#but also it was longer iirc so it had more time to develop the characters and their arcs

[jonny-b-meowborn]

Just read Dead Inside by Chandler Morrison, absolutely wild book, honestly loved it, surprisingly funny for what it's about. It's pretty short, I read it in one sitting in just a couple hours, and there's a lot put into it. I really liked how the author characterized the main duo, they're really just wild asshole people. I loved how much of a dick the narrator is, genuinely awful person, but still very entertaining with his annoying observations. Also the cover art is really beautiful, I love it. Generally great book, wouldn't recommend

[transhoverfish]

OK SO IM LATE BUT. MORE SUB3 NEWS!!!

so a few days ago, krafton (their publisher), apparently had this like presentation of their plans over the next like 2 years. and during that they talked a bit about sub 3!

and this obviously creates a LOT of questions. not to worry, though, because unknown worlds added on to this:

im honestly not surprised by this. iirc, when below zero released they said it would be a WHILE before the next game, and they only announced this back in like... january? now, the first game's release was in january, and bz was in may, so it's definitely possible early access with be in spring of 2025. those games did not have multiplayer aspections tho! its possible we'll wait until mid 2025, and full release will likely not be until 2026. but who knows? the first game took like ten to be fully finished!!

and honestly. THANK GOD. i can't imagine any subnautica game having BATTLE PASSES or LOOT BOXES. i would have just straight up ignored this game 😭

i do wonder what these updates will entail! "many years to come" is definitely something interesting to me, because other than bug fixes... i dont remember sub or bz getting many updates post full release. is this referring to bug fixes, or is it implying that it will be in a state of early access for much longer? are they going to just keep adding new things (like the building update for sub1) and taking fandom suggestions? very interested!!

maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but i actually,,,, dont want multiplayer. now i do like bz, and these games arent really intended to be horror games, but also bz is very noticeablely less scary than sub1. and some of it i think definitely has to do with all the extra characters and dialogue. its hard to feel isolated when you know al-an and marg are nearby. so im very happy that it's optional, bc i know i will probably enjoy single player a lot more enjoyable!!

so now... SPECULATION.

so the first thing im curious about that the development team didnt mention:

"uncover the mysteries on an entirely new alien planet"

apprently we are NOT returning to 4546b. which im kind of sad about!! ik the story is very obviously done there, but it feels weird that its going to be some other planet this time around. THERE WONT BE PEEPERS!!!! (well there could be but it would be weird if some other random planet had the exact same lifeforms)

now my next immediate thought is: is this a direct continuation of below zero? my opinion is: no. probably not.

mostly because it mentions up to four players, and robin and alan are, if you look very closely, only two people. now they COULD just create two new characters to go alongside them (my fanfic brain loves the au idea of marg and ryley 🥺) but im just going to assume that with the addition of a new planet, we're going to drop the old storylines. which means no more degasi, sunbeam, aurora, or ayou sisters. we might move away from architects/precursors altogether! (my basis on this is absolutely nothing and i could be wrong, this is 100% just theorizing)

also, i imagine that it would be difficult to keep the plot the exact same with two established characters and then two new ones, depending on how this multiplayer aspect works. if its another crash, it would be a lot easier to just have the extra players die/survive, then try to work in a balancing act of one guy playing al-an.

(also i like keeping the ending of bz vauge. if they show up again, they would have to mention what happened to the rest of the architects, and i think it's much more fun if thats a mystery!)

((also also, im gonna drop a bomb on u all for a second. i actually,,, dont like al-an. i have a deeper connection to probably every single other character in bz. i think they really fumbled al's character and story and he is so incredibly bland to me. it feels like they go nowhere with how he was responsible for the kharra outbreak because the game ends immediately after he confesses! it would be nice to give him another chance, sure, but i personally dread the idea of even more al-an. sorry everyone for this horrible news))

HERE'S A CONCEPT IMAGE

i hope they bring back some cut content creatures for this!! i noticed this new area looks VERY similar to the safe shallows, and several of the fish seem to be variations of ones we've already seen (im already seeing bladderfish and hoopfish color pallettes, and the shark resmbles some early concept art for the shadow leviathan, but with the ice worm's colors...)

will there be more land areas?? is it going to entirely underwater?? more kharra?? NO DISEASE AT ALL?? AAAAAA!!!!

[tobiasdrake]

love your db analysis posts! i'd love to hear your thoughts on ultimate gohan, if you have any. between him having little to no reaction to finding out everyone on earth is dead, and randomly letting gotenks fight buu instead of himself, he did not seem to be the same character at all to me, and iirc even piccolo says so, i just... find it hard to believe a non-rage-triggered power-up would do that to him.

Much like Android 16, I do wonder if there were more plans for Ultimate Gohan that wound up being scrapped by the shift in narrative direction.

We're first introduced to the concept of Ultimate Gohan as the Elder Kaioshin is explaining his abilities.

Gohan's dormant power has long been a recurring attribute of his character. In fact, this isn't the first time he's had an elderly sage draw out his dormant power.

Teaching him to draw out and control his dormant abilities was (stealthily) part of Goku's training with him. That Gohan was finally starting to make it his own and tap into his true ki is the reason for why he was repeatedly unimpressed by Goku's abilities.

Gohan didn't even realize it, but through his mastery of the Super Saiyan, he'd also begun to take control of and internalize the tremendous ki he'd always had stored away in him. And as he came into his own ki, what he could sense of Goku's ki proportional to his own didn't make sense to him.

Super Saiyan 2 was, then, the culmination of Gohan's development. His full power, channeled through the Super Saiyan and its amplifying effects - both for better and, uh, for worse.

But it's been seven years and Gohan's been indulging in his true love of academia, in accordance with the agreement Goku and Chi-Chi made about his future.

Goku may have successfully escaped having to get a job by conveniently dying at the last possible second, but Gohan's future is set on a course. He's going to be an academic. It's what Chi-Chi wants for him, and it's what Gohan wants for himself; Even Goku acknowledges that.

Seven years of rigorous study and zero martial arts practice later, Gohan isn't the guy anymore. In fact, examining just how much Gohan isn't the guy anymore is the whole point of his fight with Dabra.

Goku eyeballs Dabra as being roughly around Cell's power. This allows Dabra to serve as a yardstick for Gohan, so we understand what it means for him when he fails to measure up.

Gohan that was a Zanzoken/Afterimage. Nobody even does those anymore. They became obsolete after ki-sensing was normalized, because everyone can now easily sense which "image" is the real one. The one other time we saw a Zanzoken return post-23rd Tenkaichi Budokai, it was against Frieza, who can't sense ki.

Dabra is mocking you right now. He legit thinks you're so shitty at martial arts that you'll fall for this amateur-hour guff. And he's right.

I kinda feel Geets here. If I had to watch my last chance to ever fight my rival get wasted on this, I'd be losing my mind too. He fucking fell for a Zanzoken; Can I just take over already?

So. Yeah. Full Power Gohan isn't a thing anymore. He can still tap into the form - and for some inexplicable reason so can Goku and Vegeta - but this is no longer Peak Potential. Which is where the Elder Kaioshin comes in.

This is a classic formula of Dragon Ball. We've seen it in the RRA, Piccolo, Saiyan, Namek (twice!), and Android arcs. First, Goku gets the shit kicked out of him - sometimes even to the point of being presumed dead.

While the surviving cast members scurry about trying to find a way to face the bad guy, Goku - sometimes unbeknownst to them, sometimes not - is recovering and preparing to come back stronger than ever. This typically takes the form of some sort of godly trial or ordeal guaranteed to make him stronger than ever.

Then, at the 11th hour when all else has failed and all hope is lost, Goku makes his return to have one last epic battle for the fate of the world/universe/cosmos.

This is the Dragon Ball formula. Has been since the day the Four-Star Dragon Ball saved Goku's life from a lethal Dodonpa. Of course, getting Gohan back up to speed isn't going to be enough, since Majin Buu in his weakest form was able to do this to our Cell-adjacent yardstick.

I wonder what Dabra Cookie tastes like? I imagine it's like the wafer part of a Keebler cookie. Sugary and nice on its own but better with fudge.

So. Yeah. If Gohan's going to throw hands with Buu, he's going to need more than the power he fought Cell with. Fortunately, that's the Elder's specialty, and what makes this different than that other time Gohan had his dormant power drawn out.

That's right, we're limit-breaking again. Not the limits of human ability, the limits of Saiyan ability, or even the limits of Super Saiyan ability; We're limit-breaking Gohan specifically. Elder Kaioshin's abilities can not only draw out Gohan's full dormant ability but push it beyond Gohan's natural limits.

Full Power Gohan? Nah. This is Limit-Breaker Gohan. Not his full potential; Beyond his potential. Something entirely different from the Super Saiyan, but similar enough that he doesn't require much alternative instruction.

Kinda feels like a thing that shouldn't be able to exist, to be honest. After all the time that's been put into things like the strain of the Kaio-ken on a body, the effects of Frieza having power beyond his limits, or even what trying to use Super Saiyan 3 in a mortal body does to Goku in this very arc.

The idea of Gohan channeling ki beyond his limits seems like it should have some drawbacks, doesn't it? We do get some hints that something's weird about Gohan's new power. Piccolo can't even recognize his ki signature in this state.

This form is doing some weird shit to his ki. And, as Piccolo notes, Gohan's harder now. Gohan is here to take care of business, and nothing is going to get in his way.

But. Then. The switch happens. Suddenly, Gohan is no longer the protagonist and we need a way for Majin Buu to suddenly be too much for Gohan to handle. So we go from this:

To this:

In the span of two chapters. All so that Buu can ass-pull a brand new ability that's never once been mentioned before even though Kaioshin will later cop to having seen him do it twice, that will instantly make Ultimate Gohan stop being a solution to this problem two chapters after his debut.

A plan that, in fact, he began putting into place one chapter after Ultimate Gohan's debut. Never in the history of Dragon Ball has a brand new form or ability been obsoleted this quickly.

And then Gohan was basically thrown in the dumpster and this was never spoken of again, with Ultimate Gohan just becoming his new Strongest Transformation in follow-up products. You can feel the climactic final act being aggressively aborted around him, in favor of Goku and Vegeta's third act.

Hell, at one point, Goku even suggests bringing in Gohan to fight Pure Buu. Y'know. Since Ultimate Gohan is the strongest in the universe and all that. But Vegeta nopes it.

No explanation offered. He's just like, "That's not the plot anymore; Try to keep up, Kakarot." To be fair, Goku had a chance to bring Gohan into this too. They're both aggressively elbowing Gohan out of the spotlight here.

Mad disrespect.

[dsaf-confessions]

sorry. big long ramble about dsaf 3 steven because i feel like the idea is cool but he also just feels like a whole different character

Ok. Starting this off. Steven was dumbed down so much in dsaf 3 and I hate it. Put them side by side they are not the same character. 3 has no trace of anything that made Steven an intimidating boss. There can be characters who are protagonists and also just aren't that good of people without it being goofy like Dave is! I think in dayshift 1, Steven was the antagonist, and that's why his character is the way it is. And the issue is, dayshift 3 gives him such a good setup!

First off, the endless hallways thing (assuming its not just that one hallway, which doesn't fit with the rest of the layers at all, and also how would more souls fit on there well, if we're going off the lore created in the game (which also makes little sense imo)). It's so good. iirc, even in dayshift 1, Steven is still scared constantly. He's good at not showing it, but he still is scared. The endless hallways, everywhere to run but nowhere to go, are so good for him as a character.

Second off, I feel like it's really not considered, by the fandom or in game, how long he spent there? He was there from 1987 to 2023. The kid that was killed earlier the same day? Didn't remember his parents. Hardly remembered living. "Oh, but Dee and Dave have been there longer!" you cry! They have ties to reality. Dave has their body, Dee iirc freely moved between the two dimensions before settling in The Flipside. They have some way to keep themself tethered to reality. Steven did not. Thats why I headcanon phone guys don't forget things; "Steven" would no longer exist if they didn't. He would've faded away just like every other soul there. Also, "he's an adult", shouldn't mean anything! Why would a literal dimension bend how it works just because he's an adult.

His layer and his character in general feel so rushed. I kind of get the argument that he had so much time to feel guilty, but the issue is, until dsaf 3 you never see him feel guilt. He shows pity but that is not guilt. The way hes made out to be in dsaf 1, having run minimum 2 locations (though more would make sense, just so he did a little bit more and it actually be reasonable to group him in with the kennedys and dave, who are all vital to the story), makes him seem like the strict, cold boss he is intended to be.

In conclusion: Dayshift 3 Steven feels rushed, poorly written, and like a completely different character. His layer was the smallest, his character development non-existent (the whole time youre with him hes just "ohhhhh ohhhh im such a bad person ohhhh peter ohhh no" aside from his very few interactions with dave where you see a snippet of his old personality), and he could've been so much better. I would love to go on a rant about how he works better as an antagonist even while working with jack, but this is long enough already.

i dunno. maybe i'll go replay dsaf 1 and 3 soon and see if anything changes my mind, but i doubt it. ive stood firm on this for all 2 years i've been obsessed with this man and i doubt it'll shift very much.

.

[fancyfade]

Ah thank you for answering my questions actually I am the same anon of a blended family that pointed out the reason why Damian consider Bruce “only” son because a lot of people at dc views the batkids as Bruce’s students or soldiers. Iirc there was a deleted thread of a editor that confirms that.

Not saying there isn’t official lore of the robins acknowledged each other as brothers. Isn’t just me or is their dynamics mainly just

1. The boring Batfamily events Dc love to do. Seriously anyone excited for them anymore

2. Or around Bruce

Not to say they deep bonds, is it just me off dc often make the Batfamily…idk extremely antagonistic to each other to the point their characters are better fleshed out away from the family vs together?

Maybe because how Bruce is written recently but man it’s rough.

I definitely do think that writers flip flop a lot on how they consider Bruce's kids, or they want to treat them as mostly soldiers for the angsty Bruce thing and to explain why they don't have to show Bruce being a dad on panel. Or more of different writers have different opinions, rather than flip-flopping.

WRT bonds... I think that they have some that are well-developed on page, and some that are just not. Most of the characters' dynamic with Bruce has gotten panel time, though inconsistently, so we know pretty much what it should be. We also have seen Dick with Tim and Dick with Damian. There are characters who are not antagonistic, but just don't have a ton of panel time devoted to them (Dick and Cass pre-the dark cass era). And Damian and Tim are no longer antagonistic to each other for the most part but also just. don't have any panel time showing them actually becoming close.

rather than being antagonistic to each other being the reason main batfam events are boring, I think it's b/c they honestly all fill pretty similar niches.

like think about No Man's Land. That was a pretty big batfam event, but we almost never have all of them on panel at once. When we see them in big groups, its often just when in Oracle's clock tower between missions, like saying hi to Cass when she just became Batgirl.

But like. We see Dick go off and do a mission alone in the jail. Some Babs and Dick defending base stuff. Dick and Tim work together in the tunnels for ratcatcher. Cass and Tim when Tim has to be evacuated out of Gotham. Cass and Jean Paul infiltrating that one manipulative guy's camp. In general the missions are pretty small in terms of actually number of people actively on them.

Ok so going back to:

trying to have every single batfam member in a mission just makes them boringer. You have "so and so is the smart one" "so and so is the angry one" "so and so is the nice one" etc... but like. They're all smart. They can all be angry. They can all be nice. they all fill the niche of "generally competent fighter with stealth skills and usually above-average computer and detective skills". IDK its like having a party of 6 rogues.

So in general what you have is you have to diminish characters in one way to make the other stand out more. Like Gates of Gotham, which has stuff I really do like, also had stuff I really don't like like Tim being the only one having ideas. Because Tim had to be "the smart one". And this isn't unique to Batfam! It happens in many team stuff. 1960s Teen Titans diminished everyone's brains to make Dick stand out more, JLA does the same for Bruce. Writing complex dynamics is hard so it's easy to just find 1 or 2 character traits and exaggerate those.

I think that's why Batfam members are better fleshed out in their solo titles - they get to be full characters. I think they may also get to be better fleshed out in team comics, but normally because they get the narrative focus instead of other characters and are treated as the "batman" of the team. Like I love NTT, but Dick is clearly Marv's writer's pet and he gets so much narrative focus.

... I am not sure if I actually answered your question, but those are my thoughts in general.

[pttucker]

Okay so it seems to me like the Fourth Wall (AKA “the largest Fragment of the Last Wall”) is becoming more and more present in the story. And by that I do mean more sentient but also just more there. In the world that Dokja is living in. It’s almost like it’s being pulled into the story more and more, or maybe like the barrier between the it and the world is getting thinner?

It’s gone from being a passive skill that only Dokja could see with very general [The Fourth Wall is strongly activated] type of messages to being something that seems alive when it eats Nirvana (which was outside the physical world, actually, because Dokja and Nirvana were both in soul form inside of Joonghyuk iirc) and then it fully becomes sentient and can directly talk to Dokja after it eats Devourer of Dreams, but more importantly, after Dokja turns it off for the first time and looks at his Attributes Window. And then it’s only after Dokja turns it off a second time (and looks at his Attributes Window again) that Secretive Plotter can not only see it, but identifies it as Fragment of the Last Wall, as does the sentient portal door.

Not to mention it can act independently of his will to show 1863rd Joonghyuk Dokja’s story (…the story that mirrors the actual opening of ORV itself…) whereas before it only acted independently to activate. And when he gets back to Earth, for the first time ever it’s “shimmering faintly” and now Metatron and Briareus can see it too. I won’t be at all surprised if it starts to shimmer more than “faintly” in the future and more and more beings of lower power levels begin to see it.

And now Dokja has turned it off only a tiny bit and TWSA comes flowing out of it.

I think that the Fourth Wall is the novel itself, or perhaps the concept of everything being a novel, which I’ve sort of talked about before and which ORV has kind of shown us because we saw way back with Nirvana that it contained the text of TWSA and Dokja has long since realized that it’s protecting him from being too immersed in the story. A weird theory I’m starting to develop that kind of goes off an old theory that I had is that it might actually literally be TWSA in the form of a "character" and the real “novel” in ORV is…ORV itself. (I just can’t get over the fact that it start showing 1863rd Joonghyuk the literal opening of ORV…)

More than that, though, I think that every time Dokja either turns it off or looks at his Attributes Window, I’m not certain which maybe both, he makes it (and thus TWSA) more “real.” Possibly by losing his protection long enough for doubt to begin to creep into his subconscious? Or maybe just for TWSA/the Fourth Wall itself to creep more into “reality?” Or something like that. It’s worth noting that after Dokja turned it off the second time is also the first time Dokja saw a message stating he was a “character.” I'm thinking that if Dokja keeps messing with it, he may end up fully immersed and at that point idk if he'll even be able to read TWSA anymore? Because he no longer sees it as a novel?

Also, on a totally different note, I see that Dokja’s “new” Scenario Interpreter skill (who knows if it’s actually new or if it’s been there the whole time but he had to know about it to be able to use it since it appeared after he looked at his Attributes Window the second time) is actually giving Dokja information that he didn’t even know but which could have technically been “canon” to TWSA in between the lines. It was kind of glossed over when it allowed him to know exactly where to stab Surya in the previous scenario but it’s now outright showing him the memories of the giants.

I’m not quite certain how this is possibly related to the Fourth Wall becoming more sentient or Dokja being a character or anything like that. Maybe it’s not really related at all because technically interpreting a scene in a novel and thinking up what might be going on in the background is something a reader would do.

[art-donaldson]

when kaz goes up to inej on the boat after the ice court and tells her to stay in ketterdam, do you think he went up to her with the intention of telling her that? or did it just slip out in that moment?

you know i had never really thought about this until you asked and so i went back and re-read the scene so i can try to give a good answer (which will be under the cut just in case i start to get wordy again)

tl;dr: kaz may have had the intention to tell inej to stay & that he wants her, but it also very much could have been a "now or never" situation for him because he seemed surprise when she tells him she's going to leave.

so, yes and no? yes because he clearly wanted to say it and tell her because she wants to leave, but also no because he's surprised that she is leaving and has to make a quick decision in that moment (a now or never type of decision)

okay so there are a couple of things we need to keep in mind before we talk about the scene: inej has had her character development (the incinerator) and so has kaz (swimming in the ice court and can't think of anything but inej). they're different people than they were at the beginning of the story when this scene happens and i think we should keep that in mind

the other thing it keep in mind: nina has just taken the jurda parem and her powers are still amplified because of it. this is important because before kaz asks inej to stay, nina tells inej this:

"i can hear the change in kaz's breathing when he looks at you." "you... you can?" "it catches every time, like he's never seen you before."

now aside from the fact that that part makes me ABSOLUTELY FERAL, it's important to know that cause this is like the first time inej is getting hard confirmation of the fact that kaz thinks of her as something more than a friend. like kaz, the only person who isn't surprised by inej's presence and the only person who can sense her, still feels like he's never seen her before when he looks at her,,,

okay so after their conversation, nina says she's going to go check on matthias but kaz stops her and gives her a task to do (he's probably telling her she needs to tailor wylan to look like kuwei because iirc, i don't think that's happened by this point)

and then, it's actually inej that goes up to kaz, not the other way around. so she's seeking him out, not him seeking her out. inej tells him that she's going to learn to sail so that she can hunt slavers and that she also plans to seek out her family. then, she asks

"was there no one but your brother, kaz? where are your mother and father?" "barrel boys don't have parents. we're born in the harbor and crawl out of the canals."

inej is kind of just . done with kaz at this point she's questioning what he needs because he's about to be rich and seemingly have almost everything he wants so she's just kind of.... done with him and she asks him "was there never another dream?" after asking him what he'll do when there no more blood to shed or vengeance to take

and that's when kaz takes her hand and tells her stay in ketterdam to stay with him and that he wants her

obviously a big turning point for their relationship going forward cause now kaz is trying to vocalize what he feels and wants and he's trying to be that semblance of a man for her. and while inej wants to say yes, she knows her worth and won't settle for so little, which prompts to say the "without armor or not at all" line

NOW, all of this in mind: do i think kaz had the intention of telling her to stay and that he wants her? maybe. in the scene, he seems surprised that she's going to leave and hunt slavers, so i think it may have been a "now or never" situation for him. maybe if she was going to stay, he would have never said that or would have taken much longer to say that.

it's significant he does say it for multiple reasons like it's a big scene for them, but one of the big reasons it's significant is because it's the first time kaz is able to say what he wants to inej and open up even if it's just like . the slightest bit and it shows that he's starting to change and develop as a character.

and inej wants a reason to stay. she wants him to give her a reason to stay, but he doesn't. and she's not going to settle for so little (which she shouldn't!!!!) and so they both leave that scene hurt.

OKAY SORRY this took way too long to answer your question but i love analyzing six of crows

[sapphire-weapon]

I hope this new year grants you more strength because after reading your metas on these characters, I got addicted, i have never seen anyone put this much actual thought on the nuance of this franchise, hope that makes sense.

Anyhow, what I'm trying to say is that I'm kinda curious to know what you think the devs will do with Ada and Leon's relationship especially if they remake 6, alot of people cannot seem to grasp the fact that they are literally no longer it, an end game or whatever, and realistically would have never worked out. Plus the original re6 had a writer that wrote damnation and some others too, which just seems like a completely different direction the new writers are going with since re4r with their relationship. This is precisely why i wanna see what they'd do with them in 6 remake. And also let Ada be her own fucking character for goodness sake.

Nick also iirc commented how there was a lack of "romance" and chemistry between Ada and Leon in 4, and dude would know cuz he seemed to like the pair initially, idk about now though.

So if all this is on point, then Ada and Leon are no longer what fandom thought they'd be. Who knows, can't wait to see

Thank u friend.

So I've given myself a big break from answering questions on Ada and Aeon, but like

I need to stress how impossible it is to predict RE6make.

It is IMPOSSIBLE. Not even Division 1 can predict it right now.

If The Evil Within and Assassin's Creed taught me anything, it's that you can have a story all worked out -- to the point of actual devs telling you you're right -- but it doesn't fucking matter because game development doesn't follow the direction of the story. Game development follows what investors and publishers want.

So, even if I or anyone makes an accurate prediction for the story direction based on foreshadowing and character development, the next game that comes out might have a completely different story from what was worked out, because the publisher wanted to go in a different direction, or maybe the actual development itself was mismanaged and things had to get changed or cut because of money and time, or whatever else.

There's also the possible monkey wrench of RE5make unkilling Wesker. And in that case, RE6make changes in a HUGE way.

I'm thinking about adding this to my pinned post, because I get asked this probably more than anything else, and I just don't know. No one knows. Capcom doesn't even know.

[no1ryomafan]

SKL started rotating in my head again over a unrelated 2000s song that just reminded me of Kaido and Magami-not even joking lol-but upon reflecting on its plot I sometimes wonder if it would’ve been better off if like- they didn’t make new characters and just recycled the base cast just characterization them in a different way ala how Getter does it.

Cause I’ve thought about while I’m generally more biased I think Shin vs Neo feels significantly less flawed compared to SKL despite its episode length for not only having the advantage of “it has a lighter plot where as SKL desperately felt like it needed a longer run time” but because it used all the existing characters before and the characterization isn’t even TOO off, they’re all just kinda water downed versions of themselves. (Neo!Ryoma is a really interesting case out of the whole cast though in terms of characterization compared to his go manga self but I’ll save that for another post)

SKL has the issue of it’s introducing NEW characters we never seen to mazinger but we don’t have a justifiable runtime to get to know most of them, Yuki I feel is the only character who is decently developed due to the focus put on her which is why I consider her the MC over the boys even if there can be more fleshed out about her. Kaido and Magami do have a dynamic that bounces off of each other which is why I like them despite not being super deep but its still not fully developed, kinda worst by the fact we don’t get to know ANYTHING about Kaido and Magami’s origins aren’t entirely explain either- and honestly only feel there for the plot rather than expanding his character even if it HAS the potential to expand upon who he is.

But then I thought how this OVA could’ve been if it was like: Kaido=Koji, Magami=Tetsuya, Yuki=Sayaka. (Jun could be Scarlet ig and the villains could be whoever as followed from base show but they could also still get away with the new villains with this tbh) You could keep everything the same, even to the point of having this be a canon where Koji and Tetsuya aren’t related-IIRC they aren’t even related in the Mazinkasier OVA and Tetsuya explicitly calls him Kabuto which would be weird to call your brother/nephew, which would be funny if in this hypothetical SKL scenario they are more referred to as their last names then first-since even if the SKL trio more obviously took more inspo from the devilman trio they match the archetypes these three from OG mazinger canon had.

I’m sure SKL would still be consider a “not really mazinger” series if all other elements were kept the same given Armageddon still is regarded as “not really getter” in terms of source material accuracy but I do wonder if it’s three episode formate could’ve worked better if it it as another au. That said I still like the SKL boys so I’m not saying this should’ve been it over “GIVING IT 13 PROPER EPISODES FFS” and I do wish they could just be reused in a different mazinger iteration whenever we get one-grendizer getting something so hey, there’s hope and it’s slightly more likely than a new getter show-since it be cool if Mazinkaiser had a pilot over just being Koji again but alas my boys are stuck in the void with the Shin Jeeg cast to definitely never to be seen again.

[fritextramole]

i know you love jenny and eric and hate chuck, but i’m really curious what you think about the other main gg characters and why?

Oh I love talking!!!! I love talking so much this is going under a read more bc it got unwieldy

I'm gonna talk about Blair, Serena, Dan, Nate, Vanessa, Rufus, and Lily here, but if there's anyone else you're curious about lmk

(and none of my feelings about the characters are black and white! I do find Chuck Fun To Hate and Jenny and Eric both have moments I pretend not to see. I just have my favorites and least favorite)

Blair

my relationship with Blair is the most complicated. the short answer is that the way she's venerated by fans has really soured me on her. like I'd like her more if everyone else liked her less yk

the longer answer is that I get why people love her. she had this amazing potential to grow as the show went on. I get the urge to pretend her character development stuck and she had a happy ending with Dan (I imagine I'll come back to that when I get there in the rewatch)

but season 6 went back on her character growth and had her go back to being classist and entitled and end up with chuck and I'm not going to pretend that's not canon

and like... ofc I don't think she deserved to end up with chuck (as you said my hatred of him is documented and I do think he'd be a shitty husband post series.) but I do think she deserves some consequences for her actions I'm not going to erase them to give her some happy ending the other characters have a right to be mad at her (this isn't just jenny she was a bitch to everyone at some point but they write it off bc "it's Blair that's how she is" like newsflash bestie we're all insecure most of us aren't terrible people about it)

Serena

I like Serena!! I do!! Blake Lively is charming and charismatic!!!! but she's maybe the worst about the whole Never Learning Never Growing thing most of the characters do which does get on my nerves a bit on a personal level. but more than anything it makes me not that interested in watching 121 episodes about her

I tend to be more interested in characters I can sink my teeth into (which is why I love Jenny's development and hate blair's character regression) but gossip girl is such a plot driven show that doesn't give characters time to feel things (and doesn't think about how they would feel at all.) and I think of all the leads Serena maybe gets that the worst bc there's a lot of things she should be feeling but it's like she doesn't get to (idk if that's a writing thing or a Blake Lively's acting thing (or a combination)) but it makes me not really care. especially bc iirc she'll be less involved in the main plotlines as the show goes on (which is also true for Nate)

Dan

Dan I always find myself becoming less fond of as the series goes on. I didn't find him annoying at the outset the way I know some people do. he's a good big brother and a good match for Serena getting her out of her ues bubble a bit. but the show goes on and he falls in love with Blair less than a year after she banished his sister (and never brings that up to her)

I've never gotten to the point of hating him but in the second to last episode he calls chuck "the best man I've ever known" (he raped your sister!!!!) and I get close

making Dan gossip girl was so bizarre and nonsensical that I'm just gonna say #gaslightgatekeepgirlboss those rich kids deserved it and move on bc I cant examine it seriously or we'll be here all day

Nate

Nate I mostly wish had been fleshed out more. in the early seasons he goes through a lot of really serious shit but his legacy is that the writers didn't know what to do with him after like season 2 so he just dated everyone.

for the most part I like him I just wish he'd gotten more depth in the later seasons

and I say "for the most part" bc he's got this unfortunate habit of looking the other way about how chuck treats women-until it's a woman he cares about. he has this line when he's fighting with chuck in s1 that's like "did you get what you wanted like you did with all those other girls" which makes it sound like he knows Chuck's a rapist and !!!!!!!!!

but that's unfortunately very common behavior in teenage boys. other than that I really do like Nate!!! I like that he looks out for his friends and doesn't send tips to gossip girl!!! I like that in season 1 he tries to write Blair an apology letter and in season 2 he writes a letter to Jenny I think that's really sweet!!!!! Nate's my boy and I wanna give him a hug (and make him stop being friends with that guy)

Vanessa

in canon, Vanessa has these little throwaway details about living with her sister and making socially powerful documentaries and being really well liked at NYU that we just never explore ??? even a little??????? I love Vanessa and she had her dark moments but they were forgivable (and not nearly as bad as anyone else's)

I mostly wish she had been a character in a different show I think is the best way to put it. like I wanna know about her family and her documentaries and her travels!!! but that's not Rich Kids Doing Drama

I was listening to Jessica Szohr's podcast and she said that at a certain point it felt silly that Vanessa kept talking about hating the rich kids but was still always on the upper east side and I think she's right. Vanessa should've been fleshed out more in canon (which maybe would've given her a reason to be in the neighborhood) but also Vanessa should've been the focus of her own show

Rufus

he's not the father of the year that's for sure

in the pilot Jenny says he "makes us go to private school" and I think that theme of attending Constance St Jude's for your education holds true but he doesn't seem to understand the reality of that?? there's this theme early on that "Dan doesn't have friends so why does Jenny need them" which 1. Rufus should be more concerned that his son has no friends!!!! and 2. Dan and Jenny are different people and I really can't fault a teenage girl for wanting to be popular or caring about her reputation

most of the time when I'm watching the show he doesn't get on my nerves in the moment. but then I think about it and I decide he's not a great parent and he needs to get better at actually listening to his children

Lily

she serves cunt it's a shame she traumatized her children

I'm being glib but also I'm not really. I like watching her!! I like that she went from groupie to socialite!!!! she's fun and I have a good time with her. and then I think a little harder about her kids and this post from @vanderwoodlings says it better than I could so I'll leave you with it

[rubylarkspur22]

Kochou-Kamado Swap AU(🦋) Explanation

So! This AU has two versions. I will go over both variations. This one is gonna have a lot more spoilers for the story in general, compared to Ship Swap(💕), so be ready for that.

So! Let's start with characters!

Kanae

Kanae, similarly to canon, still lives with her parents and sister and a pretty well-off life. However, here, they live quite a bit longer. Kanae is 15(as opposed to the 7 years old she was in canon, iirc) when she comes home from spending the night at a friend's house, finding her parents dead and her little sister gravely injured. She rushed to get Shinobu to a doctor, but shortly discovered her sister had become a demon. After calming Shinobu down, Kanae comes face-to-face with a Demon Slayer(though, not Tomioka Giyuu, funnily enough). After convincing the Slayer to spare her sister, she is sent off to train to become a Demon Slayer so that she may find a way to cure her sister.

Kanae still maintains her canon attitude of demons being tragic creatures, and hoping to become friends with some. Part of that may be so Shinobu doesn't get lonely, but she will neither confirm nor deny that statement.

And during her training, Kanae is surprised to come across someone with a kind smile and an offer to help her perfect her forms.

Something I did is give Kanae the ability to see auras, something she hones as she trains. It's actually how she noticed that the swords Demon Slayers wield are not the same as your average blade.

Shinobu

Shinobu is 12 when a demon(one very familiar to her in canon), invades her home, killing her parents and forcing his blood into her veins. When she woke up, it was with hunger in her stomach and what seemed like food surrounding her. Thankfully, her mind cleared up before she hurt her big sister, driving her to protect Kanae by any means necessary when faced with the mysterious figure who was so determined to cut Shinobu's head off.

Unlike Nezuko in canon, Shinobu becomes verbal not long after her two-year slumber. It's limited, but she has help in the form of her sister and those around Kanae. Since the Kochou girls have no connection to Sun Breathing or Yoriichi, Shinobu had no reason to hold off on her mental development.

Shinobu is also quite a bit more aggressive towards demons she fights. Without use of hypnosis. Many a demon, assuming they survive the little butterfly's wrath or her sister's blade, leave the conflict looking like a cat went at them. Bite marks, claw marks, Kochou Shinobu had no mercy.

Before we get to Tanjirou and Nezuko, I want to go over my two different versions of this AU, as these two variations determine their exact backstories and who's with them as well as the Kochou sisters when the time comes.

Variation 1: Tanjirou and Nezuko are still the only survivors of the massacre. However, it's all been moved back in time, and the two eldest children are 10 and 11 when the Demon King kills their parents and siblings. The two are rescued by Himejima, and sent to Urokodaki after they recuperate from the shock and trauma of losing their family. They meet Makomo(who is a Slayer already, having barely escaped the Hand Demon with her life), Sabito and Giyuu, and become good friends with them as they train. Then they go to Final Selection, and Sabito lives thanks to having two extra friends backing him up!

Tanjirou and Nezuko rediscover Sun Breathing during their training, but continue learning Water Breathing since it's easier on their bodies than the Hinokami Kagura. But, as time goes on and they become stronger, it becomes easier to use the original Breathing Style. And thus, two years after passing the Final Selection, Kamado Tanjirou becomes the Demon Slayer Corps first Sun Hashira in centuries(assuming the first Breath Users were Hashira, Yoriichi would be the Sun Hashira, but *shrug*)

Variation 2: The Kamado family, like the Rengoku family, is a long line of Sun Hashira. I actually made the two families related by making Ruka Rengoku into Tanjurou's sister, making Kyojurou and Senjurou the Kamado kids' cousins! The whole family lives, with Tanjirou, Nezuko, and Takeo having passed the Final Selection and doing missions, Hanako passing but choosing to become a medic after a scare on her first mission, and Shigeru in training. Rokuta hasn't found a Breath Style yet.

Meanwhile the Kochou family has taken in Aoi, Kanao, Sumi, Kiyo, and Naho. And they are all home for the demon attack.

Now with that out of the way, it's time to get to the Sun Siblings!

Tanjirou

Tanjirou, two years after his passing of the Final Selection, was given the position of Sun Hashira. While a dutiful Slayer more determined than some to end Kibutsuji's reign of evil for good, Tanjirou's kindness towards the demons who regret their actions remains.

However, his rank painted a target on his back. And his use of Sun Breathing only made that target bigger. Two years after he became a Hashira, when he was 17, he and Nezuko were pitted against the second most powerful demon in Japan, second only to Kibutsuji himself. Upper Moon One, Kokushibou. It was a losing battle, and the siblings' only hope of survival was lasting until sunrise. Tanjirou begged for Nezuko to run so she could survive, taking on the Upper Moon alone. A fatal choice, but one he does not regret making. His little sister's life was spared, that's all that mattered to him.

After that fateful battle, Tanjirou's spirit remained in the Estate he called home. Watching over his family, and eventually meeting a pair of sisters. One, a demon who retained her humanity, and the other an aspiring Slayer hoping to find a cure for demons. And these sisters, as a favour to his own, Tanjirou helped to train from beyond the grave. Watching over them until they departed on their mission.

Nezuko

Nezuko, at age 16, was dubbed the Flower Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps. However, she doesn't use the same Flower Breathing we see in canon. Instead, she created her own version, based mostly on Water Breathing with hints of inspiration from the six core Breathing Styles derived directly from Sun Breathing(she found out about Moon Breathing from reading the Rengoku and Ubuyashiki family records). She also added poison to her arsenal, making her quite the force to be reckoned with.

Before the loss of Tanjirou, Nezuko was extremely energetic and exciteable. While she didn't possess the same kindness as her brother, she was hardly considered cruel towards demons. Aggressive at times, yes, but not cruel. Her rage was saved for Kibutsuji, for the monster who slaughtered her family. She did, however, threaten extreme bodily harm upon the Kakushi who made her initial uniform(the scummy tailor who made Mitsuri's uniform).

After Kokushibou killed her brother, however, there was a visible change. She became cold and resentful towards demons, and closed off from all but a select few of her fellow Demon Slayers(Giyuu, Sabito, Rengoku, Gyomei and Mitsuri were the only Hashira she said more than a few brief words to in a casual setting). The demons she hated most, of course, were the ones who took away her family, leaving her the last surviving member of her bloodline. She swore vengeance on both Kibutsuji Muzan and Kokushibou.

Nezuko has an extra trick up her sleeve aside from Flower Breathing and her poisons, but she's kept it a secret. Waiting until the right moment to reveal her extra trick, and destroy the demons who took so much from her once and for all.

[littlealeta]

Rick's growing this, Rick's character developing that. Have you ever heard of Character Derailment? I'm just asking because I just found out about this and am reading up on it and omg does this fit PERFECTLY with how these characters have been treated in this goddamn show since season freaking 3. Because character development from what I seen is usually the gradual change of a character, sometimes it even involves a devastating consequence that makes the character feel so much remorse that they have to fix their mistakes and themselves. And Rick has the worst character development I ever seen like I don't remember even seeing character development as rushed and contrived as Rick's and I'm saying this as someone who watches a bunch of MOVIES. MOVIES FOR KIDS MORESO. This is a tv show and Rick has already went through changes that usually isn't seen in someone until toward the end of the story. I've seen character assassination but whatever the mess is that the show is treating as "growth"? Wtf is that bs?

Heel-face Turn (when poorly executed) that completely fits Rick. He hung out with some damn crows and all of a sudden is somehow okay with somebody teaching him empathy? AFTER CONSTANTLY TRYING TO AVOID THERAPY AND PUSHING AWAY A SUPPORT SYSTEM IN TONY AND EVEN INITIALLY REJECTING THE CROWS FOR TEACHING HIM EMPATHY? He's more problematically meek toward Morty and Summer even when they're misbehaving or knowing that his meek actions could cause consequences (which has been happening since season 5 but is more emphasized here), being less depressed and drinking less, and apologizing and being overall buddy buddy with Jerry? Rick no longer afraid to show kindness and love to people despite the possibilities of the universe taking them away? Everyone else, he still acts like Rick but this doesn't make it any better. Derailed characters can still retain certain traits that they had before, they're just 180'd all of a sudden in certain traits out of nowhere.

Now let's look at seasons 1-2 before they screwed him over in season 3 by making him more psychopathic than ever. Rick warming up to Summer and helps her beat the devil and allowing her to join the team? Starting to spend more normal time with his grandchildren instead of constant dangerous adventures like watching tv and playing? Rick allegedly helping Morty with his science homework a bit after rebuffing him iirc? Rick hugging and admitting to his grandchildren (with denial but still) that he loves them instead of rebuffing them and calling Morty a human shield? Rick deciding to stop running away from his problems once reality hits him and he is on the run and actually do something that doesn't benefit himself that gets royally screwed over in the season 3 premiere? While also still being a selfish, morally questionable, cocky, hotheaded, insulting butthole? THAT'S CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. It's gradual, it's more well paced, and it's realistic to how trauma survivors and buttholes actually heal. And it didn't use a stupid two crows bs, it just had to have Rick bond with his grandchildren more before taking a liking to them and wanting to do more with them than just his twisted fantasies of what he wants. He's grown an attachment to his family enough to start caring about what's best for them instead of what's best for him. But of course y'all ignore it because it's more subtle and not your idealistic fantasies of 180 changes. And not to mention we've seen several times before the dumb crow crap Rick feeling sorry for himself for being so terrible but he stays the same. Because he doesn't know how to change. Because he isn't getting the help he needs and that's REALISTIC. So why are two crows the thing to change Rick?

You over here accusing others of toxic dudebros wanting Rick to be a butthole and idiolizing Rick but that's not the frigging point here. We're talking from a writing standpoint that you guys don't understand. Rick being a quirky, hyper, bubbly, no-nonsense butthole was how the story started and that's what the original creators envisioned before fake fans like Scott Marder came in and ruined it with his idealistic fanfiction of what he wants the show to be. Now it's a very different show like the other crap didn't happen. I think you just like it because not only will you Rick and Morty fans take almost anything that's not inc*st but because you idealize that sort of thing. You wish for that kind of thing for yourself and for other people. We all wish that two magical crows would come down and change us into better people but that's not what freaking happens. This is what sucks about this whole thing. What I would've preferred is not do a freaking transition episode like the two-part season 5 finale to get Rick and Morty's dynamic back to when it was less toxic in the first two seasons. Just pretend seasons 3-5 never happened and get Rick back to being a quirky, hyperactive, cheerful dude and Morty back to being an innocent, naive, normal child instead of two miserable edgelords fighting over bs. Actually have a REAL consequence similar to the wedding situation that causes Rick to finally decide he needs to change. If you hadn't focused on this stupid crap of Morty being more and more like Rick while Rick is the other way around, you could've had a plot where Morty get fed up with Rick, takes the portal gun, and leaves, maybe getting into trouble, causing Rick to freak out enough to when he reconciles with him, that he wants to change to prevent this from ever happening again.

Character development is not Rick losing his quirks, no-nonsense agency, and charisma to become an empty shell of his former self. Character development is not two crows coming to magically change someone in a snap of a finger. Character development is not abruptly throwing away Morty's arc and becoming pathetically needy towards Rick. Rick is in a toxic family, he deserves to stand up for himself and not be the meek little idiot he is now.

Character development can be negative and we can see Morty and even Summer becoming more and more angrier and crueler but they were gradual. Morty over the course of the entire series is seen getting angrier and more defiant of Rick but didn't get edgy until season 3.

Maybe this is leading to something. Maybe this is signifying Rick's story is about to end or something huge is coming up that could break or regress Rick. Hopefully it's one of these things because this is ridiculously eerie. But whatever happens, it's not going to excuse how shoddily they have treated Rick.

[mousegard]

As one fic writer to another: what's your approach to revising/editing previous chapters?

Once I'm finished with my current fic, I'm planning on absolutely churning through the first half of it to better match how my style evolved over previous portions (paragraph blocking, dialogue clarity, characterization, character thoughts vs. third-person limited narrative, splitting up longer chapters, etc. etc.). When you edit, do you go for a hammer when revising to "published" chapters, or for a scalpel? Do you ever feel like an "original" version of the work should be left as it is as if it's a physically published bit of fiction, or could/should/can it be modified with impunity by an author given that it's a digital work?

when it comes to revising things, i prefer not to change things up too much. but that's because the fics i write are so goddamn long that even if i wanted to go back and totally rewrite the beginning parts my stamina would give out. the biggest after-the-fact edit i made to an eagle among lions was in changing edelgard's nickname for dimitri from the fandom-created "dima" to the canonical "dee" after the latter was revealed in a datamine leak of three hopes prior to its release. other edits included updating the names of minor characters who weren't named until three hopes came out, such as count bergliez and count varley. i also completely rewrote all of monica's dialogue to better match her characterization in three hopes, but given that she had like less than half a dozen lines across two scenes in the entire fic that was very easy (sorry monica). a few chapters also got renamed here and there, and a handful of continuity errors got fixed and minor plot holes got plugged

i don't think it's useful to get hung up on comparing digital media to physical media when it comes to whether a work "should" be edited because physically published media gets modified after the fact too. anime tv series get touch-ups for the blu-ray release, as will serially published manga chapters when they're collected into tankobon volumes. novels get touched up between editions as well; jrr tolkein went back and revised the part of the hobbit where bilbo meets gollum well after its initial publication to make it fit into the continuity of the lord of the rings. so physical works can be and are modified by their authors with impunity after publication, it's just not as easy as updating a webpage XP

if you have the stomach for it, i think it's a great idea to go back to earlier chapters and edit them to be more consistent with how your writing style has evolved since then. however personally i don't mind seeing somebody's style evolve throughout the story they're telling. for example in jojo's bizarre adventure araki's artstyle shifts midway through part four; in the middle of a chapter even iirc, and it's a little jarring when it happens but being able to see araki's development as an artist as he refines his style adds to the overall charm. and there are plenty of webcomics where you can see the artist's style evolve over time in a similar manner, such as, um, pretty much all of them

[hvndredbattles]

𝑮𝑬𝑻 𝑻𝑶 𝑲𝑵𝑶𝑾 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑴𝑼𝑵

yoinked from: @nezemny

tagging: whoever wants to!

what made you pick up the current muse(s) you have?━━ fandom brainrot lmao In all seriousness, though, I do tend to build my muses toward whatever genres or fandoms I'm currently most engaged with. On this blog in particular, it was definitely falling head-first into CoD.(Teddy being the exception, though she doesn't have info yet; she was inspired by a different piece of media (Wingwomen).)

is there anything you don’t like to write? ━━ Not generally in a way that has come up? I don't like children/pregnancy plots, just because they're not of interest to me, and I'm not generally into period drama type writing? And crack, I suppose.

is there anything you really enjoy writing? ━━ I'm an old fashioned whump/angst bitch. I like giving characters a good thrashing, be it emotionally or physically, and sticking them with other people, and seeing what comes out the other side. (Shaking the snowglobe, as it were.) I also really like working within established/plotted dynamics! Not necessarily that the whole trajectory is plotted out or anything, but developing a solid basis in which to work. I enjoy when characters settle into something, and then presenting circumstances that can reinforce or change those dynamics.

AND SPOOKY SHIT. God, I love me some serious, thriller/horror type spooky shit, even if it's not quite in line with the original media.

BUT ALSO I do just really enjoy writing with my friends.

how do you come up with headcanons? ━━ Uhhhh I mean. I almost never write canon characters (too intimidated by the prospect of fucking it up), so anything "headcanon" is actually just canon, technically? In any case, I tend to sit with the character and start prodding at a concept I want to know more about. I'll try to visualize it and set the character down in related situations to gauge reaction and then build from there, if that makes sense?

do you write in silence or do you play music? ━━ It depends. I do have curated playlists for some characters, and generally have a genre or fandom playlist that I can put on. Sometimes I struggle to focus on writing if I have other stimuli, but other times I need something else to split my focus so I can actually get work done

do you plan your replies or wing them? ━━ RP to me is improv. Very little planning, a lot of feeling it out as you go, informed by whatever you've got in your noggin about the character you're writing as.

do you enjoy shipping? ━━ It's not what I write for, but I do enjoy shipping on occasion! I think... iirc out of all my ships, I'm rarely the one to suggest it first, but I'm not avoiding it. It's another one of those vibes-based things where I sort of just need to feel it out as I go, and approve or pivot as I feel is honest and appropriate to the character involved. Very chemistry-based.

what’s your alias/name?   ━━ This is a funny place to put this question in the order of questions lshdfhsdf I'm Squid! I've been Squid for years and years, at this point; longer irl than online, actually. I've had other names and aliases, but this is the one I'm likely to stick with. It rings true to me.

favorite color? ━━ I don't? Have one? Idk man, greens are pretty sick, but I couldn't pick just one. But I also rly like gold and yellows!

favorite song? ━━ Such a "depends on the day" answer. Uhhhhh. Can't pick. Have this one: Gloves (with Matt McAndrew) - Saint Punk

last movie you watched? ━━ What a great question. It's-- OH! It was the new Chicken Run movie, which I watched with my beloved Hannah.

last show you watched? ━━ Does stuff on Dropout count? If yes, I've been burning through all their stuff, and have been currently working my way through Um, Actually. If not.... it's been. A While since I watched any television. It might have been 3 Body Problem? Which I haven't finished, because it was Stressful, but I was enjoying it!

last song you listened to? ━━ lshdfhsd I've got music on rn, cuz I was trying to find one I vibed enough with to share for the fave song question. I bounced around for a while, and then ended up back on the playlist I have it in, so sldhfhsd see favorite song for the song I last listened to.

favorite food? ━━ Macaroni and cheese!

favorite season? ━━ Fall, maybe? idk, they all have their pros and cons.

do you have a Tumblr best friend? ━━ A few! My bestest tumblr friend (and actually just one of my best friends) is @ru5t!

[mekatrio]

to add on to these two posts; basically mca's "good ending" is more of a pseudo "good" ending bc theres just too many character arcs that it either entirely omits (seto and kido) or does not resolve with appropriate emotional depth (hibihiyo, ene, etc), so for my self reference, this is a list of what i believe every character arc needs to 'achieve' in order to be considered "resolved", and how 'resolved' they are in different endings (and sometimes ill explain how the resolution of these character arcs lends itself to the overall resolution of achieving STR):

kido -> she needs to stop using concealing eyes on her traumatic memories so she will be able to remember that mary is capable of summoning the kagerou daze at will, which is crucial in achieving STR (bc mca showed us that STR is achieved by mary swallowing her surviving friends into the kagerou daze). this is 'resolved' in the novel route (meaning her character arc is fully resolved in the novels, but only the 'telling mary she can summon the kagerou daze' part and not the 'summoning kagerou daze to achieve STR part'), but is entirely omitted in other routes (since its a rather late development, novel 7 was released in 2016)

SETO -> the resolution of his character arc is never touched on or explored in ANY media routes so i rly dont have anything to base his resolved character arc off, but i would imagine that itll have to do with seto telling his friends what he had known about for a long time, and also seto using his powers to their greatest capacity, both of which are things we never see him doing in any media routes.

kano -> his character arc is resolved when he no longer submits to the abuse being afflicted onto him by saeru via kenjirou, and he trusts others with the truths that he had been abused into covering up with lies. sounds familiar? basically kano's arc is resolved by doing what he couldnt bring himself to do back when he lived with his abusive birth mom, which is asking other people to save him from abuse. his arc is entirely resolved in the novels, and partially resolved in mca (seto 'learns the truth' from kano in novels and mca, but other members learning abt it is kinda glossed over in mca iirc)

mary -> mary's arc is resolved by her becoming at peace with the part of her that is a 'monster', and realizing that rather than this monstrous side of her being what inevitably dooms all her friends to their deaths, is instead what is capable of saving all of her friends from a destiny of bloodshed. and this is achieved when she successfully attains STR ending! (song route and anime) and of course, she is only capable of attaining STR when all of her friends resolve their own arcs, and more specifically, when she works with them and believes in them in order to keep herself from resetting time once again.

momo -> momo has 2 main arcs in need of resolution; the first one being her mastering her powers in the form of 'attaining meaningful attention she has long coveted for', aka making good friends (and this is resolved in the opening of every single media route). and her second arc is using these cherished bonds she just forged to help someone else (hibiya) to master their own powers, aka her otsukimi recital arc. this arc is resolved in the novels and anime, but not the manga. momo's mastery of captivating eyes + her fostering the mastery of focusing eyes plays a big role in achieving STR, bc captivating eyes is used as a diversion (as seen in the novels and the anime), and focusing eyes plays a major role in banishing clearing eyes into the kagerou daze (as seen in mr2, novel route, and the anime)

ene -> takane's character is very similar to shintaro's, in which they are both characters who would rather turn away from the heart-wrenching truth (that they lost friends who were very dear to them) than face their reality. we see her turning away in the song route (artificial enemy lyrics are crazy) and we see traces of this in mr2, where she states that she didnt want to get involved with the unfolding present day plot. takane meets her downfall in these two routes where she turns away from the truth. for her arc to be resolved, she has to stop being this person who turns away from the truth, and instead proactively go after it. she does so in the novels (and mca i think), which leads to kano returning her back to her body, and this control over her physical body + virtual body is what materially helps the mkd to defeat clearing eyes. (also, what sets her arc apart from shintaro is that ene is not just wary of the truth bc of the emotional anguish it gives her, but also bc the circumstances of her existence as ene has made her doubt the reality of the overall world. and so the resolution of her character arc does not just symbolize her moving on from her grief, but also finding security in the reality of the world.)

shintaro -> like ive said in ene's section, shintaro is a character who would rather turn away from truth than face it, and his character grows past from being this type of person every time he decides to face the truth of his reality instead of drowning in his regrets. bc of the unique nature of retaining eyes, shintaro's arc is 'being resolved' with every subsequent route, with every action in which he doesnt turn away from the truth being a culmination of many routes in the making. nevertheless, his arc is fully resolved when he realizes that he has the power of retaining eyes, and uses retaining eyes with ayano's favoring eyes to make mary remember the previous routes, which then achieves STR.

hibihiyo -> hibihiyo's arcs are resolved by 1.) mastering their powers, and 2.) reuniting with one another. hibiya masters his powers with the aid of momo in the novels, songs, and anime, while hiyori is implied to have mastered her powers with ayano's aid in the manga. their powers are attained thru the wish of wanting to see one another again, and so their character arcs are resolved when they achieve an STR where they are both together (mca ending). and like ive stated in momo's section, them mastering focusing eyes is crucial in attaining an STR ending.

konoha -> konoha's arc is resolved by granting haruka's wish to spend more time with his friends (which results in konoha disappearing), and by saving either hibiya or hiyori from the kagerou daze (which also. results in konoha disappearing. basically konoha will never ever survive STR </3) konoha's arc of granting haruka's wish is resolved in the songs and anime, but only the anime resolves his arc of wanting to save hibihiyo.

ayano -> ayano's arc is resolved when she stops trying to do everything on her own and lets herself rely on others. her resolution comes in the form of her using favoring eye in conjunction with shintaro's retaining eyes, and together they are able to make mary remember the former timelines, which is The Thing that achieves STR. this is obviously achieved in the anime. and of course her arc is also not just about her trying to save everyone at the expense of herself, but letting herself be saved as well.

[mythgirlimagines]

DVHS Reread: Chapter III.II

"Couldn't have done it without Kazu's amazing lyrics." She puts an arm around Fujimoto's shoulders; I don't miss his blush. Miyuki was right about them. "We were going to do this a couple days ago, but we decided to wait until now." Make sense, given...everything. "We'll be here until seven, to give everyone some hope."

Have I mentioned how much I love these two? I definitely wish I developed them a bit more in terms of their music and friendship with the other characters. I actually think Fujimoto and Yoshida would’ve been good friends.

MONOKUMA THEATRE XI 

This one is brought to you by my sister telling me not to panic over something because she wasn’t.

I'm one of the last to enter my dorm, watching everyone's backs. I need to protect everyone who's left. I don't know where the instinct came from, but I don't think I'll be able to stand losing someone else.

She’s starting to really grow into the traditional protag role :)

I can rule out everyone who's already dead. There's no doubt they weren't the mastermind. 

Iirc, I made a couple people suspicious of the dead with this line, haha, probably because of DR1.

Nakamura  

Yes: dabbled in a little of everything (if that means anything), literal charmer

No: sweet and helpful

I love how half of the reasons for people not being the mastermind are that they’re too nice to pilot a killing game. Camila, might wanna get your head out of those specific clouds.

"My mom is strict, but she has good intentions. My dad…"

I blink at what appears to be a slip-up on her part. "Your dad?"

She says nothing, as if our conversation never happened at all. Okay. So much for that.

I think this is the first explicit mention of Saito’s dad, and the foreshadowing for next chapter.

Ikeda shakes his head. "No way. There's no rule that someone can't kill two people, you know? So one of the people in the group can easily kill the other two. If they didn't mind being a prime suspect, that is."

...I really had him bring up that rule. I surprise myself sometimes.

A flicker of movement catches my attention from my peripheral vision. "It's okay," Miyuki murmurs, sitting down on my bed next to me. My breath catches. "Read. I'll keep you safe."

This isn't real. I want it to be. It isn't.

And we have our first appearance of hallucination Miyuki! Which ngl by the end I couldn’t even fully tell if she was a hallucination or a ghost or what.

MONOKUMA THEATRE XII 

Based on something from a scrapped Team Rocket fic of mine and also me acknowledging that I don’t have Monokuma as involved as he is in canon.

At the back of the room is a rack of magazines, the latest of which is dated about a month ago. I flip through it; I never got into magazines much, but this simply shows some fashion and a couple of quizzes. Nothing really eye-catching, not to me at least. I look at the other magazines before doing a double-take. Even though some of these are recent, there's a fairly large gap between when the most recent ones and the older ones. It's at least a year for some of these, longer for others. Probably the subscriptions were messed with or something.

I think some of the magazines were more recent, given the improved state of the world, while others were there from DR1. It’s also supposed to be a clue as to the improved state, since the magazines were all older issues in DR1.

I glance at the clock before switching to the second classroom, shutting the door behind me. We've only got about an hour until we meet up again; I've been pretty thorough. I think I hear footsteps behind me when I open the second classroom's door. I freeze in the doorframe, trying to crane my neck to see the stairs. "Hello?"

Nobody answers.

I must've imagined it.

Just as before, everything is the same in this classroom, this time even the wallpaper. That only seems to change by floor, just like the colorful lighting in the hallway. "It's weird that there's nothing in here," Miyuki says, leaning on a desk. "Shouldn't there be clues?"

This is what would’ve been Ikeda killing Camila if she hadn’t spoken to hallucination Miyuki. Fun, right?

There are bathrooms right below us, so I decide on my way down that I can either waste time looking for Ikeda or brave the boys' bathroom on my own. I glance around; it's not like there's anyone who's going to barge in, so I push it open and waltz right in. "Fujimoto? Are you in here?" No response. Trying not to appear creepy, I crouch down. There aren't any shoes under the stalls. Nobody's in here, but I check the supply closet for good measure. Naturally, there's nothing but cleaning supplies in there.

Iirc I went out of my way for the supply closet because that was the one with the secret room in DR1. Or maybe that was on a different floor? I don’t remember now.

I know that feeling all too well. And, just as before, Monokuma shows up and ruins everything more than it already has been. "Aw, I was just starting to like her, too! Poor Juliet, torn apart from her Romeo." He lowers his head for approximately two seconds before popping right back up, seeming to look me right in the eye. "Well, love and loss do go hand in hand!" Ouch.

Monokuma actually is a really funny character for me to write sometimes, because I can make remarks like this.

"The victim is Hamasaki Utako, Super High-School Level Guitarist," Abe reads from his file, leaving the others on the floor. "The cause of death is strangulation…" He trails off, turning the file over. Mixed emotions dance in his eyes as they skip over the page. 

...Why was that his reaction? I legitimately don’t remember?? Maybe it’ll come to me by the end of the chapter.

(Coming back from finishing the chapter. I really have no clue. Maybe it was just that there wasn’t any other information in the file?)

He hesitates for a second before I leave. "Ishikawa, I'm glad you're taking charge. I was so worried when Ueda died, but you're really stepping up. I feel a lot safer because of that."

Have I mentioned before that I really like Yasu? He would’ve made a pretty good protag, too.

"Even though he's probably the one who killed her?" At my incredulous look, he continues, "You can't honestly tell me it didn't cross your mind. Why else would he run if not out of guilt?"

"Fear? Horror? That was my reaction at-" I swallow hard, finding myself unable to say her name. "-last time. Surely this is the same for him."

I don’t know exactly why other than the obvious reasons of Ikeda pushing the narrative, but I really like this small interaction.

Monokuma blinks a couple of times before his anger starts to show. "Oh, like hell he's-" He storms out of the room, which looks funny on his stubby little legs. On an impulse, I follow. Maybe I can convince him not to harm Fujimoto.

He pounds on Fujimoto's door before extracting a key from somewhere- frankly, I don't want to know where- and shoving it into the lock. He flings open the door and goes in guns-a-blazing, coming out a couple of seconds later with Fujimoto in tow.

This was originally when they were going to find Fujimoto- or Hamasaki, back when I had the death order between them switched. I much prefer how I actually wrote it out, I mean, who ever heard of a victim dying in the middle of a trial?

We all glance at each other. No more surprises. Hopefully we can manage that.

HA