#bc he has every reason to feel betrayed in this game

[devilfic]

me going into marvel's spider-man 2 expecting to be unwell levels of horny for venom, only to come out of it attracted to harry osborn:

[pyrodolls]

yandere kung lao I’m begginf,,,,

self aware! yandere kung lao x reader pt.1

warnings: mk1 story mode spoilers, obsessiveness, gender neutral reader, ooc kung lao, self aware kung lao

summary: kung lao is aware he is in a video game, and he just loves you so much. he just wishes he didn’t have to be behind a screen.

a/n: anon im so sorry it took me a bit to get to this, anyways i decided to mix it up and make kung lao self aware bc i thought my yandere hcs were getting too repetitive and i am also a diehard SAGAU fan. (also sorry for my mini break, finals week is crazy man.)

part 2

- kung lao *hated* being stuck behind a screen. behind a stupid wall. away from you.

- you were just a regular mortal kombat fan. when mortal kombat 1 was announced, you were just so excited to get your hands on the game.

- you watched playthroughs before you could buy the game, and you were so happy when you found out that you could play as kung lao in the first chapter of story mode.

- when you got your hands on the game, you noticed that every time he had a funny one-liner in the story mode, he would look at the camera and wink. that’s weird… he didn’t do that in the playthroughs you watched… but oh well, it’s probably nothing.

- in the final battle you even chose to play as kung lao out of all the fighters. he was surprisingly easy to use, and his moves seemed to hit even harder than usual and the fights would be over in a blink of an eye. maybe he was buffed just for the fights?

- and when you finished the story mode and checked out all the skins and rewards you got, you noticed that you somehow had all of kung lao’s stuff unlocked. all of his palettes, skins, brutalities, etc. everything. you owned all of it. even the ones that weren’t out yet.

- you thought it was just a glitch, so you shut your device down and restarted it. but when you opened it again, his stuff was still there.

- and it got even weirder. when you tried to practice, the game only let you use kung lao. for some reason, you couldn’t use any other fighter. you couldn’t even use any kameo other than kung lao.

- he was still your favorite character and all, but that was weird. you tried to exit out of the game and restart it again, but it wouldn’t shut down. the game stayed on. it was frozen on kung lao. and he seemed to just stare at you. as if he knew you were there.

- you were starting to get creeped out, so you completely powered off your device and decided to leave it disconnected overnight.

- but over that little period of time, even though it was only a few hours to you, it felt like an eternity for kung lao.

- he felt hurt. a bit betrayed, even. did you not like him anymore? was he not enough for you? he gave you everything he could. he did everything he could to show his love for you, since he cannot communicate any other way.

- without you playing the game, he felt nothing. he couldn’t feel your warmth. it was nothing but a cold, dark space. he needed you. he needed you to always be with him. even if he couldn’t communicate with you, he’d figure something out.

- that’s why he was changing the coding of the game. he had to always be on your screen, or at least give you hints that he was self aware. he wouldn’t know what to do with himself if you weren’t looking at him. if you weren’t using him all the time.

- what do you mean you want to main johnny cage? or raiden? or even syzoth? what do they have that kung lao doesn’t?

- you liked the powerful fighters? no worries, he can just nerf everyone else and completely manipulate the coding of the game so he has the best damage.

- you thought the other fighters were more attractive than him? he’ll change the game so their designs were ruined and less pleasing to your eye.

- he would mend himself to your liking. he just needed you to use him. please make him feel important and useful. make him feel worthy of being your main. your favorite.

- if anyone became your favorite instead of him, he would go ballistic. he would rethink his entire existence. he’s so strong, and funny, and easy to use. so why would you choose anyone else? what’s wrong with him? is he not enough for you?

- if kung lao found out you wanted to start using a different fighter, he would erase them from the game. they would be nowhere to be found. their image in the game would be warped into a bunch of blurry pixels.

- if he has to erase the entire kast of fighters, he will. he needs your love. he needs your attention. if he isn’t your favorite, then what is the point of his existence in the game?

- kung lao needs you. and you need him too. why can’t you see that? he’s done everything he could to gain your approval. he was already so great, but he changed himself for you. accept him. please.

- the last thing he would resort to is bringing you in the game with him. what better way to stay by your side, than force you into the world of mortal kombat?

- at first, he didn’t exactly like the thought of taking away your freedom, but the more he thought about it the more he craved your company. why stay behind your screen when he can just bring you with him? now, you don’t have to turn your device on and off! he’s not going anywhere. and you aren’t either.

[solargeist]

I'm not sure if this has been asked, but what do the other hermits or members from empires think of grian being a watcher in your AU? i know martyn doesn't get on with him, but what are the others' view of it?

I don't know how every one would react, theres only a select few who know, but... !

Xisuma, because he was the first one to find Grian after he crashed into Hermitcraft. Xisuma already knows what Watchers are, so he took pity on Grian's reaction and took him in. He wasn't initially going to let him join HC since he was a stranger, (and a Watcher,) he was just going to help him back on his feet (wings?) and then send him on his way, but well things changed. Grian only told him whats relevant, so Xisuma doesn't know the whole story. Xisuma also comes from the End, he thinks the Watchers are inevitable and also none of his business as long as they don't mess with anything. Xisuma keeps tabs on Grian. Grian feels like he owes Xisuma the world.

Mumbo knows the full story, every little bit of it, Grian literally poured his soul out to him. Mumbo is the first friend he makes there, and Grian's still reeling from the whole experience so he built up a lot of trust in Mumbo and ends up spilling everything to him on a particularly bad day. Mumbo doesn't know what Watchers are, so he doesn't care that Grian was (is?) a Watcher, he just wants his friend safe, and doesn't think of him any differently. Mumbo sits right next to Grian with an arm over his shoulder, and fidgets with one of Grian's hands while he listens to him. Its sad at first, but towards the end of the rants Grian lightens up, a huge weight off his shoulders, and now they're both facing each other and gossiping abt their families. (Grian wins any family gossip bc his watcher aunt tried to throw him off a cliff)

Martyn and Jimmy, both were friends from Evo, and both feel betrayed by Grian leaving, and him being the direct reason their server is shut down. Martyn, while angry, and while he'd still fight him, he does want Grian out of there. Jimmy is more sad than angry, and tells himself he doesn't care, but he does, a lot. They both work with the Listeners, so Grian is a bit more villainized from their point of view.

Pearl also doesn't get the full story, she knows somewhat, and Grian has talked to her a bit about it, thats his sister ! But he can't tell her he left everyone on purpose, or how he was treated by Watchers, theres still a lot of guilt and shame. She doesn't force him to tell her everything, they're still siblings and repairing that relationship after being apart for so long.

Scar... Grian avoids Scar for awhile, after 3rd life he feels scared to face him in Hermitcraft. Though, to his shock, Scar can barely remember him, or the life games, its blurry, but theres a vague sense there, a memory or two, he recognizes Grian as much as you would a stranger you've seen twice in one week. Once they get closer though Grian tells him a bit, mostly abt the life game, and that his family runs it, but he didn't have anything to do with that. He also apologizes a lot. Scar just thinks Grian has a weird family, he doesn't know or understand what Watchers are, he mostly shrugs this off. Scar has a very "That was then, this is now" attitude, he wants to know This current Grian.

Thats everyone relevant that knows abt him, though I think there are a few Hermits that think theres Something up with Grian, but can't place it. Cleo, Etho, and Iskall, come to mind, theres something abt how Grian's eye catches the light...

(Theres also Taurtis.. The one that disappeared in Evo, one of the leading reasons Grian puts up with so much. I don't have much in writing abt Taurtis showing up again, but.. I do imagine his reaction to Grian would be very negative, maybe ? Angry and freaked out by him, I think Grian would collapse to his knees after seeing his reaction. BUT thats not really canon, thats just a thought I think is kinda fun.)

[bidisaster-peanut-romano]

Throughout the entire game, who do you think are some of the most underrated or under-appreciated characters?

stumbling into the askbox whyyy hello there!!! it had been a while!!

OKAY SO. let's start from one fact: every. single. character has something special about them. so like the easy answer is... anyone, lmao. truth be told we (the whole community) has been around for llke, 18 years (WOAH) and some sides are completely unexplored. even just from the idea that... have you guys ever noticed how little content there is around about nerds and jocks, for exmple? and i don't only mean art but also writing, analysis, metas, thoughts and such. not to mention the townies, the townies, when, having some of them been given some actually adult attributes, there would be a lot to unpack.

i feel like this is a) mostly for the nerds, that the rightful fisgust for the horrible thing they did to mandy discourages a lot from engaging with them as characters too, and b) because they are quite overshadowed by the fan favorite preps and greasers. which, i mean, very legit. but i think that they do have a lot of potential, again, in terms of characterization and themes, and i feel like we are collectively missing out on a lot.

and there's also the fact that, even with the fan-favorites, there is so little tapping into the more serious and sometimes mature aspects. i wouldn't say christy is neglected by the fandom, but it's not often that i read someone talking about her repressed anger that explodes whenever she feels too much, that heirloom of her father that of curse she doesn't have, she isn't a problem boy like her brother, what do you mean with that, i could use this tie to strangle you goddammit! or vance, that we all love as the sunshine jokester of the greaser and heartbreaker queer icon, but how come none of us ever mention him having a canonical addiction, and what if his messy dating habits have to do with that, too? what if he's running from something inside himself, rushing to next best thing just so he can feel something?

but this is just me rambling as an introduction oops. so, just trying to list a couple of my favorites:

thad carlson (& dan wilson) (putting them together bc they're intrinsecally connected and while i do stand by the fact that he's wildly underappreciated in the fandom i would hit dan in the face with a brick): i would lterally give my first born for these two. they are what they actually wanted to write when they wrote about cain and abel. i'm not sure what is the exact reason why they have different last names, and i don't wanna enter headcanon territory here. what it does unavoidably indicate, though, is that they were doomed from the start. like it was written in their names. so, picture this: they were in the nerds together. they suffered the bullying, the abuse together. the humiliation tasted like blood in their mouths and shone like the stars they'd see with their heads smashed in a locker, but at least they knew their brother would've been there to hold them. there's something very visceral about suffering together with a brother. like the blood they share creates somewhat of a shell, one that can protect them from what is outside, that can give them the comfort that they will never be alone. whether they like it or not, their brother will forever be with them; it's inside them. except that thad had the rage of a wounded animal; dan had the fear of a small prey. so, while thad kept standing tall and proud and chin high against his bullies, dan started training and morphing until he could be accepted in the jocks. dan wasn't the bullied anymore. he was the bully. while his brother was still on the other side of the war- the side of the eternal losers, that is. the side that, no matter how many battles they will win, they will always be at a disadvantage. so thad has got all the hurt of having been betrayed by a half of himself, like the phantom pain of a lost limb. and the hurt makes him angrier and angrier and when he wants to take revenge on the jocks his brother is the first target he wants, because, see, he is the victim, his brother is cain who has killed abel. but also dan has got his head on backwards to look out for enemies and for anyone who might uncover him as the fraud he is, the way he just thought- they are just bullying me for what i am, so what if i become someone different? except that it's not like he didn't feel like a loser anymore, he just feels like a loser with a football sweater. so at that point you look at the direction of that violence, at where the anger and the resentment lies, and you stop there and wonder. who's cain there? who's gonna be the victim, who the executioner? like nathaniel orion said, "i want to kill him sometimes. i think sometimes he wants to die". i love them ur honor.

otto tyler: i have no literal idea why there is so so so little about him. admittedly, content about townies is in gnereal harder to track down, since they have... no last names.... for the most part. but the otto tag is absolutely desolated. this boy is what you'd call too angry to be this young. his first response to anything is extreme violence and fantasies of it. playing his audios you will be met with die, kill, die, kill, kill, die, die. and all of his vitriol is poured on the school, like they have all come together specifically to hunt him down. and he's been canonically hospitalized, as well; when you walk in the asylum for the first time (galloway away i believe) he tells you not to "anger the watcher"- but who is this watcher? the composition of the scene seems to implies it is the statue in the courtyard; the most coherent correspondence would be the orderlies you will have to avoid as you walk past them; maybe otto himself has just been told not to anger the watcher by the people who are supposed to take care of him, but that are just playing with his mind to make him too afraid not to behave. which, incidentally, doesn't sound too different from what he might have suffered at school. otto will ask you if you have ever punched a wall. he will swear he hates everyone in the school, that everyone in the school hated him, he will threaten to destroy it. otto is a landmine, he's an unstable kid who just needed some ground to stand on, and instead they placed him all alone on a shaking earth. all is anger is desperation, it's having spent too much time without a support system, too much time bound -to a chair, in a cell, in a straitjacket- surrounded by people who couldn't understand him. who stifled his expression instead of channeling all the feelings he had all the time, exploding and intense in an overwhelming and violent way. i like to think of him as an artist. he mentions tattoos; i like to imagine he's learning to do them himself. that he's finding that as an outlet for his expression. and yeah overall. i am a lot fond of otto, and i think he would have a lot to say.

mr. wiggins: look, this guy is super unlucky. he's the only teacher with no class minigame; he's only ever walking around, and if you saw him you probably mistook him for the more familiar mr. matthews. but believe me when i tell you he's a real one. example 1: when someone snithces to him, he says something along the lines of "thank you, but i will never be able to trust you again". BRO. let me tell you, in 1968 this guy was OUT on his college campus and he was MARCHING and RIOTING with workers and students. he even mentions having spent a night or two in JAIL. he will walk into class and say the nastiest things about reagan while he keeps saying that as a teacher he will have to be politically neutral as if he didn't just have a fight with hattrick about socialism.

[seraphtrevs]

Do you have some favourite analyses about Lalo ? (From you or others)

Do I ever!

Lalo is Gay

And I don't mean "can be interrupted as gay" or "the straights wrote a gay character without realizing it", both of which are fine reasons to say a character is gay.

But I mean actually written on purpose gay. Lalo and Gus are written as foils who are superficially different - calculating/spontaneous, orderly/chaotic, serious/playful.

But if you look a little closer, they have a lot in common. Both have no personal life outside the game. Both are playing 5D chess while everyone else is playing checkers. Both are loners who trust almost no one. Both don't flaunt their wealth. Both are motivated by devotion to a loved one.

They're so alike, in fact, that they can almost read each other's minds - Lalo immediately knows who got him sent to jail and who sent the assassins after him, even though he didn't have proof. Gus never believed for a second Lalo was dead, even though every scrap of evidence pointed to it being the case, including a corpse matching Lalo's dental records. Lalo knows Gus tapped the phone. Gus knew Lalo was headed for the lab.

So - although different at first glance, their essential natures are the same. Gus is gay, ergo...

And there are context clues pointing to his sexuality. He's a confirmed bachelor despite the fact that he should be having kids to carry on the family dynasty. He declines the opportunity to have sex with a woman, even though there were very practical reasons for him to have sex with her. Being invited into her home and poking around once she was asleep would have been easier than breaking in, but he chose to hide in the bushes. Plus, he forces Nacho to elope with him.

Will we ever get confirmation? Probably not. But I'm a legit truther on this

Lalo is Satan

Mira -

It's the same picture.

Lalo tempts Jimmy into selling his soul to him, which he later comes to collect. And as I've talked about probably too much, Nacho is very explicitly a Christ figure. Lalo tries to tempt Nacho with power and wealth, but Nacho is never tempted. They really are Cartel Satan and Cartel Jesus, and I love that that ties them together

Lalo is an anti-protagonist

Which is a term I just made up. He's not an antihero - that would be Jimmy. It's just that he hijacks the narrative whenever he shows up. He has a very protagonist-like story - Gus and Nacho are the ones who are sabotaging him, when all he wants to do is protect his family. Assassins are sent to his home, and he defeats them single-handedly. He is betrayed by someone he trusted - someone who he has always treated well and genuinely liked.

But he's not a protagonist! He's a villain, who does very villainous things! On the Insider Podcast for the Black and Blue episode (I think), one of the writers mentions how much she roots for Lalo when he's away from the lead characters. He's written for you to root for, and then feel weird about rooting for.

He's the embodiment of Chuck's final, terrible advice to Jimmy - if you're going to do bad things, don't bother feeling guilty about it. And he only shows up once Chuck is gone. Does Chuck really want Jimmy to be like Lalo? Is Kim's "ends justify the means" attitude in season 6 warranted? How much does motive matter?

@lalo-tellmeagain - we were talking about his blue shoes - I don't have any production notes on this or anything, so this is just my personal interpretation. But blue is the color of the good guys in BCS. Lalo's blue shoes are ironic.

[hawthornesbiggestfan]

the grandest game review (and hot takes)

1. plot

the fact that jlb managed to fit plot twists after plot twists in ONE book just proves how good of a writer she is. i was basically shitting my pants at the end of every chapter, WAITING for a reveal. odette, gray n lyra's games were not as memorable for me (probably because i was more distracted by lyrason whoops) but i loooooveeeddd (100% loved) savannah n rohan's games. it felt so enticing and pulled me in, it had ME trying to solve it. i loved that they solved their games first before opening up their emotions because it allowed me to focus on the main thing before moving onto the next.

2. pov holders

my favourite pov (and im biased LOL) was definitely gigi. i think i enjoyed it most because i really felt IN HER BRAIN. i loved the chaos and the amount of exclamation marks is very appreciated. i also think i liked her most because she really act like an 18 year old girl, so it was more relatable. her emotions n feelings rly spoke to me.

lyra's pov, honestly, was a whole rollercoaster. first we see her with her guard fully up, then suddenly shes slowly softening and then fully becomes vulnerable. its like watching ice melt honestly, and im not sure how to feel abt it. dont take this the wrong way, i LOVED lyra. it was just hard to read from a pov that felt... recycled? reused? reduced? (lol the 3Rs iykyk) i guess its bcs i set my expectations too high for lyra cz i fully thought she'd be a different character. instead she feels like an angrier avery (i feel the need to mention that i love avery) and it made me feel a little... yeah.

rohans pov HAHAHAH BYEEEE IM SO BIASED i LIKED it??? i thought it'd be my least fav bcs i lowkey didnt care much, but now i want MOOREE?? i will say that he was basically jameson 2.0 but hes brown and so am i so yes im allowing it... i was stressed on sav's behalf bcs he lowkey seemed pushy. in a way he was like avery, trying to get grayson to open up and take the mask away, but with savannah instead. he isnt my fav pov holder but i didnt enjoy reading his scenes simply bcs it included savannah (#biggestsavstan)

overall i think i enjoyed gigi's chapters the most because it felt like something new and also something so relatable. i loved that she tries to prove that she deserves her spot in tgg. i do love lyra n rohans pov a lot tho, and i hope they still have chapters in tgg2.

3. important characters

grayson my love was SERVING with his character development. the way he allowed himself to make mistakes, to feel and to LOVE was so heartwarming and relieving after watching him hold it all up since the first book. i will say, he's definitely more likeable in this book, but he still has the elements of who he used to be. he WAS horny, evidently. but i won't say that its all he was the whole book. he was definitely also just acting how anyone would have if put into a room with dearest lyra kane. we understand u, grayson. i too would need a moment after holding lyra thighs.

odette confused me so much HAHAHAH i didnt trust her at all and was fully waiting for her to just betray the others. when she mentioned she worked for mcnamara ortega n jones, i screamed because it clicked immediately that she definitely had smth going on with tobias.

knox n brady were a tennis match going back n forth. i did not trust brady since the start, and i was waiting for a reason to redeem knox. i dont care much abt them aside from the calla thing, but i did love their bond with gigi.

4. relationships

allow me to rate the ships:

1. sav n rohan

2. lyra n gray

3. gigi n whoever the fuck shes supposed to be shipped with.

i will say that i loved sav n rohan the most bcs i also love javery, and they reminded me of the best tig couple sooooo. i also liked the TENSION and the way they opened up to each other like a flower blooming slowly. the truth or dare scene was mental... i was screaming the whole time. grayson and lyra AAAAAAA i agree with ppl who say its rushed but fuck it i love them!!!!!! YEAH OKAY THEY KISSED TOO EARLY BUT WO CARES LET THEM FUCK!!! okay too far but u get it. gigi n slate still confuse me and i dont want this girl to be given stockholm syndrome so im just gonna ship her with ME!

another relationship id like to talk abt is the twins.. broken siblings are always my favourite trope but this hurt since theyre literally twins. the way gigi feels bad for hiding THE SECRET from sav, and sav seems to be distancing herself from gigi. ouch ouch ouch

5. overall

id rate the book a 4/5 bcs as much as i loved it, i still feel a little critical about it. i do stand with everyone who says that jlb might be milking this series, but im not complaining because i dont want any of this to end any time soon. the ending was not what i expected, and i still love savannah even if she might do smth... lol. lyra n grayson feel too perfect hence why im gonna expect something bad even now. im upset knox is out, but i think jlb will fit him in somewhere.

thats all, PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE share some of ur thoughts!!!! i need people to talk abt tgg!!!!

[mekatrio]

literally so much has happened in tota jfsdjvnsjafk so here are some of my thoughts bc. So Much. has happened. and i think this is a good moment in gameplay to step back and review things before Even More Stuff Happens and i forget these thoughts. wanted to do this last night but i was too sleepy so 😗

where i am currently... literally just left the house and reached yulia city after lowering the outer lands like wow. the game was reallyyyy hyping up the battle with van to be The Last Battle but like theres no way right..... i didnt know what to expect but a one month timeskippy skip was not one of them so. this will be interesting. but ill babble more abt that later ummmm i think ill pick up from. natalia and her father making up.

that was a really sweet moment.... and Yes i did cry and also OMG the english voice acting in this game is amazing. i think its really cool how neither natalia or luke are the 'true' heirs to the throne although their situations are completelyyy different. though i do kinda feel like it came out of nowhere LOL while i love the story so far i do think it has some weak parts, primarily with its build up.. like the game is very dense with arte mechanics lore + politics and i dont think it does the best job of easing it into the story. theres a lot to take in and even now theres still stuff i dont completely understand like what. is an isofon. and also how come asch can make hyperresonances too Huh i thought only luke could cuz hyperresonances are when two 7th fonons collide and luke being a replica kinda made two 7 fonons in him but apparently no. what. huh. and also another instance i remember is like, as of Now i know that the score is a big deal, but before the legretta boss fight i didnt really get that cuz luke (and by extension me) was too busy learning basic societal conventions and the importance of the score was not one of them. so like yeah. still enjoying the game in spite of this but it could stand to be smoother

moving on um. let me babble abt guy. guy is a wonderfully complex character likeeeee the type of dude i love to rotate in my mind. skilled at hiding their negative feelings which is sooo interesting in conjunction with the time hes spent w luke and the fabres, bc he has a very valid reason to hate them, BUT he also genuinely cares for luke. probably. like its spelled out by the game that luke deliberately chooses to trust guy despite him having every reason to betray him and that is just SOOOO compelling and interesting like wow. and its also incrediblyyy compelling that guy is able to deeply sympathize with our main antagonist van bc they are both survivors of hod and its just like.... yeah very fascinating dude.

also interestingly enough i think tear's character narrative is the weakest to me despite being a character we've been around the longest? like shes similar to guy in that they both have close relations to the main antagonist, but guy had actually experienced the same thing that van had experienced, while tear had only heard abt it second hand. shes got her loss of faith in mohs / the score / the order going for her + her miasma sickness, but the story hadnt really touched on that tht much. with that said tho, i hold faith that the rest of the story will adequately flesh out the rest of her character, bc theyre gonna have to resolve her miasma sickness at some point and i think that's when she'll get her proper arc, along with asch's and van's characters which are also currently unresolved.

also my currently favorite moment of hers is from one of her training flashbacks with legretta, where in the present day she knocked out a monster that was about to attack luke, and in the flashback legretta killed a knight that attempted to attack tear. and legretta was telling her um... fuck i didnt take a picture so i cant precisely remember X( but it was something about the value of life, and showing enemies no mercy. but tear defied her and moved on from her teachings bc she chose to heal the monster bc it had children nearby. and that was a very sweet moment to me :') im looking forward to having more tear in the storyyyy

also speaking of legretta. jesus christ the sheridan massacre was crazy... and unexpected too. the antagonists are really crazy huh. like obvs they make a point abt freeing one self's from the score / "fate" but also like... the War Crimes.... idk ill have to see where the story is taking this but how it stands right now its like... compelling but also kinda weird because the question tota poses is... kinda theoretical?? but also not?? cuz a lot of whats being questioned is abt the score, which we, real world people, Do Not have a modern world equivalent for.. but its also not completely abt the score and is kinda like saying, "Is it ok to hurt others if it's believed prosperity will be achieved from it?" which is also kinda like saying "Is there any justifiable reason to destroy others?" and also when you throw replicas in there its like "For what reason are you alive for? If the reason for your life is already dictated, must you follow it?" something like that...... also im curious abt how the game will frame the church in the end bc like... ya mohs and the oracle knight are portrayed negatively, but our homie ion is shown positively like... its surprisinglyy nuanced but i wonder if it will steer around w that at the end. especially considering the numerous mentions of the church subsisting from donations which well... Can Be Problematic, to say the least.

speaking of the problematic church.... aniseeeeeee 🥺 at first i wasnt very interested in her character bc a young boy-crazy girl is a trope that im kinda sooooo over with.. but then it turned out that omg? anise isnt that at all but is actually a gold digger LMAO that is awesome?! and its very compelling how her reasoning for being one is very sympathetic, with how her parents are poor followers of the church and anise is trying to attain a better life for both them and herself. and the way we learn that shes not really boy crazy is really cool too with how she does a 180 and becomes completely (and justifiably) nasty to luke after akzeriuth, i think her meanness and brattiness is sooo awesome. but shes also very kindhearted like the.. oh....

this made me very teary eyed like T_T oh..... to see the first time we ever see anise crying is over someone who she probably used to be friends with.. and also how shes also been shown being sympathetic to dist, jade's former kinda maybe friend.. she is a very great character and not at all what i thought she'd be like initially, which im very thankful for.

also i fucking love her dynamic with jade it is SOOO awesome AND funny af cuz like, when u see these two you might expect a fucking, endearing older man looking after a younger child dynamic. but thats not what u get with these two at all, they are two very capable soldiers and jade is shown to rely on and trust anise and vice versa, and also jade is a very haughty and somewhat mean-spirited person, and anise can match with that perfectly. like when jade was being a well meaning douche casting suspicion on guy, which led to luke restating his decision to trust in guy, anise followed up with teasing jade like 'awww youre going soft on them teehee XD'. and also like this convo is so awesome

where epic observant anise points out to jade that 'Hey you care about these people dont you?' and its SOOO awesome that this is when jade realizes like 'LOLLLL apparently i do!!! 🤣'

and JADEEE like omg he is also a really cool character because like. during that moment where his sister speaks alone with luke to warn him 'hey my brother is Fucking Crazy and you are a Science Experiment so Watch out' i laffed bc it kinda felt like it came out of nowhere to me, but as the game progressed and jade's genius became more evident + when he admits this

thats when it really clicked to me that ohh..... jade is kinda Apathetic Af. and yet i find it very VERY cool that despite lacking empathy for others, jade is portrayed rather positively. like yes he's made unfathomable mistakes and has hurt others and yes he lacks basic empathy But he still cares about others enough to help everyone to save the world and he cares abt the party members in his own weird way like i think this is the first time ive seen a character that lacks empathy being portrayed positively like this and i think thats really really awesome.

i have a lot more to say but um i kinda wanna stop putting down my thoughts and play the game instead LOL so im stopping here yayy

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

if toji suddenly reincarnated back into ssg, how would each character react? like obvi gojo would try to hollow purple him on sight but he manages to hold himself back to get some answers from toji instead. do the others know that it was bc of toji that megumi is stuck in the situation he’s in rn? would megumi even want to talk to his dad?

and how would toji take finding out how the zenin treated his son? he thought that he’d be safe and happy there and then he finds out what they did to megumi and that it was gojo and co who stopped it.

Everyone knows that Toji sold megumi to the zenin.

I think it actually really bothers Megumi how it’s common knowledge. He doesn’t know anything about his own father other than he sold him, and that’s not even private to him. He’s just some unwanted kid who his dad only had to sell like prized cattle.

It was never a secret that Toji sold him to the Zenin. Maki knew, and she already told the others when giving them the rundown on what happened. They’d all know that toji’s the reason megumi’s stuck in this situation.

The second years:

It depends on when he arrived. If it’s when Yuuta still hasn’t gotten the RCT backlash under control, then he may have to worry a bit about the power of love and also this sword.

He’d survive. Not unscathed. But he’d survive.

If it’s after Yuuta’s gotten control, Yuuta still would hate him, but he wouldn’t be as proactive about it. Mostly because Megumi would feel weird about him making a fuss. He’d intervene every time Toji tried to talk to Megumi if Megumi established he didn’t want to talk to him. He’d try to quietly get him the fuck out of there. He'd radiate an aura of murder whenever Toji came close.

Maki would ice Toji out on principle. Like, she’d hate that she had to. Toji’s supposed to be the only one who understands her. They’re both Zenin clan rejects. They both were hurt in such similar ways.

But only one of them sold their fucking kid back into that hellhole, and that ended with Megumi in a hospital bed. She’d be bitter, internally, that she couldn’t try for something like a relationship with Toji. She’d wonder if she betrayed Mai the same way he betrayed Megumi. She wouldn’t outwardly react to him. She’d ice him out.

Inumaki and Panda would embark on a quest to ruin his fucking life. They’d short sheet his bed. They’d put itching powder in his pants. They’d put bleach in his shampoo. All would fail, but this would not discourage them.

The adults:

Gojo would bend over backwards to keep Toji away from Megumi.

Gojo's playing the game of "only let Megumi get information he can physically handle" right now. that's why he's refusing to let Maki tell him the truth about the Ten Shadows. He knows his kid. He knows Megumi's impossibly fucked up and is not going to tell them how badly or ask for help for what happened. He knows Megumi's going to break if anything else happens, and he knows that Toji showing up out of nowhere and dropping six bombshells on him is not something Megumi could handle. He'd squeeze Toji for insider information on the Zenin and threaten to punt Toji to the moon if he didn't stay the fuck away.

Toji would not be impressed by the threats.

Nanami and Shoko would refuse to have anything to do with him. Shoko wouldn’t speak to him. Nanami would, but only to inform him that his sole priorities are the wellbeing of his family, and that Megumi has a right to speak with Toji if he so wishes, but if he doesn't, toji needs to steer far clear of him. He's done enough. toji may have been his father biologically, but Nanami was the one who carried him home--twice--after the family Toji sold him to broke him to the point he was close to death. Nanami has been there for the parent teacher conferences and the nightmares and all the shit Toji never even tried to be there for even when he had a chance. Toji surrendered his place in Megumi's life, and it's been filled. And Toji should not dare to try and hurt nanami's family again. He's already done enough.

Megumi:

Megumi hates him. And he wouldn’t want to talk to him.

Megumi never talks about his dad. If someone asked, he’d say he doesn’t care about him, didn’t expect better from him, and doesn’t care that toji sold him. It’s hard to be hurt by someone you never expected to love you. He’s not surprised; he’s not disappointed; this is just his dad being on brand. He was a piece of shit before and a piece of shit now.

He’d be lying.

His dad selling him to the Zenin cut megumi deeper than anything else in his life. The zenin were always his abusers. But Toji was supposed to be his dad. He was supposed to take care of him.

He was supposed to love him. And a part of megumi has never been able to understand why he didn’t.

In megumi’s mind, he had to have known what pieces of shit the Zenin were, and he sent him there anyway. And Megumi hates him for it, he really does.

I guess it really depends on when in the sgg timeline it is. Like, are we dropping him right in the middle of the currently chapter?

Megumi would assume he’s a hallucination. He’d think his brain would be just fucking with him and making it all hurt more. It would make him violently upset, and Toji would have to be removed from the room, and Gojo would probably have to knock Megumi out to get him to calm down again.

If he’s gotten better, then Toji would still make him violently upset. But he’d be aware enough to hide how much.

He’d refuse to see him. He’d refuse to talk to him. He wouldn’t want to be in the same room as him. His dad couldn’t be fucked to ever be there for him, so Megumi doesn’t see why he should drop everything to see him now.

Megumi's not in a mindset where he could ever healthily see Toji, coming right off SGGs. like, he's traumatized out of his fucking mind. He's absolutely unable to handle the added stress of his deadbeat dad coming back to life and wanting to chat.

Toji:

Toji would kill all of them.

The thing is, I don't think Toji actually thought Megumi would be safe and happy with the Zenin. I think that's the lie he told himself to justify selling his son to his abusers. Like, he knows his family's cruelty better than anyone. He knows that even if you have cursed energy, they're not exactly tender parents.

I think he was just in a spiral, struggling with a gambling addiction, and was trying to take an easy way out and lying to himself about what exactly he was doing to his son.

He'd feel like shit over it, the confirmation that he son could be literally the most important person for hundreds of years to the zenin and they'd still hurt him. He'd kill them for putting Megumi in the hospital bed, for hurting him all those years ago. He wouldn't know how to begin fixing things with his son, so he'd do what he knows how to do, which is just fucking kill the people who hurt him to begin with.

[eurydicees]

Correct me if I’m wrong but Iwaizuimi’s weakness in fhq is Oikawa right??? Which. Yeah. That does things to a person

And another question: what are your thoughts on Kenma as a magician (or is he a wizard? The details are fuzzy I’m sorry 😅)

jkhkahdgkjs so real. things that DOES to a person.

i'm trying to find a source for that but i can't seem to find anything, which is strange because i could've SWORN i read that tidbit somewhere a while back when i was writing my take on the au last yr.

but what i DO know is that a number of iwaizumi's stats and traits--way more than really is necessary--are, like, relative to oikawa and their relationship. they are so deeply connected in their lives and futures in this au (and canon imo) that iwaizumi's player stats often have to do with him. like. god. okokokokok. tell me ur souls are intertwined and he shaped you into who you are without telling me--

anyways. iwaizumi's player profiles are HERE and HERE, where you will find information such as "attack: not that fond of oikawa" and speed: "quick to retort to oikawa" and "specialty: oikawa's former friend" . i did find one other profile but i can't find a translation for it; maybe that's where the weakness thing is from? not sure. i wish i could find that though bc it makes me need to take a fucking lap.

just. something like you're so loyal to someone that everything that you fight for and with is tied to him but you have to betray his trust and his friendship because no matter how much you love him, he's fallen to the dark side and you can't live with that, with the him that has become corrupted, but to save him is to destroy him and while you join the heroes on their quest to do it you also know that every way you fight and every time you fight, you're carrying him with you because he was your friend.

so yeah do you ever feel crazy about a piece of humorous media drawn for a 3ds game made based on a joke movie poster au of the volleyball manga.

AND KENMA !!!! so technical terms he's a white mage, but in my head he's "wizard on the good side." similar to how kuroo is a black mage and i've just decided he's one of the demons with oikawa. i think also some of it might be that there are different translations floating around between mage and wizard! tbh translation variations is half the reason this whole post is a little iffy. there's no officially translated version of the "canon" (as much as things can be canon when they're inherently not canon) as far as i know.

but i love this for kenma! i think it fits super well for him. i don't remember what movie FHQ is supposed be a spin on, but in my head it's all the generic high fantasy DND style fiction. so looking at it like that, i really see kenma is a kind of advising/strategic role, if that makes sense?

he's not on the front line fighting with his hands, he's at the back of the group casting counterspell, yk? he's the mastermind, the one who knows things the others don't know or don't notice, the one who uses it all to his advantage without letting everyone in on the plan in its completion. the war/battle/fight is a chess game and he's the one predicting the next moves. kinda gandalf-esque? idk i fell asleep during lord of the rings.

but i think it makes a lot of sense to have kenma as a highly intelligent archetype, but also one with, like, low hp. it parallels canon really well imo! brain of nekoma who doesn't like getting tired. also i like the idea of kenma with a magic staff. just in general i think that's neat. he deserves that.

[blackinquisitors]

Are there any characters or story beats that feel weak in rdr2 to you? Also, things you wished there'd been more exploration of, characters or ideas or themes

oh my god so much. I love red dead and its absolutely the best game ive ever played - and probably one of the best games ever - but its definitely not without flaws

Blessed are the peacemakers makes no sense in the plot. It does a few things: makes arthur doubt dutch, illustrates dutchs decline and his apathy (perhaps for the first time for the player), and shows that colm odriscoll is working with the pinkertons, possibly doing foreshadowing for micahs betrayal by showing you its possible for outlaws to become rats. BUT I think this could have been done in a billion other ways than "Lets torture arthur and never bring it up again!" bc he doesnt mention it, his shoulder injurt doesnt hinder him, he doesnt have ptsd from it. theres not a reason why that in particular had to happen. arthur could have been captured, but not tortured and shot, for example. maybe they could have drugged him and thru his haze he overheard colms plans and then managed to escape when he came to, only to find that it had been several days that he was missing and no one came to look for him. that sort of thing. same prinicple but without the ridiculous glossing over of TORTURE

Guarma. This one sticks in my craw and I get more annoyed every time I play it. R* originally was going to have villages and stranger missions on the island but abandoned it for some reason? time I guess? But I really would have liked to see a more personal look at the people there and how cornwall and fussar have hurt them. PLUS it would have been a very good opportunity to show how the way the rich men rob from the poor isnt too different from what dutch and the gang does. It would give arthur a really good image of how far they had fallen, that they were similar to these awful men, when they originally started off as robin hood-like men that gave back the money they stole to shanties. but no its just 3 missions of endless combat which can be fun but isnt really bc I dont even have my favortite gun with me. Also it didn't do a good job of showing Javier's sudden loyalty to Dutch/Bill/Micah. I would think that Arthur being stuck w these four, who eventually betray him, with nobody else would be a good opportunity to show how they all grow to hate him for some reason, but its not there. SIDE NOTE guarma is also glitched for me and this is a common bug. The time stays at 9am and half the guarma-exclusive animals dont spawn so I didn't get to fill out my compendium. R* never fixed this

I think all the girls could have been expanded upon. Tilly's role in the gang especially bc she was raised the same way as john and views dutch like a father, yet if you never heard her camp dialogue explaining this, you would never know. Molly especially needed more detail. She was supposed to be on the mission to go to the saint denis mayors party, and was cut for SOME REASON. but she would have done wonderfully. She should have had a part in it

The timeline of the gang and their relationships makes no fucking sense. Abigail says she always liked Mary, but Abigail joined the gang in 1894, and Mary and Arthur talk like they were in their early twenties when they were together. Theres a dialogue w Abigail and Uncle where they reminisce on her working girl days (bc Uncle was her pimp - very weird) and she says it was ten years ago. but that would mean she was working two years after she gave birth to jack which 1. didn't happen and 2. COULDNT happen bc I dont think men would want to pay for a night with a mother who had children fairly recently. the stretch marks and loose skin would give that away. Arthur has an antagonizing line to Jack that he looks like a williamson or an escuella- Javier didn't join the gang until about 1895, a year after abigail, and presumably when she was already pregnant or had given birth to jack. Theres other examples but these are the main ones I can think of

That encounter with Sonny in the swamp had no reason to be in the gang aside from R* thinking male victims of SA are funny

I wish they had more detail with Isaac. I mean clearly I wish that, ive got a 130k+ fic exploring arthur and Isaac's relationship, but within red dead I wanted just a bit more than a couple of lines. Originally Isaac and Eliza were both supposed to be in the game and Isaac was a newborn that would have frozen to death in the prologue, and I think Eliza would have ran away. Instead they went with making them a footnote in Arthur's story. On one hand, I understand why Arthur would rarely talk about them bc it would be too painful, but I also think if it was more overt, it would color his interactions with Jack/Abigail/John differently. Plus it would lean more into the themes of cycles of violence, and breaking out of it to be a father. Arthur didn't and he died childless, John tried to but he couldnt manage it and doomed his son to follow in his footsteps

THE EPILOGUE. Oh my godddd the more I play the epilogue, the more empty it feels and the more I realize why few people like it or finish it. It feels very tacked on. There needed to be a scene between the saddest video game death in history and John and Abigail arguing. The fact that there is no break inbetween like 2 hours of arthurs story wrapping up and another hour of John's story starting. Farm chores are fine but tedious if youve played it before. John being desperate for money and risking his life w sadies bounties makes no sense when Ive just done a treasure map and have $1000 in my inventory. "The gang needs money" is an endlessly attainable goal, moreso than "I need money". John's player model is just Arthur's reskinned- But they originally planned for you to play as John's npc model. You can see this in the pictures they have in the menu of John in the missions. The fact that there are NO NEW STRANGER MISSIONS aside from evelyn miller which is really nothing. They unlock new austin, but theres NOTHING to do there except collectiables and sight seeing and a couple bounties. Why even bother? When you compare how dense New Hanover is with Stuff To Do compared to New Austin which is HALF THE TOTAL MAP, its ridiculous!! I think it was just rushed and needed either more fleshing out, or cutting out completely bc John doesnt even live in new austin, and doesnt visit it until rdr1. Doesnt Bonnie give him a tour bc he doesnt know where things are? I may be misremembering that

Money. Money is so inconsistent and the values make no sense. Right its 1899. I rob a stagecoach and get $40 for it. This must be like $1000 in todays money. Wow Arthur beat a man to death for $40. This must be a lot of money. What do you mean a pair of jeans is $15. Thats how much they cost now! Wait why is this can of bean $1.40? I can buy them now for 40cents! Not to mention the Valentine bank robbery gives you $2000, essentially making money completely useless. Add on all the treasure maps as well as random gold bars lying around, which is 24 accoring to gamerant. $12,000 for all of those. So once you have this much money, all the fun outlaw stuff of robbing stagecoaches, mugging people, robbing stores and trains, is completely irrelavent. I never do any of it bc its not worth the bounty for 50 bucks. And paying off bounties isnt a big deal either bc its barely a dent in your pocket. Basically it takes the difficulty away, and the need to engage in these criminal activities for afford anything in the game. Its hard to take dutch seriously w his "We need more money" when I have a cool 8k in my man purse. Its also hard to believe Arthurs lamenting about his behaviour "I'm a bad man I rob and kill and am so terrible to people" no you aint but I dont make you do anything criminal unless the game makes me in a mission

Theres a lot of cut content and I wish almost all of it was back. Most notably, roulette tables, boat to guarma for John, more stranger missions, more companion activities in camp. I think they were orginally going to allow come sort of companion mechanic where people from camp could accomanpy Arthur on his adventures. I understand why they didnt bc that would require 10x more voice acting and would be really complicated with stranger missions, but I would have loved it all the same

Okay. I was going to add another one but tumblr said I reached my limit. my last thing is I wished they didnt play the native american flutes every time anyone in the wapiti tribe came on screen. silly.

anyway NOW I'm done. I think. Ill probably think of more but this post is already very long

[arcanadreams]

im the a6/sorenn anon and while for now most content is on patreon(s), cal's ex info was definitely discussed on their discord, and some of the pegasi info (especially the youngest ones) used to be free to read on aerie's patreon (not anymore i believe. btw, someone literally had to remind aerie of tilaari!mc existence, she edited tilaari!bro one to add their relationship only after that😅😅😅), so im not leaking any behind the paywall info! dw yall are not missing much if you can't afford to be a patron now, their characterization is kind of weird tbh especially compared to the mc's ("traveler was raised as a humble noble" vs "sike bc everyone else wasn't but somehow they are all from the same household"😂😂)

but yeah, not only calderon's ex betrayed him for kmerii, but also his best friend (not sorenn, the other one duh) and im not 100% about this, but there was a free piece (preview, I think) which was heavily hinting he did it for her (aka cal's ex) lol! idk if any of this has changed since then, but man, what a personal life

also, i dont think cal and arlo really knew each other, cal probably just knew of him/who he was from sorenn or when he was in the palace with his mom. arlo prob wasnt even aware of his existence or didn't care asdfgh just still its weird that cal wouldn't know of kit!mc imo

holy SHIT, the fact Cal's gf (I assume Aeriie made it so she was his gf at the time of the betrayal bc that just. makes sense) and his best friend turned on him for the k'merri?? methinks they may have been the ones who framed him based on his in-game dialogue. YIKES, no wonder this man has like three sticks up his ass.

i wanna join the discord for info like this but i've never joined a public discord so i'm kinda scared to LOL, thank you so much for sharing!! maybe i'll muscle up the courage to join but idk.

also i agree with you on traveler making more sense being snobby. the only traveler who seems to have canon reasons for being less of a snob is kit!traveler, because Nikolle was the most well-adjusted of the queens before she got sick, and Sorenn was a pretty nice prince, so kit!traveler had him to look up to. personally i think it'd be super interesting if traveler's mom influenced their personality more. i also think it would be fun to play with the idea of traveler being a far kinder person when they don't remember their past, and then feeling conflicted when they remember their royal lineage because we know through dialogue that they were predisposed to dislike mercenaries already. how would their old personality rear its head? would it at all? just fun things to speculate.

to the arlo point, i went back and played both june and cal's route through episode 6 the other day and tried out every single hobby option on both of them LMAO i have problems. but anyway i believe you're right in that Cal knew of Arlo rather than knowing him directly, i believe he says something like "No offense but he always seemed like a little shit" and Traveler is like "None taken he totally was" LOL.

i can see why cal wouldn't know mc, but also HOW CUTE WOULD IT HAVE BEEN IF THEY SAW EACH OTHER IN PASSING AS KIDS??? UUUUUGH missed potential imo

[bustyasianbeautiespod]

I find it so interesting how closely Aziraphale holds onto his identity as an Angel as opposed to Crowley who plays the role of demon but knows very well that it’s just a role and that heaven and hell are just labels. I do think it goes back to their loneliness and sense of belonging, maybe. Because Aziraphale wants (wanted?), far more than Crowley at least, to belong in this whole system even tho he knows he doesn’t. Crowley knows he doesn’t belong in the system but he does want to belong somewhere and that somewhere is, well, with Aziraphale. And it’s so sad because you know they both are outcasts and hurting and only have each other and they both want more but in different directions. UGH! I love them so much. They’ll figure it out, they’ll be okay (<- affirmations)

HELLO WORDS THAT MAKE ME FEEL AND THINK THINGS.

crowley really does fully think it's a job! there's soo much book stuff for that ("Anyway, why're we talking about this good and evil? They're just names for sides. We know that." + Now, as Crowley would be the first to protest, most demons weren't deep down evil. In the great cosmic game they felt they occupied the same position as tax inspectors-doing an unpopular job, maybe, but essential to the overall operation of the whole thing. + "We were only doing our jobs," muttered Crowley. being part of the climax) that I loveee (this is not the point of your ask at all i just love anthony j crowley w all my heart and soul). and that's prob bc they already decided heaven was bullshit before the beginning and has seen and gotten the chance to evaluate both sides firsthand. but it still has to be devastatingly lonely and it isss bc p much everyone in hell is a traumatized betrayed person taking it out on the ppl below them in the command line and deciding that Being Nice is an executable offense so it's tough to find companionship there. and as for humans, do u ever think about how it must have been SO hard for her before she got sunglasses. like obv ppl would react differently to his eyes depending on culture/religion/etc but i'm sure it was often hard to talk to people! and i think enjoying wine and technology and constructing fun things for her job was satisfying enough to get by and having someone who Gets Him (But To A Hard Limit) in aziraphale helped add joy to it all but in s2 they're stagnating and depressed and she LITERALLY wants to belong somewhere and that somewhere is aziraphale......

for aziraphale i think that post-fall heaven had to be like "did you have fun killing your former friends with swords? well you were all chosen to stay angels for a reason but every day you should be terrified that if you step one toe out of line you're unworthy of god's love. lol." (also michael's whole "you've been a bit of a fallen angel" being a valid way for angels to refer to bad behavior) and it makes so much sense for someone to come out of that propaganda feeling the way aziraphale does! grey and i just recorded 2.02 and the ways in which heaven makes aziraphale feel silly and inadequate there but he's still crying his eyes out on that rock at the thought of falling make me soo. and 2.01 aziraphale saying it's nice to tell someone all the good things you've done now that he's not reporting to heaven is soo. showziraphale rlly needs outside reassurance and to belong somewhere and for millennia that somewhere has been heaven despite them all hating his ass. GOD IT'S SO MISERABLE

i think often about how by episode two of the show grey already said "I find it fascinating that both of them are situated as 'They’re different from the other people of their community,' like, Aziraphale is different from the other angels. Crowley is different from the other demons. And what they are most like is each other." well. i also love them and believe that they'll figure it out and be okay! (whether neilman is able to write that in a satisfactory fashion is something i... don't have the highest hopes for, but they will figure it out and be okay regardless of what that guy writes)

- Crystal :)

[the8thsphynx]

I know that, with Beryl, it's on sight for River, but it'd be super interesting to learn what ur ocs' relationships are like with the other crypters!

Thank you for the ask!!

And sure thing, I'll go through them in order of the Lostbelts! Just a fair warning, I haven't read any of the fan translations for LB7 yet, so I have next to no knowledge on Daybit! He'll likely be the only one out of the lineup here!

River:

Kadoc- Complicated, but River does actively try to reason with and bring Kadoc back since he can sense that he doesn't really want to be there. While Kadoc is in the Stormborder after LB1, River gives him his iPod and says 'I think we listen to all the same things, so you can have this for a while and give it back some other time'. Kadoc tried to return it before Traum, but...

Ophelia- There wasn't much to say; Brier took over most of the interaction with Ophelia in LB2.

Yu Meirin- The Crypter that River has the weirdest connection to, and this has to do with his true identity as Aim. Yu and River have a heavy unquantifiable empathy towards each other to where in the fight in LB3 they even verbally agree with each other, 'I wish we could have been friends'.

Peperocino- Also VERY complicated, but River doesn't hate Pepe. There are times where River and Pepe actually flirt and banter like friends until River snaps out of it-- remembering where they are-- and is cold towards him again. Pepe feels sorry for River bc he knows his true nature and even calls Chaldea out on being divisive about what they're going to do with him.

Kirschtaria- It's sad that in any other circumstances Kirsch and River would have been best friends, but after Atlantis they both had a very sturdy resolution to kill each other. River sees Kirschtaria as someone who betrayed humanity and is their biggest obstacle to restoring the world, and Kirschtaria sees River as humanity's biggest threat, regardless if it's PHH or a Lostbelt.

Beryl- Like you said, It's on Sight. Complete hatred. Primal need to hunt each other down like animals. Beryl hates River because River is who he will never be, and River hates Beryl because it's who he was compared to and someone who's hurt/killed people River loved.

Daybit- [tbd since I havent read LB7]

Brier:

Kadoc- As a note, Brier knows about every Crypter. The only blackbox is Daybit. In the way of Kadoc, she seriously pitied him but uh... rarely anything makes her merciful. She was the one in this AU that took the shot on Anastasia at the end of LB1.

Ophelia- OOOOOOUGH the girls have BEEF. Ophelia's Mystic Eye is the only thing that can effectively counter Brier's Mystic Eye. There comes a point where Brier says 'fuck it' and starts breaking Ophelia down mentally by insulting her based on her upbringing.

Yu Meirin- Interested, but not hateful. Brier picked up on the fake af records on Yu and was the one that passed the info to the team. Learning that she was a True Ancestor got Brier's gears turning afterwards.

Peperocino- They're so besties. Like they literally met and knew each other before Chaldea and Pepe is the reason Brier had any gateway to find Chaldea. Even with circumstances, they were super happy to see each other again.

Kirschtaria- Brier is on the same page as River with this one. Even though she has a lot of respect for Kirsch and his former position in the Clock Tower, she was game to take him down if that's what was needed to restore PHH.

Beryl- They Have Been Actively Hunting Each Other For Five Years. Brier took the most recent hit Third Eye put on Beryl because Beryl has wiped out the past four Third Eye assassins that have been sent after him. She's made everyone in Chaldea (even River) swear that she would get him in the end.

Daybit- [tbd since I haven't read LB7]

Fakkir:

Kadoc- She sees a lot of her own son in him. Fakkir really really wants to convince Kadoc to defect from the Crypters and come back to Chaldea.

Ophelia- Cue the Aizen line 'admiration is the furthest thing from understanding'. That's basically what she says to Ophelia. Fakkir has respect for Ophelia's skill and empathy for the situation she grew up in, but she doesn't pity her or hold back on ripping up LB2.

Yu Meirin- Very neutral, only because Fakkir agrees with the idea that she too would happily abandon the world if it meant she and Adam could be reunited with her husband. In fact it drags out of Fakkir that the only reason she's going so hard to save PHH is to see her husband again.

Peperocino- At first Fakkir really can't stand Pepe, because he outs her on her family name and the very big name lineage she comes from. Gradually, though, they develop respect towards each other. Even moreso in LB6.

Kirschtaria- They had met before and were good acquaintances before Chaldea. Kirsch was actually the one who recommended that Marisbury try and get her into Chaldea, since Fakkir had been outcast from the mage world by her own family and therefor wasn't on anyone's radar. Kirsch and Fakkir tried between Atlantis and Olympus to reason with each other, but they're both so stubborn that it went nowhere.

Beryl- Fakkir heard whispers of Beryl and already was on guard about him, but very quickly she's down to kill him after what happened in Olympus.

Daybit- [tbd since I haven't read LB7]

[a-student-out-of-time]

Tbh, aall of those drdt people that goes "Arei is 100% dead and Teruko shouldn't trust anyone else in the class bc they don't deserve her after almost throwing her to the wolves in Chapter 1" have the same vibes that the canonronpa people that are always like "Makoto shouldn't be trusting class 78 anymore, they not only blamed him of Sayaka's death, but also almost killed him in Chapter 5. They're just abusive bastards and Makoto would be better with class 77-B"

//Fandom as a whole has this collective problem with simplifying characters down to the elements that either make it work for them or don't make it work for them, and it usually comes from a place of personal taste rather than anything based on what the characters would really say or do.

//There's a reason why "canon version vs. fanon version" is a meme, after all.

//Danganronpa is a series that's all about exploring the concept of what people do and how they act under duress, which doesn't automatically equate to who they are as people. These stories are much more than just funny antics and occasional shipping fodder broken up by the occasional murder trial.

//The moralistic aspect of this view is easily the worst part. Chapter 1 is so iconic because, right from the beginning, the game isn't telling you whether or not you should view Sayaka's actions as entirely selfish or a last-minute change of heart to protect someone she really cared about. It's left largely ambiguous as to why certain things happened and Makoto still chooses to see value in his relationships with Sayaka and Leon anyway.

//But no, a lot of the fandom depicts Sayaka as an evil conniving snake who was only ever manipulating Makoto...even though she didn't have any reason to do so until she saw her bandmates. And if she really felt that way, she could've easily just gotten Makoto alone and killed him, but instead she chose Leon.

//And Leon, despite having every opportunity to go back to his room and tell everyone what happened the next day, since Sayaka would have a broken wrist as proof, instead chose to break into the bathroom and kill her. The fact that he did that is proof he's not innocent of any blame, but it's the nature of the first execution that really cemented the reality of the game for everyone, and so I see why sympathy would be more on his side.

//Yet everyone seems to forget he also spent that trial trying his hardest to blame Makoto, deflected blame just by screaming "stupid" over and over instead of providing any counter-arguments, and also said anyone else would've done what he did in his position. Really? Because I think most of us wouldn't have deliberately gone back and broken into the bathroom just to kill her.

//In the end, the entire point is that it's a morally grey situation, yet Makoto also makes the correct decision to shift his anger onto the person who put everyone into this situation in the first place. He's also clearly left with a lot of guilt and complicated feelings on the matter, even if he chooses to see value in knowing them both.

//On the other end of things, Teruko is not Makoto. She's had a long history of being betrayed, getting hurt and losing the people she cares about. She has much more of a solid character motivation to stop trusting others the first time this happens, but refusing to trust anyone is very dangerous in a game where everyone's life hangs in the balance.

//Not to mention, despite her protestations, Teruko does care about other people, but feels like there's nothing she can do to help others or be a good person.

//There's so much more to discuss with these characters beyond "murder bad, no murder good," and simplifying things down to these elements really does a disservice to the writing and characterization of canon and fangans as a whole.

[nataliescatorccio]

If you read the books closely we have every motivation for yennefer's character. They are not told us like we are children reading a fairy tale but everything is there just not in chronological order. From her aduced from her father and the rejection of her mother and siblings, to her coming to aretuza, to lose her capability to have children bc of magic and not operations like the show, to not believe she is worthy of love, to feel a piece is missing, to not be able to accept it like other mages, to never cry bc that is pathetic like her mentor says, to take matters in her hands and not bieving in magical solutions, to harden her heart, to not be able to love, not istredd even if he could be useful to her, to suddenly fall in love with geralt bc he treated her different (why me?, no one ever chose me), to feel unworthy of that love (both did) so they messed up many times but they returned to each other bc they experience a tenderness together they never felt before, and even when they were apart they kept looking out for each other (yen paid for geralt's debts and geralt wanted to help her regain her fertility), to fight to a war bc out of duty to the council, losing her sight, having pstd, she became the newest member of the council, she has a whole backstory with Francesca in blood elves eugenics, she goes to help geralt with ciri even if she's mad at him at the time, she meets the little girl and at first she feels her as an antagonist but later loves her unconditionally and sees her as her daughter, she goes through hell to protect her and dies for the man she loves. What we dont know about her? What motivation is missing? The thing is that in the first few books she's a mystery (did she betrayed geralt etc) but that's bc her past is revealed in a non chronological order. But once you read it all, everything makes sense. She presents her self as cruel bc of how she was treated at early age but she doesn't want geralt to think she doesn't have a heart (remember her conversation with dandelion in blood of elves?) , she doesn't believe in herself on a personal level - she's the best at magic but not the best partner - she wants a home with geralt but feels unworthy of that etc. That has nothing to do with the show. I loved the decision to show her past in s1. It was my favorite story but I can't understand people who say she was not as strong in the books. She wasn't shown so much maybe for mystery reasons but she was a great, innovative female protagonist in fantasy and I hoped in s2 they took that story and expanded instead of change it completely. Sorry for my rant, just my two cents.

sorry anon but most of this is just a list of events rather than anything to do with her personality and complexity. we're able to understand more from her because of the depth the show has given her, but the books truly just give throwaway comments that, unless you fill in the blanks for yourself, create a sketch of a person and not a fully three dimensional being. the books give you the bones - sure, we can sit and put it together, add the flesh ourselves in what we think of her as a character, but yennefer in the books can be easily molded to whatever people want of her and that’s why she’s ‘less controversal’ than the games or show. this feels like a pointless argument because i have my viewpoint and you have yours. to me, yennefer always deserved better than the books.

[simonxriley]

can i ask why you’re anti mwii? from what i’ve seen it’s mostly dude bros who just hate the babygirlification of the characters, so i am extremely curious as to why you do specifically. i know that you would have something actually insightful to say and not just spewing bs lol

I'm about to go on a rant so, sorry about that 😅.

I personally think the story sucked and so do most of the characters (bad writing). Here's why. This game should've been about the fallout of Price killing Victor Zakhaev and when we met Makarov. Instead we got a game where you're fighting a Mexican drug cartel? until Shadow Company and Shepherd betray you. And don't even get me started on Graves and Shepherd. They messed up Shepherd's character who should've been pivotal to the plot like he was in the original. In the original MW2 he started the war with Russia bc he was still angry about losing 30,000 people and how people just 'moved on'. So he uses Allen to get what he wants. The war between the US and Russia. The reboot version he was giving missiles to freedom fighters? that got ambushed by the Russians, but since this was done under the table and Price and the 141 were getting close to finding out the truth he betrayed them? Like what? And he let Ghost and Soap go? Or was going to until Alejandro attacked Graves. Ghost and Soap should be dead, same with Alex, Rudy and Laswell. But for some reason no one is dying and it's annoying me. I'm 98% sure Graves is still alive.

As for not liking most of the characters. I knew going in they obviously would be a bit different with new VAs and all. I just think they're written badly. Soap annoyed me, but i can let that go since i know he's the youngest member of the 141. They tried to make Ghost more 'edgy' and i find his character more bland than ever. He was more intriguing in the original by just being there. Shepherd i explained above and Graves, though now a bad character could've been a better if they did the betrayal a little bit better. Price, Gaz and Farah are the only characters i like. Though Price only being angry at Shepherd for betraying them is bc he didn't tell him? I feel like Price should've been angrier than that, but whatever 🤷🏻‍♀.

This isn't just for mwii, but the reboot series as a whole. Apparently the theme is supposed to be about consequences? It's really not though. Almost every character has done something that should've had repercussions at some point in the future, yet nothing happens. They just go about their lives. Which brings me back to the original MW2. There were consequences for the characters actions, whether intentional or not. Ghost and Roach ended up dying bc there was incriminating evidence about Shepherd's involvement with the terrorist attack in Moscow that they had no idea of. Soap dying to safe Yuri. Price and Soap killing Shepherd, which resulted in them becoming fugitives. Those were all consequences of the characters actions. We're not getting that this time around for some weird reason. I personally think the reboot version of the series is a watered down version.

I hope this makes sense i'm not that good with words or explaining things that well.