#are not. on point. but they are bizarre and interesting

[aventurineswife]

(Original Idea)

@smokess

It’s been a few weeks since you first arrived in the Devildom. You’ve already made your way through a few of the rougher patches: learning the magic laws, getting used to demon food, and navigating the maze that is the House of Lamentation. But there are still moments when things catch you completely off guard, and today happens to be one of them.

You’ve just been called to the dining room for breakfast, but as you walk in, your thoughts are still buzzing from yesterday’s events. You’re trying to put together how you ended up in this bizarre world full of demons with their own customs, traditions, and... strange ways of doing things.

As you sit down, the brothers—Lucifer, Mammon, Leviathan, Satan, Asmo, and Beel—are already seated, along with Diavolo and Barbatos, who were visiting from the palace. The atmosphere is relaxed, almost too relaxed. They’re chatting, mostly about the latest human technology (Mammon is in a heated debate with Levi over the newest video game release) and general happenings in the Devildom.

But then, as you reach for your plate, your body betrays you.

You start sneezing, repeatedly. It’s not that unusual for you—back on Earth, you’ve had bad allergies before, especially in the spring. But here? You didn’t realize that it was possible for pollen from another dimension to mess with your system.

"Huh, bless you, I suppose." Lucifer comments, his tone a bit dry. He raises an eyebrow as you snatch a napkin and try to muffle another series of sneezes.

"Are you okay?" Beel asks, his voice sincere, though it’s impossible to ignore that he's already eyeing the plate of food in front of you, the steam rising from it. He’s always hungry, always concerned about food, and while you’re trying to focus on the allergy attack, his concern doesn’t help.

"I-I think it’s just my allergies," you manage to choke out between sneezes, your hand scrambling to find something to wipe your nose with.

Barbatos, ever the composed butler, immediately gets up and makes his way over to you with a tray of what looks like...some kind of odd, green liquid in a cup.

"Please drink this, MC. It should help soothe your reaction. We have a lot of unique flora in the Devildom, and they can affect humans in different ways."

You eye the drink with a mixture of suspicion and gratitude. At this point, you don’t really have any other choice.

“What... what’s in this?” you ask, sniffing it carefully.

“It’s a blend of herbs from the underworld,” Barbatos says with a calm smile. “Completely harmless. It should help with your symptoms. But you might want to avoid consuming anything too exotic until your body gets used to the local flora.”

You take a cautious sip. Surprisingly, the liquid doesn’t taste too bad, and within moments, your sneezing fits subside.

"Thanks, Barbatos," you say, giving him a grateful smile, but you're still mentally processing the fact that you might have to get used to demon herbs now.

“So, MC,” Diavolo begins, his voice loud and friendly as always, his large frame leaning toward you with genuine interest, “I wanted to ask, what kind of... ‘treatments’ do humans undergo back home?”

The question catches you off guard. You look around, noticing the brothers are now all paying attention—Diavolo's curiosity seems to have sparked a sudden group interest.

“Treatments?” you ask, hoping you understand the question right.

“You know, for things like... well, if you get sick, or need vaccinations?” Diavolo gestures, his enthusiasm barely contained. “It’s always interesting to hear how humans take care of themselves!”

You blink, processing the concept of vaccines. You realize that in the Devildom, none of these demons are likely familiar with things like flu shots or allergy medication... or even common human ailments like cold and flu. It’s a foreign concept here.

“Uh, well, humans get vaccinated—shots, you know, to prevent diseases? We also go to the doctor for stuff like fevers or injuries.” you say slowly, unsure if they understand what you're saying.

The room goes quiet. Then, unexpectedly, Mammon snickers.

"Wait, so ya all just get stuck with needles?" he asks, looking at you with wide, alarmed eyes. "Why would ya let someone do that to ya? Sounds like torture!"

You let out a small laugh, trying to explain it in a way they'd understand. "It’s for our protection. Without vaccines, we could get really sick from things we can easily avoid."

The demons all exchange looks of utter confusion. Satan looks thoughtful, though, his hand resting under his chin. “That’s... fascinating. So you just... accept being injected with something? No magical potions or healing spells?”

“Nope,” you answer, shaking your head. “Just medicine and stuff we get from the Earth. No magic involved.”

Diavolo claps his hands together in an amused gesture. “How strange! I wonder if that would work in the Devildom... Barbatos, what do you think?”

Barbatos, ever the pragmatic butler, raises an eyebrow. “I’m not entirely sure, My Lord. But I believe it would require a rather significant amount of effort. Perhaps we should stick to what we know works.”

You chuckle nervously, trying not to feel too alien. It’s weird being the only one who understands what vaccines even are, let alone periods, or allergies...

The conversation shifts after a while to other aspects of human life, which you’re not exactly prepared for. After some time, the talk turns to... well, other human customs—especially biological ones.

"So... do humans have... um... I don't know how to say this," Asmo starts, clearly not sure how to word it delicately. "Do humans, uh, have... ‘monthly’... discomforts?”

You freeze mid-bite, the word monthly hanging in the air like an uncomfortable weight. You’ve always been pretty private about your cycle, especially now that you’re in a room full of demons who probably know nothing about it.

“I, uh... it’s called a period,” you mutter, hoping the subject won’t get too awkward.

"A period?" Satan asks, leaning forward, eyes wide with curiosity. "Like... punctuation?"

“No!” you exclaim, mortified. "I mean... it’s a human thing. A... biological process." You sigh, trying to explain without sounding too embarrassed. "It’s a monthly occurrence where... my body, um, prepares for something it doesn’t need. So, it... uh... sheds the lining in the uterus."

The demons stare at you blankly. Even Lucifer, usually composed, looks momentarily baffled.

“And that... happens to you... every month?” Levi asks, horrified. “How do you... I mean, that sounds awful!”

You nod. "It can be uncomfortable. It’s like a... natural part of being human."

Barbatos, ever the tactful one, steps in smoothly, his voice calm. “It seems humans have a great deal to manage in their biology. Fascinating.”

“Right? And we’re just expected to deal with it,” you add, still feeling embarrassed but relieved that they’re not asking too many more questions.

Later, the conversation veers into a discussion about where you came from, your homeland, and your nationality. It’s a tricky subject, especially since most of these demons have never even heard of your country, let alone your hometown.

“So, you’re from Earth, right?” Lucifer asks, tapping his fingers on the table, as if contemplating the situation. “But Earth is so vast. How do you classify your people?”

You pause, unsure how to approach it. “Well, there are countries, and people belong to different nations. I come from a country called...”

The name of your country seems to hang in the air, but as you mention it, the demons exchange confused looks. They’ve never heard of it.

“Wait, so what’s that country like?” Mammon asks, genuinely curious. “What’s ya... currency? What’s the most popular food?”

You try your best to explain, but each question leads to another, and soon you realize how very, very different Earth is from the Devildom.

But as weird and overwhelming as this all is, you realize that these moments of confusion and surprise are part of what makes your time here so unique. The demons may not understand everything about you, but they're clearly invested in learning—whether it’s how to handle your allergies or what a "period" is.

And really, at the end of the day, it's that curiosity and willingness to understand each other that makes the Devildom feel a little more like home every day.

[girlactionfigure]

let Anne Frank rest

NOVEMBER 11, 2024

THIS IS DISRESPECTFUL

ANNE, MARGOT, THEIR MOTHER, AND FATHER WERE ZIONISTS

Here’s the thing: we have absolutely no way of knowing how Anne Frank would feel about today’s Israel-Hamas war, because her life was brutally cut short by the Nazis at just 15 years old. Is it possible that she would be attending pro-Palestine marches and donning keffiyehs? Sure, it’s possible. A minority of Jews do that.  

Here’s what we know for sure: in her own famous diary, Anne Frank wrote that she was interested in Zionism. Her sister, Margot Frank, was an ardent Zionist. She joined the Dutch Zionist youth club in 1941, and hoped to make aliyah (immigrate) to Mandatory Palestine, where she planned on becoming a midwife for the Yishuv (pre-state Jewish community in Palestine).

Otto Frank, the only family member to survive the war, was very, very strongly pro-Israel, particularly after the Holocaust (whereas beforehand, he was slightly more ambivalent, though never anti-Zionist). In fact, in the 1970s, Otto had a disagreement with the Anne Frank House, as he demanded that the museum’s statutes explicitly affirm Israel’s right to exist — a right much of today’s keffiyeh-wearing pro-Palestine movement doesn’t accept.

We don’t know how Anne would feel today. But we do know how most Holocaust survivors feel. Not only do most Holocaust survivors -- like most Jews -- support Israel, but 49% of today’s remaining 245,000 survivors live in Israel. It’s even possible that Anne may have moved to Israel had she survived the war; after all, Israel absorbed nearly 400,000 Holocaust survivor refugees between 1946-1952, including Anne’s childhood best friend, Hanna Goslar.

APPROPRIATION OF OUR TRAUMA, AGAIN

I’ve talked about Holocaust inversion on this account for years. I have numerous posts on it, with more coming. But perhaps I haven’t made this explicitly clear yet: Holocaust inversion -- that is, the depiction of Jews and/or Israelis as Nazis, crypto-Nazis, or “worse than the Nazis” and the Palestinians as the “true” victims of the Holocaust -- is a blatant appropriation of the Jewish people’s worst collective trauma.  

That is not to say that Palestinians don’t endure pain. Of course they do, and pain and trauma can’t exactly be quantified. But this obsession with stripping Jews of our very unique, deeply painful experience and placing it onto someone else is deeply offensive. At a certain point, it almost looks like these people have Holocaust envy, which is bizarre and frankly deeply disturbing.  

Why would you want this? For six years, the international community stood by as nearly 70% of Europe’s Jewish population was exterminated in the most industrialized genocide in human history. Countries all over the world shut their doors to Jewish refugees. The Allies refused to bomb the death camps and the railroads leading to the camps, despite the desperate pleas from the Jewish community. In 1939, there were 16.6 million Jews in the world. Today, 85 years later, we just scrape 15 million. This is not what has ever happened to Palestinians, whose population has not decreased by even half a percentage point since 1948, not even since October 7, and not even in Gaza (as there have been more births than deaths, according to Hamas and Save the Children). 

Even more infuriating? Not even did Palestinian Arab leadership collaborate with the Nazis during the Holocaust -- and in 1948 -- but public opinion polls from the time period demonstrate most Palestinian Arabs favored Nazi Germany. Enough. You don’t get to take this one from us, because your ancestors, too, were complicit during the Holocaust.

STOP IMPOSING IDENTITIES ON JEWS

As I explained in a recent post, antisemitism can arguably be divided into two categories: (1) “Nazi antisemitism,” which seeks to eliminate Jews physically, and (2) “Hanukkah antisemitism,” which seeks to strip Jews of the qualities that make us Jewish. In other words, forced assimilation.

Anne Frank was a Jewish child. She was born in Germany and later became Dutch. Never in her lifetime would she have worn a Palestinian keffiyeh, because at the time, the Palestinian keffiyeh was the official uniform of British officer Sir John Bagot Glubb’s “Desert Patrol,” comprised of Palestinian and Jordanian Arab Bedouins who were loyal to the British police force in Mandatory Palestine. Since Anne Frank was neither a Bedouin nor a member of Glubb’s Desert Patrol, putting the keffiyeh on her -- a murdered child -- is nothing but imposing an identity on her that isn’t hers.  

Maybe this sounds dramatic, or like it shouldn’t be a big deal. But this is also part of a larger pattern of Palestinians appropriating Jewish historical figures and claiming them as their own (the Jesus comes to mind).

And this is not a matter of doing this just to historical figures, but to living, breathing Jews. For example, several of the released Hamas hostages testified that Hamas threatened to forcibly convert them to Islam, much like their ancestors once did to ours when they conquered the Holy Land from the Byzantines in the 7th century.

IF YOU ACTUALLY CARED ABOUT ANNE FRANK, YOU WOULD CARE ABOUT THIS

On November 7, 2024, a premeditated pogrom took place in the streets of Amsterdam -- Anne Frank’s Amsterdam.

Thousands of pro-Palestinians supporters ambushed Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv fans as they were leaving a Maccabi Tel Aviv-AFC Ajax soccer match. Much like on October 7, the perpetrators live-streamed themselves stabbing Israelis and Jews, running over Israelis and Jews, throwing firecrackers at Israelis and Jews, and beating Israelis and Jews to a pulp, as the Amsterdam police looked the other way. They stole their phones and passports, and for some time, some of the victims were missing. Jews tried to hide in a canal, in boats, in a KFC, and more, just like the Franks hid in an attic. The perpetrators forced the victims to shout “free Palestine!” They attacked not just men, but women and children. Not all of the victims were Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, or Israelis, but all of the victims were Jews -- or perceived to be Jews.  

Of course, it wasn’t long until antisemites -- and the mainstream media -- spun the event, which, again, had not only been premeditated, but the perpetrators had dubbed “a Jew hunt” (in fact, it was so premeditated Israel had forewarned the Dutch police). They said it was simply soccer hooligans brawling, or that it happened because the day before, a few Israelis had torn down a Palestinian flag, or because some of the Maccabi fans had chanted racist chants. In this regard, they’re in terrible company: every pogrom in history has had its “justification;” sometimes the justification is based on a true event; other times, it’s pure fiction (e.g. blood libel). Kristallnacht, the pogrom that marks the beginning of the Holocaust, was excused because a Jew killed a German diplomat in Paris.

Are some Maccabi fans racist? It seems so. That’s no justification for an attempted lynching. Imagine if Jews tried to lynch pro-Palestinian protestors every time they chant antisemitic chants (“globalize the intifada,” “Khaybar, Khaybar ya Yahud,” for example), or every time an Israeli flag or hostage poster is torn down. None of us would have jobs, because this happens daily, multiple times a day, everywhere in the world.

For over a year, Dutch Jewish community leaders have warned of a hostile, dangerous environment for Jews in the Netherlands, and in Amsterdam more specifically. The Central Jewish Consultation, the official Jewish umbrella organization in the Netherlands, defined the November 7 mob attacks as a “pogrom” and tied it to the growing antisemitic climate in the country, which existed long before any Maccabi Tel Aviv fans showed up in Amsterdam.

As usual, however, antisemites are tokenizing the words of fringe Jews whose views are not representative of the community. 

The Chief Rabbi of the Netherlands also issued a damning statement, noting the hostile, antisemitic climate in the country.

The above is true. But this is not a one-off event. The Netherlands has been failing the Jewish community for a long, long time. These situations don’t escalate out of nowhere. Instead of offering us your apologies and condolences after the fact, take decisive action.

For a full bibliography of my sources, please head over to my Instagram and  Patreon. 

rootsmetals

another post I started working on before November 7 that suddenly became very relevant…

[kangaracha]

👀 👁️ 😐😀 and 💀 for sotl

sent march 24th, step back and gaze in awe at my ability to find the relevant ask list four months later

👀what’s a fic written by someone else that you REALLY wish you wrote yourself?

thank god i left this so long because now i have the perfect answer for this question.

the DLC fic. no cap, no thought, no further questions.

👁 have you ever accidentally foreshadowed something you fully didn’t intend to happen?

can't think of any specific examples rn but definitely yes. you point out random foreshadowing in guesses all the time, i'm pretty sure you did it to nevermore like the other day. it's pretty cool.

😐which of your fics did you think a lot of people would like but didn’t?

oh, so many. i got underground fics people aint even heard of.

the gone and the gathered, i think. maybe posted at the wrong time, maybe because the main character is a very minor character in the movies or because there's no romance, but...i thought a small fandom like zombies would like something unique like that. somethin fresh but still relevant to the source material. idk.

😀which of your fics did you not think a lot people would like but they did?

the fucking??? cardboard wyatt one????? i had to work so hard to justify making him Like That when i wrote it and i still wasn't ever happy with it like it was just. just something that happened. and yet people keep fuckin coming out of the woodwork saying they love it like ????? even today you said it was one of your favourites, i was shocked. flabbergasted, even. i simply don't understand you people for the love of god let me direct you to any other zombies fic i've written xD

💀if you had to write an alternate ending to [insert fic] how would you end it?

goddammit i was just talking about this in zom mom's ask. well, you know about that night i had a small crisis about the last two parts of tsotl. i went back and reread it and your comments and i was literally struck down by anguish.

i want to. i want to. i can live with sef dying still, i suppose, it hurts me deeply but i can do it. but i want to send marwa back to masyaf. i want it to be her that kills that fucking snake, but i know she's supposed to let it go and go to egypt. i don't know. honestly i think i'm going to give her the satisfaction of reclaiming masyaf, the challenge of making her convincingly give it up when all her life she's wanted to be nowhere else was. challenging but i don't think i can do it without giving her at least a little bit of retribution.

[wonder-worker]

Wild how we know that Elizabeth Woodville was officially appointed to royal councils in her own right during her husband’s reign and fortified the Tower of London in preparation of a siege while 8-months pregnant and had forces gathering at Westminster “in the queen’s name” in 1483 – only for NONE of these things to be even included, let alone explored, in the vast majority of scholarship and historical novels involving her.

[theprinceandthewitch]

See... part of me actually wants to know what Dana's thought process was with Luz's and Hunter's relationship.

Like... why did she decide to make Luz's type of boy "angsty warrior princes" even though Luz's type of boy could have been literally anything else?

Why was Luz's relationship with a prince highlighted as important since WBW? Even going to far as to make Luz write a romantic scene between her and a prince in Sense and Insensitivity. Hunter would not make his debut until season two, but they felt the need to bring him up in SAI.

Why wasn't there more of an effort to make sure Willow was there for all of Hunter's important moments?

Why did they keep hammering in the Lunter = Caleb/Evelyn parallels, even when Luz was dating Amity? If you want to argue Luz had to be there for all of Hunter's moments because she's the protagonist, it doesn't explain why they wrote these parallels. Especially the ones that came up in Hollow Mind and Thanks to Them.

Why is Luz honest with Hunter in Thanks to Them when she has never been honest with how she feels with any other character -- not even her girlfriend? What makes Hunter different from anyone else? She could have just kept how she actually feels to herself and it would have changed nothing. It's not like Hunter wouldn't have given his speech to Luz if she didn't tell him how she feels... cuz she literally tells everyone how she feels after Hunter comes back to life. This decision is strange and unbelievably haunting... because Thanks to Them brought up the Caleb/Evelyn lore in an episode where Luz's relationship with Hunter was the focus... oh okay... i guess this is nbd then. Like I'm just supposed to not make a big deal abt Luz being honest without having the truth forced out of her... okay. I guess i also shouldn't make a big deal about the other choice to have Hunter know Luz's secret in Hollow Mind.

You really just did that for reasons that are toooootally not shippy, huh? Mhm, okay! Sure, I believe you! [this is sarcasm, btw]

Why did WAD make Willow stand in front of Flapjack's grave with Hunter, even though the only other character with significant ties to Flapjack is Luz? WAD even made it clear Luz feels guilty about Flapjacks death... but she still isn't shown to pay respects to Flapjack post timeskip... WAD is gaslighting me into thinking Willow has significant thematic ties with Flapjack... as if she has a deeper relationship with that bird than Luz did. And just to make it even worse, they give EVERYONE Flapjack tattoos even though no other characters besides Luz and Hunter are tied to Flapjack. Especially Amity... like girlies first and last conversation with Hunter was when he made her feel bad about her relationship with Luz in Eclipse Lake... but the show is gaslighting me into thinking Amity and Hunter are friends or something. TOH LOVES tricking me into thinking certain character relationships exist...

I'm not going to ask why Hunter is unconcerned with Luz not coming through the portal right away in FTF because I already know the answer. This episode exists almost exclusively to make sure Hunter's arc ends with him holding pinkies with Willow. FTF is really funny for pulling this little stunt at the beginning because it's completely out of character for Hunter LMAO. Not sure why they've made such a big deal about Luz's and Hunter's relationship, just to pretend like it doesn't exist in FTF; only to then bring it up in WAD by having Hunter and Amity guide Luz out of the illusion... nightmare thing. They just cant stop bringing up Luz's relationship with Hunter even when both of them are dating someone else, it's so crazy.

[whos-hotter-jjba]

Hottest JJBA Outfit Bracket - Kujo Jotaro Preliminary Poll

[peekychu]

Super surreal seeing hyperfixation and special interest enter the mainstream vernacular when sometiems.... An interest is simply an interest lol. These words are losing their original meanings.

It's bonkers to me how many words/terms coined within a niche space (mostly by and for underprivileged groups) gradually fall into the hands of popular white youth, then eventually capital media until the soul is sucked out of the original word. Language is bonkers and nothing is sacred xD

[mariocki]

The Headless Eyes (1971)

"You've tried to alienate yourself but, Mal, I'm here, you -"

"Why? For two years I have been trying to live alone and to be able to accept this. Why are you here?"

"Because you haven't convinced me."

"Of what?"

"That you're incurable."

[tremendouskoalachild]

finally saw Dune Part 2 again and decided to keep track of when/if characters' names are said on-screen for the first time. in order:

Leto Atreides - right away in Irulan's opening monologue

Rabban - early on, addressed as "Lord Rabban" by underlings. his first name is never said and iirc he's never directly referred to as a Harkonnen either.

Jamis - once the Fremen bring his body into the sietch, multiple people exclaim his name, including several subtitled lines in their language ("You killed Jamis!")

Stilgar - shortly upon returning to the sietch, in council with the elders. his name is said often compared to other characters, possibly the most frequently in the film?

Paul - approximately 30 minutes into the film, addressed by Jessica once she wakes up after her Water of Life ordeal

Chani - approximately 40 minutes in, called out by Paul during the Fremen attack on Harkonnen harvester scene

(Usúl and Muad'Dib - in quick succession during Paul's naming scene after the successful attack, approximately 45 minutes in)

(Sihaya - in the following scene)

(Paul Atreides - by Irulan to the Reverend Mother Helen Mohiam, approximately 1 hour 10 minutes in)

Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen - during Irulan's discussion with Mohiam, approximately 1 hour 10 minutes in

Vladimir Harkonnen - subtitled announcer's dialogue in the Harkonnen language, approximately 1 hour 15 minutes in

Lady Fenring - addressed by the other Bene Gesserit in the same scene, introduces herself as Lady Margot Fenring to Feyd-Rautha in the next scene (approximately 1 hour 20 minutes in)

Gurney Halleck - addressed by his full name by Paul in the scene after their reunion, approximately 1 hour 30 minutes in

That's it! I originally wanted to track this because I noticed the name of Chani's friend is never said and I had to learn it from the credits. But it is interesting how many important characters get called by name so late into the story, or not at all.

Some characters whose name is never spoken on-screen:

Jessica (!) - addressed as "mother", "Reverend Mother", "woman" (by Stilgar early on)

Alia - only addressed as "sister" by Paul. Jessica never calls her anything in particular. I guess she doesn't need to with their psychic link.

Irulan (!) - she takes part in many conversations but is rarely addressed herself. the Emperor simply calls her "daughter". she is referred to but never by name.

Shaddam IV - only ever called "the Emperor", by an honorific, or as Irulan's father.

Helen Mohiam - similar situation, called by her title.

Shishakli - she and Chani speak a lot but never call each other by name.

[bonefall]

Cannon Tree is basically there to impregnate Violetshine and cause unnecessary drama. Only good thing that came from him is Root and Needle.

LITERALLYYY THOUGH

They even bring his blonde butt up in Squilfhope like, "Hey wow! We have a mediator who can resolve conflict!" And he says,

"Ummnnnnn i resolve conflict between Clans. Not them. UwU."

(Doesn't resolve any conflict between the Clans. Makes the sister situation worse. Contributes nothing to the plot otherwise.)

[cosmicpines]

I'm not done listening to the Alex Hirsch interviews but god it just reminds me both of how much I miss this show and how much I appreciate the love and care that went into it. I love listening to him talk about the characters with a frankness and care that shows how much he values them being three dimensional beings.

[britneyshakespeare]

My Ántonia by Willa Cather, chapter XI

[wonder-worker]

"We therefore need to separate out the 'facets' of [Anne de Pisseleu's] life, the way she was perceived by different groups and individuals. According to these, she could be viewed as an ornament to the court, a grasping favorite, a desired patroness, an able businesswoman, later on as a pillar of the reformed church and cantankerous old woman. At different times and over a long life, Anne de Pisseleu played all these roles."

David Potter, "The Life and After-Life of a Royal Mistress: Anne de Pisseleu, Duchess of Étampes"

[mycological-mariner]

2nd night watching Poldark and 1) they’ve mentioned the riots and they’re showing the unrest, I just really hope they don’t bungle it. Like, somehow the Poldark Mine is the only sustainable one or something and all the miners love their work so much, that kind of story, ya know? I don’t think they will because that would be ridiculously dishonest and I’ll just be pissed off. Also, once it starts moving along, I REALLY REALLY hope they make mention of the St. Just Liberty Tree and the taking in of French refugees and giving them English names and suchlike so they’re not deported. Also there was a lighthouse in one shot and I had to look it up because I could’ve SWORN it wasn’t built (at least not to that shape and height) until much later on. That’s just me being nit picky though

2) Verity continues to be my fave and by god do I want her to just snap and break her brother’s nose or something.

Honourable mention goes to the physician friend because finally the show mentioned in passing mine illnesses (that’s it’s whole other post though I’m already in my wormhole)

[claire-starsword]

Authentic Story of the Shining Force - Saint Fencer Max - Chapter 3

Translation notes:

So, uh. Elliot's name is rendered with two t's in the og game, but a single one in the GBA version. I had never paid attention to that at all until I had already edited all these pages, and I don't care enough to change it.

Cain's sword causes an explosion here. In the game, it is indeed capable of summoning flames.

This is a perfect illustration of how I feel about these names, but I do wonder what the actual intention was, since Cain is supposed to be already gone. The original image is even cut off weirdly in the middle of the text, and i don't think it's a problem with the scan, since every scanned page has a black border showing that the paper itself doesn't cut there. I wonder about the production of this thing, but i'll wait until i translate the author's comments before saying more.

The map in the previous chapter was very accurate to the beta map of the game. The smaller map here showing Rindo however looks off, the coast is different, and there seems to be a river directly to the north of Rindo, as opposed to the path to Shade Abbey. Perhaps fitting since Shade is skipped here.

Metaphaluna, huh? Needlessly to say, the country of the gods/Ancients is called only Metapha in the final game. Also, in this panel, it pops up as an alternate reading for 前世紀 (ancient times), not the name of a country specifically. I chose to romanize the last part as "luna" for three reasons. One is that the continent of Rune is actually rendered as Lune in at least two guides. I take romanizations from JP guides with a grain of salt since they sometimes look bad/unnatural, or are inconsistent (Pelle's name for example has been romanized as both Peil or Payle depending on the book). I checked though, and town names however are consistent in both the books I've seen romanizing things. The second reason is that the beta map used at this point has a fairly noticeable crescent moon shaped island right in the middle. In the final game, we can't know exactly where Metapha is, because you only teleport there. But I wonder if this island had something to do with it at some point. The third reason is simply I saw no better reason. Metaphalna and Metapharuna would be just as valid, but don't have any meaning to them.

The biggest equation next to Tao as she explains the magic types is very clearly a E=mc². Look close.

I've retranslated Elliot's scenes from the game thinking it would be relevant to these notes. Now I feel it really isn't, but you get more content so you should be happy.

My main point with that is that Elliot does not say anything about Cain in the game. In the GBA version, Balbazak does try revealing Max, Cain and Darksol's identities before dying, but that's not a thing in the og. So yeah I really translated a bunch of stuff for nothing this time! Except not because Darksol is awesome in that scene and everyone should get to see it.

Now let's talk about Otrant. I have mentioned before that Otrant's gender is never explicitly said, and they speak in a mostly gender neutral way (I feel like there's a few masculine patterns in some lines, but I'm not confident enough to say for certain). What I hadn't noticed is that they also use lipstick in the games, which is probably what sparked these observations to begin with, but i'm uh, occasionally not smart. In any case, if any of these aspects were done at this point in development the artist here sure ignored them, and drew a regular old man who gets called an old man. They hate to see an androgynous boss winning.

I don't recall Otrant's third eye being called "Eye of Truth" anywhere else, but the manual of the game does say it can see the past and the future.

Otrant's naming of the Shining Force is a bit more elaborate here, but the wording is very similar to the actual game.

Finally, let's play spot the cameo!

We've got Gong, Zylo, one of the birds, and probably Anri. Easy.

Here, besides the obvious three who were actually introduced in the story, we again have a bird, Anri between Ken and Hans, Gong to the right, and Mae and Gort behind Luke. If you read the pre-release page you know that Gort was meant to be Mae's servant at some point, so this might be why they're together, or it's just coincidence because they still join around the same time in the final game. More importantly, to Ken's left we have...

Some guys. Who are these. They could be made up by the artist (there will be another case of this), but I find it curious that the artist had to do that when there are so many character to pick from, and he clearly wanted to depict official characters here. For one, there's evidence that Earnest was already designed at that point in development. However, that link also shows that Vankar didn't have a portrait by that time at least, and Vankar would have already joined by this point in the story. So could the bald centaur here be a beta Vankar, or the artist's interpretation of Vankar via unfinished art? Maybe, but just a guess in the end. Mostly I'm just fascinated by how detailed this guy is compared to even Mae and Gort's cameos. The other guy isn't so i don't think about them nearly as much.

[professor-doc-emeritus]

it's incredible to me how some christians online will be like "you stupid atheists just don't understand Christianity, it's really like this!" and then go on to describe a heresy that would have gotten them burned at the stake 500 years ago