#also i REALLY hope they don't add mephisto because

[strwberri-milk]

Hii!! I love your writing for LADS 🫶🏻🙈 may I request you write for Sylus talking to the most famous or beautiful woman of N109zone or of princess mafia in a exclusive event while the reader is watching them afar with her jealous energy? Then right after; the reader feels needy, possessive, wanted love and smutty 🔥, don't want to talk to Sylus, and it leads to miscommunication/don't get the wrong idea trope. You can add Luke and Kieran as cameo to make the situation worse telling the reader about Sylus and the girl's history together with a sense of humor that doesn't make the reader feel any better then Mephisto there CAW CAWLING over the fact seeing the reader turns red in frustration 😡😂 I really appreciate and love your work! Hope it be a little long word count (with bulletin points) if you write/accept this request! 🙏🏻

this is so booktok coded and you can interpret that however you wish bc i have Strong opinions about booktok and the current state of media literacy - but unfortunately i am a sucker for the trope and even if this isnt super duper smutty i do love a good jealousy plot - just as a heads up as I say w longer requests - i wont do everything and smut is harder for me to write so in interst of you not waiting months for a request we're gonna go a little off of what your reuquest was bc i also got confused reading it - which is why i always recc not to be too detailed bc then i get pigeon holed and focused on the wrong details :( - ive also combined these two requests bc theyre p similar to me!

You are fully aware that Sylus needs to work with a lot of people for his job. He's got powerful connections because of these events and you've never had a feeling that he was unfaithful. However, that doesn't mean that you can't help but feel insecure when you see how beautiful some of the people he works with are. You know that he loves you and he makes it very clear with his actions but the way he easily smooths things over with that dulcet tone of his.

You're resigned to having to spend the evening with Luke and Kieran - not exactly a punishment but also not the greatest as they give you the whole scoop on everyone Sylus talks to. The way their breaths catch and the quick darting of their masks to you lets you know that there's something else you're not being told but they refuse to let you in, citing respect for the boss' privacy. You know that you won't be able to get them to snitch on him at this rate, forced to watch as he continues to butter her up for whatever reason. You saw the way that others looked at her and for a moment you wondered if he was looking at her the same way, trying not to overthink things because you're also aware of how much he loves you.

You watch angrily as Sylus wraps his arm around her, whispering something into her ear that makes her laugh. The twins look at you and despite being unable to see their eyes you know they're just as confused as you are. They don't stop you when you get up to leave, deciding to follow you. They know his personality well and know that it seems a little out of character for him to be so forward during a meeting.

You decide to go back to his home, locking yourself in the bedroom as you deliberate on what to do. You know you could confront him if you really wanted you but part of you doesn't even want to do that - you feel like you'd be more content to see him grovelling and begging for you to forgive him but you also know he really isn't like that. So you decide to ignore him.

He comes home later that night, fully intending to explain himself but when he sees you fast asleep he simply decides to slide into bed with you. He holds you through the night, not knowing how upset you are with him. In the morning you're gone and he finds that he can't seem to reach you. You run around with your tasks for the day, barely saying hi to him in passing. He knows you're not that busy so it makes no sense to him.

He ends up having more meetings with the woman, much to your anger. After an especially long meeting he finds you standing outside of his office, an angry expression on your face that he just can't take seriously as he finds you adorable. He leans down to give you a kiss and you end up yelling at him about how you know he's giving her more than just his business.

You actually didn't know anything - just that he was far too friendly to her and you wanted to see what he would admit to. He immediately starts to set the record straight, telling you that there's no way you seriously believe he's looking at anyone that isn't you. You cross your arms stubbornly, telling him that isn't going to work on you.

It ends up not mattering when he picks you up to throw you onto his bed, covering you in kisses as he digs his nails into your hips. You can't escape his hold, bent this way and that way as he teases you for really thinking that he sees anybody that isn't you. He calls you possessive names, moving against you in ways that make you see stars over and over again.

Safe to say your new silent treatment to him is not because of you not wanting to speaking to him. Your voice is hoarse, body barely able to leave the silken sheets on your skin as he continues to dote over you with reminders that it'll always only be you.

[certifieddilfenjoyer]

Astral Prism, Orpheus & Raphael Theory

So you know how most people in Baldur's Gate 3 fandom make the Raphael joke?

I'm here to tell you that it's extremely hurtful, because his character has a lot more depth than some of you are willing to see.

Behold, my Baldur's Gate 3 theory:

Right before we enter Act 3, we are jumped by githyanki who want to retrieve our Astral Prism. We are summoned to the Dream Visitor - The Emperor, to help him in the fight.

We find out then that our supposed ally is an illithid but there is one more guy, The Gith, the Orpheus, The Prince of the Comet.

You can ask the Emperor what the heck is a githyanki doing there and he will tell you the brief story about the War of The Comet*.

He is going to mention, that he is bound by INFERNAL chains. Hold on? How come?

After we are done with the Royal Guard, we can go to the upper left side from Orpheus's prison and find an ancient Githyanki disc. It will tell us, that Vlaakith had some infernal business conducted with a devil with wry charm. Of course Raphael isn't the only devil capable of being charming, but it feels natural for it to be him when he is already a very important character in game.

Baldur's Gate 3 Wiki says that it is indeed Vlaakith and Raphael.

OK, but why would they exchange the Astral Prism and is it Vlaakith getting it or Raphael receiving the relic?

He is giving it to Vlaakith. But how would he be in possession of such an artifact?

My theory: He is the one who had it created for that trade. (Commissioned from someone else)

Explanation:

If you look at Hope's and Orpheus's prison, you will notice a striking resemblance at the crystals that can be only shattered by the Orphic Hammer. A Hammer, that Raphael is in possession of! How convenient!

(Even Hope's and Orpheus' eyes are glowing in the same way when they are enslaved.**)

The runes and the design of both Astral Prism and Orpheus' shackles are also strikingly similar. It does not look like anything of Githyanki creation, it screams infernal.

But that still doesn't really add up, does it? Who would possibly create such a powerful object which plays such a major role in the plot?

Here, we have to familiarise ourselves with the wonderful post by Bearhugsandshrugs

Em explains above who the people visiting House of Hope are***.

One of them is a crazy, extremely knowledgeable wizard who specialises in creating copies of himself which prevents him from dying in battle.

When we kill Raphael, we kill him in HoH, in his own domain. He should be gone, for good! But yet, upon interacting with the Orb of Infernal Envisioning, we see that he is soon to be devoured by his father. Hells do not split into separate planes - so either Mephisto snatched his soul somehow (which seems impossible because his body is still there and devil's souls are their bodies) or Raphael respawned and his father took one of his clones or something like that. (He's just so cool I had to put it in here, but let me return to my theory now)

Another name on the list points out to Raphael's interest in different planes (even the ones which don't seem to be reachable) but also, magical puzzle boxes capable of holding items inside. As you can see, the name on the list is under the uninvited visitors section, which most likely means that they either fuel his soul pillars or have been turned into a soul coin. So it didn't have to be that particular person helping Raphael with the creation of the Astral Prism, but it points out to his interest in that topic.

Now, when would that even happen?

Karsus Folly took place in -339 DR, BG3 takes place in 1492 DR, around 2000 years later.

The enslavement of Orpheus - so also the Vlaakith trade - happened at around -4000 DR.

It is not impossible that Raphael was already around and scheming at that time. Why? Because Mephistopheles gifted Haarlep to Raphael most likely when Raphael was about to get the Crown before his father snatched it. Comparing their visual age, it seems that Raphael was already a young adult cambion at around the War of The Comet age.

Another thing is the fact that, Kith'rak Voss, the badass Githyanki Red Dragon rider, the sword of Vlaakith, found out about Raphael and contacted him and told us to get our ass inside Sharess Caress. Raphael doesn't mention him having an 'office' there, it's Voss who does it. Only upon entering the place, we can interact with Korrilla who's like, hey girl go upstairs Raphael rented a room hoping you'd drop by. HE KNOWS WE SPOKE TO VOSS, he has to! And also, Voss was around when Orpheus got enslaved! According to Wiki he was inside the Astral Plane when that happened. And Raphael has absolutely 0 interest in trading with Voss, yet the githyanki managed to reach him somehow. In my opinion, when he finally realised the lies of Vlaakith, he was looking for a specific devil, for Raphael, because he might remember him from back then.

(* Justice to my poor Githyanki, the most based and cool race in BG3. Imagine how painful it has to be to realize over centuries of time that you helped the self-proclaimed queen establish her tyranny over your own people because you've been brainwashed to believe that Orpheus is a traitor and Vlaakith the rightful heir of the throne)

(** The eyes, the chains, the crystals. The top of the Orphic Hammer is literally partially built from that same gem/crystal and on top of that, if you use Examine on it, it clearly states that it has been built in Infernal forges.)

(*** headcanon warning: The Amulet of Vigor that is present in the Archive is actually proven to have some... Other invigorating capabilities ☠️☠️☠️ and the old, ancient, crazy wizard has the boudoir privileges. Coincidence? ☠️☠️)

Anyways, to sum up:

• Githyanki disc shows us a deal between Vlaakith and Raphael where the devil gives her the Astral Prism.

• Raphael orders creation of the Orphic Hammer (the name itself, come on, it's such a mockery just like House of Hope) to make sure that he has the means to free him if it will benefit him in any way.

• In exchange for the Hammer, he receives some kind of knowledge of ascension to godhood. (Lae'Zel tells us during the game that ascension is the githyanki's greatest honour but it turns out it is nothing else but ensuring that Vlaakith remains alive and a god, because she just consumes the life force of her greatest warriors)

• Hope's and Orpheus's chains are strikingly similar and the part of the Orphic Hammer is built from the same gem/crystal that seems to be enslaving both of them.

So yea, my humble request is that you start fully appreciating the incredible writing of the game, instead of just focusing on the shallow 'haha bottom' jokes. I could make another post about that itself, but it's pointless. I hope you enjoyed!

[yuseirra]

Ch 161~

Can't draw so much during the week..!

More commentary about 161..

I'm actually convinced Fatal and Mephisto should be Kamiki's song?? I think some things hint of it.

and that he DOES really care about Aqua.

and that he does have to do with Sarutahiko, Amenouzume's husband(although this part is a speculation)

More stuff in the read more:

(first written in another language and chatGPT helped me translate it... I can't write things like this twice ;v; it's a great world here. so convenient~)

Honestly, it's frustrating and a bit agonizing; what is this even about? The plot is stressful, but...

Still, being able to focus like this... I guess it’s a good thing to find a work that hooks you and makes you think deeply in some way.

LOL, it also means I’m living a life where I have enough time to care about a manga, even though I’m currently in a pretty tough spot.

This manga, whether it's in a good or bad direction, seems to be driving me crazy in its own way.

If I’m disappointed, I can always go read something else, (I even got permission from someone to draw a Persona fanfic fanart, but I’ve been too hooked on this manga to do it.. that fanfic was so good.. I need to do it sooner or later..).

But I was so confident about my analyses. Like, really... I’m usually good at picking up on these kinds of things? This manga is great at psychological portrayal, and it was amusing to analyze that, There are just too many things sticking out for me, and things feel uneasy.

It’s not about the pairing... It just keeps bothering me... Am I really missing the mark on this? I’m usually good at sensing these things...

Without the movie arc, this development would be fine, but that arc is sandwiched in there, and I interpreted the character based on that too...

Honestly, every time I listen to the songs, I get this strong feeling like, "This isn’t Aqua." The kind of emotions in these songs, it's not him that's singing them. It's the dad. I immediately posted about it when I first heard it in July. As soon as I heard it, I thought, "This is it," and got a gut feeling.

I really want to feel that emotion again.

Even if Kamiki does turn out to be a serial killer, I still think these songs could describe his inner state.

I think we’ll get some explanation in the next five chapters or so, even if it takes a bit longer.

Also, the expression Kamiki makes when Aqua stabs him is so genuine. Until that moment, he had been smiling, but...

If that expression was because he suddenly felt threatened with his life, it’s a bit pathetic. But... I don’t think that’s the case. What I really pay attention to are the emotional flow and expressions.

When Aqua says he wants to watch Ruby perform, the smile on Kamiki’s face... it’s soft. That’s... definitely a look of affection. It’s not like, “Oh, I've won him over!” or, “Yes, I’ve convinced him!” I interpreted it as Kamiki having paternal love, and there was a scene that backed up that idea earlier. I’m sure he really likes Aqua.

That’s not a bad expression. It’s more like, "Yeah, you wish to see Ruby, don't you. Go ahead, watch her. Keep living" (Which makes me wonder, is he really planning to harm Ruby? If he harms her, maybe he plans to do it after the Dome performance? But even that doesn’t make sense. Does that mean Aqua would have to come back to stab him AGAIN after that takes place?? Does it really add up to his logic for telling him to go watch her?)

Aqua says Kamiki will destroy Ruby’s future, but...

How exactly is he going to do that? Hasn't this guy literally done nothing? If they're talking about the Dome performance, at least that should go off without a hitch, right? So at least until then, Ruby would be safe?? So, Kamiki isn't planning to harm Ruby now at least, right? Even with that weird.. logic that he proposes (I hope he's lying about that tbh)

Then when Aqua smiles and says something like, "Haha, but I’ll just kill you and die with you," while pointing the knife at him again...

Kamiki’s expression at that moment really stands out, and it’s not like a twisted look of being frustrated about things not going his way. It’s not anger or annoyance he's feeling. It’s the same shocked and despairing expression we saw in chapters 146 and 153.

Aqua seems to have no clue what kind of person his father really is, huh? He can’t read him at all.

Honestly, from the way Kamiki speaks, I get the impression that he’s actually quite kind. He’s not saying anything too wrong.

Remember the scene where Ruby gets angry because people were talking carelessly about Ai’s death? Kamiki probably knows about that too. I think Aqua and Ai, and Ruby and Kamiki, are quite alike in nature. Kamiki might’ve felt a lot of grief over Ai at that time. I do believe he loved Ai.

The phrase, "People don’t want the truth," is pretty painful, especially if you think about Ai. That’s why Ai lived telling lies. Isn't Kamiki thinking about what's happened to her, then? By bringing that up? He should have felt it, loving/watching a person like her and what unfolded.. Ai died because of the truth that she had kids with him. Ugly fans like Ryosuke and Nino couldn't take her being less than perfect. Wouldn't this have hurt Kamiki too? The fact that they loved each other(At least Ai did genuinely, we know that) was unwanted. People could not accept that, and that's one of the reasons why they had to break up.

From the way Kamiki talks, it feels like he genuinely doesn’t want his son or daughter to go through that kind of pain.

I think Kamiki has a pretty good nature. When you look at how he speaks, it’s gentle, and he seems to genuinely care about Aqua and knows a lot about him. Maybe he’s been watching over him from afar for a long time? He probably even knows who his son has feelings for.

It really feels like Kamiki is trying to persuade him: "I’m fine with dying. But you, you have so many reasons to live, right? Shouldn’t you return to the people you care about?"

And, the way Kamiki reacts after Aqua stabs him also shows it. He’s visibly agitated afterward. His expression noticeably shifts to panic and darkness.

Wait... stop it, don’t do this! That’s what he says.

The way he’s talking to Aqua in that moment.

It’s not like, “How dare you?” but more like, “Aqua, please don’t do this.”

It really seems like he doesn’t want Aqua to die.

He’s really shocked by it.

From his expressions, he seems more shocked by Aqua getting stabbed than by his own fall, like he didn’t even know how to react properly. He's being grabbed onto but he isn't looking at the hands that are grabbing him, his line of sight is on Aqua there

The final expression he makes can seem really pathetic, but...

Oh man, I think that’s the truth of that situation.

And it makes sense because Ai dreamed of raising her kids with this guy. I think he could’ve been a really great father who adored his kids... at least until the point they separated. He was just really young back then.

Doesn’t this guy really love his kids? Even without the movie arc, there have been hints of his concern for them.

I’m not trying to interpret him kindly just because I particularly like or find this character attractive.

If he’s a serial killer psychopath, then yeah, he should die here. When I first got spoiled, my reaction was completely merciless. "Well, he should die if he's like that," I said. But...

I don’t think that’s the case. It really seems like he cares about Aqua.

Oh, and Kamiki’s soul being noble in the past is mentioned, right?

So, he was a good person before?

Well, I guess I wasn’t totally off in reading his character? LOL.

Does that mean he could be a fallen god?(could be a stretch, but there IS a lyric in fatal about fallenness!!!)

Sarutahiko is often described as a "noble" and "just" god, so it’s quite possible that Kamiki’s true nature is based on Sarutahiko, the husband of Ame-no-Uzume = Ai.

That couple was very affectionate, and according to the Aratate Shrine description, they even go as far as blessing marital relationships. Those gods really love each other. In that case, Ai being so fond and loving of Hikaru also makes sense. It could explain why she asked her kids to save him...

So, can't “Fatal” be his song? Maybe he’s fallen from grace?

The lyrics in "Fatal" say things like, "What should I use to fill in what’s missing?" Could that be about human lives? But did he really kill people? How can you save someone after that? That’s why I don’t think he went that far.

"Without you, I cannot live anymore"

“I would sacrifice anything for you”

This isn’t Aqua. This is Kamiki.

Would Aqua do that much for Ai? He shouldn’t be so blind.

When I listened to "Fatal," I immediately thought of "Mephisto" because the two songs are so similar in context.

They’re sung by the same narrator, aren’t they? That made it clear what Kamiki’s purpose was, which is why I started drawing so much about him and Ai after that.

He keeps saying he’ll give up his life and that he wants to see Ai again. This isn’t Aqua! These feelings are different from what Aqua has.

At first, I thought because Ruby = Amaterasu, with Tsukuyomi having shown up, and Aqua perhaps having relations to Susanoo (he’s falling into the sea this time, right? LOL) I wondered if Ai and her boyfriend’s story was based on the major myth of Izanagi and Izanami, since they’re so well-known.

That myth is famous for how the husband tries to save his wife after she dies, though he fails in the end.

The storyline is similar to Mephisto’s, so I thought, "Could this be it?"

And then I realized Sarutahiko and Ame-no-Uzume's lores also fit really well. Ai thinking Kamiki was like a jewel when they first met is similar to how Ame-no-Uzume saw Sarutahiko shining when they first met. Sarutahiko guiding Ame-no-Uzume is similar to how Hikaru taught Ai how to act. They even had descendants that have a title that means "maiden who's good at dancing" The two also fell for each other at first sight. The shrine the characters visit in the story is supposedly where those two met and married. If they REALLY are those gods in essence, It feels like something went wrong with the wish because one or both of them became twisted.

Anyway, I think Kamiki was originally noble but fell from grace, and it’s likely that Ai’s death was the catalyst.

But I’m not sure if he really went as far as killing people.

What is Tsukuyomi even talking about? I’ve read it several times, and I still don’t fully understand.

I really hope she's wrong because… killing others to make Ai’s name carry more weight? That doesn’t make any sense. What does “the weight of her name” supposed to mean?? I don't think that's something that should be taken just at face value, I feel like there's more behind this idea.

What kind of logic is that? And on top of that, I can’t understand why Ai’s life would become more valuable if Kamiki dies. It just doesn’t follow.

Why would he even say that?

He must be really confident... Does he think he’s someone greater than Ai?

Even so, how does it connect?

I read two books today, because I started wondering if my reading comprehension has dropped. Thankfully, I’m still able to read books just fine. It’s not like I can’t read, you know? I’ve taken media literacy classes and pride myself on not having terrible reading comprehension.

I tried to make sense of what exactly the heck this may mean, and I think.. if it were to mean something like, “I’ll offer my life as a sacrifice to Ai,” I’d at least get that. That kind of logic, in a way, has some practical meaning.

Kamiki talked about sacrifices? tributes? offerings? in chapter 147. I really remember certain scenes clearly because I’ve gone over them carefully. In that case, if Kamiki dies, then the weight or value of his life would transfer to Ai, and that would “help” her, right?

If the story is going in that direction,

when I look at “Mephisto” and “Fatal,” I can see that by doing this, Kamiki would have a chance to either save Ai or get closer to her. At least that makes some sense.

But is it really right for Ai to ask someone to save Kamiki, who killed others? As soon as the idea of it came up, I knew something was up.

Because of what Ai's wanted, I think it’s possible that Kamiki didn’t actually go that far. In the songs, they talk about gathering light and offering something, but they don’t say anything about killing people… Kamiki said he’d sacrifice his own life. People around him may have died, but…

Kamiki’s true personality doesn’t seem like the type to do that… And looking at his actions when Aqua was stabbed??

He hasn’t shown any direct actions yet, so I still don’t know how far he’d actually go.

It’s not that I don’t believe Tsukuyomi’s words entirely,

but I don’t think the conclusion is going to be something like, “Ai should’ve never met Kamiki.”

Every time we see Kamiki’s actual actions, there’s this strange gentleness to him, and that’s what’s confusing me.

The more I look closely, the weirder it feels, and something about it just bothers me. If Kamiki were truly just a completely crazy villain, I’d think, “Oh, so that’s who he is,” and I wouldn’t deny it.

But each time, I start thinking that maybe Ai didn’t meet someone so strange after all? Ai liked him that much, so on that front, it makes sense to me. I want to believe that’s the right conclusion. I mean, doesn’t what he says sound kind? Isn’t he gentle?

No, but seriously, when Kamiki listened to Aqua’s reasons for wanting to live, I thought his expression was warm. It didn’t seem like some calculated expression like “according to plan” like Light Yagami. It felt more like a fond, affectionate expression. I draw too, you know. I pay a lot of attention to expressions. This character often makes expressions that really stand out.

It’s like he’s genuinely trying to convince Aqua not to do anything reckless. Maybe I’m being soft on Kamiki because he’s Ai’s boyfriend? But actually, it’s not like that?

I mean, I’m the type who’s like, “Anyone who did something bad to Ai should die!!” It’s because he’s a character. If this were a real person, I wouldn’t so casually tell someone to go die or say such strong things.

But… he seems like a good person.

+It’s a small thing, but why did Kamiki drop his phone while talking about Ruby? Ppft If you drop it from that height, it’d probably crack. Was he trying to look cool? (It’s an Apple phone, huh.) Is he a bit clumsy? Well... since it looks like him and Aqua are about to fall into the sea, maybe it was a blessing he did so. The phone might be saved after all. If he manages to climb out of there, he could contact someone with that phone.

[lolirockenjoyer]

Lolirock season 3 MUST HAVE (in my opinion)

1. More Lyna, Carissa, Izira, Jodan and Lev (if he's alive)

I would like to see them helping the princesses and I hope will know about Calix/Borealis and Lyna and Carissa family more

2. MEPHISTO MUST BE ALIVE😭

It's a thing which every lolirock fan want so I have to add it. Sorry but I can't imagine lolirock without Mephisto and I can't imagine season 3 without happy ending. If it turns out he's really dead I will be so fucking dissappointed

3. Auriana and Talia parents

We saw picture of Auriana's parents but WHAT'S WITH TALIA'S PARENTS??

4. Natahaniel will find out about Iris, Talia, Auriana origin and about Ephedia

I honestly can't believe it won't happen. I mean it's actually impossible because if Iris wants to save Nathaniel, she has to tell him. Btw I really hope the princesses will escape with Nathaniel on Ephedia and the rest of the season will be there

5. The princesses will try to stop or help Praxina

I know, they don't have to do it but I can realize like Iris truly wants to help her or "fix her" (we literally see that in 'forget you'). I have a lot of potencial endings for s3 and the vision of princesses kill Praxina or smth like that is tragic for me. Please give her a redemption, give e24s2 meaning in the show😭

6. WHO TF IS BANES??? (And Zanavian)

He's not just a tiger and everybody knows that

7. New songs, maybe new characters

I'm pretty sure we will get some new songs but Idk if budget let team give us some new characters but I'm just telling it would be cool and it will show that is something new yk

8. TWINS BACKSTORY

RAAAAAAAH I WAIT FOR IT. I'm also sure it will be show because teamlolirock said that in one of their post on tumblr. I want to know who they are, where they live, who their parents were and why they worked with Gramorr. I also would adore the twins parents canon picture or anything like that

9. Praxina angst

I NEED A LOT OF ANGST. I need to see Praxina's suffering and deterioration of mental condition. I love her so much, she and her brother are my favorite character I just love angst so much

10. If Mephisto surivive I want some cute moment between twins, we just didn't get a lot of them :((

11. Gramorr's backstory

I need it more than my life. He's so interesting character tbh I want to know why and how he started with black crystal

12. I would like to see one (or even both) of the twins ends up with one of the princesses (no, I didn't mean Auristo and Praxalia, why?)

13. PRAXINA AND TALIA PAST?

They had common past and you can't prove me wrong

14. Explaining Morgaine and Gramorr relationship

I will DIE without it

15. And The most important. I know it's kids cartoon but lolirockers grew up for years and I hope it will be more umm mature? If you know what I mean

[tilkikedi-blog]

I'm very glad I brought up interesting points, I was worried I was becoming a pest. I'm so glad that you are willing to discuss these ideas with me, because they have been on my mind.

Tangent #1

I should probably go back through season 3, as I don't remember seeing Rapheal as an antagonist. (To be completely fair, I might just be miss-remembering, and now having Rapheal as a sprited character it is influencing my opnion.) But I feel like I always interpreted Rapheal as similar to Lucifer in being strict and aggressive. So when his more "antagonistic" actions were presented I didn't read it as antagonism, but rather "oh, he's like Walmart Lucifer."

I can definatly see what you are talking about in the season 3 epilougue though. There's a lot of unsaid tension in the scene. But I think that brings us to another issue the writers tend to have with "writing as they go." Where they might genuinely intend for the game to go one direction by the end of one season, but it gets slightly changed once the next season has begun. (Also the little rehtocns and inconsistencies scattered about the game)

Tangent #2

I did not hear about Thirteen's reception to Japon, I've only followed the American reaction. Which, there were some people who were NOT happy. But now I'm curious as to how the Japaneese fandom responded.

I would love for Thirteen to get more dynamics with the rest of the characters. Rapheal and Mestipho have the benefit of having previous relationships with the rest of the cast before they were introduced. But at the time Thirteen only had Solomon as a dynamic. But I am definatly looking forward to her gaining more dynamics, like they introduced with Barbatos.

I definatly agree that they seem to be doing a tsundere approach with Mephisto, especially considering the interactions between him and Thirteen. The little Stan vs Anti-Stan thing is kinda funny to me.

Honestly, just RIP to Raphela this season, I hope next season does him better. But were gonna have to wait and see. I honestly don't think the next season can fix this plot twist, but they might add something that will make it better? (Probably not)

Yeah, I wouldn't have been able to guess this plottwist. The "hints" given don't feel like hints. I'm wondering if maybe there were possibly more "hints" that were lost in translation (im thinking something like formality. I dont know how formal Micheal and Rapheal speak compared to each other, but maybe if one was more formal that could have hinted). But even then it really feels out of nowhere.

Can't believe Micheal is a theatre kid.

Tangent #3

I agree with your purpose of the HL/unlockables. And I also agree that filler should be kept to a minimum (keep that shit in the events).

In my personal opinion, the unlockables(A,B,C) are easier to unlock, and therefore more "vaulable" information can be placed there. Things like world building, or important character moments. 65-A is a pretty good example of what I would expect in unlockables. It gives the audience more information about Simeon, and also serves a good character moment for Lucifer.

For Hard Lessons, I would want the focus to be on the characters not in the main plot. A brief look at what some of the other characters are doing/how they are feeling about the main plot. (Mephisto and Thirteen bar scene would be a good example).

I would have to think a lot more about which information is so "valuable" that it must be presented in normal lessons. But I am going to say any plottwist should probably be in the main story.

(S2 is also my least favorite, however my issues are more with how little the character arcs do.)

Most importanly: The Micheal Rant(TM)

First, The "Nice" Micheal rant:

Micheal isn't evil. He's just sad (like all the other angels) that his brothers left him.

I presume that the nameless voice from season 2 and 3 is Micheal, and he shows regret about loosing the brothers. I think he cares about the brothers, and it even shows a little bit in Nightbringer.

We get in season 3, from Luke, that Micheal is just sad and misses the brothers. He is in permanent sad Boi mode.

He states in season 2 he would make different choices if he could redo things. He's just a sad little (pathetic) boy.

I think a lot of people attribute any bad action from the Celestial Relam to Micheal, when it's more likely coming from Him (Father).

Did Micheal or Father humanize Simeon? I would vote Father based on Simeon's reaction to the Boogeyman in season 3. (Plus with Micheal's precious statements in Season 2, which he says he would redo actions)

Did Micheal or Father start the Celestial War? Who knows. But are you going to tell me that this sad little man, who is just a clingy little boy, started a war with his brothers? That feels counter-productive.

I do not feel like Micheal is that bad of a guy. He is a person, he makes perosn mistakes. But he doesn't seem evil the way a lot of the fandom seems to talk about him. I see a lot of posts that paint Micheal as someone who made the brother's lives horrible. And I just don't buy that.

And now for the "mean" rant:

Everyone needs to stop projecting their Religious Tramua onto Micheal. I feel fuckin gaslight by this fandom sometimes, cause every scene with Micheal is just "sad little baby," and then I look at the fandom and it's just a sea of "evil evil icky man."

I've read too many theories and characters analysis and fanfictions where Michela is Evil. I can read between the lines, I know it religious trmaua I can sense it. It doesn't need to be here, it needs to be in a therapy office, not the character analysis. Please take it out of the character analysis.

The amount of fanfiction I have read that is supposedly "cannon compliant" and yet Micheal is over here abusing Luke. I dont think Micheal is abusing Luke, he's too busy being sad (that's a season 3 plotline).

Like, yeah the brothers probably didn't like Micheal in the Celestial Relam, but more in a way that you don't like your boss. Not in a culty way.

Like this fandom paints his ass as despicable, not even like morally grey. And I'm just sitting here like "are we playing the same game, where the fuck did you get THAT from??"

No but fr fuck that Hard lesson, Raphael stans keep losing I guess 👎👎👎

[emotionallyunstablegamer]

(797) First off I just want to say I mean absolutely no disrespect to anyone who is loving this remaster or who enjoys Diablo II more than any other game in the series, we all have different opinions and tastes and if we all just liked the same stuff we'd be in a boring ass world. For better and worse, this is just Diablo II with the most minor quality of life improvements and an absolutely stunning new coat of paint. This is how I remembered the game when I was a kid and I love being able to on the fly see the differences between the new and the old game. The environmental story telling is so small but so awesome, in the original Tristram there is a skeleton busted up by a rock in the remaster the skeleton is surrounded by broken bottles including one in its hand which leads me to believe that is actually Farnham the Drunk from Diablo I. This remaster ups the amount of gore it really makes you feel like you are in these horrible hellish places. Mephisto's Durance is incredibly disgusting, and I love it. Vicarious did an incredible job with the art, and I have literally no issues with anything they changed.

Here's the thing though, I enjoy the gameplay and the overall lore and story of Diablo III more which may sound insane to hardcore Diablo II fans but DII is kind of boring in my opinion the gameplay loop from start to end is a slog It's not just the endless grind for Ubers just finishing the story has problems. When you start the game oozes with personality the voice acting draws you in and I liked talking to all the different NPC's in each town any time I had a new quest but by the time you get to Act III you have to wander around to even obtain quests and with random spawning map grids that just doesn't feel great, the NPC's also have way less to say if anything. Then at Act IV you have two cool looking NPC's that have zero dialogue whatsoever, no comment on you or what's going on or why the fuck they are even here. Act IV was the original final act of Diablo II and it really feels like the game got rushed out the door in the end, then it was successful and got an expansion which added Act V.

Act V's pacing just feels off like it's the part of the game that they didn't have time to add turned into an expansion and it's super sad because the area itself is cool and if they added more story telling in the original I'd have been more invested. As a whole Diablo II the original release is nostalgic for me but not that great in the gameplay or story department it's okay and if you're interested in dungeon crawlers and aren't nitpicky it's super serviceable. I do not want to understate the amazing work Vicarious did on the remaster though it is so awesome and they did almost a 1:1 reimagining of the game as if it came out today and not in the early 2000s. I do wish because this game is completely separated from the original release that they would've added more quality of life improvements nothing crazy just small things like an actual hot bar for mouse and keyboard considering PC has full controller support and gives you a hot bar and I'd get it they made us figure out the key binds and didn't have defaults but it just seems strange that we didn't even have a clickable option.

In closing, my hope is Diablo IV will meet a sweet spot of the amazing art design of DI-II/Resurrected with the gameplay of DIII (obviously not 100% like DIII). I didn't hate revisiting DII and I don't remotely think DIII was flawless, but it was more fun in my opinion. Hope everyone is having/had a good time <3.

[doctorofmagic]

i wonder if chthon is on his way because of blade? i'm not holding on hope they'll make scarlet witch a mutant who draws magic energy from the dark dimension/darkhold/chthon and let her show up in blade, but who knows? i just remembered that vampires are like... magic and close to the darkhold/chthon stuff just like werewolves and witches and cults and stuff so it made me go "hmmm". but knowing the mcu they might try to make "realistic" vampires in order to fit into the mcu at large. i really don't believe the very dickflicky/ultimates-inspired/shield/sword mcu will suddenly accept all sorts of magic out of a sudden. i mean even the cartoon allowed tony to sciencesplain vampires physiology. 👀

Yes, MCU hates magic, I feel you!

I’ll share a theory about a magic creature in the show so if you or other people don’t want to read it, just ignore the following paragraphs under the cut. I’ll connect this theory to Blade, so it may be of your interest.

There’s this theory that maybe a ~certain~ character whose name I can’t tell because it was leaked is disguised as [spoiler] Mephisto [/spoiler]. And to be honest, I’m starting to believe it? So maybe, just maybe, even though Wanda is more connected to Chthon, there will be a mystic creature behind her “magic” after all, pulling some kind of influence on her (which is better than going full “crazy woman trope” in my opinion because of all the problematic stuff).

Some people also believe it’s Nightmare (@godofmagic, this moment is yours!!), and there’s a third possibility that it’s maybe Chthon.

It pains me to say it because I do love both Nightmare and Mephisto, but I’d rather have Chthon because of his connection to Wanda and chaos magic. The more they insert magic, the better for us magic fans, am I right?

But assuming the leak... Maybe it’s really Mephisto. I’ll just leave a reference to back up this theory, which is Infamous Iron Man. It seems they’re using this plot (without Doom and Stephen, how dare they????).

That said, if it’s indeed Chthon, it opens the possibility to the Darkhold and, obviously, vampires. It’s funny because the Darkhold already appeared in the MCU twice (on AoS and Runaways) but that book was a joke compared what it truly represents in the Marvel Universe.

I swear to Vishanti, if they pull the scientific version of vampires, I’ll riot! I’m glad Doctor Strange was out so the cartoon (at least, Avengers Assemble) made magic more tangible with both Stephen and Loki.

But hopefully, that’s not gonna happen. It’s quite sad that Helstrom disappeared as soon as it came out because they also went full magic. Not to mention Runaways’ third season with Nico and Morgan.

I have hope they’ll add the supernatural side of the MCU little by little instead of the technology and science bs they always tend to pull on us. Midnight Sons would be fantastic, especially if they developed Johnny Blaze (not Nicolas Cage pls, Marvel, don’t do this since you’re bringing every single actor who has ever played a Marvel role before to the new movies).

Btw, no one asked for it but here’s my MCU Midnight Sons dream team: Doctor Strange, Moon Knight, Blade, Hellstrom, Elsa Bloodstone, Satana, Doctor Voodoo, Johnny Blaze and - of course - Bats.

Lastly, please do not hold your breath haha!! Feel free to share your thoughts any time. Besides... Have you seen how long my posts are???? rip

[jasontoddiefor]

I keep getting annoyed by this pattern I see in AoEx discussions where Rin and Yukio are blamed or held responsible for each others failures. I get why this happens. The narrative and the fact that they are twins makes it very easy to put them in opposition to one another and add to that Yukio is officially in a position of power over Rin. But I don't think it's right. Shiro caused this huge power imbalance and the pressure that finally broke Yukio, and failed Rin too. Mephisto does the bare

(Cont.) Minimum, mostly for his own amusement at their struggle. No other adults are presented as authority figures and that’s terrible. So fans of Rin over Yukio (Hi!) can easily blame Yukio for being as dickish as possible when educating the brother deliberately kept ignorant his entire life, and those more sympathetic to Yukio point out how stressed he is and how Rin makes it worse by acting out/being a dumbass. And I feel like these and similar perspectives miss the point that this… 

(cont) misses the point that they are kids who still need adult supervision and shouldn’t be held fully responsible for themselves at this time. Many of the twins failings are a result of failure to provide help or guidance, a failure that might or might not be a deliberate move to keep them both easier to manipulate. Sorry for the rant but this has bothered me for some time and you seemed like someone who might be interested in this kind of thing. 

Woah. These are one of thebest asks I’ve ever gotten aaah. Definitely interested!

Rin and Yukio have been prettymuch raised to feel like they are responsible for the other. Rin protectingYukio from bullies and everyone who says bad stuff about Yukio. Yukioprotecting Rin from demons when younger and now from the Vatican as well as Rinhimself.

This mentality they haveinternalized as well as the narrative and the twin thing you’ve pointed outalready, of course leads many to blame the twin they like less for thesuffering of the other. Which I think is done on purpose because it highlightsa whole other perspective.

Who benefits from such arelationship between Rin and Yukio? Mephisto.

Yes I know I’m quick to blameMephisto for like everything, then again 90% of the time I don’t really thinkI’m wrong to do so, but yeah.

Despite the fact that Yukionow escalated, which for his health I hope wasn’t done on purpose, keeping Rinand Yukio in a relationship based on (over)protectiveness and power imbalancekeeps them, especially Rin, in check.

Rin wants to learn and hewants to protect his brother, seeing Yukio be stronger than him, gives him alot of motivation to do better and ties him to the people who can help him getthere.

Yukio in turn knows that hecan’t keep his brother safe on his own and therefore also needs the help ofsomeone stronger. At the same time Rin’s advances and his own helplessnessanger Yukio beyond reason and so push him closer to the people in power on onehand, and make him stronger on the other.

(But then he freaked out toomuch. But I suppose it’s something Mephisto will figure out how to deal with.Though I’d love to see him angry because he’s not in control for once.)

Ergo: You got both twins dependanton other people. If there was no power imbalance and the twins would actuallytalk with each other, I believe they’d be a far more terrifying force becauseyou’ve got lots of manpower. Independently thinking manpower. Not the kind ofthing you want

So yeah. Shiro probably didn’teven know better. He’s not the father of the year but I dunno if he’d createsuch an imbalance on purpose. Mephisto though is probably all for it. I meanjust look at the other Exwires. They don’t really have much holding them backnow, do they? No secrets to keep, no family to sacrifice themselves for anymore…

Back to Rin and Yukio. Likeyou already said, many of their failures could have been prevented with amentally stable adult guiding them and helping them through this situation.They really are still just kids who have been given next to no time to grief oreven adjust to the situation kindly in a way that works for them. Both have toomuch on their plate and Rin for example is just a more hands on learner. Theyneed someone grown up care for them for their own sake and not something else.

This rant got longer than expected ups sorry

[aparticularbandit]

Like I reverse google image searched for the image and it is turning up NOTHING.  If that was legit, it would be in more places than a couple of tumblr posts.  OP needs to provide a link to where they found that, because pretty sure it’s not legit.

Nobody has any idea how crushed I am. Not only is Wanda fucking Maximoff making a return for HoH, they're making Agatha straight. Fucking BULLSHIT

[yuseirra]

No... But I really think Ruby may be the key to saving them all in the end?? I want her significance to increase, I suddenly feel a huge hunch that what she told her father in ch 147 might really happen, with her shining brighter than anyone, saving everyone in the end?

If we see the the respective gods that the hoshino family may each stand for,

Ai=Amenouzume

Hikaru=Sarutahiko

Aqua=Susanoo

Ruby=Amaterasu

Right? And isn't Amaterasu the most powerful god in Japanese Mythology? I think there is a reason why she's been set as the most powerful of them all,

Ai is THE idol, she's the god of the arts, of course she excels in the field (and whenever I look up illustrations of her for reference, she seems so elegant and beautiful~

I feel like the reason Ruby can surpass her is not because she's more talented in the field but.. It's more like her essence is a more powerful entity compared to her mother, she's the sun god. The most major god in the myths.

I've said this a lot but Hikaru seems to be Sarutahiko; he has to do with guidance and leading people to the right path. He's been given a "fatal flaw" and totally broke down after Ai's death, and I think his powers have become unstable even before that because he was abused and hurt, people around seem to grow insane... I mean, they probably asked for it themselves and it's not his fault that things became so disastrous, but I think he could have subconsciously led them into choosing the WORST paths they ever could take because he's broken. That's maybe why Tsukuyomi is getting involved, it really may be this guy who's been causing problems being a god who doesn't realize they are one. I feel like if there has to be a single person in this comic that is a god who doesn't realize they are a god, it'd be him. It adds up with both Fatal and Mephisto's lyrics!! Listen!! I think this must be it!! The things that are happening around him are SO unnatural to be thought of as pure luck, how is his life this unfortunate?? What are the odds of having what's happened to him occur to a single person? People die around him. If Ai wants to save him, I don't think it's something he wants. This guy needs saving, he was noble!! I think.. He embraced this fate of his though?? In order to save Ai or sth if you see the lyrics of Fatal.. If you think of it this way, the way he was all like "It's because of me" when Yura died also makes sense, he could have caused it with his powers, idk if he wanted it or not but he did warn her beforehand so I hope not;; he still believes it's him that's the cause bc his powers influenced her maybe??? In this case, Kamiki IS a walking disaster and I do get why Aqua thought he needs to disappear for Ruby's future

Aqua didn't have so much connections with water or storm or the ocean expect for his name but he falls into the waters now lol I ACTUALLY PREDICTED THIS TOO.. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT..

Back to the part about Ruby, maybe she REALLY is the hope to save everyone.. By shining...somehow...I have no idea how but the idea of her bringing some sort of salvation?? Was sort of introduced in 147 you know. And her dad seemed to be happy about it.

Ruby is the most powerful one out of the family if they are gods in essence or at least related to them. I have a feeling that interaction she had with her dad wasn't just there to show her dreams. Somehow.. She may be able to bring light back the way Amaterasu stepped out from the cave she hid and relighted the world. It may not be Aqua who saves his dad(he looks like he's given up on it o<-<) but her. Not just her dad but Aqua too. And maybe even fulfill her mother's dreams too. In this case, Ruby could prove why she's our protagonist along with Aqua and become the true key character to bringing forth a bright ending!

[yuseirra]

I decided to relisten to Mephisto and something clicked, atleast a theory.

I agree that he wishes for someone to outshine Ai, part of me wonders if the reason why the wish seemingly didn't come true is because it had to do with the twins. They were reincarnated to pursue their dreams, but maybe also for Hikaru's wish that hasn't happened yet.

Ruby is stated so many times she's not Ai in the manga. its like they, Hikaru and Nino, expect an exact replica of her. Ruby is indeed way more emotional and shares more commonality with her father, especially in terms of mentality in how they love in their obsession/possession. But, people flash that she gives off the aura like Ai, looks like Ai at times when she is not trying.

Maybe thats why Hikaru looked hopeful for a moment, the white hoshigan. He saw potential for a split second.

But I could also be very off the mark or its too simple.

We have the HKAI explanation, but we still need Nino's motive for being involved in this. Many speculate that they want to snuff the light that is outshining Ai, which I can believe but I think there is possibly more to it. I apologize if I repeated anything you analyzed ^^

Okay, I think I get what you mean! I've been staring at this ask a little, I don't think it's written in a way that's hard to comprehend, but for some reason, it's taking me longer than it's supposed to.

so, what you mean is that 1. hikaru's wish (has to do with finding someone that outshines Ai) could have been hindered due to the twin's existence (for reasons unknown for now)

and 2. that they want Ruby to be an exact replica of Ai so that she can replace her? That's why you think he looked hopeful?

Mhm, could be! I was trying to coin how those thoughts could relate to Mephisto's lyrics earlier but it's your thoughts from the manga, right?

I wish I had more to bring to the table on my end regarding these ideas, but I don't consider myself a theorist in general. While I come up with some sometimes when I see some plot points that spark my interests, I could only talk about the things I'm really invested and passionate about. I usually just follow the plot for all the other things, so I'm probably not the best person to send an analysis to if you wish for a discussion. All I could say for now for these at the moment is "Oh, interesting! Could be so!".. I don't have so much to add on.

you must have read one of my posts earlier, right? I was so EXCITED when I wrote those! You can always come up with different ideas compared to mine, too~ I'm just really hyped from the possibility of having picked up something I previously haven't! Hope you have a nice day~

+Oh and about nino.. I was thinking maybe kamiki and her share the same goal or if he needs her help with it. if he wants to revive Ai.. which I think is a possibility with the songs expressing that sort of desire, nino must also have some guilt for having said harsh things to Ai. Didn't nino tell Ai to just die already? Then she could feel a responsibility for Ai's death too, no? If Kamiki is working to bring Ai back, I think she'd also support that sort of wish. Murdering the stars doesn't seem like the end goal.. it doesn't really accomplish anything or make things better. I say they're working for something more "constructive". If someone wants Ai back no matter what extreme measures there is to take, I bet it'd be Kamiki and Nino.