#does this... check on in japanese...

[seasaalttrio]

...okay, before i started actually playing this myself i just assumed micah was a were-animal, as those exist in later games, and him being called "half-monster" was just a bit of early installment weirdness. but micah's mom just straight up banged a wooly? even assuming the monsters are, like, sentient, even micah in his wooly form can't understand other woolies. how did they communicate. how did this happen.

[technically-human]

*Reverses your Christmas*

A gift from @i-am-as-normal-as-you-are to all of you :) we really wanted the boys to get along for once, and what better occasion than Christmas? anything to make the Edwins happy!

[katabay]

THE JETSET LIFE IS GONNA KILL YOU, ERIC CARTER!

my laptop charger uhhhhhh. met its end in a very permanent, very fire hazardy kind of way last week. while waiting for a replacement I decided to try and get some work done at the library and was asking around for some urban fantasy (extra points for a mystery plot of some kind) recommendations to check out while I was there

the eric carter series was mentioned a couple of times, AND had the added bonus of having a necromancer for a main character. I love necromancers. someday I'm gonna play one in a game instead of immediately defaulting to vampires.

Fire Season, Stephen Blackmoore

[danieyells]

So my current suspicion.

I think Kaito is the spy.

I think this for a few reasons.

The first is that Kaito doesn't really seem like the type to have a demonic pact.

Leo says that it's pretty understandable that none of the ghouls listen to the player--they're all selected by demons. While this doesn't apply to Luca either, he made his pact for noble purposes and generally is of noble disposition. Kaito is a coward who doesn't really fit the idea of a pactmaker. If he's instead working for demonkind to possibly sabotage the efforts of ghouls and darkwick, or just monitor them to understand what they're doing and see that they don't pose a threat, I think that'd make sense. He was probably scared into it, or forced into it somehow.

This also leads me to something else--Hyde seemed uncertain as to what Kaito's stigma even was. He sees auras sometimes, he thinks.

He's been here for a whole year and you aren't sure??? I know he avoids missions but surely you'd've found out at some point?

Kaito's ability to see auras explains why he saw the monster that the pc saw when enhancing Luca's stigma--except if he could only see auras, surely he'd see a ton of energy rather than actually seeing the thing and his reaction wouldn't have been as intense as this.

Because everybody else just saw a big red shield

Even for Kaito that's a bit of an overreaction, I think?

What was Kaito afraid of if he couldn't see the giant houndoom looking thing? He very clearly saw it. It's not likely he was using his stigma at the time either--he didn't just see its aura, he saw the monster.

Next, it's likely to be a second year. Several third years so far(namely Tohma, Alan, and Taiga) seem to be aware of the spy--if it was someone who came recently(as the third years only came in the past three or four months) they probably wouldn't know yet or really be working so dedicatedly to find them, and if it was someone in their year they probably would know more certainly already. Tohma is a red herring because of his naturally eerie nature. Haku also strikes me as a red herring--Taiga peobably would not have trusted him in the prologue if he felt like he was suspicious. (On the other hand Taiga may have simply cared so little about your wellbeing that he didn't care if someone suspicious dealt with you.)

Another thing about Tohma. . .he used to be in Vagastrom. But he transferred to Frostheim, and is keeping up with Alan about the spy(and they had a meeting about this after Luca tried to fight Sho and Leo over insulting Kaito, inciting unrest among the general students about the ghouls). . .which leads me to think the spy is in Frostheim. And I don't think it's Jin. His sword letting him teleport and that he barely leaves his room anymore and Tohma is very attentive to him does lend some credibility to it possibly being him but I don't think he's the spy--Tohma is doing that to get Jin's trust to keep a better eye on Kaito, I think.

Subaru is naturally the next suspicious person due to being introduced and shown behaving oddly a little while after Taiga told you about the spy, but I think Subaru is too. . .obvious.

Also, Taiga's specific use of "keep letting him fool you" leads me to believe it's someone we already know and trust.

We don't know Haku well enough for it to be him. Luca hasn't been around long enough for him to be suspicious. Kaito's around the casino enough that Taiga could reasonably be suspicious of him.

There's also Kaito's pendant. It's extremely valuable--though why, we don't know--and it means a lot to Kaito. He won't give it away even when threatened, even if it'd save him from other suffering.

Another thing. . .while it makes sense for Kaito to be scared of Mortkranken on the basis of being a coward and that Yuri experiments on people(most people don't wanna be dissected after all!), I also wonder if he doesn't wanna go there because he's afraid of being analyzed by someone who'd probably be able to tell that he's either not a normal ghoul/human, or that he's some sort of demon or anomaly. Like he passed the stigma test and basic health checkups but could he pass closer examination?

I dunno. I also think it's possible that Kaito isn't even aware he's a spy. Like his pendant is monitoring the world around him while he's blissfully unaware. He never consumed or subjugated his demon--it's just around his neck, listening to everyone or something.

I just absolutely believe that Kaito would turn out to be the "bad guy". Even if not on purpose. It just seems like it's someone we already know and trust, somebody who's in Frostheim, and somebody you wouldn't suspect at all.

[bmpmp3]

voicevox humming might also be good for those looking weird metallic noisy vocal synths if they're willing to play with the unpredictability of it because i had akashi on the absolutely wrong range setting for this song and he started breaking down like faulty motor

[moongothic]

If being weak is a "sin" in Crocodile's mind, then isn't a painful defeat and maybe even death rightful punishment for it? A punishment you deserve for your crime of "being weak"? That's an intriguing mindset from him because it makes me wonder how Crocodile might view his own past and the things he has gone through? I might not go as far as to say Crocodile "blames himself" for the things he's gone through, as he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who dwells on the past like that. But I do feel like Crocodile has accepted in his mind that things like losing his hand happened because he was weak, and it was his own fault. That he can not blame anyone else for what has happened to him. He fucked around and he found out.

It's just interesting because to some degree, One Piece thematically does agree with this sentiment, this is a world where the strong eat the weak. (One example at the top of my head; Luffy refusing Katakuri's apology when his sister intervened with their battle, saying he should've dodged the attack properly if he didn't want to get hit.) Chaka falling in this scene and being unable to stop Crocodile may lead to the deaths of so many more, including his loved ones, and if that comes to pass, it's is Chaka's own fault. For being too weak. But also Crocodile has twisted that idea; Crocodile is using his worldview here to justify himself and essentially saying he can do this (take over Alabasta and kill a million innocents doing so) and get away with it because he's powerful. When in reality "weakness is a sin" isn't about the survival of the fittest, but how this is a world where the strong are meant to protect the weak. (See: Luffy) (Also how Pell told Baby Vivi in that flashback about how he trains so he can protect the Royal Family; again, he he craves power not to oppress the weak but to protect them)

But, just to get back to Crocodile again, I feel like this worldview might also give us more insight as to how he acts in certain situations post-Alabasta. Like when we see Crocodile towards the end of Miss Goldenweek's cover story, both when he declines to escape from jail and in his Impel Down mugshot, Crocodile has a smile on his face. That really is the face of a man who has accepted his fate, is it not?

"Welp, this is what I get for losing to a child in flipflops"

Or when we see him come collect his debt from Buggy; Crocodile seemed quite relaxed and fully admitted he had assumed Buggy would've ran away before he even got there to collect his money. Of course, considdering his trust issues Crocodile would've been mentally prepared for Buggy skedaddling anyways, but the fact that he loaned the clown money to begin with while assuming he'd probably never get that money back-- like Crocodile knew that was going to happen and he just accepted it. And just rolled with it.

Of course, when things take an Unpleasant, Unexpected Turn, he will blow a fuse. Multiple, even.

Him angy

IDK man this is all just interesting to me

[theprinceandthewitch]

I don't think I mentioned this... but in Ashes of Memory, Alice receives a letter from Orpheus addressed as "Eury Lamb"

Lamb is the last name of the man who adopted her and experimented on her. It also serves as a reference to Little Girl's "Source of Evil" cosmetic, which is lamb themed.

"Eury" is a reference to Eurydice. People have theorized "Eury Lamb" is the name her adoptive father, Villhelm Lamb gave to her to keep her true identity a secret. But that's not rlly relevant...

What is relevant is that this makes Orpheus' alias choice even MORE obvious he loves Alice... this mans got romantic interest in her...

People who use that adoption letter as proof that the writers want you to view their relationship as sibling-like are so cringe. That letter is literally the direct opposite of "sibling-like".

Folks missed the part called "context": Orpheus [who was 17 at the time] knew she was being abused at the orphanage and tried to get her out in the least stressful way possible... and he couldn't even adopt her to begin with because the orphanage thought it would be best for her to be taken in by a blood relative. Which was a lie, because they ended up giving her to Villhelm Lamb to be used as his lab rat.

Like idk man... the writers have made it so abundantly clear Orpheus doesn't see her as a sister. That One letter doesn't prove he sees her as a sibling because if they wanted to make them siblings... then.... they would have... ya know, made them siblings... but they don't because.... they're not siblings and they're writing a tragic romance LMAO.

As for Alice, in AoM she calls him a playmate... granted she doesn't know Orpheus and her playmate are the same person, but she remembers him as her friend and not her brother... because.... they were never adopted siblings...

But yeah It's so crazy to think Orpheus doesn't love her... I'm over here losing my mind at That Scene in AoM where Orpheus asks Alice if she could play a song for him on her father's favorite piano.

What gets me is that this scene shows how much Orpheus missed her. He buys everything her relatives sold off so he can rebuild the mansions' interior to how it was when they were children. He also goes out of his way to fix her father's favorite piano. The piano didn't just need fine tuning - it was straight up destroyed during the raid. It was a really, really expensive thing to repair. Even though Alice's father had other pianos, some of which could have survived the raid, he rebuilds the one which holds alot of sentimental value to her... LIKE???

REALLY... You guys really want me to think Orpheus did all this JUST out of a sense of guilt for unintentionally causing the raid? You are rlly gonna look me in the eyes and tell me Orpheus using "Orpheus" as his alias while addressing Alice as "Eury" is totally platonic?

Are u rlly gonna say that to me knowing this official artwork made Norton and Melly wear their Pluto and Proserpina/Persephone outfits while Frederick, Orpheus, and Alice are dressed normally? My brother in Christ... will you rlly look me in the eyes and tell me Orpheus [AND THE BIRDS] holding flowers is platonic symbolism...

THIS ISN'T EVEN SUBTLE LOOOOL

How much more evidence do people need that these two aren't siblings AND they're on a whole romantic journey together...

[sforzesco]

Your art is amazing! Could you tell me uhh, where to start? 😁 I mean, to get into all that goodiness that you're seemingly into. Is it just history - or some amazing show I've apparently missed?

it's all just history! I grew up watching documentaries on public tv, started reading historical fiction, and then non fiction when I ran out of historical fiction to read at the local library. lots of hong kong & japanese period pieces (films, comics, shows, etc) (shout out to ooku, that one was an eye opener). between that, assassin's creed being at it's absolute height when I was a teenager, BDs, and sword and sandal movies, eventually it culminated into this

there are three shows that deserve honorable mentions tho, because if it wasn't for them, I probably wouldn't have considered history for an enjoyable creative outlet: Starz Spartacus, The Borgias (Showtime), and probably Wolf Hall or Prince of Egypt!

[matlab-exe]

i think about infernus & lady geist friendship time to time where jeanne treats him better than her grandson and gives him cool fur coats and trinkets and maybe talk about the morality of murder

[everysai]

[plague-of-insomnia]

i know the queen is probably evil and the big bad and i won’t forgive her for sending ciel to germany for his death in the GWA but i love her japanese VA

[daydreamerdrew]

The Incredible Hulk (1968) #291

[vice-like]

now that the new chapter is out, the official translation has an inconsistency that the fantranslation didn't in omibashira arc

official on the left here, says tanuma's dad is a single father instead of midorikawa's very purposefully vague way of saying it's "just him and his dad" that i'm gonna assume the fantranslation nailed (since it's the same for the crunchy subs in the anime)

and honestly that's my main problem with the official tbh, overall they make characters sound more natural and word sentences better but i feel like they don't notice midorikawa's subtlety in some cases (prob bc the team translating it might not have been familiar with the series at this time), something the fantranslation might not miss as much bc (besides being familiar with the series) most of the time they care more about accuracy than wording and adaptation

even tho i like the official (and prefer it in many cases) i really hope the same translator can keep working on it bc the more familiar they get with working with the series the less this will happen i think, and honeslty it's sooo nice to have both options i just get worried abt ppl who only read one version sometimes lol

of course the reader can just see this as natsume assuming he's a single father bc he doesn't know instead of seeing it as an inconsistency, but it's kinda sad a purposeful hint from the author got lost in translation

[smt-smash-or-pass]

[itsalwaysdark]

music is so good

[lizeon]

seriously though if you want to look into vtubers, or are looking for new or more vtubers/streamers to watch, or if you're just looking for something to watch in general, please check out the holostars. there's 10 of them in the english branch rn and they've all got such different personalities and senses of humor and streaming styles that its pretty likely you'll find at least one whose streaming content and community you vibe with. plus they're all very close so whenever they collab with each other those streams are always entertaining, and they stream with others outside of stars pretty often as well

since they're part of hololive productions that means they're also virtual idols as well, so if you like music they have several original songs and plenty of covers to check out! (axel and hakka have the most, octavio is catching up to them, and all the others have at least one cover each except ruze and goldbullet, though both of them are in armis' debut original and new year's cover (also i think one of them hinted recently they're working on a cover? but now i cant remember if it was goldie or ruze omg both of them i usually listen to at work so now i cant remember who said it))

also also the second generation, tempus vanguard, are getting their 3D models now, it's very exciting! bettel's showcase was the other day and is a very great example of the kind of show he likes to put on so check that out if you're interested (he was exteremly nervous at the beginning but did hit his stride by halfway through so keep that in mind, haha). flayon and hakka's showcases will be this weekend and are sure to be a blast as well, with shinri's showcase and the celebration collab with all 4 of them (and mostly likely some other guests) are going to be the following weekend!