tiny tinge for his (in) action in book 4? Or atleast, realized he actually screwed up. He did give Yuu in case of an emergency.... and promptly ignored it (or just turned it off) when he went on break. He likely had to have heard what happened over the break...an likely saw his missed calls and put 2 and 2 together. Sure he may not feel bad enough to apologize (at least openly), but he does seem to make himself scarce early in b5. That could just be him being, well, the headmage. Maybe he's just not sure how to deal with MC or how they'd react to seeing him? So instead of threatening Yuu, he offers them something instead? Idk, maybe im reaching. Crowley relationship with Yuu is complicated. I do like to believe he has some empathy or regret (or maybe he just has more respect for yuu by b5?) After everything up to that point

Like i said, i may be reaching here. Wanted to get your input. Sorry for the long ask. Have a good one :)

In many fandom depictions of Crowley, he often serves as Yuu's guardian who is incompetent but well-meaning. I'm also guilty of doing this, Crowley is considered my OC's father figure (even if my OC isn't a Yuu). That's how we choose to engage with the characters and the world that we love! However, I don't believe that Crowley has that sort of tenderness for Yuu in canon, whether at the start or as their relationship develops over the course of the main story. Now, that's not to say that I think Crowley is cold or hateful towards Yuu. Far from it! He does care for them, but in the same way that a teacher might care about nurturing their students and preparing them for the world beyond graduation. Crowley demonstrates a similar attitude towards other NRC students, with one very clear example being in his Raven Jacket vignettes. In those stories, he likens his students to apple trees that he raises and nurtures, hoping that one day they might bear fruit. He does not particularly grant Yuu special treatment unless it's a scenario where he wants them to do a favor for him. (Though here I would also argue he does the same for other students when he wants them to resolve an issue in his place, which happens frequently in event stories; in Fairy Gala, he warns the boys they'll be held back if classes cannot proceed due to the wacky weather. In Ghost Marriage, Crowley shames the boys for not expressing interest in rescuing Idia, etc.)

I also want to set the record straight regarding how exactly Crowley gets Yuu to comply with his requests. Reviewing all avaliable books in the main story, Crowley rarely outright threatens Yuu if they refuse to help him:

Prologue — Crowley does not initially ask anything of Yuu, but he does provide them a temporary home and food until they can sort something out. During Yuu's stay, they are meant to do handiwork to earn their keep. However, Crowley tries to expel them after their involvement in breaking what is considered a precious chandelier. In this case, his anger is somewhat justified but it's still the one major example of Crowley leveraging something to force Yuu to act in a way that he desires. The thing is, it's revealed in chapter 19 that Crowley did not believe Yuu could acquire the magestone he asked for and was all set to finalize the expulsion papers. So really, he wasn't serious at all in giving Yuu a chance to redeem themselves and was going to expel Yuu anyway (until they happened to prove their "usefulness"). Whether this counts as an example of Crowley "threatening" Yuu, then, is up to individual interpretation.

Book 1 — Crowley makes no specific request to Yuu. He shows up late in the book and suggests to the frustrated Adeuce that they fight Riddle to claim his seat as dorm leader, but does not tell Yuu to do anything in this situation. Recall that it was Ace that marched up to Ramshackle's front door and demanded that he be allowed to stay overnight; Crowley had no part in that.

Book 2 — In 2-7, Crowley asks Yuu to investigate the strange string of accidents that has befallen the students set to play in the upcoming inter-dorm magift/spelldrive tournament. There is a part where Crowley says he "never promised to cover living expenses". You, as Yuu, have the option to ask him "Is that a threat...?" to which Crowley never properly responds. Interpret that how you wish. He then offers Grim and Yuu a chance to participate in said tournament if they succeed, seeing as they lacked the 7 players needed to form a team. Crowley even says he will find 5 other players to fill in their missing team seats for them.

Book 3 — Here in 3-6, Crowley never actually threatens to cut off food. Instead, he is trying to earn pity from Yuu by guilt tripping them and emphasizing that he, the headmaster, is so busy with his tasks (like finding Yuu a way home) and will provide them with the funds they need regardless because he is so very kind. He's trying to tug at their heartstrings by pointing out the things he selflessly does for them, so they feel obligated to do something for him in return. Once Yuu agrees to help, he lavishes them with praise and says it is "expected" of someone he personally chose.

But!! I want to add that in the Episode of Octavinelle manga, this same scene is depicted as Crowley threatening to cut their food budget. I'm not sure if this is just a different interpretation (since Yuuta seems to prepare more food than is usually implied in the game; this would explain why their food costs go up significantly) or if Crowley truly was also threatening to cut the budget in the game.

Book 4 — Crowley makes a reasonable request in 4-2; he asks Yuu and Grim to tend to the fire fairies over winter break since it's a task no one else will be present to handle. In exchange, he says he will give them a banquet of tasty foods (which is not an empty promise; in 4-39, the Ramshackle Ghosts tell Yuu and Grim that the headmaster has left them with a ton of food as thanks.

Book 5 — Crowley appears in 5-21 asking that Yuu allow the NRC Tribe to stay at Ramshackle for their month-long training camp. He explains that Vil and Rook are willing to give up their share of the prize money if Yuu agrees to these terms. It is then that Crowley adds that he will help with renovation too, most likely to sweeten the deal with his word.

Book 6 — Crowley does not ask anything of Yuu. He does, however, call in STYX in 6-2 because he becomes concerned about the threat that Grim poses after consuming multiple crystallized blots. After Grim is taken, Crowley instructs Yuu in 6-4 to wait until Grim has recovered and been evaluated by a third party to speak with him again.

Book 7 — Crowley makes no specific requests to Yuu.

You can see in almost all instances that Crowley uses a variety of tactics to get his students to do what he wants them to. He bribes, shames/guilts them, points out very real consequences if the problem at hand is not resolved, and, yes, occasionally makes what can be interpreted as a vague threat. Despite this, the fact remains that he was always nice, not just post-book 4 (in fact, Crowley was also nice during book 4). I don't see the circumstances as "anything before or during book 4 is him being negative and threatening to punish Yuu and anything after book 4 is him being kind and positive to Yuu". In most cases with Yuu, he is offering them something they would want. His go-to strategy isn't threats, it tends to be the promise of a reward.

I wouldn't tie any of Crowley's actions to feeling a sense of remorse or guilt on his own part. While it's true we don't really get to see inside of his head, from what we see of him... this man is utterly shameless. He's willing to resort to emotional manipulation to convince literal children to solve problems that he, the powerful mage and adult, should be dealing with. What's more, he praises himself for Yuu's competence and willingness to step up. That's him placing a lot of faith in his students, and I don't think he feels any guilt in doing this. Why else would he send them into dangerous situations over and over again? He must, to some extent, believe they can already handle themselves just fine, otherwise he's creating tons of legal liabilities for himself by purposefully throwing children of tons of affluent families into the line of fire. Besides, he's a highly skilled mage himself--if any true, TRUE danger were to befall them, surely he could save the day himself. My thought is that he has sort of a "tough love" approach where he tosses his students into the fires and sees how they get out of it in one piece, but it's just presented in a "devil-may-care" way because of his lackadaisical attitude.

Regarding book 4, I personally see Crowley giving his cell phone number as just a means to provide reassurance to Grim and Yuu, since they (especially Grim) are protesting about him seemingly leaving on vacation. It's an empty gesture so he can have his getaway without much of a fuss; I totally believe that Crowley did not ever intend to answer his phone. When he returns in book 5, he's already asking another favor of Yuu, so I get the sense he isn't really bothered by what happened. I would even say that Crowley still has several major appearances in book 5, not that he has made himself scarcer. He appears to ask the favor, appears again to evaluate their performance, and then a third time at the cultural festival to speak with the headmaster of RSA. Crowley gets plenty of screen time here, much more then in books 6 and 7. If he truly felt bad or actively wanted to avoid Yuu, he could easily just tell other students (ie Vil) or even school staff (ghosts, teachers, etc.) to relay the deal for him.

Again, I want to be clear: THIS IS NOT CROWLEY BASHING. The only thing I am expressing in this post is that while I do love this bird-brained goober and think he cares for his students, I don't believe it's done in the conventional sense you're thinking of. Crowley can be selfish and callous and throw his students into danger, and that's okay! Sometimes we want to love a useless man who's trying his best, even if his best is pretty lousy/j

Whew, that was a lot of brain dumping! I hope I properly responded to all your thoughts and that you found this read semi-entertaining~

[freakinflipflop]

Hey ISAT fans. You ever think about how, despite the fact that stars and constellations do exist, craftology exists as an in-universe replacement for astrology? Like it's written off as a joke bc you find out about it in act two but like. Stars are so thoroughly wiped out that the lack of an astrological system is something that we take for granted as an in-universe joke, in spite of the fact that they are vitally important to the game and in the title????

Yeah cause I'm thinking about that right now.

[humornaut]

hi!! i’m a relatively new omori fan (a brainrotted fan, however, with 140 hours in the game so far… and 98% completion bc i lost to the recyclepath.. -_-) anyway, i love your analysis posts, you’ve clearly studied the details of this game very well!!

i was hoping to ask about the timeline of white space and headspace creation, if you have the time and would like to! my roommate and i played together and have tried to piece it together a few times over the four playthroughs we’ve done (two of each route), but there are still some details that seem contradictory to me. i’m sorry if this is obvious though!

so the transcript of the truth album says “you sink into a crevice in your mind… an empty white room” so i initially assumed white space was created on the day of the incident, in that dissociative state while mari was in the bed. you also see this in the sequence after three days left before going back into headspace where it’s sunny and basil in front of the door, then sunny in white space, then the manifestation of omori. of course, we’ve also been told “you’ve been living here for as long as you can remember”, but we can assume the “you” is omori instead of sunny, which makes sense if he was created in white space

however. in the lost library we see that sunny used to explore headspace during school, presumably before the incident, and daddy longlegs says “in the beginning, there only existed two... the dreamer and his room” and then “the dreamer grew weary of his room and created a door that led to many different worlds”, referring to white space and headspace, so white space existed first. so white space existed before the incident.

so then the white space reference from the truth album is maybe about the manifestation of omori, instead of the creation of white space. i think the outfit sunny’s wearing in the omori cut scene is also the same as from the day of the incident (the black tshirt & shorts). so presumably (before the incident), sunny used to explore headspace as sunny instead of as omori.

daddy longlegs then goes on to talk about black space, and how omori was created to let sunny “ascend to a blissful state of ignorance” and “forget himself” (this also prompts an interesting question of how sentient omori is — because he’s the protector (& knows enough to be willing to kill basil) but he’s also “ignorant of his own fabrication”, according to daddy longlegs, but i guess that’s another matter entirely!) black space was created in response to trauma, so that again supports the idea that omori was manifested after the incident.

so then white space. a place to survive but not to live. the black lightbulb is the repression of an idea, ie, the lightbulb was created after the incident. but sure, white space can exist without the lightbulb. my question then is, why did sunny need a place to survive before then? we could say that dissociation has always been his go-to reaction in stressful situations, and that’s why. but he was also in white space long enough to get bored of it, enough to conjure headspace.

we have a few vague clues that sunny & mari’s home life could have been bad, but nothing concrete. and personally, i’m of the opinion that his life being more or less ideal to begin with enhances the tragedy of the story (as well as him and basil having opposite tragedies, as i saw someone else point out — sunny’s being that he was already very much loved & cared for, so it’s worse when it’s taken away, basil’s that he never had that in the first place), but i guess that’s up to interpretation. other than home life issues then, just the stress of the violin? general developmental issues? depression? something else?

i’d be super curious to hear what you think (again, if you have the time)… thank you! :)

Hi there! Sorry about how long this took me, I've had a lot going on + I actually wrote a whole long response that took me like a week of on and off working, and then I accidentally shut off my computer and lost the whole thing :(

I want to start this off with a couple disclaimers: Omori intentionally keeps its timeline close to its chest (presumably to add to the game's feelings of unease and the mystery of it all) AND we see evidence throughout the game that during Omori's long development cycle, it saw multiple changes to its story that ultimately makes the game's timeline a little inconsistent in a way that doesn't really matter.

I think I don't really have to explain the first point to you, but it will be relevant when talking about Headspace, because the game doesn't even commit to Headspace being purely a dream, as there are plenty of indications throughout it that it could be something a bit more supernatural.

However, I do want to elaborate on my second point there, mostly because this is something that I've wanted to talk about for awhile, and what better time to bring it up than when we are talking about the timeline! So:

How Old is Hero Omori?

I swear this is an actually interesting question

It might seem silly to ask this, considering the game actually tells us how old he is in Headspace, but stick with me.

Based on this line, Hero (and presumably Mari) are 15 pre-canon, while the rest of the group turns 12 during the year of the album (except Kel, who would've turned 12 prior to Basil getting the album).

So let's take the time skip into account. When we first meet real world Aubrey, she says this:

After this point, the game tends to stick to the time skip being four years whenever it comes up. But this isn't technically true! Even accounting for the months after the incident that Sunny continued going outside for, the incident happened in October, while Sunny comes out again during the summer. Most likely, we're actually looking at around 3 and a half years, with Sunny coming back outside the summer that he would turn 16. Since we are presumably at the beginning of the summer, with Hero just now coming home from college, Sunny would actually be 15, at least during the main portion of the game, though once he's in the hospital, it appears some time has passed so that school has now started back up.

Why does this matter? Well, based on this timeline with Hero being 15 in the photo album, he should have turned 19 the January prior to the game's main events, and this is what most people see as canon. However, within the United States, most people, unless they graduate early or late, will leave High School the year they turn 18, meaning most people turn 19 during their first year at college (if they attend).

At first glance, this doesn't seem to be an issue, but we know for a fact that Hero has actually been away at college for two years, due to this interaction:

This is the second summer that Hero has returned from college! He should be 20! Now Hero is a bit of an overachiever, so it is possible that what is actually happening here is that he graduated early, but I doubt that due to what we know about how Hero reacted to Mari's death.

For that first year, even if Hero was technically going to school, he certainly wasn't excelling at it. By the time he gets to the state we see him in-game, he has maybe a year to a year and a half left of schooling. I'm really not sure that I can buy Hero graduating early, regardless of how well he does from that point on.

I also want to acknowledge that the game could simply take place ~4 1/2 years, rather than 3 1/2. There's no reason not to go with this, other than it would mean that the younger four are actually 17 during the game. You are free to believe this instead, but I am going to go into what I actually think is going here next.

We know that the characters got younger during development. We actually have an older version of the photo album, in which instead of saying that Sunny was turning 12, it says 13. Why did this happen?

Let's take a look at Aubrey's recollection of what happened following Mari's death:

For reference, this is part of what she says at the tree stump during One Day Left.

Her words here imply that she wasn't actually aware about how bad it was for Hero, and most of the fandom typically just leaves it at that.

But that's weird, right? Look at what she says. It seems like she did HAVE a reason for why Hero wasn't available, it was just incorrect. And what's more, this is definitely how Hero would've been after his year of very much not studying. There's no reason that Aubrey would believe that Hero reacted to Mari's death in this way unless it was true, especially since it is something that would later be true.

I also want to point out that Kel's talk in the cemetery in which he tells us how Hero reacted to Mari's death is entirely optional and disconnected from the actual main story cutscenes in the real world.

To bring this full circle, I also want to point out a mechanic that was added to the game VERY late in development:

You might see where I'm going with this.

Here's my theory. Originally, Hero would not have reacted to Mari's death with staying in bed for a year in a depressed state. Instead, he would've immediately become lost in his studies as a coping mechanism. However, when the team had the idea for the emotions chart, they likely realized that while happy and angry fit Kel and Aubrey's coping methods respectively quite well, Hero did not seem to fit sadness all that well at all.

In order to make Hero fit sadness, they change his story so that he stayed in a depressed state for a year, but they don't remove his original story of getting lost in his schoolwork. After all, they already had the writing and art assets finished and the game had already been in development for a long time. So instead of doing any major rewrites of the actual script, they simply add a single cutscene in the graveyard that doesn't seem to contradict anything that lets us know that this is how Hero reacted!

Then they had another problem. If Hero spent a year not caring about school, how would he have graduated on time? It would've been difficult even for an overachiever to do two years of schooling in one year. This is an easy fix as well! All you have to do is go through the very few instances of characters' ages being mentioned, and make everyone a year younger! It would've been a lot easier for Hero to catch up and excel if he had an additional year to do so after the incident with Kel! It also gives us another instance of a character getting overwhelmed and angry and pushing someone they care about, which we see multiple times! It works really well, and I like it a lot, but I haven't been able to unsee this change being made ever since the first time I thought of it. The minor line of dialogue about the hero sandwich that reveals Hero has been in college for two years would have been overlooked, since it doesn't mention his age, and likely would've been forgotten due to its unimportance. Aubrey's line, while wrong, can also still be explained away by her simply not being in the know about how Hero really reacted to Mari's death.

I'm not saying this is definitely what happened, but this theory does explain that one tiny little inconsistency that we see in the game. Could also be nothing though idk I'm not perfect

SO

The timeline of the creation of Headspace, White Space, and Black Space! The thing you actually asked about and care about!

It's a little difficult to actually place a lot of things here. Headspace is already so vague. We can use Daddy Longlegs' explanation as a general guide, but it's still difficult to figure out how it lines up with the between night cutscenes, as well as some of the other things.

What I can say is that Omocat has explained Sunny's dream worlds as a very real reaction to trauma that some people have. From this perspective, it would've always existed in some form.

In regards to the truth album line about sinking into the empty room, it's important to keep in mind that nothing there (unless I am super mistaken) implies that this is the first time that Sunny has been there, only that it is happening in that moment. In fact, I find the use of the term "sink" to be very interesting in this context, because very recently prior to the end of the photo album and the incident itself, Sunny had another very traumatic experience when he nearly drowned at the lake. This incident is also very important because many of the traumas that we see from Sunny in game come from this incident. He is still extremely scared of heights, spiders, and drowning by the time the game happens. I don't think it is out of the realm of possibility that White Space was initially created as a response to that, assuming that it didn't already exist for Sunny's entire life.

Next! Headspace, as I understand it, refers specifically to the dream world that Sunny created by merging a bunch of different dream worlds together in order to hide away Black Space, as told by Daddy Longlegs. What we see in the school day memory isn't Sunny exploring Headspace, rather it is just establishing that Sunny has always had a creative and wandering mind, which is why he was able to create Headspace as a coping method in the first place.

The "you've been living here for as long as you can remember" line can also mean many things! It can refer to Omori, as you said, or it could refer to Sunny always having White Space to some extent, OR (and I find this to be the most likely answer) that regardless of how long Sunny has actually had White Space, his repression of ALL his memories both the good and the bad mean that this is literally all he can remember!

All of this is to say: I don't really know. I'm really sorry about that, I've typed this up multiple times trying to come up with a satisfying timeline that I can actually point at evidence for. I believe that Sunny probably had access to White Space before the incident itself, but Headspace probably only became necessary to form out of his different dreamworlds and fantasies after the incident. He was always creative, so he always had creative dreams, but Headspace itself was almost assuredly a post-incident creation.

I apologize that this probably wasn't the answer you were looking for. There might be an answer in there somewhere, but I hope I've shown here how trying to come up with a definitive timeline for Omori can create issues.

[withthewindinherfootsteps]

MDZS – Prologue thoughts + analysis

"Great news, Wei Wuxian has died!"

(In was, in fact, not great news)

Jokes aside though, what a great way to start your novel – it immediately intrigues you, especially since you likely know WWX is the main character from the blurb at least*. It also introduces one of the main themes of the novel right off the bat, ie scapegoating and mob mentality – not a word is wasted. And I love how it clearly lays out all the things that will be explored/contextualised/proven false in later chapters. In order:

Jiang clan 'adopting' and teaching WWX (proven false/contextualised) – they did take him in and teach him, but it wasn't a full adoption, he wasn't of equal status. Though it is true that he'd be living on the streets otherwise. Part of the reason rumours are so hard to distrust is because there's a grain of truth in them. Also, it's cool how apart from his death, this is the first thing we hear, and the first flashback also takes place in this period!

WWX defecting (contextualised) and leading to the Jiang Clan's near-extermination (proven false i'd argue, at the very least heavily contextualised). It's interesting that they seem to asociate the fall of Lotus Pier, which happened a few years before, with WWX's ('evil') actions now, though it does make sense – but also I wonder how did people came to that conclusion? Did they just make associations themselves (WWX is evil –> WWX was taken in by the Jiangs –> Lotus Pier was destroyed a few years ago –> WWX was there –> WWX caused it)? Did JC mention it to people deliberately, since we know he blames WWX for it? Did people hear JC mentioning it more privately (expressing anger, he does not hold it in) and spread the rumour themselves?

WWX's 'demonic' (ghost) cultivation being the reason for him turning evil and his eventual downfall (proven false, there are some great metas on how guidao isn't actually corrupting. See: how WWX keeps using it in his second life and is completely unaffected, and how in his first life he was suffering from way more stress and a lot of trauma – especially SunShot era – which could easily have explained the seeming change in behaviour during that time. Same for Qiongqi Path and Nightless City)

WWX massacring 3000-or-5000 people at Nightless City (heavily contextualised, reasoned with a little during the Second Siege. I have more to say on this but we'll get to it in time).

And then various other things, eg emphasis on how necessary it is to cultivate the righteous path or else – despite the discovered irony of 'righteous' cultivators besieging and killing 50 innocent people, while the 'demonic' cultivator is the only one protecting them – along more information about WWX's death (most of which is confirmed by passing words/thoughts of WWX) and the destruction of the Yin Tiger Tally.

But the things listed above are said first, which is quite important. MDZS is very much a mystery story, both for WWX, LWJ and often the Juniors uncovering the clues about the missing body parts – but also for us readers, as we find and piece together the missing knowledge and context WWX's past, and the full story hidden behind it. And it's so cool how MXTX lays out what we'll explore (our leads, if you will) so clearly, within the first moments of the first chapter of the book.

(If you want to go there, just like how WWX found his first lead/motivation to investigate within the first few (relative) moments of being brought back to life, with the hand at Mo Manor, but I might be reaching a little too far... anyway parallels in MDZS narrative structure I love you so much)

Other details in this chapter:

I love how this comparison is used:

Having read the book, we know there was a very recent war, so this speed/comparison would be very familiar to everyone! A subtle way of setting up and showing the efforts of the Sunshot Campaign, though you wouldn't recognise it the first time round.

Admittedly we don't know how subjective/exaggerated this POV is, but there is evidence for the fact that hundreds of smaller clans participated (or at least wanted to participate before Nightless City..?), judging by the fact that three thousand cultivators gathered to plan to kill him. Surely that's not just the Great Sects. But on the topic of that, yup, all four sects were involved (I don't think it's disproven later, and all four sects did gather at Nightless City as well**), there's no one 'good one' that wasn't corrupted or complicit.

Even by just reading what the crowd says, it's cool how you can tell that at least some of what's being said is untrustworthy:***

Already, they're contradicting information and exaggerating rumours – also note that later on at the Guanyin Temple (Hatred 2), LXC, someone I trust more, says three thousand when talking about the number of cultivators at Nightless City (even not considering what WWX said during the Second Siege). That contradiction and exaggeration does make you doubt what they're saying a little already! As well as the fact you know there's more to the story due to, again, WWX being the main character.

This is heightened by everyone saying, later, that if WWX returned, 'the cultivation world, or even all of mortal land, would be faced with the most insane damnation and revenge, sinking into nothing but chaos and despair' – something immediately disproven in the beginning of the next chapter, immediately suggesting that a lot of these rumours are much more untrustworthy than they seem.

His death here is made even worse by the belief that (iirc) the state of your body after death affects the reincarnation of your soul...? That definitely contributes to the 'karma' the people mention in screenshot after.

This hurts already, but hurts even more after knowing WWX's fear of dogs due to them always biting him when searching for food...

--

*I wouldn't be surprised if this opening plays a big role in why why MDZS seems to have the biggest following of all MXTX's books. Openings are probably the most important part of the novel, since you start with no attachments that would make you keep reading, and MDZS absolutely nails it. I love it so much!

**Off-topic, but I do wonder how painful being at the meeting at Nightless City (before WWX showed up) was for LWJ...

***I'm curious about this extract, actually – the 7S translations has an extra line/distributes this differently? If anyone knows the original Chinese, I'd love to know which one is more accurate.

[jozor-johai]

Reread the AGOT Prologue last night, and I was so caught up this time in how the dynamics of that chapter are a microcosm of the class dynamics in Westeros.

Not such a long post, but putting it after the cut for ease.

Waymar Royce, of course, stands in for the Lords, with his wealth and name and undeserved authority, while one-named Gared and Will are the smallfolk.

In this chapter, with a speaking cast of 3, there's already this question of where does power lie? In this scene, the smallfolk outnumber the lords 2-to-1, and neither believe in Waymar, but ultimately each of them defers to the lord's authority (the ratio is much more extreme in Westeros at large, but this works for a 3-person dynamic). Will and Gared also trust each other, and trust each other's expertise, more than either of them think Waymar should be trusted in any capacity—he's not leader by merit (he has much less experience than either of them), he's not leader by popular appeal (they laugh at him in their cups), and he's not leader by age (younger than the both).

And we see already in this small moment the ways in which authority attempts to deal with usurpation—which we will see played out over and over again throughout the entirety of ASOIAF.

Gared challenges Waymar's authority on the basis of experience, which is a justified complaint. Faced with an inarguable position, Waymar responds with unnecessary cruelty: "you ought to dress more warmly, Gared." This is one way for the upper class to keep the smallfolk in line—to flaunt their wealth and advantage, and to push back visciously against challenges. This is the Tywin technique, one which we see done consistently throughout the series.

The significance of this being a mental confrontation cannot be overstated: when confronted with Varys' riddle, Tyrion later observes that the rule "All depends on the man with the sword." Here, Gared is the man with the sword—he's a man-at-arms, and the better swordsman. While "Will doubted it[Royce's sword] had ever been swung in anger," "Will would not have given an iron bob for the lordling's life if Gared pulled it[his own sword] from its scabbard." Gared could fully kill Royce here, if he dared. And so the challenge, for Waymar, is to make sure Gared never dares. Power lies where men believe it lies, so Waymar's job as authority figure is to demoralize Gared, so he does not outright challenge Waymar's authority. (This is the role of public humiliation—another 'Tywin tactic,' but which is also used broadly).

Perhaps Gared would dare to challenge Waymar's authority if he were not alone. When Varys follows Tyrion's thinking that the man holding the sword might have some real power, he questions: why do the men with swords obey kings at all, then? Tyrion posits: "Because these child kings and drunken oafs can call other strong men, with other swords." So perhaps the issue is unity, a majority feeling—one man cannot rebel, lest his own class turn against him, but perhaps many can. We see this as the series goes on in instances like with the Sparrows, who amass enough numbers that they can imprison the queen, or with the sellswords in Meereen, who might turn the tide of battle if they switch sides (to the side that they believe might win).

To gain this advantage, Gared and Will would have to be a united front. In the beginning of this chapter, Will was a neutral figure, he's not willing to actually challenge that authority, he didn't want to be involved in the confrontation, but knew "he known "they would drag him into the quarrel sooner or later." Later, though, after witnessing Gared's demoralization, Will nearly steps in himself—in defense of Gared, out of respect for Gared's experience, and in a moment of class solidarity, Will speaks up to defend Gared, and is cut off:

"If Gared said it was the cold …" Will began.

"Have you drawn any watches this past week, Will?"

Here, Waymar's goal, as ruling class of this interaction, is to prevent class solidarity within the smallfolk. If Waymar responded too rudely, or with too much aggression, this might bind Gared and Will together for certain, and Waymar might be usurped (this is the result of the repeated aggressions of Aerys II, resulting in his death, or the repeated aggressions of Tywin which spawned the aforementioned Sparrows).

So Waymar has to employ a different strategy: (still a bit snidely) Waymar plays the role of 'encouraging mentor,' invoking this idea that he deserves to rule by the merit of being inherently 'wiser' or a keeper of 'knowledge'. He suggests that Will figure out for himself, under Waymar's guidance, that the cold could not possibly have killed the wildlings. Led more gently by Waymar, Will seems to decide for himself that Waymar is correct. In short, Waymar is able to reposition Will to be on his side, not Gared's, by leveraging his initial assumed authority and the existing attitude of elite education, even as that makes Will go against his own first-hand experience.

This is another tactic that we see repeatedly used throughout ASOIAF (and the world)—the ruling class acting as though they are simply elevating the ("innocently wrong") subjugated class to a more aware and knowledgeable position. If we believe the Maester conspiracy, they are the most obvious example of this, but the fact that it is only the lords who have access to Maesters means this is implicitly true without even needing a conspiracy—the ruling class is already gatekeeping knowledge and education from the subjugated class. (As an aside: the Maester conspiracy, ironically, is only concerned with the possibility of an even higher authority secretly gatekeeping knowledge from the nobility—in other words, the fear that the Maesters are treating the Lords the way that the Lords treat the smallfolk).

So let's return to Varys' final proposed answers to his own riddle: "Some say knowledge is power. Some tell us that all power comes from the gods. Others say it derives from law." Waymar has employed the knowledge-as-power against Will, and we're also constantly up against the backdrop of law-as-power: The Night's Watch.

Waymar references "Mormont," someone who Waymar does not want to disappoint, and they all consider the agreed-upon terms of the Night's Watch. Even in this microcosmic scenario, they are part of a system, one where this authority figure is, seemingly, held to his own authority figure, and one where the "rules" of the interaction have been determined long before now. In the end, once Waymar decides, "the order had been given, and honor bound them to obey." They have all agreed to a set of laws, already, which keep them bound to Waymar's authority.

So, ultimately, it is in this moment that despite Gared and Will being fully correct in their fears, despite being more experienced, wiser, older, and in all ways better rangers than Waymar, authority itself held true, and Waymar marched them all on towards his own death.

[silent-sanctum]

Objection! Yet Another "In Defense"

Okay! My alarm bells went off and it has come to my attention that yet another user has posted a "Jotaro is a misogynist" allegation post. Since Yoongi ain't raise a weak bitch, I am here to give my own counterarguments to the post in more comprehensive detail.

This will be my "Should pineapple be on pizza or die" / "Is mint chocolate actually good or is it the spawn of Satan" type of debate.

I am going to die on this hill that while he is in fact a man of many, many flaws, misogyny is not one of them no matter how convinced some people think he is. I will live up to my bio and that's the truth.

But before I begin, I'm going to put up a couple disclaimers because if I know the Internet, people love jumping the gun almost immediately when encountering someone who has a different opinion than theirs.

Disclaimer #1: Whatever I state (or even what OP has said), is all within the realm of HEADCANON because we aren't Araki. We did not make the canon universe, so all my yapping will be assumptions based on the material presented to the audience. Disclaimer #2: I am in no way shape or form fighting OP, alright? These are just my rebuttals against the arguments she has mentioned. She's entitled to her own opinion. I'm entitled to mine. 'Tis but a food for thought of mine. Spicy edition. Disclaimer #3: I don't want anyone commenting/reblogging this saying "lmao don't you have anything better to do than to argue with people online?" Because I just finished a whole day's worth of examinations, for which I studied a whole week, and got good scores from it. I can do whatever the hell I want during my resting period, anonymous user. Even if it's making this huge ass post defending my hyperfix. Thanks.

With that out of the way, let's get on with the meat of it all.

"You people can't recognize misogyny if it isn't in your face "Women should die" kind of bullshit."

Oh I'm aware. Bold of you to assume that we don't know how deep and how silent misogyny can run in today's society. More so in Asia and the Middle East.

And it's slightly insulting to assume that because I want to defend a fictional character and that he isn't misogynistic popularized via memes, you say that "Oh! You don't know misogyny at all! It's annoying!"

You say that because I know in the West, misogyny is the more "in your face" and obnoxious type. But as an Asian woman, I very much know the levels of audacity men can harbor against women that aren't just limited to, as you quote, "Women should die" behavior.

Misogyny is similar to a spectrum. It can be as obvious and proud as the Andrew Tate's, the "Alpha" men, and the basement-dwelling incels. It can also be as quiet and condescending as a regular guy in your day-to-day. They won't preach toxic masculinity, but would instead infantilize, belittle, differentiate, or alienate women and see them as someone inferior to the male sex.

I can sense red flags. I'm hypervigilant about how men behave around women and whether they see them in a different, negative light. So I know what the hell this word means.

And I'm not saying OP is one (I genuinely don't), but women can be misogynists too. Ironic, I know but they exist. Some women are drawn to misogynistic men as well. Booktok is an example of that.

Phew. With that introduction out of the way, let me first make my little assumption on why this whole debacle started before I start breaking down each argument.

When you look at it from a bigger picture, he doesn't get to interact with many women in this series with an abundance of male characters. So it's easy to jump to conclusions about their stance on it when you decide to base a whole character on the beginning episodes.

I think the reason why some people are convinced that Jotaro is an "anti-woman" is because he yells at women... for the first few episodes. Let me see what else. *Flips note* Oh, that's primarily the reason. Okay.

What bad things had he done? Called Holly a bitch and yelled screaming girls to shut up. That's it. Any other things I left out was intentional because I will be discussing that separately.

I won't expand on the whole "but Part 3 happened because he loves his mother" shtick because it's in the first argument. But when you come to think of it, he doesn't really say "bitch" as much as people expected him to outside of Holly. He doesn't even say it unwarranted or like he wants to.

Onto the screaming flock of school girls. Before he tells them to shut up, here's what happened. They congregate, start calling for his attention, and one of them grabs his arm.

What does he do? Does he yank his arm off in disgust? Does he shove her even slightly? Does he tell her to "back off bitch" or "get the hell away from him?" No.

He simply looks at her and does nothing. Ignoring her so to speak. Because he doesn't like the attention of being seen as a piece of meat for them to ogle at. He only tells them to shut up when they start becoming obnoxiously loud.

"But he was very rude and pushed those two women on the plane!"

Ma'am/sir, they're on a plane about to crash unceremoniously into the ocean, and the flight attendants decide to prioritize fawning a minor over their own lives. In the process, they block his path to the cockpit. Who wouldn't get frustrated in a situation like that?

Onto the arguments:

I agree that there are misogynistic men who can still love their female family members but still be an "anti-woman" towards others. But I can cite examples on how he interacts with women who aren't family in contrast to how a misogynist would.

Case A: The School Nurse

And we have one of our first earlier examples from Episode 2. When we first meet her, he's sitting in the infirmary and she's there almost giving him a light lecture about getting into trouble. He wants his knee patched up and she's about to do that because that's her profession.

How does he behave around her? Does he show body language signs indicating he's undermining her skills as a nurse? Does he call her a nagging bitch for lecturing him? Does he dismiss her words?

No. He evades her hands from reaching his hat, and when she's about to snip his expensive pants he reasonably asks "what are you doing?" She explains her intention and he sighs, simply saying that he'll take them off himself.

Does he show resistance? No. He does what is told so his knee can be treated.

AND after Kakyoin reveals himself, he gets pissed at him for using the nurse as a puppet, saying his whole speech and ending it with "Especially if it's an innocent woman!"

I've seen some use this sentence as him being misogynistic because they perceive it as a sign of belittlement when in actuality, it's not.

You have to know that he lives in 80s Japan- Patriarchal Japan where women are most likely going to be treated less than men in general even up to today's day and age. (I doubt you've heard but there's currently active crimes against women in Korea. If shit can happen there today, it can happen in Japan too). Let's face it and I hate to say it but it's the truth: Women are part of the minority. That's a reason why gender equality rights are being fought for, and why feminists exist to begin with, as well as the creation of the MeToo movement.

Jotaro knows women are more prone to be taken advantage of in this country, more so during this period. And he hates that. He despises that. Hence why he responded with such words to Kakyoin with that much vitriol.

He acknowledges he's not a perfect guy, that he's a punk true and through, but he has enough dignity and moral values to see that when one portrays women as lesser than men and uses them for personal gain, it's vile and evil.

Case B: Anne

Miss little stowaway! Let's see his behavior around her. OP has mentioned her at the ending, being on the fence and all, so I'm here to shed some light.

Back in the boat when she's still posing as a boy, how does Jotaro see the situation: It's a child in the middle of trouble. He looks at it not through the lens of "I applaud this boy for fending himself", but more so through "People are already intervening so I'm gonna sit this one out."

She goes overboard and he jumps in to save her. And then he finds out Anne's a girl. Does he think differently of her? No. She's still a child who needs saving.

He becomes her passive big brother figure. He wants to assist her off the small boat, but she declines and sticks a tongue out, and he sighs. Saw someone's head get mutilated? He shields her eyes. Anne is getting inappropriate attention from an ape? He intervenes and sees the orangutan as a disgusting animal, both in a literal and figurative sense. Falling off a cliff? He safeguards her. Caught in a dead end? He helps her with a quick "good grief".

Case C. Tomoko

Another example! But let's switch it up a bit to Part 4 this time. A testament on how his personality was really just him being a teenager going through an identity phase, replacing that punk persona for professional stoicism.

When he visits her house to look for Josuke, he meets her. She sees him, thought he's Joseph, and immediately goes in for a hug, motorboating his chest with a string of "Love you's" spilling out in that pitchy voice.

Does he call her a bitch? Does he pull her away because she violated his boundaries? Does he make some belittling comment about her behavior in his mind?

No. Jotaro stands put, gets put off because she's all up on him rubbing her face on his chest, tells her frankly to look over him again and says he's not Joseph.

And then he asks if Josuke's at home. Tomoko's zoning out. And what does he do? He doesn't groan. He doesn't roll his eye at her blanking out. Instead, he notices she isn't responding so he repeats his question to her face with the same polite tone so he can snap her out of her thoughts.

And when he leaves, he says one more thing to her. It's easy for anyone to say something along the lines of "Toughen up, it'll get better" / "It'll pass" / "Hang in there". But what does he say instead? He offers condolences and mentions that if Joseph was less senile, he'd support Tomoko, knowing that she's been wanting to meet the old man again.

Yes. That's because he is mean to everyone. Equally. Hell, I think he calls men "bastards" more often than he calls women "bitches". In which part of the show did he show any sort of condescending remark that women were weaker? How often does he spout out "bitch" in the entirety of the show?

He protects them because, for one, his enemies have supernatural abilities that ordinary civilians can't see. Which one will make him more of an ass? Protecting them or turning a blind eye?

It's like saying that a man shouldn't help a woman struggling with her heavy luggage up the staircase because "Hey aren't we all equal? They should struggle as much as we do!" Which is such an asinine concept to adhere to.

It's not seeing them as weak. It's called having basic human courtesy. He's going to help because they're people who need help, not because they're women in need of saving.

How is that any different from him wanting to protect Koichi? From him wanting to protect Josuke?

"She's no mere woman. Jotaro stumbles upon a woman stronger than him and he couldn't comprehend it."

OR.

He knows something's wrong with the nurse so he makes that comment. "She's no mere woman" as in "She's behaving erratically than what a normal person should be behaving." Man or woman. She has a welcoming personality so of course he'd be thrown off guard when suddenly she's stabbing students in the eye and cheeks with unnatural strength.

And the way you worded this was as if you're saying Jotaro is allergic to strong women. When it wasn't the case at all. In part 3, he fights against strong women Stand users (Enyaba and Midler) just like he does with the male enemies. In part 6, he teams up with strong women Stand users (Jolyne and Hermes).

He even outright states and believes that Jolyne can make it through the chaos because he knows she's strong and capable. He's proud of her strength and abilities.

Again, in which part does he not comprehend that women can be strong? That it's so mind-boggling to the extent you had to include "fucking" to emphasize your point?

In fact, I think he'd respect and appreciate a woman who knows her self-worth and power. Sees a successful female colleague? *applauds in stoic.*

Again, I agree that age does not excuse anyone to be misogynistic. It can happen at any age. Because it's a mindset. It's rooted deep in the psyche. But I've already made my case about teenage Jotaro so I'm not gonna reiterate.

With the whole Kira deduction thing in Part 4.

Let me restate this- The time this part was set in is the late 90s. Setting? Japan. A patriarchal country where gender roles were more rigid and inflexible. During that time, I hate to break it to you, but the country was not that expressive nor progressive as compared to the West. It was common for women to be housewives doing the chores and tending to the kids, while men did the heavy labor out of the household.

So you cannot blame Jotaro for making that logical deduction. He was born in Japan, knew by then how his country works at 28 years old, and thus is able to make a deduction based on the patterns of how society was structured during that period.

Sure you could say some women worked too, but the majority of them would be the typical housewife. In 80s-90s Japan I say again.

"Traditional Japanese"

This, fellow readers, is what you call a "Preference". It can be harmless and not necessarily condescending. But even then, with the inclusion of the parenthesis, you could say that this was a choice based on the mindset of a teenager's train of thought.

Jotaro likes his quiet time -> learns from the world that apparently traditional Japanese women are usually the "quiet types" -> resulting in the aforementioned preference.

And just like any other preference, it can change with time as you grow older and wiser. As you can see, he dates and marries a foreign woman who's not "traditionally Japanese" and even had a kid with her.

It doesn't necessarily mean he wants a housewife who can cook and clean for him. At the age of 17, that's the least of his concerns. All he wants is for his partner to know when it's appropriate to be quiet and when it's appropriate to be excited. He prioritizes his peace. As simple as that.

I can see why people like to see him as part of the autism spectrum and I respect that.

And yes, I acknowledge that he's a huge asshole. No denying that. That's just how he is at that age.

And again, we don't see him say "bitch" that much anyways for it to be a verbal stim of sorts. I recall he says it twice or thrice. And that's it.

Personally, I'm not that sold into the headcanon (and this is coming from someone who probably has ADHD and has a sibling diagnosed with autism). Introverts can be callous. Some can look apathetic. Not every one of us will be shy and timid.

"He could've shoved her off."

And you know why he doesn't? Because as much as he tends to bark and yap about how annoying and doting his mother is, he loves Holly. He likes her hugs. He lets her give him goodbye kisses to the point it has become a pattern in his life. He likes her cooking. He's going to travel the whole world for his sick mother to get better.

And Holly knows that. A mother knows her child more than anyone else. She's unfazed by his words because she knows the good son she raised underneath that tough abrasive persona. Heck, even Suzy Q knows that too.

Also a cute little assumption. After they fight Midler and after Suzy talks to Jotaro, you can see his hand lingers on the phone. It's as if he's contemplating. I'd like to think that's a moment where he wanted to call Holly, to check up on his mother.

I agree that being gay doesn't excuse someone from being misogynistic. Like I said, it can happen to anyone of any gender or age.

Gay people can be misogynists. Point blank period.

Personally, he's a demisexual king in my eyes. But others are free to give him any orientation they see fit. Gay, trans, bisexual, aroace- You name it. The fictional world is your oyster! Go ham!

I believe that a fictional character's sexuality is a headcanon in on itself unless explicitly stated by the creator. Telling someone that character is straight? Headcanon. That character is gay? Headcanon. Claims a character to be non-binary? Headcanon.

"He's just a baby boy uwu uwu"

Okay OP with the "we're infantilizing him" allegations! That's new!

(That... was passive-aggressive of me. Apologies. I'm aware we call him "baby girl" often but with the way those two words were put into that sentence combined with the emojis gave off a different connotation.)

I don't know why but whenever we say that Jotaro isn't *insert one negative trait*, y'all are quick to say that we are proclaiming that:

"Oh my god~ He's not like that~ He's Saint Peter coming from the heavens pure as light."

Like what? No seriously... what??? I have never seen anyone treat him like he's the perfect human being.

Hell, I can even say that he's NEGLECTFUL. Yes! He's a neglectful father no matter how good his intentions were. He was an absent parent who technically neglected his child. There! I said it!

We KNOW he's an asshole. We KNOW he has a multitude of flaws that are not admirable. He's reclusive as fuck. He's brash and abrasive. He's seemingly distant when he talks to people. Socially awkward outside of work. He's impulsive when he wants to be.

I love character flaws. That's what makes a character so fascinating.

So please, if you have any strong opinions, keep them to yourself. Not everything has to be shared online. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

I can see a shit ton of flaws in this reserved, stoic mountain of a man. But I draw the line when it comes to some traits that seem not entirely fitting of his character.

The ending paragraph...

Me, an Asian woman constantly facing the audacity of men my age objectifying women and promoting toxic masculinity on a daily basis:

[circle-around-again]

The Wrath of Darth Maul by Ryder Windham. Notes & Quotes.

Prologue.

*This is something I have been thinking of doing for a while. I'm a weirdo who likes deep reading texts and mining them for meaning. I have been doing it for this text for some time. I thought I might share it, but more importantly, create a catalogue for myself of notes. I don't know how this will be received, if it will be at all.

This catalogue will present interesting quotes, running themes, headcanons, and an exploration of Maul's experiences. Feel free to browse or use at your leisure. Spoilers ahead.

[scene: spidermaul in the tunnels].

"The prong-nosed rat knew that the dark heap lying in the tunnel was a dead man." (Windham, 1).

This is the first quote of the text. First quotes often hold thematic weight, and frame the story that is to come. It is interesting that Maul is described as a "heap" -- an object, not a body, and that he is specifically described as "dead." This narration establishes that 1) he is worthless, and 2) he is doomed. Fitting for his character, I think. Obligatory world-building: he ate rats to survive, scavenged waterproof fabrics to sleep under, and was an ambush predator who played dead to lure in prey.

"The legs were unevenly jointed, cannibalized from the parts of ruined droids, each leg ending with a tapered point." (2).

Cannibalism mention :3. Interesting that what is cannibalised is a droid, a being in star wars that is not even considered alive. For Maul to cannibalise a droid, on some level, he must thematically be considered a droid. Obligatory world-building: Maul doesn't remember how he got there, how he got his legs, where he is or who he is. He lives as an animal, but with one thing added: "pure and total hatred" (2). Note: unlike The Clone Wars, Maul does not speak and rave. In this depiction, he is silent, as he was in The Phantom Menace.

"He knew that he wasn't a man anymore, that he hadn't been one for years. He was just a creature in a filthy tunnel. And then he remembered the object of his hatred. A man... the man who left me for dead." (3).

Gendered reading: Maul states here that he doesn't consider himself a man anymore. One reading is that, without the bodily aesthetics, obligations and power of conventional masculinity, Maul considers himself worthless (toxic masculinity). Perhaps, he has been drawn towards another gender expression. Maul notably, doesn't even consider himself to be "human." This is a very sad glimpse into Maul's sense of self-esteem. He has also internalised Sidious' vision of an absolute hierarchy of life. Obligatory world-building: Maul has a tantrum when he can't remember things, and destroys his surrounding environment. This does not satisfy him at all. It is interesting to note his coping mechanisms at his lowest point.

"It was then, while he felt his hatred burning within, that a spark ignited in his mind. And he saw a sea of fire..." (4).

A couple of thematic links that I would like to point out: "hatred" and "within" encapsulates Sith philosophy; the inverse of kindness throughout. What begins this journey through his memories is a "spark" - a common phrase I know, but also one intensely linked to Sidious and his primary element of force lightning. Sidious is a catalyst, and the secret at the centre of his being. The oxymoron of "sea" and "fire." This is his literal childhood home, of course. But, later in this novel, Maul's beloved memories of friendship will occur by a sea. I believe it intertwines the characters of both Maul and Kilindi. HC: the previous page ended with Maul remembering a Man to blame... yet this novel begins with the memories of his time in Mustafar under his master. It is of my belief that this unnamed man is Sidious, not Obi-Wan Kenobi.

[galaxyzone]

Little Hope MBTI character analysis

A little while ago, I made this post where I typed all of the DPA characters as their possible MBTI types. I enjoyed thinking about it, so I thought I would go ahead and share my analysis for each of the characters!😊

Starting with the Little Hope characters because @delurkr expressed interest, so thank you!😊 Currently working on the MoM characters, so I will also post those as soon as I'm done❤

Here are my analysis posts for all the games!

All analysis under the cut bc it's kinda long lol

Andrew (INFJ): Andrew was one of the easiest DPA characters for me to type. INFJs are the "Advocate" or the "Counselor." Both INFJs and ENFJs typically fill the role of the group mediator, due to their combination of Introverted Intuition (Ni) and Extroverted Feeling (Fe). For INFJs, Ni is their primary cognitive function, which essentially relates to their desire to figure things out. They find themselves in their own head very often, trying to make sense of various concepts or ideas. We see this with Andrew, as he spends the majority of the game trying to figure out what's going on and how they're connected with their doubles from the past. Fe is INFJ's secondary cognitive function, which relates to the "mediator" or "counselor" aspect of their personality type. Andrew pleads for the other characters to stop their fighting when it's clear to him that the arguing is not helping them figure out what's going on. Finally, INFJs essentially have a "chameleon" personality, which enables them to get along with almost any type of personality. We also see this with Andrew, as he's the only character who gets along pretty well with every other character. At the same time, unfortunately, this can also make it hard for them to really know who they truly are, and it can also make it harder for other people to understand the INFJ as well as the INFJ understands others. I personally believe I am an INFJ myself and I related a lot to Andrew tbh, so I feel pretty good about this typing haha

Taylor (ENFP): ENFPs are the "Campaigner" or the "Champion." An ENFP's primary function is Extroverted Intuition, which Taylor certainly exhibits with her consistent desire to see if there's another path or another way to go about things, for example. Ne also has a tendency to want to focus on big picture stuff, rather than small details. Taylor recognizes that the town of Little Hope sucks and has some bad mojo going on, and she's more interested in simply getting out than she is in determining just why it sucks. I also believe her Ne is the reason she wanted to stay at the bus instead of going further into the town, because she had a feeling that the town was bad news. Speaking of feelings, an ENFP's secondary function is Introverted Feeling, which Taylor definitely exhibits when she opens up to Daniel about finally feeling like part of the group. She talks about what does and what doesn't feel right to her, which is a big indicator of Fi. Fi users have strong beliefs and base their morals off of what they feel is right or wrong, rather than basing them off of what other people feel is right or wrong. Taylor knows how she feels about the town and she is willing to fight on behalf of her feelings & beliefs, which we see her do when she argues with John about it. ENFPs are also very spirited, high-energy people, just like Taylor. They can be a little silly and they're not afraid to be themselves, as they often have their own ways of doing things. I feel pretty good about typing Taylor as a spirited ENFP!

Daniel (ESFP): I went back and forth on Daniel, but I feel good about typing him as ESFP. ESFPs are the "Entertainer" or the "Performer." An ESFP's primary function is Extroverted Sensing, which relates to seeking out experiences and simply wanting to do things, even if it's just for the sake of doing them. Upon Daniel & Taylor being returned to the group through the fog, Daniel immediately has to go back through the fog to see if it happens again. He doesn't stop to think about it, he just does it because he doesn't want to waste any time pondering what just happened. When you think about the scientific method, the step of hypothesizing comes before the actual experimentation; but not for Se users- they always skip right to the actual experiment so they can reach their conclusion faster. Daniel also doesn't hesitate to reach for the little girl hiding in the playground, and there are also a few other instances where he acts immediately. Similar to ENFPs, an ESFP's secondary function is also Introverted Feeling. When Taylor objects to Angela about the idea of Daniel being her boyfriend, Daniel immediately takes it personally, believing that Taylor doesn't want to think of him that way. He seeks reassurance from her, and it's interesting to see 2 secondary Fi users try to reassure each other throughout the game. Similar to Taylor, Daniel knows how he feels about the town and about what's happening to their doubles, and he is also willing to fight for his own beliefs.

Angela (ISTJ): ISTJs are the "Logistician" or the "Inspector." An ISTJ's primary function is Introverted Sensing, which relates to simply observing facts and taking things for what they are. Si is different from Se in that, while Se users just want to do things, Si users tend to watch things and make their judgments based off of what they observe. Angela acknowledging the fact that her demon only started pursuing her once her double was executed is an example of Si. She doesn't need to analyze why the demon chased her after her double was drowned, it's enough for her to understand that your double dies = a demon tries to kill you. ISTJs are very fact-oriented due to their Si. An ISTJ's secondary function is Extroverted Thinking, which typically lends itself well to administrative or leadership roles. This could be why Angela criticizes John's leadership and his inability to make decisions- because her Te would arguably make her a better leader, and it can sometimes frustrate Te users when they have to follow someone who doesn't lead with the same decisiveness. An ISTJ's primary Si mixed with their secondary Te can also cause them to make blunt observations about people, which is similar to how Angela outright refers to Daniel as Taylor's boyfriend upon observing that the 2 of them seem to like spending so much time together. All in all, Angela is a very practical ISTJ character who isn't afraid to say things like they are and she doesn't want to mess around.

John (ENTP): John was definitely one of the hardest DPA characters for me to type, as I'm still going back & forth on him tbh. He's definitely a T type, but I don't believe he's a J type, as xxTJs are typically more assertive & sure of their decisions, which we know is something John struggles with. I also believe he's an intuitive rather than a sensor, so that narrows it to xNTP. Here's where it gets tricky: choosing between INTP & ENTP isn't as simple as figuring out whether he's more introverted or extroverted. The question is whether his primary function is Extroverted Intuition or Introverted Thinking. I can definitely see him being an ENTP, as they are known for "playing Devil's Advocate," which John arguably does by accusing Mary of being the source of evil within Little Hope. ENTPs are the "Debater" or the "Visionary." ENTPs like to question almost anything and everything as a way to learn more about the world in which they live. They will never back down from an intellectual challenge, and they're also not afraid to question other people on their ideas or points of view. We can see John do this, as he's not afraid to disagree with the other characters when they give their opinion on what's going on. He challenges Taylor on her desire to wait at the bus, he challenges Andrew on his stance of trying to defend Mary, etc. His primary Ne mixes with his secondary Ti to think outside the box and work to discover other possibilities that make sense to him & what he believes to be true. He humors Taylor & Daniel about their claim that the fog led them back to the group, he proposes the idea to Andrew to burn the poppet they find in the museum in case it's the source of the evil, he tries to think of any possible ways that they can help their doubles from the past. I think I feel good saying he's an ENTP!

[blood-orange-juice]

To everyone joking that Narcissenkreuz story is shorter than the Aranara quests.

GUESS WHAT.

[yume-fanfare]

things i like thinking about: tsukasa definitely voted for tori in the stucopres election in the end. how did he feel about that

[friendofcars]

i read one chapter of bllb and immediately start mentally zooming around

[gsabt]

AGOT; Prologue

→ Bran I

Preface

Welcome to my first installment of a totally unoriginal concept! You can call me G, Sab/Sabi, Mia, I really don’t care. You’ll probably call me a whore after this first post to be fair!

I think over time I’ll perfect these posts since I was never fully sure of how I wanted to format things. Obviously it’ll be about the chapter and my thoughts however I won’t be divulging everything in the chapter because y’know… it’s pretty cheap to buy and if you’re feeling a little Greyjoy it’s easy to find over on the high seas but hey, I won’t tell if you won’t. I’ve read both AGOT and ACOK start to finish and even got into ASOS when I was around 15-17. Now as a much older adult, I decided to hop back in and check on my ex-bf Jon Snow who is now very younger than me and I wish GRRM would fix that desperately.

Anyways I’ve been wanting to do this for a while, pretty much since I started my main blog earlier this year but I have a career and whatnot. Let’s get started cause I need to shut it already. Be warned, there will be spoilers and I may lightly discuss theories when they tie into chapters in the later books.

Chapter Summary

I’m not surprised that right from the first line, my loud mouth already has commentary.

“We should start back,” Gared urged as the woods began to grow dark around them.

Like yeah, you’re nuts for wanting to check this out, Waymar, pack it up babe they’re dead! Speaking of Waymar it’d hit it till the wheels fall off. Back on track. I have always enjoyed how immersive George’s writing was, people have told me how my own writing is very Tolkien-like which I think is totally brown-nosing but thank you anyway. The seamless immersion every time I read this chapter is unbelievable as I’m the type of person to ‘see’ things I read in my head practically being played out if that makes sense.

This chapter is scary and it damn well should be. These three Nights Watch men are trekking through the Haunted Forest tracking wildlings that are claimed to be deceased by Will, our POV character for the prologue. He’s having the worst night of his life being stuck between Gared and Waymar, the latter being very douchey and picking at Gared but what I said earlier still stands. Till the wheels fall off.

I also think Waymar getting to be the commander of this ranging after only being in the NW for about 6 months is telling of the Nights Watch and the influence of nepotism but of course, that’s my opinion. Waymar is continually an asshole to Gared who is clearly played into the wise elder trope. This is a man that’s lost pieces of himself during the freezing cold winters, something Waymar has never experienced. I do feel greatly bad for Gared, having to deal with a ‘man’-child and I say it like that because I believe it’s 15 that boys are considered men which I clearly don’t agree but I mean… pop off feudalism.

The way the Others are written makes me so uncomfortable. I’m made aware of how sentient these beings are despite they share no common tongue (as far as we know) with the human characters in this chapter. They know their abilities and are confident of it when it comes to fighting Waymar.

The Other’s parry was almost lazy.

Waymar’s death was certainly a downer, especially with the sword shard getting into one of his eyes (the left I believe). But Will’s death certainly hit a little harder. I can’t imagine trying to leave and suddenly your commander who you believe to be dead just rises and stands behind you, looming like a tower of dread. It’s a feeling I know from experience and it’s horrifying. Big G hardly misses and after my 4th reread of this prologue it’s safe to say that I still thoroughly enjoy it.

[muttakutagawa]

i like to think about Verlaine and the Frankensteins as like. a trio in terms of their personal philosophy on personhood

(and by extension how they all end up influencing chuuya to some extent or another)

while verlaine despises his existence as an artificial being (in a body that should be human but is instead "lines of code" as a manufactured singularity)

and i think adam happily reconciles the middle ground he occupies as both an android and as a human being,

i like to imagine eve wants to avoid the acknowledgement that she is to some extent human, she wants to be a machine and is frustratingly aware every single time she is painfully human despite being a made thing and not a born one

[rk-tmblr]

“Being a part of a twin set” -Miya Twins [Haikyuu!!]

Note: ↓[Italian version]↓

Prologue: “The need of balance”

Living as a brother is not a simple thing.

It is not at all, especially when you’re also sharing your look.

Because in a house where there’s only one parent left, inevitably you grow up with the need to understand how important balance is.

This is why Atsumu and Osamu learnt to behave as the sun and the moon: if the blond couldn’t restrain himself, the gray haired twin was the patient one; if the older (by only seven minutes!!) had the word want heavy on his tongue, the younger shrugged its own as disinterest; if the first one let himself carried away by his feelings, it was the second one’s job to be strong for the both of them… 

Together, they always did anything in their power to not weigh on their beloved Ma’ shoulders.

Even if sometimes it meant giving up a part of themselves.

“If they’re happy, so am I” was the motto that they kept reminding themselves when it became difficult to bear at times and clenching their own teeth and fists, they showed themselves unbreakable to preserve that balance, not wanting its scale to waver dangerously.

Superficially, people had constantly pointed at their interdependence as a morbid relationship while ignoring the real, latent reason: how would you get rid of your mirror image when, in your loneliness, it is strictly linked to you by genes and blood and is the only one that stays by your side no matter what?

Osamu wished to question those mean children who bullied Atsumu at the kindergarten, because he struggled to bond with anybody else who wasn’t his own brother, about it but it was the blond the one with the big mouth filled of words not him��� so he just made them all shut up by beating them in his defense.

Protective, only the gray haired twin had the legit right to make fun of his twin and no one else.

He tried to shush his snotted cry reminding him they will always have each other, however Atsumu never stopped wishing to befriend others, wanting to be a part of the group… that same group that irrationally welcomed Osamu but not him. So he grew up suspicious about those kinds of “friendship”, he gave up on them mistrusting their sincerity in front of their unjustified hatred towards his twin. Becoming more cynical by the time, Osamu found comfort in showing his apathetic mask to the world, tired of all the people who only aimed to confront the twins to find out which one was the best.

Soon the whines of one and the antisocial behavior of the other made their Ma’ worried, therefore they tried to figure out a way to cut their own place in a group using their special bond as a strong suit. In high school everybody knew the Miya Twins, an interchangeable and incredible pair that was the nightmare of the teachers and anybody who tried to mess with them but most importantly the monstrous duo on the volleyball court.

By force of habit, Osamu indulged Atsumu’s whims, such as spending extra hours training at the gym or taking part in social events to meet new people, in exchange for his pudding portion. An elevated price like that because, even if he would do anything for his brother and Ma’, food comes first. He couldn’t care less if the blond falls in front of his eyes, when there is a hot dorayaki between his own fingers and he could break arms if someone dares to steal a bite from him.

“Samu loves eating well as much as Tsumu loves playing volleyball!” their Ma’ used to say, ruining his appetite unknowingly.

Love had nothing to do with his gluttony.

No, he didn’t feel anything like that…

The twin who acted according to his heart’ sayings was Atsumu, not him.

No, he was the boring twin instead, the quiet and (also yes) the foodie one, meanwhile Atsumu…

Well, Atsumu was definitely the sunny, prettier one with his blinding smile, sly sparkling eyes and gold locks. This is why he also had a fan club of girls who were head over heels for him, but weirdly they all ended up running away after spending five minutes listening to his big unfiltered mouth. Yeah, far away to reach out for the other half and make the comparison...

If the blond was an asshole by innocent nature, the gray haired twin became one by exhaustion.

It was an insufferable thing and he couldn’t stand it, they both couldn’t stand it anymore.

How could they ever be their true selves, if everywhere they go they were hunted by the people’s research to find out who was the right one between them?

In the second year of high school, Atsumu and Osamu were separated into two different and parallel classes.

[sakuraswordly]

Punch: My country was like a dictatorship. Being pressured both in life and mentally He wanted his people to be mindless robots. But after my father found us and helped me and my mother. Everyone from another country gives us happiness and takes care of us like one big family. That's why I was jealous of Sonic a lot. I want to be like him, not a human. He's not human that's what I like and love about him.

Danny: But in the end, Punch saved your country and completely changed the regime. You still do for people even if you hate your homeland.

Punch: I just do it because I hate it. It's just pain in my sight that's all.

Danny: You and golden king are totally the same. Hehe. Enkidu told me that you guys' mouth does not match his heart.

Punch:.............(Make a grumpy face with red cheeks)

Punch: But because Sonic didn't have a human vessel anymore so he's in very danger. I...we thought taking him to seal dimension was a great idea but in the end. That bad God found him. It is our fault for letting this happen.

Owlbert: Hoo....Hoo...[Are you still feeling bad for your brother and yourself?]

Punch: We've both been rejected by the world. We both feel the same threat and yet here we were killing each other in the end. I nearly lost him because of that at that time when we try to recuse Chester. Shadow and Tails didn't mad at me at all. They said they understand me because I and Sonic are similar.

Punch: Sonic's wish is just simple. "Freedom". This wish for the world and universe is also the desire of Mr Gilgamesh and me too. Our childhood dream.

Homura: I understand and I knew that feeling. When you choose something more than the world and people. But you still do for people and lives. I am too....and here I am. But your real hate is gone. Your real sadness is gone.

Punch: Actually, I'm not that weak to let that emotion control me in my life. I've experienced hate and sympathy. I'm a freak. I know that from the very beginning. I'm tired and hated this cruel world and everything around me. Even though I know it's not their fault, I just can't forgive them. But guess what? My brother Sonic. He's a child, an innocent child so basically he should hate me. My brother still accepts me. He still forgives me. Because of him, I make it this far.

Punch: But I'll become his sword and continue this wish. I thought I go alone. I walked a path like the leader, the king. I will watch this world to the very end. But because Syaoran and Peter...they taught me what love, family and friendship means. Why humans can't be alone? Why is "love" as humans I know different from "Love" as other species? I gain more humans because of them. That's why Homura...my real hate and real sadness were gone.

Homura: I know what you mean Punch...but I still don't know what my love is so good for you then.

Danny: Homura. Don't worry. I will be the one to teach you about that. After all, I am not human anymore! I am a ghost so...!!

Homura: But your friends, family and Sam...what about them? I came to find you to bring you back to normal remember?! Also, you forgot the promise with Sonic and Punch?!

Danny: I know Homura. I still do not forget those. But both Sonic and Punch taught me to live a life every minute to the fullest. They taught me how to be happy. That's why I won't forget that friendship pact we made.

Punch: Me too Danny.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gilgamesh: Mystic eyes of death perception what we had. When I saw with my eyes around me. It's just like "The fabric of the universe".

Source: dailymail

Merlin: That dark matter could be a complex entity that acts as the ending point for an intelligent race, allowing them to escape from all dangers. 

Gilgamesh: That's how our power works. Gate of Babylon, Speed of Sound, Hologram Computer and Magic. Those are the power of the god of nothingness.

Peter: Also, power creates lives and the fabric of time. This power has nothing to do with the curse of Vaten Hörmulegt. But Gil.....your curse...

Gilgamesh: Don’t say anything.

Peter:..................

Merlin: So you going to tell me that this power can be able to rip the world and create the world again? 

Gilgamesh: Just like that time when Sonic and Punch fought. No one saw their power only two of them can see what's the true power of Mystic eyes. Enuma Elish or Enūma Eliš is just the name I gave so it kinda not do anything about my magic. I have power but never used it until I met Punch again in Babylon. I always use the Gate of Babylon and the Sword of Ea. To avoid the danger coming to me. My Gate of Babylon just similar like science fiction is "the portal"--an extraordinary opening in space or time that connects travellers to distant realms. A good portal is a shortcut, a guide, a door into the unknown. If only they existed....

Merlin: But why are you giving this information to us?

Gilgamesh: There was once a stupid brother who told me how powerful friendship is. That's why I need someone to protect my Vimana. So you should know about me a bit.

Peter: As I know from Punch. Vimana is the structure over the garbhagriha or inner sanctum in the Hindu temples of South India and Odisha in East India. In typical temples of Odisha using the Kalinga style of architecture, the vimana is the tallest structure of the temple, as it is in the shikhara towers of temples in West and North India.

Picture Appearance: Fate/Zero

Gilgamesh: Not that flying palaces! I mean this one! This airship can change its shape to a flying palaces too! It totally advances more than that garbage.

Peter: So basically you stole it.

Gilgamesh: Shut up.

*Bonk*

Peter: Ouch!

Gilgamesh: Enuma Elish is a creation story that narrates the beginnings of the cosmos and the gods, in contrast to the Epic of Gilgamesh, which is a tale about a king's search for immortality. While both books provide us with knowledge of Mesopotamian civilization, they do so from various angles. The myth tells the story of the great god Marduk's victory over the forces of chaos and his establishment of order at the creation of the world.

Peter: But because they are similar so you name your sword anyway.

Gilgamesh: Want to be hurt, dog?

Peter: Okay. I'm out.

Merlin: You really love books, don't you?

Gilgamesh: I'm not against that. But of course, without Mokona to translate different languages. Mystic eyes can translate different languages too. Those lines are like a logic computer or code you say.

Merlin: (He changes the topic too fast.)

Peter: (Just leave him.)

Gilgamesh: Eyes that can perceive "death" as visual information. The “death” that these eyes read and see is not the “end of life activities” but the “concept” of “the end that will come someday” death, the limit of existence. In addition, although it is called "magic eye", it is officially a kind of supernatural power. The supernatural power of direct death functions only when the eyeballs that can visualize death and the brain that can recognize and understand it is aligned. There is no point in transplanting it to another person like a general mystic eye, and conversely, even if the eyeball is crushed, it is possible to visualize death. "Death" is visible in lines and dots and has no intensity. The "line of death" represents the mortal line of existence, and if the line is traced, it will cut through the subject, no matter how tough it may be. As long as it exists with an "end that will come someday", it can kill anything (sometimes even concepts are no exception). As an accompanying effect, you will be able to see supernatural things that are invisible to ordinary people, such as spirits, supernatural powers, and magic. It is impossible to "kill" uncertain things such as the "future", but the "future" that is determined by looking into the future is different. It is also possible to poke only lines and points related to a limited part in the object. For example, it can be applied as a treatment because it can be used as a treatment because it can be eliminated without harming others by killing only poisonous substances and diseased internal organs in the body. It should be noted that it is possible to kill anything just by touching it, but the result is just "death", so it is not included in " magic ".

Picture Source from The Garden of Sinners: Future Gospel

Peter: So then this power can see the real future right? Both me and Punch turn back time but can't change the future. 

Gilgamesh: That's right. The real future can't change but not nothing at the end of time has a future so we can change it. That's my plan. What the Mother of Mifune and old lady Fortune Telling whom Watanuki met told, I also have the same as them, Clairvoyance see the future. But Punch had Clairvoyance and saw both past, present and future. But her power is not strong enough yet.

Peter: Gil...you seem hiding something. About Punch....

Gilgamesh: I'm sorry but this information only Me and Punch knew. Me and Punch....we're the same...

Peter: Okay......

Gilgamesh: Okay, let's get back to work, mongrel.

Merlin: So how's Syaoran?

Peter: He's okay but he did worry about Gil so he beg me to keep an eye on him.

Peter: I'll keep his promise...both Arthur and Syaoran....You and Queen gwenaelle too.

Merlin: I see. I'm glad. Don't forget this too. We're best friends.

Punch: You don't have your real destiny or even the horoscope of death. No matter how many gods want to change your fate or kill you. They can't like the spoon no matter what wants to bend in front of you now it bends but the truth is it didn't bend. If they want to change you they need to know your true identity first. 

Announce9

※※ Read from left to right, top to bottom

言語：日本語(Pixiv)(以下のコンテンツは Pixiv で Google 翻訳を使用しており、情報はありません。)

(Fra nå av skal jeg slutte å oversette norsk fordi jeg tror du allerede har hatt noen til å oversette Tsubasa of Phantasia for meg nå. Har jeg rett?)

(Héðan í frá ætla ég að hætta að þýða íslensku því ég held að þú hafir nú þegar fengið einhvern til að þýða Tsubasa of Phantasia fyrir mig. Hef ég rétt fyrir mér?)

If you mistake Sonic and King Gilgamesh's personality, that means you never understand Punch's personality.

Search: #hint