#anyway my avatar criticisms are for another day haha

[biggie-chcese]

ranking rain code lets plays on how much i enjoy/would recommend them

hi did you know i am incredibly autistic about this game and have watched, in full, several lets plays of it? and im still going? haha yeah im normal. anyway here goes... all lets plays ive watched from best to worst:

#1 Highest recommendation: JustOneGamr. ESPECIALLY for people who are going in blind. im so serious. it's the best way to experience as much of the game as possible without playing it yourself. They go through all of the content, side quests, gumshoe gabs, profiles, DLC, and even most of the flavor text. it's also a no commentary run, which i personally see as a massive boon because they aren't influencing your opinions of the game

#2: Pixel Partners. they've got real good vibes and they actually do the side quests. it's also fun to listen to their theories and see their reactions. they're one of the few who dont spend their time complaining and give more valid constructive criticisms than others. they also have the funniest reaction to the chapter 5 reveal

#3: JohnAwesome. his humor sometimes isn't particularly for me but boy is his lets play enjoyable. also has lots of positive vibes and is generally pretty entertaining. i dont remember if he does side quests but im pretty sure he does. he will easily make chapter 4 even more gut wrenching thanks to a very specific kind of incompetence on his part, which in hindsight is really funny

#4: NyanCave. they're pretty fun and also have great vibes! i like their chemistry a lot. they have some pretty good theories and good jokes, but they will spend a lot of time on responding to chat donations. this is fine like get that bag kings but if you're impatient like me it might get annoying after a while lol. it's especially bad in chapter 5, where the tension dies because of their waifu fight donations

#5: NicoB. I was never really a NicoB fan because he's a bit too loud and high energy for me, but his rain code lets play is still pretty good! he seems to have fun playing the game and even has a few good jokes. i think he does the side quests which is a plus but i could be misremembering. i still quote "and now back to yuma crackhead" to this day so there's that

#6: Faz Faz. This another no commentary run but for people who are in a rush. they go through the game as quickly as possible. frankly, i think these kinds of lets plays are not as good as the ones that go through the sidequests, but hey, it's there if you just want the main plot and gumshoe gabs

#7: Save Data. I don't recommend this one to people experiencing rain code for the first time because they will talk over the cutscenes and dialogue and that will get annoying. they also complain quite a bit about the same things over and over which can also get tiresome (im sorry guys i do Not care about graphics as much as you do). however, they're really funny and it's good for a second or third experience of the game. "this city..." is a highly prevalent vocal stim for me thanks to them. they will shit on on the game often though, so if you really love rain code and dont want to hear that, then avoid this one lol. but you do get to see my art at the end of their vids! that's pretty cool!

#8: Rat Attack. i straight up don't recommend this one. it's easily the worst one i've seen and that's sad because i really love their pngtuber avatars. they're not finished with the game yet and that's probably because they spend so much time ranting and yapping about everything else, or just concocting the most baffling theories known to man and spending wayyy too much time on them. you will also hear a lot of unfunny halara gender jokes sorry. sometimes they are funny in other ways but it's honestly not worth it unless you're like me and keep watching out of obsession for the game.

that's all the ones ive watched in full (so far)! here's a couple others i haven't seen in full but have seen small parts of:

Weeby Newz - she's got some fun reactions from what ive seen and is pretty funny too. i have only really watched her play chapters 4 and 5 though, so i cant give a full opinion. i dont care for yakou fathero as a concept though and she seems pretty heavy on that, but if you like that you may enjoy her let's play. i may go back and finish it soon!

CurtStreamy - genuinely very funny from what ive seen though in chapter 5 his whole crew has a pretty fundamental misunderstanding of makoto's character, which can be a little irritating. either way, most of it is great but his live chat sucks. i still need to watch the rest in full to form a full opinion

CrystAAHHL - ohhh she did Not like this game lmao. she is a based makoto enjoyer though. i only watched the highlight reel though i think watching her full streams would just make me tired. i personally dont like watching lets plays if the person playing isnt having any fun

JazzyGuns - unfinished but she is really funny and has good vibes. if you can cope with her probably never finishing the game then go for it

khee chu - im still in the process of watching this one in full but it's fun so far. i will say CHECK OUT KHEE'S MERCH AND SHINIGAMI X JUNKO ART!!! THE ART IS RLY CUTE!!!!

and that's everything! there's other lesser known ones out there but im just one guy i cant watch em all despite how determined i am to do so </3 above all else i want people to get the game but like, yknow, some folks dont got $60 to spend on a game lol. anyway have fun and happy watching!

[juniperhillpatient]

The Blind Bandit Re-Watch

TOPH!!! This episode is so much fun. I just love an iconic character introduction, & Toph absolutely gets that. I'm also just a huge fan of the "tiny delicate-looking girl takes out big muscular men easily" trope so of course I always have a blast with this episode.

I've consistently said that earth-benders are terrifying & this episode leans into that. I loved the Earth Rumble fights, & the brief attempt Aang made to hang with the earth-bending kids at the earth-bending academy. Side note - are bending academies a common thing in the Avatar world? It seems like they are for earth bending, & probably for fire-bending too? Do the kids learn regular skills like math & language there too or just bending? Just something I was pondering with the world-building.

Katara scaring the crap out of the bully kids is hilarious, & I love the juxtaposition from *hair flip & smirk* "a girl has her ways" to *the boys trapped in ice.* That's just iconic to me. Also, I liked Sokka sliding out after Katara & saying "water tribe" in a mocking voice. So funny.

My biggest criticism of this episode is that while a lot of Sokka's comedy (obsessing over shopping & his new bag, getting too into the earth rumble) was funny by itself, it was leaned into in a way that prioritized comedy over accurate characterization. I just didn't like that Sokka didn't appear to care about finding Aang an earth-bending teacher, & didn't care when Aang & Toph were kidnapped. That doesn't feel true to the character. This critique was pointed out to me already & so I probably noticed it more haha - it's not like I was super mad about it, but it's something I noticed. Like I said, I overall enjoyed Sokka's antics, especially when it came to shopping.

I loved the dinner scene & Toph messing with Aang while acting totally innocent was hilarious. I also like that afterward, she apologizes, calls a truce, & explains a little more about herself. Something that I struggle with & don't always think I get right when writing Toph in fics is balancing her brashness with her emotional intelligence - which she does have. She didn't have to apologize & explain, but she did.

Another scene transition that I really loved in this episode was "Toph is probably terrified" *cut to Toph mocking her kidnappers.* Toph kicking the entire Earth Rumble's collective asses was iconic.

It's left a bit ambiguous whether the Gaang knows that Toph was lying about her father "having a change of heart" & I totally forget if they actually knew or not. So, I'm excited to see that play out. Sometimes having the memory of a goldfish is fun, like when you're re-watching a favorite show for the 500th time!

Speaking of bad memory, I forgot that I was doing a points thingy for Iconic Behavior™. Oh well, no one really earned any in 'Avatar Day' anyway. The points will be added for each season & for the show overall at the end of my re-watch.

Toph gets 500 for her introduction, another 500 for kicking ass in the fight at the end, & another 1 for her trickster behavior so that she could run away with the Gaang. Katara gets 500 for scaring those bullies.

Here are the rankings for Book 2 (not including anything earned in Book 1) so far:

Azula: 2000

Mai: 1000

Ty Lee: 1000

Iroh: 500

Zuko: 500

Toph: 1001

Katara: 500

[jaelijn]

I had this rant in my drafts for a few days thinking about not ever posting it, but I just saw *yet another* post of this kind, so f* this.

I hate how much fandom and tumblr has informed me that it's cool to hate on the Avatar-the-blue-people film series because the first film is "ssoooo cringe and hahaha there is noooo fanfic haha because it's soooo bad even though it is one of the highest crossing films hahah" and "AtLAB is soooo much better". Like: WHY is it necessary to shit on people's enjoyment when it does nothing to hurt you? It's not the funny "gotcha" you think it is. It's just mean-spirited. Like sure hate on companies and big name creators, but have you thought about what this does to people *just like you* who just happen to enjoy a thing?

It's grown to a point that I don't even want to mention I enjoyed it even a little bit, never mind admitting how much I loved it back when the first one came out. And yes, it has issues - which big film doesn't? But it was such an eye-opener in terms of scifi - not only in terms of how FUCKING GOOD scifi could look on screen without being all "spaceship tech and battles hehehe ooohehehe" but also in terms of what a full alien ecosystem could be. I still have the movie poster hung up. I own the artbook. And the soundtrack. There are literally no other films I can say that about.

It was massively influential for my taste in scifi as well as my way of writing alien landscapes and I felt seen for the way in which my love for nature transcends any care I have for humanity as a species.

Anyway I have been to see part II and love it no less and if not for this stupid nonsense you'd think tumblr'd be all over it - like they have made such strides from the issues of the first one.

It's a story of a family that isn't defined by blood. Of belonging even when you're different. Of loving and protecting nature. There's a heavily neurodivergently coded character who explicitly has epilepsy (and a FEMALE one at that). There's no shortage of strong women without the need to make them... act especially male. There's significantly less white-savourism than in the first one. There's a culture that has a heavily sign-language based conversation style that is completely normalised. It looks *amazing*. The soundtrack is fantastic. It's become an ensemble cast. It's opened up the world even more.

Is it trope-y as all hell, very unsubtle in its message and is its plot flat (and/or repetitive from the first one)? Sure. But the same is true for literally every action/super hero movie, and everyone seems to love those. (And at least in terms of repetitiveness some is definitely intentional - as in relevant to the story! - parallels).

Is it fairly amato- and heteronormative? Yeah. But again, that's pretty much every media.

Is there a significant amount of violence and death - also yes. But to me it's the brutality of a war film - it's supposed to be brutal, it's supposed to be unpleasant and raw in places, whereas a lot of violence in movies otherwise feels to me like I'm supposed to enjoy it.

There are probably other ~~problematic~~ things, and if not in the film then with the people or businesses involved, sure. And I'm not dismissing them. I'm not saying it's perfect. But unlike other media I could mention, as far as I'm aware, it's not an active instrument in a hate campaign, and yet all I see is criticism and I have no one to talk to about it IRL and, following this tumblr attitude, no one I really want to admit to that I like it on here, either.

Anyway. I'm ranting. But if a movie has the power to make me cry from beauty as well as pain, make me lose myself in awe and shake with incandescent rage, have a sheer RANGE of emotional responses, I can't honestly pretend I didn't enjoy it. Just let people enjoy it.

[playstacean]

 💭 + pitfalls/flaws you often see in writing redemption arcs/(examples if you want to talk about those) ?

oh this is a great topic to discuss!

i honestly feel that the "redemption arc" as a whole has become really overused, quite frankly, not very well done anymore. thats not to say there wasnt bad redemption arcs before now, because there definitely were, but i feel that with the 21st century era of media and "fandom culture" the trope has gone completely downhill.

naturally, i have to mention avatar: the last airbender here. like its pretty much law at this point if youre gonna talk about redemption arcs. as much as i love the show and believe that zukos redemption arc was (mostly) well written, i feel like the arc himself has ruined the mindsets of pretty much every 25-30-year-old fandom nerd on the planet. and a lot of said fandom nerds actually completely misunderstood what made zukos arc and general character so compelling in the first place. instead of seeing that a character must overcome their past trauma as well as atone for their actions, they just saw "if the villain is hot (which is problematic in its own way to apply to zuko because, hint hint, hes a minor) and has feelings other than rage then they should be completely forgiven for their actions".

to me, for a redemption arc to be good, it must contain certain things besides just "the character realizes they were wrong and says sorry":

- they dont expect everyone to forgive them instantly or demonize people for not forgiving them

- similarly, not everyone forgives them at all, let alone instantly

- they are held accountable for their actions, which includes rightful criticism of said actions by other characters

- they take initiative to unlearn the hatred they once had as well as actively give back to the people they hurt

- this is just my personal opinion as well but honestly, in my opinion it works best if they are a victim in their own right. they have to be sympathetic in a way besides just that theyre sad. again, zuko proves to be an example of how this works, since he was a victim of child abuse and was taught to believe that his actions are wrong against his own will. i dont wanna see someone who chose to be evil when they have every opportunity to be good (looking at you, kyle ron).

- they must put in effort! legitimate effort! not just not doing bad things, not just saying theyre sorry, but putting in legitimate effort to not be horrible!

again, most of the time, redemption arcs do not have any of these qualities, let alone all of them. mostly because, like i said, a lot of the people writing a lot of modern media were fans of avatar or star wars or whatever who never really thought critically about it, and are now trying to recreate the same magic the show once had in their own creations to no avail. not all of them of course, but a big chunk of them. some of the worst examples of this are from media i like, and some that i dislike: endeavors redemption in bnha (which i liked in 9th grade but no longer do, thank god), kylo rens """redemption""" (if you could even call it that) in the star wars sequels, and lugers redemption in amulet by kazu kibuishi (which is actually a really great graphic novel series that ive loved since i was young and highly recommend! lugers redemption is honestly the only thing i have any problem with in the books). these all miss the point of how a redemption arc can be impactful and be used to show how to take accountability for ones actions.

this isnt to say there arent good redemption arcs nowadays either! most of them are from smaller content creators though, especially ones written by marginalized people. i wont go too far into this, as i only have experience with these things in some areas and ive decided that i would rather not talk about my own trauma where the whole internet can see. but basically, what im saying is that people need to understand how and why a redemption arc would work, as well as the message the author is trying to send. because, whether people like it or not, all media has a message and an impact.

[rieson]

 ↱ LOVING HIM . . .  ↲

pairing; satan x gn!reader

genre; angst , hurt no comfort

content warning; implied major character death

word count; 700

authors note; yo...haha hey, i'm finally (?) kind of back again. i've gotten into an obey me rabbit hole so i just got a sudden burst of inspiration to write this. and since, i haven't posted in SO long I figured to just publish it now. worry not about your requests to those who has requested one a few (or maybe 6 months...) ago, it's still in my inbox and i am slowly but surely gathering up the motivation to tackle each one of them.

anyways, i got inspiration to write this by "Satan's Character Song - Read My Heart" so i recommend listening to that while reading this. alot of the words are also inspired by this post who is written by carpeinfinitum. i apologize in advance for grammar errors.

─ a mysterious letter has arrived at the door. to be more specific, one sealed with magic with a pink stamp shaped like a sheep as the decoration and it seems like it has been delivered to you.

TO the person who will love him next, Be warned, he’s easy to love.

You’ll meet him one day and by the time your eyes mold into his, all time will cease to exist.

Be vulnerable with him, laugh with him, tease him - you’re the only one that he allows to do such a thing. Take it to your advantage.

Accept his requests to accompany him in his morning walks; worry not, you’ll get used to it in no time. I’m sure of it.

You’ll notice the way he takes every free time he has as a chance to take you out somewhere - whether it's the new Cat Cafe that has just opened, or yet another Museum or Book Tour he’d like you to accompany him in.

Whatever it is, go with him - spend time with him. Gently untie his legs that got entangled and stiffened.

Get closer to him - slowly, but surely you’ll get through the wall he built up to cover himself with.

When that happens, and he realizes that you’ve managed to get through the walls and fake smiles he engulfed himself in - He’ll push you away in realization that a flame has been ignited in his winter storm. Prevail, and see his inner rose bloom.

Stand your ground, as he figures out his feelings - stay with him, comfort him on days that he feels like he's nothing but a carbon copy of Lucifer.

Slick his hair back in a comforting matter, whisper sweet nothings and remind him that no - He’s not in fact just Lucifer’s shadow. He’s Satan, the Satan you’ve come to love no matter what happens.

The Satan whose eyes fill with joy as his fingers run through old books and a cat's fur, happily communicating with them through treats and toys.

You’ll see a different side of him; the walls he spent years building will come down.

And when the cold, winter storm passes by and finally calms down, Be honest with him.

He will too.

He immerses himself into the grand world of literature and this broadens his mind. Read his favorite book. - trust me. If you don’t try, you’re done for.

Take the lead once in a while, beat him in asking if he’d like to have another date again. Watch as blood rushes up to his face and him covering it up with a cough or a neck rub.

Take him out to late night walks - hand in hand with no destination in mind.

Talk about crime stories with him - let him explore emotions he has yet to feel.

He loves stumbling upon new feelings , new emotions that make him feel like he’s in another world.

Let him love you back - Let him embrace you just like how you embrace him. His words will touch the depths of your being and scar your body in the midst of his wake.

He’s the Avatar of Wrath , it’s almost inevitable for him to let his sin engulf him sometimes.

When that happens, please listen to him when he says to stay away - It hurts, He’s hurting ; you’ll realize. But it's the best source of action for both of you.

When he comes to his senses, immediately run and embrace him.

Hug him, Hum gentle sounds under your breath - quiet but loud enough for him to register and tell him to Breathe. Kiss his forehead and rub small circles on his back, Tell him you’re there for him and you’ll never go anywhere. See the gorgeous chaos in his eyes and stay.

Stand through the storm. The calm waves of even his breathing will soothe your soul. He is here; with you - alive.

Treat him like royalty or somebody else will. That man, The Avatar of Wrath deserves all the love you have. Tell him that you love him everyday, grit it through your teeth if you have to - say it. You’ll never be the same again, because this man isn’t like the rest. And most of all, don’t ever lose him,

Don't ever recklessly go in the chaotic storm of emotions he’s going through,

Not like I or his other cats did.

─ Sincerely, a name you’ll never hear past his lips, MC.

STATEMENT ENDS.

how was that? good enough? criticism is appreciated, infact it's encouraged so don't be shy if you've got any tips or make corrections. reblogs appreciated! i don't think alot of my followers are that active now so aghh.

also i’m still practicing when it comes to writing Satan’s character, so pointers as to how i can potray/write him better is GREATLY appreciated. i will also be on my knees and kiss u tyty 

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 213: blahblahblahSIXQUIRKS

Previously on BnHA: Baby Ochako stole the show for a few pages as Ochako thought back to her childhood and the first time she saw a hero in action and wanted to be like them and help people who looked like they were in trouble. And more recently during the Basement arc, she saw Deku struggling and thought, “who protects the heroes when they need protecting?” So with that nice segue, we cut back to the present, with Deku freaking out and Ochako trying to calm him down and eventually realizing he had no control. So she called on Shinsou to brainwash him, which he did by telling Deku he wanted to fight him again. And miraculously the brainwashing worked, and the quirk died down and retreated back into Deku’s arm. But then Deku found himself back in the OFA Happy Funky Dream Time Zone, being accosted by some beefy aggressive bald dude with goggles. He told Deku he’d gotten it all wrong, and accused him of not listening. “We told you that you’re not alone!” He said Deku’s quirk wasn’t something he could use casually while distracted any more, and told him to pull himself together.

Today on BnHA: Aggressive Bald Dude explains that the crazy new power Deku just used is actually his quirk, Blackwhip. To make a long story short, Deku can use all of the quirks from the previous wielders of OFA. Something something OFA is getting stronger, something something Quirk Singularity blah blah blah. Anyway, so Deku accidentally activated Blackwhip due to his strong feelings and his wanting to capture Monoma. Baldy warns Deku that if he wields his power in anger, it will respond accordingly, and that he needs to have control. He tells Deku he will eventually manifest six different quirks, and that he is the one who will complete One for All. Then he wishes him good luck and vanishes. Deku wakes up in the aftermath of all this strangeness, only to immediately be attacked by Monoma, who knows an opening when he sees one I guess. Everyone else from Teams A and B chooses this moment to arrive as well, and things quickly escalate into a melee battle. Shinsou challenges Deku, and we cut to the teachers who are watching nearby. A thoughtful-looking Aizawa tells the other teachers to let the battle continue.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my mostly-unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’m caught up with the manga now at chapter 224, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

lol

Kirishima you never told me your ancestor was a bearer of OFA

I really like this guy. what’s your name dude

(ETA: jesus Horikoshi would it kill you to name such an important character though. at least let us know which number he is. give us something)

and this conversation just keeps getting better!

“I don’t have a mouth.” “oh shit you don’t have a mouth. well THAT IS JUST FINE don’t you worry”

so Deku can see this guy much more clearly than OFA Primo in his previous dream. and on top of that, he’s now fully aware that it’s not a dream at all

also I really like TryHarder’s face. it’s just a nice face

he seems tough but kind

ahhhhh it’s another image of the previous 8

(ETA: so is that really you up there, Katsuki? is a part of you “actually alive inside One for All”, deep inside Izuku’s soul or whatever? just waiting for Deku to finally figure this shit out? so you can finally pop up at a critical plot moment and be all “hah, so you can finally see me. took you long enough, you damn nerd” and then give him Mystical Advice or some shit I guess? what level of shipping is that. when a piece of character A’s soul or will or whatever is literally chilling out inside character B’s soul. honestly I still don’t even know what to think about this fucking theory, because I would lose my damn shit. it just seems so ridiculously catered to Everything I Want that even pondering it feels absurdly self-indulgent. and how would it even work. ahghghg. anyways.)

there had better be at least one more girl besides Shimura, otherwise I’m gonna go on a ranting spree just like the JP Hero Billboard Charts all over again

I wonder when Toshinori’s outline will become more visible

and also when will Deku get to talk to Shimura?? her vestige has been clear right from the start. TALK TO HER AND GET THE GOSSIP ON HER SON! YOUR DAD!!

she probably knows so many embarrassing things. this is the true reason why All Might didn’t tell him about this shit back at the sports festival

okay so TryHarder is starting to fade now and he’s like “oh shit looks like I’m on a time limit”

so he’s telling Deku to listen up

YESSSSSSSSS

I wonder how many people guessed this before it was revealed. Horikoshi did an excellent job making it look like his power was just out of control again, honestly. this probably came out of left field for a lot of people

since I unfortunately can’t give you a genuine shocked reaction now, let me instead try to summarize my response when I first came across this spoiler.

DRAMATIZATION:

me: [reading through a post that didn’t seem to contain any spoilers that I didn’t already know] haha what a fine post

post: [gets to a part where it’s like “warning, spoilers” and then just JUMPS RIGHT INTO THE SPOILER RIGHT AWAY without any further ado]

me: [not understanding what just happened yet] wait what

post: blahblahblahSIXQUIRKS

me: [still hasn’t fully processed yet due to my sleepy brain] huh what. six

me: ...

me: wait WHAT

and at this point my brain finally kicked into gear, and it just hit me all at once that (1) I knew there was gonna be more OFA stuff coming up (back when I did the recap for Deku VS Shinsou way back in the sports festival arc, someone mentioned that the manga had gotten into the OFA Past Avatars shit again recently -- this was back in like September -- and so it was kind of in the back of my mind ever since then, just waiting to be remembered at a critical moment), (2) said OFA stuff would presumably consist of him learning to communicate with the Ghosts of OFAs Past in precisely the way that All Might said he couldn’t, (3) I also knew from a comment in this post that there was some power-up coming up for Deku at some point that was considered a spoiler, and lastly (4) the math added up. this last part just came to me in a whoosh. I have no idea how it all came together so quickly. but some very logical part of me waltzed in holding a corn cob pipe and was all, “you know, if Deku is the 9th OFA user and he, All Might, and OFA Prime didn’t have quirks*, that means there were six remaining OFA users who presumably did,” and I was like “NOOOOOOOOO WAAAAAAY?!” and I started freaking the fuck out. so anyway that’s how it all happened god bless

(ETA*: okay so technically Prime did, but his quirk is OFA, so. like. doesn’t count.)

anyways I really went off on a spiel there. let’s drag our focus back to the present day can we please

so TH is all “our quirks all merged with the core of OFA and have just been sitting here chilling inside it for like aaaaages”

gotta say the visual of this helps a lot. so the quirks are in that tiny lil marble in the middle of Primo’s back, buried deep within all of those flames of power

oh shit wait, did we say “tiny lil”

hmm. is this that quirk singularity bullshit that Seiji was talking about all the way back in the Babysitting Arc. I jump around between translations so much that I didn’t notice until very recently that the word “singularity” was being used in odd ways, and that it was also the word used to describe that phenomenon of quirks evolving until they’re beyond the user’s control

so is this. that

so TH says that One for All itself is growing. but like, look at how he says it though

that is a lot of ominous emphasis there

and Deku’s thinking “but why? what caused this?”

which, I’m glad he thought that, because here I was thinking it was just some natural phenomenon that All Might and Shimura for whatever reason never unlocked. but just like that he’s made me realize that this might be tied in to AFO somehow. didn’t he say just a couple chapters ago that he could hear the voice of his dead bro?

(ETA: yeah, listen guys, there is some shady shit going on here. part of it is the quirk singularity stuff, I’m sure, but there’s a lot of suspiciously coincidental stuff happening. but I will tell you more about my thoughts on this in a separate post, I think, because it’s something I’ve been pondering for a while now and I think it’s better suited to its own theory post.)

oh but TH says that right before the power erupted out of him, Deku was probably thinking something like “GETTIM”

and Deku’s sweating and thinking that he was indeed thinking about capturing Monoma

yeah to beat the shit out of him for insulting your boyfriend

so presumably he activated this quirk somehow which is meant to be a capture quirk?

OOOH

IT’S SEXY

that was honest to god my first thought. look at how elegant it is when he uses it. nothing like Deku’s out-of-control Venom rampage

here. this is what it reminds me of

ah, I see. so TH says that OFA’s power has been added to the black whip quirk now, so now it’s like it’s on steroids

AHH

DON’T DO THAT ALL SUDDENLY, HOLD UP, THIS WAS JUST GETTING INTERESTING

ah shit. so he’s starting to fade away

but you do exist! you’re real! you live on inside the quirk!

so you hear that, All Might? when you inevitably die your stupid fucked up tragic death that poor Nighteye foresaw and was tormented by, once you’re done ripping my heart to pieces, you can come back and still give Deku mentor advice within his mind. like Dumbledore in Deathly Hallows, only with less “sorry about dumping you on your abusive relatives and raising you to be a sacrificial lamb”

anyways the point is the two of you are bonded forever within OFA now, and that’s a comforting thought that I’m gonna hold onto for when shit eventually gets Real, however far along down the road that may be

oh okay good, before he goes he’s giving Deku advice on how to control it

he says that if Deku wields the power in anger, the power will respond accordingly

(ETA: and there’s literally a flashback panel of Monoma being all “REMEMBER WHEN BAKUGOU DESTROYED SOCIETY” lmao. just to remind everyone yet again of what exactly it was that set him off.)

good thing he’s not an empathetic young shounen hero prone to being roused to action and acting impulsively to the point where that was literally the deciding factor that made All Might choose him. oh wait. oh shit

but TH does say that it’s fine to get angry and that anger is one source of power

wow. just let that sink in for a second. so here’s a wise old mentor ghost actually telling the hero that he doesn’t have to be some perfect zen monk all the damn time. damn. hey TH I really do like you my dude

but anyways, so “that’s exactly why you must have careful control over that anger”

so basically you can use it to power up your quirk, but you gotta keep a rein on it otherwise we’ll wind up with a repeat of what just went down

YESSSSSSS AWWWWWW HERE IT GOESSSSSS

and that was the sound of fans across the world either ragequitting or losing their fucking shit in excitement lol

but okay, so me personally, I fucking love it. I know fandom is somewhat divided on whether he’s going to be too overpowered, but look at him! he has his fucking hands full just getting a handle on this one single new quirk! it’s not like he’s gonna just master this and the other five overnight. basically this is a brand new challenge for him which will take quite some time (if not the remainder of the series) for him to get a handle on, and which will make for much more interesting and unpredictable battles from here on out. and what with All Might gone, and us having pretty much seen the limits of what Endeavor can handle now, I gotta say it seems like we’re gonna need this sooner than later

(ETA: especially with the recent reveal of just what he’s going to be up against. bad guys are not fucking around holy shit.)

and strangely, this also makes me excited as a Bakugou fan because I still firmly believe that the two of them will remain head to head as the series progresses. which means that Bakugou is going to get a hell of a lot stronger himself. I don’t know how, but I have faith in the series to make it happen, and I’m looking forward to that as well

anyway, so TH is fading away, but he really has a lot of confidence in Deku and I love it

“you’re going to be the one who completes One for All.” fuck yeah. you hear that Deku? we all agree this is your destiny kiddo

and now we’re finally cutting back to the real world yaaaaaay

so Ochako is frantically shaking him

her slap probably did hurt. she’s fucking strong as hell. but he’s all right

so she’s setting him down and he’s realizing that the quirk has vanished (ah yes, that’s right, he went into that trance OFA dream state as soon as Shinsou’s quirk activated, and he was pretty out of it when the quirk was receding)

and she’s explaining that they were able to calm it down with Shinsou’s quirk. thanks for the assist Shinsou!

so like is this battle still on though or what lol. I think that Deku’s team should concede and call it a day because yikes

so Ochako’s asking him if he’s okay now and he’s just now realizing that she’s all banged up too. I guess that black whip packed a punch

HEY WHAT

FUCKING HELL MONOMA, YOU LITERALLY DON’T EVEN KNOW IF HE’S OKAY YET AND YOU’RE PULLING THIS SHIT ANYWAY. CAN YOU GIVE IT A REST FOR TWO FUCKING SECONDS OMG

also did he just snatch OFA?? I’ve been wondering for ages what would happen if he did that, and I gotta say most of my speculation didn’t end very well for him

anyways, sigh, so he’s whapping Deku with the giant bolt he just rode in there on. Yanagi’s quirk combined with Kodai’s quirk

and Deku’s stupidly shouting “Monoma!” and he’s lucky that Monoma didn’t just activate Shinsou’s quirk right there and then

and now Ochako is charging in yessssssssss!!!

FUCK HIM UPPPPPPP OCHAKO lol

ahh but here come more giant flying objects crashing down at them

and now Yanagi is asking Monoma if he’s all right and he’s complimenting her on her good timing

well would you look at this

so are we just going to have a big fucking brawl right here and now then

Kodai’s using her size quirk to block Mina and Mineta’s attacks, and it occurs to me to wonder what level of acid Mina was flinging at them. you know, Mina’s someone who could be pretty fucking deadly if she wanted to. they’re lucky she’s not on the villain side; with her charisma and creativity and fucking acid quirk she could probably take over the world with ease

anyway so now this is happening

honestly, Vlad and Aizawa, you really might as well call the fight off now lol

or don’t. because this is still entertaining

meanwhile Deku and Ochako are watching from above

“you wanna go get some burgers or something”

lol are you gonna help your teammates out or are you just gonna crouch there all day

Deku’s thinking back on TH’s words about how he needs to be in control of his heart and how if he wields his power in anger shit’s gonna get wrecked

uh oh

Shinsou being a sneaky sneak. but they owe him one though

lol it didn’t do much though

you tried, Shinsou

Deku’s narrating that he’s got so much going on in his head right now he can barely think, but he knows he can’t allow himself to go out of control and hurt everyone again

and now we’re cutting to the teachers who have snuck onto the stage and are watching from the shadows

Vlad’s asking Aizawa what they should do

Aizawa you’re so fucking hot as always good grief. I like your thoughtful face as you ponder how to address this later on, while also thinking that in the meantime you wanna keep watching and see how your protege fares against your problem child

haha okay

THE 5TH SET SHALL CONTINUE, EVERYONE! LOOKS LIKE THE BATTLE’S BACK ON FOLKS

next issue has a color page yaaaay. should be the 4th popularity poll results at long last if I’m not mistaken. MIRIO’S REVENGE. or mine, if he’s not represented the way he should be

meanwhile watch fucking Hawks be in like 1st place. except he’s not unseating the big three, probably, but after that who knows. sky’s the limit, and this boy can fly, so

(ETA: motherfucker made it all the way up to 4th place lol called it. apparently I missed when the results were originally announced back with chapter 207. still not sure how. but anyways I’ll post all my thoughts about it tomorrow lol)

[chromemuffin]

Quan Zhi Gao Shou / The King’s Avatar Novel (Vol. 1, Ch. 1-10)

How these liveblogs work: I read five chapters of the manhua at a time, then the equivalent chapters in the novel. This is probably going to take forever seeing as there are 800+ translated chapters available as of the time of writing this post and over 1000 chapters total, buuut at least each chapter is short.

Fair warning: I always sound as if I don’t like what I’m reading or I’m criticizing it (just read my captive prince liveblog lol...), but I am actually enjoying it immensely.

Volume 1: Banished Battle God

Chapter 1: The Banished Battle God

My first comment of the entire novels: What is with the “eccentrically-shaped ashtray”? It doesn’t specify what this ashtray looks like, only that it’s unusual. Why include this detail in the first place if you’re not going to tell us what it’s actually shaped like? Now I need to know!

This was also in the manhua, but I didn’t bother bringing it up then: Why was the first bit of dialogue translated as “Arrived”? I’m pretty sure it’s this character: 来. I never managed to learn enough Chinese to be worth a damn, but I do Japanese to English translations on the side and I’m pretty sure a loose translation would work better. idk, it just bothers me. Don’t mind me, though. I like nitpicking over translation stuff. And I won’t get to do much more of it.

Anyway.

“He gently removed the card from Glory’s dedicated log-in device.”

I love this description, a little throwaway word ‘gently’ tells so much about Ye Xiu as a guy who really loves and respects this game. I think he already know what is in store for him to some extent, but he doesn’t take it out on the game. In fact, he was playing right up until it was time for the meeting. The novel states that the manager didn’t even him any advanced notice, I’m assuming of their decision to remove him from the team, but that Yu Xiu also wasn’t surprised.

“Only they quickly recovered because there was another important person that deserved their attention.”

Hm, pretty girl or new team leader asshole? Tough decision indeed.

Ah, ok. So that’s the deal with his pseudonym. It’s so close to his real name (in English lettering at least) that I confuse the two. But it’s far easier to tell the difference when I look at the characters 叶修 / 叶秋.

It’s kind of confusing because (at least in the translation), he is referred to as his alias Ye Qiu in this chapter, whereas the summary and other places refer to him as Ye Xiu.

lol “Mine!” How shameless.

“After one year, even if he wanted to return again, for the elderly, without a year of intense competition to maintain his skills...”

‘for the elderly’ is just...hilarious because he’s only 25. that’s not old. (well, in this game’s context it is, but geez is that an early cut-off age)

Chapter 2: Area 3 Number 47

“As tactful as he is, he wouldn’t think to blame the club for retiring him.”

But that’s?? exactly?? what happened??? You’re already kicking him out after all he did for the team over the years. I mean, it’s a sound business decision, but no need to be so nasty about it. The stuff Ye Xiu pulls off in-game aside, he seems to be a relatively decent person, even going as far as helping out his friends to the point where he doesn’t have enough left to pay the penalty fee, whatever amount that is.

Ah, Su Mucheng, I like her the more times I read these opening scenes across the various media...She has a cute character design in the animation, which I watched when it came out, but she actually turns out to be quite mature and adorably worried/supportive.

Icicles also formed on his head. If he didn’t take shelter, he would die.

Seems a bit dramatic, but so is icicles forming on your head!! It must be really, really cold out, huh...

Su MuCheng was always gentle and serene. Even during in an intense PK confrontation, she always held a smile. Speaking about her, Ye Qiu sometimes watched as she smiled while causing her opponents to explode into pieces. When she then politely said sorry, he would always inexplicably tremble a bit.

ah, yes, I’m pretty sure the animation skips this observation, which builds a bit more character for Su Mucheng since we don’t see her again for a bit. Ye Xiu, also, seems a bit more “alive” in a sense in the manhua/novel, because of little comments like these.

Chen Guo is also a fun character ^.^ “She slammed the keyboard directly shutting down the game.” definition of a rage quit, huh.

Chapter 3: Special Duty: Night Shift

“My hands were frozen cold or else 30 seconds would’ve been enough.”

show off. Though he doesn’t really come off as showing off. The poor opponent must have been so confused, though. Wins 52 times in a row and suddenly gets beat in 40 seconds flat haha.

“Ye Xiu… … Ye Qiu? It really is him!” Chen Guo excitedly thought. It looked like she really had uncovered his hidden identity! This showed that he really was Ye Qiu. If she had seen the name Ye Qiu written, then she wouldn’t have believed it.

This part confused me a bit in the manhua, but it’s clearer here. At least the Ye Xiu/Qiu mess is clarified early on. Still don’t know why the narrative refers to him as Ye Qiu in the beginning if his name is actually Ye Xiu (and is the one used in the summary)...??

She had been prepared to use everything she owned to get his signature. Ye Qiu’s signature, ah! Who had it? No one!

Chen Guo’s thought process is just fun to go along with, haha she’s so dramatic. And also works well narrative-wise to show how popular Glory is. I mean, she works at an internet cafe but that doesn’t mean she has to be into Glory herself; but she is, played for a long time, and is up to date with the professional scene to some degree if she knows the names and faces of all of Excellent Era’s members.

...she [had] a strong urge to change the word Xiu into Qiu.

haha.

“Oh, so it’s like this… … how generous.” Chen Guo sighed with sorrow. This person’s strength was powerful, his account definitely wouldn’t be weak. Powerful accounts were extremely valuable. Gifting it away so easily was very valiant.

The irony in this part never fails to amuse me.

Later, in Glory’s fifth expansion, a lot of experts obtained the qualifications to complete the Challenge skill becoming the first ones possessing access to all servers.

This is an interesting tidbit. I like the novel, where it’s easier to absorb all the rules of the game/professional scene.

Ah, so the account card Ye Xiu uses is actually one from 10 years ago? And he held onto it for this whole time, not using it. That’s...pretty amazing, I would have lost mine after 10 years.

His hair looked as if it hadn’t been taken care of in at least half a month. His face didn’t look too healthy. Although it was white and clear, it was that sort of sickly pale. His two eyes gazed at her listlessly...The guy in front of her didn’t look too young, but was unexpectedly also so dejected and disdained.

I remember people being upset that he looked more handsome in his other appearances. He’s the sort to not care about appearances, and I guess he doesn’t get out much, stuck inside playing Glory all day. But, well, if he looks dejected and disdained it’s probably from what just happened.

“full-time night cat“ AH this is why the manhua drew him as a cat when he said he likes nights. I guess it’s an expression.

His approving attitude made Chen Guo feel very apologetic. This small storage room truly wasn’t a place for living.

lol not to mention Chen Guo drops a bucket of paint on top of the bed along with a whole shelf in the manhua. She didn’t seem as apologetic in the other mediums as she does here, though.

Even after all this, he had never asked for his boss’s name.

haha kind of important don’t you think.

Chapter 4: Mysterious Expert

“If you also want to go out and eat, don’t ask my employees to go on an errand for you.” Chen Guo said.

“Next time, could you tell us in advance? Can’t you help deliver it to us?” A person said.

“The Internet Cafe only has so many people. How could we deliver it all back? Enough of this nonsense, if you really want to eat so much but are too lazy to buy it, go ask for their phone number. Wouldn’t they be willing to deliver it?” Chen Guo said.

“Sister Chen do you have their number? Lend it to me so I can copy it down.” A person said.

“What would I do with their phone number? I have people to run errands for me. Why would I inconvenience the restaurant?” Chen Guo said.

Chen Guo is pleasantly vicious. I wasn’t overly fond of her in the animation, but she has great expressions in the manhua, and her dialogue is just great in the novel.

lol “it looks like I’m forcing him play.”

This Heavenly Domain wasn’t a single map. It was another world. The map was as big as the combined worlds of five other servers. This place had difficult instance dungeons, powerful equipment, precious materials, and also freedom. All experts would meet up there. The Heavenly Domain was a player’s final destination.

So that’s what the Heavenly Domain is...I don’t know if I ever quite figured it out casually watching the animation.

“Don’t fake it. You actually haven’t retired. It’s just that you were unable to win a seat, so you were kicked out right?” Chen Guo said.

Ye Xiu was speechless.

“No offense… …” Chen Guo realized that her words had somewhat stabbed at his sore spot.

Way to hit it where it hurts! Unintentionally, of course. I seem to like manhua Ye Xiu for his expressions, and novel Chen Guo because it actually gives some more depth to her character.

“Oh so it’s like this?” Tears streamed down Ye Xiu’s cheeks. Ye Qiu was currently chatting with you face to face, sister.

lol wait is this just an expression or- he’s not actually tearing up in this scene is he.

“Oh?” when Ye Xiu flipped to the last page and looked, a sudden wave of shame hit. Thinking about it, this hand guide hadn’t changed much over ten years. This was something players couldn’t update any further. For missions that veterans would choose, how could no one have come up with this type of strategy already? Right now, he needed this type of strategy. Just as Ye Xiu was ready to follow this strategy to take missions, tears immediately began streaming down his face. He was once regarded as textbook level figure! Now with a beginners guide in his hands, how could he endure this shame?

Ye Xiu’s a lot, ah, more expressive than the animation gives him credit for. I’m sorry, I laughed. He’s just so thrown off by having to start from scratch.

Chapter 5: Skill Match

But at this point everyone was still level 0. Their jumping abilities were too poor and there was no way they could jump high enough. Everyone repeatedly bouncing up and down was truly a cute and beautiful scene.

WHAT LOL Ok this wasn’t in the manhua was it, it’s indeed a glorious image. I like how the narrator even describes it as a ‘cute’ scene haha.

Aah, I appreciate the little break away to explain the mechanics of the game. It’s not terribly useful seeing as the game doesn’t actually exist in real life, but it’s decently interesting.

But if this skill set that had been picked by peak-level expert like him was seen by ordinary players, they would definitely laugh.

And an area where Ye Xiu doesn’t have to feel ashamed of, haha.

Chapter 6: Thousand Chance Umbrella

It’s not as if it wasn’t explained in other mediums, but the novel definitely has the time to go through all the details like the evolution of Glory’s class system and why no one would suspect anyone to play the ‘unspecialized class’ anymore.

Soon after, he directly headed to the storage chest in the warehouse and opened it. An equipment unexpectedly lay inside.

Accounts that transferred servers should be empty...

But Lord Grim, which had just transferred to the tenth server, unexpectedly had an equipment inside.

No one knew how this happened, but it seemed as if Ye Xiu had been expecting it. He knew that he would find an equipment here...

This, too, is interesting! Because it seems as if the warehouse pops up out of nowhere in the other mediums, and you’re not really sure if it’s something that everyone else can access or not if you weren’t paying attention to the fact that the umbrella is a ‘silver’ weapon and thus a unique item that no one else would be able to acquire.

...there wasn’t a trace of happiness in Ye Xiu’s expression. On the contrary, it was filled with grief. A rare tremble once again emerged on his right hand.

but then, there’s this. ;-;

The customizable/self-made weaponry is actually quite smart. Reminds me of the custom furniture you can make and add to the Sims... (look, I really am not a gamer haha, I have no clue how many real life games have similar features) I didn’t really understand what was so special about the umbrella before (I probably wasn’t paying 100% attention...).

Only, it could be a unique surpassing peak Epic equipment or it could also be a unique piece of trash.

Or it could be a unique piece of trash. hahaha 

Ye Xiu gently retrieved the Thousand Chance Umbrella and placed it in Lord Grim’s hands.

Also the fact that he, gently, places a bunch of pixels into his inventory/avatar’s hands is telling how much this game and this item in particular mean to him.

Damn, reading about playing a game really puts me in the mood to play a game, too. I don’t really play games like this one, though...

Chapter 7: Midnight Phantom Cat

You saw clearly, spoke well, planned well, but in the end because of a single unexpected accident, your dreams and hopes all disappeared into nothing leaving only this incomplete Thousand Chance Umbrella to me.

“You originally had talent in Glory, a successful talent… …” His fingers gently wiped over the keyboard. With a quiver, Lord Grim cast a heal onto Sleeping Moon’s body. When Sleeping Moon promptly praised him again, Ye Xiu’s mind was no longer in the game.

More sad hints of the past. .-. 

“It’s here.” Ye Xiu saw that typing might have been slow, so he immediately yelled vaguely. His mouth still held onto the cigarette!

Ooh! He spoke! Or, ahem, ‘yelled vaguely’.

He was even a little skeptical thinking that his healing might snatch away the enemy.

Don’t you hate it when you’re minding your own business, not even fighting, and the monster goes to attack you anyway? lol you know how many times my teammates died from that in Final Fantasy Type-0...the worst part is that you can only control one of the 3 party members at a time, so to save them you have to keep switching between characters. or deal with having no one to heal you and only bring 1 character. idk I really liked that game.

Beautiful! Ye Xiu couldn’t help but praise him.

lol lots of praise going around in-game. everyone’s still playing nice-nice. Well, in Ye Xiu’s case I guess he is genuinely praising him.

Ah, so Ye Xiu was actually going to warn the others, was he. He just didn’t get the chance. I wondered if he purposely didn’t say anything even if he knew Sleeping Moon’s plan, I can’t remember what happened in the animation.

Chapter 8:  A Life and Death Struggle

In these seven seconds, not only would the mage die but Fallen Sun would die too. He might as well try to save one of them.

Ye Xiu had lost faith in Sleeping Moon and directly abandoned the mage to heal Fallen Sun.

I do like how they handled the back and forth for the battle scene here, it doesn’t have too much of a lag between action while explaining Ye Xiu’s thought process.

He couldn’t tell if Fallen Sun had bad luck attached to him. Right when the Bleed status wore off, the Midnight Demon Cat swiped at him again causing him to Bleed yet again. These types of status inducing attacks only had a small probability to appear. But it seemed as if someone added a 100% percent probability halo around Fallen Sun.

Don’t you hate it when that happens. I don’t think anything fishy is up? He just had bad luck. It’s also totally relatable haha. 

Could it be that this guy had seen through his own own plan at that time?

Sleeping Moon sure manages to get a lot of musings into the space between attacks here. This is funny though, because the novel gives confirmation that Ye Xiu only realized this recently, when Sleeping Moon purposely let the others get attacked. He isn’t that godly that he realized it from the start.

“50%? I like 100%!” and “...be at ease and drop dead!”

lol and there the shamelessness comes out. Well, Ye Xiu also lost all respect for this guy so.

Furthermore, he opened it extremely exaggeratedly and the umbrella actually flipped the other way. He retracted the umbrella a bit...

Um, so this is possible with a real umbrella of course, but a virtual one too...?

Chapter 9: Ye Xiu’s Two Hands

A pair of hands that made people’s cheeks stream with tears appeared in front of her eyes — Ye Xiu’s two hands.

Those must be some pretty impressive hands.

The hands were beautiful hands.

And in case you didn’t get it the first time: Ye Xiu has beautiful hands. Well, that is in the chapter title after all.

lol and Chen Guo examining his speed, I guess he must be taking it easy since the boss isn’t a difficult one.

Their banter is also so fun to read~

Chapter 10: Shameless Novice

lol did you really get out of the dungeon just so you could switch computers to get a smoke. I don’t think he particularly cared about finishing it, since it just provides exp probably.

Haha “the shameless novice” but what does Sleeping Moon gain from labeling him a novice? Shameless, yes, to discredit him.

These identical messages mixed together with other anger and hate. Although the system automatically blocked profanities, people’s intelligence were boundless. They used same sounding words to complete their mission.

ah, yes, the ways people get past profanity blockers, particularly fun in languages with hanzi! (hanzi right? Chinese characters?)

“Just because I’m angry doesn’t mean I have to show it.” Ye Xiu didn’t look angry. He was even smiling. While doing so, he logged out of the game and shut down the computer. Changing over to the smoking area was still his current ambitious dream.

Ah, I love this series. He just really wants a smoke.

But I can relate, I’m fairly expressionless most of the time, even when I’m excited.

Only players over level 20 could leave the beginner area. When that happened, PK’ing would be opened up. In the meantime, those level 20 and under could only point fingers and argue.

lol just...lol

But now that he couldn’t form a team, his leveling speed would only increase.

HAHA joke’s on you, it apparently works out better for him, they can’t even start PKing so there’s really no use getting into a tizzy over it...not that that stops people from creating drama. ever.

Lord Grim was equivalent to three people. Furthermore, with Ye Xiu’s skills, he wouldn’t be slower in clearing a dungeon than a five man team. He might even be a bit faster.

The video game context really gives validity to Ye Xiu’s ability to breeze through the early stages of the story as well as his strength being far above the others. Plus, it’s true. There are some games where teammates slow you down, you might as well go at it solo.

“Hello hello.”

xD

What a nice way to end this part! I’ll be bouncing back to the manhua now.

So, yeah, like I said. I’m actually having a lot of fun, the novels don’t linger on the mechanics long enough to become boring. Plus, Ye Xiu’s background - being 25 and already on the pro scene for 7 years - makes all of his overpowered-ness not just believable, but expected. Reading him go through the early stages of the game is sort of like watching a let’s play - relaxing.

[unassumingvenusaur]

FLORA/SILAS C-S SUPPORT

idk who was responsible for giving me a sudden burst of motivation and creativity last weekend but i owe them my life i hope they know. i have a flora/sophie pc almost ready, literally just half of the a support left before writing is finished, so don’t worry about it! i’ll definitely get it in before the deadline note regarding horse names: 1) sugarcane and avel 2) i wanted to make an fe reference for Flora’s horse, but i thought that ninian was already used for someone and just “nils” was a bit too heavy handed. so nelson. you’re welcome to change it into something prettier or w/e i don’t care it’s a horse

hope you enjoy!

[idk if you’re publishing this but if you are you should probably put a read more here]

—- C SUPPORT

Silas (Neutral): Oh, Flora, wait up! I’ve been looking for you! Flora (Neutral): …Silas. Do you need something? I’m a bit busy at the moment. Silas (Cocky): Then I’ll make it quick; thank you for helping me out in that last battle! Silas (Neutral): I thought I was a goner when I saw those beast-slaying lances… Silas (Cocky): But thank the gods you came along! You really saved me back there. Flora (Closed eyes): I helped an ally. Anyone in my place could have done what I did. Flora (Closed eyes): You put too much stock in my actions. Silas (Neutral): Then I believe you put too little. Silas (Neutral): Even so, what you did shouldn’t be downplayed. Silas (Smile): You were the one that saved my life, after all! I really owe you one. Flora (Neutral): Owe me one? As in you owe me a favor? Silas (Smile): Yeah, sure! Silas (Cocky): If you need anything… so long as it’s legal, I’ll give you a hand. Flora (Neutral): Could you bring me anywhere I want to go? Silas (Neutral): Why not? Provided it’s not too far though, considering the war. Flora (Distress, Sweat): Oh… Flora (Closed eyes): Then… then it’s fine. Your gratitude is enough. Flora (Closed eyes): As a maid, I shouldn’t stray too far from Lord/Lady Corrin anyways. Flora (Closed eyes): With the war at such a critical point, I should focus on my work. Flora (Frown): Not be playing around doing whatever I want. Flora (Distress): As if I have the freedom to do so… Silas (Neutral): Freedom… Silas (Neutral): … Silas (Neutral): …Maybe we can’t stray too far from the others… Silas (Smile): But how about some horseback riding? Flora (Neutral Sweat): Horseback riding? To where, exactly? Silas (Smile): There’s nothing wrong with a little leisure time. Silas (Smile): Think of it as a chance to refresh yourself and unwind from your chores Silas (Smile): What do you say? Flora (Distress): … Silas (Smile): I don’t know about you, but I feel so free when I’m riding a horse. Silas (Cocky): Feeling the breeze, galloping faster than the wind… Silas (Smile): It’s such an exhilarating experience. I’d love to share that with someone. Flora (Closed eyes, Sweat): Silas… it’s a nice thought, but… unfortunately there’s still too much work to do. Silas (Neutral): Ah. That’s fine, then. Silas (Neutral): But if you ever change your mind, the offer’s still on the table. Silas (Neutral): I’ll make time for you. Flora (Smile, Sweat): I’ll keep it in mind, then. Silas (Smile): Alright! I won’t distract you anymore. I have some errands to run myself. Silas (Smile): It was nice talking to you again! Take care! [Silas leaves] Flora (Frown): Still the same foolish boy, then. Flora (Frown): Hmph. “The freedom of horseback riding…” Flora (Frown): “Going wherever you want to go…” Flora (Closed eyes): … Flora (Distress): Freedom…

—- B SUPPORT Silas (Smile): …And there! All finished with your grooming for the day, Nelson! Flora (Smile): He certainly looks like a happy horse. Silas (Smile): Oh, Flora! You’re not usually here this late in the afternoon. Need something? Flora (Closed eyes): I’ve been thinking about what you said a few days ago. Flora (Neutral): …I think I’ll take you up on that offer to go riding together. If you don’t mind me running a few errands, that is. Silas (Smile): I don’t mind! That’s great! And we can leave now if you need to. Flora (Neutral): That’d be ideal. What horse will I be riding? The one next to you? Silas (Distress): Nelson? Uh, maybe not. He’s pretty cold to new people. Silas (Frown): If he hasn’t warmed up to you, he wouldn’t even give you the time of day. Silas (Neutral): But if you need a horse, I wouldn’t mind loaning Sugarcane to you. Flora (Neutral): Sugarcane? Silas (Smile): My own horse. Here, let me show you her stable… Silas (Smile): Right over here! Flora, this is Sugarcane. Sugarcane, Flora. Flora (Smile): Ah.. hello, Sugarcane. Silas (Smile): Would you like to pet her? She’s very friendly, even with strangers. Flora (Neutral): I suppose it wouldn’t hurt… Flora (Smile): Oh! Hi, Sugarcane… are you sniffing my hand? Silas (Smile): That’s her way of saying hello! She likes you already! Silas (Neutral): Let’s get her tack on quickly so that we can leave. It’s back here… [Scene change] Flora (Smile): Carrots, check… replacement tea set, check… okay, that’s everything! We can start heading back now. Flora (Neutral): Is Nelson doing okay with carrying most of the goods? Silas (Cocky): He’s trained to carry heavier weights than a couple of vegetables. Silas (Cocky): I have faith in him. Flora (Neutral): Ah, okay. Oh, I meant to ask earlier… it doesn’t seem like Nelson is your horse. Silas (Neutral): No, he’s not my horse. Nelson isn’t anyone’s horse, really. Silas (Frown): We found him a while ago after a battle, armored but riderless. Silas (Neutral): He’s sitting in the wings in case another horse gets injured. In the meantime, he’s my responsibility. Flora (Smile): I see. I’d offer to help, but you seemed to be enjoying yourself with taking care of Nelson. Flora (Closed eyes): And… well, we never kept horses in the Ice Tribe. Flora (Closed eyes): Lilith and Jakob minded the horses, so Felicia and I never learned how to care for them. Silas (Neutral): As I understand it, the Ice Tribe isn’t known for having mounted fighters. Flora (Frown): It’s too icy and treacherous for us to fight on horseback. Flora (Distress): And even now, just riding a horse feels strange to me. Flora (Neutral): But I understand why people like riding horses so much. Flora (Neutral): Even this road that I’ve been on countless times looks differently from where I’m sitting. Flora (Smile): Look at the rolling hills of the countryside! And those mountains in the distance! Flora (Smile): Could you imagine standing on the peaks of that mountain? Flora (Smile): I wish we weren’t on the march right now, I’d love to travel there. Silas (Smile): Yeah, it’s too bad about the war. Silas (Smile): But  I heard that there’s plenty of places to visit that are close by. Silas (Cocky): For one, there’s the ruins of a magnificent castle, rumored to have a hoard of treasure protected by a ghostly wyvern. Silas (Cocky): And soon we’ll be passing by a town that’s widely known for their perfumes and fabrics. Silas (Smile): I wouldn’t mind bringing you to those places if you wanted to. Flora (Frown): Hmm? There’s no need to. You don’t owe me any favors anymore. Silas (Neutral): Friends don’t need to owe each other favors to hang out together. Silas (Smile): We can even bring Nelson and Sugarcane along for the ride! Flora (Frown): Are you sure? Silas (Smile): Yeah! They both need to exercise daily anyways- Flora (Frown, Sweat): No, I meant what about you? Are you really willing to do this? Silas (Cocky): Of course. I’d do it for my friends. You, [AVATAR], Felicia… hell, even Jakob if he’d let me. Flora (Frown): … Silas (Distress, Sweat): Uh… Flora? Flora (Smile): …Then I suppose I’ll have to hold you to your word. Silas (Smile): Haha, I will! Silas (Smile): I’ll have to start planning our trips as soon as possible, then! We have to hurry back! [Silas leaves] Flora (Distress, Sweat): H-hey! Silas, don’t leave me in the dust!

—- A SUPPORT [Flora enters] Flora (Smile, Sweat): Go, go, go, Sugarcane! Just a bit farther! And… yes! We win this race! [Silas enters] Silas (Distress, Sweat): Damn! Good race, Flora! Flora (Smile, Sweat): Hah… hah…. That was exhilarating! Flora (Smile): Galloping faster than the wind, with the breeze in my hair… Flora (Smile): What an experience! And I couldn’t have done it without you, Sugarcane. Silas (Distress): I’m surprised how close that was, considering Sugarcane’s not the fastest horse around… Silas (Smile): I’m starting to suspect that Nelson let you win. He really took a shine to you recently! Silas (Smile): I can’t be upset about you two enjoying yourselves. Silas (Distress, Sweat): Even if this means that I have to answer another question of yours… Flora (Frown): No complaints. You suggested asking each other yes or no questions in the first. Flora (Frown): AND you were the one that first suggested the race. Flora (Smile): “Winner gets to ask the next question.” It’s my turn now. Silas (Smile): Haha, okay, okay. So what’s my question? Silas (Cocky): “Do you have a crush on someone?” “Do you sleep with your socks on?” Flora (Closed eyes): …No, it’s more serious. It’s been bothering me for a while now. Flora (Frown): Since I came back, you’ve been friendlier with me than I expected. Silas (Frown, Sweat): Is that… a bad thing? Flora (Frown): By itself, no. But… Flora (Closed eyes): I betrayed Lord/Lady [AVATAR]. There’s no hiding that fact, the entire camp knows it. Flora (Closed eyes): And yet I haven’t heard a word of distaste or disgust from you regarding me. Why? Silas (Frown): …This question requires a little more than a simple yes or no to answer. Silas (Frown): The Ice Tribe has no reason to fight in a war between Nohr and Hoshido. Silas (Frown): And if you chose to, I’m sure [AVATAR]’ll let you go back home with a horse and provisions. Silas (Neutral): And yet you came to us, and stayed with us, out of your own volition. Silas (Neutral): You’ve done too much for [AVATAR] just to betray him/her again. Silas (Frown): Could you betray [AVATAR]? Yes, it’s possible. Silas (Neutral): Do I trust you not to? Also yes. Not much more to it than that. Flora (Neutral): …Maybe you’re right about Lord/Lady [AVATAR] being willing to let me go back to the Ice Tribe. Flora (Distress): I’ve known that, and yet… I can’t bring myself to leave his/her side as he/she fights this war. Flora (Frown): If I was a child, I would have gladly left Lord/Lady [AVATAR]’s service without hesitation. Flora (Closed eyes): Perhaps I’ve grown softer over the years, to care so much for the person that I was forced to serve. Silas (Neutral): …I remember my first few months as [AVATAR]’s companion. Silas (Frown): I sat with [AVATAR] through every lesson, accompanied him/her in every activity. Silas (Frown): I was no better than a toy, albeit a breathing one. Silas (Distress, Sweat): If [AVATAR] behaved badly, I’d even be taken away and locked in my quarters. Silas (Frown): I was trapped in that castle, being used as a tool to control him/her. And I knew it. Silas (Frown): And inside…  I resented [AVATAR] for it. Silas (Neutral): But month by month, as I got to know [AVATAR] and understand his/her situation… Silas (Distress): I realized that we were the same. Two sheltered kids in desperate need of a friend. Silas (Frown): And resentment turned into pity. Silas (Neutral): I “grew softer,” as you put it. I let him/her get closer to me. And the rest is history. Flora (Distress): I never knew… Silas (Neutral): It’s not something I tell people in the first place. Flora (Frown): Even so… You became a knight for the person you one despised. Flora (Frown): It’s not so different from when Felicia decided that she’ll work to become a better maid for him/her. Flora (Closed eyes): I fear I’ll never understand what you two have that I lack. Flora (Distress): What makes you have such a fiery devotion to Lord/Lady [AVATAR] while I remain weak. Flora (Distress): You even risked execution to bring Lord/Lady [AVATAR] beyond the castle walls. Flora (Closed eyes): All for a simple picnic. Flora (Frown): I could only dream of escaping with Felicia… though the results of that picnic brought me back to my senses. Flora (Distress): If I was caught, who would protect Felicia from the headsman’s axe? Who would protect my tribe? Flora (Distress): I would have doomed them… thank the gods I didn’t… Silas (Distress): Flora… I’m sorry. What happened with you and your sister and your tribe… you didn’t deserve it. Silas (Neutral): Even though we were stuck in that Fortress, we’re free now. Silas (Smile): I like to think that we shouldn’t dwell on our past constraints, considering our new freedoms. Silas (Smile): We’re on horses. Though we can’t stray too far, at least there’s no walls to contain us. Flora (Smile): Mmm… That’s true. Silas (Smile): Past us couldn’t explore the woods in search for a spring filled with magical healing water, could they? Flora (Smile): No, they couldn’t. And we won’t either if we keep dawdling here! Silas (Smile): Ah, right! We should get a move on. Silas (Cocky): I look left, you look right, and we continue with our yes-no question game? Flora (Smile): Sounds good to me. Silas (Smile): Good, because it’s my turn to ask a question. When you were a kid…

—- S SUPPORT Flora (Smile): This is the farthest we’ve traveled away of the army… thank you for your help, Nelson. Flora (Smile): You’ve earned a nice rest. Let’s see what’s so special about the hill Silas brought us to. Flora (Smile): The site of a battle between the First Dragons, where soldiers roam the hills in search for their enemies? Flora (Smile): The gathering place of pixies, which prey on unsuspecting humans and feast on their blood? Silas (Smile, Sweat): Ah… no. It’s just a tall hill. You have a clear view of the sky without the trees obstructing your view. Flora (Distress): …Oh. Silas (Distress, Sweat): “Oh?” Sorry for disappointing you, then. Flora (Distress): In comparison to the other places you’ve taken me, a simple hill is very… simple. Silas (Smile): I suppose. But without any distractions, I find it to be quite peaceful. Silas (Smile): The night sky looks especially beautiful tonight. Flora (Neutral): Yes, it does. You can even see the constellations clearly. Silas (Neutral): Really, constellations? I don’t know any, admittedly. Silas (Frown): I grew up in the north. We’re not exactly known for clear skies and sunny days. Flora (Neutral): Then let me show you the ones I know. See those cluster of stars over there? Flora (Neutral): Together they make up the Ice Dragon as it blesses its human champion with its divine blood. Silas (Neutral): The Ice Dragon is a part of Ice Tribe legends, right? Flora (Smile): Right. Even now, it grants its divine protection to our people. Flora (Neutral): …Though, constellations depicting the Dusk Dragon are more meaningful to you, correct? Silas (Smile): Well, I understand the Dusk Dragon more, but I don’t mind learning more about the Ice Dragon. Silas (Neutral): I don’t know anything about Ice Tribe legends. Silas (Smile): And I’m certainly open to learning about them. Flora (Neutral): I’ve noticed. You’ve been asking me quite a lot about the Ice Tribe, lately. Traditions, beliefs, culture… Silas (Neutral, Sweat): Does it make you uncomfortable? Flora (Neutral): Just surprised that a Nohrian of all people would take such genuine interest in it. Flora (Neutral): It’s not often I get to talk about the Ice Tribe culture rather than current events regarding us. Flora (Smile): I’ve grown quite fond of our rides together. Of Sugarcane and Nelson… and of you. Silas (Distress, Sweat, Blush): M-Me? Flora (Smile): Why, of course! Every ride is an adventure with you. You’re great company and an excellent friend. Silas (Smile, Blush): That’s… that’s high praise, Flora. I’m honored. Silas (Frown, Blush): …Actually, speaking of adventures, I-I have something for you. A letter, actually. Flora (Neutral): A letter? Let me see. Flora (Frown): “By the orders of Prince/Princess [AVATAR]…” Flora (Neutral): … Flora (Distress): You’re… you’re giving me… Nelson’s my…? Silas (Smile): He’s assigned to you now. So when we march, you don’t have to be on foot! Silas (Cocky): I’ve seen how much you love that horse. I had to ask [AVATAR] for a favor. Flora (Smile): Silas, I… I don’t know what to say. Thank you so much. Flora (Neutral): Oh! You wrote a note on the bottom too. Flora (Neutral): “In lieu of a traditional gift. I hope that Nelson shines as brightly as any-” Flora (Distress, Sweat, Blush): Ring?! Silas (Neutral): Yes. I meant to propose earlier… Silas (Frown, Sweat): Unfortunately for me, none of the shops we passed on the march sold engagement rings. Silas (Frown, Blush): Flora… I love you. Everything about you makes me so happy. Silas (Neutral, Blush): When we raced together, you on Nelson and me on Sugarcane… Silas (Neutral, Blush): I’d see your hair flowing behind you, hear you laughing, and think… Silas (Distress, Blush): “Oh good gods… I’m about to lose to the most beautiful woman in the world.” Silas (Smile, Blush): I love bringing you to new places. Silas (Smile, Blush): Seeing your eyes light up and watch you get excited over everything new thing. Silas (Smile, Blush): But most of all… as I learned everything about you, all of your strengths and flaws… Silas (Smile, Blush): I loved falling in love with you. Silas (Smile, Blush): And it would please me beyond words if I could make you smile for the rest of our days. Flora (Smile, Blush): Nothing could make me happier than sharing life’s beautiful moments with you. Silas (Smile, Blush): I can’t wait! Silas (Smile): Hey, after the war, let’s ride to the Ice Tribe with Nelson and Sugarcane. Silas (Cocky): We can even get the proper rings on the way there. Flora (Smile): If we’re going to the Ice Tribe, that won’t be strictly necessary. Flora (Smile): We have our own set of customs when it comes to engagement and marriage. Flora (Smile, Blush): We could even have a traditional Ice Tribe wedding! Silas (Smile): That sounds fantastic! Please tell me about it!

Flora (Smile): Then I’ll start with the attire that the bride and groom would wear…