#because they're both /fascinating/

[aparticularbandit]

so there are pros and cons to having spoilers (of various forms) when it comes to first-time playthrough of the danganronpa games.

i'm frequently spoiled on the killers/victims of cases (i think 3-2 is the only time where i went in completely blind, and i loved it, actually), and often i have more information than that but without context (and this last one is important).

what this means is that most of the time when i'm playing a class trial, i'm not looking for the mystery of who did it, i'm looking for the puzzle of how did they do it. and that can save me from the game making it blatantly obvious who did it why aren't we voting because i'm over here okay, but i want to figure out how they did the thing.

this probably helped me enjoy the trial in 3-3. (that said, due to triggering content, i will probably not play that case again.) i enjoyed the story beats of everything going on with himiko and just like. avoided all of the frustration of we all know it's kiyo why aren't we voting because like. i already knew it was kiyo going in, i'm here to see how he did the thing and also why, which was totally a let-down there, ngl. but i'm usually not here for the who. i'm here for how and why.

however.

i also run into spoilers without context like miu suddenly adopted monotaro and see it in discussions on miu's character where this is a huge deal so i'm waiting for something that ends up being, you know, two or three back and forth lines. and, yes, there's a wealth of space to headcanon and enjoy there, but getting to that point after reading about how important it is, it feels underwhelming because like. i go in expecting a bigger character moment from that. i go in expecting something like himiko drama (not that big, not that big, but you know what i mean). and then it isn't that.

which is probably why the dr2 ending was so underwhelming for me. i built up the hajime/izuru reveal so much that it was like. it was a throwaway line. technically not a throwaway because it was important, but it was a thing that got brought up and now we know and let's continue on. in my head, that was so much bigger.

even junko, when she had all of her chewing the scenery at the end of thh (and the end of the anime), was underwhelming for me. because i knew. because i saw how much people loved her. and i built her up in my head as something that wasn't what she was. and so i was underwhelmed and disappointed. (and then i read dr0. and then started pick-pick-picking.)

and like - this isn't a uniquely danganronpa experience either. i've mentioned before how my relationship to junko from a fan experience is extremely similar to my relationship to agatha harkness. both were built up in my head as a really big deal. both were underwhelming when i first encountered them because they didn't live up to what i expected based on what i'd hear about them. and then i started puzzling over intricacies (usually for fanfic - i did not care about agatha until i needed her for finding family and then started analyzing) and got sucked in.

but like.

this is a place where spoilers are failing me. because the hype probably would be right for the character if i didn't encounter the hype first. but i encounter the hype and get overhyped and then the real thing doesn't live up to it.

and i don't know how to better engage with that.

....

but it's possible i'm enjoying the puzzles of the murders more, so that's fun?

[assorted-biscuits]

Lyricism Without Tears

@gensational @doodledrawsthings these two are inextricably bound to each other as sworn enemies. to me

[writingdevil]

hiii! if you're still doing writing requests then may i ask for paracold? i loved the fic you did of them before and how you write the voices in general <3

(YES!! PARACOLD!! I love them, if you couldn't tell. I got straight up possessed the last time I wrote them and I'm actually really proud of how that one came out, so I hope this one will be just as good. Enjoy!)

Paranoid had hoped that once they had been allowed freedom and physical forms, that maybe his fears and anxiety would lessen. But of course, why would that ever be the case?

He thought that things would actually be better for him if he only had himself to worry about, but it became very clear very fast that his mind was a prison.

No matter how peaceful and safe their lives now were, Paranoid's mind just couldn't stop coming up with worst case scenarios, turning every little fear into a wriggling mass of terror within him.

Some instances, he could manage to get under control with a few minutes to himself-remind himself that he was safe, and if that terrible thing was true, then the best course of action was to distrust it, and keep himself and his flock safe.

A lot of his fears came from danger, and the fear of experiencing the trauma he had in the past again, but funnily enough, those were the fears that Paranoid had an easier time with controlling, because he's experienced that type of stress plenty of times now, so he knows how to deal with it.

But then Paranoid was surprised to find that there were other, more emotional fears, that he was now a victim of, ever since getting his own body.

He always cared and worried about his flock, but now he found himself thinking and reflecting on how the others saw him-quite a lot now.

Does Skeptic truly see him as crazy? Is he sometimes too harsh on Broken when he doesn't need to be? Is Hero sick of calming him down after all this time?

While these thoughts plagued him frequently, there was one that continued to torment him every second of the day.

Will Cold lose interest in him?

There was nobody more surprised than Paranoid when he found himself slowly being pulled into Cold's orbit, until the two of them formed an attraction that was both exhilarating and relaxing at the same time.

Cold offered him relief when things got too intense. He didn't immediately see his fears as crazy, instead calmly talking sense to him, helping him see his fears as less daunting than what Paranoid believed them to be.

Cold made Paranoid feel safe and stable when his mind tried to trick him otherwise-along with a million other things he could say about Cold.

But despite how his heart beat wildly for the other bird, the one thing that his mind kept getting fixated with, was the thought of Cold getting bored of him.

Everyone knows what Cold's deal was at this point, how he wanted to seek out the unknown and intriguing, and numb the mundane. Surprisingly, his search led him to Paranoid.

Cold insisted that everything about Paranoid interested him, from how he would conceptualise his fears, to their differing beliefs, and how Paranoid refused to leave Cold in his state of nothingness.

But would that interest fade away with time? What would happen when Cold discovered all he needed to about Paranoid?

Would he leave Paranoid?

That was the current fear that was always eating away at him in the back of his mind, that Cold would get rid of him one day, and all their time together would have been nothing more than measly fun for him.

Every time that they embraced, every kiss that they shared-Paranoid was constantly fearing that it would be the last one, and he would never get a chance to experience those soft moments again.

Paranoid knew it wasn't healthy. He definitely knew it wasn't fair to Cold, to be assuming these things about him, but once the thought entered his head, he couldn't get it out, to the point that it was beginning to taint the happy times he still got to share with Cold.

It got to the point that Paranoid had trouble sleeping-well, he always had trouble with that-but more so with Cold-like tonight, for example.

Currently, it was the middle of the night, and Paranoid's mind was tormenting him once again, and he just stared at a random spot on the wall, waiting pointlessly for sleep as his tired eyes burned.

He could feel Cold behind him, the soft rise and fall of his chest against Paranoid's back, one arm draped over his waist, and his cool breath hitting the back of his neck, sending pleasant shivers down his spine.

Usually being held like this made Paranoid feel safe, but then he started to try and memorise the way Cold's body felt against his own, and then that led to another spiral of painful anxiety.

Paranoid's body felt restless, with a need to toss and turn to try and escape these emotions. But every time he so much as nudged away or even twitched, Cold would just sigh deeply and pull Paranoid even closer against him.

Paranoid sighed in defeat, attempting to shove his face further into his pillow to try and escape his messy thoughts, when he suddenly felt Cold mumble into the back of his neck, "Why aren't you asleep?"

Paranoid froze, trying to ignore what the low, raspy tone of Cold's voice was doing to him, and attempted to act asleep, hoping Cold would believe him, but then he felt Cold shuffle behind him, moving his head to whisper into his ear, "I know you're awake. Your body is as stiff as a rock."

Paranoid sighed, shifting awkwardly in Cold's grip. "Sorry," he muttered, "can't sleep."

"Why? What's wrong now?"

Paranoid tried to hide his flinch at the question, gripping the sheets tight as he said, "Nothing's wrong. I just can't sleep."

Cold chuckled behind him, and Paranoid could feel Cold's gaze wandering all over him, as he replied in amusement, "You're a terrible liar."

Paranoid sighed again, more harshly this time, and twisted his body around so that he was staring up at the ceiling. He refused to look at Cold as he said, "It's the truth. I'm just struggling to fall asleep, but I'll be fine. You don't have to stay awake for me."

Even if he wasn't looking at Cold, he could definitely feel the eye roll of the other, and then Cold's arm squeezed him once as he said, "Hard to fall asleep when I can feel the panic coming from you."

Paranoid turned his head away, but then a wave of icy air hit him as Cold sighed-and then Cold suddenly twisted around and moved to sit up above him and lean over him, grabbing Paranoid by the jaw with one hand and the other holding onto his hip.

Cold gently turned his head to face him, and Paranoid gulped at the sight of Cold's piercing eyes in the dark.

Cold stared down at him in silence for a few seconds, before his eyes narrowed and he asked, "What's wrong?"

"I told you, nothing's wrong."

"It's never nothing with you. There's always a reason why you can't fall asleep, so tell me."

Paranoid gritted his teeth in frustration, but one tap of Cold's finger against his jaw made his muscles relax against his will. Paranoid hated how easy it was to relax around Cold.

They sat there in silence, and Paranoid hoped that he could just wait it out, that if he was stubborn long enough, Cold would lose interest and leave Paranoid to his insomnia-but he didn't.

Paranoid sighed in defeat, and he caught the subtle quirk of Cold's lips, but he ignored it, in favour of looking down at Cold's chest, and quietly said, "There's just something on my mind that I can't stop worrying about."

"I gathered that," Cold said, and Paranoid shot him an annoyed glare. "What's got you worked up this time?"

Paranoid fisted the sheets underneath him, and despite the weight on his chest, he knew that there was no way to avoid this.

He looked at anything that wasn't Cold's face as he hesitantly said, "I've been worrying about something-important, and it involves you, but I don't want you to take it the wrong way."

"I doubt I will." Cold's hold on his jaw loosened up, until he was just caressing it, and Paranoid's eyes fluttered shut at the touch, but before he could fully enjoy it-those thoughts came back.

Thoughts telling him that Cold was only doing this to get him to go asleep, that Paranoid was wasting Cold's time by acting like this, that tonight was when Cold realised that he was too much work to be considered interesting anymore, and end things.

"Hey."

Suddenly, Paranoid was thrown back into reality, and blinked up at Cold, who had leaned further down to him, and was also starting to run his hand up and down his side, comforting him.

"Get out of your head-it's a mess in there. Focus on me."

Paranoid did. He focused on the feel of Cold's soft touches, grounding him to this moment, and Cold even blew a puff of cold air to soothe him-and then Paranoid knew.

Paranoid knew he couldn't keep these thoughts in his head any longer.

"I've been thinking about you, about us, and our future."

Cold was patiently silent.

"I-I-guess I've just been worrying about what will happen in the future."

"What kind of things?" Cold asked, and Paranoid lowered his head in shame. "It's-It's really stupid and dumb-and I know that. But I can't stop thinking about it."

"What is it?"

"What if-" Paranoid paused, taking a deep breath, trying to prepare himself for disappointment, annoyance, or even hurt, from Cold. "What if you get bored of me?"

There. It was out.

The silence was unbearable, and Paranoid forced himself to look Cold in the eye, to try and figure out how he was feeling.

But Cold's face was just blank as he looked down at him, and Paranoid was beginning to think that this was the end-when Cold hummed thoughtfully, and said, "You're right. That is a very dumb thought."

Instead of getting annoyed, Paranoid jumped right to defending himself. "I'm sorry-I know it's wrong to think-I just-"

"You're worried about becoming boring around me?" Cold asked, and Paranoid tensed up at the question, but still nodded. He looked away as he said, "It's just-what if I become predictable and dull to you?" His nerves crept back up in that moment. "You wouldn't want to be with someone that doesn't make you feel anything, and the last thing I'd want to feel like you forcing yourself to do things with me-"

"I wouldn't see a point in pretending to like something with you," Cold calmly argued, and Paranoid still couldn't tell if he was offended or not. "We'd just be wasting each other's time."

A small bit of tension left Paranoid's body at Cold's words. He was right. Cold would never play along for the sake of another's feelings. He did what he believed needed to be done, sparing no one, not even Paranoid.

He found a comfort in that, that Cold would never let them play along in a relationship that was long past dead.

Cold stroked a thumb along Paranoid's jawline, and Paranoid tried not to lose focus in that moment. "So," Cold continued, "I think it's safe to say that I'm not forcing myself to be around you."

"But what if that still happens?" Paranoid nervously asked, trying to move his head away from Cold's grip, but to no avail. "Not the pretending, but the fact that one day you might seek something that I can't give you anymore."

Paranoid suddenly felt tears welling up in his eyes, and he tried to sharply turn his head away, but Cold quickly cupped Paranoid's cheek to keep them facing each other.

Paranoid unsuccessfully tried to bat Cold's hand away, and in a fit of frustration he snapped, "Stop that! You're not helping!"

Cold's eyes froze Paranoid to the spot as he countered with in a low voice, "Endlessly worrying about how our relationship could end also doesn't strike me as helpful."

They locked eyes for what felt like forever.

But Paranoid broke first.

All the fight left his body, and he slumped in Cold's hold, leaning further into his hand.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, feeling utterly disgusted with himself. "I'm sorry for thinking those things about you. I'm awful."

"You're not awful," Cold softly argued, him being the one to avoid eye contact this time. "You're just scared, and you can't help that."

"Would it be so bad," Cold began tentatively, his hand on Paranoid's hip delicately brushing the feathers, "If I lost interest in you? Why does that scare you so much? If anything, I'll just be one less thing to worry about."

Paranoid's hand reached up to grab at the hand cupping his cheek, wrapping his fingers around Cold's chilly wrist. His gaze softened as he took in Cold's-mostly-blank face, but Paranoid could see the darkness clouding in his eyes, and he gave his wrist a small squeeze to get his attention.

Cold looked back at him, and Paranoid felt his face burn as he admitted, "It scares me because then that would mean everything we did didn't mean as much to you. It would make me feel-like you had taken a piece of me and thrown it away, and I wouldn't be able to get it back."

He didn't want that. He didn't want to go through that pain. He's seen the way Broken and Smitten can get, and he's scared of breaking like that.

Cold could have all of Paranoid's pieces, so long as he wishes to cherish them.

Cold's eyes widened slightly at that, and Paranoid wanted to keep apologising, for thinking the worst of Cold, for questioning his loyalty to Paranoid-but before he could, Cold hummed again, getting his attention.

"I mean that much to you?" he asked, and Paranoid couldn't tell if he was asking for clarification, or was genuinely surprised. Either way, Paranoid's heart began to race, and he found that words weren't coming to his head fast enough, so he just nodded.

Then Cold surprised Paranoid by laughing-letting soft, amused chuckles spill out of him, and Paranoid just stared, wide eyed up at his partner, having no idea if this reaction was good or bad.

Cold's eyes flashed with amusement, and he leaned down, close enough that Paranoid could trace the feathers on the other's face, sticking out and ruffled from his slumber, and Paranoid wanted nothing more than to just gently run his fingers through them and preen them back into place.

The intensity in Cold's lidded eyes made Paranoid's breath hitch, as Cold whispered into the darkness, "Well, unfortunately, I find myself captivated by you."

Paranoid's response was nothing more than a hushed breath, "Why?"

Cold trailed the hand that had been at his side, up to his chest, right where his pounding heart was. He shrugged and said, "I always feel like you have the most interesting and useful outlook. My mind keeps going back to you, because I know you'll give me what I want. You feel so much, so much so that you're even in charge of the automatic nervous system. Who wouldn't want to peer inside your mind?"

"But that's just curiosity," Paranoid argued, and he wasn't sure why he was arguing against Cold on their relationship. "Your curiosity will fade, and you'll know everything you need to know. There's only so much of me that can keep your attention."

Paranoid was just terrified of being abandoned, as if he was nothing more than a tool for someone to use, as if he didn't have his own feelings on the matter. Cold wasn't evil, Paranoid knew this, but Cold also never let himself get weighed down by things that he deemed useless.

Paranoid just didn't want to be one of those useless things.

Cold studied him for a few seconds, and then he asked him, "Can you remind me who asked who out?"

The question surprised Paranoid, but the answer still immediately came to his head. "You did."

Cold nodded, rubbing his thumb over his cheek softly. "That's right. I wouldn't get involved with something or someone if I didn't think I could commit to it."

Paranoid looked away, ashamed-but Cold wouldn't let him. He always made sure Paranoid's eyes were on him.

"I'm not mad at you for thinking like that. You've spiralled over less important things. Honestly, I'm surprised it took you this long to have worries about us."

That actually got a chuckle out of Paranoid, and the heaviness in his heart lessened, especially when he saw the upward quirk of Cold's mouth.

Cold continued to gently rub his cheek as he said, "Even if I learn every tick and tell of yours, every path you could go down, I'll always find myself gravitating towards you."

"You don't think you'll get bored and sick of me?" Paranoid asked, and Cold shook his head, moving his hand down from his cheek and back to his jaw.

"What if it's not boredom in the end but-satisfaction? Contentment?" Cold suggested and-oh, oh Paranoid hadn't thought of that.

Cold smirked as the realisation showed on Paranoid's face, and he leaned back a bit, with a satisfied glint in his eyes.

"I can see myself sticking with you until the end," Cold said, and Paranoid's body was beginning to relax again, and all the tension and anxiety that had gripped his mind was starting to leave him, and his arms found themselves wrapping around Cold's middle.

Paranoid gave the other a small smile and teased, "Till death do us part? How romantic of you."

But then Cold went, "Oh, no," chuckling in a sinister tone as he leaned up straight to fully loom over Paranoid, his grip on his jaw tightening like at the start of this confrontation.

His eyes were shining with a dark promise as he whispered, "Death won't keep you from me."

Paranoid's breath hitched-and then suddenly his feathers were fluffing up without his consent, and he realised in a moment of mortification that he was swooning over Cold's words.

Cold realised this too, as Paranoid heard his breath also hitch-and then the next thing Paranoid knew, Cold was swiftly leaning down to press their lips together.

Paranoid sighed into the kiss, finally feeling as if he had been released from a dark prison of his own making, and now he was free to love his partner again without any fear.

The kiss was soft and firm, filling Paranoid with a warmth that spread all across his body. It was a reassuring kiss-one that let him know that Cold was here and he wants to be.

Paranoid's eyes began to droop, and his movements started to slow, until Cold broke the kiss with a content sigh, leaning down to half lay on Paranoid, one arm wrapped across his chest firmly, and Cold tucked his face into the crook of Paranoid's neck, and he pressed a final kiss there, making Paranoid sigh in relief.

"Now," Cold mumbled, "go to sleep. It's far too late to be thinking about anything this deeply."

Paranoid chuckled, nuzzling his face against Cold's, feeling himself slip deeper and deeper into slumber.

"Okay," he mumbled, "sorry again."

"It's fine. Goodnight."

"G'night Cold," Paranoid whispered, struggling to stay awake at this point, and he was about to let sleep take over him when he whispered, "I love you."

Paranoid fell asleep, not aware of how Cold stiffened at his words, staring at Paranoid for a long, long time.

He was also still asleep when Cold decided to lean into his ear, and whisper three certain words back to him.

[bumblingbabooshka]

Every time I watch the cold open of Memorial and B'Elanna tells Tom about how she ASSEMBLED a 50's television set from SCRATCH just to surprise him (there's no reason beyond that - just an incredibly sweet and thoughtful gesture) and replicated popcorn for him to eat while he watches and Tom says "They didn't have remote controls in the 50's ♥ Also where's my beer?" I contemplate murder ESPECIALLY because B'Elanna responds cheerfully to it - GIRL!!! LEAVE HIM!!!!!! IS HE SUPPOSED TO BE CHARMING IN THIS SCENE????

[vaguely-concerned]

in his and davrin's banters, lucanis exhibits a certain little shit energy I don't think we see him have with anyone else other than illario and honestly I am living for this

[rabarbarzcukrem]

Ok so it's like.

The motorcycle scene: Touga is obviously imitating Akio and failing miserably. Represents an attempt at achieving maturity and adulthood through adopting empty symbols of power. Gives the impression of movement and progress, but in reality is going in circles. It gets faster and faster, there's a sense of danger and agitation. Touga is driving and Saionji sits in the sidecar, they're not on the same level and Saionji disapproves. Seems like they're heading towards some destination, but they're going nowhere.

The bike scene: A reference to their shared memories. Represents clinging to the past and trying to return to the time of childhood. The wheels may be turning, but the bike stands in place. It get slower and slower as Touga gets more tired until he finally stops completely. There's a sense of nostalgia and emotional fatigue. Touga is the only one pedaling, but Saionji doesn't comment on it (meaning that perhaps Touga being in control wasn't the problem in the first place. Maybe it was always about wanting to restore their lost connection and equal footing). They're facing opposite directions, but at the same time leaning on each other.

[momentomori24]

For a character that has virtually said nothing (impressive feat considering Mark Berskii exists) and has been dead since the start, Cara is so SO intriguing to me. Her complete lack of humanity in the midst of a cast brimming with it stands out in such a fucked up way.

Take her appearance, for example. Outside of the fact that she's much paler than the group, her having redish hair feels so intentional. It physically ties her to two characters: Diana and Wolfgang's mum. By extension, that ties her to Wolfgang and Eva as well. I don't believe that she's directly tied to them, or anyone in our group really (which I think is the point). However, the links that can be tied-- that we as the audience are encouraged to tie-- still exist.

We are introduced to her as a murder victim, a girl who was brutally ambushed and stabbed to death by who is assumed to be a man. That serves as a parallel by what is implied to have happened to Wolfgang's mum; a woman who was murdered by her husband. Coupled with their vague resemblance, it explains why Wolfgang was so emotional during the trial. He's a lawyer, and it's both his job and moral code to have empathy for everyone, but it seems obvious that there was a lot of projection on his part related to this specific case. He doesn't just see a person, he sees a blameless woman, an innocent girl undeserving of her fate. A victim who had to have been sadistically murdered by a man, and "self-defence" was never on the table. He clearly cared about the case-- he cared THE MOST about the case. He was the only one to actually acknowledge that it's based on a real murder case, that the victim was a real person, and treat it with that same amount of appropriate care. But that care is rooted in his strong sense of justice for victims as a lawyer, in his own issues and warped view on gender due to his parents-- it's not entirely for her because he never actually KNEW her.

And we see her again in the execution. Quite literally like a puppet on strings, she mechanically reaches out towards Eva and offers her a hand. In my eyes, this is 100% a parallel to Diana. There's the obvious of a vaguely red haired girl being the only one to offer her support during her lowest moments, but the way Cara reaches to pull Eva up only for her to fall to her death is comparable to the way Diana reaches to pull Wolfgang up only for him to still get electrocuted to death. Here she is again, playing a different role, open to the interpretation of others. Here she is, twisting the knife about Eva's feelings about Diana. She looms over her, standing tall where Eva was at her lowest in every sense of the word. She's a girl offering help, but not out of the goodness of her heart, and the strings puppeteering her every movement emphasise that reality. Where Eva had rejected her advances before, in her desperation she actually reaches back for her, and the act of allowing herself to trust that kindness is what has her plummeting to her doom the way she was always of, the arm giving and tearing at the farce of it all.

Take her talent, for example. She's the Ultimate Teacher's Aide. By her very nature, she exists for the service of others. Uplifting others rather than uplifting herself. She's the Ultimate Teacher's Aide, and she fulfils that role by being Tozu's literal puppet in the killing game, her servitude entirely at his disposal and her autonomy nonexistant.

Take her motif, for example. She's the only character without an animal motif. Her motif, ironically enough, is a human. Two humans, in fact. And I think that's significant cuz we never actually learn anything about Cara herself when she appears. Her existence is always symbolically tied to someone else on appearance alone (Wolfgang's mum or Diana). Her motif is a human because it's the closest thing to what she looks like, but just like the Tree of Ignorance being a hollow imitation of the Tree of Wisdom, she's anything but. What do we know about her, really? What was she like? Was she a cheerful soul or a gloomy one? Was she aggressive or pacifistic? Was she someone who had confidence or none at all? Was she a perfect victim or a failed yet complicit perpetrator? The sad thing about that question is that it really doesn't matter. Her murder case is only proof of her existence that exists; history has taken this girl and reduced her to nothing else and it doesn't matter. In a group of individuals she's exists solely as a blank slate, a passive party, an entity they can project on. She's a girl. She's a victim. She's a doll. She's a reason. But make no mistake-- she was never meant to be a person.

(Cerise's made a great art piece on this idea go check it out!)

[arabella-strange]

Orym: I'm just a little guy, all I do is fight, I am now openly admitting that I made a deal with a fey [nightmare/grandmother] patron because I think the only way the rest of you survive is if I doom myself

Laudna: I'm already dead, she will always have a hold on me, I'm holding you [specifically imogen] back, the best thing I can do for you now is die/give in so you can live

[adhd-merlin]

Christian iconography? in my Merlin??

[mantictiger]

I'm fascinated by Gwendolyn Bouchard for a multitude of reasons (love me a girlfailure) but what I'm the most curious about is why she's so hellbent on having Lena's position at the OIAR. It's been established that the Bouchards are a very well-off family (I can't remember if thats tmagp-specific lore or if that was mentioned in tma as well) so it's not like Gwen needs the job, especially a job that doesn't seem very glamorous. She seems incredibly dedicated to it though (her being so insistent with specific filing of cases in episode 1 I believe? is what piqued my interest) and is so insistent on climbing a corporate ladder that only seems to lead to Lena's position for no real reason. I get the OIAR is a part of the UK government and that could look good if she's trying to get higher-up positions, but the OIAR is certainly far from a respected or well-known organization (as far as I am aware) so I'm not really sure what her goal is here, and I really hope we find out

[starry-bi-sky]

if i had the tools or the knowledge to make a Cult of the Lamb animatic, I would make one to "We Become We" from Journey to Bethlehem, but instead of being Narilamb it would be through the ages with Lamb and their follower spouses. The followers would be Joseph's voice, and the Lamb would be Mary's.

The song would go through at least four spouses, and each new spouse the wedding ceremony steadily grows grander as it signifies the passing of time, the expansion of the cult and the lamb's influence, as well as how many bishops have been defeated until by the fourth spouse, Narinder is already apart of the cult. As well as Lamb steadily growing more demure and reserved with each new spouse, until eventually the love is completely one-sided.

The first spouse would be before Leshy was even defeated, where the lamb is still getting the cult started and still trying to defeat the mini bosses. The ceremony is humble and they're both essentially wearing slightly nicer versions of their clothes. The only lights they have are the stars, the fireflies, and a fire. We would stay with this couple until the lines; "hopefully not ending in estrangement"

By the next line; "it's a step of faith" it would change to the next spouse. There's a bigger audience, the cult is bigger, their clothes nicer. The lamb has defeated two bishops by now, they look a little less in love. More demure. The ages has weighed down on them like water erodes a canyon.

We move to the next couple at "can mine become yours?" the lamb is actively trying to defeat Shamura now. The cult is near it's completion. The wedding ceremony grounds are ceramic and decorated, with lights stringing from pole to pole. The Lamb looks radiant and nearly outshine their spouse. The spouse looks less in love and more in complete overwhelming devotion, they don't even notice that the Lamb is not as engaged as them -- oh they look pleased, content. But not in love, but it's not like anyone by then knows what it looks like when the Lamb is in love.

We meet the last spouse by the very end when the dance and song ends. "I could never choose to love another." / "Maybe one day I could learn to love you, too". The Lamb is disengaged, just going through the motions. Demure and modest, the picture perfect radiance of a god among mortals. Their crown is a veil. They're looking into their spouse's eyes, but not really seeing.

Anyways that's what I would do if i had the tools to make an animatic.

[kairithemang0]

Do I not ship tadmore romantically because it's straight? yeah probably. they will stay lesbian and bisexual besties with Tadius having feelings for a bit that he gets over and they're just good close friends until the end of time thank you good night <3

[stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage]

my experience with maxing out the twins' friendship is just-

Hawke: So, Carver, my dear baby brother who I love and adore, I only need +10 more points to max out your friendship. I've done the grind; through gritted teeth I've kissed templar ass so that we don't raise suspicion. I've supported and defended you and let you take the lead whenever I could. You're my favorite warrior. I took you to the Deep Roads with me because you desperately wanted to go and then made you a warden and you found a place, a purpose. I've practically written my own guide on how to earn as much friendship with you because I love you and it's totally worth it so can I please please have the last +10...? Carver: Hawke: Carver please I'm begging you Carver: Carver: +5 Friendship Hawke: AAUUGGGHHLKSAJDLKAJSDLK-

Hawke: So, Bethany, my dear sis- Bethany: +50 Friendship Hawke: Bethany: :)

[if-loki-was-a-fox]

it has just been vaguely floating around the back of my mind for a while, how John doesn't really reciprocate or echo Arthur's usage of the word love for the longest time, despite Arthur nose diving into that framing of their relationship So Hard, after part 20 and the King's "and yet you love him" + challenging him on loving john + separating him from john. John clearly cares about Arthur too, says as much and calls him his friend plenty often, but he doesn't use the word "love" until part 43, when he has his own experience being challenged on it with the Witch

[amelikos]

What's you all favorite trio in Horizons? Could be a group of three characters tied narratively, or a trio that is more straightforward and established as friends, etc.

Mine is the trio of Liko, Friede, and Amethio.

[torchickentacos]

The pokemon anime subreddit fascinates and frustrates me on equally deep levels