#but it's also clear that this is all the game really is about

[inhuman-obey-me]

The End Times

Well, here we are. The final lessons have been released, all in a flurry. It's been interesting times, y'all.

JK, they said the world of OM will continue, and we're not going away either. We still love our demonic dumbasses. This is, however, the last lesson of the apps. And, uh, we didn't talk about the last 3 before this either, considering the flurry.

So, maybe for one last time: let's get into it.

(spoilers up to NB Lesson 60)

Nightbringer

The first thing to address here, perhaps, is truly: for splitting off a whole ass second app titled Nightbringer, they really didn't tell us anything about him in the end, huh!

We never did get the answers to what he wanted out of our second set of pacts, what his deal with Solomon was, what his overall goals are, or who he even is. He just showed up, we got some early info on him, and then he basically fucked off for the majority of season 2 and basically all of season 3. At least they did end on a nice little message from him, though, echoing the start of the game...

So will we eventually get the answer to ANY of those major questions? The world may never know...

A Celestial Shitshow

What we do get, first, is the resolution of the whole Raphael arc of this season -- at least, the closest they could come to giving us a resolution.

We do not get a precise answer to what he felt or thought in the moment of Michael refusing to even try to appeal to Father on Simeon's behalf, which he was seemingly so unable to confront at the end of 55. However, after the collapse of Babel, Lucifer and Simeon go to talk to him again, more calmly this time.

The source of Raphael's distress comes down to loneliness. Like Simeon, he remarks how quiet it became in the Celestial Realm when the brothers, apparently the only loudmouth troublemakers that ever existed there, fell after the war. With the possibility of Simeon also becoming a demon, Raphael felt incredibly lonely at the thought of losing another former seraph and friend from the Celestial Realm.

Luke comes up to chime in about being there for Raphael, and Simeon realizes he doesn't want to just leave those "two kids" alone to fend for themselves. With that decided, he concludes that he is not so fine with becoming a demon after all, because he wants to return to the Celestial Realm for their sakes.

MC, with the help of Lucifer's power, then breaks through Babel's projection of collapse, which had reflected Raphael's distraught feelings, to restore it to its actual not-destroyed state, and further uses their new protection powers to return everyone to the Devildom. More on that later!

Also, Michael is a dick again. Raphael is set to be punished for the whole Babel thing, and Michael basically plans to let that happen, until Simeon threatens to "hold it against him" as a grudge. Which is hilarious, because Simeon has no real power or anything against Michael at this point, but angy Simeon is so scary, Michael apparently backs off.

Anyway, setting all the all of that aside, there's also still more SF to get through.

Three Worlds-building Science

In the process of restoring Babel, MC and Lucifer conveniently also remove all the demonic powers/energy from Simeon, so that works out nicely! He's no longer "demonic." However, of course, this couldn't just be such a nice simple wrap-up as that, so next, we get a whole bunch of lore-contradictory worldbuilding around the way cells work for each type of being!

It turns out, while angels and demons both have homogenous cells which are purely one or the other, human cells can actually transform into either one, in the right conditions. And although all demonic energy has been cleared out of Simeon, he apparently still has some of those transformed demonic cells, and it's possible he will have his demonic cells activate or start to transform again in the future. Plus, even with his decision that he wanted to return to the Celestial Realm after all, it's not really in anyone's control out of the cast to do that for him, and the Celestial Realm would not allow him back if he has any demonic cells.

This brings up some pretty terrible implications about the Celestial Realm, which we're not sure were the devs' intentions exactly, but which become implied nonetheless. After all, Simeon's punishment was to become a human, but if it's a known fact that humans can turn demonic and they would refuse to take him back with any demonic cells, even dormant ones, that's just a really shitty trap of a situation! Plus, they were able to convert his cells from angelic ones to human ones, so if they have the ability to change him at a cellular level, why can't they just purge the demonic cells from him in the process of changing him back to an angel? Lucifer has specifically noted before on his transformation to a demon that he supposed that was his punishment, so that also seems to have been a punishment inflicted by God, implying the ability to also manipulate the brothers at a cellular level into demons! And if human cells can become angel ones as well, what does that mean for Simeon's punishment of becoming human? Could the punishment be undercut by his cells naturally turning back to angel cells? Come on, devs, it's called consistency!!

But hey, it's not like this series has been particularly consistent on its lore in the past either...

Anyway, the Science Fair is still going on -- and Leviathan has a mad scientist moment, coming across a unique potion that could help with restoring Simeon back to a more fully human state, ridding his body of any dormant demonic cells! The problem is it requires three very rare and hard to procure ingredients, but it turns out Solomon had also thought about this potion a while back, so he conveniently already has two of the three rare ingredients! Part of the reason Solomon never brought it up before, however, is that the potion only has a 60% success rate and is known to have some pretty bad side effects including the briefest mention of possibly even death???, and with how complicated Simeon's feelings had been up to this point, it didn't feel like there had been a good time to bring all that up.

Deciding that Simeon can decide for himself if he wants to take the risk after the potion is ready, we have a little adventure to obtain the third ingredient that places us back in the Starfall, which we visited during our time in the past. We momentarily have to avoid the subject of the past as Leviathan recalls that you were there, but is brushed off as misremembering because that wouldn't make sense, after all! Haha...ha...

Leviathan makes the potion for the Science Fair, and then Lucifer and MC keep Simeon company while he takes it. Simeon begins to succumb to the potion's effects pretty quickly, but Lucifer steps in to try and take the pain from Simeon and transfer it to him -- with MC then also stepping in to help share it. Simeon ends up not suffering as much, but is still knocked out with a fever for a bit.

Upon waking from his fever and analysis of his cells and some other genetic science, Simeon has now returned to his fully human state, meaning that he should be able to get back to the Celestial Realm! -- if they'll have him.

The end of the game seems to initially imply that he might be reinstated as an angel -- but the very last text we see is that Simeon will be opening up the Angel's Halo again in the human world. So is Simeon still a human? Did he become an angel again but they have him stationed in the human world?? No clear answer!!! Why would they ever end the final lesson on giving us any clear conclusions? Nope, never, and so here we are with no more lessons and yet another big fuckin' cliffhanger.

Well, they did say there are new projects in progress, at least...

Anyway, Later is Now

So, back to MC and how overpowered we've become.

Through this last season, there has been a focus on how much stronger MC has become, especially when it comes to their protective/defensive magic. We know it's because of the double-pacts, but that is a secret from most of the cast to avoid space-time fuckery.

In Babel, MC is able to control this magic for the first time. As mentioned above, we use our pact with Lucifer to break out of the illusion created by Raphael's breakdown, which also clears Simeon of his demonic energy. MC then uses their power, with some guidance by Solomon, to get out of Babel and return everyone to the Devildom.

That's a great sign, as otherwise MC has had zero control over this power activating. Of course, that means we have to use it one last time as the game comes to an end -- but this time, on the moon.

That's right. The Devildom moon is really into MC and is on a crash course to the Devildom (hi Majora's Mask) to also get some of that sweet, sweet MC power. Our cast gets thrust into having to deal with the situation as the final Science Fair competition, because the Research Institute is basically giving them the responsibility (with the House of Lords being ridiculous and not getting the news to Diavolo faster because, um, they suck).

Satan wonders if MC's protection power can be used here and stop the moon on its crash course, so of course that is what we are going to do. Solomon leads you up into the sky, and after a pep talk, leaves you to choose one of the brothers to help carry out this mission. Whichever brother you choose ends up getting knocked out in the process, to protect you. After a few days, we find out how to wake them back up and yay, they're conscious again!

With that handled, it's time for the classic OM tradition, throwing a goodbye party for the exchange students!! PARTY TIME! Everything's good now! Hurray!!!

Does this all seem rushed? Sure. Does it reek of them hurrying to tie up loose ends because this is the last lesson? Yup. How much of this was actually planned in this messy rushed way from the start anyway? Who knows! Did they also leave us on that big Simeon cliffhanger anyway, for funsies? Abso-fucking-lutely.

But that's it for the last 4 lessons! After 5 years, finally, MC has completed all of their tasks...congrats to us!!! 🥹

Now to wait for whatever new projects are coming next...

[himluv]

I'm having a lot of thoughts and feelings about Lucanis's quest line. This all started when I was talking myself through what I consider critiques of the game - things I didn't like (which is a whole other post tbd). And I sort of stumbled into how I felt in the initial moment when I realized Illario really had betrayed Lucanis.

My immediate reaction was... Disappointment. And I thought I was disappointed because it felt too easy and out of character, but as I talked myself through it (verbal processing ftw) I think I stumbled onto the truth of the matter. Or at least, it feels true to me.

I read The Wigmaker Job and The Wake multiple times before VG released. Lucanis was my #1 hope for a companion before they were announced. I know and love these idiot Dellamortes.

So when the game took every opportunity to tell me Illario betrayed Lucanis, I didn't believe it. It was TOO obvious, too heavy-handed. And Illario loves his cousin, so surely there must be a twist.

I kept waiting, kept denying, until Bloodbath when it became pretty fucking clear that Illario was, if not directly responsible, definitely involved in Lucanis's imprisonment in the Ossuary. The betrayal was real. And I screamed at my TV and threw a pillow and had to take a break.

Now, here's why I think this is actually an example of brilliant writing:

The game told me over and over and over again that Illario betrayed Lucanis. And, because I did my homework and read the tie-in media, I liked Illario too much to believe it was him. Because I am trained by a lifetime of consuming narratives to believe that the obvious culprit is NEVER the actual culprit, I denied the reality the game kept presenting.

I said, "nope. No way. Not Illario."

Just.

Like.

Lucanis.

The game manipulated me into a similar (if not identical) viewpoint as Lucanis, until we were both forced to accept and face the truth. The terrible thing is not only possible, it's true. It happened. And no amount of lying to yourself will change that.

Which is also the entire theme about Spite. About acknowledging the trauma you've experienced and then finding a way to live with and through it. You can't keep hiding from it. It won't go away.

Lucanis's whole story is: the terrible thing happened. You can't undo it, can't unsee it. If you do nothing, then you will never be free of it. So, what do you do now?

And that's what Illario's betrayal is - an external version of the inner struggle Lucanis is battling.

Basically, once I realized how beautifully the writing maneuvered me through this narrative, I stopped thinking about any potential "bad" writing. This game is brilliant and I will not be taking questions at this time.

[peachhcs]

after mack saw her again he took a few days to decide how he could see her again and maybe she had a competitor and he showed up alone and waited till it was over to find her alone and she’s shocked

au masterlist

also side note: mack and blaire go to college like a yearish early so they’re 18 at the start of this au and that’s why blaire’s in/finishing her 3rd semester

so maybe mack was a stalker, whatever, it didn’t matter nor count if all of it was public knowledge. he drove to the university, which, was conveniently 10 minutes from his house, a nervous edge in his system. maybe he shouldn’t do this.

he hasn’t seen blaire in maybe..two years? they stopped talking when he made his decision to go to boston which led to them losing all contact. she probably didn’t even want to see him and that’s why she hasn’t reached out since he got to san jose officially.

but macklin really wanted to see her. even if she turned him away and told him to never talk to her again, he had to at least try. they were in the same fucking city by coincidence. there was something someone or something was trying to tell them and macklin wanted to test his luck.

he was glad she was still super involved in figure skating and even more surprised when he read that she got a full ride from santa clara to figure skate. although, it also didn’t surprise him because he knew she was good.

the brunette took a few deep breaths as he walked up to the rink. his plan was to stay close to the back so she wouldn’t see him and by the end, he would try to catch her alone to talk.

okay, so maybe it sounded weird, but he didn’t know how else to do it. he didn’t want to sike her out before she went on and waiting until after sounded better than getting into her before she competed.

luckily, the place was somewhat packed, so macklin easily slipped through to the top of the bleachers and hid behind some tall dads. the skaters were warming up on the ice and he immediately spotted blaire. she was already in her costume stretching out her legs.

it didn’t even look like she changed much. she still looked like the same blaire mack knew and (still) loved that he met four years ago and that brought a smile to his lips.

there weren’t that may competitors, so the meet didn’t last long. when blaire went on macklin physically couldn’t look away. just like when they were 14, he was captivated by the way she lept and twirled across the ice so effortlessly. he didn’t even know how she did it or did those big spins without worrying about messing up. anytime he tried those turns he could only do 1 maybe 2 at the most.

the rink started clearing out after around 2 hours and macklin was really starting to feel the nerves. he hung around in the bleacher area still, waiting for blaire to come back out. he thought several times about just turning around and leaving, but something in him kept him from moving.

finally, the the dirty blonde shuffled out of the locker room with her bag slung over her shoulder. she was looking at her phone, so she didn’t see the brunette watching her a few feet away until he little jumped in front of her.

“blaire?” macklin muttered carefully. her gaze shot to his, searching his features before slowly realizing he was actually standing in front of her.

“m-mack..hey..” her own shock settled into her features.

“hi. sorry..i’m sure you’re probably wondering why i’m here and how i even found out you’re here..and i promise i wasn’t being weird..i just happened to see you at the game against san jose university the other day and i was like oh my god, is that blaire? and it was you and i just..i wanted to see you..and..” the poor boy began rambling out of nervousness. very typical of him, but blaire actually found it quite cute and glad that he hadn’t lost his touch of always talking way more than he had to.

“first of all, it’s not weird. it is public knowledge where i go to school. second of all, i’m..flattered you wanted to come see me,” she rocked on her heels, nervous but not weirded out or anything like mack thought she would be.

a tiny grin spread across his lips hearing her say that, “oh! okay..good. i was worried you would think i was some creep..” he slowed down for a second to let his mouth catch up with his brain, “it’s good to see you. you probably know this, but i play for the san jose sharks now.”

“i..did hear you they drafted you 1st overall this summer. congrats, by the way. that’s super awesome. i figured you’d go pretty fast. i..i meant to.. well..i didn’t know if it would be weird if i reached out to you since we.. it’s good to see you too,” now blaire was stumbling over her words. it seemed like both teenagers worried that neither of them wanted to reconnect, but it was obvious they were worried about nothing and did want to reach out.

“no, no i get it. i didn’t know if showing up here would be weird. how’ve you been though?” macklin tried making conversation as he scratched the back of his head.

“i’ve been good. i had a really good first year of college and the second year has been pretty good so far. how’s the sharks?”

“good! everything’s been good. it’s a dream come true basically,” the boy chuckled.

blaire happened to catch a glimpse of mack’s bracelet when he raised his arm to scratch his head. she quickly recognized it as the matching ones they used to have together and something tugged in her heart at the idea of him never taking it off. when she looked back up at his face it was like she was transported back in time to when they were 14—so young and naive.

“that’s really great, i’m really happy to hear that. i..i do have to get going, but we should catch up more. i can..i can give you my number again? so you can text me when you’re free,” blaire offered because she didn’t want this to be the last time she saw him.

mack felt the exact same way, “oh, yeah! totally. just put yourself into my phone,” he handed her his phone where she typed in her number.

“text me! i’m free most nights pretty much. i’d really love to talk to you more,” the girl grinned.

“i will, for sure. it was good seeing you,” they waved as blaire hurried out of the rink.

a new, happy feeling settled itself into mack’s chest and all the anxieties he had leading up to his were quickly gone.

[starlightomatic]

this thing (the christmussy) appears and you slide down it

mazel tov you're now in an alternate universe.

you go on facebook and you see a post in the group for an app you have. every month there's a new theme announcement, and you see march has just been announced. it's cherry blossom themed; a cherry blossom dress for your avatar, a backdrop of cherry blossom trees for your virtual room. you think it's beautiful and really well-done.

you glance down and see the comments. there are many people upset that the theme isn't purim, with others reassuring them they can still get purim items in the shop and explaining that the app already did purim for the march event two years ago and doesn't want to repeat. but people are still upset, because they'd been saving up their in-game currency to buy purim items. this doesn't totally make sense because the event items don't cost any currency. but it's clear everyone expected a purim event, and that they feel a cherry blossom event would have been more appropriate for april because flowering trees are more of a pesach thing. a couple commenters mention that they don't celebrate purim and so they really appreciate that the team chose an inclusive theme, and that they think the cherry blossom theme is beautiful.

one thread goes something like this:

chana: ah, i was hoping for something more silly and purim-y

maryam: sorry, but not everyone celebrates purim. besides there are actually five different holidays celebrated in march, including purim. even then, not everyone celebrates those holidays. it's not all about one group of people. everyone needs to feel included.

chana: i'm fully aware, thanks. the silly purim is not the same as the religious purim, anyway. hamentashen are not in the torah. i know muslims who celebrate the commercial purim. i'm a jew who has done lots of interfaith work, by the way.

you notice it seems like several of maryam's responses aren't showing up: facebook glitch or were they deleted? or maybe chana is just so worked up she's commenting many times?

chana: in short i was asking for a springtime theme not a full-on megillah reading. you could have sought to understand before jumping to that conclusion. peace.

chana continues in this vein, even accusing maryam of "attacking her," and also makes a weird dig about maryam's islam.

golda: try not to let this person upset you. you should be allowed to make such a statement without being lectured on religion -- this is not the place for that, or at least it shouldn't be. people are here to encourage and support each other. i also wish it was a silly purim theme. hope you have a great day :)

elkie: i agree. i would love to get a grogger.

rachel: admin! this is stressful.

tamar, the admin, jumps in. she doesn't mention chana's weird comments about maryam's islam, but merely asks for the conversation to stop. it doesn't.

ari: there is a grogger from one of the previous march events! it'll be in the shop all month. my family celebrated purim and mardi gras, so i have an outfit with a grogger and mardi gras beads!

chana: rachel, i'm so sorry.

chana: tamar, thank you and my apologies for my part in this.

zelda: chana, you can still buy jewish purim/wiccan ostara/mardi gras/etc type items in the store :) even a pineapple costume! lmao! your outfit can be as silly as you'd like it to be :)

katie: hi chana! i hear you saying it's disappointing there isn't a silly purim theme, and it's frustrating that anyone would push back on that because it's not religious so there's no way anyone would feel left out. i do just want to gently mention, for a lot of folks who are from other faiths and cultures, silly purim also isn't something that we celebrate. if the app had gone that route, we would of course understand because that is what the majority wants and we respect it, but it's true we would still feel left out. the app isn't obligated to change anything for us, of course, but the fact that they did is very sweet (well -- i'm not sure if inclusion was the intent, but it was the result!)

chana: just checking you've seen this. *includes screenshot of tamar's admin comment*

chana: can i also clarify one final time that i mentioned nothing of religion, nothing about faith, nothing about megillah, esther, or anything. i was simply hoping for a silly theme with funny hats and a cotton candy machine. the first person to mention anything to do with religion was NOT me. my initial comment has been taken wildly out of context and i am deeply upset that this conversation is continuing despite admin asking for it to stop. i'm done.

chana: tamar, i really don't want to leave this group, but this is past unacceptable at this point.

you don't see what happens next because you decide it's time to log off. you close your computer and go outside and touch some grass. you're free.

It's Black Friday and you know what that means: It's Christmas discourse season!

There's a disconnect that comes up every year in these conversations, and I've never seen it illustrated as clearly as in the conversation below.

Context: This is a community group for an app that involves themes and items, and this year's December theme is winter-y but decidedly not Christmassy.

Some people were upset about that, which isn't unexpected, and then this conversation ensued:

What is.... what is going on here? Why is red so upset? Why are they struggling to understand that "cozy" Christmas is still not universal? Does it feel threatening to them?

I mean, maybe green had a bunch of comments and then deleted them or facebook was glitching, but I can't find anything wrong with their initial comment. Is red just annoyed because it's unkind to challenge someone who's just saying they're sad? I don't think that's the only thing though because red doesn't seem to understand either green's or blue's comments and it's a misunderstanding I see every single year.

Also, I don't understand what the issue was with blue, or why that also upset red that much. Is it just because blue ignored the mod's request to close the thread?

Like.... either there's something I'm not getting or there's something red's not getting. I suspect it's red, tbh, because they started talking about how they never mentioned anything about Jesus, the nativity, or religion -- but blue actually addressed that in their comment.

Outside the context of someone getting pushback on just saying they'd wished something different had happened, which I recognize feels shitty, are there ways people like blue and green can phrase things so that it clicks for people like red, or is it a lost cause?

And what am I missing about red's perspective?

[imadhatt3r]

There's a sort of small personal story arc happening in Koujaku's route that I haven't seen talked about much, and it is one relating to Aoba's struggles with his masculinity and his perception as a man by others.

This story arc heavily deals with cultural gender norms and expectations, and so I will be working with them; This doesn't reflect my personal view on gender roles and expectations in real life. This is also not for or against any headcanons regarding any character's gender- I have no opinions on them or problems with people seeing any character as trans.

Okay, without further ado:

The moment where Koujaku and Aoba canonically meet for the first time happens during their childhood. Aoba was bullied by other children for his long hair and for "looking like a girl". Koujaku stepped in to protect him, thinking that Aoba's a girl, and was allegedly suprised when Aoba turned out to be a boy, but his attitude towards Aoba never changed.

This event clearly had a big influence on Aoba, on how he views himself, Koujaku, and how he thinks Koujaku views him. When we first meet Koujaku in-game, he is seen defending himself from a woman's overly protective boyfriend and being a charmer to her in turn when she apologizes for his behavior. It's established that Koujaku has a lot of female admirers, and a bit later it's revealed that he attracts a lot of men too, but moreso as a kind of role model/aspirational figure- that's why benishigure exists in the first place.

Aoba is shown to be annoyed or downright kinda scared of Koujaku's fans; Of course, it makes sense- Aoba is shown to be a private person that dislikes attention, but I believe that there is a second layer to all that- jealousy.

Aoba identifies as a man in-game and asserts it multiple times. He is aware of his gender. Koujaku is shown to be both flirty and chivalrous towards women around him- spends time with them, initiates physical contact, compliments them etc. Aoba is always annoyed whenever he sees Koujaku doing that, but his reasons aren't fully clear- it seems like he feels like Koujaku's behavior is, in some way, fake, or that he just dislikes PDA in general. Aoba isn't jealous of the female attention Koujaku gets- he doesn't want to be in his place, because, as we established, he doesn't like being the center of attention. This isn't a dick measuring contest with Aoba being salty that he's coming up short.

Aoba is jealous of the women. He's the one who wants Koujaku to flirt with him, touch him, be chivalrous to him, protect him, but he believes that will never happen, because Koujaku only acts this way towards women. Men want to be him, women want to be with him, but Aoba is neither; He's not a man who wants to be him, nor is he a woman who wants to be with him- there's not a place he can comfortably occupy, in his mind.

Mind you, I don't believe that he is aware of his feelings- hence his clusterfuck of an attempt to make Koujaku's flirting with women a bad thing. It's not coherent, it doesn't really make any internal sense, because Aoba has no idea he's even trying to lead himself away from something.

In the good ending, Koujaku briefly mentions that he thinks Aoba sleeps in so much because he wants to get his attention, and I can 100% see it as being true- Aoba doesn't know how to get Koujaku to treat him like he does women around him, so he chooses more covert ways to get that desired attention and care.

I also see Aoba's haircut to be symbolic/meaningful of his relation to his masculinity being percieved by others. Aoba's hair was the reason why he and Koujaku met as kids and established their friendship and later relationship. When they were cut, Aoba started to look more conventionally "masculine", and yet the haircut is also, in a way, representative of the beginning of his and Koujaku's relationship. It's because Koujaku doesn't care that Aoba is a man- hell, in the CD drama, he even admits that he's straight up attracted to Aoba's masculinity. If Koujaku liked Aoba BECAUSE he saw him as female-like, wouldn't he want to keep his hair long/feminine?

This is kinda explored in various extra material like the summer side story and valentine's day story- Aoba seems to believe that while Koujaku is with him out of love/attraction, he's being treated more as a novelty, a "girl-boy" that's going to be replaced by an "actual woman" one day. He's afraid that the chocolates he made for Koujaku for valentine's day will be seen as "gross", and he expects to see a mountain of chocolate given to Koujaku by women when he comes to his apartment. In the summer story, he expects Koujaku to deny their relationship when they're being harassed by drunk benishigure, and that he will be left behind when Koujaku is approached by female admirers. This never happens- Koujaku actually reassures Aoba that he's never going anywhere, and that Aoba has nothing to worry about. This is framed as Aoba being simply jealous, but I think that there is enough evidence to imply that his gender has a lot to do with it. We don’t know how would he react if Koujaku was approached by a man, but it's mentioned multiple times that it's seeing and thinking of Koujaku being surrounded by women gets Aoba down especially hard.

I feel like it's also important to look into the bad ending for Koujaku's route too, because if you look at it through that lense, you can see some interesting stuff. First and foremost, Shiroba is dressed in a sexualized version of the miko garb (miko are shinto shrine maidens, and they are exclusively women) that includes stockings, and his hair is just as long, if not longer, than Aoba's. He also has red tassels in his hair, right behind his ears, which sort of look like earrings. In short, it would almost appear like Shiroba is trying to look more "feminine" in order to appeal more to the way he percieved Koujaku's tastes- after all, Shiroba/Desire is all of Aoba's impulses, thoughts, and desires taken to the extreme. Aoba thought that Koujaku likes women and femininity, so Shiroba WILL make himself look as feminine as he can to make Koujaku like him more.

There's also the fact that, compared to their good end sex scene, Shiroba is much more... Placid. In the good end, Aoba speaks, he laughs, he laughs AT Koujaku, he tries to turn his head away but agrees to look at Koujaku in the end; He is an active participant who is willing to laugh at his partner (in a way) and make demands. In contrast, Shiroba mostly goes with what Koujaku wants to do; He participates to a degree, sure, but he allows Koujaku to bite him, lick his blood, and fuck him pretty violently without any sort of resistance. This might be a stretch, but it can be seen as Shiroba trying to play a more "feminine" role- which means being passive, allowing your (male) partner to do whatever he wants to do with you (even when it's painful or uncomfortable), and let him essentially use you as a receptacle of his emotions and bodily fluids.

This is a very narrow understand of conventional gender roles, but given that Shiroba is a being of extremes, it makes sense for him to see his own gender and dynamic with Koujaku as that simple and two-dimensional. This whole ending is all about misunderstood intentions/desires, so Shiroba doing all he can to embody the most extreme conventional femininity in an attempt to appeal to Koujaku, while not having a clue that Koujaku was actually attracted to Aoba's masculinity.

The funniest part of it all is that Koujaku is actually a pretty feminie man himself; His very design blends masculine and feminine elements, which @asarigg points it out in her excellent essay on Koujaku, among plenty other things, and the way he acts mixes masculinity and femininity too. However, Aoba either doesn't see it, or he treats Koujaku as a "special case"; It's probably the most clear in the scene in the CD drama where Aoba says that hairpins "usually" look bad on men (after Koujaku asked him if he'd like to wear one), but that Koujaku makes it work. The whole plotline/emotional core of this route centers on Aoba relying on his simplified image of Koujaku when it comes to how he things about him, only to be proven dead wrong and forced to confront how multi-layered of a person Koujaku is- to reject the image he made of him in his head as a child and make a new, more nuanced one as an adult.

When Aoba was a kid, he saw Koujaku as his hero, someone who protected him, watched over him; He was kind of his masculine ideal, someone he wanted to be when he'll be older. Now that they're adults, Aoba still sees Koujaku as someone hyper-masculine, whose feminine traits and behaviors are glossed over because Koujaku is "allowed to" be feminine a bit. The sad thing is that a lot of Koujaku's masculinity is kind of a ruse that was taken on as a defense mechanic, learned back when Koujaku was living in an abusive household, was a victim of abuse, saw abuse inflicted onto his mother, and was possibly forced to perform violence to some degree as means of "education" (things like learning to fight hand-to-hand or swordfighting). Koujaku can fight because he tried to fight his abusive father and was trained to kill in the future, once he takes over the criminal empire. He flirts with women to fill the void he feels due to his rock bottom self-esteem and because he doesn't want to see women sad or mistreated after what he saw his mother go through. Koujaku's persona is carefully build and maintained, because all masculinity (or gender in general) is performed- this is what people around him expected him to be, that's what he was taught to be, and so he performs, even if it twists him up inside (we know he bottles up any negative emotions and doesn't share his struggles and trauma with anyone, which is also a part of toxic masculinity). It also seems like he's often out drinking with someone and he's a smoker- that's more of a theory, but people often find brief respite from their stress/unadressed emotions in substances, and while people of all genders do it, there seems to be a bigger social acceptance for men to indulge in order to "deal" with their problems and avoid showing "weakness" for just a bit longer.

The good thing is that Koujaku seems quite comfortable in his femininity. He loves his (stereotypically feminine) job, he remains kind and gentle to those who need it, he respects women around him and treats them well (even if that relationship is far from ideal of course), he's always considerate and caring towards Aoba, etc. It's interesting that despite liking and being attracted to Aoba's masculinity, he encourages him to branch out and seemingly embrace his own femininity more (he tells him he'd look nice in a hairpin, or that he'd love him no matter how he'd look like). I wonder if Koujaku found some kind of respite in his femininity back when he lived in his father's house and was potentially held to strict masculine gender roles enforced through violence.

It feels like one of these things that Aoba needs time to process and accept; In a couple years, he'll be doing deliveries with the most complex braid with flamboyant decorations and the most bitching eyeliner ever performed on Japanese soil.

[thethirdromana]

I'm watching the edited version of the War Games (it's on BBC4 right now and my parents wanted to see it), so, have some thoughts.

I'm normally a bit iffy on colourisation but this is genuinely very well done. The titles are gorgeous.

Squishing it into 90 mins makes the opening very zippy. The pace feels a shade too quick if anything.

It also gets a bit weird when the cliffhanger is turned into continuous action.

This is despite the fact that they only cut about 10 mins of episode one.

They drink a lot of tea in the War Games but it comes across as even more when you cut out of the non-tea-drinking bits.

OK, there's some very fun editing around the redcoat and Buckingham remembering the mist coming down. (Dare I say possibly an improvement on the original?)

But then it goes back to feeling too zippy, but least because episode 3 is brutally cut. Very little of it left.

Gah, I'm trying to like this, because it's clearly been lovingly made and the colourisation is genuinely superb, but the grinding relentlessness of the War Games has been replaced by rattling through the plot at a frenzied pace and it's not really working for me.

Ooh, Murray Gold's Master theme has been added over the War Chief's appearance. Not sure how I feel about that, but it's certainly an interesting choice.

They've dealt with the cliffhanger issue at the end of episode 4 by taking it out entirely.

The little added CGI bits are not hugely successful - they look oddly plasticky. Which is a bit disappointing, because have I mentioned how good the colourisation is?

It's taken my dad until the episode six cliffhanger to note the place where the original cliffhanger was.

(My mum has given up because she doesn't like how much fighting there is. Not sure if the original edit would have been any better on that score.)

Episodes 6 and 7 are so thoroughly chopped up that it's tricky to trace the original storyline. It's neatly done but it's not really the War Games any more.

More of the Master's theme when the War Chief admits to knowing the Doctor.

My dad comments that this bit seems like it was inspired by the Prisoner (which he also watched when it first aired).

It feels a bit weird when it switches from Murray Gold to 1960s incidental music.

This really centres the War Chief et al over the rest of the storyline.

"Complete loyalty and devotion" - oh, Jamie. This loses a lot of character beats in favour of the Time Lord-centric storyline, but not all of them.

Oof, their last desperate attempt to escape is still just as grim and desperate in the edit. Like there's still part of me wondering if they might somehow get away this time.

There are new Who-style images of Gallifrey on the view screen.

"Is the next episode The Trial of a Time Lord?" asks my dad, who has seen all of Doctor Who, but mostly not very recently.

The middle bit of episode 10 is cut, which means that I can watch the ending without crying for once.

Lots of establishing shots of Gallifrey.

The too old/too young/too thin shows a series of New Who Doctors. Not entirely sure how I feel about that choice either.

And it ends with the Doctor regenerating in the TARDIS - again, New Who style - before the date ticks back and forth erratically between 1970 and 1980, a joke that will appeal to a small number of people that includes me, and finally the very opening scene of Spearhead from Space.

I think if you accept the premise that a 90-min version of the War Games could be done, it's about as good as it could be. A few of the choices make it pretty clear that this is primarily for a New Who audience - particularly that it becomes a very Time Lord-centric story - not really for existing fans of the War Games.

Still, I wasn't expecting to love the colourisation as much as I did, and it made me wish I could watch a colourised version of all 10 episodes.

[uconnwbbcrashout]

i have so many thoughts about this game i had to make a blog for it.

first, congratulations where they are due:

usc is an incredible team. so much talent and i think they are going to continue to be a problem for teams for a long time (and well into march).

juju watkins did what juju watkins does! she is a class act and the way she can make shots for herself is incredible to watch.

kiki iriafen. so dominant in and out of the lane. uconn didn't have a good answer for her. very easy to see why she's projected to go so high in the draft.

overall just great ball (especially in the first half) from usc. they figured out uconn's weaknesses defensively and made them pay for it.

things that i think uconn did well:

kk gave them a fighting chance. literally don't know where the game would've went without her. i have no idea why she didn't play in the 4th quarter (wtf geno??). love her energy and her quickness, and she should've had more minutes at the end of the game imo.

paige came alive and stepped up when they needed her to. i think she should not be playing off the ball as much as she does, but she did well particularly in the second half to create shots for herself!

even though she had a bit of an "off night" (if you can even call it that), sarah was still really great as usual. definitely a few mistakes due to inexperience but also lots of great plays that show maturity you wouldn't expect from a freshman.

i was feeling a bit iffy about morgan's play after the first half, but i think she found her footing and stepped up into the defensive role they needed her to play late in the game. like with sarah, some inexperience-related mistakes but also some really promising decision making (e.g., that backdoor cut she made in the 3rd quarter i want to say?).

things that drove me crazy as a uconn fan:

this game was very, very winnable. usc was the better team tonight, but i think uconn could still be the better team overall. they fought like hell to get back into the game, but it didn't have to be this way to start with. the first half was a disaster--offensively, defensively, and all around.

so many questionable coaching decisions that i don't even know where to begin. why was azzi completely underutilized with the limited minutes she could play? (i.e., why weren't plays being run for her to get better shots?) why is ice still in the starting lineup? why was paige guarding juju when it was clear she was having a hard time keeping up with her? (obviously love paige, but this was just not the right defensive matchup!!) why didn't kk come back in even though she was leading the comeback in the 3rd? why aren't they guarding the perimeter? WHY WAS NO TIMEOUT CALLED AT THE END OF THE GAME FOR THE LAST SHOT? just so many questionable choices that i fear i will never understand.

i love ice as a person, but she is not moving me. i don't know that they need her in the starting lineup anymore. unless they are playing a team where they are undersized, i personally don't think it's needed. her defense just has to get better.

turnovers, man. so. many. turnovers. and so many turnovers right off of a steal! i also think they just need to work on court awareness in general.

free throws. they've struggled so hard to get to the line this season, and when they finally do this game, they can't convert. 10/17 is rough, but in a game decided by 2 points? devastating.

their inconsistency from the 3 is killing me. how they can go from a record-setting 20 in the last game to 6 in this game astounds me. obviously usc's defense is better than iowa state, but still. and it's especially brutal when the other team is shooting from range so well.

paige needs to be bringing the ball up more. it's difficult for her to get touches on the ball if she's not since she's guarded so heavily. the point is just where she plays best, and i think it makes the most sense. idfk what geno was on with saying the team was trying too hard in the first half to get paige the ball. imo she wasn't getting it enough. the plays move through her.

help defense is killing them against teams that can shoot the 3, and it's even letting teams who aren't great from the 3 (e.g., usc) make more than they should. i cannot fathom why uconn is so insistent on dropping back to help prevent a 2, but is completely fine with letting teams continue to shoot wide open 3s (ESPECIALLY when the other team is making the majority of the 3s they are taking in the game). if uconn's down, how are they ever going to get back into the game if they can only match the other team's wide open 3s with contested 2s?? simple math really--they can't.

the last 5 seconds of the game. it sucks that sarah missed her free throws (not all on her though--the whole team shot poorly at the line tonight), but paige did good to get the rebound at the end. but when sarah got the ball, she had no idea how much time was left because her back was to the basket. she didn't know there were 2.5 seconds left! why did no one call a timeout??? i cannot get over this. that last shot basically from halfcourt with a whole 2.5 seconds left was so unnecessary. they could've drawn something up and at least gotten a better look.

some stuff to be somewhat happy about, but just a lot to work on. another loss is obviously not the end of the world, but it just sucks seeing them lose another game that easily could've (and maybe even should've) been in their control.

[woozinhos]

hii, can I request wonwoo playing video games all day and kind of forgetting about you in the process, so you take matters into your own hands and tease him till he gives up.

I love your fics so much btw 🤭

Ahh thank you so much for the support I really love doing these hehe enjoy!!

Wonwoo has been holed up in his room all day, completely engrossed in a video game. He's been so focused on it that he hasn't even noticed your attempts to get his attention. You've tried everything - knocking on the door, calling his name, and even sending him messages - but he's still glued to his screen, oblivious to the world around him.

Frustrated, you decide to take matters into your own hands and tease him into giving you some attention. You walk into Wonwoo's room and start cleaning up the messy space, but instead of doing it fully clothed, you decide to gradually lose articles of clothing as you work.

You start with your shirt, pulling it off and tossing it onto a nearby chair. Then, you remove your pants, leaving you in just your bra and underwear. As you continue to clean, you can't help but notice that Wonwoo is still completely engrossed in his game, his eyes fixed on the screen and not even sparing you a glance.

You continue to clean the room, slowly revealing more and more of your skin. You bend over, giving Wonwoo a clear view of your body as you pick up a few stray items from the floor. Despite your efforts, he still doesn't seem to notice. He's so absorbed in his game that he doesn't even notice your presence in the room. Frustrated, you decide to take it up a notch and walk over to him, standing right in front of him and blocking his view of the screen.

You stand directly in front of Wonwoo, your body now completely bare except for the lingerie you're wearing. You place your hands on your hips and strike a seductive pose, hoping to finally catch his attention. Wonwoo looks up from his game for the first time, his eyes widening as he takes in your appearance.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asks, his voice laced with surprise and a hint of desire.

You smirk and reply, "You could have had this, but you were too focused on your game. Now you get nothing."

Wonwoo looks at you, his expression a mix of frustration and lust. He knows he's missed out on something amazing, but he's also aware that he's the one who caused it.

"Come on, baby," he pleads, his voice low and desperate. "Don't be like that. I'm sorry, okay?"

You give him a cold smile and turn to leave the room, your hips swaying with every step.

Wonwoo reaches out to grab your arm, but you pull away from him.

"Nope," you say firmly, not looking back. "You had your chance. Now you can deal with the consequences."

You exit the room, leaving Wonwoo alone with his game and a hard-on that he can't ignore. Wonwoo watches you leave, his jaw clenched in frustration. He's now even more frustrated than he was before, both because of the game and because of your teasing.

He tries to focus on the game again, but his mind keeps wandering back to the sight of you standing there in nothing but lingerie. He can still picture the way your body looked, the way your skin glowed in the light, and the way your eyes sparkled with mischief. He lets out a groan, knowing that he's completely screwed himself over.

Wonwoo tosses his controller onto the bed, no longer able to focus on the game. He leans back in his chair, running a hand through his hair in frustration. He can feel his arousal growing stronger by the minute, the image of you burned into his mind. He tries to will it away, but it's no use. He's too worked up now, too desperate for you.

He gets up from his chair and storms out of the room, determined to find you and make things right. Wonwoo searches the house, looking for any sign of you. He checks the living room, the kitchen, and even the bathroom, but you're nowhere to be found. Finally, he finds you in the bedroom, standing in front of the mirror and admiring yourself.

He stands in the doorway, watching you for a moment before clearing his throat to get your attention. You turn around and see Wonwoo standing in the doorway, his eyes dark with desire. He steps into the room, closing the door behind him.

"There you are," he says, his voice low and gravelly. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

You smile slyly and ask, "Why were you looking for me?"

Wonwoo takes a step closer to you, his eyes roaming over your body hungrily.

"You know why," he growls, his voice laced with need. "I couldn't stand the thought of you being out there, looking like that and not letting me touch you."

"Oh, so now you want to touch me?" you ask, your voice teasing. "After you completely ignored me all day?"

Wonwoo's eyes flash with irritation at your words, but he can't deny the truth in them.

"I said I was sorry," he says, his voice strained. "I didn't mean to ignore you. I was just... caught up in the game."

"You can't have me," you repeat, your tone firm. "Not after the way you treated me."

Wonwoo lets out a frustrated groan, his hands clenching into fists at his sides.

"Please, baby," he begs, his voice pleading. "Don't be like this. I'll do anything to make it up to you, just please let me touch you."

Wonwoo takes another step closer to you, his body now just inches away from yours.

"I need you," he says, his voice low and desperate. "I need to feel your skin against mine, I need to taste you, I need to be inside you."

He reaches out and gently brushes a strand of hair behind your ear, his touch sending shivers down your spine. Wonwoo's eyes darken with frustration as you continue to ignore him, his body aching with need. He tries to grab your hips and pull you closer, but you step back, denying him the contact he so desperately craves.

"Damn it, stop teasing me," he growls, his patience wearing thin.

Wonwoo's jaw clenches as he watches you continue to deny him, his frustration turning into anger. He grabs your wrists and pins them against the wall, trapping you between his body and the hard surface.

"I said stop teasing me," he repeats, his voice rough with need. "You're driving me crazy, you know that?"

"Good," you say, a sly smile on your face. "Maybe then you'll learn your lesson about ignoring me."

Wonwoo growls in frustration, his grip on your wrists tightening.

"You're being such a brat right now," he says, his eyes burning with desire. "But I have to admit, it's kind of hot."

He leans in close, his lips hovering just inches away from your ear.

"I can't decide whether I want to punish you or reward you," he whispers, his breath hot against your skin.

“Get on the bed and strip* You say.

Wonwoo's eyes widen at your command, but he quickly obeys. He releases your wrists and steps back, a smirk on his face.

"As you wish," he says, his voice dripping with amusement.

He walks over to the bed and sits down, looking up at you with a mix of anticipation and excitement.

"I'm waiting," he says, his hands already moving to undo his shirt.

Wonwoo slowly unbuttons his shirt, his eyes never leaving yours.

He shrugs off the garment, revealing his toned chest and abs. He then moves on to his pants, undoing the button and pulling them down along with his boxers. He lies back on the bed, completely naked and waiting for your next move. You take a moment to admire his body, your eyes roaming over every inch of him.

"Good boy," you say, your voice low and sultry. "Now stay there and don't move."

Wonwoo grins up at you, his hands gripping the sheets as he tries to resist the urge to touch you.

"I'll stay here," he says, his voice rough with desire. "But I can't promise I won't lose control if you keep looking at me like that."

You walk over to the bed and climb on top of him, straddling his waist. Wonwoo lets out a low groan as you settle on top of him, his hands instinctively reaching for your hips.

"You're driving me crazy," he repeats, his fingers digging into your skin. "You have no idea how badly I want to touch you right now."

You lean down and press a kiss to his neck, your lips trailing down to his collarbone. Wonwoo lets out a shuddering breath, his eyes fluttering closed as he relishes the sensation of your touch.

"Please," he whispers, his voice desperate. "Please let me touch you, baby. I need to feel your skin under my hands."

Wonwoo's breath hitches as you begin to suck on his neck, his hips bucking up involuntarily. He lets out a low moan, his hands moving to grip your hair as he tries to hold himself together.

"God, that feels good," he groans, his body trembling with need. "You're going to be the death of me, you know that?"

Wonwoo's eyes widen as you move down his body, his anticipation growing with each passing second. He props himself up on his elbows, watching you intently as you get closer to his aching cock.

"Please," he begs again, his voice strained. "Please, I need your mouth on me."

Wonwoo lets out a loud moan as you wrap your lips around his cock, his head falling back against the pillows. His hands tangle in your hair, guiding you up and down his length as he struggles to keep his composure.

"Fuck," he groans, his body shaking with pleasure. "Your mouth feels so good, baby. Don't stop."

Wonwoo's hips buck up into your mouth, his body desperate for more. He looks down at you, his eyes dark with lust as he watches you work his cock.

"Look at you," he says, his voice rough with desire. "You look so beautiful like this, with your lips wrapped around me."

Wonwoo's breathing becomes ragged as he gets closer to his release, his grip on your hair tightening.

"I'm not going to last much longer," he warns, his voice strained. "You're going to make me come, baby."

Wonwoo's body tenses as he feels his orgasm building, his eyes squeezing shut as he tries to hold on for just a little longer.

"I'm going to cum," he grits out, his voice barely above a whisper. "Please, don't stop."

Wonwoo lets out a frustrated groan as you pull off of him just before he can cum, his body trembling with the effort of holding back.

"No, no, no," he pants, his eyes pleading with you. "Please, I was so close."

Wonwoo stares at you in disbelief as you walk out of the room, his cock still throbbing and aching for release. He lets out a low growl, frustration and need coursing through his veins.

"You're going to pay for that," he calls out after you, his voice laced with determination.

[thedreadcandlehop]

Watching the cut scene where the team discusses this particular regret of Solas frustrates me. Honestly most of the cut scenes of about his regrets frustrate me.

At the end of the cut scene of this regret Rooks says: 'Solas has a war on his conscience.' But he doesn't? Was Solas a part of it? Yes. But he didn't start this war all by himself. The earth started shaking when the first elves/spirits took lyrium to make themselves bodies (all the Evanuris and Forgotten Ones, however many there were) and its been made very clear Solas is not a Firstborn but came later.

The Titans didn't wait until Solas made himself a body to fight back. If Solas hadn't made himself a body the war would have began anyway. Solas was one of many elves that took a body at that time. All the elves/spirits that took part in taking lyrium and making themselves a body are to blame for the war between elves and Titans. And it really bothers me how to game makes it sound like Solas himself is the reason and he should shoulder the blame for the war with the titans.

The one thing I do feel like Solas can and should be be rightiously blamed for is creating his dagger to tranquilize the Titans. That is, in my opinion, his greatest crime and the one thing I'm not sure he should ever be forgiven for. Or if forgiveness can be given, it can only come from the dwarves.

In the cut scene after this regret Davrin says he thinks Solas doesn't regret what he did to the Titans but only regrets that it created the Blight. I personally think it's both. In Inquisition if you as Inquisitor sentence someone to be made tranquil Solas very much disapproves each time. I think there was even a conversation somewhere where he does outright says it? I think Solas truly finds making people tranquil very wrong and it probably stems from what he was a part of with the Titans. His dagger tranquilized the Titans and created the Blight and both I think are his greatest regrets.

I love Solas, as a character and as a Lavellan, but I'm not sure he should be forgiven for this. I'm not sure I can roleplay my Lavellen to ever forgive him either. It's too big a crime. It's the one thing I very severely judge him for...

Everything else that happens after is mostly elves fighting amongst eachother and vying for power and wanting to rule and be worshiped. Solas beginning his rebellion should never be something he should be blamed for. He saw tyrants try to raise themselves to godhood (and succeed) and tried to free his people from slavery. He can't be faulted for that. It's damn brave. So blaming him because the Evanuris decided to use the Blight to stop a rebellion? How can anyone see that and think 'Yes, the Evanuris using the Blight is Solas' fault'??!

And it was also brave of him turning to Mythal to try and stop the Evanuris from using the Blight. As far as he knew she could have had betrayed him to the Evanuris. I get that he regrets that it ended with Mythal being murdered but that's not something he caused. The Evanuris are to blame for betraying her and killing her, and acting like Solas is to blame is just the game trying to make the player hate on Solas. Him regretting it because it ended in Mythal's death I understand, but the team acting like he's responsible for her death is very strange. Mythal was betrayed by the Evanuris, not Solas.

And then Solas trying to lock the Evanuris away after Mythal's murder and them actually starting to mess with the Blight is not something anyone should blame Solas for? He did the best he could to stop them. The Evanuris were literally using the Blight and getting corrupted and were making plans to blight the world. But somehow the game wants to make this seem like Solas is evil for the creation of the Veil? Like he destroyed the elven empire on purpose to avenge Mythal? No he didn't! He wanted to lock the Evanuris and the Blight away and the Veil was an accident. (And yes just because something is an accident doesn't mean he's not respeonsible for it, but come on, what's worse? A Blighted world or a world with the Veil?)

I made another post about this once and I really think a blighted world under the full power fo the Blight is far worse than the world with the Veil (remember that most of the Blight is still locked away in the prison during the events of Veilguard, but during Solas' rebellion all the Evanuris had access to the full power of the Blight. That's seven blighted fully powered Evanuris!)

The creationof the Veil was an accident and ended up crumbling the Elven empire. But if he hadn't done what he did, the elven Empire would have been the Blighted Empire and stopped existing anyway.

And Solas killing Mythal? I still have mixed feelings about it. Obviously I understand his regret because he killed a piece of his very much beloved old friend. But on the other hand it's not that Mythal was a beacon of goodness either. One of the team once called Mythal 'the one good god' but I don't think Mythal was good. She wasn't bad like the other Evanuris, but she did want to be worshiped like a god and kept slaves. She convinced her loyal friend to do something she knew he didn't want, convinced him to create the dagger that tranquilized the Titans, and went along with the Evanuris to become a god.

And yes, Solas is the one who made each decision in the end and holds full responsibility for that. I'm not saying he doesnt. What I'm saying is that Mythal carries at least as much responsibility as Solas, if not more. And it bothers me a lot that the team discusses these regrets as if Solas is the only one who carries blame for everything while Mythal get's the be the 'one good god' that got betrayed by Solas, as if she didn't commit the exact same crimes herself.

Mythal is as interesting and complex a character as Solas and should be treated equally. But somehow the game pretends she's a 'good god' and a victim of Solas, while Solas is burdened with each and every crime that is equally Mythal's crime.

Anyway, I do love The Veilguard >< I just have some frustrations with some of the story-telling here and there. And while the regrets explain a lot about Solas and I'm glad we got them so we can better understand him, the way the team is written to react to these regrets is one of my biggest frustrations with The Veilguard.

Before The Veilguard came out I was afraid they'd make Solas too good, and I wanted to see Fen'Harel The Dread Wolf at work. But instead I feel they tried to make him too evil and ignored how nuanced and grey a character he is.

I can't get enough of this game though! It's so good!

Edit: I'd love to hear other people's opinions on this! Maybe I'm missing something? I don't know. I also just want to talk about The Veilguard!

[gothamdemonologist]

Jason clears his throat and tucks the offending little mobile phone back into his pocket. It seldom saw much use. Only rang perhaps once or twice a month, really, and he seldom made calls from it himself. Not when the landline and answering machine were still perfectly serviceable. Though, he did recall a conversation recently about the change of technology. Something about telephone lines and the internet and something Bruce had called VOIP. It had all been somewhat involved, and he hadn’t paid as close attention since it all began with Bruce’s pitch for a smart phone.

“Just old fashioned and slow to change I suppose. I have friends who are trying to convince me that these expensive little cameras are actually useful, and not just glorified camcorders or gaming devices.” He says. There is a slight downturn to his mouth when he describes the things.

“They are also terribly fragile, and as you’ve seen, certain aspects of my life would prove very complicated for that end.”

There are, he supposes, some benefits. Certain things photographed well enough to be translated or identified without having to be dragged across Gotham at three in the morning in the rain. Still, there were more things that did not and gods he did not recall the initial invention of the telephone being this upsetting.

@demonofvoidandnightmares

The following morning saw him up and into the deeper parts of his collection. Looking for mention of the creatures Etrigan spoke of. Hitherto believed extinct, and perhaps the truest nature of them was just that. There was no denying that their power had made it to earth. To what end, Jason was not yet quite sure. Though Etrigan believed it was as like to be sheer survival or a last insult to Belial.

Jason grimaces and shuts the door to his study behind him. Much of his house in Gotham could be seen as a library. A fact that had been to the advantage of several others in the city over the years. Particularly the bats when something decidedly supernatural decided to bump back in the night.

Spring thaw hadn’t yet brought warm weather, but it had brought the threat of rain in lieu of snow. The rapid onset of cloud cover in the early morning promised a downpour before sunset. Jason sat with an unrelated book in front of the fireplace waiting for the phone to ring. Once, twice, and answered.

“Blood speaking, how may I assist you?”

[lookingforyn]

Feed us some clingy kokichi ouma headcanons 🥺

Absolutely 💯!! (Sorry if I’m a bit slow answering requests been busy with Christmas coming up but I will get to them 🩷)

Clingy Kokichi Ouma headcannons

SFW, requested, headcannon format, fluff, gender not specified, non killing game au

━━━━━━━━ ★ ━━━━━━━━

•He HATES when you leave the bedroom while cuddling or even just casually hanging out with each other

•Going to get another drink? He’s coming with you arms around your body acting like a very secure backpack

•Have plans with a friend? He’s whining the whole time literally gripping your foot nor letting go unless you bribe him (bringing back food, movie marathon when you get back etc)

•Going to the washroom? He’s sitting on top of the bathroom counter kicking his feet and telling poop jokes while you try to do your business he’s not bothered in the slightest

•This man really likes when you take him on outings even simple ones like going to the grocery store. It doesn’t matter if you’re meeting up with your family that despise him, an office party or visiting a friend to comfort them after a nasty breakup, he’s coming along

•Your guys cuddle sessions are AMAZING he’s all over you. You could be sitting upside down on the couch sliding down to the floor and he’d find a way to bear hug you

•He can be a little or big spoon depending on his mood but if just came back from a long trip or vacation he’s absolutely is going to be the little spoon

•Annoying yes but cute the way he always wants to be around you wanting to be all lovey dovey with you… the same can’t be said about texting though

•He’s. So. Irritating.

•Most times you turn off your phone completely (which can be a inconvenience when people try to reach you) because of the non stop buzzing that will come from the speakers

•You’ll get your usual “Hey Hey Hey Hello Hello Hello heyyyyyyyyy ????? Whatcha doing?? Are you almost done??? Can you pick me up those sour candies you got me HeyHey :))) Hello???? Your sooooooosoooosoooo meannnnnnnn”

•But he also likes to send memes, gifs (yea I know) send phone games like pool or funny tiktoks he’s saved to show you

•After learning that you turn off your phone he doesn’t bother and gives you your space but be careful cause if he sees on any platform that you’re active or was a short amount of time ago… he’ll wait to make a scene when you get home

•Don’t get me wrong Kokichi does give you space even if he jokes around about not wanting to leave you it’s just not one of his strong suits

•When needing down time for yourself, for others in your social life and for more serious issues and personal matters he does understand but you need to be strict when telling him no

•When you joke about leaving or know your gonna give in he can tell by your body language and tone of voice but when you need your space you have to be calm and firm when telling, he’ll get the message even if he pokes you a bit at first to see if your that serious or not

•He’s a very cuddly and affectionate boyfriend when he shows that side to you but you have to admit it does have its pros and cons. As long as you have strict and clear boundaries with him he’ll be the best clingy boyfriend in the world 💜

[momo-shut-the-fuck-up]

Also like. aint no way u did All there is to do in infinikki Already. There's achievements there s about a billion trillion quests the map on release is pretty damn massive... if ur walkin around and u literally cant find anythin to do i think its time to log off? genuinely just go play somethin else. I think the misunderstanding of the type of game infinikki is will cost it a Lot of players. It's on the marketing team not the players tho, as i said they re entitled to feel as they do, but it really wasn't that clear it's a gacha game from promo material, just that it's a free game and while free = gacha/in game monetization model to Me, it doesnt mean Everyone knows that too.

[nomohmoss]

played zzz for a bit and it's okay, i like the style (although it's hard not to think about ai) and i really like the setting but it's another game that requires you to play consistently if you want to pull for anything 😩

[atwas-gaming]

#I also think he HAS had clear character progressions is many places#I have 2 favourite examples to pull from#1 - his ability to work with other people#in the classics he didn't work well with other people#but then he slowly began to make friends#and he slowly began to let them work with him#starting with his lil bro Tails#and that continued until Superstars where he let Tails Knuckles and Amy help him out#and then this arc continued until Sa1 and sa2 where he was forced to actually rely on his friends for help#2 - how much he allows people to hug him#before Forces Sonic would usually push people away if they tried to hug him#some examples would be the wisps in Rise of the Wisps or Amy#but after Forces Sonic actually began letting people hug him and he hugged back#in IDW 56 he returned the embrace to the wisps#and during IDW as well as in the ending of Frontiers he hugged Amy (and Tails and Knuckles but my point still stands)#6 MONTHS OF SOLITARY CONFINEMENT AFFECTED HIM!#IT'S SUBTLE BUT IT'S THERE!

I just copied and pasted all this because it's all so true. People get mad when I call Sonic a "loner," and to be fair, that's not exactly the correct term, but historically, Sonic has preferred being alone at times. Tails is just kind of "is there" in Sonic 2 and 3. (And there's that Game Gear/Master version of 2 with the bad ending... the implication is that Sonic knows he left Tails to die and is affected by it, but didn't go back for him. Thank goodness that isn't canon.)

It's often been said that Sonic just keeps running and waits for everyone else to catch up, and I don't know if someone at Sega has expressly stated this or it's just an observation from the fandom, but it's definitely true. In the beginning, the only time he would turn around and go back was when he realized someone was in trouble. Like going after Amy when Zero was chasing her, or saving Froggy from Chaos.

TBF, Sonic didn't really care about Tails at the beginning. Sonic just let Tails tag along because Tails was an obsessive fanboy but not too annoying. And he proved useful because he's good with mechs. In return, Sonic protected Tails. It was a mutually beneficial relationship. The "brothers" thing just kind of grew out of that. (Not saying Sonic was unkind to Tails, but even in the animations in Origins, he doesn't go out of his way for the kid, just lets him tag along.)

As for hugs... yeah. We do have to bear in mind, tho, that Ian Flynn is the main writer for the American version of Frontiers, but... Flynn didn't write the story, did he? The story started in Japanese, and Flynn just wrote the English dialogue. And the animation was made to fit the original Japanese story. So maybe Sonic really is loosening up a bit.

People who complain that Sonic's character is "static" must have never played Unleashed or Black Knight. Or they did, but they didn't understand them.

I think one of the reasons why Unleashed and Black Knight are such fan favorites and stick in our memory so well is because the entire theme of both games is about taking Sonic out of his element, taking away things that he has relied on for so long- speed, jumping, spindashing, boosting, homing attacks- taking all those things away from him, and seeing how he does.

And he still shines. Even without all the abilities that he has relied on throughout his entire life, he still manages to beat the Big Bad.

(Please note that I haven't finished either game yet and I'm just drawing from what I've been spoiled on.)

As the werehog, Sonic is not able to curl into a ball at all (we're ignoring the mobile games for this post), and his greater height and weight, probably due to a larger bone structure, as well as heavier, thicker fur, keeps him from being able to run as fast or jump as high as he's used to. He now how to resort to fighting styles he has never used before, including several forms of martial arts (aided by his Dark Gaia-powered stretch abilities). Perhaps the most unusual of all is how he has to get down on all fours to run.

In addition, Sonic describes his werehog form as "pretty ugly." Sonic thinks of himself as good-looking, and this is a part of his personal identity, which is part of why he was upset that Amy didn't recognize him (no matter what feelings he may or may not have for her). The werehog form also seems to be physically uncomfortable and taxing on Sonic's body due to the heavier weight, as the werehog idle animations include Sonic stretching in an exaggerated way and forcibly rotating his shoulders (motions I, myself, have learned to use after years at a desk job that has ruined my neck and upper back). Sonic's idle animations also include him being jumpy and looking around every few seconds- basically, the werehog never fully relaxes.

All in all, Sonic is very uncomfortable as a werehog, and prefers not to be seen in this form. But the reason why is not fully evident until he thanks Chip for protecting him and keeping him from turning evil. To this, Chip replies, "I haven't done anything, Sonic. You're too strong to lose yourself."

On top of this, Amy doesn't have a problem with Sonic's appearance. She still loves him. Tails also doesn't care what Sonic looks like. Neither does Professor Pickle. Neither does ANYONE. Even if they're startled by the werehog's appearance at first, they all seem to go, "Oh, it's just Sonic. This is just what he's like at night."

The entire story of Unleashed was about Sonic coming to realize that he is not who he is because of what he looks like or how he is built.

Black Knight takes this a step further. In Unleashed, Sonic wasn't able to run, but he was still able to use his body as a weapon. In Black Knight, Sonic can run again, but nowhere near as fast as his normal speed. All of Sonic's abilities to fight with his body are stripped from him, and he is forced to use an actual weapon, instead. And Sonic hates this. He even says it: "I wish I didn't have to use this dang sword!"

Sonic has never used a weapon before in the games (as far as I am aware, anyway). His weapon has always been his own body: his feet, his fists, his whole body via spindash and homing attack. Now he's having to train himself to fight with something outside of his own body. This requires not only the creation of new muscle memory, but also a complete shift in the way his brain processes information to fight. He always has the option to just crumble and say, "I can't do this, it's not what I'm used to, I give up." He never does that. He complains a bit at first, but eventually rises to the occasion and excels at swordfighting.

Please bear in mind that I haven't ever gotten past the King Arthur battle. I presume Sonic is forced to kill him, and then I believe there's another half a game after that. But so far, it seems that Sonic's character arc in Black Knight is about him learning that he is not who he is just because of what he can do.

What makes Sonic Sonic is not what he looks like or what he is able to do, but about who he is inside. Sonic is someone who cares, someone who is strong, someone who doesn't give up, someone who sees a difficult situation and, no matter how much of an inconvenience it may be, turns it around and finds a way through.

[the-judicial-assistants-notebook]

not enough discussion about the gavins' complicated relationship with feminine-coded/beauty products, i don't think.

[bacchuschucklefuck]

this has been a roller coaster of a design journey but finally I can present you: class swap artificer!adaine and rogue!fabian