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lynneshobbydomain · 5 years ago

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Vengeance Chapter 10

((Thank you so much @sinfulwonders for betaing this chapter for me. You’re always so kind. Also thank you all for the reblogs and for the likes. Just a heads up, not only is this chapter long, but it does contain two deaths that may be disturbing to you. Please be advised.))

Rating: M (Violence)

Summary: Amateur Detective Shuichi Saihara knew that searching for the "Usual 16" wasn't going to get him anywhere. The disappearances weren't being tracked in any news outlet, and very few families even tried to come forward to ask for help, let alone to report them missing. Yet, Shuichi can't shake off the feeling that there's a reason behind the disappearances, and he's close to the answer. He just didn't realize that the answer was going to hit close to home, in more ways than one.

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You can read this underneath the cut or at my A03

Shuichi knew that the tranquility wasn’t going to last, but he did his best to milk it anyway. He let Kokichi drag him out of the house, in clothes that would make anyone do a double-take. They hung at the ice cream parlor for a little bit, Kokichi smearing a bit of his ice cream on Shuichi's cheek when Shuichi sniped at him too much and didn’t let him get away with any of his lies. He let Kokichi sneak him into a movie theatre without paying, trying to ignore how his hands sweat with nerves and how his heart continued to pound and race even though he knew that there was little to no chance that they were going to be caught when the movie started. He let Kokichi drag him all over the city, trying to find an arcade that Trick wasn’t at so that they could have some fun.

Shuichi played Yu-Gi-Oh at home, and bartered with Kokichi to go up against him with Smash. Kokichi bantered with Koji, with Keiko, and tried to fill as much light and laughter in the living room as he possibly could. For the first time in a long time, Shuichi had forgotten about the case that he was working on.

It really didn’t surprise him when they were in his room, sitting on the floor, playing slap jack when his phone went off. It wasn’t just his phone either, Kokichi’s phone also went off at the same time. Both of them looked at each other and they both dived for their respective cellular devices. Shuichi half-expected it to be D.I.C.E. He thought that Shuffle might’ve already found a building to hop into, and was going to send the GPS coordinates with a “don’t be late”. He would’ve preferred it honestly to the Danganronpa email that was staring at his face. It’s Voting Time!!!!

Shuichi felt his stomach twist and the room spin uncomfortably. His throat squeezed tightly as he opened the email.

Pick a Death!

Falling?

Drowning?

It was...vague. Shuichi pursed his lips together as he read the question again. Both of them sounded painful, and neither of them sounded quick. Shuichi could imagine the fear and panic from both of the deaths. He knew from his time at the agency that both of those were common suicides. Most of the time those who decided to jump usually picked to jump into rivers, or off of buildings so that there was little to no chance of second-guesses or take backs. The worst suicides were those who decided that it was best to jump in front of a train. Plenty of people went into Aokiagahara Forest because it was quieter, secluded, and less people around to try to talk them out of it. Of course Shuichi knew there were people who constantly wandered the forest to see if they could offer their assistance, their shoulders and ears.

This didn’t sound like a suicide however. Shuichi was certain that the death was going to have to do with a murder of some sort. Falling would be the quickest, but the luring would be hard to do. That person would have to trust the other a lot, especially if they were being coaxed to the edge. Shuichi doubted anyone in that group could call themselves that close. Yuya might fall for it, because she was hyperactive and friendly. Shirogane might, just because she would want to fit in. If Aki wanted to exploit her friendship or if Kokai thought that he could kill Aki or Rantaro, he might be able to convince them to get close and personal with the edge of a building.

He was very certain that Oda would laugh in someone’s face if they tried. Everyone else was too paranoid and not willing to trust anyone with a ten foot pool.

That meant that the most likely way to die was to drown. Shuichi didn’t recall anyone mentioning a pool or a body of water that was nearby the school. The courtyard had a fountain, but...the water would be too shallow for a proper drowning. Shuichi pursed his lips together. It meant a stronger chance of survival. At the same time, Shuichi could easily be misjudging how deep the fountain was.

He didn’t want anyone to die. He didn’t want anyone to suffer. He looked over at Kokichi who was staring at his phone, his thumbnail being bitten between his teeth. His eyes were focused on the small screen, and his brows were furrowed. He was distressed and Shuichi worried for a moment that something happened at home. Kokichi’s parents rarely ever reached out to him in worry or in care. They pretended that he didn’t exist, and Kokichi...well...he tended to like the idea that he didn’t exist. It meant less problems for the three of them, even if Shuichi wished otherwise.

It didn’t mean that his parents didn’t surprise him. Sometimes, Shuichi knew that they’d reach out, only if they thought they could manipulate him to go back home for whatever reason. He sincerely hoped that wasn’t the case. He looked back at the email, and his heart stuttered. How was he going to watch this when Kokcihi was with him? He couldn’t. He couldn’t risk Kokichi looking at it either. No it was best to vote and it was best to delete the email. It was best to pretend that the episode wasn’t happening…

He wasn’t sure he could watch it, knowing that it could be Aki’s murder that he was actively voting for. He wasn’t sure he could watch it thinking that Aki actively murdered someone. He doubted both of those routes, but they were in a killing game. The two day deadline was up.

Someone was dead and he knew it.

Someone was going to pay for it, and he knew that too.

“Shuichi-chan?” Shuichi jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up, trying to hide his phone away from Kokichi’s gaze. He knew that outed him as suspicious immediately. Kokcihi’s gaze flicked, Shuichi wondered what exactly crossed his mind, before a smile played at his lips. “You spaced out there for a minute, beloved~. Did something happen?”

Shuichi had his suspicions on Loki being Kokichi, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to go down that rabbit hole yet. Especially since the voting was actively trying to goad people into picking someone’s demise. There was no right way to respond to the email. Someone was going to die in whatever the majority decided on, and as much as Shuichi loved and wanted to protect his cousin, he wasn’t sure he could vote for someone else’s death too.

Aki wouldn’t want him to. Shuichi knew that this could bite him in the ass later, but...Aki wouldn’t want him to vote. Not this. Motives? Probably a way to help. Murder? He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t find a reason. Danganronpa wanted him to be an accomplice. He wasn’t going to push someone into hell. He wasn’t going to do that to the victims or their families. With that firm resolve in mind, he gave Kokichi a slight smile. “Danganronpa.” He admitted. “It uh...it was a weird email.”

“I bet...you okay?” Kokcihi pursed his lips tightly. “What did they want?”

“Something I couldn’t give.” Shuichi wished that he had more confidence in his words. He knew that sounded shaky and false, even to him. “It’s okay. I just...it was...a lot.”

“Okay.” Kokichi murmured quietly. “Let’s forget about it for now then. Come on beloved!” He suddenly grabbed Shuichi’s arm and started to pull on him. “Let’s go annoy Keiko-chan in the kitchen.”

“She’s going to hit you with a spoon if you annoy her while she’s cooking, Kokichi-kun.” Shuichi admonished as he let himself be tugged out of his room and out towards the kitchen.

“Then it’s all in good fun!”

Later that night, Shuichi woke up. Being a light sleeper that he was, he was used to being woken up at strange times in the middle of the night. Sometimes, Aki couldn’t sleep and suddenly would start playing music as softly as she could in her room. Sometimes, Kokichi would have nights where he tossed and turned and would accidentally kick him awake. Sometimes, Shuichi’s brain just decided to randomly go on high alert and remind him that he was alone in his room and that for whatever reason something was amiss. Shuichi glanced over to the side to see if it was the Kokichi situation when he registered that the boy wasn’t even in his bed.

He reached over to the side and felt the sheets. They were slightly warm, which meant that Kokichi had left and his side was starting to become cold. He must’ve been up for a while. Shuichi carefully pushed himself up into a sitting position and reached over to his bedside table to turn the lap on. The room immediately flicked into soft yellows and irritated Shuichi’s eyes and head as he rubbed the sleep away from the corners of his eyes. Kokichi wasn’t anywhere in his room. Did he think he would be too much of a disturbance and decided to go out into the living room?

Shuichi looked over at his desk and noticed that his laptop was missing. Shuffle mentioned last night that Kokichi would take his laptop and would drag it down to the living room and watch it. Feeling as though he was about to step in on some private mystery, Shuichi walked out of his room with his heart pounding in his ears. This could be his chance to figure out once and for all if Kokichi actually watched the show. He had his suspicions, he had some of the evidence to back up his claims, but nothing would be as concrete as this. He kept his footsteps light and attentive, making sure to keep his back against the walls and keeping note where the shadows are. It was easy to slink into detective tracking mode, even in his own home.

He could strain to hear the little things that the house hid when no one was paying attention. Keiko was asleep down the hall. The small creaks and groans the house made as it settled down into the earth. The small noises that were made outside, the humming of faraway traffic. He noticed that the living room light was on. The table side of it anyway, since the glow didn’t reach too far towards the hallways or the kitchen. Shuichi peered over the corner, and saw Kokichi on the ground cross legged, his laptop up.

There was an investigation that was happening. Shuichi’s eyebrows furrowed as he decided to let his presence be known. “Danganronpa?”

Kokichi jumped six feet in the air and he scrambled to find some way to save his face, despite that there was no way he could recover from the jumpscare. “Shuichi-chan!” He hissed, pulling his headphones off. Shuichi hadn’t noticed that they were missing or that Kokichi was wearing them. He was still a little shell-shocked that Kokichi was watching the show. “What are you doing?” He whispered. “Go back to sleep, beloved. I’ll-”

“You watch Danganronpa.” It wasn’t meant to sound like an accusation. He didn’t want Kokichi to look at him like that. His neutral expression was just breaking enough that there was a hint of fear that was in his eyes. He was thinking that this was going to be a showdown of some sort. Shuichi didn’t want a fight. He didn’t want a confrontation that didn’t mean anything. “I do too.”

“I know you do, beloved.” Kokichi sighed, his shoulders relaxing only a fraction. “I see you in the chat logs.” He looked at Shuichi and Shuichi could see the anxiousness. The fear. He was just as afraid of this game as Shuichi was. Yet he was watching it by his lonesome. Shuichi wondered if it was because Kokichi thought he needed the sleep, or if he was worried about the same thing he had been worried about previously. About whether or not Aki was the murderer or the victim. “Aki-chan’s still alive.” He paused the recording and stood up, taking the laptop with him. “We should move this into your room. We can talk there.”

Shuichi nodded and they headed back into his room. They got comfortable on his bed, Kokichi placing the laptop between them and tossing the headphones to the side. Shuichi gave him a small glare for it, those were his good noise-cancelling headphones but Kokichi wasn’t paying attention or caring. He quickly adjusted the volume so that it was comfortable before hitting play. “Should I go back to the beginning?” He asked, hovering his mouse over to the replay button.

Shuichi shook his head and Kokichi took his hands off of the computer, and instead found Shuichi’s under the covers. Rantaro was looking around the crime scene and Shuichi’s throat bobbed when he saw the body of the mangaka on the floor. A scalpel lodged deep into her throat. It looked like someone had tried to slit her throat, but either changed their mind last second, or didn’t realize there was a proper way to do it without getting the weapon caught.

“So Shinigami-san was wrong in thinking the chemist was the murderer.” Kokichi mused softly. “I don’t think this would be her thing.”

“Could be the doctor since I’m sure that’s one of his supplies.” Shuichi mused thoughtfully. “Oh they found the bottle of the chemicals used to knock someone out...or kill them.”

“I think it was a knockout. If it was a killing proportion, then why get stabbed in the neck?” Kokichi theorized as Rantaro started to badger his classmates about alibis and where they were. Shuichi noticed that Aki was looking around the room too, casually going over to Rantaro when she found something to help move the case along.

The scene of the crime was interesting too. It was in an abandoned classroom. If the mangaka was going to die somewhere, Shuichi would’ve thought that her lab would’ve been the prime spot. Someone wanted to have a chat. “Did they figure out the time of death or anything?”

“So far, we don’t know much.” Kokichi murmured. “Apparently this is something new they're trying out.”

“What do you mean?”

“According to some of the backlogs that I was reading before the recording showed up,” Kokichi gestured vaguely to the screen. “Monokuma used to tell the students the time of death, type of death, and little other factoids. This time, Monokuma is giving students free reign. I suppose it’s because they have a doctor on their talent team.”

“How do you feel about the talents?” Shuichi asked softly.

“Hmm...nothing really. It’s just a gimmick isn’t it? I bet that’s why Monokuma isn’t exactly being helpful. If the doctor does a botched up job, well...that means that everyone gets killed besides the blackened riiight?” Kokichi drawled softly. The violinist, Akamatsu if Shuichi remembered her name right, came back with Yadori and gave Rantaro a slip of paper that merely said the words midnight on it.

“So they were meeting up in the classroom.” Shuichi concluded. “To talk probably.”

“About what? Did someone know something? Kind of pointless to start having secret meetings now.” Kokichi scoffed a little. “Honestly some of these kids have no clue what they’re doing.”

“You don’t either, Kokichi-kun.” Shuichi winced a little as Kokichi gave him a mock offended look.

Bing. Bong. Bong. Bing sounded through the computer’s speakers and both of the boys’ shut their mouths as Monokuma appeared in the monitor, looking pleased as the cat that got the cream. “It’s now time for the class trial!” He sounded overly gleeful, like this was the best part of the game. The murder was just the cherry on top of it all. He directed the students towards the elevator, and Shuichi watched as fifteen students climbed into the cage like device and go down deep into the underground.

The trial room wasn’t like anything Shuichi had seen before, and he and Kokichi both had been in court rooms. The podiums were like witness stands, all in a circle facing each other so that there was no way to try to hide anyone’s expression or their actions. Everything was for everyone to see. There was one podium in particular that had Chatani’s death portrait, a large X painted in a bright red substance that looked suspiciously like blood.

The room itself was a little insane looking too. Black and white tile reflected a blue light that came from the ceiling, bouncing off of stained glass windows and mosaiced down to the ground. On a red and gold chair sat Monokuma and down in front of him like jury members waiting to hear the deceivsiness of the trial were the loudmouth Monokubs that Shuichi rarely paid attention to.

The rules were simple. Discuss until there was nothing left to discuss. Vote and pray that it was the right answer. If it was wrong, everyone but the blackened would die. Vote correctly and the blackened would die and everyone else would live.

“Usually in trials everyone’s on the witness stand has to say their name and their ultimate.” Aki suddenly spoke up. “And since we know that this is being recorded, we may want to do that just for it to be on the record.”

“Didn’t realize you were the Ultimate Lawyer, Mayumi-chan.” Oda teased.

Aki paused. “My name is Mayumi. I don’t have a last name. I’m the Ultimate Guitarist. I’ll also be bold enough to say that I’m pleading innocent too.”

Everyone in the trial froze. Kokichi let out a high pitched noise that sounded like he was trying to hold back a snicker or a laugh. Shuichi watched as everyone looked at each other, a little nervous. A little less thrilled with the idea that they might be recorded, that someone could actually use this in an actual trial.

“My name is Maeji Sena. I’m the Ultimate Cheerleader.” Shuichi remembered her credits being fun. Her background was usually a gym of some sort with a bunch of people in the stands. He knew about the cheerleader part though mostly because her yellow and blue pom poms that she carried with her gave her away. She was a nice looking girl too. With a side ponytail and a couple of the same colored ribbons. Her uniform supported the color theme. “I’ll also be bold and say that I’m pleading not guilty.”

“Wow. This trial is going to go by so fast.” Shimahara stated, looking completely bored out of his mind. The sparkles of his shirt caught the light of the stained glass, making it shimmer brilliantly. The looks that his classmates were giving him however, were enough to make him shrink. “Fine, fine. My name is Shimahara Yuji. Ultimate Dancer. Ultimate bored out of my fucking mind. I’m not a part of this. Can we move on?”

“Dick.” Yuya grumbled, flapping her sweater sleeves nervously around her body. “Heyo. I’m Yuya Chika and I burn things for fun!”

“Innocent.” Everyone said together at the same time.

“Yuya-chan can’t be a murderer because we’d have a burnt body instead.” Yadori giggled, though there was something off in her posture. Shuichi noticed that she was too tense for that to be genuine. The laugh also sounded shrill, like a panic. “Okay, okay. I’m Yadori Miki. I’m the Ultimate Figure Skater. I’m pleading not guilty.”

“Yeah maybe we should all just agree that we’re all going to say not guilty and maybe not do that.” Oda sighed, taking out a monocoin and flipped it. He watched it fall down to the ground and bent to pick it up. “So you all know me-”

“Pretend we don’t.” Aki cut through quickly.

Oda gave her a small look. “Okay I’ll humor you. Oda Touru. Ultimate Thief. I’ll steal anything so long as it benefits me somehow.”

“Annnd there’s our jackass.” Yuya happily gestured.

“Maybe not everyone’s not guilty after all.” Ajishi gritted her teeth. “Ah, right. Forgive me.” She cleared her throat and adjusted herself and her posture. Shuichi had to admire how quickly she threw on her persona. “My name is Ajishi Misa and I’m a chemist.”

“Ougai Eiji.” The doctor quietly murmured next to her. “I’m a doctor. We should try to remain objective while we’re on trial.”

“We’re not...always going to go around the circle introducing ourselves right?” A boy asked. He wore the same sort of uniform the thief did, but his had a bit more of a flair to it. It was fitted loose on him and Shuichi felt like all he was missing was the cape. “I’m only stalling, I'm sorry. My name is Nakaji Katsuji. I’m the Ultimate Actor.”

“Ultimate could be murderer got it.” Shimahara deadpanned.

“Now, now.” Rantaro quickly held his hands up. “Let’s not get into a fight. We’re all in the same boat here. My name is Amami Rantaro. I’m the Ultimate Adventurer.” He looked over at Kokai. “Your turn.”

“I’m Kokai Seijo. I’m a falconer.” Kokai nervously adjusted his gloves. “I’m na a murderer eider.”

“So now it’s my turn right?!” Shirogane asked. “My name is Shirogane Tsumugi. My talent is being the Ultimate Cosplayer. I’m not surprised if no one remembers me.”

“You’re right. No idea who you are.” Shimahara deadpanned.

“Well you didn’t have to be so mean about it...but I get it.” Shirogane winced.

“Why didn’t anyone think to kill you off is a mystery.” A girl with blonde hair spoke up. Shuichi really did try to rack his brians, the familiarity of her just bothered him sometimes. “My name is Akamatsu Kazue. I’m the Ultimate Violinist. Let’s solve this mystery together.”

“Horrible catch phrase.” It was a teasing tone and a gentle smile that graced that sentence. The boy had on a heavy utility belt and it was full of different kinds of equipment. His hair was all over the place, and he looked to be in the same boat as Yuya when it came to burns. “So formally I’m Gonoji Yoshitaka, but you guys can call me Yoshi-kun. I don’t care.”

“That leaves me. I’m Kai Yako. I’m the Ultimate Singer.” Kai mused, shifting on his feet.

“Oh. Right I was supposed to say that I was the Ultimate Electrician. Sorry.” Yoshi rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Now that we got that all squared away, and it’s on record.” Rantaro spoke up, “We should start by talking about the obvious.”

Ougai straightened his tie. “To slit someone’s throat effectively, you would go from ear to ear with the head tilted downwards to expose more veins. Tilting it up, you expose the knife to different obsticals and instead of making a fast clean death, you made the victim suffer and you fuck up the kill. You don’t look dramatic. You look like an amateur. We can rule out myself and Ajishi automatically for it if that’s the case.” Ougai paused. “Also there were some defensive wounds that were on Chatani-san’s body. Indicating that there was a struggle.”

“Okay so we’re dissing the culprit before we even start, cool.” Oda drawled. “But sorry doctor and chemistry teacher, but I think you two shouldn’t count yourselves out just yet. We know the murder weapon was a scapal. Therefore it was one of yours. I’m thinking the doctor did it. Anyone else?”

“What would the motive be? The flashback light?” Yuya tugged on her sleeves nervously, winging and flapping them around, nearly hitting her peers that were next to her. “I mean, we don’t even know if it’s real or not. Monokuma could’ve just said to throw all of us off.”

“Yes, but that does not mean that someone else would believe the lie.” Ajishi adjusted her goggles over her eyes. “Let’s hypothesize that someone’s motive is the flashback light. Let’s hypothesize that they believed that there was a memory in there that they wanted back.”

“If we’re accusing me first, I can easily say three things. One, I have an alibi. Two, if I’m going to murder someone why would I pick the most obvious weapon that can be pointed out to me? I know more ways to murder someone and get away with it than to do a botched job and leave my own work too behind. Three, I don’t care about the flashback light. I don’t care about my lost memory. If anyone should be worried about their memories, it’s Mayumi-san who doesn’t have a single thing to her name.” Ougai gestured over towards Aki, who was mindless chewing on her finger.

She froze like a deer in headlights, and bit at her nail a little harder, but otherwise stayed silent.

“Why woul’ she go af’er Chadani dough?” Kokai frowned, tugging on his gloves and keeping his gaze down. “We dun dalk da her much.”

“If she was going to go after anyone, it’d be Oda-kun you’re right.” Akamatsu said, as she held her pointer finger up in the air. She had another hand on her hip and she immediately turned the conversation. “So we need to start looking at people who are close to Chatani-chan and who would want to hurt her.”

“So basically all of us and none of all all at the same time.” Oda rolled his eyes as dramatically as he could. “Because none of us are really all that chummy with each other, violin.”

“She’s the weakest member here though, isn’t she?” Yadori asked as she was redoing her hair, trying to pull it back into a nicer looking bun. Her hands were trembling, Shuichi noticed. She wasn’t trying to meet anyone’s gaze. If anything, she was trying to distract, but why? Shuichi covered his mouth with his hand, gazing on Yadori as though she could hold all of the answers. Maybe he was wrong, but...she was acting not herself for certain.

“Where was she during the investigation?” Kokichi murmured and Shuichi felt his heart plummet down into his stomach, icing his veins in the cold realization that Yadori was a suspect. She had acted weird when Ajishi confronted her classmates about her missing things too. Too stiff. Too afraid. Oda was too calm, too certain. He didn’t care that he was an accomplice. Only the murderer was going to get punished. He could do whatever he wanted and help whoever he pleased.

It made Shuichi wonder if Oda had a bigger part to play than the “Ultimate Thief”.

“Wow.” Tsumugi drawled, looking insulted. “That’s just plain rude right there. Chatani-senpai’s a strong person. Both inside and out. You didn’t know this, but when Chatani-senpai writes any kind of manga, she does her research. From experimenting with eating disorders to actually going to the gym and working out to be as buff as she can as a female, and asking male bodybuilders to pose for her to practice the anatomy. She isn’t someone that’d just lay down and take a hit.”

“Eating disorders aren’t exactly what you’d consider strength here.” Shuichi muttered, mostly to himself. He heard Kokichi snort beside him and he felt his cheeks flush. He was used to being by himself while he watched the show. He forgot that sometimes he mumbled to himself to get the gears rolling in his mind. That being said though, Tsumugi had a bit of a point. Her determination and perseverance would be considered a strength. If she hadn’t died, she would’ve made it a lot longer than she had, that was for certain.

“Is anyone else disturbed that she actually goes that far for her writing or is that just me?” Oda asked, looking around at the trial circle.

“I mean, I’m a performer.” Nakajima said, picking against his tie as he undid it and was re-doing it. “I also have to determine what weight I have to be if I’m going to be an accurate representation of my character. I destroyed my body in many ways and I recovered it in many ways.”

“I’m not much but a singer, but even my appearance gets me a side-eye every now and then.” Kai rubbed his neck.

Maeji shifted in her stand, “I mean, I was once told to lose some weight if I wanted to be caught easier during the pyramids or any of the tosses, but I never took them into too much consideration. It was a...thought though I’ll...admit that.”

Shimahara just sighed, “Yeah. All of us have body issues. I did the same. It’s stupid. Can we press on now?”

“Dear god, please get therapy, all of you.” Oda’s complexation paled.

“One of us cannot, she’s dead.” Ajishi frowned at Oda. “And also please stop being so insensitive.”

“We’re getting off topic.” Rantaro quickly intervened. “We’re not getting anywhere if we get sidetracked. So we know that whoever killed Chatani-san didn’t know how to slit a throat. We know that they managed to get into Ougai-kun’s lab and get the weapon. We also found a bottle of the mixture Ajishi-san told us would make a knockout gas rather than a poisonous one.

“To be on the safe side,” Ougai commented, “My lab is never locked.”

Everyone stared at him. Rantaro folded his arms and gave him a small look. “You mean to tell me that anyone can go in and grab what they can from your lab?”

“My lab is a medical facility. For me to close it could be hazardous to anyone. I want there to be free reign in case someone gets hurt or needs something and I’m not awake to provide. That being said, I do normally keep my door unlocked too.” Ougai explained. “So that if someone does have a need for me, they can get me as fast as possible. I’m used to not sleeping a lot, so I’m easy to alert.”

“Do we know when Chatani-chan died?” Aki asked, her voice wavering as she tore another piece of skin from her nails. Shuichi watched in muted horror as blood dripped down between her fingertips.

Ougai also looked pained, “Please stop chewing your nails, Mayumi-san, you can’t play guitar like that. Also...I can only give an estimate. I’m no way a coroner. My theory is that Chatani-san met her demise around twelve ten or twelve thirty.”

“So a thirty minute chat.” Oda mused, “What would they be talking about that could take so long?”

“Girls are like gossips. They never shut up.” Shimahara shrugged.

“I knew Oda-kun was a dick, but you, sir, are an asshole.” Yuya frowned, putting her hands on her hips. “Maybe you two should go find a room after this is over and get some of that aggression out.”

“Fucking ex-”

“We’re getting sidetracked again!” Rantaro snapped. “Will you guys cut it out, this is serious. If we don’t figure it out, all of us are dead.”

“Is that really a bad thing though?” Yadori asked, looking apprehensive. “I mean…we’re forced to die anyway. Isn’t this...quicker?”

“Wow.” Yuya stared at Yadori. “You have no balls.”

Yadori spluttered.

“I’m kinda sad really. I thought we were friends.” Yuya pouted, kicking at the stand and placing her hands behind her back. Her eyes looking downcast and her expression clearly betrayed. “I thought that you liked hanging out with me.”

“O-of course I do! I just…”

“Would rather want us dead than alive is all.” Aki muttered. Her finger was bleeding profusely now and she was already going on to the next one.

Shuichi couldn’t remember a time where Aki actively bit her nails. She was always so careful to make sure that they were short, but...had that been to resist the temptation of biting them? He was going to have to figure out how to ask about that habit to his uncle and his aunt. He couldn’t imagine Danganronpa being able to implement new habits, but at the same time, he wasn’t sure what this game was capable of.

They stole everyone’s memory and forcibly removed Aki’s for everything including her name. He couldn’t imagine it just stopped there either.

“Da no’ said dat dey were gonna mee’ up a’ midnigh’.” Kokai broke the conversation, his voice a slow thoughtful drawl. “We know dat dey had da abli-lie da use da chemical da knock ou’ Chadani-san.” He pulled the gloves. “We know dat dey dun kno how da kill eider.”

“You know I don’t know if this would help but here’s my theory.” Ougai suddenly snapped his fingers. “The culprit and Chatani-san both agreed to meet up at the classroom at midnight. The culprit already knew that Chatani only had few friends and therefore wouldn’t be missed. They used the knockout chemical mixture to make the death painless as possible, only misjudged on how to properly slit a throat. The throat is slit and the dead is done.”

“So we’re thinking the chemical was used on Chatani-san. Okay so we’re thinking that this was a mercy killing.” Akamatsu mused, coming back some of her hair as she looked to the side. “God, my sister’s much better at figuring out mysteries like this. I just can’t come up with anyone that’d go out of their way to hurt her.”

“Alibis then.” Rantaro nodded, “We should get those cleared out so that we can figure out who we need to start looking at.”

“Hold on a second.” Oda broke the conversation, looking at Rantaro with a deep frown on his face. “Why aren’t we questioning Mayumi-chan?”

“What do you mean?” Rantaro deadpanned.

“She’s the one with the lost memory, right?” Oda gestured. “We know that the flashback light would be the motive. Why are we ruling her out?”

“I never said that she was ruled out.” Rantaro frowned at Oda, his arms tightly folded against his chest. “What I can determine though is that Mayumi-chan wouldn’t go after Chatani on the mere fact that neither of them are close.”

“We’re stuck in a killing game. Should closeness really be a reason here?” Yadori frowned.

“Then why hasn’t anyone gone after Kokai-kun? Shirogane-san? Mayumi-chan if she’s such an easy target.” Rantaro gestured. “It’s because they’re all connected to someone yeah? A little bit of a threat. Shirogane-san and Chatani-san were probably the only friends that actively hung out all the time.”

“I don’t recall anyone asking me to hang out as of late besides Amami-kun, Mayumi-chan, and Kokai-kun.” Shirogane nodded. “As plain as I am, I’m not surprised that I’d be ignored in the background, but it was nice to see that Chatani-senpai saw a fellow fan and was willing to let me pick her brain so to speak.”

Kokichi let out a suffering sigh, “They’re going around in circles.”

“Yadori-san isn't helping that fact and neither is Oda-kun.” Shuichi murmured, watching the trial dissolve back into disaster. “Amami-kun’s on the right track though. Killers aren’t likely to kill strangers. They’ll kill people they’re familiar with because it’s easier to figure out routine. Getting trust means it’s easy to get them to do what you want them to do.”

“What’s your big detective brain thinking then?” Kokichi asked and Shuichi could feel Kokichi’s gaze on him.

“I think that it’s weird that Oda-kun stole the chemicals. I think it’s weird that Yadori acted strangely in the breakfast hall.” Shuichi murmured. “I wonder...Chatani-san had the chemicals in her possession. She had it there that night when she met up with her killer. I bet it was a struggle and a fight to get both murder weapons away from each other. Chatani-san isn’t strong physically and was most likely overpowered. She was easy to knock out and kill after that.”

“Psychology says that memory and personality are one in the same. If the brain is tempered with in any direction, the personality can change with it.” Aki agreed, speaking around a bleeding middle finger. Shuichi and Kokichi both stared at the screen as everyone else looked over at her. She continued to chew as she spoke, her words muffled against skin and blood. “Closeness isn’t a factor, I agree with Yadori-chan. We can’t rule any one of us out. If we were out in the real world then yeah, it’d be weird for a stranger to go up and murder someone, but that’s not what’s happening here.” She took her finger out of her mouth, blood lingered on her lips as she looked at everyone. “So here’s my thought. I find it weird and strange that Chatani-chan’s body has defensive wounds. While I know some of us are performers and have skills in makeup, I think that we should all offer our own bodies to show whether or not we have the bruises or scratches. Of course, I can always out you now if you’d prefer.”

“What do you mean “out”?” Oda asked, folding his arms.

“We know that Chatani-chan wasn’t late for the meeting, she was right on time because the murder took place around twelve ten to twelve thirty. Without an actual coroner to say anything about it, we can only go by a guess or two. I’m sure Shirogane-san can confirm that Chatani-chan wouldn’t be late to any kind of meeting because mangaka’s are always under strict schedules. Right?”

“That is right!” Shirogane proclaimed, looking excited. “Mangaka authors are used to working towards extreme deadlines, very rarely do they miss. Therefore, the meeting went exactly as planned.”

“What does this have to do...with anything?” Kai asked, looking perplexed. He wasn’t the only one that was lost. Even Rantaro was giving her a mild look.

“Because if the murder was about the flashback light, we would’ve found it in either Chatani-chan’s lab or her room. Both were negative.” Aki explained, looking at Yako. “Which means that’s not the motive. But...if I recall from all the meetings we had. Chatani-chan would always mention that a murder could happen. In particular, the conversation about the chemicals.”

“Now that you mention it,” Rantaro placed his hands on his hips, looking peeved. “I do recall Oda-kun getting upset with you about calling him out for stealing it.”

“Now wait just a-”

Aki barreled on, ignoring Oda’s protests. “Who else acted weird during that conversation, Amami-kun?”

“Yadori-san.” Shuichi breathed just as Rantaro spoke the name. The figure skater was always antsy around the mangaka. Especially when Chatani would mention that there was a method of killing, or that the chemicals and the imbalance of them would be a waste to use. “That makes sense.”

“You and Aki-chan go like seven different hoops and I feel like I’m stuck on level one world one.” Kokichi pouted a little. “How did you get Yadori from all of that?! There’s literally no proof unless…”

“Kokai-kun probably has it. Either that or Aki-chan is hiding her own piece of evidence. This isn’t a real court. Not everyone is going to want to show things off. They’re going to want to put the killer to the back of the wall and force them to see the truth of their crimes.” Shuichi gripped Kokichi’s hand. “This isn’t a game of who's going to go to jail. This is whether or not they survive for the next several hours.”

“But I never really spoke to Chatani-chan so...why would it be me?” Yadori frowned. “How was I acting strange to get the suspicion?”

“Because every time Chatani-san mentioned the flashback light or the chemicals, you tensed up as though you were waiting for her to act on it.” Rantaro continued. “You also keep looking away from us. I mean all of us aren’t exactly thrilled at looking at each other in the eye and accusing each other of killing one of our classmates, but you also said something that threw all of us for a loop. You thought it was a good idea for all of us to suffer and die.”

“I...I was only thinking-”

“That’s some balls right there. Really big cajones.” Shimahara narrowed his eyes at Yadori, and Shuichi watched her cower. “Because if it was the other way around and someone else had said that would you agree?”

“I just…”

“So we weren’t friends.” Yuya sounded tearful. “You wanted us dead so that you could go and get the flashback light, is that what you were after?”

“Chika-chan no, please.” Yadori begged, looking at her friend, tears springing to the corner of her eyes. “That’s not true. None of what they’re saying is true. I have an alibi. I was asleep like everyone else, I promise. I promise. I didn’t hurt anyone. I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I was just trying to protect you. I swear.”

“So you did hurt someone.” Rantaro watched Yadori freeze on the stand. Horror started to carve itself around her face as she realized that she dug her own hole trying to assure Yuya that she wouldn’t go out of her way to hurt someone.

“You don’t get it.” Yadori whispered. “You don’t understand. You guys don’t…” She took a deep breath. “If you think you’re so clever, then come out and accuse me. You don’t have any proof. Everything you're saying is speculation. THIS IS BULLSHIT!” She suddenly screamed, gripping onto the stand like a lifeline. Shuichi felt himself back up a little away from the laptop, staring at her in surprise. The composure that she was was breaking at the seams. “I’D NEVER HURT CHATANI-CHAN. NEVER EVER. Yes I was worried about her being a murderer. Yes I went to check on her to make sure that never happened. BUT DIDN’T DO A DAMN THING TO HER! IF ANYONE SHOULD BE WORRIED, IT WOULD BE WHOEVER CHATANI-CHAN WAS GOING TO GO AFTER! SHE HAD THE BOTTLE OF THE MIXTURE IN HER POSSESSION!”

“But how do you know that?” Rantaro demanded, not daring to let Yadori escape his gaze. “None of us knew who had the chemicals in whose possession. You were there that night.”

“IF I WAS THERE THAT NIGHT THEN WOULDN’T MY CLOTHES BE BLOODIED?” Yadori shrieked. “HOW ABOUT YOU ACTUALLY GIVE ME SOME PROOF BEFORE YOU START COMING AFTER ME?!”

“Oh is that it?” Oda asked casually as he decided to fling a piece of fabric into the middle of the circle. Said fabric, Shuichi noticed, was one of Yadori’s leotards. The bright blue soaked in red. “Oops. My bad. I guess I should’ve been a little nicer and handed it over to everyone before this whole trial.”

“Where did you get that?” Yadori hissed. “You’re trying to set me up you-”

“I don’t like it when people try to toss me under buses. I don’t particularly care that you went off and killed Chatani-chan, but I thought it was cute you decided to try to assure us that you wouldn’t “hurt” anyone at the time very clearly admitting that you did. Also, I thought it’d be fun to watch you sweat a little. You almost got away too. Shame.” Oda taunted, looking completely smug. “Maybe next time I’ll team up with the investigator squad. They make things so much more interesting than you trying to act innocent.”

Shuichi watched Yadori’s expression break, and he knew there was no way for her to recover from this. Rantaro took a deep breath in and let it out slowly, “Here’s how this all went down.” Rantaro mused. “Yadori-san got concernend after the fifth or so time Chatani-san mentioned a murder happening or taking place or even hinting that a murder could have occured. She decided to ask Chatani-san to come meet her in the classroom at midnight. Yadori-san knew she might be dealing with an unstable individual so she snuck into Ougai-kun’s infirmary lab and stole a scalpel from his place. Considering that Ougai-kun does plenty of patrols around the campus, it wasn’t hard. She waited until midnight and at first tried to resolve things peacefully.”

Rantaro looked each of his classmates in the eye as he tried to sum up the case. “But Chatani-san was prepared too. She was paranoid that she might be the next victim or that someone would find her as an easy target. Using the chemicals that she asked Oda-kun to steal, and listened to Ajishi-san’s advice, she was going to knock out her supposed culprit and get help. Somehow someway, it became a struggle. Whether Chatai-san saw the scalpel or had an idea that Yadori-san might be her culprit, or that Yadori-san assumed the bottle and the cloth held the lethal amount of chemicals inside, we don’t know for sure and maybe won’t ever know.”

He folded his arms tightly as he stared right at Yadori. “But it became a struggle, didn’t it? You guys fought and you managed to get the cloth first. You could have left her there, and continued on, but no. You used the scalpel, and tried to slit her throat. Either you were too overzealous, or you really had no idea what to do. You ran off after the deed was done. You weren’t at breakfast this morning because you were trying to find a way to discard the bloodied clothes. However, while everyone was trying to find Chatani-san, Oda-kun came across your dumping grounds and decided to hold onto it for whatever reason. You joined up later and helped us find Chatani-san. All in all, the clues point to you, Yadori Miki, the Ultimate Figure Skater.”

“Was that….accurate?” Kokichi whispered breathlessly.

“More accurate than I can say.” Shuichi agreed. “Yadori-san was the murderer.”

“Jesus.”

“You were the murderer of Chatani Shinko, the Ulitmate Mangaka.” Rantaro concluded. “It was...you this entire time.”

“.....I thought she was going to kill me.” Yadori sobbed quietly, falling apart in the witness stand. “I didn’t know what to do, I panicked. I thought about getting help, but I was afraid to turn my back. What if she was faking. What if, what if…” She trailed off. “You guys wouldn’t get it. I have so much waiting for me at home. I...I was going to be in the Olympics. I was….I was going to be someone. Someone famous. Someone that no one could look down upon ever again! I worked so hard...I worked so hard…”

“Yadori-san…” Yuya whispered.

“I killed her. I stabbed her in the throat and then realized I could have slit it and I was trying to fix that mistake only it was too late.” Yadori whimpered, covering her eyes in shame, still sobbing. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Monokuma cackled from his stand. “Well now it’s voting time! Don’t go picking the wrong one now!”

Shuichi held his breath as he watched the votes get counted. He looked over at the chat log, seeing how many people were commenting about how they were kind of disappointed that Yadori didn’t make it through. Many of them were poking holes in the discussion that was happening, making fun of everyone for one mistake or another. Yet that wasn’t why most of the people in the chat were there. The trials were just like popcorn. A small snack to the bigger finale.

Monokuma hit a red button with a small hammer and everyone paused with a breath as an old fashioned 8-bit screen appeared. A small miniature Yadori standing in the middle of Monokuma’s path before being dragged off. The loading screen disappeared just as a metal grip attached itself to Yadori’s neck and physically hauled her onto a skating rink.

Everyone stared in shock as Yadori was in the middle of an ice rink. A spotlight flashed on top of her in a darkened room. At first it was peaceful. Yadori skated as fast as she could towards the exit door and yanked it open. At first she was greeted with a dark hallway that was still covered in ice. She was just about to move when she was suddenly shoved to the side and a bunch of monokuma bears appeared onto the rink, skating and recreating some of the twirls and catches.

She was about to try to skate through the herd of many Monokuma cubs, but she lost her footing and slipped onto the ice rink. Everyone watched in muted shock as she was being run over and sliced by ice skates. Her screams were muted, but if they were anything like the one she let out in the trial, Shuichi didn’t have to use his imagination. While the monokuma bears were busy tearing her body apart by thinking she was part of the ice rink, the camera momentarily disappeared and showed the real Monokuma at a thermostat, turning the heat up so that the ice rink would start to melt.

Soon enough the monokuma bears got bored and disappeared back into the hallway. She was left on the rink, bloodied and cut. She slowly got herself up on her knees, blood splattered onto the ice as she started to get up onto her feet. Her clothes were torn in a way that looked a bit fanservicey for Shucihi to be comfortable with. She was holding herself up as blood continued to spill down her body. She wobbled and tried to skate towards a different area, trying to keep towards the wall of the rink, a trail of blood following her wake. Whatever she was holding must have had an electrical current going through it, because she was zapped and was forced to let go.

Uncertain where to go, and thinking the other side might be safer, Yadori slowly started to skate her way painfully towards the otherside.

“Oh no.” Kokichi whispered.

She got to the middle of the rink. The ice was thin enough that it cracked ominously underneath her weight. She was in too much pain to try to skate faster and she fell into the water. Monokuma quickly turned the thermostat down…

All anyone could see was red blood going to the surface of the ice, and a small fist banging at the bottom of the ice for a while before sinking downwards.

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totally-normal-boy · 5 years ago

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Totally Normal Boy watches Neon Genesis Evangelion

It was starting to get really annoying having to tag every single post I made for my Eva liveblog, so I’m going to start putting all my hot takes together in one post. Check out all my hot takes on episode 4, Rain After Running Away, underneath the cut!

This might sound weird, but the intro for this show makes me think of a combination of the Sarazanmai intro and the Rose of Versailles intro. That probably makes sense since it came out in between both of those shows.

We start off this episode with Misato being an extremely relatable hot mess.

The scene where Shinji is being emo on the train is really well done. The (mostly) still images of the crowded train with Shinji’s tinny music playing in the background really shows how isolated he feels from the world around him. I just want to give the poor kid a hug.

It’s hard for me to tell how Shinji feels about seeing the couple being intimate with each other in the movie theater. Is he disgusted? Is he sort of into it? Does he feel anything at all? I don’t really know.

Oh, wow. This got real trippy, real fast.

It seems like the show is trying to draw a clear parallel between Rei and Shinji with the way that they had Misato talking about how Shinji was fourteen while showing Rei’s bandaged body onscreen.

When I first started watching this show, I was worried that Shinji was going to be sort of a boring protagonist, but I’m actually really connecting with him.

The scene with Kensuke and Shinji in the tent together really highlights how different Shinji’s life is from all of his classmates. Kensuke thinks war is all fun and games, while Shinji has already been hardened by combat.

Yay! Toji is back! I liked him in the last episode!

Aaaand he’s gone again. After only 30 seconds on screen. Oh well, it looks like this is going to be exciting, so I’m not mad.

Misato’s line about how “what others think doesn’t matter!” is the exact opposite of Anthy’s line at the end of the Keiko’s duel in the Black Rose Saga where she says that it doesn’t matter how people really feel if they doing something for someone they love. (Yes, I did just make a random connection RGU without expanding on it whatsoever. No, this will definitely not be the last time I do this.)

On one hand, I can’t be mad at Shinji for resigning. He shouldn’t have to make himself miserable like that for the sake of others. But I don’t want to Shinji’s scary dad put Rei in the Eva either. Can’t they find someone who ISN’T A LITERAL TEENAGER to put in the giant war robot?

TOJI IS APOLOGIZING TO SHINJI! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! I KNEW THAT I WAS RIGHT ABOUT HIM BEING A GOOD! I love how he needs Shinji to hit him back in order to feel better about himself. He’s literally so wonderful. I hope Shinji starts to become friends with him and Kensuke.

POOR SHINJI! He thinks that he’s a coward and a weakling. I don’t think that’s true since any teenager would be scared to be in a situation as terrifying as the one that he’s in. It makes me sad to see him holding himself to such high standards, since that’s something I do a lot as well.

Okay, so the Hedgehog’s dilemma from the title card is that “the closer they get to each other, the more that they hurt.” That’s not making me optimistic about there being any chance of Shinji just being able to be happy and have friends, even if its just for a moment.

This whole episode is sort of reminding me of episode 2 of Utena, when Utena almost purposefully lost her second duel against Saionji. I think it’s interesting how Utena is 39 episodes and she already got past this by episode two, while this show is 26 episodes and Shinji doesn’t have a moment like this until episode 4. This says a lot about the differences between how quick the two protagonists are to take action, and the differences in pacing that are a result of that.

I’m sure that there’s a very deep, important meaning behind all these cicada sounds but I can’t focus on that because they’re so darn annoying.

And the episode ends with us finding out that Shinji is not going to get on the train, much to the surprise of absolutely no one.

Final Thoughts: This episode didn’t really have as much as action as some of the last ones did, but it was still a decent episode. I’m having a really hard time getting used to the slower pacing of this show, but I really like a lot of the characters. Toji and Shinji are probably my favorites, but I really Misato as well I want to learn more about Rei.

I hope you all liked this liveblog format, because it was a lot easier than having to pause the episode every time I wanted to make a post.

#neon genesis evangelion #TNB watches NGE #ep 4: rain after running away #or is it the hedgehog's dilemma?#Netflix is telling me one thing #But the title card is telling me another

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yyh-revival · 6 years ago

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Ok so about hxh I don't dislike the show it's a good show. But the reason I prefer yyh is the set up makes more sense. It makes sense for a place like the demon world to have a fucked up tournament like the black tournament. The stuff that Koenma's dad pulled to fuck over demons given the system and that kind of character. You know what doesn't make sense? Giving known assasins and psychopaths more access and power. In HxH becoming a hunter means you get access to all sorts of locations pt.1

That regular civilians dont have access to and a liscence to kill without getting into trouble and all sorts of other shit. And they give that power to Hisoka who never tries to hide the fact he just likes killing people and randomly killed one of the examiners last time. And Illumi a assasin who freely admits that he wanted the liscence for a job. He says this to the people in charge of the exam. And he still gets his liscence what the fuck. Not to mention his family the secret pt2

oldeck family who the public doesnt know their faces have a house so famous that tour guide point it out while going through the city. Like it might have unbelievable security but why would you risk people knowing? Not that it’s a bad show or I dont enjoy it. I’m not that far into the series. But things like that kinda take out of it. It kinda takes me out of it. Especially when this world isnt like this world of chaos its actually kinda like our world. Or supposed to be Pt.3

Yes, I have to confess the setting didn’t sit right with me, either. I typically enjoy fantasy (in fact it’s my #1 favorite genre, and my preferred to write in, whether that’s high fantasy like LOTR or something like Fullmetal Alchemist, or even modern fantasies like stories about vampires, etc. All of my childhood favorites have fallen into this category… aaaand still do haha)

But the setting always did feel strange to me. I never understood who or what was in control of this Hunter licence, and why they were giving them out to children, or what the point of them even was.

More under the cut. Long analysis of character, slightly more productive than what I wrote yesterday, and some more dissing of HxH (I’m sorry) and its poor management of plot, setting, and character. Also, from now on, tagging all discussions and comparisons of HxH and YYH as HHD (for hunter hunter discussion) to keep it out of the hxh tag.

Once again, this is all just my opinion, my personal feelings, and are not meant to grade the merit of the show or insult anyone who enjoyed it!

See, I typically also like “secret clubs.” But I like them being fleshed out. In Mass Effect, we know what a Specter is. They have almost unlimited power, but 1) they answer to a council which can strip them of this power, and 2) they have a clear goal – serving the council and the interest of the council races.

For YYH, we have the same thing. Yusuke has more power than the average human, having the authority to kill and having access to knowledge most humans do not have. But he 1) answers to Koenma, 2) has a clear goal of protecting the innocent from evil demons and other psychic phenomena.

And that stuff is outlined the MOMENT our protagonists enter the secret club, in clear words, and it doesn’t take, you know, forever… But HxH, I have no idea what the whole Hunter organization even is? I looked it up and turns out I saw the whole 1st season, 31 episodes… and I have no idea what this hunter thing is.

So yes, I totally agree. For comparison, in YYH, we go through a rather good introduction to Spirit World all before episode 5, an intro to what Spirit Detectives are without learning all the details, but enough to understand, by what, episode 8ish? We learn how Spirit World can bend rules with Kurama and Hiei within the first few episodes, too. We learn Spirit World is a bureaucracy, that it has rulers and managers (Enma and Koenma), that it is occupied by mostly two species (ogres and Spirit World citizens, who are like spirits, neither alive nor dead), that they have prisons, that they take interest in human lives and society, that they have the power to revive the dead but that there are clear rules and procedures. We learn Spirit World citizens can inhabit human bodies made specifically for them. We learn Spirit World can unlock human’s innate spiritual awareness. We learn the Spirit Detective job is sorta a new and untested thing (sending a kid to fight 3 demons… Koenma seriously didn’t think the job through yet). We learn Spirit World houses powerful treasures like the 3 artifacts. We learn they have a freakin’ treasure room to start with. We learn you can break into Spirit World and its vaults. We learn that living creatures, even demons, can enter it. We learn spirits and living creatures can interact with each other as if both were on the same plane, tangible and all, while in Spirit World. We learn Spirit World watches and records events of interest in the Human World, sometimes flat out spying on humans like when they watch Keiko being chased or when the little girl (the investigator) stalks Keiko along with Yusuke and Botan. We learn ghosts aren’t allowed to stay forever in the human world. We learn that the spirit and the body have separate energies that converge together. We learn Spirit World uses actual technology, not just magic, like VHS types and pocket watches. We learn Spirit World citizens can live incredibly long lives and look like babies while being a couple hundred years old or more.

^^ See all that? That’s what I know about Spirit World from watching the first EIGHT episodes. Episode 9 Yusuke enters Genkai’s tournament… How insanely concise is that? Episode 8, and we know so much about just one aspect of this world.

Whereas HxH? episode 31… and I still have zero clue what hunters are, what their purpose is, what they can do, who they work for if anyone, what the qualifications for them are (just being able to fight?) We know nothing. 31 episodes!!

For another comparison, by episode 31, Yusuke is in the Dark Tournament, fighting Chuu. By this point, we had all four main characters go through the first cycle of their character arcs, we were introduced to most of the supporting cast, we had relationships established, we got backstory on some characters, we learned how spirit energy and psychics work more, we saw Yusuke begin his second cycle, we saw the introduction of a major villain… we had a lot. Whereas with HxH, all I remember is the damn big boat in the storm thing.

Speaking of character arcs… I wrote this in a response to something else, but I think it also makes my point here. I am incredibly fascinated with character arcs and character in general, even more than plot or setting or anything else. To me, character is all. So here’s my breakdown of some character growth within the first 8 episodes.

YYH never really feels like it drags, maybe only in those moments I mentioned before. But it had an incredibly strong opening. Excluding Hiei, within the first 7-8 episodes, we have two characters (kurama and Yusuke) go through full character arcs that affect them all the way down the line of the show. The other two join after episode 25, though we also get to see glimpses of character background and some development even earlier (Kuwabara’s sensitive side is shown with the kitty, his devotion to friends, his honor code – all before episode 8 as well, but that’s not really an arc. He doesn’t have one till about the Yukina Rescue arc concludes. Though his is a bit weak, mostly because Kuwabara was… pretty alright to start with? It’s hard to develop when there isn’t many places you can go. And out of all the 4 boys, Kuwabara had the least amount of baggage.)

For Yusuke, we have the theme of “caring/not caring.” Yusuke stars off believing no one loves him and that he’s better off not being in anyone’s life. The wake proves him wrong enough that he makes an effort to come back. Then when he thinks he’s missed his chance by throwing the egg, and sees his friends and family happily talking about him returning, he mourns because he knows he’s not coming back. 180 from “meh, ima stay a ghost it’s better I’m not in their lives.” So, he goes through a complete cycle just in that moment, from I don’t care, to I do care and I’m happy, to I do care and I am sad. Not just a simple arc, from point A to point B, but A to B to C. It’s a very well constructed growth of a character. Full arch, full growth, and that’s why it tugs at the heartstrings. Because the moment he started to care… he thought lost his chance.

That arc he goes through all before episode 5 cycles throughout the show, and makes us care because such a strong arc, such an emotional one, too, grabs the viewer’s heart by the balls and refuses to let go.

It cycles in the Suzaku fight – he experiences horrible pain to save people, but in order to really motive himself, he must see Keiko in danger. He’s getting there, to the point of caring about humanity, but not quite. Then in the Dark Tournament, the lives of multiple people hang on his victory. But they’re still mostly people he cares about, though now that has extended beyond Keiko into Shizuru, Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei, Yukina, etc., all of those people. He’s getting there, increasing the circle of people he cares for.

It keeps going up, challenging Yusuke to care more. The hospital had Keiko and shizuru in it. But also the new psychics. Then Sensui threatening all of humanity. Then the 3 kings arc threatening all of the realms. Yusuke progressively gives more of a shit about more people with time and new challenges and as he earns more friends.

And all of that is outlined in he first Fucking 4 episodes!! We know what hsi arc is, we know where he is going, we know what sort of character he is, and we get to see him become truly fleshed out in just 4 episodes.

That’s just Yusuke, too. Kurama also has a complete arc within the span of like two or three episodes, and those themes cycle throughout the show. (guilt, suicide and redemption – think Ura Urishima fight, when Kurama projects his want to sacrifice himself for Shiori to make up for his deception, where he tells the guy that suicide has no honor or redemption in it, even though the guy didn’t care for that, his lie was about getting out of having to hurt people without causing harm to his grandmother, not about redeeming himself – family, lies, the better of two evils – to lie to shiori and stay with her so she has a son, or stop lying to her and punish self for stealing her “real son” away)

It’s consistent, mostly concise, cyclical, and oh so fucking satisfying to my literature loving senses….

And then hxh… where apparently nothing of substance happens in the first Twenty Freakin Episodes. I legit cannot tell you about any character growth in that time. Or plot? They take a test. For who knows how long. Uh… kurapika starts to like leorio when before he didn’t? So he gets friendlier?? Maybe?? Killua begins a friendship with gon instead of getting himself that therapist… they play a ball game together. That gets them to like each other so much Gon goes chasing after Killua when he goes missing at the end of the season. Uh…. they are faced with the horror of fighting people they had to cooperate with before I guess. *shrugs*

If you put a gun against my head, the only character growth or arc I could maybe try to name for the first 30 episodes is that Kurapika started to like Leorio and starts to address him with a bit more respect, cause they worked together, so uh… nope, nope, that’s not an arc in the slightest. Kurapika can simply be a person who doesn’t like others until he gets to know them… So yes, I’d get a bullet in the head.

And the fact that you need to skip the whole beginning of the show to even enjoy it, as @perpetuallyfrowning suggested … I can’t do that. I cannot enjoy any change in Gon if I don’t know where he was before. But I hate where he was before, and we’re stuck with that for so long… Even if you didn’t like Yusuke’s personality at first, you only have to deal with it for a bit because he changes so much so quickly.

So there it is, my rather lazy analysis of the beginning of YYH and HxH, looking at setting and character.

- Mod Lola

#ask #anon #analysis #meta #character analysis #setting analysis #hhd #yusuke #character arc #mod talk

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putschki1969 · 7 years ago

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Kalafina 10th Anniversary Film Interviews ~ Highlights/Summary/Translation

Source 1: https://www.animatetimes.com/news/details.php?id=1520904726 Source 2: https://spice.eplus.jp/articles/178230 Source 3: https://news.walkerplus.com/article/139920/

Note: These interviews contain quite a lot of interesting info so I thought I’d provide a summary/translation of all the juicy bits (details regarding the movie’s content, some background info on their 10th Anniversary Live, a glimpse at ‘their future’!)

~ Regarding their 10th Anniversary Film ~

The film will have a runtime of 1h 40 minutes

According to Keiko it apparently contains a lot more live footage than anyone expected

Wakana says the film is packed with live performances from their 10th Anniversary Live (which has me quite worried because maybe all these cameras were only there to film footage for the movie after all o.O I definitely didn’t expect them to show THAT much of the live in their documentary. I am assuming this will be similar to their 5th Anniversary WOWOW release which showed a total of 11 songs...)

One of the songs is most likely “sprinter”

This film will include solo interviews. Aside from that there will also be an interview with the director 河東茂 (I have no idea how to read his name, my best guess would be Kato/Kawahigashi Shige.) Seems like the girls have become pretty close to the director, they were a bit intimidated by the prospect of having a director around them all the time but he immediately let them know that formalities were not necessary. They are even on a first name basis! The girls have only good things to say about him, apparently he always made sure they were comfortable.

Big sections of the movie will be dedicated to following each member to important places of their past. Hikaru considers those parts the most interesting aspects of the film. Seems like they learned a lot about each other while watching these solo scenes. This also applies to the footage we get of their solo rehearsal sessions.

On the day of their Fukuoka Acoustic Tour performance they filmed Wakana’s section. Wakana is taking us along to visit Tenjin, a popular downtown area in Fukuoka. Apparently we will get a glimpse at a place where she used to work part-time and a club where she used to perform on a regular basis.

Keiko is taking us along to Shibuya. However, it seems like it wasn’t a particularly nostalgic experience for her. She says everything in Tokyo changes so rapidly, none of the places she used to frequent exist anymore. She actually felt quite lost when she walked around the area. However it did feel nice to walk down the streets where she used to go home from vocal training school back in the day.

Hikaru says that contrary to Tokyo, nothing ever really changes in her hometown in Toyama. She takes us along to a YAMAHA place where she used to take vocal lessons. She says everything still looks the same. Keiko comments that after watching the movie, everyone will want to go there and take lessons. Alas, the music classes are no longer offered but you can still check out the place. As we have already seen in the trailer, Hikaru’s section also includes footage from their acoustic live. It’s very special because we get to see Hikaru cry which is a rare thing to happen. Both Keiko and Wakana think it’s great that this special moment will forever be captured on film. Even staff and band members were surprised to see her cry this much. Hikaru suspects it’s because she was visiting all these nostalgic locations earlier in the day. There’s also mention of a funny moment during one of the MCs when Hikaru was talking. Keiko is seen turning away and seemingly ignoring Hikaru. Keiko was quite shocked to find out that scene had made it into the final cut. She was like, “why are you showing this moment where you can only see my back? Why couldn’t I just stand there and support Hikaru the same way as Wakana? Why was I talking to the freaking wall???” (LOL at Keiko worrying about such things) At the end of the day Keiko is happy though because they managed to include so much lovely footage from Hikaru’s “triumphal return performance”.

Hikaru’s favourite scene in the movie is the opening scene when we get to see them walk up the stairs onto the stage of Budokan. She thinks it’s so perfect because it somehow symbolises the progress they have made. Just looking at the backs of the other two members conveys their will to move forward. She doesn’t even have to see their faces to be motivated, she will pretty much follow them everywhere. It’s so funny because the interviewer gets all cheeky and says, "but it’s not really your backs we are seeing, it’s your legs!” Keiko thinks that’s hilarious and explains that Hikaru is just too innocent to talk about legs so she would rather use the word ‘back’. Anyways, Keiko agrees that it’s very fitting that a movie about all the progress they have made would start with a ‘leg scene’.

Another scene that’s precious to all of them contains footage of one of their Janken sessions for the recording of their regular radio show Kalafina Club. Apparently something super funny happened, something that has NEVER happened before, Everyone should be looking forward to that scene because it's absolutely hilarious. And Keiko wants us all to know that it definitely wasn’t staged or anything. (I wonder which episode it was and if that incident made it into the final cut of the episode. In the trailer when you see them playing Janken, it says it’s the 25th on that ‘face training’ calendar but I am not sure which month.)

Something else to look forward to: A detailed scene of them changing outfits during their 10th Anniversary Live (including all the mistakes that can happen in such situations). Wakana explains that everything always seems so peaceful to the audience while the band is playing but their outfit changes are actually crazy stressful (I guess we already got a glimpse of that during the Best Documentary but this time we’ll get to see even more). Apparently Wakana had quite some trouble with her outfit, first she forgot something (I am assuming it was her big tulle skirt attached to the corsage thingy) and then the zipper wouldn’t work. *poor Wa-chan*

~ Regarding their 10th Anniversary LIVE ~

I am guessing these are things that will be mentioned in the film in some way, shape or form but for all of us who won’t be seeing the movie any time soon, here are some background infos regarding their anniversary concert.

Hikaru was the one who chose the BGM for the intermission. (I wonder if that means that she always gets to pick it)

Wakana says that even though they sang 27 songs (without really getting any proper breaks) she never felt tired or exhausted. Her throat and singing voice may have gotten a little tired throughout the live (she is only human after all) but her body seemed to have endless energy. She says it’s thanks to the past year where they kept creating amazing lives together with their audiences.

The setlist was changed quite extensively shortly before the live. There’s a scene in the movie where they talk about their setlist and apparently that is quite different from what they actually ended up performing (I think that mostly refers to the order of the songs).

Originally they had planned to start their live with “oblivious” but in the end they thought “ring your bell” would be more fitting because it pretty much represents the theme of putting their flag in a new place. The whole “flag” theme first came up when Yuki Kajiura mentioned it a few years ago while they prepared for their first Budokan Live. Yuki Kajiura told them that they should be proud that they finally get to plant their flag in such a special venue. Seems like this talk also inspired the PV for “ring your bell” (and possibly even the lyrics for “Koibito no Mukashigatari no Yuugure no”??). Following their first Budokan Live, the flag theme became a pretty big deal for them. From then onwards the act of putting their flag in new places became a manifestion of their intentions. That’s how they came up for the theme of their “far on the water” tour. So yes, it seemed very appropriate to them to continue with this flag theme for their 10th Anniversary. And that’s the story of how “ring your bell” ended up being the opening song (because it’s their trademark “flag” song :P). [I was right all along about the whole flag theme]. They decided to pick “Mirai” as their second song because they thought it was perfect to go out and greet the audience with smiles on their faces. It was also a nice way to reflect upon their past.

~ Regarding Kalafina’s future ~

There’s one section in the SPICE interview where they talk about their future. In light of recent events there are many ways to interpret this part. I am not sure what to make of it but I thought I’d provide a translation so you can all decide for yourself what their answers could possibly mean. As always, please be aware that my Japanese is not perfect (this was a pretty quick translation and I might go back later to edit it).

―― Now that you have celebrated your 10th Anniversary, how will Kalafina spend the rest of 2018, how would the three of you like to spend 2018?

Wakana: The ten years we have exprienced together are precious to us, right now we are living a future we couldn’t have ever imagined when we first debuted. I never thought we would celebrate our 10th Anniversary together with everyone at Nippon Budokan. Originally we didn’t even expect to ever perform live with band members. To think that we have come this far and that we got the chance to introduce Kalafina’s music to so many people makes me incredibly happy. It feels like what the three of us have always dreamed about, our shared dream, has come true. We wanted to do lives, we wanted to do tours, these were aspirations born out of our burning passion, that was our wish so that’s why we were able to get this far and why we were willing to continue onwards through all the hardships.

―― I see.

Wakana: So far the three of us have lived with the same dream in front of our eyes. But the three of us also have a lot of curiousity when it comes to our individual dreams. As Kalafina we have had so many dreams and together we have seen them all come true so now I would like to get a glimpse of different dreams, of all the dreams the other two have. Very reminiscent of the lyrics of “I have a dream”. I wonder what those dreams will be.

―― So even if you weren’t 100% on the same page all the time, you have always been active working in unison?

Wakana: Yes, we have always pretty much worked towards the same vision. That’s why I am interested in more personal perspectives.

Hikaru: That’s right. Even after ten years I still have a long way to go so I would like to use this year for self-improvement. What else...? Personally, I still want to learn and absorb so many things, my thirst is insatiable. I am able to say that doing this job has made my dream come true but it is only one dream that has come true, beyond that I think many more things are necessary so I can continue to make my other dreams come true.That’s why I want to improve myself so that one by one I will become able to do all the things I want to do. I’d also like to improve my personal live.

Keiko: You can definitely do that!

―― What about Keiko-san?

Keiko: I have changed so much during our 10-year activity as Kalafina so now I am asking myself whether I can change even further. I am my current self because of these past ten years but to make progress even beyond those ten years, I would like to encounter more genuine works, I would like to create music that I find real, that I am enchanted with. Our activities as Kalafina singing Yuki Kajiura’s music, it was a time spent delving into something genuine together with everyone. It’s amazing to lead a life where you can pursue something that feels worthy of being pursued.

#kalafina #my translations #news #summary #10th anniversary film #10th anniversary live

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beyondtheperfectlines-blog · 7 years ago

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Killing Eve 1x03

Wow. The ending of this episode was expected from the moment at the train station, but it was still really sad. And this episode was a real game changer, things are personal now! Reaction and thoughts under the cut.

The opening scene was beautifully shot with Eve in a trance describing Villanelle as the camera slowly turned around her, and I was totally enraptured, until the reveal of her surroundings and then it just became a lol moment. “She had a lost look in her eye that was both direct and also chilling. She’s totally focused… yet almost entirely inaccessible.” “So, is that like a square face or an oval face?” haha then Bill’s face, and Eve’s face in response. I’m also impressed by how much she got from a single interaction of like 30 seconds.

So now we get to see Berlin. I love how we travel all over Europe with Villanelle! And we’re at a kink clinic lol, I love this. So it was obvious the cover nurse would be Villanelle but how great was that shot of her turning around all “Take off your clothes” ! And her voice got so hot when she said “Hot Medica” and “Nobody gets special treatment” ! That close up of the man dying was creepy though and now we’ve officially established that she likes to look into her victims’ eyes when they die. I also love the little details that show she really doesn’t care about them like when she lets go of the man’s arm and it just falls back with a thump. So disrespectful to the dead!

Back with Eve and her husband, they have a hilarious conversation about their chicken’s egg and her new job. “I don’t think we should eat it.” “Risky?” “Yeah” “Is the job risky?” “Oh, it’s about as dangerous as eating that egg would be.” “You just said the egg was too risky!” “No, no. Wait, no. I mean, the worst that could happen is I would get the shits at my computer because of a bad sandwich.” Lmao! They have such a great dynamic.

Eve’s team finds out about 2 new murders. Carla’s induced asthma attack from last episode “Let me guess. You think it was a woman.” “Well, she was found in the ladies. So, yes, she’s going on the wall, you ass.” Hahaha. And now Zhang Wu. Chinese colonel visiting Berlin. Hacker for the Chinese military. So, so far most of the murders have been political. And Villanelle now left another witness behind her (first the mafia boy from episode 1 and now the receptionist who signed her in as a temp). This leaves me to wonder if she has stopped being careful recently or if there are rumors all over Europe of a fit woman in her mid-20’s linked to all sorts of murders. After all, maybe Konstantin was only angry about Katsia still being alive in episode 1 because she actually witnessed the murder whereas with the others there are only suspicions? Or was the boy a one-off and now she doesn’t care anymore because she knows Eve has seen her and can identify her?

“Why are you all being weird?” Lol! And then they’re all looking at Carolyn. “She said her name was Eve Polastri.” Wow, omg, etc. That was a really smart way for Villanelle to get their attention. So, Eve is understandably freaked out but wants to keep investigating. What I don’t understand is why she isn’t asking more questions about how Villanelle could have learned her name. Like who knows about their investigation? Is it possible they could have been hacked? Maybe it happened and we just aren’t privy to it. Maybe she thinks this has nothing to do with the taskforce and only with their meeting in the bathroom.

“Bill, you’re coming with me.” Bill: “Take Elena.” Elena: “Yes, take Elena!” hahaha I love her. Kenny: “I don’t think Elena should go.” Nobody asked you, Kenny!

“It’s one trip, Bill. Huh? One trip.” “Daddy’s going to die, isn’t he?” damn, Bill! At this point I just thought it was a disturbingly funny line. British humor or something. I should have known they were really going to go there! Also, Bill looks really good for 60. “Oh, come on. It’s not like she’s gonna still be there.” LOL. Oh, Eve.

And guess who’s stalking her own crime scene like they say a killer would? That’s right. Villanelle’s there wearing great camouflage outfits. Lol. And in one of the greatest TV scenes of all time, she’s also picked up an American tourist. “Take your hair down.” “You are sooo sexy.” (side note: I love how positively they portray middle-aged women on this show, making them desirable, same for curly hair) “No, no. Keep your clothes on, your bag on your shoulder.” “I’m going to call you Eve, okay?” OMG WHAT? LOL “Why?” “It’s just a little biblical fantasy thing” HAHAHA “Do you want me to call you Adam?” at this I just D-I-E-D. “No, no. That’s okay” hahahahahaa and they kiss and it’s super hot omg “Now I am going to hide and you are going to find me.” LMAO and that tourist is just like. What just happened? The whole scene was so unexpected and so delightful.

And then of course Villanelle steals Eve’s suitcase. Is she also eating Eve’s risky egg sandwich? Aww she’s so disappointed by her boring clothes. The scarf is nice though. “Poor baby” ha! Is that something she’s heard being said before? And was that some sort of cream? And of course Konstantin is there! I love them so much “I thought I could smell something.” “Sorry, are you having a nice little holiday here?” “Are you?” Lmao. “I booked you in for one night.” “So? I like Berlin. Have you been before?” “Yes” “Have you seen the Wall?” “Yes” “The Jewish Museum?” “Listen” “That is massively poignant.” Hahaha

“I have a job for you. Off the record. The woman, Eve Polasi” “Polastri” “She’s here. She’s investigating your work.” “Did you see where I did it?” “Very cute, yes.” So this means that she receives general intel along with her target’s identity and then she can choose how/where/when to kill them. Although looking back I guess it was established in episode 1 when he congratulated her on no CCTV at the crime scene.

“Why are you so worried?” “Aren’t you?” “No! I don’t even think about her.” “Why does she think it was you?” she shrugs. But she’s such a bad liar?! It’s like she’s not even trying to convince him. “I want you to watch her. I need to know who she meets. This is me asking you. Not them, okay?” And watch her, she does! She stalks her across town and in a clothing store and even picks out a belt for her lol. She sure has an eye for style.

Meanwhile, Eve has investigated the Chinese’s death. Poisoned with carbon monoxide. And his balls were clamped. Of all the tool Villanelle had at her disposal, she kept it quite clean. I was expecting something way sinister when we got that first shot of her at the clinic scrubbing the instruments clean. They meet with the Chinese attaché on the case, Jin Yeong, who’s a big deal within Chinese Intelligence. He gives them intel on the dead Chinese. “Internally, the guy was known as ‘Fat Panda’, which is a little racist. Fattist, come to that. But I hear that he started it so, you know, we went along. “ lol! This was a nice surprise to hear a seemingly traditional older Asian man mentioning racism and fattism. But that’s pretty much the only positive thing I can say about him.

“What’s the Chinese story?” “The new autopsy concludes that he took the initiative himself when the covering nurse left the room, working the forceps to experience a shock of pain that triggered a cardiac arrest. Not my thing.” “Not his, either.” “Why? He’s a masochist.” “Look, kinks are totally specific. It’s not just about pain, it’s a contract. It’s about someone else taking control. A ‘spankophile’ wouldn’t just spank himself, would he?” lol Eve’s face. But I love how respectful they are in their portrayal of kinks and that they keep calling the workers nurses.

Later on in Eve’s hotel room. “Have you ever fancied me?” “Uh… no.” “You me?” “No.” I love it! Male/female friendships are real! “So, tell me what happened in Charlottenburg.” “Everything happened.” “Wait. Men?” “Yes.” “Were you gay?” Well, I didn’t like that line, they could have used something more appropriate like ‘Are you bi?’… “Uh… I just fall in love with whoever I fall in love with.” “Does Keiko know?” “She’s got her own thing going on.” Incredible! “Wait, so you guys… “ “Well… I really wanted a baby, and she was rich and ovulating, so…” “But you guys are like the perfect couple.” “We’re a good team.” I loooved this exchange. Way to go, Bill! I’m all about convenient arrangements and friends raising kids together. Although I’m not sure how I feel about the show bringing up personal stories about him this whole episode to make him more likable and make us feel more for him knowing he’d die. And maybe also making Eve a little less guilty about the whole Keiko raising a baby by herself since she ‘has her own thing going on’.

“Do you want to hear something really freaky?” “What?” “The conditions have to be just right, but sometimes… we have sex.” Hahaha “You ever been interested in women?“ “Uh, no. Not like that.” “Not even ones with delicate features, sort of catlike eyes that are completely inaccessible?” LOL I love how he calls her out on her earlier description. “That is horribly unprofessional! Do you want to hear about her tits?” lmao

So before this scene Eve skyped with Niko. She’s so taken with her new job that she kind of neglects him and forgot about their plan to host their friends. It’s kinda sad. Hopefully they can get past this. But also, can I just say that I loved their earlier exchange : “You’re so strong.” “All that math.” Hahaha.

And Villanelle listens in to the skype call! Did she hack into Eve’s computer? And how did she know what computer to hack into since Eve is in a hotel? (I obviously know nothing about hacking lol) Or is it their home computer in London that’s tapped into? How many skills does Villanelle have? And she rewound the tape when Bill arrived… to know his knocking pattern? So she could maybe visit Eve later? And could she hear the rest of the conversation when the skype call was finished/the laptop was shut down?

Then at the train station, Villanelle is there!!! Wearing a suit. Lol. Dressing up for Eve! That silly cap she wore all day wasn’t going to do. And omggg Bill stops her from getting on the train. What are you doing, Bill??? So, was Villanelle planning to follow Eve to the restaurant and just watch her like Konstantin instructed? Also, I would be much more pissed if I were her, and had my arm grabbed like that. “Excuse me. May I ask where you got that scarf?” “Oh, my mother has a shop in Munich. I can give you the address if you like?” Now, that was an excellent lie! I envy her ability to improvise. And she speaks German! Another language to add to the list. So she leaves the train station. And Bill fucking follows her. And so horribly at that. She leads him to a club and of course the bouncer lets Villanelle go in without waiting… she hot. Bill… not so much lol.

So Eve meets with Jin. I did not find him funny. And unfortunately, I have this nagging feeling that he’ll be back on the show sometime. But for the moment, I’m glad Eve was equally annoyed with him and I loved that she did not play his game ‘however gross’ to get information which is what Carolyn would have wanted (although thankfully Eve missed that instruction due to her earphones falling out lol such a great detail). “Last week, Fat Panda hacked into the account of an agent of the Chinese Intelligence. An organization has been paying him millions. We don’t know what for, but a week later, both Fat Panda and the agent were dead. You might have a little creature yourself. Think of this as a friendly, little mole trap.” So there is a mole in the British Intelligence! And probably some Chinese agents as well or how would they know? I guess we’ll find out next episode what’s on that USB key.

Now, at the club, Eve is let in after speaking German (and sounded really good to my untrained ears). Villanelle managed to be spotted by Bill and lured him to the front. He looks pretty proud of himself to have found her. Oh, Bill. And then… she just turns around. And she smiles this terrifying smile at him. It is super creepy. And then the chase is on. Lmao you can see the exact moment he realizes this was a mistake and how much he’s screwed. Scheisse is right. So she catches up to him and stabs him like 20 times in the chest. Overkill much? And Eve, who’s found him pretty quickly considering how packed the club is, arrives just too late. And she just can’t get to him!!! I was so frustrated that she couldn’t get through and was left there screaming at him! And that’s how the episode ends. Wow. I swear the last 10 minutes or so were so stressful. Why did Bill decide to follow her like that? What did he think was going to happen? I guess we’ll never know.

So let’s talk about Villanelle’s motivations for luring Eve to Berlin. Even before knowing who Eve was, she looked thrilled that someone had taken an interest in her. Is she bored with her life because her kills are too easy? Is she ‘lonely’ because the only person she seems to interact with is Konstantin? Is she flattered that there is a whole taskforce with the sole purpose of finding her? Does the fact that they’ve already accidently met and that Eve has curly hair (that reminds her of Anna?) heighten her excitement? Probably. So, since she knows that Eve is investigating her, Villanelle could want to figure Eve out first to win some sort of internal game. She could be curious to know how someone who looks like Eve, someone seemingly innocuous from their meeting in the bathroom, could catch her and be curious about her skills. Maybe she wants to know about Eve’s psyche and what motivates Eve to find her. I was actually surprised at how fast the show moved and had them in the same place again. It was super bold of Villanelle to use Eve’s name to lure her in. Despite her talks of the trip being safe, did Eve subconsciously suspect that this was a trap but decided to throw caution to the wind because of her own curiosity to learn more about this female assassin?

Anyway, so Eve arrives in Berlin and Villanelle just wants to play a little so she steals her suitcase and wears her scarf as some sort of trophy or something. And it’s so funny how she just can’t help herself and has to bump into Bill on the streets to get attention. And she looks so thrilled to have succeeded. So, at this point it’s all fun and games, but then she decides to kill Bill! I guess it’s still all fun and games to her, but she has to know that this will change things for Eve. Did she just act impulsively and want to punish him for being annoying and stopping her from following Eve? Or to prove that she was not someone to underestimate? Was this something planned and she wanted to make this personal to make sure Eve would pursue finding her?

In any case, this fundamentally changes things for Eve. Until now all of Villanelle’s kills were people she didn’t know and she could admire her genius from an outsider’s perspective and be ‘just a fan’ as she said in the second episode. But not anymore. Now that she’s somehow responsible for a death, having decided to go to Berlin and pushed Bill to come with her, she’s directly involved. She’ll have to confront her conflicting feelings of admiration and guilt/anger.

Anyway, that’s it for episode 3! Thanks for reading!

#killing eve #episode review

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ramajmedia · 5 years ago

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Star Trek: 10 Hidden Details About The Main Characters of DS9

Widely regarded as one of the most gritty and multi-faceted spin-offs in the Star Trek franchise, Deep Space Nine was the last Star Trek show still running when the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation took to films and Star Trek: Voyager finally reached its journeys end. It's known for departing from the traditional episodic nature of the franchise and transitioning to a serialized format, which allowed for over-arching storylines and the ramifications to be felt from previous episodes.

RELATED: Star Trek: 10 DS9 Storylines That Were Never Resolved

In this way, a series about the various inhabitants of a space station orbiting a wormhole could still be one of exploration, it just dealt with traversing interpersonal relationships rather than deep space. With the psychological analysis of so many fascinating inhabitants of Deep Space 9, came rumors that the cast of main characters was one of the most fractious. There's more to know about them than just what we saw on the screen. Below are ten of their hidden details.

10 ALEXANDER SIDDIQ TANKED BASHIR'S PERFORMANCE

If you're paying attention to Doctor Bashir in the last few seasons of the show, you may notice a change in his demeanor. This is intentional; Alexander Siddiq wasn't happy with the alterations being made to his character, particularly the decision to make Bashir an "augmented" human, illegally altered to be gifted by his parents.

Later, he disliked being turned into a possible Dominion spy. This resulted in him tanking his performance, hoping it would affect ratings and force the writing team to change his character back to its original archetype. Among Star Trek fans of Deep Space Nine, Siddiq is regarded as the problem child of the cast.

9 MICHAEL DORN ALTERED WORF'S ACTING

The cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation is well known for being chummy. The cast regularly saw each other outside of working hours, and continue to be the best of friends. Coming from that environment to DS9, where everyone was committed to a deeply professional work environment affected Michael Dorn's acting style.

Worf was always a serious character, but due to the stiff nature on the set of DS9, where he was surrounded by theatrically trained actors (in the vein of Patrick Stewart), he had to make a conscious decision not to undue all of the progress Worf's character had made while on the Enterprise (i.e., become friendlier as the series progressed).

8 MARC ALAIMO WAS BASICALLY DUKAT

If you peruse the Star Trek Deep Space Nine Companion, a hefty coffee table book dedicated to details about the series, you'll find plenty of interviews and anecdotes with the main cast about the characters they play. Everything from their perspective on the character's psychology to what it was like getting into their prosthetics and makeup is included.

RELATED: Star Trek: The 10 Deadliest Villains The Crew Has Ever Faced

Marc Alaimo, known for playing the charming yet unscrupulous Cardassian warlord Gul Dukat, had such a hand in shaping Dukat that he became known for being as arrogant, petulant, and entitled as his character, inspiring ridicule and derision from his cast mates.

7 ODO IS BASED ON JAMES DEAN AND CLINT EASTWOOD

The lovable, grouchy constable aboard Deep Space Nine went through a few iterations before producers settled on the personality and demeanor they wanted Odo to have. They envisioned him as a combination between two loner-types, Clint Eastwood and James Dean.

Clint Eastwood because they wanted him to be reminiscent of a clench-teethed sheriff of the Old West, and James Dean because they wanted him to be moody due to an overwhelming sense of not belonging. Rene Auberjonois did his best approximation of the two, though they chose to not make him as good looking as either of those two actors.

6 SISKO INITIALLY COULDN'T SHAVE HIS HEAD

There have been many reasons why characters on Star Trek series have to look the way they do; originally Patrick Stewart was made to wear a toupee because of his hairline before TNG started filming, but that was soon scrapped for looking ridiculous and his baldness was embraced.

Meanwhile, Commander Sisko (Benjamin Brooks) wasn't allowed to shave his head for the first several seasons because the actor would look to similar to roles he'd previously played in films. By the fourth season he was permitted to do so after audiences became used to the character - he could even grow a beard.

5 JADZIA DAX WENT THROUGH SEVERAL CHANGES

The Trill species were first introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation, but looked much different from Jadzia Dax, the main Trill host in DS9. In TNG, the Trill had ridges on their heads and no discernible "spots", but makeup artist Michael Westmore desired to streamline their appearance.

RELATED: Star Trek: 10 Geordi Logic Memes That Are True And Hilarious

Jadzia Dax was also intended originally to be a character that was born on a planet with little gravity, requiring her to use a wheel chair when she was aboard Deep Space Nine. She could also "fly" only in her quarters when gravity controls were adjusted. This idea was scrapped, but given to a guest character in Season 2.

4 O'BRIEN'S UNIFORM WAS DIFFERENT THAN THE REST OF THE CREW

Colm Meaney originally had some trepidation about returning to the role of Miles O'Brien on DS9. He liked the freedom he had on Star Trek: The Next Generation as a reoccurring character, but not a part of the regular cast. However, his salary upgrade made him reconsider.

When he was fitted for his uniform, he requested two key changes as a non-commissioned officer; he wanted it to be cut with the ability for him to roll up his sleeves as a working man taking care of the ship, and he wanted it to have pockets for his tool.

3 NANA VISITOR WAS ACTUALLY PREGNANT AS KIRA

Whenever female cast members get pregnant during the course of a television show, adjustments need to be made in the storyline they're involved in to account for their changing bodies. One of the ways this was accomplished when Nana Visitor became pregnant in real life was to have Major Kira become pregnant as well.

Kira isn't made to be pregnant with her own child, but rather become the surrogate for the new baby of Miles and Keiko O'Brien. Nana Visitor was actually pregnant with her and Alexander Saddiq's (who played Doctor Bashir) baby, which she gave birth to during Season 5.

2 MAJOR KIRA WAS SUPPOSED TO BE RO LAREN

Originally the character of the Bajoran militia member and terrorist turned military leader of a liberated society wasn't Major Kira. It was going to be Ro Laren, the memorably hot-tempered Bajoran introduced on Star Trek: The Next Generation. That actress didn't want to do a Star Trek series again, and so the character of Kira was created.

At first Nana Visitor was skeptical of taking the part, especially at a time when doing episodic science fiction for television wasn't a prestige assignment. But she was convinced by the script, and the fact that Major Kira wasn't a helpmate female Star Trek character assisting the male leads, like Counselor Troi, Dr. Beverly Crusher, and Lieutenant Uhura.

1 JADZIA DAX WAS PREMATURELY KILLED OFF

A favorite character on the series, Jadzia Daz's untimely demise in Season 6 came as much of a shock to fans as to actress Terry Farrell who played her. Farrell had requested more time off, and to become a recurring character to allow her an easier schedule, but producers wouldn't go for it and decided to kill Dax instead.

The Dax Trill symbiant she carried would be transferred to a new host body (Ezri), who fans weren't particularly fond of. Especially since Jadzia had so recently married Worf, a union of two favorite characters. Her death also didn't offer any way for Farrell to return to the part for guest appearances on any other Star Trek series.

NEXT: Star Trek TNG: 10 Hidden Details About The Main Characters Everyone Missed

source https://screenrant.com/star-trek-deep-space-nine-hidden-character-details/

#screenrant

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sleepymarmot · 8 years ago

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DS9 season 2 liveblog

[Season index: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 PS]

The Homecoming

They're opening the season with a three-parter about Bajoran-Cardassian problems, and Dukat will show up right in the first episode? The writers are not wasting time...

Sisko's unusually cheerful.

Again, I'm amazed at this new heroic O'Brien who is so unlike the background character I've watched press buttons for years.

One does not simply walk into a Cardassian camp! Unless you're these two.

This is completely crazy! What'll stop the Cardassians from destroying their ship?

Just as I was going to say "Why not beam the wounded right from the runabout?", they actually do so -- but just after exiting it. Is there any in-universe reason behind it, or just the ease of fiming?

Why is Dukat being so friendly? Maybe he has spies among the freed Bajorans? If so, it better not be Li Nalas himself...

Bashir you're embarrassing yourself -_-

Quark, why are you always such an ass to your brother? Is that really necessary?

Poor guy.

Oooookay?? The previous scene made me completely trust him, but now my suspicions are stronger than ever. He's replacing Kira? Seriously? That has got to be someone's plan.

Well, this episode was meaty. And it really seems like the show is finding its feet -- unlike Duet, this episode didn't remind me of the other series and feels uniquely DS9.

The Circle

Aw, Odo's being a good friend! I don't remember him ever becoming so agitated before.

Vedek Winn as guest star? *grinds teeth in advance*

what a mess... I don't know if it's funny or sad. What a contrast to Data's friendly, nice and organized goodbye party :D

"These are my... these are my friends"

Do the Prophets really need to show her this sexy crap? Also, I'm too faceblind, is the guy in the vision the freedom fighter or the priest?

Odo and Quark!

I don't understand, which of these two is trying to convince the other to support them? And I don't like how blatantly evil they act.

AUGHHHH NOT A STUPID STARFLEET ADMIRAL AND THE PRIME DIRECTIVE!!!!! NO!!!!!!!!! GET THIS CRAP AWAY FROM ME!

(Seriously though, you say "Prime Directive", I hear "stupid bureaucratic crap that gets in the way of doing the obviously right thing". Either retire it or write it better, dammit!)

The Siege

Okay, I might change my mind by the end of the episode, but this might be the strongest of the multi-episode stories so far.

Aww Nog

"The Cardies" haha

Ugh, don't do the "wife asks husband not to be a hero" thing

The freedom fighter becomes a leader for real!

Sisko and Bashir turn and walk away in sync lol

"Is that a spider or a dog?"

Please stop ruining your engaging story with scenes about cartoonish villains...

I've... actually completely forgotten that O'Brien had been in the Cardassian war until this very moment. That's probably why he has been so opinionated, not just because of Picard.

That's it? Kinda underwhelming.

Ugh, killing Li Nalas? I didn't expect this show to cling so hard to status quo...

The first episode was the most impactful, but the entire story is still very impressive, epic and engaging!

Invasive Procedures

End of previous episode: Everyone happily returns after evacuation! Beginning of this episode: The station has been evacuated

Quark and Odo: *bicker* O'Brien: Ughhhh get a room already

Previous episodes: main characters defeat the forces of the entire Bajor This episode: DS9 is easily hijiacked by a handful of mercs & amateurs

That's an impressive "As you know" speech, Dax

When will poor Jadzia get an episode that's not about her being victimized and quietly accepting death?

Yes, I get it, the entire thing is just a plot device to show us Dax without Jadzia (and hopefully, Jadzia without Dax, if she'll be awake for it?), get on with it please

I hope the second half of the episode is about Dax working against the antagonist literally from the inside

Well, it's pretty disappointing that Dax by themself has so little personality and moral compass. I guess Sisko was all this time really friends with just Curzon and Jadzia, not Dax. Honestly, it's easier to forgive Quark (who sort of redeemed himself with an amusing scene) than Dax after this episode.

I was planning to go to bed after this one, but hell, I need to wash down this nonsense

Cardassians

I see Bashir has gained a lot of confidence since Past Prologue

"I am no more a spy than you are--" "A doctor"

I guess not everyone is fine with strangers touching them haha

"To us, he isn't even one of them any more" uh.....

"They won't hurt you. They're humans, they're not Cardassians" jfc...

"Don't apologize. It's been the high point of my day. DON'T DO IT AGAIN."

(Sisko seems to chew out Bashir more often than others. Is Bashir just the most undisciplined?)

Oh, here we go, O'Brien's anti-Cardassian racism again, makes sense for it to be in this episode

Poor Keiko, she's trying so hard

Miles is getting over himself! I'm proud of him

Bashir is learning to yell at people! Two episodes in a row now.

Um, Miles, I don't think it's a great idea to tell these things to the boy's father...

Dukat's neck scared me. is that normal

GOD IT'S EVEN WEIRDER FROM THE FRONT why am I so bothered by this lmao. honestly was their casting requirement "not only be able to look ominous without actually doing anything, but to have an extremely long neck so we could sculpt interesting things around it"? i'm sorry i'm gonna shut up about this now

Garak if you hold that satisfied smile for some time more you're going to turn into a child-drawn picture of a sun

I love that Dukat doesn't even bother to finish the conversation, he just turns around and leaves without a word the moment it becomes clear that he lost

Ugh, poor boy... What a choice. Abusive family he loves and considers his own or the planet of strangers from an unfamiliar culture he hates, both claiming to love him and expecting him to identify with them? Even if they didn't tell who took him in the end -- he gets a bad deal either way.

it's much more easier to take Garak seriously when he's not dressed like a grandma who stopped giving a fuck 20 years ago. that's probably why he does dress like this, though... but shouldn't that hurt his reputation as a tailor?

This episode was awesome! Exploration of social issues, family drama, political intrigue -- all tightly wound together and making perfect sense. So far the Cardassian stories are the highlight of the show, I hope it's going to stay this way.

It's really weird how Bashir changed between seasons. He hasn't gotten a lot of screentime apart from this episode, but he seems less naive, awkward and bouncy, he's grown more confident, and the crush on Jadzia has disappeared without a trace. Tbh I'm kind of disappointed -- I was expecting a smoother character arc that would let him grow before our eyes and phase out his immature traits one by one. Same goes for his relationship with Garak -- we've only seen their meeting and now they act like besties, how did they get here?

No, wait, let me get back to the plot of the episode. So Dukat had a politician's child kindapped just in case that politician becomes his opponent at some indefinite point in the future, so that he could go through another complicated scheme to humiliate him? Had he absolutely nothing better to do?!! Did he arrange something like this for everyone who could ever possibly cross him?

Melora

Um, Julian, that sounded a bit too much like Geordi's style of creepy almost-stalking...

Wait, Melora is Grace Holloway? :D I didn't recognize her until the familiar name appeared on screen.

She complains about being treated differently and about following the same rules as everyone else in the same breath. Did the writers make her hypocritical on purpose?

Why is he doing this? Is he actually interested in her as a woman? Does he want to help her acclimatize? Or to put her in her place?

Okay, the low gravity scene is pretty cute even if it doesn't make much sense

Daphne Ashbrook in all your fandoms, kissing all of your pretty Doctors

so far it seems like in season 2 the good episodes are better than in season 1, but the mediocre ones are worse

god, the writing and design are so bad, I don't want to list everything that doesn't make sense to me, let's just move on

Rules of Acquisition

I was tired but the plot twist woke me up!!

Dax is so sweet

Poor Pel :( Shitty Ferengi values win again I guess

Well, I'm glad he took a stand after all. And that they kissed. HELP I'M HAVING FEELINGS ABOUT FERENGI ROMANCE

Necessary Evil

Aw, Sisko called Rom "a family friend"

...so do Odo and Sisko perform the bad cop-good cop routine often?

yoo a flashback! I was wondering how Dukat was going to fit into this

"Cardassian neck trick" I... think I've already said enough on the subject lol

First meetings!

First meetingS!

I was distracted for some reason and didn't appreciate this episode enough :/ But it was very good!

Second Sight

Yikes Sisko don't embarrass yourself

"She's a married woman" "That would have never stopped Curzon" ew

ah I've missed the starship uniforms

what a boring episode. can we stop with the love interests of the week, please? I don't understand why the writers are suddenly forcing them so hard this season, and watching three of these in one day has turned my brain into soup. okay, Rules of Acquisition worked, but Melora and this episode were terrible!

(only pros: gorgeous woman, gorgeous dress)

Sanctuary

What was even the point of the universal translator not working for a while? This had nothing to do with the story, and the only thing it did was to remind the viewer how implausible the entire concept is.

Second mention of the Dominion -- I guess we'll meet them in the season finale?

Yep, I'd be surprised if the promised land didn't turn out to be Bajor

Bajoran Leia!

Wait, why is famine a problem? Why can't the Federation just provide Bajor with replicators? Prime Directive again? I mean, they almost seem to want me to ask this question by cutting right to refugees in front of a food replicator.

Why are they so attached to the idea it MUST be Bajor? Ugh, I hate these stories.

Rivals

Are you implying that El-Aurians have supernatural abilities and all this time people confided in Guinan not because she's charming and wise but because she mind-controlled them?

Julian is a NERD and Miles is regretting all of his life choices that led to this point

(Gosh, I didn't realize how much I've missed scenes where the main characters just hang out together off-duty)

8 minutes into the episode and I still have no idea what it's about

Are you saying that O'Brien and Bashir's tennis rivalry is legitimately the B-plot because I'm really into it

"Not in this space-time continuum you won't"

oh my goooood

wait a sec, the listener is only figuring it out NOW?! h o w

finally, a really fun silly episode!

The Alternate

Wait, so when Odo is in humanoid form, does he see and hear like us, or "percieve" like in liquid form? Does he have 360 degree vision?

Put it back! This is either a defense mechanism or the environment needs this column to function for some reason; beam it back down

So Bashir's crush on Dax isn't dead? We haven't seen it for so long, I thought it was over. But why is he monologuing? that's just bad writing.

plot twist! D:

god, this doctor is so creepy with his Measure of the Man reenaction

poor Odo is literally having a meltdown :(

Armageddon Game

Another O'Brien and Bashir episode, nice!

Poor Keiko

Bashir's speech about wife and children at home is weirdly sexist, especially since the previous episode re-established his interest in Dax, and his previous romantic involvement this season was a fellow Stafleet officer too -- he should have the opposite problem (which was already discussed in "Melora")!

aw Quark, you don't have to hide behind the Rules of Acquisition to admit you care

Whispers

Everyone around seemed to be acting like he smells bad, does this mean that's actually true?

"It's not doctors I have a problem with, it's--" "You, Julian"

jfc Miles, she's your wife, you should try to talk at least to her

Quark can't name a rule of acquisition by number? alright, for the first time in the episode I believe someone is fake

O'Brien is a badass

Are they absolutely sure the dead one is the clone and the real one takes his place, not the other way around? That was an awfully convenient excuse to shoot a Starfleet officer point blank without anyone asking questions...

Poor communication kills. At first it seems like something is wrong with O'Brien, but since people refuse to talk to him about it, he becomes convinced literally everyone else is conspiring against him -- and turns out, no, the problem was with him after all! And then they kill him off for no reason just to maintain status quo and avoid the Thomas Riker situation. They could have told him at literally any point instead of being so stupidly vague, but no, gotta keep the plot moving for 45 minutes! Before they found the real O'Brien they could have arrested the clone and told him everything, I'm sure O'Brien would understand; and after they rescued the real one, they could have just transmitted the image, if they're so averse to words. And after acting so stupid, as a final insult the other characters keep talking over their poor dying friend in third person like complete jerks. The episode is great... until that ending. Which just doubles my frustration, because it's one thing when a story is mediocre to begin with, but it really sucks when a wonderful episode is ruined by shitty conclusion.

Paradise

Yes, yes, I get it, this woman would do anything to keep this way of life and probably sabotaged the technology in the first place

What's wrong with replicated food? I hate this stupid trope

did she send the runabout away too?

what the FUCK

look, it might be useful social commentary to depict these rhetoric and tactics, but watching it is still torturous

it adds another level of creepiness that all this shit is done to a black protagonist -- was it intentional?

she's a more proficient torturer than the guy from Chain of Command

this woman is one of the most horrifying antagonists in all Star Trek. she actually believes all this shit

the engineer is supporting her? they all want to stay? for fuck's sake. she made them all see five lights

well. if the writers wanted to upset me, they succeeded

Shadowplay

"How fascinating" :D

"Women don't react to me in that manner" What about Lwaxana, then?

"After seven lifetimes, the impersonal questions aren't much fun anymore"

Yeah, why does a 15 year old need a job?!

The local guy is surprised at Odo beaming up and back down, like he's never seen anything like this before, and two minutes later says he has scanned for transporter activity

I like how the Prime Directive isn't even mentioned :D Or is it a human colony? But isn't this the Gamma Quadrant?

"You want me to spy on Quark for you?" so excited, bless him :D

backstory for that one time Miles played cello on TNG!

I'm glad these villagers are not as conservative and stubborn as people from the previous episode

I am reminded how much more modern DS9's storytelling is than TNG's every time they namedrop the Dominion -- like Doctor Who did ten years later with Bad Wolf, Torchwood etc

I knew he'd transform for the little girl eventually :') Odo reminded me of Data more than usual this time because of the friendship with a child and the episode's general similarity to Thine Own Self. But while Data gets along with kids partially thanks to his own childish (in a good way) qualities, Odo is more like a grumpy but caring grandpa -- I'd even say there's some First Doctor vibe.

(I'm a bit disappointed the episode didn't follow up on that promise of "Bashir practicing his purely theoretical spying skillz on Quark for Kira", because that sounds absolutely hilarious)

Playing God

Fun-loving cool senpai Jadzia is amazing

Interesting that Jadzia doesn't identify with Curzon at all in this case, despite presumably remembering their interaction from his point of view too

I didn't really understand how they solved the problem but I don't care

This is my favourite Jadzia episode so far. She finally got to show agency, have some fun, show off her professional skills, and explore her own identity (instead of standing around silently while other people explore it). And I love how other characters' scenes are vivid despite shortness: Quark playing tongo with Jadzia and giving well-intentioned if unhelpful advice to the initiate; Bashir's friendship with Jadzia and O'Brien; O'Brien calling across the border about his pest problem; Odo, Kira and Sisko's different approaches to the ethical dilemma.

Profit and Loss

Yesss! Cardassians!

Ooh Quark has romantic history with the pretty Cardassian woman?! This is getting better and better

A scene between Garak and Quark! is it my birthday?

"Personally, I find this style to be a bit too radical. But your friend seems the sort who appreciates that kind of thing" Does he know everything and everyone?! Though come to think of it, this shouldn't have surprised me at all -- even regardless of special channels Garak may use, these dissidents might be well-known to the point that their info is freely available on something like stateenemies.gov.car/wanted

I love how he casually rips an expensive dress to make his point

Passionate lover Quark is so strange to see

Odo's good at playing hard to get

lmao I've waited so long for someone to finally to hug Odo and... :D I do also love his relationship with Quark but I never expected these two things to intersect :D

so, did Garak change his mind on the fly or was he just stalling until that guy comes and can be disposed of?

alright, I amend my previous statement about one-episode love interests: Quark is allowed to have them, if all women who fall for him continue to be this awesome

Blood Oath

What, the holosuites have no sound isolation?! If so, who would ever use them for anything more... private than a recreation of a famous battle?

These Klingons have strange hair

It's so nice to see a young, human-looking woman as an equal to three old Klingons

ah bat'leth fighting, I didn't realize how I've missed it

-- and that young, human-looking woman is more of an old-fashioned honorable Klingon than the rest of them

what an outfit

I'm glad the Klingon interpreted her hesitation so favorably

*reads TVTropes* Wait, all these three are from TOS?! Damn... I could barely tell them apart. I really liked the episode, but turns out I didn't appreciate it nearly enough. Time for a little TOS rewatch?

The Maquis 1

What does the word Nor mean? Terok Nor, Bok'Nor...

The Vulcan woman looks great; nice dress.

"Jake-o" aww

Do Cardassians have a thing for showing up right in your quarters unexpectedly?

"We'll need one of your runabouts" "Where are we going?" Nice one, Sisko

"So you turn off my controls so I don't have enough light to take my photograph?" :D

"Education is power. Joy is vulnerability" Dukat is being very quotable today?

"Of all the humans I've met you strike me as the most joyless and the least vulnerable" "I am when I'm with you"

Honestly it's as if they are writing Sisko and Dukat's interactions for me personally

I like how the Vulcan is taking Quark's courtship at face value

Wait, is Gul Evek that reasonable guy from Journey's End?

I'm starting to understand Preemptive Strike better -- so it all took place in the demilitarized zone? That makes sense. (How did I miss that?)

"I was looking forward to showing you more ways to mix business with pleasure" "Perhaps in the future. I do find you... intriguing, Quark" im screaming hooly shit I'd never have guessed that Quark of all people would be the chick magnet #1 on this station?? how did he manage to meet a woman this line would actually work on

good shit good shit

The Maquis 2

Sisko gives a show-defining speech!

"Vulcans are a species that appreciate good ears"

something tells me Dukat wasn't the one supplying weapons and the Central Command is trying to kill two birds with one stone -- oh look, this lie was so obvious that for once the characters saw through it right away too

"The Central Command wants him dead. That's reason enough for us to want him alive"

Interesting, Dukat suddenly started acting in a theatrical manner I've only seen in Garak before. Some Cardassian cultural thing?

Haha, I didn't even realize where Sisko was leading the conversation! He's excellent in this story

"With that kind of firepower, the Bajorans could have launched a full-scale assault on Cardassia" "And lost"

Damn, Dukat really has his Intimidate skill maxed out! Sisko fails the Paragon check, Dukat passes the Renegade check.

Finally we see someone explain to a Vulcan why they're being illogical instead of making some bullshit reference to emotion. I love you Quark

the only bad thing about this two-parter is that it kinda made me like the Totalitarian Lizard Man a bit too much??? how dare you. let me go back to my wholesome crushes on Bashir and Jadzia before I start stanning or something

oh, and also I hoped this episode would make the Maquis more sympathetic so I could feel better about Ro Laren leaving Stafleet for them... nnnot much.

The Wire

What a great episode!! I wasn't liveblogging at all because it was too intense. I don't even feel the need to comment on drama or character development -- the story and acting speak for themselves.

Alright, how the hell did Bashir reach Tain? How does one get the home address of the former head of secret service of a foreign empire?! And how did Bashir manage to convince Sisko to authorize this stunt and give him the runabout -- or did he steal it?

The "Elim" reveal isn't really a surprise after you've spent some time near a fandom where people tag characters by full name...

What interests me now: is Garak going to act differently now that he's not keeping himself drugged? Will he go through withdrawal? In the final scene he pretends everything is Back To Normal, but... Or was the table-flipping scene the extent of his withdrawal symptoms?

Another disjointed thought: this is a wonderful example of a satisfying hurt/comfort story

Star Trek has some amazingly intense dramas for two actors. The Most Toys, Chain of Command, Duet... This one is different because in order to bring the two characters together and at the same time isolate them from the rest of the world, instead of captivity it uses doctor-patient relationship. Oh, another story from a different fandom it reminds me of, now that I think of it: Scherzo.

Crossover

Lmao it's nice that even after leveling up at unstoppable determination and compassionate badassery in the previous episode, Bashir still can be a ridiculous dork

...though it is pretty jarring that right after a high drama where he shows his capacity for patience and caring, and greatly deepens his relationship with someone, the next episode opens with the awkwardest attempt at befriending (and flirting?)

I didn't expect Garak to appear in two episodes in a row!

Why is Mirror Kira walking like this...

I started laughing at "I don't have a designation, sir" because my mind immediately went to "There's no need to call me sir, professor"

Female Cardassian guard! And Kira called herself attractive, heh.

Mirror Quark is dressed so poorly...

Okay, Mirror Kira definitely wants to fuck herself -- wait, that's actually canon? Do all evil Kiras hit on women? I wish they'd let our Kira do that too. I know it was written in the nineties, but I really don't appreciate the "evil=bi" trope

Well this was pretty weak. The only mirror character who works well, i.e. exposes the real character's darker side, is Odo. Kira looks just weak and hysterical. (Remember how I complained about her acting in the pilot?) Mirror Garak is actually less intimidating than our Garak.

The Collaborator

Can't say I'm very excited to see Vedek Bareil again. I liked him in his first episode for ideological reasons, but this romance...

Oh no, the Sydney Opera Hat is on the Promenade again? Is she planning another assassination?

"Welcome back. You're under arrest"

The episode was not engaging to watch, but I enjoyed the Grey Morality (tm).

Tribunal

These Cardassians have lost all shame, what do they think they're doing

Evek again, and I think another familiar face?

Yiiikes

Here comes the good cop

I'm glad they're not spending an entire episode on a Chain of Command remake.

Not telling the accused what they're charged with: a deliberate ploy to mess with their mind, or do the Cardassians not even bother to think about these things anymore?

Huh, Odo had a Cardassian rank that's still valid? That's useful.

Alright, but wasn't O'Brien still declared guilty? So the scheme to discredit the Federation worked?

Also, a missing molar isn't good evidence. Maybe it means that man was just captured and processed by the Cardassians, like O'Brien. And why would a spy alter his appearance but forget about this? You'd think humans and Cardassians have different enough teeth that he'd have to get dental implants anyway.

I found one good thing about the Cardassian "court"! The judge has fabulous hair.

The Jem'Hadar

Jake!

"I bet we'll have a great time!" "I know we will" Please don't say things like this in the opening scene of a season finale...

Aw poor Sisko :D

"Guess" "He said yes" "Guess again"

Aw Quark needs a hug

Aww kids

Aww Odo cares about Quark

"If the Dominion comes through the wormhole, the first battle will be fought here, and I intend to be ready for them." Well. That's a chilling line to end the season on.

As much as I like it when the Federation arrogance is called out, Quark's speech just doesn't work. "The way I see it, humans used to be a lot like Ferengi. Greedy, acquisitive, interested only in profit. We're a constant reminder of a part of your past you'd like to forget." Well, yeah! That was basically the original concept for their species! "Humans used to be a lot worse than the Ferengi" -- so what? 24th century humans are disgusted by the atrocities of their ancestors, so why can't they also be disgusted by the exact same things perpetuated by their contemporaries? Domestic abuse and sexism are wrong, no matter who does it. Note how this entire speech sidesteps the violent misogyny, aka the Ferengi's most obvious appaling trait. This is like saying "Don't judge the Cardassian state for being totalitarian! That's just their culture, you don't understand!"

General impressions

Bashir and Jadzia finally got some character development!

I live for Cardassian episodes. It's fascinating to see a dystopia in the universe that started as a utopia, and see how characters from both sides deal with each other.

(Random thought: I want an AU episode like "Crossover" where another universe/timeline's Cardassia is a free state, and for a Cardassian viewpoint character our world is a nightmare scenario just like the Mirror Universe is for our heroes.)

I don't loathe Winn as much as I did in the first season finale. That makes her kind of underwhelming as a recurring antagonist. On the other hand, that might be a good thing, because getting so angry repeatedly couldn't have been good for my health. But because they're represented mainly by the hateful-but-not-enough Winn and the bland Bareil, the Bajoran affairs are usually not as gripping as the Cardassian. I hope to see more of their secular politics next season.

First season was very even; second has two irredeemably clumsy stories (Melora and Second Sight), but a growing number of outstanding ones, too.

First season was already an improvement over TNG in terms of serialization, and this one is better. Both multi-part stories are brilliant, too. I hope this trend continues.

A noticeable weakness in the first season was the mundanity of the Gamma Quadrant. No sense of wonder, no noticeably stranger aliens. The introduction of the Dominion and their overwhelming threat partially rectified that problem, bringing back some of the feeling from "Q Who". Yes, setting foot in a far corner of the galaxy should be awesome in both senses of the word, and lead the previously unimaginable dangers right back to your home.

The costume design has visibly improved in this season!

#star trek #ds9 #blah blah blah #if read more doesn't work for you i'm really really sorry #actually i just finished s3 so rereading this liveblog was amusing

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pomelopaloma · 8 years ago

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Long DS9 Post

I am watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine through for the first time, and I have just found the s4 e18 “Hard Time”. It was all handled so appropriately, and it made my day to see this.

Suicide ment, assault, hallucination ment and mental health discussion under the cut.

In this episode O’brien is accused of espionage by the Argrathi, who “punish their offenders by giving them memories of incarceration modeled to fit each offender’s personality.” As such, he wakes up believing he has been in prison for the past 20 years, in which time he was regularly starved, with no means of entertainment, and eventually ended up killing his cellmate, the only person he had contact to in that whole time.

The episode is spent slowly telling the story of what he went through, and why he is so angry. He has a hallucination of Ee’char, his cellmate, that is more frequent as he becomes more distressed.

Towards the end of the episode he ends up yelling at his 4 year old daughter, and later explains that he almost hit her. He leaves their home, and walks to somewhere with weapons. As he puts a phaser up to his chin Bashir walks in and talks him down.

The end of the episode you can assume O’brien was in sick bay for a bit, because of his daughter’s reaction to him coming home, and Bashir’s specificity on how often to take his meds.

Long explanation but this episode shows that in the ST universe, mental health is taken seriously.

When he wakes up Kira is gentle in explaining that it didn’t actually happen. Kira can be awkward when dealing with negative emotions, but she is gentle and uncondescending with her friend.

First thing Bashir talks to him about is taking it easy and getting used to ds9 again, with no mentions of work whatsoever

Keiko just comforts her husband when she sees him, without asking questions or making promises about how his recovery will go. She does encourage him to see the counselor.

When it becomes noticeable that O’brien is beginning to isolate himself Bashir calmly brings it up, as well as giving him options as to what he could change his the treatment.

Bashir is professional every time O’brien try to threaten him to go away

After he yelled at Molly, Keiko didn’t try to talk to him about it. She knew that she was not the right person to talk to him at that moment, and that comforting Molly would help more. She also let him leave to get some air, which is something people don’t always do when someone has just lashed out. She has healthy boundaries with her husband in this bizarre time.

Since Bashir was able to talk O’brien down, without bringing any security or other signs of force with him, one can assume suicide prevention is a standard piece of knowledge for federation doctors.

When O’brien gets to go back home, most likely after spending some time in the infirmary, Bashir is able to prescribe him something to help with the depression and hallucinations, without the possibility that it would impact O’brien’s career.

The above conversation, including that O’brien was dealing with hallucinations, happened in a public corridor without anyone who walked by paying any mind to it.

#my post #long post #st ds9 #ds9 #miles o'brien

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raguna-blade · 5 years ago

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Revolutionary Girl Utena Episodes 30-34

Thinking the Next Time I do this, I’m gonna cut down on the reactions thing, and do more a recap after the fact. I should in fact, but for right now i’m just kinda going at it you know.

Came too far and all that. And also, I would like to scrub some of the events in these episodes from my mind because goddamnit they were setting it up for 20 odd episodes and you hoped they wouldn’t and they did and it’s exactly as horrifying (if honestly, put together in such a way that if it wasn’t as uh...Objectively horrifying as it’s played, it’d be a pretty lovely scene I think, but that just makes it worse honestly, cause it is not played as a good thing and yet...) as you’d expect with fuck face mcgee.

Well next time I guess.

Episode 30

First Kiss to do it...uuuuuuugh. Goddamnit

Akio. Noooooooooooooooooooooooo

Wakaba does not give a single fuck, she want's what she wants. However bad an idea it is.

Saying this for your own good.

God, he's everywhere this episode. I don't like where this is going.

Please for the love of god....the shading is ominous. Pls. Plssssssss.

Anthy sitting there staring. Um. Um....

“Her, no my very special friend” aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Seeing this car a lot lately. Uh...Uh...Wakaba.Where.

Stop stroking the car Akio.

WAKABA NO NO NO NO NO

WHY DO YOU NEED 2 HOURS. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.

I mean points for her getting the dream, but also, like, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

It was just a drive don't overthink this.

Why for the love of god do you keep coming back to these birthday candles.

The fucking dread in this episode man. It's unreal.

Car....oh man. Maaaaaaan. OH FUCK where did it come from.

STOP THE JAZZ PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

Ok, candle out. That's...It's fine. It's fine.

WHY CAN'T ANTHY COME SCUZZLORD

DON'T JUST WAVE HER OFF LOOKING HELLA OMINOUS LIKE THAT FUCKING ANTHY ANTHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Please stop talking like that Akio. You won't because you're the worst but

PLEASE STOP TOUCHING HER. JESUS.

YES HE IS A PLAYBOY.

I can do without

YES HE IS DANGEROUS. SIMILAR YOU AND I

As I was saying, I could do without this ominous intimacy.

Anthy. Jesus christ anthy that's terrifying.

OH SHIT HES KISSING HER FUCK FUCK FUCK.

Shadow Girls! Oh, the red shoes. I know this fable. Doesn't it end with her cutting off her feet?

But...Uh...Uhhhhhhhhh.

Last Candle.

No such thing as a love that's wrong...But there are people you shouldn't be in love with.

A PRINCE OF YOUR OWN HUH. DO TELL.

...What's with this music.

Kanae! PLEASE.

What's with the roses...and her mom....

Is he banging the mom too...?

Engagements can be canceled feels ominous as fuck.Goddamnit Akio.

Goddamnit Akio.

Last Candle out. YUP. BAD BAD TIMES

EPISODE 31

oh goddamnit it the prince opening thing again. That's never good. I thought this was supposed to be a nanami episode (...have these only been on nanami eps aside from the opening? I haven't been paying attention)

...Shadow girls in the picture...? Also, what the hell is going on with thepicture....

God is this a nanami episode?

Obssessive brother blood bind

Touga akio apprentice for sure?

Taking a shower care to jin me...Nanami hot shut the fuck down.

So...is the thing about Anthy and Akio then...?

Yo wait, what. Is she just staring at her brother in the shower and this fucking rose again. They're just....Holding on this for like 10 seconds what the hell.

Jesus Nanami. Goddamn Akio. I mean Touga. Fuck.

...If this is reflective of Akio and Anthy uh...uh.......I'm not sure how to parse this.

WHO ARE THESE THREE DUDES. Are they ...what's the deal with...hm.

FUCKING HELL AKIO LEAVE GO AWAY.

PLEASE LET ME JUST HAVE THIS NANAMI EPISODE.

...And where did anthy go.

Please i'm just...

Nanami, most people don't want to fuck their brother.

And nanami just being the huge bitch here is...what is...

So I looked this up and type b parents should have a type b child. So...Uh.

She's looking mad torn up about this actually. One would think for her banging her older brother ambitions this would be a huge plus but uh...Uhhhhh.

Damn Touga getting booty calls in the middle of the night. Am I using that right...?

Uh...What the hell was that pose Nanami.

PUTTHAT ROSE AWAY. AWAY

...Nanami just kinda dipping the fuck out. You that traumatized.

….AKIO...FUCKING PLEASE LEAVE. JUST GO AWAY.

YOU WERE NOT KIDDING ABOUT THAT AT ALL YOU FUCK AAAAAAAAA

ANTHY STOP LYING PLEASE.

Do I sound like a mental case? Yes. Still savage.

...Shadow Girls what...? Parasitism.

THEY ARENT ON THE GROUND WAIT A MINUTE.

Nanami Shooketh.

HE IS YOUR BROTHER YOU DINGBAT.

Oh shit she just admited it. Though I don't know if it sank in.

So if the anthy nanami parallel thing holds her taking spot in bed is you know. Sensible.

Oh shit. Akio and Anthy and hooooooooooooooooboy nanami ain't taking this well.

I THOUGHT THIS WAS A NANAMI EPISODE. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FUN. GOOFS AND GAFFES AND YOU PULL THIS SHIT AT THE END LIKE THIS.

DID SHE SEE IT ALL GOD DAMN.

EPIDOSE 32

Nananmi is traumatized as FUCK right now.

Anthy andAkio.

Nanami playing it cool.

Nope not playing it cool at all. She's...Ok, she's doing better. Nope she's just...Trying her best.

CALL THE POLICE NANANMI.

Nanami: You'd be eaten Alive.

She's not wrong but...THE POLICE NANAMI.

….Wait. Would it be fair to call Nanami a third main character....?

Yo touga what the fuck. Just

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. KEIKO

JESUS WHAT THE FUCK ITS ON.

This is fuuucked.

Why does kanae look so fucking gone.

Anthy keeping utena from walking in on some fucking shit.

Anthy: THANKS FOR ACKNWOLEDGING I TERRIFY YOU.

Nanami in the anthy bed,

NANAMI THANKS FOR SAYING WHAT WE'RE ALL THINKING JUST SAY SOMETHING GOD.

Also, it's like you're a part of each other or something. Given the yinyang thing in the intro I'm wondering.

Nanami, making choices. Being...Duel time. And a ride in the Akio mobile.

Fuck. Goddamn. Uh..

Why is Nanami the fucking Realist Person on this Show. Like seriously. I'm actually kinda considering her as a third main character, which feels weird but....

Keiko Talks Shit, GOT THE SHIT KICKED OUT OF HER JESUS

SLAPPED ANTHY

Challenged ANTHY to a duel. That's..new.

Nanami just fucking coming out swinging.

Shadow Girls...What...What the fuck is going on....

Did...Did they change the openin? Thing again...no, it's not. Just been a while.

But for real, Nanami is not remotely fucking around in the LEAST. My vibe of Nanami as a third main character is interesting and I'm not sure how to feel about that.

Yo that pose though. Nanami, I wanna the best. Dunk you, dunk my brother, dunk me, I will be the best. Fuck ALL of this hot bullshit though. Fuck it all.

Nanami is whooping Utena's ass right now which is surprising.

I know where those feelings lead.

Oh they're both adopted. And what the FUCK are you two doing on that bed.

Can we just delete Akio.

Episode 33

THEY'RE DROPPING IT AGAIN? PRINCE INFO AGAIN LIKE TWO EPS?

But...none of the animation...Uh...hm

Why is it night.

Pattern broken. Some shit is about to happen isn't it.

Anthy...?

….Uh. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

SHADOW GIRLS ON THE RADIO?

Also, I didn't want to look at the real ones?

What DOES it mean to be eternal?

It'll work out so long as I don't get caught. YEAH I BET.

STOP STOP STOP I agree.

Wait a minute is this a clips episode.

I think it is. Guess they had to give us a space before the last hell ride.

….What if Green Hair wasn't just talking shit, and whatever he saw

King of Imposters...? That's Akio. Right?

Also, wow Utena.

So, Every Sibling pair is fucked in roughly the same way. Which...Concerns. What's the deal.

And what the FUCK is with Anthy. Saionji, what did you SEEEEEEEE.

...Wait, the teacher is actually important? I mean yeah of course she is. Recurring character. The Teacup...? Forgotten huh...?

What is Eternal: A Diamond, A Beautiful Memory, Canned Peaches

What is Miracles: Edisons Inventions, A Prince, Canned Coelecanth

Oh this dude again.

WHEN DID I START LOSING. Hoo boy. Hooooooboy.

Watching this repeat of everyones duels kinda homes in how much Utena REALLY doesn't seem to understand people. And hasn't changed in the LEAST. At least, nothing particularly dramatic. Which is...uh..hm.

DON'T.

FUCK. FUCK NO.

oh god this mad uncomfrotable.

The food thing....repeats like...4 times...

AaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaSTOP SOTP STOP STOP

GOD FUCKING DAMNIT

In a fucking filler episode they would do this.

Akio just...

Anthy...Anthy did you set this up.

This is mad fucked. I am....not ok.

CAN WE PLEASE DELETE AKIO I BEG YOU.

Just...Why did they change the ending again.

God this is such bullshit.

Episode 34

GOD CAN WE NOT WITH THIS AKIO BULLSHIT.

Oh my god the stars are...

Must you still torture me...? Wh-what. Anthy...?

Oh hey the shadow girls are real.

Showering you with flowers has a terrible meaning now.

Stop that: Anthy to Akio. Uhhhhhhh.

The Shadow Girls...Play...Uh. Huh.

….Um.

A rose Prince...?

A Witch: Cut to Anthy uhhhhhh. Rose....Castle...?

Is...Is anthy the big bad?

Trapped the Prince in the castle.

The Witch is The Princes's Little Sister.

A girl who cannot become a princess is doomed to become a witch.

Uh...Anthy.

Wow, Akio just looks...Tired.

She's still around somewhere in this world :CUT TO ANTHY

oh Touga gonna duel.

I do like that even they're confused as to why they lost.

Shadow Girls...? Again. What was that all about.

Why is anthy's shadow so fucking huge.

Sacrificing Noble Souls huh.

Tiring to be friends with her.

God the dread is no longer here but...uuuuugh.

Anthy, why do you look sad...?

oh shit is this Utena's flashback on the scene.

Dios? Not an Angel of death.

And Utena' walking the same path as him..?

uh....uhhhhhhhhhh..That's a witch. The Rose Bride.

Lives on in agony as punishment for taking away the prince...?

Anthy....? um...

They're calling for the prince...That's a huge crowd.

Anthy sealed away Dios. Oh...

oh shit.

Little Utena noooooo.

The only one who can save her is the prince she believes in.

If you never lose your nobility even when you grow up, you may be able to save her.

May huh.....Does...Anthy remember her...?

Who are you really?

Well fuck shit's worse than I thought.

#revolutionary girl utena #Liveblog #uuuuugh #we're almost at the end you can do this

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