#but when presented within the context of the game it’s still good

[scarecade]

saying portal’s writing aged poorly because the humor is all “rofl teh epic random!!” 2010s internet humor is like… i guess? only because a lot of that era’s internet humor was massively influenced by the writing in portal and a lot of media tried (and usually failed) to replicate it as a result. it would have aged poorly if the jokes were highly referential and/or felt out of character for anyone but they don’t

idk, the comedy in both portal and portal 2 still hold up imho. the writing is/was S tier and so when everyone else tried to emulate it, you got burnt out on that style of humor. that in no way means it aged poorly

[hyunsvngs]

priest jeongin in the context of me loving fleabag

wc: 1.1k

warnings: 18+ MINORS DO NOT INTERACT, blasphemy kink, priest!jeongin (roleplay), dirty talk, dom jeongin (he's mean), sub reader, fingering, orgasm denial, a lottt of spit, wet 'n messy

“Kneel.”

It reverberates throughout your brain like a pinball on one of those old games. It’s strict, firm, but it still has your heart pumping so quickly as if it’s confused you. You knew he’d say this. You spoke about it beforehand, but god - nothing could have prepared you for the image of Jeongin like this. 

His clerical collar is tight around his neck, the long strands of his brown hair tickling the top of it. He hasn’t got his hands shoved in his pockets or anything that could indicate the process of his falling apart, no - Jeongin stands there, hands by his sides, those big black boots spread just enough to have you staring at his crotch.

You drop to your knees. You make a thud on the wooden floor and Jeongin doesn’t even snicker. His eyes narrow in on you, and you lick your lips with anticipation. What is he going to do? You’re not sure, but then he’s leaning down too, fingers on your chin, and his lips press against yours with little warning.

He kisses filthy. You remember the first time you’d kissed him, and he’d been all tongue and teeth even then. He’s not any better now, tongue swiping over yours and his mouth sucking your bottom lip between his teeth. You want to squirm, to run your hands through his hair and pull your priest in for more, more, more, but you need to be good. If you’re not good, he won’t give you anything you want - it’s a simple exchange like that - and so your palms stay flat on your thighs. 

When your lips finally part, a string of thick, viscous spit links the two of you together, and Jeongin groans. He can’t help himself, tongue teasing at the seam of your lips to collect your mixed saliva, and then he’s spitting it back onto your face. A large hand comes upwards, and the one already positioned on your jaw becomes firmer, keeping you in place as he rubs the spit into your cheek.

“Filthy,” He murmurs, eyes fixated on where your skin is slick. Jeongin’s worse, though, and he licks your face clean, groaning again at the taste. “I bet you’re fucking soaking wet, dirty bitch.”

You are. Your panties are grey and if he only spread your legs he’d see - you’re clad in only them, and the wet spot is so large by now that you’re scared it’s going to start dripping on the wooden floor. He coos at you when you nod, chest heaving, and he stands upright again, hands clasped in front of his stomach. 

“What is it that you want?”

“I- I-” You babble, voice hoarse. He grins this time, dimples a perfect contrast to the image of authority in front of you. 

“It’s meant to be a confession, right?” He says, still smiling. You moan. The whole thing is so dirty, so debauched that you arch your back, thrusting your nipples out into the cool air. He doesn’t move his eyes off of yours, wholly unaffected. “Tell me what you want.”

Your eyes flicker down to his fingers, still clasped together. His gaze follows you, and he doesn’t say anything. You lick your lips. “Please, father.”

Jeongin hums, nods. “Get on the bed for me. On your front.” 

You move so quickly that it would’ve been embarrassing in any other situation. You’re on your front on the bed within seconds, and you spread your legs so he can see exactly what the situation is doing to you. You hear his stuttered breath, and then footsteps. He shoves his face into your drenched underwear and inhales, and you’re squealing, canting your hips back.

“Jeongin! Jeonginnie, that’s-”

He inhales again, pulling back. “It’s what? It’s dirty, baby?” He muses, running a fingertip up the seam of your folds through your panties. You’re so wet that your underwear must be translucent by now, and you gasp when the pad of his finger just barely breaches your hole, through the fabric. “I’ll tell you what’s dirty. Presenting this ass for your fucking priest is dirty.”

“Oh my god,” You wail, head dropping to shove your face against your forearms. “I-I’m dirty, father, I can’t help myself.”

“I can see that.”

His thumbs hook into your panties, and you hear them fall to the floor with an embarrassingly wet noise. The cold air hits your folds, a sensation so jarring that it feels like there’s something biting at the sensitive area between your legs, and you try - and fail - to avoid squirming. 

“How long has it been since your last confession?” Jeongin says, voice steady, and you blink. Before you can answer, two digits are sinking into your hole deep, and he curls them upwards to hit your g-spot. The feeling makes you whine, and your gummy walls clench on his fingers, gushing more and more slick down to his knuckles without him even properly moving them. “Tell me. How long has it been?”

“I don’t- I don’t know-”

“You wanted to do this properly, didn’t you?” He scoffs out a laugh, digits finally starting to piston inside of you. You keen, trying to grind your hips to get your clit some form of attention with how it’s aching and untouched.

“Yeah! I did, but- I can’t- Iyennie-”

“Father.”

“Father! Father, it’s been-” You really can’t think. You’re not sure what he means, but something within you tells you he’s referring to the last time you’d been such a whore, needy for his touch, and that had been literally yesterday. “It’s only been a day, father, please, please, more-”

“That’s right, a day,” He coos fondly, and his thumb finally, finally, moves down to rub against your clit. It’s messy, imprecise, but you wail and thrash as if it’s the best thing you’ve ever felt. It truly feels like it is. “I make you cum every single day, and you’re still a dirty little whore. You know what happens to bad girls, honey.”

“Hnng, no, I don’t know, I don’t know!”

“You don’t know many things, do you?” He sounds irritated now, his words coming out in clipped, short sentences. His thumb presses harder on your clit and his fingers somehow push deeper, all of their length pressing inside of you as the most delicious thing you’ve ever felt. “Bad girls take what they’re given.”

You have to. You can’t find it in you to respond, and when you get so close, so close that you can feel it beginning to rattle your teeth, his hand pulls away. You want to throw a tantrum, to stomp your feet and beg him for something, anything, but your orgasm is ruined before you can find it in you to speak. He's snickering behind you, and you moan in dismay.

“That’s one,” He murmurs, and you hear the wet sounds of him sucking his fingers clean. He spits on your asshole and you feel it dribble down to your pussy, adding to the mess between your folds, a wet patch forming beneath you on the sheets. You're out of breath, toes curling and relaxing, tears biting at your eyes. “I think two more edges and you can cum.”

[felassan]

July 22nd DA:TV Game Informer article (their last DA:TV coverage article) on Everything we Know about Bellara - cliff notes:

Bellara is Dalish elf (played by Jee Young Han as we know). There might be more to her than meets the eye

"Now, with two of [the elven] gods on the loose, magic has poured back into the world in a big way"

CC is expansive

Bellara is the first companion we will recruit (Neve and Harding join automatically it seems)

She is a mage, a Veil Jumper (who she represents), quirky, energetic, effervescent, optimistic, bubbly, academic, a tinkerer, an explorer of ancient elven ruins

John Epler wrote her and led her development, and collective team effort from lots of departments brought her to life

The BW team really love her

Gary McKay quote: "I love Bellara, I think she's fantastic. I see people that I know in her and so that's how she really resonates with me. I love the whole tinkerer aspect to her. It was a collective to bring that character to life. It was everything from the writers, to the editors, the animators, to character modelers, to the texturing, to how we light her. I'm really proud of that character."

She is a good choice in combat for both support and elemental combos. She starts out as a support character, but can be built in other ways

She attacks with a bow at range using electrically-charged arrows. She can also cast time-slow and healing spells (she can be built to heal Rook autonomously). She does this by channeling magical energy into her gauntlet

As such she leans into electrical damage

Damage type matters a lot in the strategy and tactics of combat

She can unleash a devastating vortex to pull enemies into an electrical storm (an AOE spell)

She can debuff enemies with the shocked affliction, which makes them take passive damage

Corinne Busche quote: "Oh my goodness, she is amazing. [The Veil Jumpers] investigate the ancient ruins of Arlathan. Everything about her character as a mage leans into that, but she also challenges the kind of archetypal idea of a mage."

The Veil Jumpers journey through Arlathan where the ancient empire used to exist and left a lot of artifacts and magical technology behind when it disappeared

Bellara represents this yearning to find the truth of who the elves were after they lost their magic, immortality and a lot of their history

"they still left a lot of their artifacts and a lot of their, for lack of a better term, magical technology behind"

John Epler quote: "A lot of what they know of their past is based on myth, it's based on rumor. Bellara is a knowledge seeker. She wants to find out what's true, what's not; she wants to find the pieces of who the elves used to be and really understand what their story was, where they came from, as well as figure out where they're going next, and find a future for the elves. And within the context of The Veilguard, she joins the team, first of all, to help stop the gods because Bellara feels at least partially responsible since they are elven gods, but also to maybe find a little bit more of who they used to be. Because again, you're dealing with these elves that were around millennia ago that have now reemerged into the world, and who better to teach her who the elves used to be than them."

Magic's place in the world in DA:TV differs from prior games. In Tevinter and other spaces in DA:TV it's much more present by definition and the lore (though the devs wanted to make sure magic didn't violate previously-established lore rules)

Solas is a "determined and tragic character" who "tends to wallow". [nb, these are quotes from the article]. in contrast, Bellara has seen a lot of tragedy in her backstory (we will see this as we get into her arc), but instead of wallowing, she has forced herself to push past it. "She looks at her regrets, and she tells herself, 'I don't want to feel regret'

John: "Whereas again, Solas tends to wallow in his to a large degree. And it allows us to create a very big differentiation. Part of it is also because Solas is an ancient elf, whereas Bellara is a Dalish elf, but she just sees a problem and wants to solve it. She feels a tremendous amount of responsibility to her people [...] to the Dalish, and to the Veil Jumpers, and that drives her forward. That said, she does have her moments where she has doubt, she has moments where she has a more grim outlook, and there are moments where you realize that some of her sunny, optimistic outlook is kind of a mask that she puts on to hide the fact that she's hurting, she's in pain. But in general, she doesn't see any benefit to wallowing in those regrets."

[source]

[maple-the-awesome]

Twilight's Calling ||

Pairing: Twilight x GN! Reader

Words: 2,544

Requested by anonymous: Heeey. First of I love your writing style! It’s just amazing! Cause twilight is my fav. could you maybe write something like xreader with him, for example they’re in a battle or smth? Only if it’s okay ofc! Thanks a lot and have a good day and week! best wishes :) Twilight may or may not be my favorite Link, too (TP was the first game I finished, so I'm a little bias, okay?). I've had this draft lying around unfinished for awhile, so I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to finish it. Here you go, hun 💜

Zelda Masterlist 🤎Fandom Masterlist

It's getting pretty late. 'Late' as in the sun has long set and the last time you saw any of the boys was about an hour ago when Time finally managed to herd the remaining stragglers out of the room, although he was being a bit hypocritical seeing as he still lingered in the doorway for a good minute himself afterwards (not that you dared comment on it).

Since their heavy footsteps had faded into silence - and aside from the innkeeper sometimes shuffling down the hall or a sudden 'pop' of the bedside candle - you've been left entirely alone with your thoughts as they dance on the very edge of sleep, but you refuse to lose balance. It's your shift. You promised to be a good lookout and it took a lot of convincing to even get the position, so you can't disappoint no matter how heavy the weight upon your eyelids or heart is.

You've always been well aware of the risks that would come with this mission and from traveling alongside nine heroes of legend; troublesome young men and boys who can definitely handle themselves in battle, however none immune to making possible mistakes. You expected one to occur at some point, yet never wanted the aftermath to be anything too serious.

Wild getting a decent scar on his forehead was a scare when it initially happened, but he was back on his feet within the hour - less than that actually, because if you remember correctly, his quick recovery had been controversial and resulted in quite a bit of bickering. The bottom line is that Wild bounced back with little to no trouble thanks in part to his thick skull. This is different. Twilight has yet to follow his protege's example and it's been hours.

You must admit you underestimated the situation at first due to a lack of context. It's not to say you didn't care about Wolfie when he got struck, however there's a notable difference between a wild 'pet' that occasionally trails your group and the very man you've grown to secretly admire over the months you've spent traveling together. If you had known then that they are one of the same, you would've likely shared a similar level of panic as the Champion, but instead you were left in the dark until Four finally explained Twilight's secret to you.

Even at that moment, although more worried, you figured everything would be okay. Wolfie or Twilight, a fairy should be able to do the trick to heal the worst of injuries, so one can imagine your heartbreak once learning that, for some odd reason, the state of his wounds haven't changed even under a fairy's sacred touch. That's when you truly became fearful, but you refused to show it outwardly - no more than whatever made itself present on your face, anyway.

Making a fuss won't aid Twilight's condition nor will it calm the concerns of your friends, so instead you had mostly stayed out of the way until Time announced everyone should get some rest. At that point, you made your presence known, quick to shoot your hand into the air while volunteering to take the first shift for watching over Twilight. Champion was the only one to fight you for it and honestly, you still aren't certain how you won the argument, but here you are, sitting quietly at Twilight's bedside while trying desperately to keep yourself from descending into madness as you fret over his well-being.

He's doing somewhat better after Hyrule's magic managed to stop most of the bleeding, however his wound remains deep without any further healing progress and his skin is drained into a pale, sickly color clear even through the dim glow of candle light. He looks like shit and you'd guess he feels like it, too, seeing as his face curls into a pained expression every now and again, a whispered groan leaving him whenever he slightly shifts his body (not that he moves that much).

It's gotten a bit chilly tonight, however all blankets in the room have been laid over him and you refuse to swoop as low as to steal comfort from a dying man, so you simply keep huddled to yourself, half praying the next shift will come sooner and half praying it won't because a stubbornness inside you is somehow convinced that the simple act of you being here will keep himsafe from death's hands.

You don't pay much attention to the quiet groan that comes from the bed, having already bitterly accepted that there's nothing that can ease whatever pain haunts Twilight during his nightmares, although you do lift your head when a hand shakes its way into view, barely able to carry itself to the edge of the covers where it collapses with a broken echo from its owner, "W...What time is it?"

You almost cry simply by the sight of Twilight's dull eyes staring up at you, half-lidded and only appearing bright if compared to the dark bags hiding underneath them, but you manage to hold back the tears for the sake of not scaring him.

"I-I'm not sure. After sunset," You answer slowly as to prevent any wobbling to your voice.

"And the others? Is every - everyone else okay?" Hylia, he sounds awful, his once handsome, accent-laced voice butchered by a hollow croak.

"Yeah...Yeah, we're all okay - and don't worry about the shadow. Wild managed to take it down - thanks to you tiring it out, I'd say. You sure gave that thing a run for its money there," You attempt to joke lamely. Although your laugh doesn't carry much life to it, Twilight's expression does soften a tad after the sound.

"...Good..." Is all he says before closing his eyes with a sigh through his nose. Meanwhile you fidget nervously, debating with yourself on whether you should let the conversation die off so that he can continue getting rest or keep him talking while he's able to. You sure do love hearing his voice, after all, no matter how broken it may be; it reminds you that someone as great as him is actually real and, after recent events, still alive.

In the midst of your depressed thoughts, you notice Twilight reach his hand out towards you again - or at least it looks like he's trying to. Really, he only has the strength to lift it palm-up slightly off the covers, yet you understand this movement's wordless request. Ever so gently, as if he's made of glass, you take his hand and sandwich it between both of yours. He's a bit too cold for your liking, a sharp contrast to his normally warm touch, not that you draw attention to that worrying detail.

"...Is there anything I can get you?"

He tries to shake his head, but loses will halfway through the action and instead chooses to simply let his head lull to the side towards you. From there he stares for a bit longer than he means to, his dazed brain struggling to process his thoughts at its usual speed.

"Why aren't you sleeping?"

"Someone has to keep an eye on you," You allow a small smile, slowly reaching forward to help move his bangs away from his face, "We're all taking shifts throughout the night. I was just lucky enough to get the first."

Twilight hums, closing his eyes for a brief second when your fingers brush his forehead, "How'd you manage that?"

"Barely. For a second there, I thought I was gonna have to duel the Champion for it - had my hand on my sword and everything before he finally caved," Twilight makes a sound between a scoff and a laugh which makes your smile more genuine even if he does flinch in pain immediately afterwards, "The real question is how I won against Time...Actually, I wouldn't be that surprised if he's secretly standing outside the door as we speak."

A creak of old floorboards in the hallway makes your eyes dart to the door, almost expecting the man in question to walk in and call you out for your jokes, yet you calm that doesn't happen. Twilight brings your attention back to him by moving his thumb against your hand, "Don't tell 'em, but I'm glad it's you here. I like having ya' here with me..."

You press your lips, hoping it'll help you ignore the heat against your cheeks. That must be the first time Twilight has ever openly said he 'likes' anything related to you; you're certain you'd remember any other instances of such a milestone. It might not be the exact sentence you'd want him to use the word in, but it's a step in the right direction, so you'll take it.

"I like having you here with me, too, Twi...which is why I've officially decided that I'm too selfish to let you die on any of us. I don't care if I have to fist-fight Hylia for it; I'm not letting you get out of this journey so easily."

"That right?"

"I swear it on my life."

He chuckles weakly, although the sound is taken over by a fit of coughing. Promptly you pour a small glass of water using the pitcher kept on the bedside table before gently helping him sit up to take a careful sip.

It's insane for you to think that only a few weeks ago, you had been secretly watching him move hay bales at Time's place effortlessly. Now he lies here in bed struggling to hold a conversation, his muscles shaking horribly by the simply action of prompting himself up even slightly. Seeing him like this makes you feel awful, but you also consider yourself blessed to be the one taking care of him during a low point like this, ensuring that he's properly cared for and tended to almost like a spouse would.

"Seems like I'm starting to lose you, farm boy. You should relax and get some more sleep," He makes a face and seems prepared to argue, however he must not have been able to think of anything convincing to say - that or the aching in his bones has become too hard to ignore. Either way, instead of saying a word, Twilight nods droopily before inching his way back down against his soft pillow while you fix the blankets over him again.

"Look on the bright side: make it through this and you'll probably get special treatment from here on out. Get your bags carried for you, have whatever meals you're craving be made each night...If you hobble around a little I'm sure you could even get Time to fuss over you -"

" - And what about you?" Twilight quizzes and you can't tell if he's being serious or just teasing. It feels like the latter, yet the way he watches you while awaiting your reply makes you feel another way; soft and warm, but a tad anxious at the same time, "What can I get from you?"

You pretend to think, although in truth, you already know there wouldn't be any limitations for what you're willing to give. If he asked for the world right now, you'd figure out some way to gift wrap it for him...but that's too embarrassing to admit aloud, "...Depends on what you're thinking and if you can swing it the right way."

He hums, once again staring at you just long enough to make that anxious feeling really prominent. Is there something on your face that no one told you about earlier? Is he judging your messy hairdo that you had no time to fix since the battle? Did you sound too flirtatious in your answer? Maybe his injury has given him the ability to read minds, so now he knows just how desperate you are to earn his affections!

"...If I asked you to stay with me, would you?" Twilight whispers so quietly that you barely hear, yet you do. 

"I, uh...Time will be here in an hour or so for his shift, but I won't go anywhere until then, okay?" Not even your poor excuse at smiling can save your stumbled words, yet you pray he doesn't look beyond either. He's loopy from such a stressful day, so it makes sense that he's have trouble properly wording questions. It also makes sense for him to be scared to be left alone - anyone would be in such a state. He doesn't have to worry, though; between you and the boys, someone will always be by his side throughout the night. You'd expect that knowledge to be a relief for him, however Twilight only frowns and looks away with a surprisingly depressed look in his eyes. 

Fiddling nervously with your hands upon your lap, you ask carefully, "...Unless you're wanting me to watch over your for the whole night? In that case, I wouldn't mind staying if it would make you feel better. I'm sure the others would be fine with it if they could just check in here and there."

Twilight presses his lips, refusing to look directly at you. If you didn't know any better, you'd say that based on his continued reaction, you're still somehow missing the point of his question, yet no matter how much you rack your brain, you can't think of what else he would've possibly meant.

You were tempted to ask for more clarity, but Twilight speaks before you can, "...I'd like that."

"Yeah?"

He nods bashfully which melts your heart in a way you're sure would be shamefully clear if he were only looking in your direction.

"...Well, since you took one for the team -" Scooting your chair closer to the bed allows you to cross your arms over the mattress and rest your head on top of them. Desperately you try to ignore your nerves and the cute way Twilight curiously looks over at you, "- I'll stay for the night if you promise me one thing."

"Hmm?"

"Stay with me, too? Without you, I might just loose my mind. Don't tell anyone else, but you don't drive me nearly as insane as some of the other boys do," not in the same way at least.

The corner of Twilight's lips turn upwards, his hand taking it's time to move over yours. The second it makes contact, you take the chance to hold onto it, "...Sounds like a deal..."

You match his smile easily, "Get some sleep, Twi. I'll be right here when you wake up, so just focus on getting better for me, alright?"

He hums one last time, drifting off to sleep as commanded where he seems to be far more peaceful than earlier. As promised, you remain by his side until morning, eventually falling victim to quick naps yourself only disrupted whenever someone else sneaks into the room to see how things are going. You're certain you'll be tired tomorrow with an aching back after spending an entire night hunched over, but that's a small price to pay for someone like Twilight. It'll all be worth it to see him recover, granting you even more time to spend by his side through thick and thin.

[starrysilvalley]

Time for the secondary protagonist of this tale, Emmet! He may have a familiar face— if only he had the same understanding of himself. He occupies more of a Virgil/mentor archetype, and within the Pokémon games universe he would be the closest to a Professor role.

To emphasize again, this project takes place in distant future of the Pokémon in-game universe. The plotlines of previous games are all considered canon up until Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Anything past that is considered non-canon within the context of Spectrum. Emmet’s place in particular was based on the context of PLA and my own interpretations/theories on the subject of the twins when playing it (mostly answering questions like “where is Emmet”, “is he in present-day Unova or another time/place entirely”, “what happened to cause the separation”, etc.)

✨⭐️✨

Emmet is an amnesiac and fugitive against the New Unova League, as well as a surrogate father to Una. Despite being a verrry blunt and open book, Emmet remains a bit of a mystery. His earliest memory is waking up in the custody of the Pokémon League with nothing but his ratty coat and hat that just so happened to have his name stitched inside. Interregators told him he was found with illegal possessions (what type of possessions, he still doesn't know) and had been conspiring to eliminate the Champion. It was only through an intervention that he was able to escape with a mysterious little girl in tow. To this day, he still has no idea where he came from before his captivity or if he has any roots somewhere in New Unova. Although there will always remain the desire to know his true self, under the current circumstances, Emmet is focused more on his found family in Una and his business partner Fajra.

Due to his experiences, Emmet has a tendency to be more reserved… at least, sometimes. He is more mischievous than he first appears and typically uses this to his advantage when faced with more sketchy characters. He is very observant, but learned that his commentary can get him into trouble. It also may just be that he has become more restrained with his trickster side in order to show a good example to the young rascal in his charge. If he wants her to follow his safety guidelines, he should probably learn to follow them himself, right?

Emmet currently only has one Pokémon— a Neo Variant Liepard. If he had any other Pokémon prior to his amnesia, he has no way of knowing where they are or what they were. He acquired Liepard during his incarceration, but he’s never spoken on the specifics of how he acquired her. Regardless, their experiences together led to a strong comradery between them. Liepard is almost always out of her pokéball and flanking his side. For whatever reason, Emmet never pursued acquiring more Pokémon and seems to avoid Pokémon battles altogether. He’s never made it clear why this is the case. However, on the rare occasion where he and Liepard do battle, they are notoriously ruthless and almost perfectly in-sync. At the very least, he has shown to have a strong knowledge of battling, even if he doesn't seek it out.

I currently do not have as many sketches of Emmet as I do Una since I'm building Una from the ground u, and I struggle to find a design/style I like for him. This sketch of the pair and their Pokémon is one of my favorites.

My one other drawing I liked was an even chibi-er version of him (I don't usually draw in chibi style, but its proven to be the easiest to use), including some character notes from the time.

I've gone back and forth on a LOT of his character since I wanted to have his character explore a twist in the themes originally given to him by the creators. I know there are theories that Emmet is meant to embody truth while his brother embodies ideals, so its been an interesting challenge to work with this character in the dystopian context where truth is oppressed and often requires characters to abandon honesty. Its also difficult because Emmet is known for his optimism and I don't want to take that from him, even in a dystopian context. I believe his upbeat/mischievous nature helps him stand out from his brother, and quite frankly, I think even dystopian worlds could use some hope. I'm just more use to writing Ingo characters rather than Emmets. I'm hoping I can do this little guy justice :’)

[hoshigray]

Back at it with pt. ii of the assassin duo! Toji x reader (finally!!): where the reader avoids Toji after the one-night stand, and it goes well for the most part. But can the same be said for Toji? How long can this quiet game go before someone snaps?

A/n: Am I writing this because I'm spitful of getting a community label on my sugar daddy! Toji x sugar baby! reader fic? Yes. Yes, I am. 🙃 Sighhh. But ya know what, it's all good because you lovelies gave it so much love, so tysm for 3k notes!!! And thank you so much for the 300+ followers!! Y'all are too kind~~~ Since I have no idea how to celebrate, I guess another poll will suffice so pick whichever prompt you'd like to see for next Thursday (as well as a bonus art from me hehe)!!!

Also, for context's sake, this is pt. ii of this drabble that I have written, so please give it a read if you ever feel confused. This fic was long overdue and is WAY longer than I EVER intended for it to be, so I apologize for this hefty piece of work. I do hope you like it tho!!

Also, also: @absoluteindulgence here ya go!! just as I promised ccc:

Cw: dom! Toji x fem! reader - fingering (fem! receiving) - Toji gets a bit possessive/jealous - sex in a public place (workplace) - biting - clitoral play (pinches 2x) - Toji is his coky self but reader doesn't back down - implied overstimulation (fem! receiving) - pet names (angel, angel face, baby, darlin', good girl, honey, sweetie, sweetheart, sweet thing) - third party interruptions (they don't walk in on you two doing the deed tho) - kissing session - edging (fem! receiving) - Toji steals your panties bc he's a cheeky asshat - ayoo Toji and reader catching feelings.

Wc: 5.1k (omfg I'm so sorry y'all lmao)

The last time you ran into Toji was the "I'll treat you for dinner with nothing attached" mishap you got yourself into. How can you not ridicule yourself for getting caught in such a moment? The man you hate with every fiber in your being practically had you folded like a pretzel, chuckling and teasing you in your most vulnerable state as he used your body in his way fit.

The most unpleasant thing about it was you reminiscing about those intimate moments you had with him that night. When his hot groans made you squeeze tighter on his dick. His thick fingers in your mouth play with your tongue as he kisses the nape of your neck from the back. When you hold him for support while he pounds into your wet folds, the naughty sounds make you bury your face into the crook of his neck.

Or worse: as Toji had his way with you, he called you the sweetest names as if he truly meant them, like he wouldn't mind calling you by them for the rest of his days.

Images of that night continue to haunt you, especially within the confines of your own home, in your own bed. How many nights has it been since you've fought the urge to touch yourself and failed? Losing count says quite a lot.

"Hnngh, shit shit shit...Fuck, y/n, you don't know what you're doing to me, baby." His voice is present in your mind as your fingers rub your clit. You shut your eyes close once you enter a digit inside your opening. "Awwh, are you embarrassed, angel? Don't wanna look me in the eye? No? Heh, then what are you grippin' 'round me for..." Another digit enters between your folds, and you grip your bedsheets while the memories still play in your head. "Damn, sweetie, lookin' so beautiful fr' me, ya know that?" Faster and faster your fingers go, your sensitivity inching higher and higher. "My beautiful darlin'."

And then you release. Cum slides down your inner thighs as your legs shake, your dignity and shame staining the dry sheets.

Damn you, Toji Fushiguro. Through gritted teeth and tears swelling up, you swear to not get mixed with that man from here on out.

And you do just that. Anytime you saw him within the same corridor or room, you would ghost him as if his familiar tall, solid build could never catch your eye. You'd go on about your business, onto the next task, onto the next client.

You didn't even take his missions anymore, nor did he for yours. Everything was going back to where it was before this incident of yours. As if you two never acknowledged each other in the first place.

It was for the best, at least that's what you told yourself. You had to get back to who you were previously, whether that meant being the top assassin or not. Whichever came first, as long as you were nowhere near him.

As for Toji, he could tell what game you were playing the moment your eyes no longer gave him the time of day. And Toji wasn't mad at it either; he preferred the "no feelings attached" approach. So he did his part to not get mixed into whatever you were doing, missions and all.

But as much Toji tries not to, he can't stop thinking about you. The way your hips sway when you walk past him, your voice soft yet stern when conversing with your handler, and when you check your small hands to see if you adequately cleaned off the blood from the mission prior.

His mind can only think of your wrists trapped under his single hand while he stuffs his fingers into your mouth with the other. Your legs and ass tremble as you ride him. Doing your best not to be too loud, but oh, Toji wants you loud. He wants you to let him know he's making you mewl and shriek, not giving a damn if the whole world knows as well. "Haaah—Ahhh!! T-Toji, please...I'm gonna cum, if you keep—Ohhh!"

Hearing you, kissing you, holding you, all of it. All of you. If he could have you close to him, he'd be as swift as a blink of an eye.

But again, he preferred this way. Less trouble, more work.

And it was going pretty alright.

Well, until you start going on missions with other hitmen.

Although your diligent work ethic and astute experience led you to the top, you've also gained respect and admiration from your colleagues, especially your junior subordinates.

And now that you seemed to stop associating yourself with Toji, some of the other guys tried to use this to their advantage to get closer to you and request your aid for some of their tasks.

And who are you to say no to helping others who wish to improve? There's no wrong in doing so.

Except there is a wrong. Its name is Toji Fushiguro, and the last straw was when he saw one of the juniors try to take you out to dinner (to which you declined, of course). He needed to stop this before some poor rookie's head decorated some walls.

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Another day goes by, and you go down the hallway from a meeting with your handler, only to see Toji leaning on a wall. You've done this dance several times now. Just keep walking. You walk past him like nothing, easy peasy. Now onto the next task and go see-

"Y/n."

You stop in your tracks when someone calls out to you. No, you know who it was that said your name. It's been a while since you've heard his husky voice. You sigh and continue walking.

Toji's brows furrow. Unless you were seeing things he wasn't, you two were obviously the only people in this hall. Stopping at the sound of his voice is evidence that you're aware of his existence. Yet you move right along.

That's strike one.

He gets up from the wall and follows behind you. Toji stares at your figure, and he knows you can sense him. He huffs, cursing you that you got him following you like some lovestruck schoolboy.

"Y/n." He tries it again.

You didn't stop this time, your face in the direction you were heading.

That's strike two.

Toji sucks his teeth. Now this is getting annoying. He takes five giant steps and places his hand on your shoulder, gripping it so you can stop at that spot. "Yo!!" He doesn't bother hiding his irritation.

"Hey!"

You free your shoulder from his hand in a swift motion, smacking his arm away. It was a small action, but it gave you enough leeway to hop a few extra meters away from him.

However, Toji was way quicker than that.

He grabs and pins you onto the wall of the hallway corner. You wince as the pain is slight, yet nothing too life-threatening. But that can't be said for the look Toji was giving you. Black brows are pulled down, and his forest-green eyes affirm that he's livid.

Strike three it is.

"I fucking dare you to try and get yourself out of this one," His rough hands are now on your shoulders, but they're keeping you in one place this time. "Try it."

A displeased frown paints your face. "Oh? Are you challenging me? I thought you'd have half the brain to know that's not a good idea."

He sneers at your attempt at sounding threatening. It always worked with others, but never with him. He found you adorable for always trying. "Hmph, your sassy mouth loves to spit out venom," Toji leans his face in, his nose almost touching yours. "Thought I fucked that attitude right out of ya."

You bring a knee to his groin, but again, Toji is one step ahead. Grabbing your leg and pulling it up with one hand while he uses the other to hold your wrists above your head.

Your eyes widen. This position, the memories, it's all coming back to you.

Pull yourself together, damn it!

"Tch, what is this about now, you reckless bear?" You glare at the man, trying to stay calm in this predicament.

"I'm fine playing the avoiding game—"

"You don't seem fine about it now." You cut him off.

"I wonder who's to blame for that."

"What the hell did I do? I carried on with my work and left you alone. Everything was going back to how it used to—"

"I don't think you avoiding me and going on other missions with other guys used to happen."

How you fought the urge to roll your eyes amazed you. "What are you, an elementary schooler? Why does it matter to you what I do with my time?"

"Shut up. You know I've been in this field longer than you have, and when you came into the picture, you always chose to be alone."

"Again," your patience wears thin by the second. "Why does it matter to you?"

Silence. He just stares at you as anger dwindles out bit by bit, but he's in his thoughts as his eyes hone in on yours.

"Well?" You press on while he's stumped. "Why?"

No answer, averting his eyes to the side like he'd find the answer there. Then, they come back to your face. Or rather, your lips.

Your breath hitches. "Fushiguro?"

His emerald eyes return to yours, yet his irritation is clouded in a softer tone. Those eyes now express the hooded look from that night. Toji places your leg onto his shoulder and leans closer to you.

"Fushigu—"

"Shhh," His deep voice sounded more demanding when hushed. "Let me have this. Have you."

His lips press onto yours before you deny him. Toji finally frees your hands to cup your face, and his tongue runs through your teeth, waiting for permission to enter. You should be fighting this. You have to fight it. But your mouth opens for him, and your hands grab his shoulders for stability.

You moan sweetly when he slides his tongue into yours, your balance starting to fail you. "I'm still on one leg, you asshole." You manage to say in-between kisses.

Toji laughs a bit before changing your position, pressing your back against the wall with your legs wrapped around him. Once you're comfortable, he's back on attacking your lips. It gets rougher and more passionate, teeth clashing and biting your bottom lip.

He groans when a hand pulls on his hair, his hands grope on your ass lovingly. He breaks up the kiss, you two catching your breath. He gazes at you, "You too, huh?"

Your lips quiver when you turn away from him and nod. He snickers. "Look at you being all shy. You were talking with a lot of sass not too long ago, and now you can barely look at me." He draws his face closer to your neck, giving it sweet kisses and tiny bites that cause you to gasp. And Toji was enjoying your reactions. "Knowing that I'm the one that can make you like this — Mmmph, makes me want to fuck you here and now."

And that's what you want. You won't admit it, but he already knows that. The cooperation with him at this very moment proves it. You want him just as much as he does you.

"Y/n! Where are you?"

The two of you freeze when another voice comes from the other side of the hall. Then you remember a rookie who needed help with a mission today, and you were headed to see him right after your meeting. And now you're pressed between a wall and Toji fucking Fushiguro with your legs wrapped around his waist.

If he sees me like this with Fushiguro, I'm finished!

"T-Toji," your whisper grabs the older man's attention. "You have to put me down. They're waiting for me."

Toji squints at you and then a look of realization. The grin that creeps on his face alerts something in your brain, and you don't know if you like it or not. There's little time for you to come to a proper answer because Toji moves away from the wall and brings you along for the ride. Your arms hold around his neck so you don't fall off as he enters a room and locks the door.

You're now in a tiny conference room with the lights off, only the sunlight peeking through the blinds of the sole window in front of the round table.

"What are you doing, Fushigur—Ack!" Toji throws you onto the table. The pain from your head distracts you from the fact that he's pulling your pants off in immediate haste.

His chuckles sound dangerously low. "So you thought I'd just let you go on some mission when I already have you right where I want you?" Toji spreads your legs for your undergarments to be displayed, whistling at the lewd image of a damp spot on the piece of clothing. "Oh, sweetheart, not with these cute lil' panties of yours."

You were about to get up and grab for his neck, but a finger pushed into your pussy through the cloth. A squeal slips out, and you're quick to cover your mouth.

"Careful, princess," his big hands pull your panties off you, and they meet the cold floor. His middle and forefinger slide up and down between slick-coated cunt has you biting your lip, and Toji likes the determination. "Don't want whoever lookin' for you to walk in on us. This pussy is for my eyes to see only."

"Haaaah...You're such a bastard, Fushiguro—Ooohh!!" Toji pushes his finger into your clothed opening, his free hand coming in the clutch to cover your voice.

Toji leans close to your face with the vibrations of your mewls rippling through his palm while his thick digit plays with your slit. "I mean it, kid. Don't play with me." You nod meekly, and he kisses your forehead for your obedience.

"Hmm, I wonder where y/n went. Hopefully, they didn't forget..." You can hear the voice of your subordinate on the other side of the door as if he's directly in front of it.

Another finger is added into the mix, and tears start to form as you wince through the pain of your nether lips being stretched. You try calling out to Toji, yet it's no use with his big warm hand dwarfing your sobs.

He does remove it, though, using it to maneuver your head so he can lay kisses on your neck. Your choked hiccups sound like sweet notes to his ears. "So good fr' me, sweetie. You smell so fuckin' good. Who're you trying to pull?"

"No-No one...Ahhhh..." You answer in gasps while his digits scrape your inner walls, your mind turning to mush. "I'm not trying anything— Oh fuck..."

"Bullshit." Toji groans and bites your collarbone, and a sharp gasp leaves you. "All this attention, all these rookies gawkin' at you like you're their prize."

"Why? You jealous, Fushiguro?" It wasn't meant to be a snarky comment, yet there was some spice. The glare he gives you sends a chill down your spine. One is sent back to show that you're standing your ground despite the humiliation you're going through.

You're about to say some more; however, you hear the doorknob jolt, and the clench of your velvety walls around Toji's fingers doesn't go past him.

"Huh? Why's the door locked?"

The shock on your face lights a lightbulb for Toji as a big grin takes over him. "Yeah? This space is occupied." He calls out to the person behind the door, the petrified look on your face only fueling his mischievous fire.

"Oh shit, Mr. Fushiguro!?" He snickers at the other's response. "S-Sorry! I didn't mean to disrupt you! I was just looking for someone."

A brow is raised when Toji turns his head to the door. "Who?"

You send your knife-piercing eyes his way, but he still doesn't face you. This motherfucker...

"Y/n," the rookie replies sheepishly. "They said they'd help me and a partner of mine with a mission. But I haven't seen them for a while..."

Please don't ask where I am. Just go somewhere else—Oh God!!

Toji's fingers fasten the pace, and you quickly cover your mouth before the person, oblivious to your absence, gets any inclination of where you are. And it gets worse when Toji's thumb flicks your clit prompting a choked cry. Oh, he's such a cruel man.

Toji hums with a sly smile as he peers at your writhing figure. "Oh, really? Didn't know that."

"By any chance, do you know where they went?"

You can't vocally tell him anything, so you rely on your eyes to convey your anxious pleas, orbs begging him through streamed tears and hooded with shame.

But Toji won't let you off that easily because the fun has just started. He whispers, "Say my name, baby." You blink with scrunched brows. "Say my name like you did that night."

This is too fucking much for me! Your mind is going through waves of turbulence. Of all people to be in this situation with, it has to be the fucker getting a kick out of this!!

Before you think up another sentence, a stinging sensation jolts your body upwards to him. Toji sneers playfully as his fingers leave your soaked folds and pinch your clitoris, your reaction too adorable for him to not stop tormenting you. "C'mon, sweetheart, say my name with your cute ass voice."

Your mind is clouded in this euphoric atmosphere that you can feel the climax inching closer and closer. Your lips are now swollen from having to bite them constantly. Another pinch has you screaming in silence, and you're pushed to accept your fate and give him what he wants: your submission.

"Hic-T-Toji, please," eyes hooded in a fuzzy haze, you reach out for his face. He obliges as you caress his cheeks. "Too much, 's too —hic... too much..."

His jade orbs focus on your dazed expression. A smile pushes his scar up for his teeth to peek through. "There she is. That's my good girl." He draws in to kiss you, his body weight pushing you down on the cold table surface. However, a knock from the door behind him halts him from moving any further. Toji clicks his teeth. Fuckin' brat.

And he removes himself from you, especially his fingers that were warm inside your cunt. The sudden subtraction of them have you exclaiming in soft whimpers. The orgasm you were so close to achieving is ignored and slowly depletes. You feel as though you could cry through the sensitive.

Toji whispers a quick apology and licks his digits marinated with your fluid. Then he marches to the door and opens it enough for half of his body to be visible. The rookie jumps at the tall man looking at the other with the most terrifying scowl. "What?" His gruff voice carries authority, and your pussy throbs as you watch him handle the younger hitman.

"S-Sorry, sir! I asked if you've seen—"

"No, I haven't seen them. Why not ask their handler since they just had a meeting together."

"Oh, okay...Well, excuse me!" Your junior quickly bows at the intimidating senior and scampers out of the scene.

A heavy sigh leaves Toji as he closes and locks the door, "Fuckin' finally." The exasperated tone of his tone falters when he turns to you, replaced with the returning lust. "Now, where were we..." His hands undo the knot around his pants and loosen the hold around his hips.

When his dick is set free, you can't help but gawk at such a thing. Seeing it for the second time is just as — if not more — menacing as the first. The girth and size alone has your mind in a whirlwind, questioning how that even fit inside you in the first place.

Nevertheless, it's no use thinking about such matters because Toji aligns his cock around your folds. When he feels you tense at his veiny organ, he rubs your thighs tenderly to coax you. "Relax fr' me, angel." Hesitation is shown as you nod, but you even your breathing and prepare for him.

Toji pushes his length into you with every breath you take, and it's difficult to adjust to the foreign organ intruding into your poor hole. You grimace every time the tip is shoved against you. Tears finally fall down your face which are wiped by Toji's calloused fingers. "I know, honey, I know."

It feels like forever just having the tip of Toji's dick enter you, and when it does, oh, it does. A loud gasp exits your lips from the intrusion, and inaudible babbles fly out as he pushes his length, stretching your vulva as it ventures deep within you.

Toji, on the other hand, shivers as your inner walls clamp around his cock. "Jesus...This pussy is still so fuckin' tight." He hisses through gnashed teeth. Once the base of his member reaches your opening, you two take a moment to recollect yourselves.

"Hmmm, damn, I missed this." He grinds his hips into you, his hands posted on your hips to savor the clenching feeling of your pussy. "Heh, bet that brat of a subordinate wouldn't know how to handle you like I do."

Even with your mind foggy and senses at an all-time high, you give the older man a look of annoyance. You make your cunt squeeze hard on him, the unexpected action catching him by surprise as he lowers himself to you, using all his willpower not to cum so early.

Before he can curse you out for the unforeseen kegel, you cup his face to have him look at you. "For God's sake, can you not mention him while you're fucking me, Toji?" Your voice hushed for him to pay close attention, but your beautiful dazed expression distracts him. "I'm not thinking about anyone besides you."

You don't even give him a chance to his answer because you pull him into a kiss and moan sweetly into his mouth. He groans and slowly rocks his hips into a stable rhythm.

His thrusts gradually get faster and faster, rearranging your legs around his waist so you don't go sliding on the table surface. Your pants get sporadic, and your cries are a little louder than earlier. But not too loud for the whole building to hear, only for him.

The slap of his balls hitting your ass is so vulgar to the ears that you hide your face. "Cut that out, sweetheart," Toji wastes no time removing your hands and holds them down with his. A feeling of deja vu blossoms in the air. "Don't try hidin' away from me, baby. I want to see all of you."

A sudden burst of confidence fuels your sentence. "Then fuck me like you deserve all of me."

A fire is ignited in Toji, and a sudden deep thrust is thrown at you out of nowhere. Your sobs only propel him to continue piston his length into the deepest parts of your gummy walls.

The conference room is filled with nothing but the sound of your sexes smacking together, skin slapping against each other, and groans and moans in heavy puffs and pants.

"Haahh! Haaaaah!! Tojiii, Tojiiii," you whimper as his pumps go erratically fast, shivering beneath him as your legs cage him.

"Oh fuckin' shit," Toji curses with eyes shut, removing one hand from yours and snaking it down to your clit, using his fingers to press down on the sensitive bud.

Your orgasm climbs back up, and you want to claim it this time. "Toji, 'm gonna, gonna c—Ohhh!!"

"Yeah? Gonna cum for me, sweet thing? Gonna cum on my dick like the good girl you are?" You nod lazily. Toji doesn't buy it. "Use your words, baby. Is that what you want?"

"Yes, Toji, yes!! Please, I want it!!"

And he gives it to you as the pads of his fingers swipe on your bud rapidly. Your release comes crashing down on you when your cunt spasms around the girthy length. Your eyes roll to the back of your head, and your body jolts with every wave of pleasure.

Toji isn't far from his peak, so he doesn't stop pounding into you for a few seconds. The hilt of his cock slams into your slick-covered opening, and you cry from the impact on your aching chasm. He fills you up with his own come and rests his body on you. His heaving figure feels pleasant on top of you.

The two of you begin to calm down as you finish each other's climax. Toji breathes on the crook of your neck and leaves a trail of kisses. "Fuck, pussy felt way too fuckin' good —kiss— Don't think I'd like the idea of sharin' you with the rest."

You shake your head and chuckle at him, placing your hands behind his neck and playing with his hair. "Whatever you say, you possessive loser."

Toji lifts his head and kisses your forehead before your lips, the two of you indulging in this tender moment as if nothing outside this space matters to you.

That is, until another knock on the door alerts you both, and Toji has to resist the urge to break the table you're lying on. Withdrawing from your embrace, he shouts at the person ruining his time with you. "Look here, brat! I told you this space is occupied!"

"I'm aware. That's why I came to get you." The different voice has Toji realize it wasn't the junior from before but his handler. Shiu Kong? "I was told by some rookie that you were in this room."

Toji groans as he puts his pants back on. For your sake, you keep your mouth shut and let the two men converse through the door between them. "What's up?"

"I just got you into a big operation. The client wants to meet with you to discuss plans and all that fun jazz. So meet with me outside the building whenever you're ready." And with that, Shiu's footsteps falter away from the room.

You finally get up from the table and grab your panties. Or, at least, look in the direction of where your panties should be. Looking to the left? Nope. To the right? Nada. Where did they go?

You hear the click of the door opening, and you run behind an office chair to hide your bare lower body. The culprit was Toji leaving to meet his handler, but what caught your eye was the familiar piece of clothing swirling around his finger. His childish smirk was plastered on his face. "Mind I borrow these for the rest of the day?"

Your face goes hot with unease. "Quit it, Fushiguro! I can feel your cum going down my legs, so hand it over!"

But he doesn't, stuffing the undergarments in his pocket, to your immediate horror. "Nah, I think I'll need 'em, ya know. A lil' motivation for me while I'm gone."

His dumb laugh fills his ego, but it stops when he sees you pick the chair up and throw it at him. He barely escapes as the furniture loudly bangs on the closed door, running away from the scene to meet up with Shiu.

"FUSHIGURO, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!!"

It's the first time you lose your cool with Toji, and all you can think about in this room of shame and humiliation is why did you get yourself tangled up with the older man again!?

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"I'm sorry for the sudden disappearance. Something came up on my end, and I had to take care of it immediately."

You found that subordinate later that day and apologized for your abrupt disappearance. They were accepted by the other, who nervously chuckled at your politeness.

"Oh, it's fine, y/n," he scratches his neck and looks to the ground. "I was just worried something happened with you, but I'm sure that wasn't the case since you're so good at what you do!"

You offer a small smile for his compliments, maintaining a calm composure so he doesn't see through the tiny nervous part of yourself. Oh, you don't even know the half of it, junior.

Your smile makes the younger hitman blush, but something catches his eye from behind you. "Huh? Oh, Mr. Fushiguro is back from his mission!"

You perk up at what your peer said, looking in the same direction he was. Shiu Kong was walking up with Toji tailing behind him. You greet Shiu with a brief bow, and he mirrors the action in return.

Once your eyes land on Toji, he's already grinning like a child with a hand rustling in a pocket, and you know what's inside it. "Hey, y/n." His patronizing tone doesn't go overlooked, causing your cheeks to heat up.

Your gaze averts from his cocky demeanor, yet you greet him. "Welcome back, Toji."

The look on the younger hitman across from you displays nothing but perplexity. Even Shiu Kong's brows shoot up with what you said. The junior is the first to say something. "Y/n, y-you just called Mr. Fushiguro by his first name!"

"Yeah, that's a first." Shiu agrees as the cigarette between his lips bounces at every word. "You only refer to him by his last name."

You blink once. You blink twice. And then it finally hits you. Oh shit.

The heat in your cheeks spreads across your face, and your lips lightly tremble as you try to explain yourself. But Toji beats you to the punch as he snakes an arm on your shoulder and brings you close to his chest, resulting in a squeak that your lips fail to suppress. He sneers at the younger man staring at the interaction.

"That's right, y/n and I have gotten pretty close, as you can tell." The grin on his face has a harmless glow, but those sharp emerald eyes of his are shadowed with a dangerous connotation. "After all, she is my special girl." Your subordinate gulps.

Toji snickers, satisfied with the younger hitman taking the hint. He then turns to you, and you do the same. "And as for you, darlin'," He leans in to whisper something in your ear. Something only for you to make your eyes wide and your breath still.

"Next time I see you with this brat, don't think I won't fuck the shit out of you with him watchin'. Show him just how special and good you are fr' me."

[anneapocalypse]

Why I Love the Hinterlands

The Hinterlands in Dragon Age: Inquisition get kind of a bad rap, and for kind of understandable reasons. For anybody who doesn't know the story, some context. The Hinterlands are the first open world area that unlocks for the player, a vast and highly explorable map full of quests, worldbuilding, and NPCs. So what was the problem? The problem was that the Dragon Age series had set two games' worth of precedent that the player could get locked out of an area and lose access to sidequests and other content—and the devs seemed not to fully realize they were fighting this precedent, or how strong it was, until the game came out and completionist players were getting exhausted and annoyed running around this huge map trying frantically to knock out all the side content before moving on. We still make jokes about devs on twitter trying to tell players that they could leave the Hinterlands. Lines were later patched in for the starting companions urging the player to go to Val Royeaux and advance the plot; you'll hear those lines if you play the game today, but they weren't there in the beginning.

The game's executive producer Mark Darrah has even spoken about this problem in his Dragon Age: Inquisition Memories and Lessons video on YouTube. From a game design perspective I do not dispute this issue. It definitely represents an oversight in the way the area is presented to players and the context they are given for what they should do next.

All that said… I love the Hinterlands, and with every replay (I have beaten the game four times at this point) my appreciation for this area and what it brings to the story has deepened. And as recent polls have raised discussion about the merits of various maps, I've felt moved to rise to their defense, so... here's why I think the Hinterlands are Good Actually.

Every map in Inquisition has its own overarching story, introduced by Scout Harding when the map unlocks and revealing itself through exploration and completing the quests within. Crestwood has the story of the flood during the Blight. The Exalted Plains have the story of the Orlesian Civil War. The Hissing Wastes have the story of Fairel and the surface thaig. And so forth. For this reason, I've come to feel that once you've progressed far enough in the main quest to have collected most or all of your companions, the most rewarding way to experience each area is at one go, as much as possible. Popping in and out of maps to complete one quest at time is, in my opinion, really detrimental to exploration and makes it harder to see the big picture. This is also one place where I really appreciate the invisible approval meter, because it discourages me from always stacking my party to game approval, the way I pretty much always play DA2.

At first glance, the story of the Hinterlands is the story of the ongoing war between the rebel mages and the renegade templars. This is one reason the Inquisitor may go there: to make contact with the rebel mages. They have been offered refuge in Redcliffe and are presently entrenched in the castle and adjoining village; the templars continue to attack the mages' position, and thus there is concentrated fighting in this region. Splinter factions of both mages and templars are also entrenched elsewhere in the area.

But this is just the setup. What the Hinterlands is about, its real story, is the common people.

The Inquisitor is first sent to the Hinterlands to make contact with Mother Giselle, in hopes of gaining some Chantry support. Seeking her out requires the Inquisitor to fight their way through the conflict to reach the Crossroads, where many refugees have gathered.

In these big, sweeping stories about heroes and villains, I think it's easy for the perspectives of common people to get kind of lost. One thing I do appreciate about the Dragon Age series is that every game does make a real effort to give voice to the commoner perspective. Origins has its city elf and casteless dwarf origin stories, and the player encounters many commoners throughout the game and gets to hear a bit of their perspective. Dragon Age 2 wouldn't be Dragon Age 2 without Darktown and Lowtown and the elven alienage and our interactions with the people who inhabit those parts of the city. Oddly enough, though, every human character we've ever had the chance to play in Dragon Age has come from a noble family; sure, Hawke starts out living as a commoner, but doesn't stay that way for long.

In Inquisition especially, we don't have the option of a commoner prologue to really drive home that perspective and carry it through the story. And while a Dalish elf, a Carta dwarf, a qunari mercenary, and a Circle mage certainly live very different lives than a human noble, they also live very different lives than Giles the farmer—not necessarily more privileged, but still different, with differing priorities and different stakes in this conflict. Bron the farmhand has no reason to be at the Conclave; he's here mucking out stalls, knowing the horses still need to be fed even if there is a rift spewing demons over there in the middle of the neighbor's pasture. Elaina the farmer is putting away cabbages for winter and hoping the barn doesn't get burned down by a stray fireball. And Elaina is one of the fortunate ones: her family's home and livelihood are still intact, for now. The Crossroads now hold many ordinary people who through no fault of their own have lost their homes, their crops, even family members.

Theirs is the perspective we get in the Hinterlands.

You don't have to stick around for all that. You can take Mother Giselle’s advice immediately, go to Val Royeaux, go deal with bigger and more important things and people. You will need 4 Power to go to Val Royeaux, but Power is easy to come by. Close a few rifts, and you’re good to go. You don’t have to care about these refugees and their problems.

But you know, something I notice is that the founders of the Inquisition spend a whole lot of breath talking about "the people." How they have to restore order for the people. How the people are looking to us—to you, Your Worship. The people need you. The people need to believe in you. That’s why we’re raising an army and building a cult around you! For the people.

Well, here are the people.

And if you talk to the people at the Crossroads, it turns out that what they actually need is less faith in Andraste’s chosen, and more blankets for the cold nights, medicine for the sick and injured, and food so they don’t starve. They need the war ended and the Breach closed so that they can return to what’s left of their homes and salvage what crops and livestock they can.

It is easy to feel a bit smothered by the Inquisition’s overwhelming Andrastian-ness, especially when playing a character who has their own religious beliefs, or none at all. We have a lot of characters trying to tell us about the importance of faith—their faith, specifically. We’re told that the people need to believe, and that’s why we have to play the role of this figurehead. And you can run with that idea and play it straight, if you want to. But there is, in fact, a different story to be found here, if you want to look for it—a story told in the world itself and the people who who inhabit it: people cannot eat faith.

And Mother Giselle, the person we are sent to the Hinterlands to find, knows this. She is certainly a devout Andrastian and deeply influenced by a life in the Chantry—but she also chooses to be on the ground helping people in need rather than arguing with her fellow clerics in Val Royeaux. After the attack on Haven, Mother Giselle and the Inquisitor have a conversation about faith, in which the Inquisitor points out, in one way or another, that faith may not be enough. Giselle may seem to disagree. Yet it is she who then leads the survivors in a song that does not mention the Maker or Andraste even once. The much-maligned “The Dawn Will Come” is so frequently assumed to be a Chantry hymn because it is Mother Giselle who starts it; even the fan wiki lists it as such. But I hear something much more akin to a folk song, a marching tune—not a high holy chorus for a cathedral choir, but a song with a simple tune and repetitive lyrics, about hope in dark times.

Perhaps she was rather more persuaded than she appeared.

When you ask your ambassador Josephine, “What do the people make of us?” she tells you how many noble allies you’ve gathered. And that’s not unimportant; this boots on the ground shit costs money, and most of that is coming out of noble coffers. But when you ask Mother Giselle, “How are the people?” she speaks of the terror and suffering of the people in the Hinterlands, and warns of mass starvation if the farmers cannot return to their fields.

This is the story of the Hinterlands.

And the density of side quests on this map reflects that. In addition to aiding the refugees with food, blankets, and medicine, there are so many more opportunities to help people in small but meaningful ways. An elven widower who cannot reach his wife’s grave through the fighting asks the Inquisitor to bring flowers there as is his custom. A grieving widow asks for the retrieval of her husband’s wedding ring from the templars who murdered him. A beloved ram has gone missing. A mage mourns her templar lover and the war that has come between them. A note speaks of two brothers, templar and apostate, torn apart by the war. A son has gone off to join the cult in the hills (no, not our cult in the hills, another one), and his mother needs the special remedy for her breathing problems that only he knows how to make. And so many more. Even the Winterwatch cult itself asks us to consider what it is the people truly need: the Inquisitor can enlist them as Inquisition agents, or ask them to aid the refugees.

Are all these sidequests vital to the plot? No. You can skip them if you want to. Are they relevant to the plot? Absolutely. Are they meaningful? To me, yes. Maybe they didn't change the whole world, but they changed something for these people.

It is so important to me that we get to actually meet the common people whose lives are depending on us. Whatever you think of the Inquisition itself, people actually are dying because of both the rifts and the war, and many more will die if these problems aren’t resolved. Meeting them, giving them names and faces and side quests dealing with their more mundane needs is so much more meaningful to me than standing around back at base being told “People are starving in the Hinterlands.”

It's understandable that the Hinterlands had to fight the precedent set by Lothering getting locked off, because in many ways the Hinterlands serves the same narrative purpose as Lothering: showing the effects of the present crisis on the common people and what's at stake for them.

I should note that the Hinterlands are not the only part of the game that addresses the impact on common people—far from it, in fact. The Exalted Plains give us a taste of how many have died for the Gaspard's attempted coup; Emprise du Lion shows us commoners kidnapped and tortured by Red Templars; the Winter Palace puts the bloody reality of the "Grand Game" in stark contrast to its gilded veneer with the indiscriminate murder of servants for expediency.

But it’s important that we are introduced to the suffering of the common people early in the game, when the Herald—not yet the Inquisitor—may still feel pretty shaky on their motivations for even sticking around.

While I've mostly been talking about non-mage commoners here, I do want to say a few words about the rebel mages as well, since they too are a part of the story of the Hinterlands. I hope that no one reading thinks I am blaming the rebel mages as a whole for what's happening in the Hinterlands, for what the common people here have suffered. The templars, notably, are not entrenched in the Hinterlands. Their present stronghold is Therinfal Redoubt, an old Seeker fortress, which is a significant distance from Redcliffe. The fact that the bulk of the fighting is taking place near Redcliffe, while we've no evidence of a mage offensive against Therinfal, makes it pretty clear that it is the templars who are pursuing the mages at this point, not the other way around. Certainly some in the region may not bother to make that distinction while their crops are on fire, but let's be clear about the story the map is telling us: it is the mages who are under attack here, not the templars. It is sometimes said that Inquisition deliberately draws a false equivalence between the mages and templars in this war. I would like to point to this piece of environmental storytelling as evidence that that is not entirely true.

Sometimes, it seems like pointing out that collateral damage happens is read as condemning an oppressed people for defending themselves. I want to make it clear that this is not what I am saying. I simply feel that those characters who have lost homes and livelihoods in this conflict are also worth seeing, and talking about. But I also don’t think it’s an accident that this is the map whose story is all about the suffering of ordinary people, and it is also the rebel mages who have their base on this map; the templars do not.

So, that’s why I think the Hinterlands are Good Actually! They contain an absolute wealth of worldbuilding, and their story frames the game’s central conflicts around the people suffering for them, early in the game when that perspective is most needed.

[toh-aus-coven]

Philip's Story is an Adoption Story... Here's Why That Matters

A few disclaimers before we dive in...

Binary thinking is discouraged here; adoption and its themes are complicated and nuanced. Multiple truths can exist.

This is one perspective and this analysis comes from being in community with adopted/orphan people, research, and misc experience

"Adoption adjacent" includes adoptees/orphans/foster kids (these three groups often overlap in various ways that will be elaborated on)

Please engage with this post in good faith. I know non-adoptees can experience things listed in this post however, there is a different context that underlies the experience of those adopted/adjacent. And of course, I'm not trying to make generalizations either... It's just that the narrative is more complicated than a lot of people want to admit.

Sound good? Let's proceed. THIS POST IS GOING TO BE A BIT LONG!

At the core of Belos/Philip's story is an 'adoption' story. And it's all because of this particular line:

I know what you're thinking "But isn't being an orphan different from being adopted?" Yes, and within the media in particular, adoptee and orphan stories overlap heavily-- in fact, it's almost a circle (although due to his background and his time-period, he'd probably be taken in by someone given the boys' age of their arrival). It’s about the experience of parental separation which is what connects adoptee and adjacent people. So while Philip is not adopted, he is adoptee adjacent and that still matters. Concerning media and the way adopted/orphaned characters are portrayed, it's often presented in a very binary manner. Most people's knowledge of the subject comes from other people's perception of it rather than adopted/orphaned people themselves. And to a degree that makes sense... These stories are often ABOUT [adoptees/adjacent people ] without INCLUDING them. Adoption themes are incredibly pervasive throughout literature, TV/movies, video games, and other media. It's not inherently wrong to have an adoption-related storyline, plot, or character but most people don't do it in a way that is humanizing and avoids common pitfalls within the storytelling.

There's a quick impulse to call Philip 'evil' and 'irredeemable' without actually understanding his character... and when you view him through an 'adoptee-centered' lens his behavior makes a lot of sense. The fact the show treats this specific fact about the character as a plot device rather than something that could be explored is a tiny bit insulting. They only mention it in the exposition which kind of implies that this detail is meant to explain Philip's deep attachment to his brother. Which yes, it does and TOH leaves us hanging -- or actually they just tell us that this man is evil and call it a day.

Which leads me into one of the biggest pitfalls that the show uses for Philip-- he's framed as just evil. The trope of good/bad adoptee/adjacent character is a pretty common see -- even within the same piece of media. If we're going to use TOH we can look at King's character -- King, a young main protagonist who is the last living son of a god. King is young, cute, 'exceptional', has special abilities, etc (there are issues with King's portrayal as well but this post isn't about him). This is an issue because adoptees/adjacent people are more than a reductive good/bad label. Same with concepts such as 'gratitude' -- being grateful or not grateful when the real answer can be a lot more complex than that. It's a binary question that can be a complicated answer. We're the picture-perfect heroes or the irredeemable villains-- nothing in-between.

Taking this into consideration, when we look at Philip you start to see someone who's not 'evil'; you begin to see a man who is coping with separation trauma and abandonment issues. This is unfortunate to hear but research tells us that adoptees are 4x more at risk to 'self-exit', 2x at risk to have substance abuse issues, and generally more likely to be diagnosed with mental health disorders (obviously every individual is different but when talking about adoption many people tend to ignore these types of statistics in favor of more 'positive' ones). 'Negative' aspects that many adoptees/adjacent people experience or try to talk about are often dismissed or worse, they are gaslighted. When you look at Philip and his characterization you see these behaviors in a different light such as:

His attachment/abandonment issues (Caleb, this one doesn't need any elaboration; EDIT- gonna elaborate anyways lol). To be honest Philip shows a lot of symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder. The hallmark of the disorder is a fear of abandonment — and BPD often stems from childhood trauma. Interestingly enough it’s not uncommon for adoptees (in particular women; there is a misogynistic component to this but i digress) to get a BPD diagnosis. And given that the show portrays Philip in a very stigmatizing way… you can see why this isn’t great…

Difficulty regulating his emotions ('the curse' seems to come out when he's emotionally escalated)

'Substance' use (the palismen; he seems physically reliant on them and they don't benefit him in any way besides sustaining his life. also, he looks like he's huffing something when he consumes one Side note: Some people think that Philip deserved to 'be cursed' (which is a side effect[?] of the consumption) since he “cursed himself”... super not great for adoptees/adjacent people we’re already a misunderstood group of people and it's not uncommon to get insulted or blamed when trying to have a nuanced discussion or share experiences.

His sense of self seems unstable... Most of his identity hinges on his brother, not himself (ex. being a witch hunter, the use of the gravesfield coat of arms for the emperor's sigil, the coat he wears, his name-- Philip Wittebane, etc)

There's a bunch of emotional stuff I would have to guess would be true but they'd more fall under theory or headcanon

It's not that he is 'evil' he is in pain and he is blamed for that. Obviously, he doesn't make productive choices and he does bear responsibility for the harm he caused and he is a creation of his environment. He had to hate to survive. This is where 'this and' can come into play... For many adoptees, we have feelings of not belonging -- even more so for transracial adoptees (those adopted/fostered into homes of a different race than their own). Many transracial adoptees are raised in environments that are racially / ethnically homogeneous (from their own race) so it can be harder to 'fit in' and it can also cause someone to have a complex relationship with their racial/ethnic background when one is essentially assimilated into a community that they stick out of.

edit: In mainstream society being adopted or 'orphans' is deemed to be a shameful thing, used as a comedy device, or through very rosed colored glasses... and there's a problem to highlight here: because adoptee/adjacent are often seen as source material for STORIES we often view their experiences through the lens of A STORY rather than someone's lived experience. It is easier to view a particular thing as a story for entertainment when for someone else it is reality. While Philip is a fictional character many aspects of his behavior are very real and deserve understanding and empathy for real adoptees/adjacent people. We deserve to be more than stories with black-and-white roles and deserve to be seen in color. As full complex people.

Here are some resources if you're interested in learning more about adoptee-centered adoption perspectives:

https://adoptionmosaic.com/resources

https://sidebysideproject.com/11-short-films

http://adopteereading.com/overview/

https://harlows-monkey.com/

https://adopteeconsciousness.com/

this tedtalk is good too: https://youtu.be/jL4lnvQ1wVU?si=HpYASjvvOXnY2faX

Edit: https://youtu.be/Rz3ME8K_zW4?si=CpEQarRbe8VAUqAR (this documentary just came out and you may hear a certain basilisk/gem featured!)

[pianokantzart]

Movie Verse Super Paper Mario AU

Given how long my SPM comic has gotten, and the fact that it's about to become more obvious how much the story deviates from the original (particularly with DK filling the role of Bowser as a hero), I figured now would be a good time to put together a rough outline of the plot points in my AU.

This isn't required reading for my comic, this is just for everyone who wants some extra context and info about how my version of events differ from the original Super Paper Mario.

The story starts out with Mario and Luigi at home. Luigi is talking about how peaceful things have been lately, but unlike in SPM he has absolutely no desire to see this change.

Meanwhile, Mario is trying to pretend he isn't a little bored, and is quietly dropping suggestions that the two of them go off and explore some faraway kingdom to break up the monotony.

Suddenly, Toad bursts in in a panic, and The Mario Brothers are ushered to the castle as Toad hurriedly explains that Princess Peach has disappeared.

The three enter the crime scene: her bedroom shows signs of a brief struggle, but otherwise there is no clue to what might have happened except a letter that reads "If you wish to see the princess again, meet me within Bowser's castle" written in unfamiliar handwriting.

Despite this disappearance not matching Bowser's style at all, Toad and The Mario Brothers have little choice but to believe he has something to do with this. They decide to take the bait.

They enlist the help of Donkey Kong in the rescue mission, figuring it'd be best to have the extra muscle given how likely it is this is a trap (plus the karts are a more reliable form of transportation compared to the warp pipes.)

Despite the addition of a giant gorilla to the team, Mario & co. successfully sneak into Bowser's Castle undetected. The guards don't seem to be on particularly high alert. Stranger still, they can't find the princess anywhere.

When Bowser eventually discovers and confronts them, Mario explains the situation and presents the mysterious letter they found. Bowser is dumbfounded, but insists that whatever happened to Peach can wait until after he kills them.

Before things escalate any further, Count Bleck appears from a portal in sort of a rough recreation of this scene:

Bleck is pleased to see everyone gathered together, and presents the captive Princess "as promised."

Seeing this, Mario immediately leaps to attack the count despite Luigi's desperate plea for him to wait. Like in the game, this causes Mario to get knocked out. Soon after, everyone is sucked away into the dimensional portal except the unconscious Mario.

Mario awoken by Tippi, who– after brief introductions– teleports him away to meet Merlon so they can work together to stop Count Bleck with the help of The Light Prognosticus.

Mario isn't sure how he feels about the idea of prophecies... he doesn't really buy into the idea, despite how much he matches the physical description in the book... but if playing along means Tippi will help him stop Count Bleck and save everyone, he'll do it.

Meanwhile, everyone else awakens to find themselves at Peach and Bowser's wedding. Toad, Donkey Kong, and Luigi do their best to interfere as Nastasia hypnotizes Peach into saying "I Do." Ultimately, Mario's allies fail, and the marriage unleashes the chaos heart.

From there, things continue much like in the game, albeit with a few changes:

As described before, Bowser's role is filled by Donkey Kong. Bowser, in the meantime, aligns himself with Count Bleck to spare his own army from being brainwashed, biding his time until he can usurp the count and gain control of the chaos heart.

Toad is part of Mario’s group too. He isn't mentioned in the light or dark prognosticus, but he is determined to help out nonetheless (and actually does a pretty good job.)

Unlike in SPM, Luigi stays brainwashed the entire time. The first time Mr. L is defeated, Mario and his allies try to grapple him and drag him back to Flipside so Merlon can take a look at him, but Dimentio interfered and "rescued" Mr. L before they could manage it.

O'Chunks, Mimi, Dimentio, and Mr. L work together as a unit after failing their respective attempts to stop the heroes, leading to a couple of instances of all-out battle royale between Bleck's minions and Team Mario. Bleck's Minions, as dysfunctional as they are, don't succeed in stopping the heroes from obtaining any pure hearts despite their combined efforts.

The ending is where things really get switched up:

The main four, having gathered all the pure hearts, start heading to Castle Bleck to destroy the chaos heart.

In the frenzy of everyone preparing for the confrontation, Bowser... knowing that The Dark Prognosticus prophesied that The Man In Green would be the one to bring darkness to all... draws Mr. L away from the group and tries to kill him.

Dimentio, however, saves Mr. L, and working together they successfully incapacitate Bowser enough for Dimentio to send him back to his own dimension.

This rescue– plus the earlier rescue from the clutches of Mario– causes Mr. L to place misplaced faith in Dimentio.

Seeing this, Dimentio comes clean and asks Mr. L to join him in usurping The Count. He lies that Count Bleck has no intention of creating new worlds after destroying the old ones, and offers Mr. L a portion of his own power if he agrees to assist in making sure the universe goes on.

In my version of things, you have to agree to a partnership in order to get implanted with a floro sprout. It's sort of a contractual thing... one can't just plant something in your brain while you're unconscious.

At this point, Mr. L trusts him enough to tentatively agree to his terms and let him in. This is how Dimentio manages to get the sprout seed inside Mr. L's head.

Sure enough, after Mario, DK, Peach, and Toad defeat Count Bleck and his Minions... and just as Tippi begins to get through to the disheartened Blumiere... Dimentio and Mr. L swoop in to swipe the chaos heart and teleport away.

Mario, while rushing to grab his brother, is the only one who manages to get a glimpse of where they teleported to before both Mr. L and Dimentio disappear completely.

He keeps this information to himself as he and Count Bleck's forces hold a truce, tending to the wounded Nastasia and discussing what to do next.

During this meeting, Count Bleck finally answers the question that had been the minds of everyone on Team Mario: why brainwash Luigi? Count Bleck admits the prophecy in The Dark Prognosticus, explaining that he planned on using Luigi to destroy all worlds. What's more, he insists that if they really want to put an end to the chaos heart and the threat it poses, they will have to kill Luigi as well.

This sparks a heated debate. While everyone's shouting Mario says nothing, but silently slinks away from the group to catch up with Luigi and Dimentio on his own.

He knows that the two have merely gone into a chamber deeper within the castle. He knows where to look. If he can just get through to his brother, maybe he can be saved...

Which leads us right up to where my comic begins.

[haibunnyy]

This might be a hot take but…

I loved S7 of vld and I don’t get all the hate for S8. I see it a lot on here that people hate the later seasons or flat out refuse to watch S7-S8 and while everyone’s entitled to their opinions, honestly I don’t get it and hope now with VLD being taken off Netflix people give it a chance before it’s gone.

!Spoilers below!

Disclaimer S7 IS my favorite season. From the travel home where we see just how far the paladins have come with their relationships with each other from goofy moments like the game show episode to E6 the journey within, when they’re going crazy stranded in space and fighting with each other. “you ran away. Maybe you should’ve just stayed away” ugh the angst love it.

Then the second half of the season had so many solid moments where the cast finally got what they wanted, going home, seeing their families, proving the people who doubted them wrong (specifically Keith with this one tbh) but it’s nothing like how they expected. I thought the fight for earth arc was one of the most serious and emotional arcs of the show. Everyone willing to die for their home planet, the almost self-sacrifice moments, part where Lance closes his eyes ready to die and Keith’s calling out to him…sold.

Don’t get me wrong it’s far from perfect, I hear the criticism. We get the dreaded bury your gays drop this season with Adam (maybe that’s why they decided to kill off Allura, had to even it out /j )

Moving into S8, arguably not at good as S7 by a long shot but I still think it’s worth the watch. And I know I’m gonna lose people here but oh well it’s me and my delusions against the world.

Persssonaalllyyy I see a lot of the hate for this season comes from Allura and Lance getting together. And okay don’t shoot me here but I’ve noticed a lot of hate for Allura in general stems from this season and I am a Allura defender to the end. I’m gonna be honest in the rewatch I could see it, why people ship klance (they’re my OTP I get it), the rumors about if there was one more season it’d be canon, or how the staff even shipped them or how someone left the team or got fired and that’s why it’s not canon. I get it truuuussttt me I get it. But that’s just not what we got and in the context of what we did get, I honestly thought Lance’s and Allura’s relationship, as short lived as it was, was cute.

We see 7 seasons of Lance flirting with Allura, flirting with all these girls claiming to be a romantic and you now what? He is! He’s a good boyfriend! As much as he changed throughout the show he’s still “loverboy Lance” nervous to make the perfect date for the girl he likes, talking to his friends about it cause he’s feeling insecure taking out a literal princess, taking Allura to meet his family, and as much as I ship klance over allurance (and would have preferred for the two of them to go out instead) their date was CUTE okay sue me.

As for Allura, I get it, she did not like Lance AT ALL in the beginning seasons. So where did this come from? Poor choices in the writing room most likely BUT in the canon Allura has been strong willed the entire show, leading along side the BP, becoming a paladin herself, giving up her father to protect others, loosing the castle of lions and truly one of the last pieces of Altea, she looses so much and even when she finds out there’s Alteans alive, they hate her and believe she’s the bad guy. She’s been this selfless warrior princess who’s had to be selfless for 7 seasons, I think when presented the opportunity to be selfish and happy, she would take it. Shes tired, all her paladins got to go home to their families, got to return to their home planet. Shes lonely af, happy for them ofc but that shit gotta be depressing.

And again as much as I prefer Klance and Allura/ Romelle, for the canon I thought it made a lot of senses that she’d go out with Lance after he asks. I definitely see it as a “fuck it, why not” from her and she gained feelings throughout their relationship. Which irl I don’t recommend but in my eyes it humanized Allura. She made a lot of selfish choices this season from taking creature from the void to, agreeing to go out with Lance. But again I don’t even think it was out of character of her. I think it was bound to happen, after everything she’s been through, being selfless and perfect all the time she finally cracks. Plus it was nice seeing Allura have her “I’m just a girl” moment. Going shopping with Romelle and Pidge, having girl talks, trying to impress Lance’s family. It made her more relatable.

Another selling point for this season were the fight seasons Honestly I loved all the fight scenes in this season, the animation really popped off today. My fav was between Zethrid and the paladins. But does does loose a point here for Zethrid and Ezor being hinted as a wlw but never explicitly stated so boo to that.

We also have a lot of fun and rewarding moments with the paladins as well, like the clear day episode. We get to see Shiro actually have fun for once. Only took 8 seasons but hey. The moments between Pidge and her family were very wholesome and rewarding considering how much Pidge went through to get her family back together. Lance with his family was also cute. His little rant about why his sister shouldn’t go out with Keith was funny. The infamous sunset scene with Keith and Lance, would I have gone batshit insane if it was a love confession between the two? Oh absolutely but oh well. Hunk and Keith’s friendship was nice to see considering where they started with Hunk being the timid one and Keith being an emo loser. TLDR it was nice to see those finale happy times where we really see how far everyone has come before the ending.

As for the ending, maybe I’m just not creative enough to see a different route. But Honerva being the finale villain was one of my favorite choices for this ending. She’s been there literally the entire time just fucking shit up for the universe. Her motive to be in a reality where she can be with her husband and child? 👏 having villains just be evil for the fuck of it is great and all. But it reminded me a lot of the scarlet witch from marvel and she’s my all time favorite character in he MCU so maybe that’s why I liked Honerva so much. Fuck the universe if your family is on the line, am I right? It made her a great villain in my eyes and the polar opposite of allura who had to give up her family and her home for the sake of the universe.

Which is why Allura sacrificing herself to save the universe? Lowkey saw it coming since around season 5 and to me made total sense. She tried to be normal, to live on earth or on the atlas, but she’s a reliac of the past and she knows it. It goes back to the point I made of this girl is tired af. A chance to save to universe and be reunited with her parents even if it’s death, she’d do it. Season 8 she tried deviating from the role forced upon her as the selfless sacrificial lamb but she was doomed from the start. I deadass cried when she died and honestly I’m fine with her death as well. Everyone did what they were destined to do; if the paladins were destined to save the universe, she was destined to die for it.

Now to the post credits and post canon

Here’s where I say the hate is valid and deserved. Points lost fr with having Shiro marry an extra. I get it, they wanted the diversity points of saying YES Shiro is in fact gay but they were only allowed so much wiggle room/if they put it at the very end nothing can go wrong right? so they settled for that. Do I see the damage it does towards queer representation in media? Now I do but at the time when my little gay self watched that I was shocked they’d even show that much and took the breadcrumb piece of rep and ran with it. I told myself, “meh shiro deserves to live the quiet married life after all the shit he’s been there.” But it def should have been Adam.

As for everyone else, the journey’s over. The lions are gone, I thought it made sense that everyone went their separate ways but still maintained a friendship. That’s growing up, that’s adulthood. When I watched that at 17 I was annoyed that they didn’t stay together as a friend group but now at 23, I totally get it. They are still friends, they just got their own things going on so they only reunite when they can. If that’s not adult friendships idk what is.

Keith traveling with the blade helping others, great! Hunk and Shay being cooks and doing diplomacy shit, awesome! Pidge living her best life with her parents building up earth, love it! Did I like that the one Latino character ended up being a stereotype and living on a farm? No I did not.

I interrupted as Lance staying on earth and grieving Allura’s death. Which I can see happening but Lance deserved his own happy ending. I see Lance becoming an MFE pilot or joining the Atlas crew with his sister, something where he continues to pilot cause it’s all he’s ever wanted to do but still carrying that grief with him.

To finish this yap session off, my final thoughts are I think a lot of S8 hate comes from Allurance and the post credits. I think the hate for Allurance and Allura is unfair and some of it stems (from what I’ve noticed) from this misogynist/fetishizing tendacy to shit on the female characters who come between mlm ships in fandoms. So again, I am an Allura defender through and through.

As mentioned earlier, hate for the post credits, makes total sense. But I’d like to bring up a point I see rarely discussed in this discourse. I am not excusing the queer bating that happened or the blatant racial stereotype we got for Lance’s ending but I truly believe Voltron is a product of the times and essential for the evolution of queer rep in western animation. I could do an entirely separate post on this but I’ll sum it up as best as I can here. Queer representation in main stream western media was still new and touchy. And mlm representation was even fewer. I think the backlash is valid and was necessary for dreamworks/Netflix and any other companies to learn their lesson that gay people in cartoons is OKAY and should be normalized. that’s why following I think Vld was one of the many factors in a shift for openly queer couples in animation that we see in shows like She-ra.

So it sucked that we never got klance yeah but I never once thought Klance was gonna be canon. I wished for it but I figured the best we could hope for is some hints like how they ended Legend of Korra.

So besides from the effects it had on western media, as a fan I’ll still take the ending and even recommend it to people as is because of the art that came after. The fanart, the edits, the post-canon and fix-it fics I love reading time and time again. None of that would exist without that controversial ending. I don’t think I’d still be such a diehard fan to this day if it had ended any differently. My appreciation for this show and obsession stems from how invested I was in the controversies, rumors and hype every season. Like the whole pride month post on twitter, dear god what a mess but hopefully a word of warning now for creators thinking of queer baiting fans again.

It’s not perfect, there were a lot of fucks up along the way and at times, downright problematic but I will still always recommend people watch VLD all the way through. But hey maybe that’s just my way of wishing I had more people to talk about the ending with ¯\_ツ_/¯

[ydhuil]

My thoughts on mclng episode 07

Hi! This is the first time I'm going to make a slightly more developed comment on my opinion of an episode, I'm just going to mention a few things that particularly stood out to me! I'm on the Jason route and this is just my opinion and feelings. This is quite long, so it's under the cut!

I start with the issue of Ysa's mother and sister. I feel that the explanation Ysa's mother gives about the bathroom issue is vague. It's like a forced justification to lead us to the flat-hunting thing. I think there may be other ways to do it and that overall it all felt a little more natural. (I'm also going to overlook the fact that Ysa's mother is the most recognized architect in town, as well as rich, and probably knows enough people to help her daughter find a good apartment without having to do a forced pantomime to get us into a fake dating).

Regarding the office moment, it was a bit strange that everyone started looking for an apartment for Ysa as if it was an assignment (don't these people ever work??). I'm not going to complain too much, because I understand that sometimes you have to force certain situations?? I guess?? but I think there are other ways to do something similar and that is plausible and has coherence within the context in which we are. We are on episode 07 and I feel that the story is still very generalized and that things that happen in previous chapters do not affect future ones. In the previous mcl games the story was more personalized as you progressed, being different depending on the route you were following. In general I think they were somewhat more complex stories.

As for the moment with Jason, I don't know what to think. The scene that is presented is overwhelming, and Jason's last comment, when Ysa tells him to stop, for me goes over a line. I understand that Ysa feels humiliated, she has been. And this brings me to what happens next, and that is that I disagree with the ending. Jason's been a dick, and I get that, that's just the way the character is, but I think very little has been made out of this whole situation.

Jason has screwed up, gone too far and crossed a line for Ysa, which from his experiences is a complicated and painful subject. I feel like Ysa should have either told him to fuck off or given him that slap, or even done both, and gotten the hell out of there. As I discussed with one person around here, that would have made Jason see that he has touched on a sensitive subject and one that affects Ysa especially, he would have realized that he had screwed up and he could have been the one to seek her out, instead of continuing with the chance encounters. Following this they could have had a conversation about it and created a moment of sincerity and deeper connection between the characters. And they also would have extended the plot at least one more episode, instead of continuing to do one-off episodes.

And I don't want to say that all this is not seen in the episode. We see Jason repentant and worried, but I feel that everything goes too fast, that it doesn't give time to assimilate what is happening nor what is the real “seriousness” of the situation. Everything happens and is solved in a couple of minutes, and in the next chapter we will have another different plot that will not connect with this chapter. (I've seen Jason make a comment about it in the pool, but I'll comment on that when I get to play the episode). All of this makes me not end up feeling connected or excited about the characters and the story, and it's sad.

Still, there are things I liked. Seeing Jason's more tender side I love, as well as the real concern he feels for a few moments for Ysa. And I love that they're teasing each other and giving each other a few digs, it's fun, more combined with that other tender side, but to the limit of humiliation...idk :/ I feel like they're good characters and they have a lot of potential, but it's like they want to rush everything and get to the spicy scenes quickly or something.

The episode ends very abruptly and I feel like it was too short. I spent about 1,700 pa and it's like nothing happened. The thing about there being answers worth 40/50/60/80 pa makes the chapters very expensive, making us use more pa for very short chapters.

To finish, to say again that I liked to see that more tender and understanding side of Jason, but I would have loved that everything would have been a little longer and would have given us a greater development of the characters. Even so, I liked the episode for that little moment with Jason and those little details we got to see about him. Hopefully things will get better and we'll have a plot that develops in the episodes, instead of mini-stories.

Thank you very much if you have read this far! :]

[idrellegames]

Is Ren completely Asexual (like Alexia)? Or Grey-Asexual or..?

I really do want to believe that you are asking this in good faith, anon. But there is something about this question that gives me pause.

Yes, asexuality does exist on a spectrum and there are a lot of different labels for where an individual may fall on it. Every asexual person's experience is going to be different - some are sex averse, some quite enjoy it, some are neutral about it, some only want to engage with it in certain contexts and with specific people.

But within the context of fiction and specifically IF games, questions like this often imply that "complete" asexuality = no sex ever and demisexuals and grey-aces are "acespec-lite". I've seen it before in IF fan communities where there's a sigh of relief from the fanbase when an acespec character is announced as demisexual because thank god they aren't actually asexual! They can still have sex scenes!

Whether it was your intention or not, it seems to me that what you're actually asking is not about Ren's sexual orientation, but whether he is fuckable or not.

I do very much hope this isn't the case. As a queer asexual creator I am happy to discuss asexual characters and how they are presented in media, both in my own work and on broader terms.

Wayfarer is not a romance game. Romance is not the point and intimacy scenes are not the end goal. Not all characters with romance content will have sex scenes (or may only have them in certain contexts), just as not all characters with sex scenes will have romance (Veyer falls into this later category).

The value of a companion character shouldn't be determined by whether your MC can sleep with them or not.

[laxmiree]

[CN] MLQC Season 2 Chapter 56 Translation [Lucien’s Part]-(1/2)

⚠️  SPOILER ALERT  ⚠️

This post contains a VERY HEAVY SPOILER for the chapter that has not been released in EN yet! Feel free to notify me if there are any mistakes in the translation~

I see your darkness, your failures, your confusion.

Just as I catch sight of the building, my body freezes involuntarily.

The place where the mentor-pupil mission has led us is none other than the former site of the Twin Leaves Orphanage in reality.

Translation under the cut!

[S2 Chapter 56 - Unsolvable Crux]

Some context about this chapter batch! Long story short, MC's Miracle Finder program which is more of a long and traditional TV show is struggling to compete with the popularity of online short videos (cough, funnily, it is almost like Lovepro's current situation in the otome market-), but she still has some time to find ways to make it more popular again before the next meeting with the investor (pretty similar to the start of the main story huh-)

At the same time, Odyssey, a hyper-realistic VR game is currently on hype right now, the game was developed by a company called Infinite, and it can be played with a device called Golden Apple (GA for short). This game lowkey feels like hidden ads for LaDs ngl

✂———————–

—[Chapter 56-8]—

I'm sitting at my desk, playing with the leaves of the green plant on the table, unable to help but sigh again

MC: I can't just chase after streaming platforms and make short videos for the rest of my life, can I.....

...This will only make my company lose its style and be homogenized into one of them.

At present, it seems like there's a new information technology emerging every minute. If we don't seize the opportunity, we'll only be left with the crumbs of others' success. It's just like…

Lucien: “Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place.”

The familiar words echo in my ears, and I can't help but feel a bit dazed. Suddenly, a strange sense of familiarity wells up from within me.

This feeling, where I'm at a loss at the company's situation, seems to have happened in the distant past as well.

The calm, windless afternoon and those ink-like eyes come to mind.

When I was filming the final episode of "Finding Miracles" I was also grappling with decisions about the future, feeling anxious and lost.

At that time, Lucien became my program consultant, and the struggling program suddenly came to life starting from that episode.

I can't help but smile as I find my phone and send a message to Lucien.

MC: Is Consultant Lucien busy? I'm coming over to see you now~

The bright sunlight reflects off the entrance of the Ultima Bioscience Research Institute. As soon as I step out of the car, I see several visitors walking out of the building with gloomy expressions.

Visitor A: Is Professor Lucien such a high-and-mighty figure? Every time we come here, he's never around!

Visitor B: Maybe his research is going downhill at a critical moment? Even his assistant says they don't see him often.

Visitor A: Then he should come out, meet us, and discuss the results. Is it really good to shut himself away and do research like this?

MC: …?

Lucien not seeing visitors? I'm a bit puzzled.

A couple of days ago, when I met him in "Odyssey", he told me that the scanning function in "Odyssey" is very useful, as it helps him transfer data.

Could it be that he's doing closed-door research, so he's not seeing visitors?

I take out my phone in confusion and see that there's no reply to the message I sent him before leaving.

Pete: I'm really sorry, Professors. Next time, when you come again…

No one pays attention to Pete's voice. The visitors get straight into their cars and leave. He awkwardly scratches his head and walks away.

The situation in front of me deepens my confusion. I push open the door to the research room lightly.

MC: Lucien…?

There's no response inside. I stick my head in from behind the door, then pause for a moment in surprise.

I had thought I would see Professor Lucien asleep among the mountains of research reports and experimental data...

...But I didn't expect to see him actually sitting on the visitor's sofa, wearing the third-generation GA device.

At Lucien's feet are some hastily packed fast food wrappers, along with two unpackaged GA helmets.

He leans against the sofa, half of his face obscured by the helmet, devoid of any expression. Only his fingers, which resting on the side, twitch occasionally.

In an instant, I understood why Pete's expression was so complicated.

Who would have thought that Professor Lucien, while shutting himself off from visitors, would be sitting in the research lab playing "Odyssey" so openly!

If I don't go ask Lucien about the situation soon, I feel like I'll become even more worried and confused.

I take a deep breath, take a helmet out of the packaging, sit on the empty experimental bed next to him, and decisively put it on.

✂———————–

The brilliant sunlight warmly bathes a lush green field, and the moist air rushing towards me feels refreshing.

The grass beside me is nourished by the river, lush and abundant. With the river breeze rippling against both banks, the grass sways, gently tickling my calves.

This is Lucien's home in "Odyssey". When it's not busy, I often spend leisurely days here with him.

I look around and quickly spot Lucien sitting by the riverbank. I walk over to him joyfully.

MC: Lu-

Before I can even say his name, Lucien tilts his body slightly and gestures to me.

Lucien: Shh-

With one hand, he stops me from trying to pat him, and with the other, he lifts the fishing rod. As he moves, the water ripples gently.

"Splash!" A fish with golden patterns bursts out of the water, its tail swishing lively, causing water droplets to splash around.

The water droplets slide down his face like morning dew, tracing a meandering path on his handsome features.

Lucien blinks and then looks at me, his lips curling into a smile.

Lucien: [chuckles] Caught it.

—[Chapter 56-10]—

I come out from behind Lucien and poke the lively fish.

MC: What a plump and beautiful fish, I don't think I've ever seen one like this when I go fishing myself!

Lucien chuckles lightly as he unties the fishhook, then puts the fish back into the water, watching as its tail swishes and it swims away into the river.

A notification suddenly pops up.

——————Congratulations to the player [X] for completing the fishing achievement — [Encounter with Golden Marigold Fish].

Next to the achievement page, there's a line of small text that reads, "Congratulations, you are the first player globally to achieve this accomplishment."

MC: Wow, did I just witness the birth of a golden legend?

I gaze at this unheard-of achievement in astonishment, while Lucien maintains an unsurprised expression.

He smiles faintly, reaching out to wipe away a droplet of water that splashed onto my cheek just now.

Lucien: Shouldn't MC also be awarded an achievement — the first player globally to witness the birth of the Golden Marigold Fish achievement?

His banter makes me unable to help but smile. I glance around at the scenery, sighing as I look around.

MC: I never expected that the charm of "Odyssey" would be so great that even Professor Lucien has become an "Internet Addict."

I clear my throat and then nonchalantly add a "harmless" little question.

MC: Lately, it seems like I've been seeing you online often. Is the work at the Ultima Bioscience Research Institute relatively easy?

Upon hearing my little probing, Lucien smiles but doesn't rush to answer.

He stands up and tidies things up, gesturing for me to look towards a nearby location.

Lucien: [chuckles] Before answering that question, do you want to go check out the newly renovated home of an "Internet Addict" first?

MC: Um? Of course, that sounds great~

I never imagined that Lucien had actually expanded a laboratory within his home without me knowing.

The layout, facilities, interior decor, and even the functioning equipment replicated a professional laboratory down to the last detail.

Data and reports are neatly arranged, and as I measure the thickness of one stack of data with my palm, it exceeds the breadth of two hands.

Judging by the thickness of these materials, Lucien seems to have been conducting research in the "Odyssey" laboratory for quite a long time.

MC: While others come into the game to relax, Professor Lucien is actually working in the game. What an exceptional scientist...

Lucien smiles calmly and prepares a cup of hot tea for me.

Lucien: Try it. Does the taste and flavor differ from the real world?

I take the white tea and sip it lightly.

MC: [smiles softly] It seems there's hardly any difference, but I'm not really a tea connoisseur. I just drink it often because of you.

The tea leaves stretch in the boiling water, blurring our views of each other. I lean back on the comfortable sofa, seemingly understanding his implication.

MC: Professor Lucien, do you think since "Odyssey" is so similar to reality, why not explore an "experimental field" in the game too?

Lucien remains silent, seemingly acknowledging. He brews another cup of tea with the tea leaves and places it back in front of me.

Lucien: The laboratory here is quiet enough for me to focus more on my research.

He winks, his gaze gentle and focused, conveying a sense of reassurance to me.

Lucien: And as you've seen, in addition to research, I also casually complete game tasks.

In just a few sentences, Lucien perfectly answers all my questions.

I prop my head up a bit dazedly, pondering. If it's about finding peace and quiet, the Ultima Bioscience Research Center isn't usually noisy.

...Could it be because of those people?

MC: Is it because of the increase in visitors at the Ultima Bioscience Research Center recently? Is it affecting you?

Lucien nods in response to my gaze, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear.

Lucien: Recently, we've shifted the research focus to the deterioration disease. Some organizations are well-informed and have been eager to collaborate with me.

I nod in understanding.

In the realm of research, this isn't uncommon, but collaboration means sharing progress and results.

For Lucien, who prefers minimal interference in his research, this is indeed troublesome.

However, is the reason really that simple?

Lucien's demeanor and tone betray no hint of anything unusual, but I can't shake off a lingering sense of unease.

MC: By the way, Lucien.

I rise from the coffee table and move to sit beside him, one hand looping around his arm.

MC: Actually, I'm not at the company right now. I'm at the Ultima Bioscience Research Center, currently in your research lab.

Lucien: It seems that I'm not the only one bringing work into the game.

Facing Lucien's slightly teasing gaze, I bury my head in his chest, breathing in the scent of tea lingering on him.

MC: [in a coquettish manner] …I didn't expect Professor Lucien to still see through me.

Lucien's smile doesn't diminish as he gently strokes the top of my head with his hand.

Lucien: I think it's work time now. A girl who wants to fish wouldn't play "Odyssey" with me so conspicuously.

MC: I do have some problems that need Professor Lucien's advice and assistance.

I peek out from his embrace, tilting my head back to look at him.

MC: How about we talk as we walk? I also want to explore other areas of Professor Lucien's home and see if there are any new changes~

—[Chapter 56-11]—

Lucien pushes open the back door of the laboratory, revealing a glass corridor with a hollow top.

Sunlight filters through the glass, casting mottled light and shadow. His figure appears both real and illusory in the interplay of light and shadow.

I walk hand in hand with Lucien in the glass corridor, pouring out recent work matters in one breath.

MC: ...So, if we just chase after trends like other companies, we'll still end up being left behind in the industry.

MC: After all, I remember from a media class that "homogeneous works will ultimately be eliminated, and innovation is the key to industry development."

Lucien: Your judgment is correct.

Lucien blinks at me in affirmation and then poses a rather “insightful” question.

Lucien: So, what are the plans now?

I pause for a moment, somewhat unconfidently, and share with him several new program proposals that I have been contemplating.

MC: ...I've reviewed these proposals repeatedly. Although the content of the programs is quite interesting, I can't shake the feeling that it's still not enough.

MC: Maybe I should plan a program with more thrilling and exciting scenes…?

Lucien brushes off a leaf that had landed on my head at some point. I take the leaf, twirling it idly in my palm.

Lucien: Before the inception of "Odyssey," none of us imagined that we would be twirling this fallen leaf in a virtual world.

Lucien's calm and composed voice comes through as he touches the fallen leaf along with my hand.

Lucien: Fallen leaves, the air, and us walking…

Lucien: Without mentioning it, many people might forget that all of this is made up of data.

Lucien: The success of "Odyssey" doesn't rely on content but rather on the innovation of its presentation.

Lucien: If you were to just change the content, with your abilities, you'd surely create a buzz, but for discerning viewers…

He smiles slightly, his eyes looking at me with insight.

Lucien: The level of excitement in content has no threshold; as long as there's a lack of "technological" innovation, being replicated and surpassed is just a matter of time.

Lucien: On this point, Miss Producer, you understand it better than I do.

Lucien's words bring to light a thought that I've been vaguely aware of but haven't fully grasped. I blink, feeling a little enlightened.

MC: So, now, rather than pondering new programs, the new program medium is the more important thing?

The pressure before me seems to have cracked open a bit with Lucien's words, but I still find myself anxiously rubbing my hair.

Short videos, with their quick and concise nature, have almost taken over as the predominant form of media presentation in today's world.

MC: What else can be innovated? The "opportunity" won't just fall from the sky.

Our hands interlock as Lucien gently takes mine, and with a breeze, the leaf I had almost forgotten about is swept away, disappearing from sight.

Lucien: Personally, I feel that perhaps we can try to find a blue ocean.*

MC: Blue ocean?

[Trivia: Blue Ocean strategy is a business strategy that involves creating new market spaces and making the competition irrelevant. A current relevant example is Papergames creating Love and Deepspace 😂]

Lucien looks at me with a thoughtful expression, his lips curling into a smile. With his slender fingertips, he smooths out the hair that I had ruffled.

Lucien: For example, in fields like holographic technology and artificial intelligence.

My heart skips a beat.

Indeed, while there have been numerous developments in related fields before, it wasn't until the explosion of "Odyssey" that these two concepts suddenly experienced explosive growth.

From the perspective of a film and television company, this is simply the perfect combination of new technological power and emerging phenomena.

The wind picks up, causing the leaves of the trees to rustle against each other, gracefully taking flight as if nature sings its gentle song.

As I behold the incredibly lifelike natural scene before me, it feels as though a long-standing boulder in my mind is finally starting to shift.

MC: Are you referring to "Odyssey" itself?!

Lucien: It's just one possible direction. "Odyssey" is the firstborn of this blue ocean, overturning and rebuilding many people's preconceptions.

The sunlight filters through the trees, casting scattered patches of light onto the path we're walking on. The slanting rays create specks of orange hues, gently enveloping us like orange veils.

Lucien: Now that we're in the midst of it, it's the best proof of all possibilities.

MC: Combining media with "Odyssey"...

I pause in my tracks, lost in thought. Lucien doesn't interrupt me, waiting quietly by my side.

I raise my head, looking at the sky in "Odyssey," which is indistinguishable from reality. In my mind, several new ideas start to take shape.

Unable to contain my enthusiasm, I leap up and hug him excitedly.

MC: Thank you, Professor Lucien, for answering my questions and clearing up my confusion!

Lucien: Just bringing a bit of research mindset into the discussion. I'd be honored if it was helpful to you.

Lucien lets me hold him and pats my back, his smile deepening.

Lucien: However, we haven't formally confirmed our teacher-student relationship yet, so you can't just casually call me "teacher".

Before I could react, an interface to formalize our mentor-pupil relationship suddenly appeared.

I blush slightly and without hesitation, press the "confirm" button.

At the same time as the system message "You have become a pupil of X" pops up, a mentor-pupil mission suddenly appears in my taskbar.

MC: Huh?

[Lucien and MC get transported]

Xiao Shuai: My friend is the best Xiao Mei in the world. We are happy when we're playing outside, but she's not happy once she gets home.

Xiao Shuai: Can Gege (older brother) and Jiejie (older sister) make Xiao Mei happy?

MC: I thought the mentor-pupil mission would be about technical teaching, but I didn't expect it to be helping children…

Lucien: Does MC prefer to learn technical skills?

MC: No, no, that's too tiring. Let's just help the kids together!

I smile and rub Xiao Shuai's chubby cheeks.

MC: Okay, let's leave it to Gege and Jiejie!

A prominent guiding route on the ground emits a white light. We follow the route and soon reach the end of the road.

Alongside the old gate, the fence entwined with vines is covered with lush green leaves, occasionally dotted with a few wildflowers, giving it a lively appearance.

Several two-story buildings in the courtyard are arranged in picturesque disorder. Although the paint on the walls has faded, it still exudes a sense of warmth and tranquility.

Just as I catch sight of the building, my body freezes involuntarily.

The place where the mentor-pupil mission has led us is none other than the former site of the Twin Leaves Orphanage in reality.

[Trivia: Twin Leaves Orphanage is where MC, Lucien, Kiro, and other kids got experimented as a child]

—[Chapter 56-12]—

As I gaze upon the orphanage in "Odyssey," a chill runs down my spine, and I can't help but tighten the scarf around my neck.

However, unlike the desolate old site in my memory, the NPC children are now playing and frolicking in the courtyard, bathed in warm sunlight.

I tell myself not to overthink it and quickly find several children playing in the corridor to ask about Xiao Mei with Lucien.

Child A: Xiao Mei? I don't know her.

Child B: There doesn't seem to be anyone by that name in our orphanage.

We ask many children, but surprisingly, not a single one knows Xiao Mei. I scratch my head in puzzlement.

MC: Could it be that Xiao Shuai's mission information was incorrect?

Lucien ponders for a moment, then looks towards the teacher who is answering questions for the children at the classroom door not far away.

Lucien: Let's go ask the teacher.

After the children leave, I approach the teacher politely and cautiously start the conversation.

MC: Hello, do you happen to know a student named Xiao Mei? I seem to have found something belonging to her.

Teacher: We don't have a student by that name here. You might have the wrong place.

I stand there puzzled, about to ask for Lucien's opinion, when I turn around and realize Lucien is nowhere to be found.

Before I can even speak to search for him, the door of the adjacent office opens, and Lucien steps out, holding a piece of paper in his hand.

Lucien: I found the student roster from this office.

MC: Pfft…! So Professor Lucien already guessed that the teacher wouldn't be able to provide any useful information, so he pulled a "diversionary tactic*"?

[T/N: "声东击西" is a Chinese idiom that literally translates to "sound from the east, strike from the west." It refers to a strategy where one creates a diversion or distraction to mislead the opponent while executing a different action elsewhere :> ]

Lucien winks at me.

Lucien: Just a small tactic, hopefully it pays off.

As we scan through the long list for a while, we still haven't found Xiao Mei's name. Just as I'm about to give up and look for a guide, Lucien suddenly raises an eyebrow.

Lucien: There seems to be an issue with this list.

MC: What do you mean?

Lucien doesn't reply, but instead, he folds up the list and leads me towards the storage room at the end of the corridor.

After opening the door, a stale smell fills the air in the storeroom, and tiny specks of dust float in the dim light.

Lucien closes the door behind me, and for a moment, the entire room seems to be engulfed in a heavy darkness.

Yet, in the pitch-black, a faint green glow suddenly appears before my eyes.

MC: …This list glows!!

The original text on the list is obscured by the heavy darkness, but the text printed with luminescent material is clearly visible.

MC: "Night Division Roster", Xiao Gu, Mai Mai, Xiao Mei... Found her!

Lucien: It seems my guess was correct.

Lucien: Earlier, I noticed the words "Day Division" on the list under natural light, so I speculated that there might also be a "Night Division" present.

MC: So Xiao Mei appears in the park every evening before dusk and leaves after sunset, not to "go home," but to attend classes in the Night Division?

Lucien: Smart. This should be the reason why no one knew Xiao Mei when we came during the day.

MC: How strange... Why are the children mysteriously divided into day and night divisions?

Lucien walks slowly beside me, seemingly not intending to take further action.

Lucien: Perhaps we'll have answers when night falls.

A slightly cunning smile curves on Lucien's lips, and I instantly understand his intention.

MC: Right, if we wait until it's late and quiet, the children from the Night Division will naturally come for their classes!

The only task now is to wait, Lucien and I hang around, watching as the sunlight gradually shifts towards the west.

MC: I can't shake the feeling that this orphanage mission seems to have some sort of prototype reference... like the mirrored building* we encountered before.

[T/N: MC talks about S2 ch 33]

MC: There's a kind of... indescribable familiarity in my heart.

Lucien: Don't worry, this sense of familiarity might just help us complete the mission.

Lucien gently ruffles my hair and gazes towards the direction of the orphanage, deep in thought.

As night falls and moonlight shines upon the orphanage, Lucien and I hear footsteps echoing in the corridor.

A group of children silently make their way through the long corridor toward the direction of the classroom.

Their shadows elongate in the dim light, devoid of daytime liveliness, only the faint moonlight reflecting their youthful yet serious faces.

As if influenced by this atmosphere, I also lower my voice and whisper softly into Lucien's ear.

MC: Shall we go now?

Just as Lucien and I start heading towards the classrooms, we're suddenly stopped by a security guard.

Security Guard: Sorry, the orphanage is not open to the public right now. Please leave.

MC: We're just…

Before I can finish my sentence, a "Mission Failed" screen suddenly pops up, and Lucien and I are immediately teleported outside the orphanage.

MC: ….??

MC: How did the mission fail already? We haven't even done anything yet!

Lucien: I'm thinking that perhaps there are some "invisible rules" in place at this orphanage at night that we're not supposed to break. Once violated, the mission fails immediately.

Lucien: "Not getting caught by security" must be one of them.

MC: Isn't this too troublesome?

Lucien: With me around, do you still find it troublesome?

MC: Pfft, of course not.

I take Lucien's hand and wink at him.

MC: Then let's solve this small trouble together~

✂———————–

One minute later, Lucien and I find ourselves back in front of the orphanage.

MC: Uh, sorry... I saw a mirror and instinctively looked into it. I didn't realize it would also count as breaking the rules.

Lucien: It's okay. Every failure is an exploration step toward success.

✂———————–

Lucien: I thought solving the puzzle on the blackboard would open a secret door or something like that, but it just attracted the attention of the teacher.

MC: At least the orphanage teacher acknowledged Professor Lucien's math skills…!

After seven or eight attempts at exploration, we finally lurk near the classroom. I open the window and quietly peek inside.

In the dim light, the children sit by the worn-out desks and chairs, attentively listening to the teacher's explanation. There's an eerie and quiet atmosphere in the air.

A sudden horror and chilling feeling rushes through my heart, and I instinctively look towards Lucien, who is holding my hand.

But when I turn around, the first thing I see is not Lucien, but a slightly pale-faced little girl.

She has appeared behind us, seemingly out of nowhere, and is looking up at us curiously.

—[Chapter 56-14]—

MC: Are you X-Xiao Mei...?!

I feel goosebumps all over my body, and my voice trembles as I speak. The little girl nods, and I exchange a glance with Lucien.

We take Xiao Mei out of the teaching building and arrive at the tree next to the garden.

Here, I finally breathe a sigh of relief, looking at the girl in front of me with braided pigtails.

MC: Xiao Mei, your friend Xiao Shuai is very worried about you, so he asked Gege and Jiejie to come and check on you.

I try to talk to Xiao Mei, but she keeps her lips tightly pressed together and glances at me before curling up into a ball, not moving at all.

No matter how I try to talk to her afterward, she ignores me.

Xiao Mei looks much thinner and weaker than children her age. Unlike the lively and noisy children during the day, she appears to be particularly quiet.

Just as I am feeling troubled, Lucien gently calls my name and takes my hand, leading me aside.

MC: What should I do, Lucien? She seems particularly resistant to communicating with me…

Lucien: [gently] I think maybe it's not resistance, but rather she also needs an opportunity to connect with you.

Lucien: When you talk to her, although her reactions are a bit cold, her body always unconsciously moves closer toward you.

Lucien: Rather than resistance, it might be more like "not good at" or "not daring" to communicate with you.

My heart tightens. Could it be that the reason why these children from the Night Division are so quiet... is because of similar reasons?

Children in orphanages are already more prone to feeling lonely than others. A girl who struggles to communicate is even more susceptible to being ignored to some extent.

I should use a more friendly approach and gradually make her feel understood.

Thinking this, I look more carefully at Xiao Mei, trying to find some breakthrough to make her relax

Xiao Mei has her eyes closed slightly, gently burying her head in the slightly worn scarf around her.

MC: Lucien, look at that scarf…?

Lucien also looks over and after a while, he speaks softly.

Lucien: Some children develop a dependency on specific plush items during their growth process, finding a sense of security in them.

Lucien: I think, this scarf might be just that special existence for her.

I look at the curled-up Xiao Mei, feeling a mix of sadness and tenderness. Despite the scarf in her arms being very worn, she still holds onto it dearly, unwilling to let go.

Lucien notices my emotions and tightens his hold on my hands.

I give his hand a firm squeeze back, smile at him, then return to Xiao Mei's side and crouch down again.

MC: Xiao Mei, let me tell you a secret. When I was little, I also received a scarf from someone very important to me.

Xiao Mei doesn't say anything, but she turns her head slightly to look at me. I continue to speak, smiling as I recount distant memories in a soft voice.

MC: I really, really liked that scarf because every time I saw it, it made me feel like that person was still with me.

MC: When I felt lonely or scared, I would hold onto it, and those feelings would slowly disappear, just like magic.

MC: Later on, I would often chat with the magic scarf, and it became my best friend whom I could talk to about anything…

I made up a fairy tale about me and the magic scarf, and Xiao Mei listened attentively, starting to sit up slowly.

When the fairy tale was over, Xiao Mei blinked her eyes and smiled at me for the first me.

I suddenly think of something and take off my scarf, wrapping it around Xiao Mei's neck.

MC: Your scarf must have a lot of power. Now, Jiejie is giving you her scarf too.

I boop Xiao Mei's nose, and she no longer resists my approach.

MC: From now on, Xiao Mei has two powers to protect her. So she doesn’t need to be afraid of anything.

Xiao Mei looks at me, blinks her eyes, and the next moment, she starts sobbing softly, as if she had been suppressing it for a long time. She doesn't cry loudly, just hugs me tightly.

Lucien bends down a bit and gently strokes Xiao Mei's head.

Not long after, Xiao Mei takes out a sketchbook. As she writes and draws, she tells her story bit by bit. Finally, we can piece together the truth.

It seems that from a long time ago, the children in the orphanage have been divided into a day division and a night division based on their physical condition and performance in the orphanage.

From the beginning, the two divisions just have different schedules, but gradually it evolves into differences in meals, dormitories, and the attention they receive.

Nowadays, the children in the night division seem to have become an "invisible" group in this orphanage, as no one ever casts a glance their way anymore.

Although Xiao Mei doesn't understand the reason, she knows that she and her friends in the night division all dislike this kind of life.

She wants to escape, to be under the sunlight with the other children, but she's powerless to do so alone.

After settling Xiao Mei with Lucien, I stomp my foot indignantly.

MC: They're all children, why do these people treat them differently?!

Lucien takes the drawing Xiao Mei handed to us and ponders for a moment before speaking lightly.

Lucien: I'm afraid it's not just emotional discrimination that's at play here.

Lucien: Emotional neglect alone wouldn't warrant them going to such lengths to establish this system, so I suspect there may be deeper interests at play.

MC: Are you suggesting that the children in the night division might be exploited by the orphanage?

Lucien nods, gently taking my slightly cold hand and rubbing it, a gentle yet firm smile on his lips.

Lucien: [smiles gently] Whatever it is, it will be resolved tonight.

[Next Part-> Click Here]

[sonkitty]

The Sideburns Scheme Post #62

(For reference: The Sideburns Scheme)

Crowley, Good Omens 2, Episode 4, The Hitchhiker, shades

...

Sideburns Check

The above image is brightened.

The sideburns are short, like they were at the start of the minisode. I think the "short" sideburns are the "supernatural" reading as a reversal to the present day for most of the scenes in this minisode.

The space is the bookshop.

The bookshop gave longer sideburns earlier.

The context of the story within the minisode has changed. These two are not visibly planning another outing for the night. Crowley is making no claim to pretend to be a human in this scene or the near future. There is not a direct reference to him being a demon, but it is implied when Aziraphale talks to Crowley about how evil he tries to paint himself as.

The previous scene had everyone aware that Crowley is a demon.

Fire is present due to candles in the space. Fire was present earlier in the church before and after the bombing and surrounding the Bentley during the drive to the theater. The sideburns were shorter in those scenes too.

Both Aziraphale and Crowley sit down for the entire scene while Crowley keeps his hat on the whole time too.

I mainly think it's the context of the minisode's story, character presence, and dialogue that are affecting the length.

I'm noting the other things because that seems to be what the story wants noticed.

...

Brighter Red Streak Check

Crowley has his hat on for the whole scene, so the more saturated streak of red hair is not visible.

...

Hairstyle Changes

The sideburns are short. Otherwise, the hat makes things such that no other changes are visible.

...

Earthly Objects

(For reference: Earthly Objects)

The scene starts with Crowley's right thumb in a close-up view of holding the photograph. He asks the question, "How?" His touch with at least two other digits is confirmed in the next cut.

Crowley has his back to a chair.

He's also touching a glass of wine, but there are only two fingertips visible with the touch. That, theoretically, helps him not earn point for such a touch.

Meanwhile, Aziraphale is bringing his glass closer and then lowers to receive credit for a drink. He has four fingertips visible, but only two are visibly touching the glass.

Not only that, he might actually have his back to a chair!

He has a mysterious vendetta against backs of chairs in this story.

Crowley sets the picture down and ends up touching the table.

Aziraphale picks up the photograph. He asks a question as well but nullifies it by answering it.

He repeats the magic words we went over earlier in Post #57 (hook).

By dropping the picture and having to pick it up again, Aziraphale at least manages to get his back off the chair for awhile. That could still be something for mysterious vendetta against the backs of chairs.

Crowley has a question with, "Shall we retire the act?"

Aziraphale touches the wine bottle to pour Crowley more wine.

The camera cuts away to Aziraphale just as Crowley starts to drink, then returns to Crowley as he finishes. So, his act of drinking is not fully shown on camera.

The two clink their glasses together, and then they both are visibly drinking on camera to close out the whole scene.

...

For paying attention to the pockets...

The most noticeable pocket to me happens when Aziraphale bends down to pick up the picture. The camera work shows that there are two sets of lights that resemble candles on the wall that are visually above and pocketed between Aziraphale and Crowley. Further pocketed between them are the four actual candles on the table.

That makes for 10 visibly lit "candles".

Anything special about the number ten? Well, with the Earthly Objects game in mind, it's the number Crowley said "ten" twice before he shot out lightning in episode 1. That was part of an extensive sequence with game tutorials and an implication that the scene preceding it was edited to hide whatever originally happened. Coincidentally, I go over it in Post #10 of this series.

Other than that, if Crowley wants Overhead Lights, he might get some, but there are multiple lamps behind him messing with me on such a guess. The one that seems most likely to give him Overhead Lights is the one furthest to his left with two lights on it. Those are the ones that most qualify as to to his left and above his left ear in some cuts.

...

(For reference: The Rainbow Connection Part 4: The Door Trick and The Door Catch)

I said this minisode had clues for The Door Catch, so let's look for clues about The Door Catch.

The main clue this scene gives is the clue for Gray in the findable poem that's a quatrain.

This clue is the most obvious of the bunch, helping to lead to the others, because the dialogue is almost spelling it out.

The dialogue spoken says, "shades of gray," further referring to both dark shades and light shades.

I've guessed the line in the poem goes, "Gray shades."

Within The Door Trick, there are three cuts of Crowley from his front. In the second cut, there is a girl who walks by Crowley that I've named Yawning Yellow. Her jacket is a light yellow, and she is wearing gray pants. So, as the theory goes, the gray shades her yellow to a proper yellow for the Rainbow Connection.

The colors "black and white" are also in the dialogue given the context of the "gray shades." That's three of the four shades from the poem.

But what about brown? Is brown in the dialogue? No, but "nutmeg" is. The shades I find with a Google search vary, but many of those variations are indeed brown.

For more on "nutmeg" within the magic words, please see Post #57 (hook).

Even though shoes aren't visible this time, Aziraphale's reflection is. It can be found behind him. In The Door Catch, his reflection is part of what helps catch the Metatron's reflection where it ends up on the relevant cut.

Another thing stated in the dialogue is "blur the edges." There's plenty of blurs in the game, so I'll mention two things that come to mind when thinking about this particular bit of dialogue and my own play in the game.

When Aziraphale is linked into the Pocket Chain, my theory goes that's based on the bag strap of a particular human linking up with another human pocket user. When that link happens, the bag strap is a little blurry.

More broadly, blurred edges are quite relevant to figuring out the Tied Hands exist. Then the Tied Hands are surprisingly important to figuring out the more complex mechanics linking The Door Trick and The Door Catch because of the Rainbow Connection.

...

Story Commentary

With the glasses clinking together and the drinking visibly on screen, I find this ending to the last minisode quite fitting with my theory about the shared home loan in the present day to form a special connection.

...

That's it for this post. Sometimes I edit my posts, FYI.

...

Main post:

The Sideburns Scheme

[shadowlink06]

Script: Home Deep Dive - Who is the Antagonist of the Story?

Hello darlings, I’m back with a mini critique of Home. For now there is a pressing issue that I want to ask readers of the comic. Who is the villain in this story? I’m not trying to be funny or anything, but I genuinely want to know. There are rumors that there are only 4 more chapters left within home. Trying to use the excuse “Just be patient” has long run its course and has been the same thing Kique has been saying for the past 5 years. We are at page 743 at the time I’m writing this script and the villain, and more importantly the plot of the story should have been addressed at the midway point if not one quarter in of the story. Unfortunately because Kique is ghost writing, he lost the plot to his own story. 

For some context, and for those that are unaware I have been writing for a long time. My background is heavily into the role playing genre of OCs for over 15 years and recently I've gotten back into fanfiction writing. I'm shamelessly pro-villain. What I mean by this, is when I pick up a story, whether that be a video game, a book, a role play or anything in between, I'm going to look at how the villain is presented in the story. Not going to say that I will fall in love with them, but I do gauge villains a lot harsher than I do the hero in the story. You might have heard of the adage of the “hero is only as good as the villain” and there is truth to that statement. The more that a villain pushes the hero, seeing how the hero responds from the emotional and physical standpoint. It moves the story, it gets readers emotionally invested. I write about the same subject matter as Kique, maybe you can argue worse because I have little hesitation on truly fucking up a character. The only difference between us is the genre. I don't write about feral or even furry stories, I'm just not interested in them and you know, gotta write what you are comfortable with.  

Still, there is a lot you can glean which is why I wanted to tackle this subject. I have a hard time believing that there is a true villain within Home. Sure there are pseudo-villains and just awful characters presented in the story, but not one of these characters stick out to me and makes me root for what they are trying to accomplish when we look at the story as a whole. I will present the villains or ‘could be’ villains and give examples of what is wrong within the story in regards to them. I’ll be saving Ranach for last because there is so much wrong if he turns out to be the true villain of this story. 

The Night Beasts:

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/29/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/68/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/139/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/191/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/279/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/300/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/409/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/530/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/532/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/542/

One of the more prevalent problems is how the night beasts come and go by the whim of the author. In early Home, they were crawling all over the place the moment night settled over Aedra. They were painted out to be a huge issue to the dogs on Aedra and took the lives of many innocents since no one could figure out how to deal with them short of keeping them away with fire. In later Home, Kique just drops these guys from his story. Notice that when night scenes happen, ghouls are nowhere to be found. 

We learn later that the nightbeasts are being facilitated by the actions of the past MT Jarls, but Aira seems to be the only cognizant individual in this entire fucking story that knows how to break the curse of the nightbeasts. Notice that no one gives her credit for this discovery or is this plot point ever brought up again. 

The only time when the Nightbeasts come up is when it is convenient to the plot. The last major instance of them being mentioned was at the Tinget, and none of the dogs there wanted to try to fix the nightbeast problem which shows how self centered these assholes really are. I have zero pity for the plight of these dogs after the way they acted like burning a body was the ultimate sin, yet those fuckers have to USE fire to keep the night beasts away. 

There is also an inconsistency whether they have a real body or not. Fjordor’s implied that when Vaja lost her life to the beasts, she peeled her own skin off and became the black ghouls that we have seen in the beginning in the comic. However, after Zilas was killed and was ‘haunting’ Keirr, we see that he seemed to turn into smoke when Aira fended him off. Yet for some reason, Zilas’s ‘real’ body was able to be burned and his soul was released into the beyond or something stupid like that. This is actually an oversight that leads one to a lot of confusion but I guess Kique doesn’t believe his readers are aware of this notable error. 

 Either way, the ghouls in the comic are an afterthought these days and they have no purpose within the comic. Think about how the wall for MT was damaged. Notice that there is no danger or mention of the night beasts getting into the territory despite this safety issue. Despite being in open territory, Southspear and even Asmundr don’t interact with the night beasts. No one is concerned because god forbid we take away screentime from Roamer, Rogio, and Ranach. 

Meteor Tribe (Pre-Ronja): 

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/40/ 

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/52/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/58/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/72/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/76/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/92/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/104/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/107/

I’ll be mostly speaking about the MT under Arenak since that seems to be a long established tribe with their particular… traditions. Ranach briefly had a stint with being the Jarl, but I’ll bring this up in his topic later. For now let us dissect why Kique seems to be ghostwriting when we examine the MT. 

The first time we see an MT dog is when Ferah kills one that recently downed a rabbit for food. She wastes no time disposing of him to the horror of Zilas and Ronja. The next instance is Kargo meets a scout that was following the Asmundr pack. Kargo and the scout get into a flight, and it's shown that there is bad blood between Kargo/Ferah and the MT. 

The beginning of chapter 3, we are introduced to the character Ranach and we see him and a member sweet talking Galti and Alva to join them so they can help them and their pack. It turns out they have woken up on this planet and have been here aimlessly for a month. Given that Ranach also sweet talks Ronja, it is apparent that this character has a habit of luring unknowing dogs into his tribe. 

Later when Roamer wanders off with Kargo, they meet yet another MT dog Savas. This is Ranach's brother and after making rather lewd remarks to taking Ferah for himself, Kargo in a fit of rage kills him. We then get a small blurb of the way that those in the MT tend to get brainwashed and conditioned to serve the tribe when it is revealed that Kargo killed his own brother Ralek for trying to take Ferah back to the tribe. It is further elaborated that MT is a brutal society that work their members hard. Females in particular are used as no more than breeding stock that are the property of the Jarl. The males undergo rigorous training and Kargo was taken away. After two years, Kargo resisted the brainwashing tactics and decided to lead a rebellion against the MT and their ways. The end result is that Kargo, Ferah and a few members escaped, but the ones that were trapped ended up being killed. 

Ranach takes Ronja into the MT territory. Unknown to anyone though, Ranach ordered Rogio to poison the Jarl Arenak's meal. As the last living member of his bloodline, Ranach is named the new Jarl. And well… that's pretty much the end of MT as was presented in the story. I'll hit on what happens with Ranach is in charge in his topic, but for the most part that's the end of the MT before it changes in the hands to Ronja. 

To sum up, MT was a well rounded antagonistic tribe of the story. Filled with all of the negative traits and tropes that one would expect out of a villain in a story. For now, let's move on. 

Rohgir:

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/39/ 

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/55/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/108/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/171/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/212/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/227/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/234/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/251/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/372/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/385/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/400/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/671/

This was such a confusing plot point. In the beginning, Jalha hinted that she had a feeling that Rohgir was hiding something from her. After Jalha and Rhovanian had their little fight, she stumbled on a portal that leads her into the sanctuary of Akiulfrs. There she finds out that Father created different bloodlines and this is the second generation of Akis. According to Rohgir, they are staying on the island to grow in population before they can venture to other parts of Aedra. I’m rather confused about where this “mission” that Rohgir states comes from. As far as the readers know, Father is interested in keeping the Asmundr pack safe and has never mentioned the Akis. Also I find it odd that Rohgir is interested in low key eugenics when Akis were made as a result of dogs mating with a Liulfr. It really doesn’t make much sense. Regardless, the next scene we see with the Akis is the group hunt where Jahla meets Thakir. It turns out while Jahla was with the Aki’s the Asmundr pack was relocated and Rohgir was aware of it happening. He justifies his actions by telling Jahla that he only did it to convince her to stay with the Aki tribe. 

When Jahla speaks to Thakir again, he brings to light the problems that come with Aki island. Mostly that there are many Akis that feel “trapped”, unable to view other places around Aedra. They also didn't grow up with parents leaving them with an identity crisis that can't be filled. Each of the Akis needs room to explore who they are and their purpose and it is stifling to be kept on the island long term. Thakir further states that the mental health of the tribe has diminished and eventually his words will not reach them as they lanish in despair. Jahla confides to Thakir that Rohgir has been lying to her and she can't understand why he is insistent on being here not knowing the culture or the Akis in it. 

Things come to a head when Jahla is taken to the ceremony called the Path of the Chosen. It is there that she learns Rohgir has rewritten the history of what happened in the events of Asmundr. This enrages Jahla and she demands to know why he did that which he replies it was to give them a sense of purpose. Jahla notes that it only boosts their ego and Roghir slaps her, setting off a brief skirmish. 

When Thakir tries to get Roghir to see reason, he points out that the dogs are well aware of their existence and do not approve of them. He notes that they plunder, raid, discriminate, and abuse each other and don't believe in the gods - which is the damn truth I might add. Roghir goes on explaining he wants to retain a pure species again and Jalha and Thakir gets banished from the tribe. 

It isn’t until chapter 12 that we see Aegier be rescued from the dogs and he comments that Roghir has changed. Notice that how he is changed is not expanded on, nor do we get any further information about this matter. And so far, that’s the only mention of Roghir that we’ve gotten in the entire story. I never thought that he was an enemy to anyone. He just wants to chill with his pack and be left alone so it’s rather odd that Kique keeps trying to give him this edgy personality. Sure he might be going about looking after the pack wrong, but if anything, that makes him nothing more than a cult leader, not a villain in this story. 

Avanti:

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/421/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/435/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/558/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/565/

I have to include her since she has killed dogs within the comic. She was a summoned beast that was under the control of Ranach. She has the distinction of having hands like a human and ironically enough the comic would have been coherent if -all- of the characters looked like her. Regardless, she killed Jonna, Fuss, and Ulfir under the orders of Ranach. When Ranach assaulted MT after Ronja took over, she fought Rogio who broke the curse upon her by smashing the necklace that bound her to Ranach. After apologizing to Rogio in an odd language, she disappeared.

My issue with Avanti isn’t that she knows another language, but how come none of the dogs (that are supposedly intelligent) not know the language of the aliens? One of the things that bothered me about Avanti was when she was speaking to Rogio she was using the alien language. Did Rogio understand her? It's not really clear. 

While we are on that subject, what are the chances about Avanti or Walrus Jesus not passing on the Alien language to the locals? Even if they didn’t, wouldn’t they be smart enough to write it down or have dogs to translate the works? They have scrolls therefore the act of writing and reading is established in this world. The fact no one knows the alien language is a cop out and a poor world building choice. How does Avanti know the common (English) tongue? When did she learn it? From Ranach? No information or explanation.  

The Lone Wolf: 

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/431/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/671/

Look, Kique can have 100 dogs say how terrified or hurt they have been with the lone wolf attacks, but it means nothing as Kique refuses to show any foreshadowing or even show that this character actually exists within this comic. We’ve only had 3 mentions of it throughout the 750 pages so far. Notice that we never see the dogs that were supposedly injured by this character, it’s all done off screen. I am convinced that this mcguffin exists just to give credence to the racism that Kique does in this comic which is kinda disgusting when you think about it. Wolves and dogs descended from each other, that’s just a fact, so why dogs show such fear towards wolves is odd. I’ve said this before, but a Southern Jaro can be mistaken for a wolf rather easily. I’m sorry but the dog tribes in this comic aren’t exactly painted as just and understanding, so of course I’m going to assume it’s one of them that did the attacks. Kique honestly should have done this, but because he is not using foresight in this comic, it’s a missed opportunity.

Southspear: 

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/524/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/546/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/592/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/618/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/626/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/749/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/776/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/790/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/802/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/845/

I had to wind back the pages to when Southspear was first introduced in the comic. It was actually when Jalha met an injured son and his family in their territory. Notice that the tone that was set for Southspear was one of danger. If you didn’t tow the line, you would be attacked and forced out of the tribe or killed. The mother states that Southspear’s way of life is killing them. 

Fast forward to after Ranach killed Kargo. He willingly goes to seek out the Matriarch of Southspear. Instead of being greeted by sword and shield, we get two guards that seem to be friendly and even escort Ranach to their leader. So already we have a potential contradiction here as the dogs can at least be reasonable and won’t attack out of the blue. Notice that they also let the courier from Solarstag into the tribe for the Tinget and he went unmolested. Hell, even when they have sex with each other, everyone consents to it. So from a moral standpoint, Southspear is actually better than Pre-Ronja MT.  Also notice when Lycenia meets Ranach, she greets him in the same way a Meteor Tribe member would do to a female so they know full well what MT is like. Sadly like all women in this comic, Lycenia softens her tone towards Ranach even calling him a runt and agrees with Ranach’s idea to remove the Solarstag by launching an insurrection against them. 

Another issue is the way that it was purposely shown not to kill their ‘prey’ they were stealing from. This only made me more confused since the mom at Havenreach painted it out like Southspear were savages. Which is it Kique? Are they savages? Or should they be pitied? Pick a fucking lane dude and STAY there. Now with the introduction of them becoming rebels to the capital, their original purpose has lost meaning and this is another tribe that can’t be considered an exclusive villain when it had all of the workings as one. 

The Forngryms: 

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/713/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/720/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/738/

I don’t know why Forngryms were added into this story as they make the capital by extension look like dumbasses in the grand scheme of things. For some reason, the capital viewed Forngryms as savages and Taiga lions not. While I get that the Forngryms are much more intimidating out of the two (technically 3 large cats) featured in the story it brings forth a lot of questions. For instance: 

On what basis did the matriarch choose to mark Forngryms as dangerous/savage? 

You are talking about a full blown genocide of a species. This would require the cooperation of all of the dogs on Aedra. This seems to go against the world building aspects because these dogs are presented as being selfish little assholes when it comes to implementing group/world policy. See the Tinget mess for more information.  

Why did the Taiga lions think that this couldn't happen to them? Why didn't they fight FOR the Forngryms? They are cousins at best and more aligned than the dogs. One thing that is constantly frustrating is that these characters have no concept of self preservation. There should have ALWAYS been suspicious of the Matriarch after this stunt and never trusted her. This is a normal reaction and a logical one that a character with a brain would have. In the later pages when Ranach and Solar Stag visit them, there is a noticeable tonal shift the way that the lions view the capital. This was hamfisted out of the blue and it only begs the question, why didn't they feel this way before? Again, this is a storyboard issue. 

So… ignoring the continuity problems. We are introduced to the Forngryms when Rogio goes to see the Sapphire Elk. He frees Kargo from the world in between and the two are trying to warm up in a cave before they are ambushed. The two are taken prisoner and they meet the Chieftain. He blames the dogs for wiping their species, bears, and the sabred wolves to near extinction. It is clear that there is a lot of rage within him and he is very antagonistic towards Rogio and Kargo. They end up speaking to the mother Feomeh, that explains that the reason why most of the Forngryms are half blind is because they give their sight to their god Kannaug in exchange for health and prosperity. Her son Diarko hasn't performed the rites yet and that is why he appears healthy.  

You know, it's weird. The gods and spirits on Aedra work on monkey's paw logic. Basically what I mean, for every blessing that is bestowed upon a victim, they have a negative connotation associated with them in the process. I don't have a problem with this because it does add depth to the universe, but one thing that seems to get overlooked is it is presented as just… not a big deal? Eigfeigr for instance an unborn sole when he went to Ranach, Sterkr when it affected Aira took away her humanity. I have to give it to Kargo that he pointed out the hypocrisy, noting that the Chieftain looks pretty damn healthy while the other members of the pride are abused. Rogio convinces the mom and cub that they could have a better life and they flee. The mother gets a spear thrown in her shoulder and seems to drown, and Rogio, Kargo and Diarko manage to make it back to MT/Nordgarde. It comes out when the Guild visits Whispervale, that Feomeh managed to live and was found by the tribe. Axilyah knowing the danger a Forngrym poses decided to report it to the capital much to the protest of Feaf who wants to take Feomeh back to the Shiverfall tribe. 

I'll come back to this later when the public pages get caught up with what I already am aware of, but one of the reasons I believe that Feomeh was not killed off was for a hamfisted plot point. Make no mistake, I do not believe that Kique actually cares about Feomeh in the slightest because of his track record with disabled characters but let's move on for now. 

The Capital/Matriarch:

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/204/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/236/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/441/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/460/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/470/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/477/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/482/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/487/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/514/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/581/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/633/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/640/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/671/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/698/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/778/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/786/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/799/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/827/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/833/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/841/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/879/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/881/

The issue with the Capital that I’ve always had is that nothing ever makes sense in terms of the rules that they set in Aedra. I don’t even think it is proper to call them ‘rules’ as it seems that no dog has to follow them. As it is stated on the wiki, these are guidelines and there appears to be no punishment when someone doesn’t adhere to the rules minus attacking a member with a seal, but that presents a whole other host of problems I’ll try to touch on. 

When we are introduced to the capital, it is by ways of the Guild and the leader Axilyah. She exposits the purpose of the guild and how they serve under the capital. Through her explaining to Ronja, we learn that the Matriarch is a mysterious figure that guides the tribes on Aedra. The way that she is described, they are supposed to be fair, just, and understanding. They offer humanitarian aid to tribes that need it. No one has to follow her, but many see her as a grand leader. So… that is what the reader is presented with at first. Seems like a good start for a powerful being in this universe. 

Next time we have a hint about the power of the Matriarch is when we see the Bounty Hunters. They were called to fetch Jalha and Thakher when they killed the Flameguard members in self defense. Here is also where we see the cracks of the capital in the way that they handle this predicament. First, we get to meet the Matriarch Ninmah, and she happens to be the last Liulfr because reasons. So it turns out in the past there was a lone wolf that attacked several dogs. This dog didn’t kill anyone, but gave scars that will live with them with the rest of their lives. As a result, many of the dogs feel that wolves are dangerous. Alright, fine, Rohgir and his wolves that don’t go anywhere are dangerous. My question has always been if these dogs are forbidden to go off the island HOW do the dogs know of the Akis? It’s been established that Rohgir doesn’t want them leaving which means the only other possible conclusion is the dogs went looking for trouble. And given the track record the wolves were within their rights to defend themselves and their territory. Someone is lying here and I don’t understand why this got glossed over.

So it turns out the big brained move Ninmah decides to do to turn this around is having Jahla create a new tribe and have the locals get to know the wolves and divert the crisis. On paper it’s fine, but as you move through the story, despite Jahla being groomed to take over the Asmundr pack, it becomes fairly obvious that she is inept for this task. The basis is to TALK to the locals. Heavenreach is situated nicely between several different tribe territories. Do you think Kique bothered to have Jahla have an interaction with them? Of course not, because that would be too hard. What he did do though is have Jahla howl for a good month (maybe more if I’m not mistaken) to acquire Rome, her new love interest that she dumps Rhov for. Now you would think that Ninmah would actually follow up, give encouragement, or try to facilitate talks with Jahla and the natives because again, according to her, Akis are about to start a war. Kique couldn’t be fucked to do this though so it shows just how little she gives a damn. 

Further proof of this is the incident with the nightbeasts. After Keirr puts Zilas to ‘rest’, off screen apparently the incident was brought to the attention of Ninmah and she initiates a Tinget meeting. Don’t get me wrong, alerting the natives of a potential ‘cure’ of the nightbeasts would be a good thing but it’s HOW it is presented that leaves a lot to be desired. Lahmina recounts how the Matriarch has been ‘testing’ the theory of ghouls being killed permanently by doing experiments herself. Which when you think about it implies that she either killed dogs or were familiar who these ghouls which is impossible. Fjordor stated that when a ghoul rises, they peel off their own skin and becoming black outlines of who they once were. So by that logic, how did Ninmah know who these poor dogs/cats were? It’s a logical inconsistency. The only thing that would make sense is for Ninmah to have killed dogs recently which…opens a whole can of yikes and tarnishes how a reader should view this character as a caring and just individual. 

Then there is the incident with the Lowglade Tribe. While I know that this particular plot point is mostly Kique throwing a tantrum, it tarnishes how a reader views the capital and Matriarch as a whole. The whole reason for showing this tribe has to deal with their bioluminescent paint that will stave off ghoul attacks. Fairly useful and easy to make and is less dangerous to use than fire. Seems like it would be a good commodity to use in Aedra. Well, when Kique had a falling out with Staz, instead of continuing to use this in the story he just removed this plot point together. This was seen with Rhov and Feaf went back to the territory and several capital members had blocked off the way to Lowglade and forbidden anyone to enter. We will likely never see this tribe again, but the damning implication is that the capital did something to these dogs which is again another… yikes. 

Then we have the issue with the Forngryms. Because there has been no foreshadowing about their existence, the explanation as to why they are limited in number was not thought out very well. Kique seems to forget that the dogs on Aedra appeared a mere 30 years ago. I get that Kique won’t grow the fuck up to know this, but this is barely two or three generations that you are looking at in terms of the time that passed by. If you want to go by dog years, then that is perhaps four or five generations which I’m being generous here, but it still isn’t a lot in the grand scheme of things. And considering that dogs are immortal, replenishing a tribe's number seems to be a low priority when you look at the births that we’ve seen within the story as well as the lack of puppies within the various tribes. 

Regardless, we have Axi who upon discovering that a blind and clearly scared Forngrym exists decides that she wants to hand her over to the capital because past laws stated that they are considered too dangerous. And I want you to think about that. Feomah is blind, she is half starving with a cub in toe. Only a dumbass would think that she’s a danger to anyone. Sure it is possible she could reproduce and build up a population that MAY cause issues, but I doubt this is what is going through their mind. They see someone different than them, they have to destroy it. Eugenics at its finest. It is not surprising that Feaf and her mother take issue with this and appeal to their Viscountess Eopei. This creates friction between Solar Stag and Shiverfall and well… lets just put a pin in this issue because if you didn’t hate the characters in the Solar Stag now, oh boy… 

Marduk:

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/246/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/261/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/453/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/838/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/854/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/877/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/892/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/893/

From chapter 13, Marduk is shaping up to be a villain but not one that was made naturally by the events within the comic. For those unaware, this character was created by Kique’s former co writer. See Val’s video if you would like to know what went on. I’ll link it in my description. Because Kique didn’t create this character, I do feel Marduk is being dragged in the mud so to speak out of spite. In the earlier chapter of Home, he had one of the more memorable scenes when Raimo attacked him after Zilas died. Marduk expressed remorse and had a range of emotion within him showing that he wasn’t one dimensional and acknowledged the limitations of being a god. He does express a certain jealousy towards Father, but at no point is it indicated in the few times we’ve seen the Asmundr pack that he wants Kainan and the others to look at HIM as their god. 

When the Rabisu attack Asmundr, it turns out they are really after Marduk. He activates the obelisk which causes pain in all of the Rabisu members. We see blood leaking from their noses and eyes and it looks like this type of torture is painful. Kanien stops what Marduk is doing and tells him that the gods bowed before THEM rather than Marduk implying that they should all bow before him. This seems just… so out of place. If Marduk truly thought this, it would have made his intentions clear from the start. When we first saw him, he just wanted to be a part of the pack, maybe get to know them, he looked at Kanien and the others with a certain admiration and acknowledged his limitations as a god. This is again Kique self sabotaging his own story. It also doesn’t help that we get very little details as to what actually has been going on in Asmundr because the newest generation is the focus of Home. He might as well just killed Asmundr off like Zlias because they aren’t contributing anything and we have this hamfisted villain that is so goddamn cartoonish. 

We briefly saw Marduk showing an interest in Feaf’s pregnancy, and he does seem to want to have an understanding with Jalah, and while I find it odd, it’s not evil. If anything, it shows an interest in species manipulation and as a god, okay it might be a hobby. Being a god of creation leaves a lot of wiggle room. 

This is such an ill conceived plot point and from viewing the upcoming pages, Kique just ran with this with absolutely disastrous results. Just to avoid drama I'll not spoil pages that aren't being posted publicly but I'll likely do a blurb on Marduk when we get caught up to a particular section. 

The Aliens/Father:

Although Father has only been seen at the beginning of home, there is a lot to be desired by the way he treats the Asmundr pack. One of the more pressing matters is that Father expects someone else to do his dirty work for him. This was seen in Asmunder by the way that he treated the Shield Wolves and the Red Eye Disease. As advanced as the aliens are, you would think that they would be able to think of a way to contain it, they are Gods after all. 

This is the issue with including Sci-fi elements (and I suppose fantastical theology) in a story. As an author, the genre gives you the advantage of creating things out of thin air (literally). Because it is advanced and futuristic, you aren't held under scrutiny as hard as someone making a historically accurate piece of fiction. It is hard to conceptualize that “Father” could create a generation of Akis out of thin yet, not have the means to stop primitive humans for causing destruction on Earth. 

While we are on that subject, Father put the hero of Earth on Aedra. He didn't tell them of the dangers of the nightbeasts, he didn't let them know that several dogs had already been moved to this location for several generations! Either he didn't know of the dangers which is just a ridiculous take, or he knew of it and put the Hero of Earth and his pack in danger. What a fucking asshole. 

Kique: 

It is rare to think that the author of their own story as the villain, but for this particular story I’ll make an exception. This story doesn’t need to be as long as it has been because simply put, nothing is happening. This is a circle jerk of the author getting off on his own Gary Stus. He has made no show that making fun of Roamer, Rogio, and Rome will get you on his shit list. Despite how much this is an issue, Kique hasn't grown out of this rather juvenile tantrum. Kique, you present yourself as a man, fucking act like one. 

Case in point, the way Marduk is handled. I do not believe - nor will I ever believe that he had any intention to make this character a villain. However, because of the fall out with his co writer, he is fucking over this character for no other reason than spite. It doesn't matter what Marduk’s relationship/characterization was prior to this happening, Kique is pushing this narrative. And please, I do understand that shit happens, but there is a right way, and a wrong way to do a pivotal shift if you change your mind about a character. This is also seen the way that he is floating the idea of killing off Kargo again because again, God forbid a character is more popular than his fucking Gary Stus. 

Rogio: 

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/87/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/111/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/163/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/178/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/188/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/201/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/242/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/265/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/314/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/327/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/349/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/369/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/383/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/388/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/442/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/534/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/552/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/561/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/575/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/583/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/645/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/648/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/664/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/677/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/695/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/703/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/762/

https://home-comic.thecomicseries.com/comics/851/

While I’m half kidding here, he honestly would make a compelling villain within the story with how much destruction he has caused to the dogs he has come in contact with. He is responsible for enabling Jarl Arenek’s practices of kidnaping dogs and raping females. Though I have noticed that Kique has been rather careful to not mention Rogio mounting one before. If you take into consideration he is a fuckboy with no boundaries that went after Roamer, would have gone after Rhov, and is making it seem like fucking Kargo as of chapter 13 is appropriate this character has serious issues with using sex as a tool. Yes, Roamer does to an extent, but he has nothing on this asshole. 

So in the beginning when we are introduced to Rogio, he appears to be a stoic, loyal member of the MT. It is revealed early on that he is willing to comfort Ranach when he reveals that Silas has been killed. In fact, he is so devoted to Ranach that he kills Arenek on Ranach’s command. What is interesting to note here is that he didn’t do it to improve the female’s condition or to give them a better life, he did it because his lover requested it of him. So Ranach takes over MT, Rogio is made Baron, but then we have this little back and forth of Rogio upset that Ranach takes an interest in Ronja when the implication was that he and Ranach were supposed to be the ones to rule the tribe together. So this characters perfect little world was thrown into disarray because Ranach broke a promise and tossed him into the wind. 

Even after this, Ranach still wants to fuck him and explains that the only reason that he said those things is because he was scared and blah blah blah. Point being is that Rogio, despite everything that has happened chooses to forgive him and they fuck. Then we get to Kargo being captured, Rogio comes in to clean his wounds and here Kargo calls Rogio out on his cowardice. Rogio admits that Ferah is alive and for some reason decides to betray Ranach by freeing Kargo and Ferah. This of course goes against what we are shown on screen because he has no valid reason to betray Ranach. Remember, he loves Ranach, Ranach is his partner, he would do anything on Ranach’s command even if that means killing his own father. So I don’t understand why even use Rogio for this plot point. Rogio finds Roamer, the two hatch a plan to help Kargo and Ferah escape. 

And again, we see Rogio using his body to entice Ranach to sleep with him. He ties up Ranach and frees Kargo and Ferah and they along with Roamer try to escape. Rogio is caught and Ranach marches him to the outskirts to be killed. Before they part ways, Rogio emplores Ranach to let him help him because he knows that there is good inside him and he loves him, and all of this other bullshit that I can’t take seriously because again the fucker betrayed him for NO FUCKING REASON. And you know the story would have honestly benefited if he died here, but Kique seemed to have fallen in love with this character and scrapped his script to make sure he stayed alive. Kargo, Ferah, and Roamer save Rogio and this sets off a chain of events that I can only describe as cringe bullshit. 

The first thing that happens is that we see that Rogio keeps having nightmares. He takes the form of a ghoul-like entity that is supposed to be terrifying. It is presented as a consistent issue and we see bags being put under Rogios eyes to reflect this. Rogio shares a moment with Rhovanian and I didn’t notice this before, but Rogio actually asks of Rhov will join Roamer. It’s just… weird because why ask for Roamer specifically? Why not Kargo? 

We then get to where Rogio overhears Kargo and Roamer arguing when it comes out that they kept the fact that Ronja was in MT a secret. While Kargo offers to go back with him, Roamer refuses and tells Kargo to stay away. And just for clarification Rogio eavesdropping on other characters is a constant thing with this character, especially when it comes to Kargo and Roamer. Rogio follows after Roamer and laments that he didn’t know what Ronja met to Roamer which is a fucking LIE. When Ranach told her the bullshit story about Kargo and Ferah and how they are outlaws, Ronja was concerned because she knew that Roamer was with them. The whole reason why Zilas died was because Ronja sent the MT out to LOOK FOR ROAMER. This is such a fucking red flag with this character and shows just how deceptive and manipulative he is. The two start the journey back to MT and Rogio passes out because of the effects from the bad dream I guess. Here Rogio confides in Roamer that the MT has a hold on him and it affected how he sees himself. Then we have a small blurb about Rogio trying to justify why Kargo wouldn’t want to go back to the MT because you know the rapes and mental chains that you just admitted to having. Because no one else can have that but you, you rapist piece of shit douchebag. Then we get into the heart as to why Ronja would go to the MT. While Rogio is quick to point out that Ranach lured her there, he is oddly muted as to why she wasn’t used for breeding purposes. In fact not only does he minimize the fact, it points that Oreo Twatwaffle went to someone else which is not… good? I mean if you lure someone with the thought of being in love with them and go to someone else, what does that say about Rogio? He knew that Ronja loved Ranach with all of her heart. How do you qualify that by choosing to STILL sleep with Ranach? See what I mean, this guy is a slimeball and not once is Kique willing to call him out for the horrible things that he’s done. 

In the interim, they walk back to the Lonely Village were Zilas was killed, and Rogio is surprised to learn that Roamer didn’t get the full details of what happened. He assures Roamer that if he was the one that was sent to find Zilas, he would have NEVER let that happen because you know, mental chains am-I-right? Rogio is quick to point out that he was not born in the MT but forced to be there which again his bullshit. He had a chance to disappear after he was nursed back to health, but he stayed because he fell in love with Ranach. There was a side that only he saw that no one else did, and yet, he didn’t try to manipulate Ranach to improve the female’s condition, he didn’t try to seek help, hell he could have ran away with Ranach if he felt that strongly about it. He sat back on his laurels and let those in lower positions suffer. THEN he has the audacity to say that Ranach tossed him out the moment that he got an excuse. Motherfucker are you for real? You BETRAYED him. You let the rebels go when it was clear that Ranach hated Kargo and Ferah. He is so self absorbed and Roamer just takes him at his word and never questions him in the slightest. And even after knowing that Zlias died, knowing that Kargo likes Roamer, knowing that he was the cause of suffering, he fucks Roamer. Perfect stand up guy ladies and gentleman. 

The pair make it back to MT, and despite Rogio being branded a traitor, he is greeted with smiles and cheers. Roamer also sees Ronja and it seems that Rogio is taken aback watching Roamer wanting to be with Ronja. He comes up to Roamer later and notes that he doesn’t want what happened between them the night before to be a one time thing. In fact, he presses that Roamer despite being inexperienced, new to relationships, and only having one previous lover that he CERTAINLY wants it to. Roamer leaves to say his goodbyes to Ferah and Kargo and Rogio is left with Ronja. Now what is interesting in this dialogue is that it is Ronja that is the one to apologize first to Rogio. She didn’t do anything to this asshole, but unprompted, it’s just an apology out of her mouth. Also, not only does Rogio lament that she was scared and confused, he remarks that he was also jealous of her. Meaning that this fucker sleeping behind his back was less about loving Ranach, but how dare his lover want someone else besides him! And because Rogio is oh so special and everyone was overjoyed to see him, Ronja offers him a position back in the tribe. No questions asked. And despite how Roamer is conflicted when he gets back after making peace with Kargo, he is assured that he is meant to be with Rogio and they have sex. 

We meet later and there is an issue with the dwindling food supply. Normally the herd is relocated elsewhere for feeding, but because of Ranach’s threat after he was kicked out of the tribe, Ronja decides that enough is enough and they need to hunt down Ranach. Why they are so bothered by the Twatwaffle is a mystery, but let’s just go with it. Ronja asks for a group of volunteers to scout for Ranach. Roamer goes, Fuss, and Fremja but you know who doesn’t bother? You guessed it, Rogio. Despite him being offered a position in the tribe, despite knowing that Ranch would likely freeze up, despite knowing that females who have been abused for YEARS are willing to risk their lives on the line this pile of horse shit can’t bother to face his tormentor because of mental chains. 

During the scouting mission, they stumble upon the shrine that was erected for Avanti. Fuss notes that the beast was likely summoned by Ranach. You know, a supernatural creature. That alone should have made them fall back and not too surprisingly they get attacked. Roamer gets a knife in the leg trying to protect Fremja and just as the creature is going to kill Roamer, Fuss burns the shrine and saves them all. They retreat back to the tribe. Rogio, horrified gets over emotional and they publicly shows affection to one another. Vigr sees this and lets Rogio know that Ranach went mad after he thought he killed Rogio, he points out that because Rogio IS alive they can use it to their advantage and again, despite this douchebag being the second in command, despite the trauma of others, despite him swearing up and down how he wants to fix mistakes in the past, despite fucking protecting someone other than himself he shows how much of a selfish coward he is. No one calls him out for this. No one tells this bastard to be a man and do what needs to be done. 

The next day, Ronja sends out another party out to deal with this using Rogio’s scent supposedly. This detail never gets brought up, nor is Ranach shown to react to it at all. Jonna and Fuss are killed as a result of this. Roamer puts it together that the person that Rogio fell in love with was Ranach and despite everything, he points out that while Ranach is a monster, he acknowledges that softer side that Ranach showed Rogio was valid and just a bunch of stupid self verification that makes me want to vomit. Rogio once again isn’t called out for his shitty behavior and never will be in this story. Kique tries so hard to make him appear likable but the source material proves just the opposite. Fuss and Jonna are given a funeral and Rogio remarks that burning the bodies is unnatural and… and this just is so out of place. Instead of lamenting that this dogs died BECAUSE OF YOU you make a show of how they are sent off. Fucking hell. 

After Kargo kills the two Solar Stag merchants, Kargo decides that the best course of action is to take Ferah back to the MT. They have no idea about Ranach or Aventi but given the circumstances this is the best that they can do. It is no surprise that Kargo is still sore about what happened between Roamer and Rogio and he attacks Rogio in a fit of rage. Rogio says that NEITHER he or Roamer expected this to happen and BOTH of them were broken and hurt and I just… want to punch him in the face so bad. YOU were not hurt, you were given a choice SEVERAL TIMES and you didn’t take it. YOU decided you wanted to be a horses ass and not do shit. YOU SLEPT WITH ROAMER a fucking DAY after he and Kargo broke up. That is malicious as shit and no I don’t believe him when he says that he didn’t plan it. He uses his body to get what he wants, he is a whore. Regardless how angry Kargo is, he’s fucking right here. No lies detected. Again Rogio insists that he was abused by Ranach which is a lie and he should have been a better friend to Kargo which he never has been. Basically this is trying to paint Rogio out to be this magnanimous character and stick it to anyone that has anything negative to say about him. 

Despite everything, the only ‘point’ Rogio makes is that Kargo left Roamer alone with the ghouls. And I just want to say that this is a stupid hill to die on. First, Roamer knows that darkness means the ghouls come out at night. He was told that, he knows that lore. Kargo was understandably upset that Ferah appeared to have died when he asked Roamer to save her. I’m not trying to excuse Kargo here, but Ferah is his best friend in the whole world. It would be out of character if he didn’t lose his shit. Vandi reveals later that both Kargo and Ferah’s mother prayed to the spirits to help their children. That Kargo’s rage and anger are likely the result of this and that their mothers died knowing they would protect each other. This revelation doesn’t do anything for me. It explains why Kargo has rage issues, but it doesn’t add to his character in the grand scheme of things. Regardless, Kargo decides to seek out Rogio and ask him pointley does he love Roamer? He doesn’t say yes, but admits they are taking it slow and don’t want to hurt each other. Kargo says that if he breaks Roamer’s heart, he’ll kill them and well that’s just the end of this relationship that Kargo and Rogio have. Apparently this is Kargo coming to terms with the fact that his ex moved on. I don’t agree with this but Kique refused to properly address this because he doesn’t know how to deal with conflict so he lobotomized Kargo’s method of thinking. And if you think I’m being hyperbolic we’ll see this play out later in the story. 

For now, Ranach decides that now is the right time to attack the MT. He sets the walls on fire and he and Avanti jump the barrier. Interestingly enough Avanti is the one that senses Rogio. She disobeys Ranach to look for Rogio. And I need to stress that. This creature, that is summoned, that is duty bound to Ranach defies an order.  There is no on screen explanation given, and while I’m pretty sure Kique gave a reason in the comments section that I’m too lazy to find, he just fucked off on his own worldbuilding for the sake of keeping this fucker alive. So Kargo and Ferah face off against Ranach, Avanti hunts down Rogio because… reasons. With how easily Avanti shredded Fuss and Jonna, a logical person would conclude that Rogio would get his ass handed to him. Notice the way that the fight plays out. In Joanna's case, she was grabbed by the scruff of the neck and based on the amount of blood, likely got deep lacerations before bleeding out. Same thing with Fuss. While Avanti does go for the scruff at first, then she hovers over Rogio instead of just grabbing him again. Avanti gets distracted by Akleja, Rogio manages to get his mouth around the necklace that she is wearing and it shatters. Again, there is no in universe explanation for what this does and the significance of it. For reasons only in Kique's head though, this stops this dead set mode to kill Rogio. Avanti says sorry in her alien language and she just leaves. 

In the aftermath, Kargo is killed by Ranach and we see a very emotional Roamer saying that he is hungry to kill. Which… okay? I don't understand this change of character. It was pretty much painted out that Kargo was a hard friendzone and I have a hard time believing that suddenly he cares so much about Kargo. This is the same dumbass that was willing to go back to MT knowing of the emotional trauma that happened to Kargo and Ferah. The two friends that he was willing to travel Aedra together and then suddenly decided that staying with Ronja was more important even though the whole reason Ronja got involved with MT was BECAUSE he wanted to explore Aedra with his two friends. It's tonal whiplash. 

We fast-forward to after Ronja has her puppies and Roamer comes into the hut and discovers that Rogio has stepped down. And while I agree this is needed, he should have done this when he got Fuss and Jonna killed. His sudden need to step down now is hollow at best and I don't find it sincere in the least bit. Again we have Roamer saying that Avanti looked death in the eye and saved Vandi and Akleja and I almost want to ask him what does that make Kargo who was willing to look Ranach in the eye, saved Ferah and likely everyone else in the MT because you know… mother fucker was trying to kill them all! Rogio leaves Roamer and when we see them again, Rogio's nightmares apparently came back. Notice that this wasn't an issue when he was fucking Roamer before Kargo and Ferah arrived on MT lands. Roamer tries to initiate sex and Rogio rebuffs him. 

Next day Ronja notes that Roamer and Rogio seem more distant since Kargo died and I'm sitting here rolling my eyes. I don't feel sorry for either of them. Their entire relationship was built on sex, the emotional needs were barely factored into the equation. Supposedly Roamer cares so deeply about Kargo and I haven't seen anything that hinted he wanted to mend the relationship. Sure, they hugged each other after Kargo went ballistic on Rogio, but even during the dance before the attack, Roamer was spending time with Rogio and didn't try to check on his ex. Anyway, a courier informs Ronja that a Tinget was called and like usual only Rogio seems to know where it is or what to expect even though MT doesn't go to Tingets. It's all so fucking frustrating. It's very simple. Ronja just needed to ask the courier to make a map, give directions, or something in between. But no, Rogio has to save the day AGAIN. It is decided that he will take Ronja to it. On the way there, we see Rogio's ghoul apparently still bothering him. He tells Ronja that he's fine and they go to sleep. After the Tinget, Rogio and Fjordor meet and for some reason Rogio opens up to him. Now keep this in mind. Rogio hasn't spoken to his lover, his leader, but the old gimpy man he met once? Oh he'll spill his soul out to him. Rogio confides that he thinks he will hurt someone and Gimpy asks what he believes he needs to do. Rogio replies he needs to leave and Gimpy responds to do so and win this fight. Whatever the fuck that is supposed to mean. This is the same idiot that that indirectly caused Kargo's death. The same one that despite knowing that Kargo had trauma reported him to Solar Stag, the double standards that the characters in this comic displays is disgusting. 

When Rogio and Ronja go back home we see this rather confusing scene of Rogio charging a random dog near their camp. Rogio is aggressive and it almost is like he doesn't want to listen to Ronja's command to let him go. Then he goes on this paranoid tirad that the dog is likely not from the tribe he claimed and they are looking for weakness which… okay. Where was this demeanor when it actually mattered? This paranoia and untrusting of others? By this point the MT walls have not been repaired, if they were concerned about being overtaken by other tribes, they have not DONE anything to address it. It's artificial and frankly, a bit too late. Now, as the two make their way to MT the next morning, Rogio tries to ditch Ronja but fails. Makes an excuse and shows again how uncommitted he is to his convictions. 

It's been fifteen days after Rogio returns and he still is having nightmares about his ghoul. He wakes up abruptly, Roamer tries to talk to him, wants him to open up and Rogio just glosses over it and tells him he's fine. Then Roamer confides that a part of him died with Kargo and he can't smile and laugh like he used to anymore. He implores Rogio to let him know if they are over. Here is where it should end, Rogio has been giving Roamer the cold shoulder for ages, he doesn't talk to him, he doesn't emotionally trust him, and by his own admission he is a danger to others until he can get his ghoul under control. Does Rogio have a moment of honesty? Of course he doesn't because that would mean that Kique would admit that Rogio is a shit character. Instead we have Rogio selfishly sahing that he doesn't want their relationship to end and then Roamer, the dumbass that he is asks not for Rogio to open up to him but to touch him. Like… seriously think about that. Roamer is saying I want to Have SEX with you, not that I want you to be open to me, not that I want you to stop avoiding me, I want physical sex like we used to, and damn you and your feelings. Fucking hell. Now to Rogio's credit, he doesn't do what Roamer wants and walks out of their hut. 

Oh don't worry children, because we have yet another night where Roamer sees Rogio packing to leave. And while Rogio states that he doesn't want to drag Roamer down, notice that he doesn't try to cut their relationship. Roamer pleads with Rogio to talk to him which he finally admits to killing and or hurting Ronja and Roamer. Roamer uses the power of “I love you no matter what” and again we meet this tonal whiplash again where suddenly everything that Rogio has done up to this point is excused and they have sex because of course they do. 

After Roamer tells Rogio to seek out the Spirit of Serenity that he learned from Kargo and this is another issue I have because early on, Rogio stated that the spirits are not to be trusted. They promise everything and take everything. Hell, his home tribe was attacked by a spirit,but I suppose because his boyfriend said it, it suddenly is okay. You do you Kique. So we have this whole arc of Rogio going to silence the demon inside of him. 

The next time we see Rogio, he's on the summit. He recites the words on the stone which tell him to lay down his armor and be exposed and vulnerable. The Elk spirit states that they have been waiting for Rogio and notes that great sadness has been inflicted on his heart. And… I want ask this spirit what fucking sadness are they talking about. Just about all of the problems that Rogio has ARE caused by Rogio. This isn't some 4-D chess move from all of the proof that is provided in the story. Part of Kique's problem is that if he thinks that he says something, it becomes true. That's not how storytelling works. Rogio is a selfish, horny asshole. There isn't a lot more to his character than that. Regardless to what the reader thinks though Rogio says that he is willing to put his life on the line. Wouldn't you know it the moment he gets thrown into this world, he pulls out a knife when the fucker was supposed to put everything down for his trial! This fucker failed the trial the second he took it! I don't fucking get it. He should have had his soul ripped asunder and had the ghoul devour him but again, because Kique refuses to let this fucker die he fights and defeats his ghoul. Somehow Kargo his in the space in between and gets saved by Rogio. The two are thrust back into the world of the living and we have this neutered version of Kargo. 

Kargo who barely tolerated Rogio suddenly is more subdued. One of the notable exchanges is how Kargo says that he is in Rogio's debt and I'm going to pause the story and explain this because the implication is insidious. Kique didn't like Kargo, this was clear how he split Kargo and Roamer up, this was obvious how the break up went, obvious when Kargo went berserk and attacked the Solar Stag merchants, how quickly Roamer moved to Rogio. He had no intention on keeping Kargo around which is why he was killed off in the stupidest way imaginable. What Kique didn't count on was that Kargo turned out to be one of the best written characters in his comic. Despite his issues, he was relatable and had a lot of fans. Given the backlash, I do believe that he was bothered by it, and perhaps he learned to like the character again which is why he came back. However the issue was, he couldn't have Kargo come back how he was because many preferred Kargo and Roamer versus the Roamer and Rogio pairing. In order to self sabotage this from happening, he had to alter the dynamics of the characters. 

Allow me to explain further. In order to avoid a situation where Roamer might fall in love with Kargo again, Kique had to make Kargo subservient to Rogio. This puts Kargo in a position where he is forced to remember what Rogio did with him IE save his life. Because of this, it is doubtful that he will do anything to upset Rogio or sabotage his relationship no matter what his feelings about Roamer are. It's emotional blackmail and for someone that used the term ‘bound in mental chains’ which this character specifically, Kique is an asshole for doing this. This is part of the reason why I believe that Kargo speaks so strangely to Rogio in this chapter specifically. Yes, I realize that he's hurt and in shock, but it's more than that. 

Anyway back to this mess. The Forngryms find Kargo and Rogio and they are captured. They are supposed to be sacrificed for a feeding ritual even though starving them on a pole for a few days would make them loose fat and therefore be more undesirable but just continued to consume product without thinking and then we meet Feomeh and Diarko who take pity on the pair and decide to believe the dogs and free him, they escape, Feomeh seems to drown and Kargo, Rogio, and Diarko make it back to MT. 

Again, there is still more of this odd exchange with a sub Kargo and Rogio. The more that I see these two interact the more I feel that this is Kique more than the characters themselves. Kargo for instance says that while believe alive again is not a burden he is tired. Rogio suggests that he could travel elsewhere or join Ferah if he wants but he can make his choice later. Over a fire, Kargo makes the decision to fight Ranach since he is a threat to those he loves. That's fine and all, but one of the things that has bothered me is why let one dog dictate your life. They act like Ranach is a god, he's a fucking twink who has plot armor. After MT lose a few members it is decided that the tribe relocate and start over. This is something that should have been done with Ranach left but whatever. Better late than never. While Kargo and Roamer are visiting Ferah, MT get attacked by a nearby tribe with the warning that they disband or die on the land. This is again a hamfisted plot point because there has never been anything stopping MT from getting attacked but okay. I also don't understand why now when many at the Tinget know that MT is ran by Ronja unless they just think that she was lying or have selfish motives but whatever. 

Roamer speaks with Kargo a little with Diarko and once again we have Rogio eavesdropping on the pair. When Roamer joins Rogio back in the hut, that's when Rogio suggests that they include Kargo in their relationship which again, based on the dynamics I mentioned earlier, doesn't seem like he's being sincere about it. I don't doubt Kargo loves Roamer here, but what I do question what Rogio gets out of it. It's not like Kargo and he have any dynamics other than ‘I saved your life’ and this weirdness with Kargo's personality change make it very, very superficial.  

As of 884, that's all that I really can report on Rogio at the moment. As you see, Rogio is very manipulative, maybe just as much as Ranach in some cases. If he was unironically written, he'd be a damn fine villain how he uses trauma to use other people to his whims. 

Ranach: Goddamn Oreo Twatwaffle 

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God, I’m going to need ten minutes to explain this bastard - and not in a good way. I’ll just go ahead and say if anyone likes Ranach unironically, I question your tastes in villains. He is generic at best and highly offensive at the worst within this story. 

Lets go over how he was portrayed prior to chapter 6 since there is a noticeable change that occurs within the comic in regards to this character. 

He’s manipulative, this became obvious when he lured Galti and Alva into the tribe. I do believe that his reasoning for taking interest in Ronja had everything to do with kidnapping her and the Asmundr pack too but that's neither here nor there. After he had his father killed, he took over the pack, named Ronja his Viscountess, Rogio his Baron, and decides that MT cannot move forward until they deal with the rebels Kargo and Ferah. Despite how he has used Rogio for pleasure, when he questions why Ranach is showing interest in Ronja, he tells Rogio that their time spent together meant nothing and as his Jarl, Rogio is no longer his secret lover anymore. 

Ranach sends a group to the Lonely Village and orders Zilas killed offscreen. While that happens, he tells Ronja that they are close to finding Roamer thanks to her ‘friends’. The group tracks down Ferah's hut while Kargo is desperately searching for Ferah who fell off the waterfall because of Aira. Kargo gets captured and is taken to MT. While that is going on, Ranach tries to make a move on Rogio and he rebuffs his advances based on what was said earlier. Ranach puts on puppy eyes tells him he made a mistake. Rogio walks away and Kargo is taken before Ranach. Ranach is convinced that Kargo made a pact with a spirit and tells him he won't let him go free from the world until he spills his secrets. Roamer asks Kainen for help and the two of them confront Ranach which he tells them to fuck off and note that tribe matters are not the business of outlanders. 

Ranach is seduced by Rogio later. This is done, not because Rogio had a change of heart, minda you, but just because he wants to free Kargo and Ferah. They manage to get away with Roamer, but Rogio is captured and is taken to the outskirts to be sacrificed. Knowing that Rogio makes him weak, he leave Rogio and sentences his lover to death. After this happens, Ranach withdrawals from the tribe, let's Ronja lead it and eventually goes mad. He finally leaves the tribe without a word, determined to get Rogio back by asking the help of a spirit. When he meets the Keeper of the Undead, it informs Ranach that he has to offer his unborn to get Rogio back. Realizing that Ronja is pregnant he goes back and finds that the gate is blocked and the MT members are not too happy with Ranach abandoning the tribe. It comes out that Ranach had Zilas killed and in a fit of rage, Ronja tells Ranach to never return or he'll be killed. Somewhere off screen, he and Ulfr meet and decide that they will take revenge on the MT. This leads to Ranach summoning Avanti with a shrine. This creature does what Ranach commands without fail and they are ‘lovers’ from the spell that is used. After the second attempt, Avanti kills Fuss and Jonna and this is were we get a scene where Ulfr nearly gets raped by Ranach. While Ranach says that he would never lay with him before, the implication is still there. When Ulfr rebuks his advance, Ranach uses Avanti to kill him. While MT is under siege, Kargo and Ferah make their way back to MT after Kargo killed the Solar Stag merchants. Interesting enough this is one of the few times that Ranach can use his nose to smell the pair (but for some reason can't smell Rogio even though he's been there much, much longer) and it inspires a fit of rage. When we see Ranach again, he's have a nightmare where it seems he was a pup that is separated from his mother. His father tells him to stop calling out to her and it ends with him waking up abruptly and going to set fire to the MT and start his assault. 

After Avanti leaves Ranach, he faces off with Ferah and Kargo. Ranach is giving the advantage because he is the only one with the knife (omg plot armor!) and he manages to overpower a supernatural dog that has bear power. It's the dumbest fight sequence I've ever seen in my life. Kargo is an experienced fighter even without a knife but he doesn't land a killing or maiming blow on Ranach at all. Instead, he manages to kill Kargo, and slips away without anyone able to chase after him. 

It isn't until later that we find that Ranach ran far, far away in the Southspear territory. When we see him again, he's talking to himself. This is something that he hasn't done before, or since actually. I don't even get why this was done other to hint that he's crazy? But even then, this isn't something that happens again, so I'm confused why Kique did it. Two Southspear guards see Ranach and when he says he's here to see the Matriarch, they take Ranach to meet her. On the way, Ranach sees a knock off Rogio that he is clearly taken aback by. When he is taken before Lykenia, he asks to join her tribe. Given what we know about Ranach, this is not something that I would expect for him. He is a leader, not a doer, and I do believe that this is more manipulation for an end game he is working on. Lykenia accepts him and he is part of Southspear. 

When we see him later, he's obviously having a hard time adjusting to the high heat. Iberon recruits Ranach and a few others to join them with hunting down a wagon. We see Ranach struggling to keep up, but Iberon is willing to slow down his pace knowing that Ranach won't make it. They catch up to the wagon and Iberon tells Ranach to not kill who they are robbing. They manage to secure the goods and that's pretty much the end of the scene. Next time we see Ranach and Southspear again, a courier brings new of the Tinget, Lykenia has no interest in joining but Ranach wants to capture and question someone going to it. Lykenia puts him in his place and later Ranach realizes that Iberon came from the north and starts to piece together that he might be related to Rogio. He is propositioned by one of the Southspear guards Koegos but turns down his advances. 

Some time later Ranach is asked to go with Iberon to hunt. Ranach as it turns out, is horrible at it and by the time they get back, Ranach changes his mind and decides to have sex with Koegos. Later Iberon asks Ranach once again to join him on a raid. This one however his a trap set up by the bounty hunters. One of their members is killed, and Iberon is nearly killed himself until Ranach saves him. When they get back, Ranach laments that they should do something about the bounty hunters which Iberon explains nothing can be done. Ranach presses the matter saying that the capital shouldn't be able to do what they want and not look down on them as beasts, but the problem here is that they… are thieves? It's like getting mad at a prostitute that says she will not love you, but have sex with you. It's kinda… their job?  You chose to live this way, of course the capital isn't going to like you. I don't get this train of thought at all. 

Ranach seems to spend his day sleeping with other members of the tribe after that. It's pretty clear he wants to bed Iberon because of the Rogio link but is too much of a pussy to ask. Iberon seems to be keeping a close eye on Ranach too which I'm not sure I understand but I guess Kique subtly shipping them is a thing. When we see Ranach later he pleas to Lykenia to make a move on the capital. He proposes that they find like minded tribes to overthrow the capital and live how they please. She asks for time to think about his proposal. 

A very angry Iberon walks into Ranach's hut and is not too happy that Lykenia approved of his suggestion. Iberon, Ranach, and a few others are supposed to look for tribes. Iberon tells Ranach that he doesn't give a damn about his intentions and has no intention on dying for a cause like this. Lykenia makes a plea to her people that they have all been treated unfairly and intend to spark a rebellion against the capital. Iberon is still sour and Ranach tries to appeal to him. Iberon points out that he knows Ranach has bedded all of the males in the tribe and leaves them the next morning. Ranach then says that he doesn't want them, but Iberon and throughout this annoying dialogue Iberon presses Ranach against the wall and fucks him. 

They wake up the next morning and Iberon asks Ranach about the scar on his face. It comes out that his father didn't allow same sex bonds and punished Ranach for being caught by giving him it. The thing is… unless Arenek was a complete moron, there is no way he wasn't bound to notice that his son was still have sexual relations with Rogio. According to Jonna, Ranach wasn't seen with females often and I'm sure many saw the way that he was spending time with Rogio. This is another ill conceived plot point that you aren't supposed to think about. The two tend to their affairs before setting off to the Shiverfall Tribe. 

On the way there, Siqhaala remarks to Iberon that they are surprised Iberon is attached to Ranach. Iberon further clarifies that he isn't with him, but just is allowing Ranach closer to him because he appears to be more honest. Siqhaala tells him to be careful and notes that they can feel that Ranach has done bad things which Iberon says he'll never let Ranach hurt anyone. Ranach makes an appeal to Shiverfall saying that they are in chains and not truly free from the capital because if they step out of line, they will be killed. Flamegarde also joins them, noting the incident with the Red Wolf Jahla. 

And so far, that's all I have for Ranach and his bullshit arch. While I agree that this character shows signs of a villain from a pragmatic point of view, I'm not convinced he will turn out to be one in the end. Part of it is due how the capital and Marduk is being presented, but then we have Ranach having this Jekyll and Hyde type of writing. I do attribute this to how Kique personally feels about the character which is why I'm convinced Kique will try to redeem him despite all of the horrible shit he has done in the comic. 

My own thoughts: 

Because this comic is beyond help, I’ll just say this. All characters in a story need motives and have a set of principles, yes even a villain. For a villain, you might not agree or approve with their actions, but their manner of thinking or characterization should be constant or have a REASON for an abrupt change if one occurs within the narrative in the story. One of the pitfalls that I see for a lot of writers is believing that villains need to be sympathetic or have a redemption arc going for them (Disney is especially bad with this). I am pretty old school, not every villain can be set up to be like Zuko from Avatar the Last Airbender. Hell, I'll even take it a step further and say that not all villains need a REASON for the actions that they do. They are called villains for a reason.  

A constant and consistent problem that this story has is there is no overarching plot. Instead, characters just move around because Kique wants them to. There is no rhyme or reason for it, but it’s for the sake of dragging out this story as long as he possibly can. Home shows why it is important you plan out your story with an outline to keep the characters true to their nature. As it stands, there are too many contradictions with the bloated cast of characters in Home. Something that a character did in one chapter is forgotten in the next. There are so many plotlines that are not tied up that it just creates confusion within the story. What happened to the nightbeasts? What happened to Southspear being labeled as dangerous? Why did Ninmah decide that Forngryms were dangerous but Taiga lions aren’t? It’s all so messy and it could have been fixed if Kique gave a damn about his writing. 

Ranach is supposed to be a main character in this story but the later chapters show him being sympathetic AKA redeemable to the audience. Honestly, after the actions that he has done, the last thing any competent writer should be doing with this character is trying to explain his backstory this late. It would have been a far different case if we knew this information from the start, but it makes it seem as though this was thought of later which is more than likely the main reason as Kique is having a change of heart about this character. I do not genuinely think that Ranach will die by the time the comic ends. There is way too much exposition done to show that he is the ‘good guy’ within Home and that is fucking disgusting.

If this was my project, I would make Ninmah the overarching villain with Rogio as a secondary one. I don’t like her for reasons that I’ve stated in my Solar Stag video, but she has the making of a true villain by manipulating all of the dogs to do her bidding. It would have been easy to make her the Lone Wolf and make her responsible for the phobic tendencies displayed by the dogs. It divides them and keeps them under her control and they are easier to manipulate. The issue with Solarstag is that they want everyone to respect them but give nothing back in return. They MUST be respected because they are the self proclaimed capital. If you don’t believe me, look at how they are treating Kargo who had a PTSD attack and killed the merchants. There was no trying to figure out what happened, no asking his side of things, he was just sentenced to death. Meanwhile Jahla killed two Flameguard members and she was pardoned for her crime as it was declared in self defense.  The implication is that mental illness and past trauma should not be taken into consideration when looking at a person. Do not get me wrong, if you do something bad, yes you should be punished, but to just sentence someone to death shows just how little Kique thinks about this. 

For anyone that writes a villain, have them commit to being one. Not everyone can and is meant to be a Zuko. If they do unspeakable actions such as what was seen in the Meteor Tribe, those characters are not worth redeeming or being sympathetic to. Murder, rape and kidnapping should not be taken lightly and Ranach has committed all three without any self reflection or remorse - yes even with Rogio here. Kique is flat out refusing to lean into the serious crimes this character has committed. You should be asking yourself why the author is doing everything he can to redeem this bastard, but that’s a topic for another day. For now, I’ll just end it here letting you ponder on what I’ve mentioned. Even after breaking down all of the potential villains, there is none which makes you wonder what the fuck have you been spending over 800 pages reading? Asher out. 

[mutatedfish]

and here’s my theory about how the half life funny streams are a lot like dante’s inferno. no wait come back where are you going

so to start off with both of them are working within familiar architecture but end up flipping expectations on their head. the intended/imagined audience for both inferno & hlvr are already familiar w the framework the story takes place in. for inferno, it’s assumed that the audience are some sect of christian & thus believe in the ideas of hell/purgatory/heaven as well as the idea of different levels of sin significance. for hlvr, the audience knows the general plot & game mechanics of half life/hlalyx even if they’ve never played themselves, as well as knowing abt the concept of machinima and rtvs’ improv through internet (plus for hlage they had the context of hlvrai). 

in inferno, hell’s physical design is very very important to the narrative (as well as purgatory and heaven but i haven’t actually read those two so moving on). i could say a lot about it but tldr the settings are described in detail and have a lot of meaning both thematically and literally. in hlvr there’s storytelling/worldbuilding through the environment as well. from the half life 2 wiki page:

partially this is just due to half life being a good game in and of itself. however the thing that inferno and hlvr have in common is that they take these pre-existing conceptual settings and add the creators’ own meaning to them. 

in inferno, dante descends into hell, but when he reaches the very bottom where satan is he finds out that he’s actually been going up the whole time. to be clear he is going down but then he & virgil reach the bottom and have to do a 180 and go back up, but “back up” is actually transcending hell and beginning the ascension to purgatory. essentially you’re actually at the very very bottom/furthest from god when you’re on earth’s surface and you have to go through hell to get to heaven blah blah blah. map linked here if you’d like to see a visual. the point is that this isn’t the typical view of ascension to heaven and therefore not what the reader is expecting; the structure of hell & the world that dante presents is altered to make an impact on the reader and tell the story. hlvr is similar in that it’s the pre-existing game (moreso for hlage, but i’d argue that hlvrai is still half life, just in a platform allowing for multiplayer goofs) but altered to tell a different story. the journey of hlvr is still that of the original game but the ending (benrey in xen, the gnome in the vault) emphasizes the importance of the altered world around the characters as much as the other changes that have been made from the original games.

this brings us to another important thing, namely the fact that hlvr are still games being played. there’s a concept we used when we read inferno in class like a year ago where we talked abt two different guys named dante: dante the poet, who physically wrote inferno and came up with the ideas in it and whatever, and dante the pilgrim, who is the character we experience the story as. dante-pilgrim brings all his biases and thoughts to what’s happening and, most importantly, is the actual guy going on the journey physically & spiritually, whereas dante-poet has already (spiritually) completed this journey. dante-poet didn’t go on the journey physically bc that’s not how the world works, but he is writing and portraying dante-pilgrim to be the character of himself (dante-poet) as he developed spiritually throughout time. essentially dante-poet is writing from the end of the story because he already knows what’s going to happen and how he ended up here, whereas dante-pilgrim is witnessing the story start to finish bc he is the vehicle through which it is told.

the same principle can be applied to wayne. wayne the streamer, who is physically playing the game and thanking donos and editing the videos post-stream, and wayne the player, who is the Character Of Wayne. like. in hlage, wayne-streamer did not literally get turned into a gnome, but wayne-player did bc wayne-player exists as one of the storytelling tools that wayne-streamer & rtvs are using to write the narrative. for hlvr, the division of waynes is partially for practical reasons (imo, writing/editing/publishing a poem is not the same as Doing It Live, e.g. dante probably didn’t have to deal with the limitations/issues of his medium at the exact same time as he was writing the poem (i am not a dante historian though so don’t quote me on this)) but it’s also for narrative reasons bc wayne-player is a consistent character throughout the hlvr series.

like. obviously the gnome refers to him as gordon in hlage to connect w/ hlvrai and whatnot, but wayne-player is also consistent in his reactions/intent/behavior. (also, i can’t concretely say this is a wayne-player effect, but the similarities between the “big bad” of each game so far is also interesting to me. both the gnome and benrey vaguely antagonize wayne-player and express a desire to go back/stay put/deter him from the journey despite his own wishes. other gnome/benrey similarities: acting sus as hell and wayne-player disregards it either through party opinion or his own. “you made me like this … i was innocent before i met you” (36:07 in the hlage finale) and “i was supposed to be nice but you forced me to be baaaad”. presumably this pattern will continue in hl2vrai) i believe that even if it has little-to-no effect on hl2vrai, the whole end sequence of hlage (particularly the vault & theater/woods scene but we’ll get to that later) is a canon thing that happened to wayne-player that will end up affecting at the very least the conclusion of the half life 2 streams.

in terms of characters within the story, another place i see similarities is the limitations they experience. you could argue the gnome and benrey similarities are due to similar limitations that they experience as members of the trio referenced in the peppa pig movie, but i wanna look at a more specific example. returning to inferno: there’s a scene in canto 21 where virgil essentially asks for directions bc the road is closed and his google maps isn’t working. unfortunately bc he’s in hell there are only demons and sinners around to ask, so he asks a demon who lies to him and they have a momentary diversion bc of it. note that virgil’s limitations aren’t a secret or anything— he’s only dante’s guide for inferno bc he represents human reason, and then ascending past there he gets a special divine guide and the point is that human reason has limitations that god doesn’t have blah blah blah— but this scene does stand out as a Thing. virgil doesn’t intentionally lead dante astray, nor does he realize the demon is lying, but it’s still a thing that happens bc he’s fallible.

in hlvrai, coomer realizes some aspects of what is happening (the setting is a game, he’s a computer construct, wayne-player is not a computer construct, benrey is an unintended feature in the game, etc) but whether bc he physically can’t or bc he’s preoccupied, he does not seem to piece things together fully and come to the conclusion that he’s in hlvrai. likewise, according to wayne, the blue gnome is right but his limitation is that he’s a freak. right before his demise the blue gnome tells wayne not to make a mistake he “can’t even begin to know and understand” in taking the red gnome. unfortunately he’s so consistently horny in such a unique and upsetting way that it has ruined his credibility for anything ever even if he managed to be not horny about it. i have more thoughts on blue gnome’s role but this post is already going to be so so long.

anyway you could claim this is just a thing in all stories bc characters have to be unaware of or unable to do certain things bc that’s how plot progresses, but i think there’s something special about characters being unable to do or see something even though it seems like they should.

the final bit of hlage is what made me sit down and actually start writing this whole thing out so let’s get into it. comparing canto 34 lines 22-24:

to gabe newman’s final commentary box in hlage, i can see a lot of similarities. i think the vagueness of both can be at least partially attributed to how writing works; sometimes the most effect technique is just to hint at something rather than describe it fully bc the audience will mentally fill in whatever fits best for them personally. however, a lot of gabe’s lines (references to the obsidian seal, the dread and the nightmares, “and that was the day he appeared”, “do NOT proceed any farther”, etc) read to me very much like appeals to pathos in the same way that lines 22-24 are. like it hurts gabe & dante to even just reference, let alone recall, what they’re talking about. tbh i just greatly enjoy this comparison idk how much meat there is to it but it’s a good writing decision imo

the trio in the peppa pig movie (man in blue, little man in red hat, and someone else (she/her)) corresponds to benrey, the gnome, and whatever we’ll see in hl2vrai (possibly alyx's shadow but who's to say). they don’t really exist solely within their respective games and have some sort of influence on the outside world (this being another setting of the player, essentially wayne-player’s world rather than wayne-streamer’s world) as seen w/ the gnome theater scene. in the vault the gnome states that it wasn’t wayne-player’s challenge and that he (the gnome) has won; the clear assumption here is that it was the gnome’s challenge. however, i think it’s worth considering that the challenge may not necessarily be the gnome’s either. the peppa pig movie claims it was made by gordon (which would correspond to wayne-player, but obviously it wasn't) and the gnome supports this, even saying that the theater is gordon’s “mind palace”. 

so, the question arises: is there another gordon of some kind? i don’t think it would be that far-fetched to say that there is a character within the hlvr series that wayne-player has been taking the place of (whether purposefully, knowingly, maliciously, or not) and since original gordon doesn’t have a place within the games, perhaps he is assuming the metaphorical place of satan here; a sort of container for the peppa pig movie trio when they are not participating in their respective hlvr games.

anyway some other things that i thought were interesting but not enough to write whole paragraphs on:

the autobiographical aspects of inferno compared to hlage being a reflection of wayne’s experiences

dante-pilgrim’s swooning as a way of transitioning in location compared to going to sleep as a way of transitioning between acts

it would be cool to find a stage adaptation of inferno and compare it to hlvr bc the formats would be more similar

something something how contrapasso is applied in hlvr (particularly hlvrai)

the professor who taught the class i learned this shit in would be really really upset if he knew i was applying my analysis to half life funny

obligatory disclaimers and qualifiers: i’ve interpreted the half life funny streams extremely seriously despite the fact that the purpose of 90% of it is half life funny. i only watched the hlage commentary stream when it originally aired and i didn’t bother going back to rewatch it so if anything i say here is blatantly untrue sorry. for the sake of simplicity i’ve referred to the stream on the 16th as hl2vrai because it’s probably gonna be some variation on that even if that’s not the exact title. the 16th stream (brbavrai) was not hl2 but i consider all of this to still hold true for hl2vrai. all inferno quotes were taken from the ciardi translation on archive.org