#character breakdowns and analysis

[shellem15]

Thinking about how, out of all the betrayer gods, Asmodeus is perhaps the most incapable of changing. Of redemption. Of becoming better.

Because at least the others are honest. Honest about who they are. Honest about their love for their siblings. They know exactly what they are and what they are here to do, even if it is for ill. And that means they can be worked around. Can be changed.

Asmodeus, however, cannot do this. He is the god of lies. Even his truths are rotten. He cannot be honest. Not with others, not even with himself.

Do you think he knows what he even wants? He says he wants eternity to torment his siblings yet tries to kill them. He tries to kill them, yet (whether he realizes it or not) gives them just enough time to stop him. They are gods, after all. One round is all they need.

He says he hates his siblings yet told trist he loved her when in disguise. He didn't need to do that, she was already going to leave. It's the truth, but rotten.

You cannot change, you cannot become better, if you are not honest with yourself. And Asmodeus is the most dishonest of them all. It's no wonder he is always banished by the light of Pelor's truth. He cannot face it, so he runs and hides and lies.

Always burning, always lying, always turning away from the light. Never changing, never growing, never moving on from past hurts. Lashing out at those who try to help, a dagger in the side of his family.

It would be better to remove him. Kinder, for all of them. But he is their brother, eternal, and they cannot lose him. They will keep him, even if he kills them. And he will keep lying, stabbing, burning, because it is all he knows how to do.

[wardensantoineandevka]

between Calamity and Downfall, we're working up a corpus of evidence that the god who most does not want to put any effort into compromises or dispute resolution is Asmodeus. when Vespin took his shot at a god to replace to try to shift the balance, he really correctly identified the one who is on purpose causing the most problems, huh.

[dat-lil-shark]

I found more TFP Characters Stats and they are VERY Interesting

So over a week ago I found out that in the Japanese airing of Transformer Prime, they put up these commercials in between episodes that displays the characters stats. Back then I only found Soundwave’s, but now I’ve found almost everyone.

Again, I have no guarantee that these are canon enough, cause it's made by Japanese, who made Airachnid a yandere.

But it’s fun to assume they are.

(SPOILERS ALERT)

First of all. MEGATRON ACTUALLY HAVE HIGHER INTELLIGENCE STATS THAN OPTIMUS!!!??? (Op got 8 and MT got 9)

Not only that but also higher speed and firepower TOO (OP got 7 speed and 9 firepower, and MT got 9 speed and 10 firepower).

Sure Optimus got bigger courage and skills but in battlefields if MT is not so dr**ed up he might just win a lot more.

And speaking of unexpected intelligence.

Compared to Arcee, Airachnid also got WAY higher intelligence (AH 9 and RC 7) and slightly higher strength (AH 5 and RC 4) AND FIREPOWER (AH 5 and RC 4).

I was at first surprised how Airachnid could be so smart but then it did made sense since she was able to always lure Arcee into her fun cave to beat her up and was able to easily kill Breakdown.

(And I know technically this was supposed to be the Japanese yandere Airachnid but— let’s just ignore that— maybe let’s pretend it’s the normal Airachnid okay? Please?)

But Arcee got 9 on courage.

Airachnid might got the cunning but at least Arcee got the feral.

And the way Arcee only got 7 on the intelligence out here is breaking stereotypes that the only girl in the group has to be smart.

Luckily not all Autobot and Decepticon rivalry ends in a Decepticon topping the Autobot.

For example.

Bulkhead is a lot— AND I MEAN A LOT better than Breakdown is.

He’s got higher strength (BH 10 and BD 9), intelligence(BH 5 and BD 4), courage (BH 8 and BD7), rank (BH 6 and BD 4) AND firepower (BH 7 and BD 6)

Bruh Breakdown is competing with Bulkhead just because he is insecure 😂😂😂😅😅

Bulkhead can actually sweep the floor with Breakdown if he wanna!

also I think Breakdown got the lowest stat in intelligence and rank than any other characters here.

This actually does explain how Breakdown could be killed so easily by Airachnid, honestly, since Airachnid got more than twice as much intelligence as him.

Well at least we know Knockout married him for true love.

And speaking of Knockout.

He’s SO WEAK!! 😂😂😂😂

Dude Knockout is an absolute LOOSER!! (At least according to the Japanese)

He LITTERALLY GOT 5 SKILLS, ENDOURANCE, AND 4 COURAGE!!

THAT IS ALMOST THE SAME ENDOURANCE AND ALMOST HALF THE COURAGE AS ARCEE (who is about only 1/2 of his body size btw) (his buff armours are just for shows) AND HALF THE SKILL OF RATCHET!!

HOW DID KNOCKOUT EVEN MANAGED TO BE A MEDIC!!

He is only a bit good on speeds. Now no wonder he loves racing ITS THE ONLY THING HE IS GOOD AT!! Bro litterally covers himself in makeups cause he’s too self aware 😂😂😂!

I wondered how he managed to lie so perfectly on his job resume.

And speaking of medics.

Ratchet is WAY better in everything than I expected.

He’s more than twice the medic Knockout would ever be.

He actually got EIGHT endurance which is surprising, cause that is only one star lower than Bulkhead!

The doctor might be old but he’s still got armors and bones as strong as boulders.

No wonder he kept getting beaten up in this serie but just got up fine and never snap his back once like my own grandpa after standing up from his chair.

Wheeljack on the other hand is also not bad at all.

He got 9 skills. I guess that’s what got him to be able to make all his terrorist toys.

Also it’s funny cause he’s only got 8 endurance, that’s 2 stars lower than Ratchet.

Could you just IMAGINE Wheeljack and Ratchet fist bumping as hard as they could but it was Wheeljack who ended up having to grab his fists in pain??

Also he only got 6 intelligence?? That’s honestly far lower than I excepted tbh. That is only one star higher than Bulkhead.

No wonder Ultra Magnus has such a bad time.

(it’s also funny how Arcee criticized Wheeljack for impulsively going to avenge Bulkhead when she herself is only like, one stat smarter, and does that with Airachnid on a daily basis (sure she didn’t drag any humans in but she is still barely better).

(Also by the way, speaking of Ultra Magnus, he doesn’t have a stat page unfortunately cause the Japanese TFP never got a season 3, it just ends at Optimus breaking the Alpha lock and that’s it, which means Ultra Magnus never appeared, and neither did Shockwave (beside that one Arcee flashback) and Predaking unfortunately).

Oh and the Dreadwing Skyquake twins are over powered.

Just look at them!

They are almost the exact same in stats except Skyquake got more endourance and Dreadwing got more fire power.! If Megatron had both of them at the same time they could just deep fry the Autobots in episode 10!

RIP Skyquake you had SO much POTENCIALS man. And to think that even the PRIME HIMSELF ALONE can’t take you out without major help from Bumblebee.

And speaking of Bumblebee.

HE MAXED OUT ON COURAGE.

Listen no one else in this whole list got courage 10 except Bumblebee.

Not Arcee, not Optimus, not Ratchet, not Smokescreen, and not even Wheeljack.

HE IS FERAL!!

Damn it man now thinking back I don’t think I recall a SINGLE MOMENT in the entire show, although it wasn’t obvious first time through, that Bumblebee actually considered for his own safety before doing anything. And it’s not even in an “I am willing to sacrifice my own safety for the greater good” way but a “Oh I’m gonna lose a leg for this but it’ll be nice? Sign me up!” Way! “Psyc link into Megatron? Count me in!” “Jump on top of Skyquake? You bet!” “Run straight toward Silas when you can litterally wait for 5 more minutes but then you can get your t cog back for five more minute earlier? I’m coming!!”

If it’s not for the fact that Bumblebee got a good dad that he’s happy to listen to he will be a bigger disaster than Wheeljack is.

The other kid, Smokescreen, is just a tad bit weaker. But he’s way better than I expected since he only just joined this war. (*cough cough* way better than Knockout).

However,

on the other servo.

Starscream is OVERPOWERED.

Bro has got EIGHT STRENGTH despite his skinny arms (same as Skyquake & Dreadwing), NINE SPEED (faster than Megatron), NINE FIREPOWER (same as Optimus) and TEN FRAGGING SKILLS (same as RATCHET)

Honestly. If it weren’t for the 3 courage, DUDE COULD ACTUALLY HAVE A CHANCE TAKING OVER MEGATRON!!! He

is

strong.

He honestly doesn’t even need the apex armour tbh! And there are countless times he got defeated probably only because he froze in fear or else he could have absolutely fought back and won!!

That 3 courage ruined him.

Also they don’t have Cliffjumper too and that is very unfair tbh cause Skyquake also appeared for only one episode but got his, and pretty unfortunate cause I really wanna see how strong exactly Cliff was before his death.

[briebysabs]

The recent chapter has reinforced what I’ve been screaming about Noé from day one. If you will not take anything else from Noé Archiviste, take this. To analyze him you are required to understand that Noé is disconnected from everything.

He is disconnected from himself, his past, the world, and reality. And this isn’t simply from being sheltered (though that plays a significant role). Because of this, he offers an honest, open and “pure” view of a situation. Even without going into the psychological rabbit hole mochijun executed in Pandora Hearts, you can see Noe’s lines/scenes are chosen with calculation and are very layered. A minor example, him getting lost all the time. It makes for a funny gag but it feeds into the point I’m making here. Conceptually, Noé is a floating balloon, hovering over the world. He can give you the best perspective because he’s not on the ground. That is why Noé sees himself as too strong or untouchable. Because he believes he is in a different world from anyone else. And I think this is something many people can relate to. But then it becomes complicated when Noé chooses to be unaware. Noé knows treating Dante and his companions like shit is wrong. But the gears turned in his head, people that he likes are doing something harmful. And he picks the option that won’t make him dwell on it: it’s an accident. Oh perhaps they didn’t know their names.

Noé depends on toxic optimism. From this we’ve seen it, several times throughout the story, turn into utter delusion. This is why some ppl, including myself, get Jack vibes from him. If you know you know, that man invented the word delusional. In order to keep himself together, to distract himself from his own self-loathing and loneliness, he has clung onto this thinking like a lifeline. Noe and Vanitas are very similar but chose different ways of coping which is a reason he is able to reach him. It’s easier to focus and believe in the beauty of everything else than looking at your own reflection. It’s easier to proclaim that the world is beautiful than to say that it wronged you and you feel so different and so you hate yourself.

Which is why I believe Noé will be the final antagonist, anti-hero whatever the fuck. Not bc it’ll be a cool twist, the writing is on the wall. This is the logical destination of his character. Will he be saved at the end? Probably but who fucking knows mochijun. Noé is going be confronted with so many harsh truths and Vanitas dying is the biggest one. It is set in stone, an event that is fated to happen no matter what Noé does. Whether he’s time-looping this shit or living on alone. Vanitas’ death is the biggest reality Noé cannot escape from. And thus, that will break him. He will try to remain in his dreams, memories, and delusions. But eventually....you’re going to wake up.

[kinardsevan]

I think one of the fascinating discussions around Tommy’s past is the issues related to how he attached himself to Gerrard, without any attempt to understand the trauma bond. We have him stating that working under Gerrard was like the father he already had. And we’ve seen the blatant disregard, lack of care, manipulation, that Gerrard brings to the table.

At which point, I can’t help but reflect on from a psychology standpoint. We fanon that Tommy likely joined the army as a way to get out of his house and/or try and please his father. Which directly correlates to his behavior under Gerrard. He had (has?) a need to fall in line with the person in charge likely because he knows that if he doesn’t, it’s going to backfire on him. Whether that came in the form of neglect/withholding care, or actual abuse, we’ll have to wait and see. But I wouldn’t put it past his backstory to have some level of that same manipulation we saw in Hen Begins (referring specifically to the scene where she’s cleaning the truck and Gerrard presents himself as initially caring and then twists the knife.) Let’s also be clear that Gerrard fits most of the requirements for trauma bonding. Love bombing in a corporate setting (be who I expect you to be and you’ll be fine), loss of self (Tommy shutting down to be who he needed to survive), gaslighting (we saw this in Hen Begins, and you can’t tell me that Hen and Chimney were the only ones gaslit by this man), and blaming yourself (we know Tommy holds space for his place in how Hen and Chimney were affected by his lack of saying anything. We need more on his back story with his sexuality and working under Gerrard, but I have zero issue believing he went through a stage of self-hatred at the 118 with Gerrard).

My point being, Tommy probably thought he was out from that kind of treatment when he left home. Except then he joined the military, which comes with its own tactics and behaviors for getting soldiers to stay in line. Upon return to civilian life, he becomes a firefighter and is placed under Gerrard. He’s come up under a time where DADT was the rule. He knew well enough by then that he was not the exception. And I imagine at every turn, he thought “okay, now it changes”. Except that never actually happens, until Bobby shows up.

So instead, you have this character with an understanding that the easiest way to go along to get along is to stay quiet and keep his head down, even in the face outward abuse (this would also correlate to witnessing his parents abuse each other). Trauma bonds will drive you to make choices that categorically make no sense in a normal setting. But this setting isn’t normal. That’s kind-of the entire point.

Does it justify his behavior? Absolutely not. But does it mean he actively sought to hurt others while he kept his mouth shut and retreated inwardly, the one place he knows is at least somewhat safe? I’m going to argue not.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[clownin44]

Personal headcannon that even though this is true:

The real reason Ben started practicing first aid was cause he had to bandage himself after street fights and encounters with his bullies

Aiden was covering for him and didn't want him to be uncomfortable

He's so nice to him

[pensbridge]

Do people really think that Colin means what he says? I can't; I have no words.

I was kind of saying this in a post before it premiered: Colin's words to Penelope are not about her. They all lead back to his insecurities.

Pen is trying to entrap Colin

Did you forget this happened to him before? He's A) questioning her feelings. He's also the "overlooked;" (we just went over this in part 1) he gets mocked and laughed at for not going with the status quo by people including his family. It wouldn't be far-fetched to think Penelope who he trusts so much now falls into that category. AND BECAUSE THE CARRIAGE ALSO HAPPENED BEFORE HE KNEW. AND NOW HE KNOWS SHE WROTE THAT BAD PAPER ABOUT HIM. So, to him it looks like she lied ABOUT EVERYTHING. BECAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE SHE WAS PLAYING HIM & LAUGHING ABOUT HIM IN THAT PAPER & THAT SHE LOOKS DOWN ON HIM. Also, I just wrote this in a different post, his upset in feeling "entrapped" comes from the pain of loving her and not being able to shake it. He says to Eloise, "feel lucky you have never been in love," DIRECTLY in the scene before this! Dear God, pay attention to him. He's B) Insecure Af BECAUSE THIS HAPPENED TO HIM BEFORE (thnx Marina love her tho) Can we acknowledge the trauma?

He mentions Marina (and his family).

This isn't about Marina. I'm gonna break this down real quick because I wanted to do this anyway:

He asks about the El writing, because now he's putting the pieces together of why they're not friends and is confused how she could do that to her bff that questions her true loyalty which is super important to him.

"Miss Thompson-Exposing her as you did. Ruining her." sidenote Colin can't let go of this "Thompson" (not Crane) name thing, probably because he's traumatized from the public embarrassment. BUT HE'S TALKING ABOUT HIMSELF. He was publically embarrassed (and it was repeated with the s3 paper). Even though it was directly exposing/"ruining" to Marina as a woman, he felt like he was exposed for being stupid. It affected his confidence.

Then he says "Then, you should have told me to my face," which is a small & obvious line but I feel like it's important: He's telling you that the public embarrassment is the part that makes him upset. "Or do you not respect me enough?" ding, ding, ding! His big problem with her doing this. She talked bad about him behind his back (literally in the s3 paper, and indirectly in the Marina issue). He's like: you must think I'm dumb, then...[which leads into the jealousy-She's an accomplished author. He feels inadequate. He has to correct this on his own, AND HE DOES!] Nonetheless, he feels like she essentially put one over on him, because she had this inside knowledge and he was clueless (Marina issue, s3 issue). another sidenote: his eyes get so much more teary at that respect line.

"It is clear you do not, after what you have written about me this year...that I hardly know myself. What were you thinking then?" Oh do you think that of me (and so little of me)?

[ghostlyvines]

So, I got hyperfixated on Arcane (on Vi, mostly) and I have been writing some thoughts down on her different stages on season 2. This is a surface level break down on aspects of her character that I spent too much time thinking about. I'm pretty sure other people have already said the same things I have on here but regardless I still want to share. Also this is an extremely long post, sorry.

TW: I talk about passive suicidal ideation on here, if this is something that triggers you, please don't read. I will be adding a divider for when that part comes up.

Enforcer Vi:

Vi becoming an enforcer definitely came from her guilt over what happened to Cait's mom. Due to Vi's sense of responsibility, I think that she felt like she owed it to Cait to do this, even if she personally didn't like it. I don't think that Vi agreed with what they were doing down there (like releasing the Gray). I think she felt like this was the only way to make things right and to start making up for what had happened.

I don't think she was ever going to kill Jinx. I also don't think she would've allowed Cait to do it either, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself that her sister was gone; that there were no traces of Powder anymore and that she needed to do this to protect the version of her sister that she remembered and held so dearly. Even if Isha hadn't been there, I genuinely don't think that Vi would've gone through with it.

Her sister has been her reason to fight, to be brave and courageous; her reason to dare to hope for a future in which Zaun is actually better. She wouldn't have let any more harm come to her, not more than what she already thinks she has done. But because her sister was responsible for what happened to Cait's mom, and Vi feels like she's responsible for what happened to Jinx, she feels like that also means that she is responsible for the attack.

If she continues on being an enforcer, I think it has less to do with her changing her mind about what they represent and more so about her being lost (since she thinks her sister is dead). She's looking for a purpose, something to fight for. And while she is content with Cait and she will fight for her (like she does for everyone she loves) I think that she lost her main reason to fight, and while she will continue to fight, her heart will no longer fully be in it.

Pit-Fighter Vi:

As for pit fighter Vi, we know she did so to punish herself for everything. Vi is a fighter but she's led by her heart and her emotions. This means that after everything that happened with Cait, it snapped something in her. All those years in Stillwater, while torturous, she remained determined to persevere in the hopes of reuniting with her sister one day. Once out, her sole focus was making that reunion with her sister happen (we all saw how that went). Everything that led up to that moment with Cait, was building up inside.

I think that Vi is a character who, while openly emotional and loving, buries her feelings deep down inside. While she's vulnerable, she's not fully open about her past or her trauma. Choosing instead to prioritize those who she cares about who she deems are in more need than her.

I think this is a consequence of her being a parentified child. She was forced to take care of her sister at a very young age. She was never fully able to process the loss of her parents because she had Powder to look out and care for. Powder who needed love, nurturing, and attention. She was more important to Vi than herself. So, she buried her grief deep inside. One could also argue that her grief took the shape of anger, aggression, and impulsivity but that's a conversation for some other time.

What happens to Powder later on is also a source of pain for Vi. She feels like she's the reason that Silco was able to get his hands on Powder and therefore she's responsible for how Powder turned out. She's the reason Powder had those vulnerabilities, those abandonment issues, that desire to be loved and appreciated. This was yet another heartache she had to bury in order to do what she thought needed to be done (aka become an enforcer).

She, however, couldn't go through with it so she stopped Cait from killing Jinx. This was a betrayal in Cait's eyes. I feel like in this moment Vi felt like she failed yet another person who she cared about while at the same time failing herself and her beliefs and values. She gassed her city, fought her sister, almost got a child killed in the cross fire, became the very thing she hated, she's choosing wrong. She's losing everything and everyone she loves.

Every painful memory comes back to her with just as much force as Cait's rifle to her side. All these emotions are overwhelming and loud; so she does the one thing that always calmed the noise. She fights. She gets beat up and she beats others up.

She feels useless, empty but at least she's doing something. She drowns in alcohol to attempt to grasp even a drop of happiness that she hasn't truly felt in years. Maybe its an attempt to numb all the overwhelming feelings that seem to be pulling her under.

When she loses a fight she can't help but feel a bit glad, she's getting what she thinks she deserves after all. And who cares if she's so drunk she can't tell what's real anymore? At least she's not thinking about all the ways she has fucked up.

Commune Vi:

When Jinx tells her that Vander is alive, she doesn't believe it. However, she goes along with the ride because there's really nothing to lose anymore. Seeing her sister interact with Isha, brings back memories of a younger version of herself and Powder. Seeing those interactions also allows for Vi to humanize her sister, to realize that her sister was still in there, still capable of care and compassion.

This also helps her realize that Jinx no longer needs protection or to be sheltered from the harsh reality (she has already lived the full experience of shitty). This is the moment that allows her to view Jinx as an equal. Once they get to Viktor's Commune, she asks for Jinx' opinions. She asks about her thoughts and what she wants to do. She speaks to her as a team and not a liability.

She even lets Jinx in on the plan that she made with Cait in order to free Vander. Mind you, she doesn't tell Cait about Jinx. This to me shows that Vi trusts Jinx enough to not make the same mistake and to instead trust that her sister has her back and is capable of making the correct choices when given the opportunity to do so.

Getting Vander back and starting to reconcile with Jinx, starts giving Vi a sense of purpose. She, once again, has people to fight for. She has something to look forward to (a family). This provides some hope for the future.

Passive suicidal ideation:

Passive suicidal ideation is defined as "feelings and thoughts about wanting to die, though without actual planning".

In this section I will be focusing on 6 of the symptoms in regards to Vi: risky behavior, heightened agitation, increased withdraw and isolation, uncontrollable drug or alcohol habits, preoccupation with death or violence, and intolerable emotional pain (particularly intense shame and guilt).

Let's start with the first point: risky behavior. While Vi was in Stillwater she would partake in a lot of risky behaviors that would end up with her getting punished. These risky behaviors were along the lines of starting fights with men who were older, stronger, and bigger than her. Other risky behaviors were: having weapons in her cell and attempting to escape. All these behaviors led to her getting beat with socks filled with nails, spiked brass knuckles, and even blades. The reason for this behavior? Finding out if her sister was still alive and if Silco had her.

As for the risky behaviors we see displayed in her time as pitfighter, well aside from the obvious, there's her overuse of alcohol. She gets so drunk that she passes out at the bottom of the stairs, leaving herself vulnerable for any eventuality. Not to mention that her getting beat up continuously means that she probably gets severe injuries that she doesn't treat correctly or at all (possibly leading to infections and further damage to her body).

Now that we have that covered, let's move on to the next point: heightened agitation. We see many examples through both seasons that demonstrate this kind of behavior. Her agitation toward Ekko and Sevika when they mention how much Powder has changed. Her jumping into a fight with Sevika and almost dying both times. Her choking Jinx after being told that Vander is still alive. Her starting an argument and tempting Jinx into a fight when they are in the mines. These are just a few examples at the top of my head. These show how agitated and upset she gets when situations shift suddenly.

This of course could be a trauma response to what she experienced at Stillwater. This could be due to her lacking the ability to really regulate her emotions since a majority of her time was spent in survival mode. But this behavior does lead her to the risky behaviors that we discussed on the bullet points before.

Increased withdraw and isolation: while she was a pitfighter she didn't have anyone, truly. Her sister was gone, off to God knows where. Cait had left her in the ventilation system alone and crying on the floor. What was she supposed to do now that she had betrayed her sister, her lover, and most importantly herself?? Easy, drink and fight. I already discussed both these points so I'll focus on the one person she did have, Loris.

Through her self destructive time as an underground fighter, Vi had one constant and that was Loris. Loris stuck by Vi like a loyal friend. He watched her back, watched her fights, and joined in on the drinking and partying. Right up until things got out of hand. Vi wasn't a fun drunk and more of an irritable one. We see one of the times of Loris taking her back to her apartment; we see how she pushes him away roughly and how she starts yelling at him. We don't know what she says to him but due to the fact that we don't see them interact again until the war, one can assume that what she said wasn't kind leading him to leave her alone (just how she wanted).

Her wanting to be alone and wallow on her guilt and shame is also a reason as to why she reacted so aggressively when Jinx appeared at her place.

This is also demonstrated when they are walking through the mines and Vi essentially starts an argument by saying "when are you going to admit that this is just another one of your delusions?". This leads to a physical altercation that ends with Isha getting hurt in the process. Isha getting hurt is what brings Vi back to the present moment, allowing them to continue forth with the journey.

I also think that seeing Isha getting hurt, brought back memories for Vi. Memories of her and Powder when they were younger, the good and the bad. The bad being the last time she saw her sister before being taken away to Stillwater. This brings back intense feelings of guilt and shame, which might be part of the reason that she says "why did you even come get me? you don't need my help, you haven't for a while."

Seeing Jinx now, and how capable she is, solidifies for Vi that she's no longer needed. She no longer needs to protect or shelter her sister from the monsters all around them. Her one reason to continue fighting, no longer needed her. This reaffirms that she has no purpose.

Now let's circle back to intense feelings of shame or guilt like I mentioned on the bulletpoint before, Vi accidentally hitting Isha and the follow up interaction between her and Jinx, probably brought the memory of her last interaction with Powder.

As we all know, her last interaction with Powder was after Vander died. In a moment of immense grief and anger, Vi slapped Powder and called her a jinx. Once she realized what she had done, she stared at her hand in horror and proceeded to walk away to presumably collect herself and calm down before facing her sister once more. However, before she could return to her sister (after spotting Silco coming toward her) she was taken to Stillwater.

Vi clearly regrets having done what she did. She has an intense desire to make up for it once she reunites with Jinx but they never really get the chance to actually talk. Would talking take away all the pain and all the damage? Would it make Jinx return back to who she used to be? No, of course not. But that didn't mean that Vi wasn't willing to still attempt to make up for it.

I think that seeing how Jinx went to Isha and provided comfort made her wish she would've done the same during that time. I think she wishes that instead of walking away, she would've stayed, apologized and figured where to go from there.

I think that when it comes to her sister, Vi will never fully let go of the guilt she feels over what happened. Especially now that she thinks Jinx is dead.

I will even go as far as to say that she never truly blamed Powder for the deaths of their family. I think she lashed out at her out of intense shame and guilt over dragging everyone to this point. By that I mean, that from Vi's perspective she has internalized everything that happened. If she hadn't tried to give herself up, Vander wouldn't have gone after her which would in turn mean that Silco wouldn't have taken him. This would've meant that she wouldn't have had to go find him, wouldn't have allowed Mylo or Claggor to go with her and wouldn't have left Powder alone because there would've been no reason to leave, no danger. This is, of course, misguided. Whose to say these things wouldn't have happened regardless? No one can truly know, but I think this is Vi's way of viewing the events that lead to her family dying.

Lastly preoccupation with death or violence. Vi is someone who is constantly preoccupied with death and someone who was raised around it as well as around violence. However, this isn't in regards to herself. Her preoccupation is in regards to her loved ones dying or getting hurt.

A majority of the times that we see Vi in a fight, she doesn't think twice. She goes in and doesn't really care or consider whether or not she'll come out of there alive. Her main drive is on making sure that those she cares about have safety and if that means dying in the fight, so be it.

At the end of the day, Vi's big heart and sense of responsibility is her biggest undoing. She never really ends up making her decisions based on her wants and more so makes them on the basis of what others need. This leaves her to completely disregard herself and her needs for the sake of other people.

What also confirms that she was passively suicidal are the lyrics of the song that plays during her montage as pitfighter. Maybe I'll go over that in another post. I've ranted enough as is lol.

[nohasslecastle]

As much as I love spreading the "Sister Beatrice top agenda", I do not think Beatrice would behave anywhere near confident on her first time with Ava.

First of all, it's my headcanon that before Beatrice became a nun she didn't actually get to live or experience a lot, so everything she could have learned in her teenage years, she actually didn't, because her parents were too strict, and she was just too afraid to stand up against them.

Her parents sent her to that boarding school probably because at some point she admitted she had romantic feelings for one of her friends, but that was it, Beatrice is oblivious to love, and relationships, and, of course, to sex.

Add that to the fact that Beatrice is a perfectionist, with a great fear of failure, a control freak that gets overwhelmed when she feels she can't handle the results of any given situation she's involved with... Beatrice doesn't quite know how she should behave around Ava, and the not knowing... that terrifies her.

It's not that she's worried Ava would make fun of her, of course, she would never. But there's just something inherently annoying about not being able to BE good at something, specially when the only way to learn 'that something' is... actually doing it. But, will she be able to be good enough for her? Will she be able to be what she thinks Ava deserves?

When Ava comes back, Beatrice doesn't immediately kiss her, she doesn't jump into a relationship with Ava and certainly she doesn't jump straight to bed with her, simply because she has absolutely no idea how to do it without making it weird. So, of course, their comeback kiss is started by Ava, their "what are we?" conversation is started by Ava, and their first time... guess what? Also started by Ava.

I picture this: after the re-encounter they didn't have much time to talk about what had happened between them, they were once again in survival mode and it's only one day after a big fight that they finally and unintentionally find themselves alone. Everything that happened is weightening on Beatrice and she's pretty much gay panicking every time Ava gets too close to her.

It's not that she doesn't want her, on the contrary she wants her so much she's overwhelmed by a feeling she had never felt before, or at least, not in a very long time and certainly not with enough maturity to understand it. When they last kissed it was a life or death situation, now they are just staring into each other's eyes, something clearly in the air, but everytime she tries to say anything, something holds her back.

Ava tries to give her space. Ava is everything that Beatrice is not. She's reckless, and a risk taker, and if she fails so what? she tries again. However, Ava is aware she closed a line last time... not only on Beatrice's vows but on a restriction she had put on herself. Ava is trying to make things right and Beatrice knows it but at the same time she's begging, begging, Ava to push her, because that's how they work right?

At some point the silence becomes too unbearable and Beatrice is frustrated. She hates that she can't be as resolved as she is in most of her activities and Ava is... kind of having fun at it, looking at the perfect sister Beatrice losing her shit it's fun, it's so unlike her it's amusing.

Ava is laughing and that only makes Beatrice's frustration grow. At some point Beatrice apologizes to Ava "I'm sorry, I really don't know what I'm doing and I hate it" and that's Ava's cue to do what she always does... push her a bit, give her courage. Ava walks slowy towards her "I don't need you to be an expert at this, Bea" she takes Beatrice's hands into hers "remember what I told you before I left? You don't need to be so perfect all the time." She lifts her hand to Bea's cheek and Bea gulps. She watches Bea lean into her touch, close her eyes, she brings her other hand to her chest and she can feel how fast her heart is beating "I only need you to be yourself." She says. And Bea opens her eyes and looks at her.

Ava leans close to her, slowly, giving her time to adjust to the intrusion and when she's a breath from her lips she whispers "can I kiss you again?", looking at her eyes again waiting for an answer. Beatrice would simply nod because, let's be honest, that woman is incapable to form a simple thought when Ava is *that* close to her.

And when they kiss... it's shy, and it's tame, and honestly, Beatrice doesn't know what to do with her hands. Ava would guide them, maybe to her hips "you can touch me" she would state. Ava would open her mouth, begging for *more*, she would let Bea's hair down, touch her shoulders, then her chest, she would find that first button and unpop it. Bea would startle at that, only for a moment, only because she isn't used to it, but looking at Ava, with her lips swollen, panting, big eyes... she would push that thought aside. She would kiss her again and this time she would allow herself to touch Ava, gently, but more determined.

Ava would start walking backwards, as if saying "take me to bed" and Bea would walk slowly before her, with her eyes closed, trying to focus only on Ava's lips because maybe that way she would be able to shut up all the insecurities. They would stumble on their way to the bed and Bea would try to say "I'm sorry" while Ava would put a finger on her lips and just laugh, and say a terrible pun to her. Being there Bea would doubt until she doesn't anymore, until she stops thinking and Ava becomes the only thing she's worried at.

[makotonaegiunderstander]

something I’ve been thinking abt is how many people think Makoto is immune to despair. I don’t think he is. I think becoming the ultimate Hope was BECAUSE he felt despair. He wouldn’t have fully reached that point without Junko. Makoto becoming such a beacon was his last attempt to avoid completely falling and it wasn’t because he didn’t feel despair, it was because he was too damn stubborn to allow everything to go to waste and he refused to sacrifice his beliefs for someone else’s. His inner monologue tells me he DID experience the same new low the other suvivors did in the final trial, but at the point where he had the choice to give up and die, he looked at the others and he looked at Junko and he couldn’t allow it to happen, not out of self preservation, but because the idea that Junko would have control over their lives made him FURIOUS. and that utter refusal to die kicked in, wether luck or otherwise, and he made the concious effort for one last push while something in him was breaking. He had to be broken in order for the Ultimate Hope to come through so aggressively, bc it could only exist in the face of the Ultimate Despair. He snapped the same way she did, but in the other direction. In what could have been his final moments he chose to embody everything Junko wasn’t, and every single optimistic and luck fueled ideal in him suddenly charged forward and pushed him. It was a combination of the final straw and a choice. Makoto isn’t immune to feeling despair, he’s just too stubborn to fall into it of his own volition. I think that’s why I like that scene in DR3 so much. People were SO SHOCKED Makoto actually fell for the tape, that he actually became despair for a moment. I saw people getting mad or disappointed, saying it was pathetic and Makoto seemed to fall from some sort of pedestal for them. Honestly part of me wonders if that sort of mentality, which clearly people had in universe, affected Makoto a bit. Like he started to see himself as less of a person, subconsciously. Prompting him to take more risks, less self preservation, act way more bold. It seems he has to be reminded a lot not to put himself in danger by his friends, to not do something too reckless. All over the place I would see in regards to that scene either this frivolous ‘oh this was just angst drama with no meaning behind it’ or ‘he can do better than that. he’s so weak’ or ‘come on, there’s no way he’d fall into despair, he’s the Ultimate Hope!’ This kind of mentality, which was kind of ironic considering Ryota was there the entire time saying the same thing and treating Makoto the same way. Like Makoto was superhuman. Like Makoto didn’t feel despair the same way ‘normal people’ did. In a way that was also how Munakata saw Makoto. Makoto stopped being a PERSON to the world when he became Ultimate Hope, he became a concept, a belief system, much the same way Junko ascended beyond herself. But the difference is that treating Makoto that way is the opposite of the reason Makoto became such a representative for hope. He wasn’t doing something no one else could. He was doing something everyone had the chance to, he just… was a little more optimistic, a little more stubborn, a little more ‘gung-ho’ about things. He just took the lead where no one else did, where no one else knew they even COULD in the face of Junko’s unstoppable force. She had overcome the biggest threats and obstacles in the world, what could one person do? And the answer Makoto found was, anything. Everything. It doesn’t all rest on Makoto, he’s just the one that was inspired to try to do what seemed like the impossible. But as evidenced by the change in his friends after that trial, it’s clearly not something only Makoto is capable of. The others pulled out of despair thanks to Makoto, but it was their choice to do so.

“But… this world is so huge, and we’re so small. What can we do…? No, we can probably do anything. Yeah! We can do anything!”

[wisefoxluminary]

Arcane Season 2 Act 2 my thoughts (+analysis)

Wow just wow…this show really is a rollercoaster and this set of episodes really delved into the family dynamics of Vi and Jinx, two broken characters trying to fix what was lost between them. Jinx being forced to reckon with who she is as a leader in Zaun, inspiring those to stand up against the injustice wrought by the enforcers and this time we get to see the innocent and more soft side of her as she realises all these people look up to her as their saviour when all her life she was led to believe she was a monster who gets everyone she comes close to killed but she realises that she is making an impact on everyone around her including Isha who reminds her of her past self that she buried and is bringing that back out to the surface. Their sibling relationship was really beautiful to witness because they would save each other every damn time. It was cruel watching that get taken away from us because Isha’s final act was saving Jinx from Warwick’s rampage, though her life was short lived just like Powder’s, her sacrifice really showed the impact Jinx had made on her life and that act of preservation and love will help her finally embrace the role of a saviour complex the people of Zaun need, in the shadow of Viktor’s passing, a fallen messiah who used his power of healing for good. Jinx takes that chance and must weaponise her own destruction for good, to liberate her people and what remains of her family from Ambessa and the Piltover Guard and also Jayce who seeks to wipe every last remnant of Hextech.

I really liked the twist that Vander was Warwick as it added loads of tragedy to his character and really fuelled the emotional beats for the reminder of the story, in particular Vi and Jinx’s journeys respectively. The idea of Vander's love being the one thing that ties the sisters together was really beautiful to me because every time he saw Jinx, he was reminded of Powder which brought back his humanity which was slowly being corrupted by the beast. Powder is his tether to humanity thus why he protects her with all his might (“they don't touch my daughter” scene comes to light). This link to humanity, his memories of Ponder is what helps him overcome his monstrous impulses. He's a dead man who has turned into something unrecognisable and yet the memory and warm love Vander once embodied still resides within him and Vi and Jinx are working so hard to persevere that. This is shown in the memory sequence Viktor observed in his mind because Vander's impact is always felt on Vi and Jinx. He gave Vi her name, he was a loyal friend of their mother. His dying words to Vi was for her to protect Powder. That's why he recognises Jinx and sees her for who she used to be, why he saved her. Jinx may blame herself for his death but that only brings him closer to her. So when that perfect image of family was taken away from them, the monster from within won and every last memory of Vander is stripped away from him because that light Viktor was trying so hard to untangle from him was gone the moment he was killed.

Jayce really lost his mind because who knew one senseless action could cause this horrific chain of events to happen because being trapped in that anomaly caused him to see a false and corrupted vision of the future and it descended him into madness. Jayce is the reason Viktor loses his humanity because as he said in his dying moments the greatest good can also become your greatest evil. So what Jayce believed he was doing right by killing Viktor and stopping him from going down the wrong path only was the fuel to the fire that caused it. Betrayal and the tragedy it brings and how it melds us into the worst version of ourselves is a very integral theme in Arcane as seen with Vander and Silco, Vi and Powder, Vi and Caitlyn etc. Jayce and Viktor is just another representative cursed by the narrative and the ramifications of this betrayal will be dealt by them in terrifying ways and how they'll overcome that is going to be very central heading into the last three episodes. There is no changing the past, but there must be a way to make a better future with it as well.

The only way this show can end is if Vi and Jinx finally forgive each other and themselves and finally use love as their greatest weapon against the evil that threatens to supress them, how sacrifice impacts them and encourages them to carry on what the people who are gone had taught them. Love is what united them rather than hate and I think that's a beautiful thing. The resolution of their arc would be those two sisters reconciling, living in peace knowing their family is in a better place. For Vander to be ressurected and for Zaun to return to what it used to be under his resistance, finally at a peaceful agreement with Piltover where no more blood is shed. Where Hextech isn't used as a weapon anymore.

But overall, this episodes truly were a masterclass in storytelling and animation with its vibrant and colourful visuals. Truly can't wait for Act 3 because the symbolism of this show goes crazy.

[thy-lovelylionheart]

me after watching one (1) single video about Mike Wheeler & internalized homophobia/biphobia: wow okay whoa one second hold on I get it, I get it now, hold on I need a minute wow okay okay no you’re right wait—

[rooniper]

Finally finished The Week Before today and I’m actively vibrating, like I honestly might post an entire essay about it sometime if I get to it because I already have two pages worth of notes and so many thoughts, there’s just so much to talk about

It’s just?? So good?? Like it has so much heart and soul put into it?? You can really tell the writers tried to flesh Phone Guy out, he’s such a fun point of view character (to be fair, I was already attached to him, but I bet if I knew nothing about him I’d feel very similarly about it). Coppelia is also just a really good addition, their interactions are so sweet and also surprisingly funny at times (no spoilers but there’s a specific high-tension scene at the very end of one of the routes in which the dialogue between them actually made me laugh out loud). It’s honestly just also funny in general, it’s got that FNAF absurdity humor down so perfectly, but also the more dramatic and/or sad scenes are also executed so well?? And and and

I’m just

[voidnoidoid]

Donald Na Character Analysis: Undefeated Emperor

I genuinely thought I posted this analysis on tumblr already months ago... but apparently I didn't? Or maybe I did. I don't know anymore. This was written before the webtoon's completion so keep that in mind. If you've seen this already then oops read it again. If not, enjoy! MAJOR WEAK HERO SPOILERS AHEAD. (24/6/2024)

After reading the conclusion of the Eunjang v Union fight, I had some thoughts about who Donald is, why he became the way he is now, and more thoughts about how the fight ended and his parallels with Gray. Apologies if this becomes rambly im just writing off the top of my head. To begin with, 

Who Is Donald?

From the very beginning of Weak Hero, Donald Na has been set up as the big bad, the final boss, the overarching antagonist. He is the sole mastermind behind the Union, controlling it from above in his luxurious office, only descending to force rebellion back in line much like he did with Ben and Myles. He was established as cruel, cunning, intelligent and menacing; but most important of all: untouchable. 

Time and time again we see Donald's sheer strength forcing even the most powerful of fighters into submission. He's both the brains and the brawn, with incredible charisma to boot. He's the sovereign ruler of the Yeungdeungpo region. It's clear he hasn't seen a real challenge in some time. Until the final fight, us readers have never seen Donald so much as break a sweat, even in his (one sided) fight against Changhui Han. 

He's got everything planned out, nothing seems to phase him and he is adaptable to any plan, seeing as he worked around all the setbacks Eunjang threw at him. 

However, Donald's many layers have been peeled back, allowing us to glimpse moments of a troubled childhood that explain why Donald is the undefeatable monster he is now. 

Why Is Donald?

Based on the short flashbacks of Donald's childhood, (as of right now more fleshed out episodes are being released but I haven't caught up yet) he grew up in poverty with an abusive father and sickly mother. He is seen wearing tattered clothes and was gaunt and scrawny. Another was of his getting his school reports scattered on the ground, meaning he was bullied by his peers despite being one of the top scorers in his class or the entire school. At one point he was driven to desperation and broke into a bakery just to eat. This explains why he likes eating bread so much. 

Donald grew up with nothing. No money, no respect, no friends, no food, not even a loving family. Despite trying the best he could in school, he could never be equals with anyone, in fact the seem to look down on him more for doing so well whilst not having financial stability. Because he grew up with nothing, he strove to obtain everything. 

Donald went from dressing in rags, to wearing branded goods from head to toe. He went from having no support system, to creating an army of thugs to serve under him: The Union. He went from being powerless, to having an entire region under his thumb, manipulating everyone from kids to adult business owners. No longer was he the scrawny little boy but now a powerful, cunning, imposing presence. 

It was all calculated. In a recent episode, Donald himself mentioned that he did everything he could to not only look the part, but play the part of big bad mastermind. He got tattoos all over his body to seem more intimidating, he beat down every enemy to strike fear in them, he created a steady source of income to keep his goons loyal, not just by threat of violence but also money. 

To me, Donald seems like someone who tried desperately to reach the top so that nobody could ever hurt him again. And he succeeded, at what cost? 

Is It Lonely On the Top? Eunjang vs The Union

Now that he's gotten everything he wanted, did it make him happy? Perhaps it did, perhaps it didn't. With almost everything under his thumb, it is only natural that Donald craved a challenge, whether unconsciously or not. Hence, when Eunjang high started making a move, it became new motivation for Donald to keep going. 

Of course, Donald already had plans with his many businesses but Eunjang proved to be a source of amusement, then annoyance, then rising to be a legitimate threat. As Eunjang toppled more of Donald's executives and cemented itself as a group to be taken seriously, Donald's empire began to crumble. With one single variable, many of Donald's plans had a wrench thrown in them. He grew complacent at his spot in the top. Long he had gone without a worthy challenger that he took his power for granted. Little did he know, Ben was building up strength to face him head on once more, together with a certain white mamba. 

Not everything could be under Donald's control. Case in point: the Eugene Incident. Because of one careless mistake from one of the company shareholders who approved Eugene's design without thinking, the flaws in the companies Donald had a stake in were exposed and a large portion of profits went down the drain. To make matters worse, he sent Dongha out only to capture Eugene and bring the boy to him, but Dongha ended up beating him to a pulp and facing the wrath of Gray Yeon, escalating the incident further and provoking Ben's wrath even more for real. The Eugene Incident was the catalyst for the big war between the Union and Eunjang. 

All this time, the Union had been weakening. Wolf and Philip turned tail and sided with Eunjang for their personal reasons, and Jake wanted to resign from the Union for good. Donald was losing more and more manpower. This escalated into the massive Union v Eunjang war to end all gang wars. However, this was all a backdrop for Donald's main fight: between Ben Park. Leader vs Leader. However yet again, Donald would not get what he wanted, all because of one of his closest allies: Kingsley Kwan. 

Kingsley is a curious character who's only been shown as Donald's right hand and most trusted confidant. His backstory has yet to been revealed but clearly, he is very important to Donald and only has his best interests at heart. Kingsley is the closest thing Donald has to a friend. Yet, Kingsley unintentionally betrayed Donald by kidnapping Ben Park, taking away the fight Donald wanted most. Donald lost trust in his closest companion, and lost the chance for a fair fight with the one person he thought had a chance of taking him down.

This brings into account what Jake said at the end of the big fight: that deep down, Donald wanted to be defeated. Donald wanted someone to challenge him, to fight against his tyranny and show him the taste of failure. On the surface, it would seem that Donald only wanted to fight Ben just to crush him and show everyone who's boss, but I believe that deep down, Donald really wanted this to all end. His motives are unknown thus far but I think it has something to do with Gray. 

To tie up this (kinda disjointed) section, Donald's newfound power and domination only isolated him from forming any meaningful connection with others. His desire for defeat and victory conflicted with each other, but I think he only realised what he truly wanted when he finally fought with Gray. 

Donald Na vs Gray Yeon: Two Sides of the Same Coin

These two are shown to have interesting parallels with each other, going so far back as to have Jake comment on the similarities between them. 

Both Donald and Gray are shown to have a lust for power and love for the thrill of fighting. Donald fights to cement himself as the strongest, and Gray fights to teach bullies a lesson, and to protect those he cares about. Gray slowly develops a dark bloodlust, which he hones as his deadly precise and calculated fighting strategy. Donald let his bloodlust consume him in his rise to power and control. 

They are also similar in their intelligence, planning and problem solving skills. Both make plans and like it when events happen according to predictions. Donald makes lengthy schemes and manipulates people behinds the scenes, getting angry when things don't go according to plan. Gray only fights when he is certain he will win, with the exception of his Wolf beatdown. Gray analyses his opponents and "studies up" so he can have every advantage to beat them, making up for his lack of physical strength. Donald relies on his superior strength and cunning to carry him through fights, to which he has become complacent but he can adapt on the fly too. 

The two have also battled in their academic prowess, duelling each other in creating and solving math problems. Usually, the questions are formulated by Donald, and Gray comes up with solutions to solve them. Notably, the questions set by Donald are complex and mind boggling, but Gray comes up with a creative and straightforward way of solving them. This implies that since they have a similar way of thinking, Gray could easily see a path through the problem. Or on the other hand, Gray is more innovative, creating a new way of problem solving that even surprised Donald. This battle of intellect has been Donald's way of getting to know Gray. Donald's statement at his final math problem was "this is the last time we play together, white mamba." Implying that all this time, Donald was toying with and testing Gray's capability, yet also enjoying the mental exercise and anticipating their in-person meeting. 

Personally, I think that the key difference between Gray and Donald is the presence of a Stephen. Or... Friends. Gray's backstory shows that before Stephen came into his life, he was just drifting. An empty shell that kept searching for something, anything to fill the void in his heart. Gray lacked a purpose, endlessly consuming random knowledge and "studying like an idiot." Stephen was a welcome friend, a light in Gray's darkness, and became the purpose for Gray to keep living. Stephen became Gray's catalyst to change the world around him and stop standing by. Since Stephen made an effort to change his surroundings for the better, Gray decided to do the same, albeit in a more violent, cold manner. 

Both Gray and Donald are connected by the concept of "absence" or "lacking". While Gray wasn't financially struggling, his parents weren't around and he didn't have friends. He lacked emotional connection with others, and lacked a purpose for living, thus creating that empty void within him. Gray became motivated by friendship to create a better environment for himself and his friends. Donald on the other hand lacked safety, security and power, so this became his personal purpose to rise above everyone and have the control he lacked as a child. However, he lacked FRIENDS, those other people he could count on emotionally. 

Gray made new friends who he cares about and who care about him, but Donald sits atop a lonely throne, having nobody but himself he could fully depend on, since everyone around him disappointed him in one way or another. He has no equal, not even Kingsley. That was who Donald was looking for: a friend, an equal. 

Donald made this realisation during his fight against Gray, who repeatedly outsmarted him using cunning tricks, who was the only one brave enough to take him on aside from Ben, and who was the other contender who pushed him to the brink. Ben made Donald realise the fear of losing, but Gray made him realise what he was chasing after this whole time. He thinks to himself, near the end of the fight that in another life, if things played out differently, could he and Gray have been friends? This means that Gray is the one he finally saw as equal to him, the one he wanted to befriend. He found someone who could potentially understand him, but circumstances pit them against each other. And when he beat Gray, any hope of potential connection was shattered.

Donald's Defeat: Last Man Standing

Technically, Donald won the fight against Ben and Gray, and against Eunjang. On paper, this is a huge win for the Union. Logically, this would mean that Donald could further his conquest and rise even higher on the chain of power. However... this ended up being the Union's loss overall. Donald wanted someone to beat him, he wanted someone to take him down a peg, he wanted a true equal in strength, character, ideals, which Ben and Gray had combined. (Ben's sheer power and Gray's character) But after Donald won, there wasn't any point in going on. He knew he was the strongest, but he wanted to be proven wrong. Now there is no chance of anyone who could take him down anymore. 

The Union was just a means to an end, a method of accruing more power and wealth, all of which has lost its meaning for Donald. Hence Donald essentially put the Union on hold. His unrivalled might is still evident as he beat the piss out of Myles Joo and his cronies while severely injured. But mentally, he's destroyed. He's lost his purpose and meaning and snapped. 

So what does he do? He tries again by seeking out Gray. In a semi-crazed delusion he calls out to Gray from below an overhead bridge for them to fight again. Only then could he relive that sense of connection and rekindle the hope of defeat. Gray and the eunjang gang are understandably shocked... but Donald is too fascinated with Gray to care. He just wants to fight again, to understand Gray even more. 

Then he got hit by a truck (Donald isekai when?). The only thing that could take down Donald wasn't even a person but a whole vehicle. 

In the end, Eunjang lost the fight but won the war, as Donald became demoralised and shut down Union activity. Donald lost, as he lost what he desired most (friendship) and whatever he still had didn't mean anything anymore. He was someone who lost himself in dark ambition, and deep inside wanted someone to save him from his endless spiral of violence that he trapped himself within as its kingpin. 

[hkcomplex]

Most of the irl friends I’ve pointed towards Arknights bounced off cause “there’s soooo many words i ain’t readin all that shit.” And like. Hmm. Oh honey is a dinky little visual novel too much for you? Small-brain behavior tbh if i’m being honest. Sad! But it got me curious exactly how much reading there was in Arknights and thankfully, someone has made a helpful website with word count breakdowns by chapter, up to date as of Lone Trail.

Lone Trail, by the way, is a fantastic story which is 67,831 words long. For comparison, that’s a little longer than The Fault In Our Stars by our beloved John “The Screamin’ Semon Demon” Green. Intriguing! It’s also the longest side story, beating Near Light by about 2500 words, but not quite as long as the longest main story chapter, Chapter 8 (Roaring Flare) with 71,345 words. That’s a single chapter about as long as JD Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. The entire main story up through Chapter 12 is 378,377 words, longer than Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov.

If you add up all the “big story text” — the main story, side stories, operator records, and operator files — the Arknights English story word count comes in at 2,382,337 words. For comparison, that’s longer than A Song of Ice and Fire and The Lord of The Rings, combined. Christ almighty, it’s three times as long as The Holy Fucking Bible by God. And that’s not even all of it, that’s excluding module story text and any of the story from the side game modes like Reclamation Algorithm and Integrated Strategies.

So I’m trying to get people to play this stupid fuckin game like yeah check this game out it’s a really cool story, you just gotta read the equivalent of War and Peace five times over and you’ll be caught up. bro cmon it’s a cool story there’s furries and babes in it cmon bro.

[wildflowerwoodsworld]

A guide on writing Charlotte Roselei (or, how I do it at least)

Okay. So. This is another one where I've written this over and over, trying to put into words how I write her and, honestly, the best advice I've got is to remember that she has goals and ambitions and personality outside of a romantic relationship.

(I have already done a bit of a meta on her and how her curse affects her here if you want to check that out)

The first thing I do when writing Charlotte is to ignore 90% of what goes on with her in canon. If it involves romance, ignore it for now. We're going to focus on the other facts.

So. What do we know about Charlotte Roselei and how do those facts effect her personality?

1) she was cursed as a little girl.

There is no arguing with this point. Yami straight up says it. The actual age is debatable, but the curse itself is not.

2) she seems to have a strained relationship with her parents.

This point comes from the flashback in Volume 12 (Chapter 104 if you want to check it out yourself), where she is the one reassuring her parents about her curse. Her parents never come up again.

3) she takes everything onto her own shoulders and sees a lot of things as personal failings when they're not.

Again, this point comes from the flashback in Volume 12, while we see several other people calling it "the curse on House Roselei" (the person laying the curse says "a curse on you, House Roselei), Charlotte always says "my curse". And when she can't hold it back, she calls herself pathetic.

4) she gets told something is impossible and tries to do it anyway.

For the final time, we're looking at the flashback in volume 12. Charlotte herself says that the only way to break the curse is for her to have her heart stolen by a man. And yet. The very first thing she says after being cursed is "I'll get stronger! Stronger than anyone! I'll overcome this curse!"

5) despite her calm and collected facade, she's actually a fairly dramatic person.

We see this literally every time we get to see her internal monologue. She wails and pulls faces and overall is just a bit of a mess. Also. Her go-to reaction when annoyed by someone is to attack them with briars, generally throwing the person in question up into the air. Sure, this general comes with a verbal smack down, but most of the time there was no need for her to react that, well, dramatically.

And the star festival (Chapter 103). When that guy tries to use her as arm candy and he goes "Don't you know who I am?" Her response? "Who you are? Don't you know who I am?" followed by her pulling noble rank on him, complete with wrapping the guy up in briars.

6) she has a problem with men.

I don't think this one really needs explaining. Personally, I prefer to interpret this as her having a problem with the trend of men objectifying her rather than a problem with men as a whole, but there is no denying she has a problem with men. And I can't really blame her, to be honest. If I had men I didn't really know randomly proposing to me in the streets, I'd have a problem too.

7) she is given multiple chances to drop out of the fighting during Spade and choses not to. (in other words, she doesn't know when to quit)

I don't think this point really needs any explanation. Every time she gets knocked down, she gets right back up again. To the point that, without Mimosa's intervention, she would have died.

Other fun facts about her that come with the volume extras (@/thoughfullyrainynightmare has compiled some of the volume extras here and here).

She's the most beautiful woman (as long as she doesn't have her helmet on)

She's the third smartest Captain

She's the worst (in the entire kingdom) at handling her alcohol

She's got the third biggest fan club out of the magic knights

She's got the second worst talent/taste in art

Her character profile (volume 7) tells us that she's 171 cm tall, her birthday September 18th, she's a virgo, her blood type is A and that she likes relaxing moments in the garden at her private residence. (it also specifies that she likes Yami while disliking most other men, but we're ignoring that for now).

Her stats in the data book look like this (though these numbers are sourced from the wiki as the data book has yet to be translated into English, so take them with a pinch of salt)

Physical Strength: 4/5 Magic Amount: 5/5 Magic Control: 5/5 Magic Sensing: 3/5 Cleverness: 4/5 And her extra stat is Honesty, with a score of 0/5 (interestingly enough, as far as I know, she's the only person to have 0/5 for her extra stat instead of 5/5).

The wiki also has stats for a card that came with volume 12, but, again, I'd take these numbers with a pinch of salt as I've never seen the card myself.

Magic Attribute: Briar Magic Magic: 1400 Affiliation: Blue Rose Type: Attack Leaves: 3 Power: 3/5 Magical: 4/5 Wisdom: 5/5 Stamina: 3/5 Vitality: 4/5

I also want to point out the anime-only Heart Training Arc. When Charlotte first arrives, she says "So this is what mages are capable of in the Heart kingdom" with a look on her face that, to me, screams "filing that away in case we ever have to face you". Because Charlotte is the eldest of the mages they send to Heart. By a significant margin. There's six years between her and the next oldest, Finral. She also struggles with understanding Sarado's initial explanation, but when her time in Heart is recapped in the manga (volume 28), we get Potrof calling her a genius, implying she picked up Heart's mana method very quickly one she understood what she was supposed to be doing.

Putting all of this information together, we have a character who is very smart and very powerful (and knows it). She holds herself to a very high standard and appears to hold others to those same standards. If something goes wrong and she's involved, it's her fault, so nothing can ever go wrong, which likely leads to her double and triple checking everything and not delegating tasks as much as she should. She is someone who has been placed on a pedestal and is constantly trying to live up to the expectations that come with it. People are enamoured with the idea of Charlotte Roselei, but don't know who she actually is.

And, taking a break to look at the romance for a moment here, one of the key parts of her personality is that she doesn't know how to ask for help. We see this time and time again with her trying to ask Yami out.

So, how do I write Charlotte?

My interpretation of her is a woman who knows what she wants and goes for it. Who doesn't understand the phrases "reasonable human limits" or "it's impossible". If she wants something doing, she does it herself. I also tend to characterise her as petty and prone to jealousy. She's a skilled liar with a brilliant poker face (providing she isn't drunk). She keeps all her cards very close to her chest and doesn't volunteer information easily. She was isolated during a key point in her development (thanks to her curse) so she struggles with interacting with people, especially her peers. She's overly formal and doesn't understand a lot of slang. She's a little (or a lot) touch starved.

I interpret her trying to break her curse as her doing a lot of research into curses and as many different ways of using mana as she could get her hands on (which, as a noble, would be a lot) as well as doing plenty of training to work on her control. 5/5 for control has to be earnt. She pushes herself until she's exhausted and then gets up and does the exact same thing the next day. And the next. And the next. Because there is a clock ticking down above her head and every second could be the difference between her breaking the curse and her failing to control it.

I see her as a little- not suicidal, but reckless with her own life in her time in the magic knights between joining and her curse being broken/lifted/deactivated/whatever. She's going to suffer a fate worse than death when she turns eighteen anyway, and if she's going to die, she might as well die doing something useful. After the curse is broken, she is very aware that she's living on borrowed time, that every breath could be her last.

And, underneath it all, she's a little bit feral. She's not sadistic, but there's a clear line between Us and Them and there are times when she's almost begging Them to give her an excuse to let loose.