#for real major spoiler under readmore so don't

[momochanners]

Planned to get DATV during a sale but got it anyway for the power of friendship (and if you haven't noticed, the world is on fire). I'm still in Act 1 but I'm spoiled by choice irt major plot points, ending, and beyond...so I'm just gonna just say something about that One Thing (TM) in Act 3 under cut:

Regarding Varric, I swing back and forth between

A) Alright hun, already expected you were on your way out this round, and you of all people deserve to hang up your coat and finally rest.

and

B) WHAT THE ABSOLUTE FUCKING DISRESPECTFUL DOGSHIT SIXTH SENSE NONSENSE IS THIS

Trudging along while time permits...

[emstargazer]

Not sure if these will turn out to be just recurring OCs with a brief backstory or a full-on written fanfic centered around these two or some other format, but either way... Berserker Armor inspired Titan whose Pilot mimics the arsenal Guts uses throughout the manga when paired together with the Titan's loadout and whose relationship with them has an ominous side reminiscent of Guts and the Beast of Darkness.

Does anyone on planet Earth see the vision?

For which audience is this post supposed to cater, you ask?

Me, I am the audience.

Don't worry, I'll be reasonable and put my self-indulgent rambling under a readmore. Beware of some minor spoilers for Berserk.

Considering Vanguard-class Titans are "almost as well armored as a Legion, with the dash capacity of a Ronin" I feel like it fits best class-wise, but it would be a heavily modified Vanguard-based that sacrifices a lot of its defensive capabilities for an incredibly aggressive self-destructive approach to combat. It would also take some design inspiration from Ronin Prime, specifically the concept art (inheriting similar legs and the plates on its sides that remind me of air vents, which I may repurpose to introduce a cooling system) while still preserving the overall structure of a Vanguard. So think of Ronin Prime(Concept) +BT(or FS-1014 or SDV) +The Armor.

They utilize a unique Sword Core that would at first be identical to the regular until it one day develops to have the same, yet way amplified benefits with one additional being the ability to "keep itself together". What I mean by that is while the core's active it's able to keep most of its components functional despite sustaining damage that would otherwise prove to be fatal by using technology similar to the Gravity Star ordnance which upon activation would bend space so that said components can still work in unison, albeit semi-efficiently. It doesn't necessarily repair, but it does let you keep on going for longer even after your Doomed State health bar has completely depleted(yeah, I'm also trying to look at this from a gameplay perspective).

Hmm, sounds familiar.

But the real fun lies in its major drawbacks. First of all, if it does get to a certain point of no return, you won't be able to eject and once the Titan Core ability ends an explosion is imminent. Basically making every instance you use the core into a likely suicide mission. A risky last resort rather than an ultimate ability.

Secondly‚ after every usage the neural link gnaws at your psyche, leaving you with a mental scar, meaning your mind(notably your judgement and self-control) gradually deteriorates over time.

This issue derives from the very nature of the Titan, because its AI is designed to have such a strong link that it inadvertently has access to something which can only be detrimental in the long run and that is the deeper unconscious layer of the Pilot's Mind.

Initially, Titan's AI will have its own set of characteristics, but the better the link becomes, the Titan's control over filtering those unconscious thoughts will falter. Until eventually, the AI splits into 2:

The seemingly original, true self(I know, one may argue that's not the right choice of words, but I disagree considering we've seen how far the Titan's AI can evolve with BT)

An independent personification of the Pilot's Jungian Shadow(I wonder what kind of dynamic will they and the Pilot have, image below definitely unrelated c;)

Now, about the Pilot. Anything relating to their backstory before being assigned with [insert Titan's designated name](been researching military alphabet and code words for ideas, still haven't thought of something that sticks) is currently undetermined.

What is set in stone is they don't have any idea either due to being revived as an advanced simulacrum, until they achieve a complete awakening(like Ash or Revenant) by the unique link they've established as such. The Titan could give insight into the inner workings of their mind that they couldn't fathom as a human, let alone a digital backup of human consciousness with restrictions(ego retention system).

Once awakened, their main objective is to uncover lost memories through the use of said link. The catch is in the drawbacks and the eventual separation of the Titan's AI.

First one is mostly self-explanatory, even in the case that the Pilot's mind component remains intact and gets miraculously brought back into a spare robotic body, it would certainly be a limited resource(same with the Titan) and there would always be a high chance of data corruption.

Second one turns their journey into a ticking time bomb, making every subsequent combat encounter push the Pilot closer to inescapable insanity.

Birth of the second AI inside the datacore causes the Titan's original self to fight for control and question whether the other one is a part of who they are despite originating from someone else, while the Pilot can only bring words of encouragement from inside the chassis.

A story about a Titan and Pilot who both struggle with their identity leading them to form a connection that goes beyond the neural link itself. Exploring how in the journey of self-discovery what one might find to be a part of who they are may in fact be working against them and despite that one should learn to accept it and acknowledge its existence in order to have any control over it. All while affirming interpersonal connection as one of the necessary steps in learning such a lesson.

With hopefully a lot of emotional damage sprinkled along the road.

c:

To the arsenal we go, Titan's loadout would consist of:

an energy-based weapon with a repeating crossbow-like mechanism visually resembling the Ballista from Doom Eternal.

And, you guessed it, The Giant Ass Sword which is preferably going to be unnecessarily longer and thicker than Ronin's canon broadsword to the point where it should theoretically be ineffective, but as a consequence of their unique fighting style and years of accumulated battle experience they'd be able to find unconventional ways to use such attributes to their advantage. Why not use a standard edition broadsword like all the others? Both of them got too attached to their sweet heap of metal^_^. Another significant distinction from it is that instead of using electric charge to produce the Arc Wave, it would harness it to send a shockwave through both the "phase dimension"(one used by Ronin, Simulacra Pilots and others) and our own making it able to damage even those currently occupying the alternate dimension.

Again, one might guess where the general idea comes from.

When it comes to the Pilot's design, I'm keeping it mostly unknown for now. They will be using Pulse Blade since it's the closest thing to Guts' throwing knives and one of their arms will have a use as an Anti-Titan weapon. As ordnance, a large amount of miniature frag grenades.

Ok, I think going into deeper intricacies would be overkill, so I'll put my foot on the brake here.

If you've read this far, I'm beyond grateful you took your time to go through the amalgam of my sporadic unorganized ideas.

Here's a treat!

[vivvy-of-the-lake]

I'm gonna go on a dumb rant but this means a lot to me because it just hurts so much thinking about it. I feel stupid and silly and immature getting this worked up over it but also entirely justified and valid in my feelings and I need help (more under the readmore)

so I've been reading the manga for Bocchi the Rock after having finished the anime (no spoilers in this rant, don't worry) and even before having started reading it, I had come across all the major 'gay Bocchi' meme panels and i was definitely keeping an eye out for them as i was reading

(also i was reading it at https://bocchitherockmanga.com/ which for reasons i will get into I do NOT recommend AT ALL. all the issues i'm about to talk about aren't there in the mangadex version)

i've gotten through most of the series with no issues whatsoever, until I got to chapter 58. These latest chapters were being scanned by someone new to scanlations as a whole, and in particular bocchi stuff (I won't name names because that's not what this post is about, you can find who to blame just by reading it yourself from anywhere that isn't mangadex)

I was very keenly on the look-out for this panel, because for very obvious reasons it's become a very popular bocchi meme:

...but reading the version i was reading, not only were there very blatant grammar and spelling issues, but when i finally got to the panel-

what the fuck. what the fuck is this bullshit

"I've it's been popular nowadays..." doesn't make any fucking sense and had i not read the other version first i might not have understood what it was trying to say, and all of the text is so horrendously scaled and placed so awfully

but the real issue is in that "fine print":

"I already know the scope of the test, and it seems I'm going to be that one big-breasted popular girl on the exam!"

what.

the.

fuck.

this makes ZERO FUCKING SENSE given the actual illustration, i know bocchi has big boobs in the manga but WHO'S THAT GIRL WITH THE BIG BOOBS, HUH??? WHAT'S HER SIGNIFICANCE???

it doesn't take an expert to realise that what bocchi's saying here doesn't even make any sense if she's not even the one with big boobs in her fantasy of what will happen if she repeats a year

now i always lean on the side of never attributing to malice what can be attributed to stupidity, and i was ready to just assume this was a piss-poor translation

but i found the scanlator making a post on the MangaDex forums about the situation, and in it they said this (reminder that the panel in question comes from chapter 58):

so it was intentional. it was a person actually trying to censor the original intent of the author because they didn't like that there was gay representation.

...

i'm done. i'm so fucking done with this.

"i have given up on the lame goal of censoring bocchi the rock" yeah that's a little too late pal. the damage this guy has done is still apparent because in almost all of the places online, including the TOP RESULT for searching "bocchi the rock manga", they still use this guy's awful, rushed, and - let's be honest - homophobic scans instead of the new ones that are actually good.

oh and of course only one guy in the thread actually calls out OP for censoring it in the first place, and then another guy backs up OP and that's the end of that.

these things are small, but it feels like being queer is just kinda not possible nowadays. everyone tries to take it away from us and it's inescapable, even in the places we go to in order to get away from all the bullshit and awful stuff happening in the real world.

stuff like this seems minor but it sends a very real message to queer fans of stuff like this:

we can't have anything.

[noglorysavehonor]

Just read the book If You Could See The Sun by Ann Liang.

I liked it a lot, especially considering it's not really my genre! It was almost everything I wanted out of a Gen Z, class-conscious, YA straight romance book. As someone who isn't Chinese, but has had many Third Culture friends, I really enjoyed reading its exploration of the Chinese / Third Culture Kid experience.

I do think for the author's first novel it's a very strong work. The characterization and growth of the protagonist was strong, and felt emotionally authentic. The exploration of class and race and culture shock is well-integrated to the plot, and feels neither grimdark nor saccharine... the people just feel like people, not paragons or villains. I think both of these areas were real accomplishments!

My main critiques are about the ending, which IMO is also always the hardest part to pull off. It also means I can't easily talk about my feelings in detail without spoilers, so I'll put em under a readmore.

Overall, for my tastes, I'd give the book a B (85/100). But if a YA romance set in an international highschool in Beijing with class consciousness and mild supernatural elements sounds like your kind of book, I strongly recommend it. I knew going in that it's not my normal thing, and I enjoyed it anyways!

Okay, my (long) thoughts on the ending under the cut:

[Before I start, in case you're a megafan (or the actual author herself??): These critiques come from a place of love and respect; I Am Not A Hater. I just have strong personal opinions about what I want to see in a story ending, and wanted to express them while analyzing how the book didn't fulfill them. My opinions are not facts, art is subjective, etc. ANYWAYS.]

My biggest complaint is pretty common with the way straight romances are often portrayed, and is a major pet peeve of mine:

The payoff of a romance, for me, is hearing the other person say what they like about the protagonist!

Henry's interest in Alice is always implied, of course, but there's never a scene where he outright says every single little thing he adores about Alice (flustering her terribly in the process!) Instead, the payoff of the romance is watching him flex his richboy power to help her (which is great, and I don't begrudge it) and then the kiss.

The kiss is...it's fine. I understand making it the center piece. But I wish it had more to back it up.

I think this sort of approach to writing romance is based on the idea that... you want to leave the romantic lead vague so that the reader can fill in what elements they'd like best. But for me, I want the complete opposite approach. I want to know exactly what these two people are like, and exactly why they like each other!! The whole pull of romance media is seeing two weirdos fit each other perfectly!!

First-person romance especially is so good when we finally get to hear how the protagonist is being interpreted by outside viewers. Which the novel does explore, a bit, with her Study Machine nickname! But I was so sad when it didn't give Henry the chance to explain himself and let us understand him better.

That would have allowed us to reread the whole book while understanding what Henry's moments of bare affection are about! That sense of dramatic romantic irony is so delicious and makes romance stories so re-readable! AND- wouldn't it have been wonderful to watch Alice try her best to deflect and argue Henry out of every positive trait he lists?? To get almost ANGRY that he dares to love her as a flawed person, not just for her successes!!!

AUGH.

Anyways sdkdflkjsd those are my Romance Critiques. (I had the same major complaint with Kimi no Na wa, too...)

My other main critique is: It feels like her characterization as being strongly self-analytical fell off at the end.

I think the best way of pointing it out is the scene in which she lies to her Baba about the true nature of the Beijing Ghost app without feeling a shred of guilt. It felt a little odd given her characterization of strong guilt and filial piety in the rest of the book.

Plus, it's a tough pill to swallow that... she had this entire major thing going on in her life, and she's just not ever going to open up about it with her family, who clearly deeply love her. I recognize that it would be pretty hard to do so given her family dynamic and potential legal consequences. But still, I'd at least like an acknowledgement that it's a sucky position for her to be in, to have to lie (for the rest of her life?) about that.

And while she does recognize that she's been chasing what other people find valuable and not considering what she wants... and she also realizes that if she, as a kid of a poor family, is offered A Million Yuan to do a crime, that's deeply coercive and she shouldn't be held completely at fault while the rich person gets off scotch free (we LOVE the class consciousness!!!)...

I guess I would have loved to see her put two and two together and recognize that Airington is genuinely a bad place for her to be. That she is destroying her health, committing a HUGE amount of crime, and has ZERO social life, all so she can fit to a mold that wasn't meant for her, and kicked her out as soon as her desperation became too evident.

Which, like, she got a chance to call the school out for those things, which is awesome! Very necessary catharsis! And she was close to realizing this stuff, like in the hotel scene where she can't bring herself to enjoy the socialization. She just doesn't make much more progress past that point.

TL;DR: I think overall there's an understandable desire to speed up the narrative once we're past the big climax, but I feel like it went by so fast that important threads of character development lost their chance to reach satisfying conclusions. So a lot of things I personally wanted to see happen in the romance and her own personal growth never got shown.

(Maybe at some point I'll write down my whole visualization of how I would rewrite the ending to address all these things. Listen. The Fanfiction Instinct is upon me. Which means I liked the book! I only ever want to remix stories I really enjoyed! It's a compliment! slkdfjdslkjf)

[bhaalborn]

@ospraey said : Are there any instances where your Tav can permanently leave the party, depending on player character actions?

this is a good one. i had to think real hard about this. i'm gonna stick it under readmore because this is pretty spoiler-y for act III-

if you decide to kill misc. if you blow up the steel watch foundry with all the gondians inside. if you let lorroakan have aylin ( which, granted, i actually don't know what happens if you tell lorroakan you'll give him the ' nightsong. ' in my playthrough, i kept her alive and helped her kick his ass. in my friend's playthrough, they killed her and made shadowheart a dark justiciar. so idk! ) those are the only major points i can think of!!!!

companion questions, STILL ACCEPTING

[night-at-the-musian]

The Official Heavenverse Rundown

With heaven’s canon complete, I thought I’d make this post for those who are discovering it for the first time.

Part One: Description

i’m afraid i’ll go to heaven is a series I made between 27 November 2022 and 5 April 2023 for the Night at the Museum fandom. In it, Jedediah and Octavius die in Pompeii and undergo a spiritual journey while the living members mourn.

The Heavenverse is the universe that the series takes place in. Here, death is inevitable, and only the beginning of a spiritual dissection of what truly matters to you.

The characters affected by the Tablet’s magic, no matter their faith, are subject to the Ancient Egyptian judgement process.

Themes include religious trauma, body horror, dedication, faith, and choosing humanity over divinity. While the majority of it is non-explicit, one chapter is, and a proper warning is given beforehand.

Part Two: Reading Order

Part One - i don’t want to live forever Part Two - whatever’s waiting on the other side Part Three - i think that me and mine will be alright Part Four - i don’t wanna go to heaven mournful camaraderie [This story takes place between Part Four and the Epilogue.] heaven side stories [These stories take place in the same universe, but their canonicity is up to interpretation.]

Part Three: Spoilers and FAQ's

Hidden under a readmore for those who haven't finished the series, and for those who don't want a clogged dash. This section will occasionally be updated as readers ask questions!

Why the name Psychopomp?

The name isn't gibberish - it's a real thing. A psychopomp is a guide of the recently deceased that shows up in belief systems throughout history. The specifics of the figure differ with culture and time - the Reaper has a scythe and is generally horrifying, while Hermes likely was not as scary of a figure. Sy, as a character, embodies the job of the psychopomp, ferrying the dead from all cultures.

What's with the changing forms?

Though they are the same person underneath the illusion, Sy's perceived form is dependent on the viewer's personal faith. It's why Jedediah, a Protestant, sees the Reaper; and Octavius, an Ancient Roman Polytheist, sees Mercury. In mournful camaraderie, I had to do a bit of research on how they would be perceived by the others. Larry and Nick are Jewish, and like many things in Judaism, there's debate on what the specifics are. In folklore, the angel of death is Samael, so I used that form. Attila, according to the Romans, worshiped "the sword of Mars", which is why that was seen on their patch during the Arcadia segment. The Huns likely worshiped Tengri, a personification of the universe cultivated by the Steppe peoples and the nomadic cultures of Eurasia.

Is [side story] canon?

If you want it to be.

Which ones are canon to you, the author?

An Ode to the Trilobites and fear not, little one, it will be all right.

Why does [character] show up in [fic]?

I have a lot of friends in this fandom, and I let them use my characters, because it's more fun that way. Psychopomp shows up in theegargoyle's Dead Temperatures and riv_styx's promise a future i can come back to (implied); Javier is a central character in bmoshh's Nuestros Caminos Entrelazados (which I help proofread!); and Septimius and Trajan cameo in EwokRae22's Against the World, being silly and stupid as usual. If you want to use my morons, feel free to shoot me a message about it! I will eat your fic up like fresh ramen.

Is there a playlist available?

Yes - two, even! Youtube has the full playlist, at 7.5 hours long. Spotify has a pared down playlist, due to Kirby's music not being available on that platform.

[babygirldennis]

This shit is fake bby!!!

Here she is.. My masterpost of all the dumb, illogical bits of info contained within these s15 “leaks” that make me fairly confident they are complete bullshit. It also includes my little tinhat theories that have absolutely no evidence.

I will be putting it all under a Readmore in case you don't want to risk it or if you simply Do Not Care

First up, I'd like to point out that these call sheets repeatedly give very detailed backstories to characters that have few lines which conveniently paints a picture of each episode's plot. And I'm not an expert so correct me if I'm wrong, but after looking at other similar casting calls, they only ever include the demographic and necessary skills.

Basically who in their right mind would write up casting calls that give away so many spoilers? Seems like that could cause and issue if they were leaked lol. But anyway that's my 1st point. But onto the actual content

So the conceit of this episode as a whole is that during the pandemic, the gang "gamed the system" and received three (3!) Loans to start businesses that went bankrupt. One of these businesses is implied to be the one started by dee and charlie who end up selling to Qanon shaman. Already this is so impossible baby.

1. We've already seen the gang try to get a loan and it didn't work. They don't have good ideas. Ur telling me, they managed to finagle 3 separate loans for 3 separate business ideas from an actual bank?

2. Maybe I just have bad reading comprehension but how does one have a business that is both fictitious and bankrupt?

3. If the customer is supposed to be Qanon shaman, an actual real life guy, why are the only descriptors white and male? They say he's shirtless so are they going to paint on all of the tattoos he has? And if so, doesn't that kind of ruin the dramatic reveal when charlie "throws in" the viking helmet? Why would he do that anyways? Sus.

Moving on

Alright this episode would fucking blow for obvious reasons but im going to refrain from looking at this through my gay dennis thruther lens because im biased.

Purely from a narrative standpoint, a woman hasn't been shown to be interested in dennis in nearly 5 years during the wade boggs episode. Ever since, every single woman he approaches has been actively creeped out by him. And now I'm supposed to believe that 3 "smart, passionate woman" (In Their Twenties!!!!!!) agreed to go on a date with him? And Anna even slept with him! Just because he what? Agreed with her? I'm not buyin it.

Plus the concept of this scenario lacks any potential for comedy. When iasip gets political, they always discuss a very specific topic using hyperbolic situations and flawed metaphors. If this is supposed to be a political episode, what ultimately lukewarm point would rob be trying to make here? So far we know they're ranting about

The patriarchy

Privilege

Socialism

No more personal responsibility(?)

The... nature of power in society(??)

How on earth would an episode like get approved? This shit sounds like a Ted talk. It sounds like it was written specifically to sound like a political episode so boring and pointless it would generate outrage and mile long essay posts from Tumblr users and reddit users alike. Almost like this one lol.

On a completely unrelated note, do not try and convince me that Frank "casual cock ring wearer" Reynolds is unable to perform.

Jeez this is getting out of hand fast. Let's move on

Ok now we're starting to getting into the Ireland of it all. Let me go on a bit of a tangent here about all this.. Now I thinq there are just 3 possibilities. Either this is all a publicity stunt and there is some truth to the Ireland rumors, the entire thing could be bogus from some weirdo fan (ps, if a fan did write this I want you to know I fucking hate you. You did this to me), or it is a publicity stunt but Ireland is just more bullshit.

I am going to assume it was a publicity stunt, otherwise I just wasted my entire evening and I can't have that kind of mentality rn. Additionally, I'm Going to tinhat here for a second and say that the Ireland rumors are true, but the details are different.

I say this because if they were going to do filming in Ireland, they probably figured that that information would be impossible to hide. In essence, my completely unfounded hypothesis is that this leak was their fucked up little way of controlling the situation while simultaneously messing with us.

Ok tangent is over, returning to the casting calls. From the looks of it, dee starts a "scam" acting class and has some very devoted students (Note that Tony was also the name of the porn shop owner. Seems weird!) Presumably after the gang replaces her with a monkey as the title suggests.

Honestly, there isn't too much here that's a red flag to me... seems like a nice little dee-centric episode that is the link to the Dublin angle. Assuming I am At All right, this could be a genuine plotline for Dee. However, the monkey could be a red herring and there could be a whole different side plot with the guys. who's to say. Next one!

Ah yes this is the dennis we all know and despise.. no red flags for me here really, I'm also running out of steam because idk if it shows, but I am majorly sleep deprived atm. Anyway I'm going to the next one

Okay this is where things start getting weird again ough a migraine just hit, anyway back to my earlier point about how casting calls would never contains major spoilers bc the people who see these wont be under any kind of NDA..

These ones reveal that bonnie dies. Again, that info wouldn't be in a casting call.

But also they suggest charlie has a irish penpal named Shelley who is his biological father. First off charlie is illiterate, although as pointed out by @undeadbreeze shelley could also be communicating in symbols. However, this scenario is still unbelievable to me for a couple reasons:

1. Bonnie's last name is Kelly obviously, and we know it's her maiden name because Jack's last name is also Kelly. But Shelley's last name is... also Kelly? In the context of this big ol hoax, it feels like it was written to show that look! his last name is the same as charlie's! That's how you know that's his dad! But It would be way too big of a coincidence if charlie's dad happened to have the same last name bonnie.

And 2. There's the whole mystery of charlie's long-lost sister from 'charlie got molested' but never any mention of a brother which according to this, shelley has been pretending to be his brother for years. And we all know how much rcg loves their continuity, it seems uncharacteristically lazy to just tack this on without any prior buildup.

And finally let me talk about mac for a second and specifically the line in gus's summary "both are gay men who are attracted to the priesthood for all the wrong reasons"

Iasip has commented on pedophilia in the priesthood many times in the past which leads me to believe that they are implying that mac is a pedophile? Please let me know if I completely misread the implications of that statement, but if not, then that is completely insane and one of the biggest indictators that this is fake. Mac is awful, just like everyone in the gang but he is definitely not a pedophile.

However even if i did completely misread that, it's still proof this is fake.. For all his faults, Rob put a surprising amount of care and effort into mac's coming-out. It hasn't been perfect, but Mfhp in particular firmly established that mac's faith is integral to his identity so Its unlikely that rob would throw all of that away for a cheap shot at priests.

Ok my brain is irradiated sludge at this point, but in conclusion. I hope that 1. I'm right, at least about it being fake (Otherwise damb that'll be so humiliating for me) And 2. This eases ur fears a bit. I don't want to lose all faith in future seasons bc I love iasip and miss the gang. If you read this far youre insane but I literally love you so goddamn much because I spent so so long tapping this out on my silly little phone

Please feel free to add on or message me your thoughts and opinions I need to know I'm not the only one who uhhh went a bit insane. And finally: whoever made these is a cunt. Mwah.

[agentnorthdakota]

It's A Lot so you don't have to do all of them obviously but all odd numbers for Lark and all even for Cauterize

Collin I’m love you <3 I may not get through them all and I’m gonna skip the less relevant ones but you bet I’m gonna answer a lot of them. Under a readmore because this is gonna be a Lot lol.

1. Lark - Why did they choose their class(es)? their subclass(es) When they were a teenager they went to see a powerful, retired bard named Marsha who offered magical fantasy transition to anyone who desired it. While there, they were inspired by how welcoming she was, and by her masterful piano playing. They learned the basics of music from her and continued that path after they left. (College of Lore bards just get the real good perks imo lol)

2. Cauterize - Before they met their party, what was their main goal? We haven’t played yet so he hasn’t met his future party members, but his goal is basically to earn a living and go unnoticed. And the past he left behind finds him, to burn it out and finish it off once and for all.

4. Cauterize - If they could learn one spell that isn’t available to them at present, which spell would it be? Well he’s a monk so he has very limited magical abilities. Fireball would be sick but very attention-grabbing. He would enjoy Vicious Mockery, but Disguise Self would prove the most beneficial (for low-level spells considering he’s level 3).

5. Lark -Do they follow a higher power? what are their thoughts on divinity? Hard no. They don’t put much faith in the gods, even though they know they exist. In Lark’s mind, the life they have is theirs to live however they damn well please, and they’re going to make the most of it, because nothing is waiting for them afterwards

8. Cauterize - What are three songs that suit them? He has a playlist! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3FzJakPSGPq9KL4snLcqW6?si=a53d2c47077a4d5d But the three of my favourites for him are: Just One Yesterday (Fall Out Boy, Foxes), Prodigal Son (Rationale), and Sunrise (High Dive Heart)

9. Lark - Do they care about their appearance? how much effort do they put into presentation? OH BOY do they ever. Lark is absolutely the type to spend an hour getting ready every morning, even when adventuring. They're very particular about their fashion and overall appearance, and a majority of the time they're putting on some kind of performance to be more attractive/charming. They only really let their guard down around their party, and particularly around their partner. Sidenote that they don't like getting dirty ex. going into the sewers, but they will if they have to. It also took them some time to become okay with the prominent scars on their face, and the other nasty scars they've picked up during their adventuring.

10. Cauterize - How often do they lie? what situations cause them to be dishonest? HA! Like, all the time. He has his fair share of secrets to keep, which means lying and deflecting when anything personal comes up. He's also a criminal, so he has to be careful about what he says and to who.

11. Lark - What skills are they proficient in? why? As a College of Lore Bard, just like. So Many. Sleight of Hand (+7), stealth (+7), investigation (+6), insight (+11), perception (+11), deception (+15), intimidation (+10), and persuasion (+15). Most of them are skills they picked up from their time as a honeytrap, deceiving, seducing, and stealing from nobles. Perception they honed during their journey because the party needed someone with an eye for danger.

12. Cauterize - Have they ever been in love? Once. Or at least, the closest thing to love he's ever felt, he didn't get much of a chance to explore it.

13. Lark - What do they dislike about themself? why? Oooh this is a hard one for them, because they have a Bit of an ego. But I'd say their tendency to push people away, and how they worry they're always too close to having their bad habits slide into addiction.

14. Cauterize - What is something they love about themself? Oh see now this one's equally difficult! Because Aut does not have much of an ego, he's always careful to stay humble and is fairly pessimistic. Love is a strong word, but he's proud that he takes control of his own life and future.

15. Lark - do they trust their party? why or why not? At the beginning Lark (Virus) didn't trust anyone (except Rancor their familiar). Trust was foolish, and letting people in on your secrets gave them power over you. But they've slowly learned to trust their party member with their life and their secrets. Mostly thanks to Kairos' stubborn persistence and affection lol.

16. Cauterize - What are their feelings on the people who raised them? Ooh this one's too spoiler-heavy to really answer, but Not Good.

17. Lark - What do they dream about, when their dreams are their own? Hmm this is a tough one, I haven't given much thought to their dreams. Their nightmares definitely consist of the times they've had to kill people, and maybe the rare nightmare of their upbringing. In terms of good dreams, probably memories of past lovers tbh, and of music. Dreams of a quieter, retired life with their partner.

18. Cauterize - Do they see themself as a leader or a follower? Another tough one! Aut would hate to be forced into the role of a leader, but he's also to stubborn and opinionated to be a well-behaved follower. He's kind of a lone wolf rn. This would be an interesting one to see how things play out and where he falls on this spectrum.

19. Lark - What haunts them? what doesn’t? Definitely the people they've had to kill. They never used to kill, and don't want to kill unless that person is "irredeemable" or is too great a threat to them and their loved ones. They harbour no guilt over their thieving and honeytrapping tendencies though, especially because they use it as a way to steal from and blackmail the rich nobles who deserve it.

20. Cauterize - Which of the five senses do they rely the most on? Sight and sound. His monk training would have taught him not to rely too heavily on any one scent, but these two are the best suited for sensing danger and incoming attacks in combat.

21. Lark - Do they follow their head, their heart, or their body? Pffft. I mean... defs their body more than they should. But they're not a fool, and typically have enough sense to think things through first and weight the risks. They rarely follow their heart - almost never did until recently.

22. (Lark) - What is a promise they’ve broken? I don't think Aut has made many promises, and the one I can think of is a major spoiler lol. This is actually a really interesting question for Lark tho, because they have a strict moral of not making promises unless they truly mean them. They'll lie through their teeth and manipulate people without a shred of guilt, but as soon as they use the word "promise," that means they're dead set on keeping their word.

23. Lark - How do they feel about nicknames, titles, or labels that have been given to them? how do they feel about their name? Lark never really got any nicknames or the like tbh. They're proud of the reputation they've built (whether that's for being a clever fuck or a skilled bard), so anything related to that they'd get a bit of satisfaction out of. They chose the name Lark Freesia for themself, as it embodies them and is truly their name, and they'd never trade it for anything (though they would add to it when they get married lol).

24. Cauterize - Which of the four elements speaks to them the most? Okay this one's plain and simple - fire. I mean, he is a fire genasi. But also he hates being associated with the sun (for ~reasons~), and so he really leans into his association with fire, as... almost an act of rebellion against that.

25. Lark - What stories do they like to tell? what stories do they like to hear? As a bard, I think they'd have a talent for remembering grand tales they've heard from other bards, and like to add their own twist and dramatic flair to them. They're more of a musician, but I think their songs would tell stories, and their favourite would be of triumph, of freedom, and of found family - though subtly. They like to hear stories from those they love about their own lives, anecdotes that open a window into their history and happiness.

26. Cauterize - Who do they miss? Without getting into specific spoilers, the only family he ever had, and the man he loved.

(I’m gonna keep adding to this lol)

[seiikas]

Hello! I need to catch up on Naruto and I would like to know since you are a fan of Sasuke why do you like his character ? I often think Sasuke is misunderstood by a lot of people, myself I have sometimes a hard time understanding him but I find him interesting ! Hope this question don't bother you, have a good day! :)

Hi! Don’t worry, your question doesn’t bother me at all! My reply is under the readmore. I’m sorry that it got so gigantic! It almost turned into a novel lol. It also may contain mild spoilers so please proceed with caution :)

One of the reasons I like him is because he’s human. Sasuke went through extreme trauma and mental torture at the age of 9, received absolutely no treatment or therapy for it, and was sent to live by himself in the same house his parents were murdered in. He didn’t get any help to deal with his trauma as he grew up. Would a normal human be able to get over such a thing simply because they found friends? to me the fact that Sasuke still suffers and is so affected by his trauma is what makes him realistic. He always needs to rely on a big life goal, put all of his thoughts and efforts into it, whether it’s revenge or justice or redemption, because if he doesn’t have one, it would be just him and his trauma to focus on, and would anyone be able to actually live like that? To me it’s amazing that Sasuke was even able to go on living by himself, to go to school and study and even find emotional attachment to people, protect them and sacrifice himself for them.

In general, most humans aren’t simply good or bad. The majority of us can be kind and generous while still being mean and selfish at times. We can be strong and still have moments of absolute weakness. The majority of us struggle with our mental illnesses and don’t just “get over it”, especially without any help. Sasuke is kind and selfless; he sacrificed himself for Naruto during the Haku fight, was ready to sacrifice himself again to save Naruto and Sakura during the Gaara fight, during the chuunin exams Kabuto pointed out how soft he was because he refused to attack him to get his scroll despite the fact that that’s what the exam required of him, in early shippuden he refused to kill anyone and ordered Taka not to kill, he learned how to extinguish the Amaterasu flames in order to save Karin, he threw himself in front of Sarada to protect her, he gave up on a peaceful life for himself for the sake of protecting their hard-earned world peace. But he also had times when he could be mean and selfish, when the pressure and the sadness were just too much, when he didn’t know how to deal with the trauma and the lies and the shock. And to me that’s a character that I can support, not because I think his mistakes were justified but because he’s not a messiah, he actually has to struggle with himself and his flaws, he has to fight against his trauma and his mental illnesses, which is what most humans are like instead of simply being wise and strong and flawless from the start.

What people fail to understand about Sasuke is that he’s a good person; that’s exactly the reason why his cruelty during the Gokage meeting arc was so shocking to every character in the story, because it was there to show that he wasn’t himself anymore; that’s exactly why the explanation of the “Uchiha curse” exists; and yet for some reason people tend to take that as being Sasuke’s actual personality, despite the fact that the manga had shown him in his normal state before, that we had actually gotten to see his gradual fall into darkness and his reason for it.

I like how Sasuke tends to be silent and distant on the outside but soft and kind on the inside. It’s thanks to him that team 7 gets accepted by Kakashi in the first place, because he decides to feed Naruto even though he was told not to. When he hears that Itachi is in the village, the first thing he worries about is Naruto’s safety, not his own safety or his own goals. He notices when Sakura is feeling down and comforts her by praising her abilities. He rarely ever expresses his feelings in words but he shows them with his actions; by sacrificing himself for someone, by protecting them, by showing pride towards their accomplishments, by gestures like the forehead poke. You’ll rarely find him saying cheesy things but if he cares about you and loves you, you’ll know. On the inside, he loves intensely. (Btw, how cute is it that he feeds cats and makes friends with them during his travels?)

Another thing I like about Sasuke is his extreme love and loyalty towards his family. Maybe it’s because I’ve been raised in a culture where family is always the most important, but I can’t help but appreciate how none of the things he did throughout the series were for himself, but for his family. People think Sasuke is disloyal because he “betrayed” Konoha but the truth is, Sasuke’s loyalty was never with Konoha to begin with, from the start it was always about family, he wanted to be acknowledged by his father, he wanted to join the Uchiha police force. He loved his mother and brother so much, cared about his father’s impression of him, was so proud of his family. And every single thing he wanted to do throughout the series was for them, wanting to avenge them, restore their honor, protect Konoha for Itachi’s sake. The fact that Sasuke and the rest of the Uchiha saw “the Uchiha” and “Konoha” as two separate entities and were only loyal to one of those was a result of Konoha’s own choice to alienate the Uchiha; you can’t treat a group of people like shit and then expect them to somehow love you and be loyal to you.

Sasuke doesn’t fit any generic shounen character type. His character is complex. He starts off as the typical rival but soon his character goes its own way. He has his own goals, his own path in life, his own relationships and his story doesn’t revolve around the main character or catching up to him. In fact it’s the opposite, it’s Naruto whose story mostly revolves around Sasuke. He’s one of the characters who makes this story unpredictable and interesting. Because let’s be real, the plot of Naruto is rather predictable. Naruto meets villain, Naruto has training arc or gets a powerup, Naruto defeats villain, rince and repeat until he becomes Hokage. Even one of the biggest “mysteries” of the series, Tobi’s identity, was predicted by everyone after his very first appearance. Throughout all of this it’s Sasuke who keeps the story interesting, because you’re never really sure what he’s gonna do, how he’s gonna react to things, where he’s gonna end up. That’s the reason why he was/is often the main subject of discussion even among people who don’t like him. Even up until the very end some people were saying he was gonna come back and become anbu, some were saying he would leave with taka, some thought he would die. No one could really guess where he would end up, whereas with other characters things were much more easy to predict.

I like Sasuke because I actually stop to look at things from his point of view as well; I know it’s hard to do so when the narrative always presents things from Naruto and Sakura’s side. It’s easy to just look at the surface and say: Sasuke made Naruto and Sakura sad, therefore he is bad. But when I look at things from Sasuke’s point of view, I understand all of the things he does, and I realize the choices he makes are often the most realistic considering his situation.

Let’s start from the very beginning. A lot of people hate Sasuke because they think he “treated Naruto like shit” throughout part one. But if you actually take the time to read the manga, who was the one who showed contempt towards the other first? It was Naruto. He hates Sasuke because he’s popular and Sakura likes him. This is established from the very beginning. The accidental kiss happened because Naruto tried to provoke Sasuke as a result of his jealousy. Naruto was the one who attacked Sasuke first—tied him up and tried to kiss Sakura while posing as him. And yet only minutes after that Sasuke still chose to defend him against Sakura. Throughout the rest of part one Sasuke and Naruto do bicker and fight a lot, but all of those fights and insults are two-sided and yet for some reason I only ever see people focus on Sasuke’s side.

It’s the same with all of the more serious fights between them. The majority of them were actually started by Naruto. People claim that Sasuke mistreated and/or abused Naruto and Sakura; but the truth is, if Sakura and Naruto hadn’t chased after Sasuke, Sasuke wouldn’t have even met any of them between chapter 180 and 631. That’s the space between when he left Konoha and when he joined the war. That’s more than 450 chapters. Naruto is the one who started the first big Nar/Sas fight. He chased after Sasuke and told him he’d “break his arms and legs and bring him back like a broken stick” if he had to. The fight against team Kakashi in Orochimaru’s lair happened because they chased after him and tried to bring him back. The fight in the Gokage meeting arc happened because Sakura chased after Sasuke and tried to kill him by herself. Sasuke simply left and made it clear to them that he had severed their bonds; they’re the ones who went after him. You can’t be an abuser when you don’t even want a relationship with your so-called victims. Every single time, he was either rejecting them and/or retaliating against their own attacks. Am I saying they shouldn’t have tried to stop him even when he was a criminal? No, but people shouldn’t pretend that Sasuke was specifically going after Sakura and Naruto to hurt or “abuse” them, when they’re the ones who chased after him. He was an enemy of Konoha because the village had murdered his family in cold blood. It’s not about “abuse” or Sakura and Naruto’s feelings.

And it’s easy to only consider their feelings in this situation; oh, they loved him and wanted to save him but he rejected them, he’s such an ass. But the truth is Sasuke doesn’t have to go back to the village that killed off his family, made him miserable and offered him no support as a childjust to make them happy. He doesn’t have to put their feelings before his own. He doesn’t have to put them, teammates that he had been with for a few months at most, over his family that raised him for 9 years. People are allowed to reject relationships they don’t want. Yes, rejection hurts, but it doesn’t automatically make the person who rejected you an asshole.

It’s easy to judge Sasuke for his decisions without paying attention to the circumstances that caused him to make them. “He betrayed his friends and left Konoha”— even though he had just had the shit beaten out of him by his brother, had been mentally tortured for days within a genjutsu, had been told he was weak because he didn’t have enough hate. People just expect a twelve-year-old to deal with it and move on.“He flip-flopped too much”—despite the fact that he had had his entire world turned upside down because he had been told that his whole life was a lie, his abusive brother loved him all along and it was Konoha who had caused his misery. I don’t know how or why people expect someone to just stay strong while being put through all of that.

I have a lot of issues with the series itself and the morals it tries to convey. For example, the series tries to pit “talent” and “hard work” against each other; Kishimoto seems to think that talented people don’t work hard or that they are somehow assholes by default (it’s also hypocritical because later on we find out Naruto himself actually had a lot of natural talents and advantages as well). I see a lot of people make arguments such as “Sasuke had everything handed to him while Naruto worked hard”. They ignore how hard Sasuke worked to learn the fireball jutsu and the Chidori, or how he trained with Orochimaru for three years, they also ignore that Naruto was able to learn the Rasenshuriken with minimal effort because of his naturally high chakra reserves or that almost the entirety of his power as an adult relies on Kurama, something that was given to him at birth. They ignore that everytime Sasuke got a free powerup Naruto got one too.

I also hate how the series tries to portray Sasuke and anyone else who wants reform or justice as a villain. Kishimoto thinks status quo > reform. It doesn’t matter if keeping the status quo means sweeping genocides under the rug, trampling on the rights of smaller villages with less power, ignoring the discrimination happening within clans. As long as “the village” is still standing, everything is okay. Don’t try to fix anything. Accept the “darkness” of the village. I come from a country with a dictatorship, so it’s much easier for me to understand Sasuke who wanted change rather than Konoha and their obsession with keeping everything as is. Yes, Sasuke’s method of fixing things was wrong, but people forget that this boy’s role model was Itachi, the one who thought the best way to protect a little kid was to torture him and tell him to live with hate, and it’s not like anybody actually condemned those actions. Everyone who knew the truth about Itachi thought he was the wisest person in history—the fandom does as well. And yet people are surprised when Sasuke thinks the best way to fix the system is through making people hate him. Only then does the fandom start talking about how “Sasuke should’ve learned from Itachi’s mistakes”, despite the fact that every other time they deny Itachi even made mistakes. The fact that Sasuke is ready to live a life of misery where everyone hates him is proof of how selfless he is, because yes it’s a misguided decision but it’s not a pleasant one, it’s not something he’s doing for himself. In the end instead of finding a better way to fix the system, Naruto just decides to keep the status quo.

Of course I like his design and abilities as well. I mean let’s be real, the duckbutt is almost iconic at this point, lol. Sasuke has the most interesting fighting style, the swordplay combined with the fire and the way he evolved Kakashi’s Chidori into so many different weapons. Not to mention his switcheroo ability after he gets the rinnegan. In my opinion he also gets the most interesting fights as well, Sasuke vs Deidara is still one of my favorites.

Anyways I’m sorry that this post got so long. This is why I never write character analysis, I tend to ramble way too much lol. Hope you have a nice day and thanks for the ask!