#does it count as spoilers if there's literally no context of the spoiler

[xdraonarts]

two guys hangin' out havin' a good time

[theneighborhoodwatch]

Do you have any initial thoughts on the update? I have so many crossing my mind.

[rubbing my hands deviously before remembering i should put this under the cut so people can avoid in-depth spoilers]

first - between this latest update and The Homewarming Incident, i'm beginning to notice A Pattern of home reacting very quickly when they either see an opportunity to have the spotlight on them, or if they think said spotlight is being taken away from them. consider for a moment how most of wally's dialogue this update was just him speaking on home's behalf. and i mean - the homewarming party was supposed to be for them. it's in the name, after all. they don't seem to have many qualms about sacrificing another neighbor's wellbeing for it, either. i wonder if they were even counting on the neighbors generally not having the Best emotional problem-solving skills to take care of the rest, or on neighbors like eddie or poppy being less likely to speak up if they went just a bit too far in getting them out of the way for a while. it has to be frustrating, being rooted to one spot and only being able to be part of a scene once other people happen to wander by. i imagine it'd be very easy to resort to doing anything to make that happen. i also imagine that you'd get very attached to the one person who always comes back at the end of the day, and that it's very important that it stays that way.... much to think about.

anyways. let's ALSO talk about the ending to the awayfrompryingeyes version of the video! the little bit of the storyteller's conversation that we hear when they stop narrating, the fact that the two people we hear at the end of the audio clearly Sound a lot like sally and frank but are left unidentified in the transcript - i don't think it's a huge reach to guess that this is the first we're hearing of the actual playfellow staff. y'know, voice actors, puppet handlers, etc etc. but then... is that poppy at the end of the video? or is it her actor/handler? if it's the latter, when did poppy leave the scene? where does poppy end and poppy's actor begin?

to elaborate: i've written a lot about how the horror of a puppet's existence in welcome home is that they cannot exist without being maneuvered around by something so much bigger than them (if not in literal size than by virtue of being considered a Full Person whereas a puppet is a simulacrum of a person) that it borders on incomprehensible, right? and also about how i'm not a Huge fan of the idea that things are only starting to go sideways for the neighbors bc they're actually possessed by human souls, but the Idea of possession could work for me in a select few contexts? what if we're seeing a sort of role reversal of the typical possession theory stuff here - instead of humans possessing puppets, it's puppets (making an attempt at) possessing humans, however unconsciously or imperfectly. after all, if you really, truly cannot exist without that aforementioned incomprehensibly vast presence, i suppose your next best bet would be to try to subsume it into yourself somehow.

but this also comes with a cost. it's not wrong to want to exist or to have autonomy. but could you really just end another's existence to get that? would you know what to do with it afterwards? i know i'd have a hard time with it, at least.

...of course poppy could have just ceased to exist temporarily once the door was opened/her actor Presumably got out of costume, but let me have this late night ramble.

i think those are all my thoughts for now! this was a short but Meaty update. maybe i'll have some more in the morning.

[jttwlmkaddiction]

Can I Just take a moment to scream into the void my frustrations about how WELL they write Wukong so we have NO IDEA what’s going on with anything and theorizing is practically impossible?

S5 spoilers included sportactically

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He is THE one in the show that does not give up anything about what he does and does not know and when he does it’s easily counter with another statement that counters it or brings it into question. He’s surprised Azure came back but not Macaque, for example. He never has a plan, yet everything he does nudges everything in the direction it needs to go. I’ve said before that he is the most planning non-planner that has ever existed. I see it as him having incredibly fine-tuned instincts that in his existence is the same as having a carefully detailed 20-step plan that others would have but i digress…

Does he know what’s really going on? Clearly not, but he knows something. Did he know there were trials? He acts like he doesn’t but simultaneously does things like divert MK from the mural and push him to go to the colored stone, which apparently he didn’t know was up there (but DID he though????) He is frustratingly good at making everyone think he’s a bit dense but it’s clear he’s not. It’s seems like he’s taking a back seat and it’s all intentional.

Did he kill Macaque? Something happened. He doesn’t give ANY indications about his take on what happened. He doesn’t seem surprised when Macaque comes back yet in their argument he questions how he did. In the flashback he seems shocked though, like he didn’t understand what he just saw. But when MK questions if Macaque’ll get away, Wukong acts upset about it, like he knows Macaque didn’t get away from HIM. SO…????????

It’s like things just happen around him and he literally doesn’t question anything ever (Macaque even points that out) yet he is the 4D chess guy who is always acting (not thinking) 5 steps ahead of everyone else. He’s impulsive but that’s his schtick and he uses it to his advantage by making everyone think he’s flying by the seat of his pants . Which to be fair he kinda is but just because he can’t really verbalize what he’s planning to anyone doesn’t mean he isn’t thinking through dozens of high-level scenarios.

I don’t buy that he is just sitting back letting things happen yet he does seem surprised when he realizes what MK is going to do. I don’t buy that he hadn’t already put that together, especially since he shared the initial vision with MK. Maybe he was already counting on it being him and wasn’t even considering MK would try. Maybe he got a DIFFERENT vision. Who the hell knows? He’s not gonna tell.

He has no idea who the NHD is. And it seems to bother him. It’s not the first time he doesn’t remember stuff, but it really seems to puzzle him. This is the guy that has been manipulating everything almost the whole show, and not necessarily in a bad way. If ANYTHING I’d say he and Wukong were probably friends. I mean - he DID free MK early so he could get a taste for life and have context to make a decision. That’s totally a thing Wukong would be on board with, especially if it was a monkey born from his own stone. If NHD did something in the past that make them enemies, what was it when the big bad he did this time was just to let MK experience life? It’s not exactly a dick move.

The only thing I can come up with, other than he 1) just has no idea what’s going on and 2) he totally knows and is just playing his part, is that it’s 3) a bit of both.

The cycles happen. The show is subbing the idea in for reincarnation, I think, because if the gang was reincarnated in the usual way it would be at odds with the whole ‘reaching enlightenment’ thing because reincarnation is in effect, a punishment-ish to try and get it all right. But if everyone gets recycled at the same time, that’s different. What I can’t wrap my head around is that Wukong is immortal, so what happens to him? Does a cycle reset all the gods too? I doubt it, probably just the mortal realm, but he arguably walks the line between moral and celestial since he was born from the stone yet worked his way up to having all the celestial powers and rank. He is literally born of earth and sky.

So, I wonder if it happened before but it affected his memory. My current theory, which is going to be 100% wrong but my brain needs to make order out of the history before the chaos they just unleashed, is that the exact same scenario happened with Wukong and Macaque that happened with Wukong and MK, which Macaque somewhat remembers but Wukong does not - at least not entirely.

Stay with me here - I think Macaque tried to sacrifice himself and Wukong tried to stop him, and because he is the 6-eared macaque or because he was technically dead, he wasn’t impacted by a cycle reset and because Wukong is immortal he only wound up with his memories affected for some reason, which he does recognize.

But because Wukong is Wukong and operated just as much on his gut as he does his mind and he is the closiest closed book I HAVE EVER SEEN we have NO idea what is happening in that stupid monkey’s head which means whatever is happening we get NO clues from him and if we do it’s unreliable! Is he really just dumb and doesn’t think about all this stuff? Does he know exactly what’s going on? Does he realize that there is something wrong with him but because he doesn’t know what it is he just chugs along following his instincts and trying to piece it all together silently in his head? The guy is OLD and I could see either him OR Macaque manipulating everyone, however benign or not, for any myriad of reasons. Macaque sure as hell is hiding stuff but the show lets us know that he is (or - it’s possible he doesn’t remember EITHER), so we can piece some things together but not so for the Monkey King.

Anyway……they write Wukong so annoyingly tight-lipped that he doesn’t even give a HINT of what he’s thinking or feeling other than MK and to some extent, Macaque and that makes it really difficult to theorize because he is arguably the most important piece of the giant puzzle.

*SIIIGHH* /rant

[amarayys]

DRDT CHP 2 EPISODE 12 SPOILERS!!

OKAY so according to a tweet from DRDTdev apparantly the whole fandom misinterpreted David's words and he actually doesn't remember Xander from before?? which like...it's kind of funny lmao. this means that David is just trying to kill everyone for a person he heard of online and then was friends with for like. a few days. which is really funny to me. .... .... ..... BUT YOU KNOW WHO DOES REMEMBER SOMETHING??????? teruko (I love you teruko but you're so stupidly suspicious). maybe she isn't aware of it, maybe she is, but THIS LINE.

Which, weird enough. But then VERONIKA says

Okay, even weirder. before we begin: 1. i suck at theories. 2. i suck at formatting, too. 3. this was made at like 1 am. so dont count on some points here being particulary sane. 4. Points that are started with "-" are just extra inputs that aren't too relevant, but I thought i should bring up anyway. So. Veronika, of all people, doesn't know about a killing game that happened in the past. You could argue: "But Amari, what if the killing game was covered up/erased from history?" Hm.. maybe, but this has some holes. A past killing game is a weird thing to *not* know about. If Teruko's talking about THH, that was broadcasted (worldwide, I think... but I can't remember. Even if it was only brodcasted in Japan, you'd think the news would spread, especially with the internet.) , you'd think most people, ESPECIALLY Veronika would know about it. We know from Min's bonus episode that students were taught about the tragedy, and someone like Veronika definitely wouldn't forget about a killing game that happened during it easily. If it was another killing game not related to the main dr games (ill explain this more later, I swear) , I'd still imagine people would know about it. I'm going to take a complete guess here and say it's not too unlikely that if a past killing game happened, it was broadcast similar to our current one. Same argument as before, people would know about it. If it wasn't broadcast, I still don't think it would be very easy to cover up a killing game. Remember - Veronika is the Ultimate Horror Fanatic. She is quite literally *THE BEST* at researching and knowing about this stuff. If Veronika doesn't know about it, Teruko, who kind of lives under a rock, (me too , me too.) being the only one as far as we know to remember it is WEIRD. Also, before someone says "what about memory erasure?" that answers Veronika, but why does Teruko know about it? - However, if it was covered up, I think it's quite likely the company who Min mentions in her bonus episode has something to do with it. Why? Cause introducing too many companies and sht would be confusing. Not very strudy arguement, I know, but I have a feeling the company is more connected to this than we think. Teruko knows about a past killing game. Which killing game is Teruko referencing? Is she referencing THH, or something completely separate? Like... a past killing game she was in? Okay, I'm reaching, but hear me out, okay? It's sort of maybe kind of implied that Teruko was in a past killing game.

This line is said by the guy at the start of the prologue (WHICH IM LIKE 90% SURE IS XANDER BUT THAT'S UNRELATED TO THIS.) , after they claim they have to end a killing game. Why do we need to kill sweet, amazing, perfect Teruko? Well, here are some ideas. 1. Teruko is responsible for the past killing game, or is at least the reason it's happening. Not necessarily the mastermind of it, more similar to the theory where the killing game was made to contain Teruko's bad luck (context because yeah). Not necessarily her fault, but she is the reason for it. I'd like to point out that this matches up scarily well with what basically the whole fandom agrees is Teruko's secret.

(How could I even select what secret to be your motive? Just about everything you've done in your life is worth killing for. The killing game is all your fault.) ...oh my. What if the killing game referred to in the secret isn't the current one? To be fair, all the above does match up with if this secret was referring to the current killing game, but I still think it's viable. 2. Teruko did something to someone and that someone wants revenge. What is "something"? Well, it could be again that the killing game is her fault, but probably not. "someone" could be PROLOUGE GUY AGAIN. I have this really weird theory that Teruko is the one who attacked prolouge guy with the fork (aka xander check out this post for clarification) - Technically, David could also be the one wanting revenge, as he also tried to kill Teruko (indirectly, through failing the trial) , but then Xander stabbing Teruko makes no sense. Xander writes future himself a note (the one saying "Kill Teruko Tawaki, again, whole other theory i can talk more on if you want) explaining the attack, and telling him to kill Teruko, as he thinks she is the mastermind or just an unsafe person (which, fair??) - And if we really want to start reaching, Xander is the mastermind and made the killing game in an attempt to kill Teruko. But like... is the killing game necessary? Why not just kill her regularly? Her luck preventing her death, maybe? This entire point is based on theories, though. So probably not lmao. I want to say point 2 but I think realistically I've gotta go with point 1. There's actually some evidence supporting it, unlike point 2. For Veronika's memory, the memory erasure does actually work here. MonoTV probably wanted interesting shit to happen, or it couldn't erase that part of Teruko's memory without her noticing a large gap in her memories and getting suspiscious. Now, let me get some stuff cleared up. I don't think Teruko remembers actually being in a killing game before present time, just that there was one. She brushes her memory off as just not paying attention in history when Veronika denies a killing game happening before this one (though she does hesitate when Veronika points this out - which is VERY weird) so she probably has *some* fuzzy memories regarding the past killing game.

- If my theory of her attacking prologue guy is correct, I don't think she remembers doing it. As i've mentioned way too many times, I think prologue guy is Xander, and she didn't seem wary whatsoever when she first met Xander, which you think she would be if she knew him, let alone attacked him. SUMMARY: 1. Teruko and Xander were in a past killing game together. At some point, Teruko attacks Xander's eye, although we aren't sure why. Xander realises that she's to blame for the killing game, and writes a note to himself, telling him to get rid of Teruko, and then he passes out. 2. Teruko and Xander meet in our current killing game. Teruko doesn't recognise Xander (or she at least doesn't have time to dwell on the faint memories she does have on him before he passes out), and stays around him for a lot of the killing game. Xander's memory was probably erased, but I'm not sure whether he had the note yet or not. 3. Xander goes stabbity stab stab on Teruko, due to the note. he panics, questioning why he made himself stab her. Teruko might have gotten a flash of memories (you know, the saying my life flashed before my eyes when something life threatening happens??), causing her to tell Xander that his plan wont work because she cant die. 4. (this point is straight flavour text) After Teruko wakes up, she might've remembered a bit more about the killing game, although still not the whole story. (playing into why she was so much more distrustful) Maybe she remembered knowing Xander at some point? Nothing too important regarding Teruko's memory happens after this. this summary really sucks, please dont take this too seriously. just some points to keep in mind.

Anddd yeah. That's it. This has so many holes but it's 1 am, I'm tired and cant be bothered to fix them lmao. Just thought I should give my input. I might edit over this tomorrow, who knows.

[that-ari-blogger]

On Grim Spectacle and Greatest Fears

There's a reason Enchanting Grom Fright is beloved by fans of the Owl House, not only is it just a plain old good story, it's also a phenomenal queer story.

But why is that so, and what makes it so important? That's what this post is about.

And if you're wondering whether I'm going to talk about @moringmark in this post, you bet I am.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

If you look at online discourse, there is a lot of discussion about "good representation" and that is certainly an interesting discussion, but I don't think there is much explanation as to why representation is important in the first place. It is a good thing, we all know this, but why?

One word: Normalisation. Representation of varying identities, cultures, and ethnicities is important because it takes apart the implicit bias inherent in society.

The generic individual in western society is white, male, and straight, and while there is nothing wrong with these character traits, this means that anything added to that template becomes a statement. It becomes an important metaphor for the story which doesn't get applied to someone with the three characteristics I mentioned earlier.

For example, there is a question in analysis of what a character being gay does for a story, where a character being perceived as straight doesn't get that level of scrutiny.

This is a problem for a number of reasons, most notably it abnormalizes certain traits that a large proportion of society (myself included) exhibit, effectively othering those people as a result.

Representation does the opposite of this, it allows real people who are not the generic individual to be treated with the same level of respect and for audience members who don't usually see themselves in media to find characters like themselves, to see their own stories reflected in fiction.

I think the best reason for representation actually comes from Ordinary, by Joriah Kwame, the sequel to Little Miss Perfect. This song, written explicitly from Luz Noceda's perspective, says this:

"The characters I read never act or look like me I can't depend on them to lead me through the right door"

Stories are a way of learning about the world and yourself, and in stories with extremely low representation for marginalised people, that lesson is pretty clear.

@jameswoodall has a video essay on YouTube titled How Much Representation Is Enough. In it Woodall discusses the benefits of representation through a queer lens, and argues about the end goal thusly:

"It's not about achieving a certain percentage. It's about making that percentage stop mattering. When queer representation is no longer noteworthy. When queer inclusion is so naturally assumed that nobody feels the need to count anymore. When even if we did put queer rep in every story, nobody would bat an eyelid. Because we have just as much right to be there as anyone else."

So, let's talk about Grom.

Meromorphic is a channel with a two-hour long video about The Owl House as a whole, and while there is a lot in that video that I disagree with (as is the nature of media analysis) it is comprehensive and fascinating, and I would recommend giving it a watch.

However, I am not bringing up that video to talk about its points, instead, I would like to shamelessly steal borrow a term from it: Magic Literalism. In this context, it means when a piece of media uses magic to make physical an intangible concept. In this case, it turns fear into a monster, that being Grom.

When Grom looks into Luz, she sees Luz's mother, and she sees Luz's fear of disappointment. She sees that Luz has a secret that she hasn't told her mother in case she breaks her heart. It's literally about the Boiling Isles, but there's something written between the lines here.

It is possible to read this as Luz's fear of coming out to her mother, and by "it's possible", I mean that this is how I read this.

Coming out is terrifying, even if you have supportive parents, it's still asking people to accept a part of you, and that comes with risk, because if they don't accept you, what do you do?

That's what I think Luz is afraid of.

Amity, on the other hand, is afraid of getting rejected in a similar way, although hers is more direct. Amity is scared of falling in love and not being loved back.

As a side not, I think it's a really cool detail that of Odalia's many flaws, homophobia isn't one. As in, Amity isn't afraid of coming out to her parents, and when she makes passing remarks about having a girlfriend to her mother and father, their surprise is that it's with Luz, not with another girl. Bellos kind of keeps this going, and the message with that is clear. Homophobia is too low, even for these villains.

Anyway, Amity's experience with Grom is the other side of being queer, the romantic part. I am aware that romance isn't something everyone experiences, but when you do, especially when you are queer, confessing your feelings for someone is terrifying.

So, Amity avoids the question and doesn't really confront it directly at all. Even at the end of the episode, she has everything thrust upon her and still doesn't confess. Luz does the same thing with her mother. Fear is a powerful force, and I would argue that the best time to deal with it is when you are ready, not before.

I really like the scene in the forest. The light gives the two a feeling of warmth and safety, and it wards of the night. Once again, it's Luz giving hope to those around her, and here it is in a more personal sense. Light, do not falter.

The colour palate of the scene (that warm light) conveys that these two people are comfortable in each other's presence and can talk freely around each other. They are already in love; someone just needs to say it.

However, there is another side to Grometheus that also factors into being queer. When Amity explains the event, the art style changes into this style that I want to call classical, even though it probably isn't (art nerds, rise up in the replies and tell me what this is please). But she also directly calls the Grom event a tradition.

"Every year it tries to break out and a student has to defeat it before it invades town. Ever the optimist, Bump holds a party and calls it tradition."

Perhaps tradition, at least in the Boiling Isles, isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Perhaps there is an issue with seeing a problem and instead of trying to fix it, stalling it and making a spectacle out of achieving nothing. Maybe there is an issue with willingly putting children in danger for the drama of it. Maybe the fact that certain sports are just the audience enjoying people getting life threatening injuries might be an issue. I'm just throwing ideas out at this point.

If we link Grom with fear, there is the idea that fear spreads from schools and it is the role of the students, as decreed by the adults, to contain it. See the plot of Footloose for an example of this, or certain places in the real world today, where fear of the other (mainly bigotry) takes the form of arguments about schoolbooks.

This is a valid reading, but I'd like to go a bit wild with my interpretation and talk about @moringmark's comics.

Chapter three of A Little Hint of Blue is a brilliant piece of storytelling that actually characterises Bosha a ton. It carries the theme of fear over to both Skara and Bosha, but it shows them in real time. Skara is scared that Bosha won't let her spend time with... (*checks notes*)... Fledermaus?

She has good reason for this, Bosha is overprotective to the point of toxicity and runs on her own fear. Bosha's hierarchical worldview comes from a place of fear as well, she's afraid of being out of control, and a really subtle thing that gets done in this comic is the association of Bosha with fire.

It doesn't really get done in the original series, but Bosha and fire are such a neat thematic paring. They both consume, they both try to reach out, and fire is heavily associated with strong emotions, like anger and fear.

Bosha tries to control everything in the same way she controls her flames, but as it turns out, people aren't fire. People, when they are free, don't immediately destroy things, and a lot of people actually benefit from that freedom. Most notably, artists and musicians, like Skara.

Grom Factor also deals with the subject matter, but from a slightly different perspective.

First up, the most obvious, at least to me. Enna saves the town but it outcast in the process because what she is scares people, despite her heroism, she is not accepted. The metaphor isn't perfect and reading it as a one-to-one analogy is a detriment to the story. For example, the reason for Enna being outcast is because of a curse, and queer people are generally not magically cursed to be queer, they are born that way.

But, there is also the idea of Luz's fear as an adult being the exact same as when she was a child. She is scared of disappointing people, specifically her family and her daughter. This means that she is acutely aware of Ayzee's own mirror of that, and this line is spectacular:

"Make yourself proud"

It's ok to be afraid of what others think, that's part of being human (or a witch, or a demon. It's part of being sentient), but in the end, the only person who you have to make proud, is yourself.

Final Thoughts

I've been dying to talk about the Moringmark comics, and I do plan on talking about them more, but that will happen when I get there. I will do more gushing about their serious artistic and storytelling skill when that happens, so buckle up.

Enchanting Grom Fright is one of my favourite episodes of the series as a whole, and its a testament to the writing of it that there is more that I am yet to cover, and more that I am discovering as I watch it. For example, the storyline with Gus and King is a big part of the episode, but I didn't mention it because it wasn't really relevant to my main point, and the whole thing with the dance is stellar.

Next week, I am looking at Wing It Like Witches, so stick around if that interests you.

Previous - Next

[saiintofawe]

after reading the sun and the star my semi-dormant pjo obsession has risen and is infesting my brain side by side with bsd. so.

bsd percy jackson au: a series of self indulgent hcs

skk is the percabeth of the situation. iconic duo. unstoppable. EVERYBODY has heard about them. literal legends among the demigods baby

dazai is a child of athena, chuuya a child of ares

dazai's team beat chuuya's during capture the flag once and chuuya went aight bet. and kicked dazai's ass during the next capture the flag. his team still lost but at least he got an excuse to fight that annoying know-it-all bandaged and beautiful son of athena

the rest is history

the akutagawa sibilings are children of hades. goth mfs

now imagine them having the same storyline as the di angelo sibilings... now in this au you can see why akutagawa talks like he belongs to another age

gin would consider joining the hunters of artemis, but in the end they end up refusing to not leave their brother alone. plus, being immortal would mean seeing him and all of their loved ones die, and gin has had enough of her loved ones dying

if skk is percabeth, shinskk is solangelo

does atsushi fit the standards for a child of apollo? idk but i can't think of another godly parent for him so be it!

unlike will solace, healing is not atsushi's strongest task but he still spends a lot of time helping in the infirmary

and that's where he meets ryūnosuke

unlike solangelo the initial hostility is NOT one sided. ryū behaves like a bitch? atsushi gets bitchy right back.

cue to atsushi looking extremely pissed while bandaging ryū's arm and them muttering insults at each other

ryūnosuke swears he hates that fucking failed doctor and atsushi would almost believe him if it wasn't for the amount of times ryūnosuke has tried sacrificing himself to save him during their quests

also in this au rashomon is a hellhound like mrs. o'learly. she's a sweet doggo that devours space and souls

or she's one of ryū's cocoa puffs? (does this count as a tsats spoiler taken out of context?)

you know that one scene in tsats where nico kisses the back of will's neck and says "i'm proud of you"? now picture that as atsushi to ryūnosuke. yeah.

also atsushi has plague powers bc i say so

yosano is the real will here: overworked healers who feel extremely guilty for every patient that died under their watch to the point of considering themselves murderers

she runs that infirmary like it's the navy

she's also a hell of a fighter, both with bows and arrows and with her own fists

bff with ranpo, who's the oracle!

they gossip abt apollo (boyfail) and complain abt their respective fundamental but hella hard roles at chb

also besties w/ chuuya

also hear me out on kousano in this au... yosano falls helplessly in love with hunter of artemis!kouyou. kouyou tries to convince herself that she's not falling for that bossy and selfless and brave doctor because she has an oath to keep and she couldn't let love knock at her door again. so everytime the hunters come to chb kouyou keeps yosano company and it's all longing looks and painful yearning. yosano wishes she could convince the redhead to break the oath and stay.

but she won't. i <3 kousano angst

moving onto happier lesbians. gin loves wandering by themselves in the forest or by the lake. people know them as the demigod who just fucks off to take a stroll in the woods and disappear there for an indefinite amount of time

and that's how she meets an awkward, stubborn but lovely dryad: you guessed it, it's higuchi!

gin was having a bad day and kicked a tree because they were just so angry— anger turned to guilt when the tree fucking yelped

gin immediately apologized and higuchi asked them what was bothering them. gin never loved to talk, so they were very surprised by themselves when they started rambling about their problems to a dryad they just accidentally hurt

from that day gin began spending even more time in the forest

sometimes they bring higuchi to camp

it isn't unusual for dryads to wander around camp, but higuchi usually kept on her own before meeting gin

higuchi helps gin to open up about their emotions and lower their walls, gin helps higuchi to make friends and to value and love herself

chuuya's fatal flaw is loyalty, dazai's is pride, ryūnosuke's is holding grudges, atushi's is holding too tight onto the past, gin's is also loyalty, yosano's is guilt

tachihara is a child of hermes. parallels between two regretful traitors el oh el

except that luke fucking sucks while tachihara has my heart

OKAY NOW OPEN YOUR EARS. STORMBRINGER ENJOYERS RISE. RIMLAINE AS SILENA AND CLARISSE..... CAN YOU SEE WHAT IS SEE........

lucy is deffff a child of aphrodite but she's so lovely she doesn't even need to use charmspeak to get what she wants. whatever you say beloved princess

idk why but i can picture her throwing an hairbrush at an ancient titant like rachel... her and rachel are acc pretty similiar imo but i will not elaborate

poe is an athena kid! the biggest loser in cabin 6!

lucy and yosano tease him on his crush on ranpo

ranpo is there like damn. is this guy gonna confess or do i have to tell him we are going to date via prophecy

poe is a surprisingly good archer, the apollo kids are almost jealous

nikolai is an hecate kid. a little trickster. a silly magician. he will steal your nose but like in the literal sense and he might not give it back

his best friend is sigma from the aphrodite cabin. sigma cannot fucking stand him

nikolai is actually the reason why sigma has split colored hair. it used to be fully white but one day nikolai went heyyy girlie look at this new hair trick my sibiling taught me :] and sigma ended up actually loving the look? so they kept it

the dryads love sigma and he spends a lot of time with them. they braid flowers in each other's hair and chill

nikolai on the other hand somehow befriended the arpies

fyodor is a child of nemesis. edgelord

jouno is a child of hermes, the eldest in the cabin

half of the camp wants him, the other half wants him gone

teruko is a child of hebe, the goddess of youth!!!!

she's ones of the oldest campers along with jouno, but she prefers to keep her child form for unknown reasons

also i can see her joining the hunters tbh

that's it for now folks i hope someone appreciates my brainrot xoxo

[asaka-lucy-dr-rc]

English version DR:THH Gameplay Log #3

⚠️ Note that this Gameplay Log contains many spoilers, not only for THH but also for the entire Danganronpa franchise.

[Previous #2]

Finally, the introduction of the Ultimates! Yay! First, let's start with Hifumi's self-introduction, which I thought would be absolutely difficult to translate.

Oh, I see. "すべての始まりにして終わりなる者" is translated as "The Alpha and the Omega". It's a nice way of translating.

---

One thing I was very curious about in the translation of Hifumi's lines is how he refers to others, because this is related to a trick in chapter3. It seems that he calls others "Mr. + last name". I see, I see. In the original, he refers to other people as "their full name + an honorific (殿)". So if it was reproduced in the English version, he would call Makoto "Mr. Makoto Naegi", but the trick in chapter 3 would only work if the last name came first, so I guess the first name was omitted.

---

haha, I think the EN text is a bit more euphemistic and cooler than the original, but I wonder what English speakers think about this. Maybe if I translated the original text literally, it would be "In other words... things beyond sex (or sexual desires)." or something like that?

---

Leon has a lot of interesting lines for me because I have a limited vocabulary of informal English. But I think he speaks more normally than I expected. I think the original version is even more disorganized in its wording. (It is difficult to give a detailed explanation, so I will leave out the details!)

---

I think "super cool to the max!" is a good translation because it gives a silly impression. In the original, it was "マキシマム(maximum)にカッケー". I think the literal translation would be "maximum cool!" or something like that. It is a silly and grammatically odd expression that is halfway mixed with English.

---

haha, in the EN text, the fact that Sayaka bowed was removed. A literal translation of the original text would probably be something like this:

"The way she bowed is beautiful and I can't help but admire..."

Yeah, bowing is an act based on Japanese culture, so I guess it was removed to avoid confusion about what it means.

---

This is a very good translation. The original text only says that fishermen have become very popular, but the context means that fishermen have become popular as romantic partners, which is expressed in the English version as 'fishermen quickly shot to the top of every "Hottest Men" poll ', and it is very clear.

---

Ah, the word "お姉様" has been omitted, perhaps because it is difficult to translate. Actually, I am very curious as to how this can be translated. The word "お姉様" evokes images of a mature, calm, emotional leeway, and attractive woman. For example, Melami Goldmine from Rain Code is a complete "お姉様" type of person. Is there any equivalent word?

---

hehe, it's funny how Makoto's line is much harsher in the original. In the EN text he said he WAS way off, but in the original one, he said "作家としての豊かな想像力が間違った方向に働いた例だな…". If I were to translate it, it would probably be something like this:

"It's a case of a writer's rich imagination working in the wrong direction..."

Don't analyze her so coldly, Makoto! 😂

---

Ah, apparently I did not understand how difficult it is to translate Taka's lines. He's smart enough to use difficult words, so it's hard to translate that into English while keeping the word count within the limits of the line!

The translation "educational crusade" is interesting. In the original, he's just using a little difficult wording to say let's do our best to do schoolwork together. But as it is, it doesn't convey that he's using exaggerated language, so it feels like it's been largely changed.

---

Ohhh, I finally got to see the line that explains why he is called Taka in the English fandom. The corresponding line "Anyway, you can call me Taka." does not exist at all in the original text. Is Kiyotaka hard to say from English speakers' point of view, so it became Taka? I am curious why.

[Next #4]

[nianeyna]

I kept a bullet-pointed liveblog in a notes document as I played the new ffxiv expansion. now I have finally finished the story so I can share with the class without fear of someone responding to me with spoilers. speaking of which everything below is dawntrail spoilers, for the entire expansion, in case that wasn't clear.

⬇️ SPOILERS. FINAL FANTASY XIV DAWNTRAIL SPOILERS BELOW. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED ⬇️

Dawntrail Liveblog

- ok so the mean claimants are obviously not going to win, but catboy promise is a dark horse. also not ruling out "nobody wins"

- Urqopacha is super cute

- CAMPFIRE SCENE!

- Erenville's deal continues to be very mysterious no matter how much he contrives to appear to be telling us about it

- lol Erenville dialog: "I spoke too much" YOU BARELY SAID ANYTHING BABE

- Kozama-uka is sooooo pretty

- I like how the entire first dungeon was totally unnecessary since we would have got there FASTER if we'd just stuck around and helped Alisaie and Erenville repair the boat lmao. but that's not how the WoL does things!!

- CAMPFIRE SCENE!

- erenville lurking in the background... siddown boy lmao

- unknown dude: hey you uh... forgot something. yeah back there. come with me and get it this is definitely not a trap

- oh no it was a trap! who could possibly have predicted this??

- awwww, Koana. wasn't sure about him at first but he's just a cute little muffin isn't he

- wuk lamat getting all excited about eating the xibruq pibil was so cute omg. she just likes food!!! I appreciate that in a woman

- oh shiiiiit wuk lamat origin story?! dun dun dun...

- aaaaaand solo duty... ulp

- haha get wrekt

- CAMPFIRE SCENE!

- the mamool ja should look into tourism... this place is pretty as hell

- ok koana shooting the tablet was a pretty cool move

- have my doubts about the golden city being in yak tel... like if it was there why'd they go to xak tural then

- ok, I guess it... was there? or... the *entrance* was there... according to gulool ja ja, anyway...

- road trip alone with erenville be still my heart!

- out of context erenville quotes: "this is your first time, so let's take it slow"

- no need to apologize erenville... you can drag me into anything you want

- oh wow this is really fucking sad. wow. I wasn't expecting that!

- the ridiculous train plan is cheering me up a bit thank god (editor's note: it didn't last)

- sigh... there always has to be at least one zone per expansion that's all dark and gross-looking. did they sign a contract to that effect or something??

- I can't believe how mean this plotline is to erenville

- this is fucked up... this is so fucked up

- npc: "sorry to darken the mood" NO THAT'S FINE I DON'T THINK THE MOOD CAN GET ANY WORSE!!

- I want to rip Spene's crown off and push her off a cliff. her little I'm so cute and innocent and helpless act makes me want to puke.

- CAMPFIRE SCENE!

- if any more parents die in this story I am really truly gonna lose it

- YES finally we get to fight these horrible people. machine army. whatever.

- I hope the next trial is sphene... I want to kick sphene's ass SO bad

- well there goes otis which brings the fucking dead parent toll to at least 4

- finallyyyyyy made it out of heritage found... *collapses onto the floor of tuliyollal like a shipwrecked sailor reaching land*

- (ok obviously I've technically been back to tuliyollal while I've been doing these godforsaken quests but THIS IS DIFFERENT!)

- we didn't fight sphene but the prospects are looking really good for me getting to punch her in the face soon. probably not literally like we got to do with zenos, but I guess you can't have everything :(

- wow sphene really BELIEVES she's just a helpless little girl. fucking incredible.

- next expansion let's have a final zone NOT populated entirely by ghosts. change it up a little

- so should I count namikka and cahciua's deaths twice on the parent death toll scoreboard or what

- you know what I still don't get. is why the yok huy went to xak tural to look for the golden city. *why did they think it was there*? I mean heritage found is there *now* but it definitely wasn't hundreds of years ago!

- that face on the tower looks more like meteion than sphene tbh

- two more dead parents!

- I can't. believe. sphene erased herself before I could beat her ass. this is the most unfair thing that has happened in this expansion, and it is up against some STRONG contenders

- it's just not satisfying to pummel a weird robot that has none of her memories!

- oh sphene's SORRY? *loudest fart noise ever*

- it's a good thing wuk lamat is here to be nice cause if I had to do it I'd throw up

- "their lives remain unchanged"? uh.... we shut off the afterlife. which was a real physical place you could go to. I feel like that changes things a bit!

- I DID IT I'M OUT CREDITS ROLLED UP I'M DONE THANK GOD

First half I rate: 9/10

Second half I rate: 3/10

Overall I rate this expansion: 5/10 I guess

Up until the lightning dome appeared I was having a blast. after that the gameplay experience became one of gritting my teeth so I could get out and be done with it. all the alexandrian zones are dark and unpleasant to be in, which would have been bearable except the plot was literally nightmarish and any new characters I didn't hate either died or were already dead (except gulool ja, who's cute of course, but his story was still pretty upsetting in a different way). This is not to say the writing was bad, because I don't think it was. In the alternate universe where I was LOOKING for a tragic existential horror game I might have even really liked it. However I really really wasn't looking for that at all, so in the real world I feel pretty betrayed and upset. There's a line between "plot twist" and "false advertising" and I think they left it behind in the dust.

But hell, at least we got 4 campfire scenes.

[bubbl3zdaseaotter37]

I finished The Hollow Boy

GUYS I finished the Hollow Boy and yeah, the cliffhanger wasn't quite as bad as expected, but THAT STLL DOESN'T CHANGE THE FACT that I am EMOTIONALLY DEVISTATED. LIKE.

***spoilers ahead, btw***

****you may have guessed that already, but I'm about to lose my mind****

I don't even have all the context yet, in classic Stroud fashion, but I can already tell that Lucy leaving the agency was devastating for these poor babies, even if none of them are admitting it yet.

It's especially sad to me, because Lucy came from such a bad place already. Jacobs, her own mother, even her older sisters were too absorbed with their own problems, too worried about themselves and their own safety, that she left. I know she doesn't show it in her narrative, but the Wythburn Mill incident and its consequences were so devastating that the unknown dangers of London were preferable to whatever she might have dealt with at home. Of course, we do know that Lucy is a little bit impulsive, but still--!

She came to London looking for nothing but an escape, and she ended up finding family. The difference between Jacobs and Lockwood is so profound--, Jacobs only looked out for his own backside, while that is literally the last thing Lockwood worries about. Hence why she left.

But without them? Without Lockwood, George and --yes-- Holly, the friends whom she cared about so that she knew she had to leave? She's back to self-absorbed supervisors and loneliness. (unless you count Skully. I love him so much, but it isn't the same thing as human-to-human interaction. I think she even said that, early on in TCS...?) It's like the beginning all over again, except she's more sure of herself and her place in the world. It's come full circle, and I'm really anxious to see what happens next.

Does that make any sense? I feel like y'all get it, even if my ranting is only half intelligible.

I have next book already (thank goodness), but I haven't read that far into it. I think I'm on chapter 3? Maybe 4? From what my friend's told me, it only goes downhill from here. Which pretty much checks out.

Anyways, that's my two cents. A big hug to the fandom for the warm welcome! I hope you enjoyed my rambling :)

[ojamajoprincess]

(I’m literally just rambling on my blog. I don’t want to get into any debates about this, please. I understand there is no ethical consumption under capitalism and fandom is sandbox to make with what you will)

Press J or scroll like the wind if you don’t want

*Major spoilers* about part 5-6.)

i am pretty used to the weird conventions in ascendance, because it’s literally a different culture than ours, historically and fantasy based. Meta on the series will also point out how their ages/ maturity seems advanced. So it makes sense that their age of maturity is different.

But it is so weird that they have grown ass adults coming to the school to see their fiances graduate and come of age. And even more so because so many of Myne’s retainers are coming of age.

Like it’s one thing when they were together in the academy (Cornelius and Leonora, or Clarissa and Harmut). Ferdinand and Detlinde each have their qualms about the engagement and it’s a political marriage anyway. (Remember a couple volumes ago, when Ferninand was like “children, come to my house and entertain my fiancé/ your schoolmate/ cousin while she visits.” That actually happened.)

But then you also have Angelica coming to check on the growth of Traugott (so she can decide between him or Bonifatius, who is three times her age), and one of Wilfreid’s adult attendants coming to see Lieseleta come of age.

And that last one struck through the conditioning. Some random adult man is coming to see a fifteen year old girl graduate school, because they’re engaged.

I understand it’s part of necessity too. They have such a small population. Historically, this was done. Rozemyne even muses about it in historical contexts of our own world during discussions of Ferdinand’s engagement, when she mentions uncle-niece marriages being outlawed in Japan.

(And that’s not getting to their tangled family trees. Adoptions not withstanding, especially since adoptions do not work the same way in their world.)

They literally have to wait for there to be more adults. It’s just giving icky vibes ok. Damuel isn’t too pleased about it, but everyone else is like “business as usual. This is the Middle Ages.”

I just find it highly ironic that all the things that happen, also happen to Rozemyne and Ferdinand, but they have to qualify it. Adoptions do not work the same way. They’re both adopted and therefore do not share blood with their “relatives”. Therefore even though she’s engaged to her brother and calls her brother’s sister her sister, it’s ok. Anyway, Rozemyne is 25 years older than Wilfred and therefore does not see him as a potential romantic partner bc he’s literally a kid. Not even getting into how Rozemyne and Ferdinand are endgame, but they are peers mentally and effectively very close companions, spent a great deal of time together, are from the same temple culture, and quite nearly are the same age, despite his being her guardian and technically her uncle.

It’s just all got bizarro vibes that I only half tolerate due to my love of the series.

I actually adore Rozemyne and Ferninand’s companionship, which I really think counts more as a queer-platonic relationship than anything else, but oh my god, the vibes are so fucking bizarre.

[somerandomcryptid]

Techno and Phil are here yipeeeee!

(This is two tiny comics not one big one)

Ok so context/lore drop:

Techno and Cryptid at first run into each other by absolute pure chance

The whole; Cryptid's wearing Tommy's clothes at the time is also a coincidence. And I guess for fun I'll leave that a mystery for now :3 their friendship is important to the plot, like hella important but I'll cover that when I finally draw them together

When they meet Cryptid's heard enough about Techno to recognize him, but they're honestly surprised with how chill he is, given most of the things they know about him are from Quackity's angry rants about anything and everything

But he's chill, and they both basically immediately realize they just vibe with each other

They have many of the same ideals even if their methods are very different , but they can agree to disagree, also on Cryptid's side, Quackity absolutely hates Techno so befriending him is absolutely a way to say "fuck you" to Q

And yeah, once Techno introduces Cryptid to Phil, they pretty quickly gain another bonus dad (I swear this little guy has so many dads, if you don't count Sam(which is.... complicated and weird but sam does kind of view Cryptid as his kid, sort of, like I said, it's weird) than they've still collected 3 at this point(not including their bio-dad since he's currently out of the picture))

Anyway, beyond that, Techno and Phil can tell there is something off about Cryptid, they never ask them about it, but their chats actually know about them being from another world, and tell Tech and Phil about it

So yeah, they know, and they sudtly hint, but they don't out right admit they know till.... well... That might be a bit too much spoilers so go wild with your imagination for now

But yeah, overall they have all have a pretty good relationship!

And especially Techno is one of if not Cryptid's favorite person

Techno, like Punz, doesn't treat them like a child very much, (he's more responsible about it than Punz though) , even if he teases them about it sometimes, Techno's just their friend without him underestimating them/being actually condescending ever

And on his side, Techno genuinely likes Cryptid's company, and they agree on a lot of things so much that he invited them to the syndicate after a bit of knowing them

Yeah their good friends :)

He's also the one to finally give them some damn battle training

I think that's about it for the stuff I can think of right now but I like them, they are friends <3333

(obligated Dreaming of Death is an au of the fic PenPal by @calamari-minecraft-corner, though literally all of this is just my own thoughts, but context ya know?)

[wilderebellion]

Mentopolis: Wordplay for Episodes 3 and 4

Spoilers through episode 4 of Mentopolis!

The Four Fs - Fight, Flight, Freeze, or Fawn are instinctual, reflexive responses in a person when it comes to stress or trauma. In Mentopolis the Four Fs are siblings: a family of local officials (not from Cortex City) who had their own keys for the reflexive switchboard at Oblongata Station.

Ivana Popov - (Fight) I wanna pop off, a phrase meaning one wants to "fight/throw down/go all out." It usually refers to aggression or intensity, depending on the context. ("Art department really popped off this season" for example, means that production worked so intensely that it reflects in the final product in a powerful way. It does NOT mean "Rick Perry and team were literally boxing each other around the set.")

Ivana is Elias' Fight response, personified as a retired fighter turned coach. She listened to Conrad on the day of the ice skates incident, and used her key to have Elias stand up on his sister's behalf. This action was poorly received in the outside world by both the bully and by Elias's own sister.

Frank Freeze - (Freeze) He literally freezes up with fear and anxiety about making the wrong choice. He took over "driving" Elias just as the bully chose to retaliate against the big guy. He argued with his sister Fight after the incident, believing that listening to Conrad was a bad choice. He disappeared before the Four Fs were officially let go. (Side note: Someone mentioned the Four Fs were fired by Mayor Logic, whereas Ivana mentioned handing over her key to the DA). He masqueraded as a being of reason, but used his skill for What Ifs to avoid direct actions and to persuade others to maintain the status quo.

Fanny Fawnsworth (mentioned) - The Fawn response. She is known to work for Don Avaricci now. Given her inherent nature, she's likely a people pleaser.

Flight (mentioned) - Missing in action, allegedly skipped town after they were all fired. Current name unknown.

Las Vagus Casino - Play on Las Vegas, Nevada and the Vagus nerve. The vagus nerve affects both sensory and motor functions and is a very long nerve in one's body. It connects to digestion, heart rate, breathing, and more. In short look at it as a connective path between the brain and the gut.

The psychometer project - Psychometrics refers to science about measuring mental processes. Psychometry refers to object reading, usually. Basically clairvoyance through touching an inanimate object. In this case, we're actually touching the frequency of someone's brain. "There's an interaction, there's actually something from the machine touching the mind to be able to get an accurate reading. " Gobstopper Industries essentially wanted a way to sneak a peek at someone's brain - allegedly for the purpose of helping and diagnosing people, but if that was ever true, they've clearly changed their plan for more nefarious purposes. The psychometer affects Mentopolis through the appearance of the white key - a "key to the city", one might say.

Immanuel and Imogen Pulse - Imelda's parents. They are similarly named as they are all aspects of Impulse.

Dominick "Dom" Nuntz - (Dominance) Despite the powerful name, this concept is weak for Elias. He has the benefit of Ivana in his corner as a trainer, but both have been hindered in their functions

Self Doubt - Pretty explanatory. He's big and burly and intimidating because he gets a LOT of exercise from Elias.

Stacy Fakename - At first this was just an obvious alias introduced by Imelda, but it seems to have taken on a life of its own beyond the PCs. Max at Oblongata Station says that a Stacy Fakename has 300+ counts of skipping out on their train fares.

Jacques Ennui - (Ennui) The organ grinder that wanders Mentopolis, and the manifestation of weariness/dissatisfaction for Elias.

Officer Joie de Vivre - (Joy of Life) An easy-going guy who seems a little bit of out of place as a Shock Trooper. As an NPC, it's amusing that he keeps finding a sort of positive spin on things, but what about as a manifestation for part of Elias? Does this mean Elias has a misplaced tendency to find or ascribe meaning when there isn't one? Or is he lying to himself about what makes him happy?

UPDATE for Mr. H.V. Lance - Instead of Vigilance, it looks like the Deputy Chief of Staff to the mayor is actually Hypervigilance. He's on the lookout for threats, and tends to OVER-estimate them.

Pasha N. - (Passion) Another concept for Elias that is surprisingly not aggressive. His passions have quieted over the years, been refined and narrowed. Pasha herself is a forensic scientist, which lines up with Elias's scientific pursuits. Her current role seems more like the receptionist for the police evidence locker. Her knowledge of bird facts is going completely unused until the Fix strikes up a conversation with her and they hit it off. They have the slightly awkward mutual connection of Ichabod Ice Skates - Fix remembers him from the Hall of Interests in Episode 2. But Ichabod is Pasha's late brother.

Thalamus & Sons - The hypothalamus helps keep the body in balance through the sending and receiving of signals. In Mentopolis, this appears to be a business, presumably a family-run one. Norrell Ojiccle obtained the copper gun here. More may be gleaned in episode 5.

EDIT: I think the Thalamus is actually a specific part of the brain besides just the hypothalamus, so there may be more to that explanation.

[moontheoretist]

Someone just told me I can't criticise Cullen's redemption arc for being too short and not addressing properly the issue with his hatred of the mages, because I need to take into account the context of the time period the medium was made... I'm sorry but did good and not cut in half redemption arcs that fully adress character's journey to become a better person were invented after 2014? Or am I missing something?

Rant below.

And they were literally responding to me saying that Cullen's arc was not fully done in DAI. Which is an obvious statement of an obvious fact that Cullen's arc is cut in half and that DAI is just a start of redemption journey. My critique was of people assuming that it was a full arc and game treating it as if it was a full arc when it simply wasn't. They keep insisting "they couldn't know due to the time period". Like WTF.

2011 - 2014 is not ancient times! Even if they didn't mean that and instead the historical period DAI is set in, it's a bullshit argument! DAI is not historical fiction! And even if it was, critique can be made still!

And told me to "appreciate media as a result of cultural attitudes of its time" which is such a white cis hetero privileged argument I swear. Oh, yes I should definitely appreciate all the media for their racism and sexism and excuse it because "they're just a product of its time" when the only thing it showcases is the bias of the author at worst and author's desire to explore fucked up things at best. No, thank you.

We knew how to write a full redemption arc in 2014 and even long before that! And when I kept repeating my point that the arc was too short and should be longer, that I'm not saying it out of hate but out of love, they literally tried to blame me for "twisting their words" so I can be right. I didn't twist shit. It was them who didn't want to say what they truly mean by what they said to "avoid spoilers" (as it was a convo under a video of someone who never played DAI) with their "context of the time period" point. Not to mention that this point doesn't apply in this situation. I didn't say that, but even if it was applying here it would NOT be an excuse to act as if what is happening in the game and what Cullen says to your mage in DAI was ok. It just reminded me about all those people who say "grandpa doesn't know better, it was different times when he was younger". Like the fuck, it's not an excuse, and it's stupid argument, because people knew bad stuff were bad regardless of the time period. Those that didn't were in the dark about it because they didn't want to engage with different narratives than the ones that suited them the most, and then when they aged they just kept those opinions and refused to budge, even when they were wrong both at the time of their youth and when they were older. Times change, but some stuff are always the same. People not being able to accept that criticism exists and isn't harmful or malicious is just one of them.

And it all started because I dared to say that Blackwall's redemption arc is better. I didn't say it because it's better written (i.e. it has more content inside the game rather than outside it) or was longer. I said it, because the ultimate goal of a redeption arc is to make the character become a better person and Blackwall when we meet him is already way on his way to become a better person. He didn't just start his arc. He worked his ass for years to be where he was during DAI. Meanwhile Cullen is just starting his arc or at the very least in the middle of it if we count from the moment he was traumatized. DAO was his traumatic experience. DA2 was him doubling down on his hatred to cope with his trauma, so at the end he could switch sides. DAI is when he finally properly starts his redemption journey and actively tries to become better. He stumbles and does bad shit during it because it's a start. But it's still not an excuse to what he says and tries to push for in DAI. It just means that his journey will be long and hard. Treating DAI as a full redemption arc is foolish and tells me more than I need to know.

[e-adlirez]

RNJesus is a b$%ch: A Deep Dive into the Thea Sisters' Nat1 Holder

Why does this woman have so much bad luck? :D What Feng Shui and Ba Gua violations did she make to have enough bad luck to get bent at least once per hardcover? :D (/lh /hj)

A nat1 is a natural 1, which in D&D terms usually means a colossal fail at a prompted task; therefore being a nat1 holder is not something you wanna be.

The Thea Sisters have a nat1 holder and she goes by the name Violet :'D

This is just a post about how many times she's been outrageously unlucky in a special edition book--

Spoilers for the special edition books, mainly books 2 and 4-9.

Oh and uh, group nat1s don't count, unless it's a situation where "everyone had a not-good time except for these guys" thing.

Before we get into that, we should probably set the stage a bit by establishing Violet's strengths and weaknesses, stats-wise. Violet is an intellectual, with a lot of general booksmarts, a good amount of emotional intelligence, cracked vision from art experience, sensitive ears from her training as a musician, flexibility from classical training and yoga, and a mind for tactics; and in the line of weaknesses, she's a bit touchy, can't survive without sleep, is not very athletic, often prefers to stand by while the other girls do stuff, and isn't good at doing things on the spot.

Now with that context, let's peep all the nat1s.

The first one comes during Secret of the Fairies, when the girls finds these Lake Fairies through their song. Which just so happens to somewhat work via siren rules.

So Violet's sensitive, musically attuned ears mean she rolls a nat1 94 pages (out of 310) into the book, leveraged only by Colette successfully stopping her from walking straight into the lake.

Now you may be thinking, "I mean it's not the worst thing in the world. Vi just got unlucky with this one," and to that I say

You'd be surprised just how unlucky Violet is capable of getting in these things.

The Secret of the Snow was probably the one Vi did the best in (that and Cloud Castle, imo). Maybe she fell into quicksand (with Nicky and Thea) and twisted her knee for about a couple minutes, but she did pretty good! She literally went and told a nightmare fuel kraken-esque thing to shut up, like a girlboss :D

Cloud Castle I guess isn't really a nat1 because it's a heroic sacrifice, what with the whole having her dreams yeeted and everything, but she got better it's fiiiinnneee

Woman t-posed to assert dominance, that must've given her at least two extra points /j

Treasure of the Sea is.... baffling, to say the least.

Okay so context:

There's this place in Aquamarina called the Infinite Abyss and it's thalassophobia incarnate but if the paranoid fantasies came true. You look down into it, you get yoinked into the darkness and possibly turned into a fish in the deep. This part is very unclear, but the abyss either has magic that physically tugs people enough to startle them to look down out of instinct... or it has a subconscious influence on those nearby, like a magically-induced intrusive thought that tries to convince the intrusive thinker to let the intrusive thoughts win and look down. I'm prefacing this with this statement... because I have no idea what the hell this scene is supposed to be.

Is Vi like, put under a spell? Was the physical tugging of the abyss too persistent to ignore? Were the intrusive thoughts just that goddamn loud? Did the plot police realize that things were going along too easily and they needed Vi to take an L so they can shake things up again this time? No clue! She just.... does, and she and Colette almost die because of this thing (whatever it is) that could've been easily avoided.

(Owners of the non-English books, if you're able to could you check the Infinite Abyss scene of the book so we can compare notes and try to decipher what the hell is going on here? That'd be nice /nf)

Speaking of Ls Vi just takes, Land of Flowers.

You're gonna love this one, because she takes not one, not two, but three Ls in this one book :D

First time was with this uh, this flower wall outside of the Golden Dahlia Palace that has Flowers of Forgetfulness (the opposite of forget-me-nots, it seems) where you get a whiff of the stuff and suddenly it's the total opposite of the time of day you last remember, you don't remember how you got there, and you feel like you just came out of a trip. Okay maybe that was an exaggeration but you get the idea-- Vi gets too close to one, accidentally sneef snorfs, and Colette winds up having to pull her away.

Second time was this scene where the girls had to cross this rope bridge that was hanging above a field of magic nettles, and I kid you not, this is the most Looney-Tunes-ass nat1 Vi has ever taken.

She is described as "[grabbing] the vines confidently, having watched her friends", and then she missteps and she straight-up does a Goofy-style fall into the nettles and is KOed by it so hard she had to be brought to two different places just to get her to wake up.

Then the third time was when they were going into this evil witch's tower and had to climb up some magical stairs that functioned like the trippy stairs in Harry Potter? Vi was about to step down, but just to be a dick I guess, the step decided to poof. Fortunately she didn't fall but holy crap how badly could that have easily gotten right o o

Crystal Fairies is a case where I dunno if this is worse or better than Vi's rotten luck in LoF, because while she takes only two nat1s in the book instead of three, both happen literally during the first half of the campaign. First one was her accidentally falling off a path and into a maelstrom-- don't worry, she didn't drown-- and second was... well...

"Now these crystals are very dangerous, they work by Narcissus rules so we should do our best to not look at the crysta--"

"Ooh shinyyyy......"

"VI NO"

This is more accurate than it sounds. And it is painful :D Who gave her the idiot ball for that one scene :D

After that we have Dance of the Star Fairies, where in the latter half of the book, she's riding a dragon chariot with the girls and King Astroboy over there, and when trying to land they accidentally thwump into an invisible force field, which sends Vi flying out of her seat and possibly into space had Nicky not caught her. Well hey, at least she managed to destroy this peepaw gnome at checkers, at least there's one W to balance out this L.

And last but not least, Magic of the Mirror. This one's actually not that bad, and it kinda comes full circle, surprisingly enough. Remember how Vi's first nat1 was when she fell under a song spell? Well, this last nat1 in this post is the same: the girls are put in a situation where they have no other choice but to listen to a siren's song, Vi being more vulnerable to music-based spells almost gives in, but the girls come in clutch and snap her out of it. Yippee :3

Why did this take way too long to make? I dunno :D. Why'd I make this? I dunno :D maybe I wanted an excuse to ramble about my blorbo, sue me

Anyway hope you enjoy this spectacle, and if you think that's all of them in the franchise, naaaahhhh bro we haven't even gotten into that one time in SuperSisters where Vi literally got captured on her first mission :D

[linklethehistorian]

Of Skyfall, Sigma, Ian Fleming & James Bond

A personal theory add-on for Skelechuuchuu’s incredible Ian Fleming theory. Please read and give love and support to that original theory here if you have the time!

Hello everyone! At the time of posting this, I’m extremely sick and kinda sleep-deprived right now, so I will probably not be terribly active until I feel better. :’)  

Nevertheless, after having a small chat (with a lot of breaks in between :’)) with some cool people in a BSD server, I still wanted to come and drop this little add-on to the recent (and extremely compelling) theory that dropped about Sigma being Ian Fleming (and James Bond-inspired).

As I tend to do best, I wanted to analyze and explain why Skyfall is not only a perfect and crucial choice for the episode name in S4 as OP describes above due to the inseverable tie to James Bond, but also how the lyrics to the tie-in Bond song by this name themselves relate perfectly to Sigma and the events of BSD involving him so far.

I’ll place it below the cut for both S4 spoilers and manga spoilers up to Chapter 106-107 or so! Proceed with caution if you’re worried about spoilers!

Now, without further ado, let’s get to lyric analyzing!

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of analyzing the song lyric by lyric, allow me to start with a more generalized observation:

The overarching theme of the song Skyfall, apart from being obviously intrinsically linked to Bond (given it was made for it), is about bravely facing down the end with those you love, come what may; this is a perfect fit for Sigma, whose whole character is wrapped up in the concept of needing to belong and protect those he loves. In the episode of the same name, he even fights, despite knowing he is “just an ordinary man”, with his whole life to protect his beloved people in the Casino, unafraid of dying because living without them would be meaningless.

(I would also like to note here that at first glance, it might seem to be written almost like a love song, but I feel it’s important to distinguish — especially in the context of this theory — that this is not necessarily the case, and there is one line that upon listening to it, especially seems to almost completely confirm otherwise to me; in the song, it sounds like Adele is saying “all your loving arms”, despite many lyric sites and such claiming otherwise (it is really not uncommon for artists to differ from the original written lyrics from time to time in certain recordings, so I find this rather plausible). Nevertheless, whether or not this is actually correct, the song is ambiguous enough that it can still be taken however one wishes, and I believe that if we apply it to Sigma, the song is not directed towards one person, but towards a group of them.)

I’ll get on to the more intricate stuff of analyzing lyric by lyric in a moment, but before I do I would just like to make one little key statement here before we start, and that is that despite how it seems, I don’t actually believe most of this song was  meant to be applied to the casino or the people there; rather, I believe it largely reflects and is about his feelings towards Dazai, Atsushi, and the ADA as a whole. (Again, I’ll explain this more in a bit, but…there is one particular set of lyrics that truly sets this up for me: “Skyfall is where we start”; obviously, Sigma has had his casino and known the people in it for awhile, from his perspective, but do you know who he does meet in the episode Skyfall, and first starts to find some small measure of hope/consolation in? Atsushi. The ADA.)

Okay, with that in mind, now let’s on to the main bit!

This is the end Hold your breath and count to ten

In the most recent chapters, Dazai and Sigma are trapped underwater, and literally have to hold their breath to survive. As he runs out of air, Sigma is counting the moments until he can resurface, but fears it may not happen because Dazai seems determined to stop him (for good reason, it turns out)

Feel the Earth move and then Hear my heart burst again

Being with Dazai and having hope of joining the ADA has shifted Sigma’s world around him, changing his worldview and making his heart explode with genuine hope at all of the kind deeds they’ve performed for him — especially when he realizes Dazai is not trying to kill him by keeping him underwater but protect him.

For this is the end I've drowned and dreamt this moment

As they’re staying under the water and near out of air to share, Sigma almost fully accepts his fate, thinking to himself that he may die this way, but at least he was able to dream of a beautiful life for once in those few precious moments he shared with the ADA.

So overdue, I owe them

Sigma has waited a long time to have a place to permanently belong and feel loved and cared for, and he feels indebted to the Agency for all they’ve done for him — all their acts of kindness.

Swept away, I'm stolen

When Dazai was given a chance to pick something to take with him in Mersault, he stole Sigma from the DOA completely, and this action also sweeps Sigma away with surprise, hope, and gratitude inside.

Let the sky fall When it crumbles We will stand tall Face it all together

This one is probably pretty self-explanatory; Sigma isn’t afraid of death, as long as he stands with the ADA in hope of a good life, though this attitude also perfectly fits his attitude towards the Casino in the Skyfall ep and how he stood with his people against the Hunting Dogs, unafraid to die for them.

Skyfall is where we start

I already went over this one a bit, but Skyfall is the ep where he and Atsushi (and by extension the ADA) meet for the first time; it’s his start with knowing the ADA — the time when he first experiences true hope that doesn’t involve him being used and discarded in the end.

A thousand miles and poles apart

I think this part is kinda metaphorical to how he at first thinks he and the ADA are on opposite sides, and that they care nothing for him besides forcing him to use his ability; in his eyes, they are worlds apart and he could never even get close to their world of light.

Where worlds collide and days are dark

Yet, in that moment of Atsu trying to save him, Sigma begins to feel they’re not so far apart, after all. 

Their worlds collided in that brief moment, on one of his darkest days, and he felt grateful for that, even though he still felt his fate was sealed and that he had to let go of Atsu’s hand to prevent him from tumbling to his death with him.

You may have my number, you can take my name But you'll never have my heart

I believe this would be directed at everyone else whom had used and abused him up until this point, and, from his perspective, took his memory from him; they can take everything from him, own him, rob him of his true identity, etc., but he will never be one of them. He’ll never truly be a terrorist. His heart belongs in the light — with the ADA; he realizes that now.

Where you go, I go What you see, I see

As a member of the server we were in, Cloudii, pointed out, I think this could be a reference to how similar Sigma sees himself to Atsushi and vice versa, but I think it could also be a reference to his willingness to follow the ADA (both literally and metaphorically) and with the last line, his ability to gain knowledge of someone else’s knowledge (and thereby in a limited way experiences) through touch.

I know I'd never be me Without the security [Of] All your loving arms Keeping me from harm Put your hand in my hand And we'll stand

The lines about “put your hand in my hand, and we’ll stand” in particular strongly remind me of the moment when Atsu tries to save Sigma by holding his hand when he dangled off the casino, and reflects both Atsu’s desire to have him keep holding on and pull him to solid ground, and Sigma’s desire to stand by the ADA and repay them for kindness by using his ability for them right before what he believes will be his death.

That being said, I also think this whole set of lyrics above matches Sigma’s attitude towards the ADA and his determination to stand by them now in general, even in the most dire of times. 

He knows that he’ll never get to be who he wants to be and live the life he wants to live, having a place of belonging, an identity, people who love him genuinely, if he doesn’t learn to put his faith in them and trust that they are different from the rest of those who had him before. The ADA seems to love and protect him and so he’ll do his best, ordinary as he feels he is, to stand by them, too, until his last breath — using his ability and whatever else he may have as necessary, as they face down the end of the world as they know it and those who would bring it about together.

Anyway, yeah, that’s my analysis for today! Thank you for reading! Love y’all. 🥺💖

[blankd]

MushRush SRPG Devlog Aug 10th, 2024

Time for the first update!

READ MORE to see: my production plan, why I'm calling this MushRush, what this week's Golden Duncecap moment was (and how I solved it), and some of THE scrungliest assets.

NOTE: I will be tagging all posts like this with the 'mushrush SRPG' tag, yes even after I figure out a real name for this project

PRODUCTION PLAN

This update will be lacking in screenshots as I was mostly fiddling with the SRPG Plugin suite, locking in a battle/events roadmap for the entirety of the game, and organizing my notes into something more concise. The battle roadmap outlined their purpose (narrative and/or mechanically), if they had something noteworthy in plot or flaovr, their objectives and their failstates, and a rough idea of what visual assets they might require.

There is roughly a total of 33 maps: so far 5 are core/mandatory, 6-7 are optional, the rest are progression. The distribution may change as production goes forward, and the map count may even decrease but I'm absolutely holding myself from exceeding that 33 number as this number does NOT include whatever magic I need to use for towns or 'cutscenes'.

Additionally, I'm holding off on ANY art assets, writing, and such, until the game has a solid mechanical skeleton to be played through. Since there are a maximum of 7 (8 technically, as its sometimes a Unit on the map but has no personality) party members, I'm optimistic about its implementation and testing. I'm also already planning to reuse/upcycle the enemies from Moon-Scarred appropriately. Waste not, want not!

PROJECT NAME/WHY MUSHRUSH?

it's not a spoiler to say this (as it's visually obvious within the first map), but you play as a cleric of a Divine Mushroom and will be carting it around to solve the Undead Problem. I'm fairly bad at titles, so while I know the name Mysilla is important, I can't figure out a snappy game title for it yet, so MushRush will keep things silly. 8)

THIS WEEK'S GOLDEN DUNCECAP MOMENT

The Issue: I encountered my first (and hopefully worst) instance of things breaking where I could not get my template map to run at all- it would completely skip showing the Pre-Battle (win/lose conditions, etc.), (functionally) skip the Battle Preparation Phase (couldn't place any units, but I could 'Start' the battle with 0 usable units) and then enter an infinite loop of the Turn Incrementing even though no Player OR Enemy Turns were occurring.

The problem was so severe and 'unsolvable' that even my basic ass debugging method of putting trigger text to tell me if/when the code was running, would not trigger. After a LONG journey of consulting the demo's documentation- even literally copying the eventing framework, nothing was working.

As I went to reset the Plugins, I noticed that they were in the incorrect order. For context: a (purposeful) function of RPGm is that Plugins have certain priorities and sometimes need a specific order, but when LOADING the plugins into RPGm, it's alphabetical in its folder (because how would IT know what order it's supposed to be in). I fucked up in that I had only remembered to put the core plugin at the top, but loaded the rest alphabetically because I was lazy and had just forgotten this BASIC FUNCTION.

Once the Plugins were organized into their correct order as intended by the Plugins' creator, everything worked as expected. So learn from my mistakes and never forget Rule 0 of RPGm use- check your goddamn Plugin Order FIRST!!

THE SCRUNGLES (aka a Most Unflattering Teaser of the Main Cast)

White = not-Halfling Cleric MC Orange = Dragon(born) Lady Paladin Grey = Orc Rogue Purple = Drow Barbarian Blue = not-Tiefling Sorcerer Red = Human Wizard (a HUMAN? MODS, BAN HER) Green = Goblin Ranger (even though in my notes I call her Druid, whoops!) Brown = yeah that's a cart, what of it

While the broad strokes of the characters are present/set (I'm still figuring out Rogue's clothing, oops), enough details can still change or will later be included to make them less boring, such as how Red/Wizard is an older lady, but there's no point to putting the wrinkles at this stage.

I hope you look forward to whenever I can post their 'talking' scene sprites to show off more of their designs! Thanks for reading~