#gonna talk about it here so if you really don’t want spoilers and haven’t seen it. keep walking

[ironcroft11]

In defense of Gwen in Across the Spider-Verse

Okay. First of all: This post is gonna be super long and have tons of spoilers so if you don’t want to get spoiled for Across the Spider-Verse then don’t read this post. I have seen way too many people hate on Gwen because of her actions and her behavior towards Miles in Across the Spider-Verse. I’ll show you why that hate completely misses her arc in the movie and her true intentions/relationship with Miles. This post will also delve into Gwiles/Ghostflower since that is a big part of what shapes her intentions.  Many people say Gwen betrayed Miles and doesn’t really care about him. They say Miles shouldn’t forgive her and that she is a snake for what she did. I’ll show you why the opposite is true by going through the events of the movie in cronological order: The movie literally starts off with Gwen talking about Miles. She is drumming away, which is, mentioned by herself, a way for her to cope with her feelings. That opening from Gwen is a small glimpse into her head. We see how she feels and what she thinks. The interesting thing is that it’s basically Gwen broadly narrating the events of the entire movie. We even see glimpses of future scenes in that intro. The line of narration that is most important here is Gwen saying “I didn’t want to hurt him. But I did. And he is not the only one.” This shows us IMMEDIATELY that Gwen did not intend to hurt Miles AT ALL. Quite the contrary. It also shows that she is AWARE she hurt Miles. She knows she fucked up. That is going to be important later on when she needs to make the tough decision regarding Miles/The Spider Society. 

We then follow her as she goes home, still thinking about Miles and then, of course, her Peter. Note that this is roughly 1 year after Into the Spider-Verse. 1 year after she met Miles she still thinks about him daily. “I haven’t really made any friends after that [Peter’s death], except one. But there is no way to get there.” She misses Miles and wishes there was a way to visit him. Obviously she still very much cares and thinks about him.

At Gwen’s home we are first shown what her conflict with her father looks like. That conflict is obviously one of the main aspects of her arc and what drives her actions later on in the movie. You can see it is strained but you can still see that they obviously love each other very much. Gwen struggles as her father is basically hunting her down without knowing its is actually her. What pains her the most, though, is that her father is convinced that Spider-Gwen killed her best friend, Peter Parker. That way he, without knowing, makes Gwen feel guilty about the death of her best friend. Gwen is trying to get over Peter’s death but is held back by her dad, unbeknownst to him. 

Gwen caring and missing Miles a lot is brought up again when she sees the picture of her and Miles that they made in Into the Spider-Verse (which she had made into a polaroid so she can actually have it on her/in her hands). Her eyes look on with sadness and her color is dark blue. The colors in Gwen’s dimension are used to portray her feelings. Dark/blue tones for sadness and light/pink tones for happiness/comfort. At this point, seeing Miles again is probably one of her dearest wishes. Miles understands her and knows who she truly is. This is going to be important later on.

During Gwens fight with Vulture at the Museum we are introduced to Miguel O’hera, Spider-Man 2099, who saves her from Vulture. He introduces himself but Gwen seems unimpressed and uninterested. What she is very much interested in, though, is Miguel’s Dimension Watch. “You can go to any dimension you want with that watch?” She just met an entirely new Spider-Man and all she is interested in is his technology that might allow her to go and visit Miles. That is how much she misses him.

As the duo fight off Vulture Miguel calls for back-up and they are joined by Spider-Woman Jessica Drew. Her and Gwen have an immediate bond which will be very important later on. Gwen immediately looks up to her and sees her as a mentor from who she can learn a lot. Gwen impresses Jessica so much that she asks Miguel if they want to recruit her for Miguel’s Spider-Society. “What about her?” “No.” “Why not?” “You know why.” Miguel and Jessica studied the entire Kingpin collider event. They know who was involved and they know that Gwen and Miles are friends. Miguel doesn’t want to recruit Gwen because she is too close to Miles. Why that is a problem we all know. (Miles being the original anomoly) From the start they knew Gwen’s relationship with Miles might end up jeopardizing their goal of protecting the Spider-Verse.

We then go on to this scene. Gwen confronting her father and her father finding out that Spider-Woman, the vigilante he was dedicated to catching and locking up, is actually his daughter. This is a key moment in Gwen’s arc throughout the movie. Her father accuses her of lying to him. All Gwen wants right now is support from her father. She doesn’t get that, instead her father wants to lock her up for the murder of her Peter Parker. At this point she is immensely conflicted. “I don’t know how to fix this.” Jessica Drew notices that and convinces Miguel to let Gwen join the Spider-Society. 

Gwen seeing no immediate solution to her problem decides to accept the invite. She is not yet ready to confront the problem and walks away from it, despite being conflicted. This will be at the back of her head throughout her entire arc and throughout the entire movie. Until she is ready to confront her dad who, remember, wants to lock her up, she CAN’T return to her home dimension. Her going back would mean her having to confront a problem she is not yet ready to confront. 

The next time we see Gwen is after we are introduced to Miles again. This is Gwen seeing Miles again for the first time after 1 year and 4 months. Her immediate reaction is to tightly hug him. You can, in that hug alone, see how much she missed him. You can also pick up all kind of little things in this scene. One is how awkward Gwen is. She is cringing at herself for telling him he had a growth spurt. There are obviously some unresolved feelings between the two.

Gwen then goes through his sketchbook and finds Miles’ drawings of her. She is surprised to see so many drawings of her but plays it off smoothly. “Missed you too.” It’s obvious that both missed each other immensely. But we haven’t even seen the entire extend of how MUCH Gwen ACTUALLY missed Miles. We only find out about that a bit later.

Miles and Gwen then swing through the city and catch up. Their chemistry is on full display here. I absolutely adore this scene. Gwen tells Miles that the Spider-Society is really strict about where she goes otherwise she would have come to visit him sooner. What’s important here is that at this point Gwen KNOWS about Miles’ “condition”. She knows he is an anomoly and she knows that his father dying is a canon event. And at this time she BELIEVES in these canon events. She thinks they must be upheld or the multiverse collapses. That’s what Miguel told her. 

During their swing Gwen uses a moment in which Miles is distracted to place her surveillance device for Spot. You can see, even with her mask, how much it pains her to keep the truth from Miles nd having to leave him in the dark. We find out: Gwen is not here because of Miles but because she is supposed to catch Spot since Spot is an anomoly. 

What follows is one of the biggest Gwiles moments in the movie and also a very important scene when it comes to Gwen and her feelings towards Miles. They sit down at the Williamsburgh Bank Building and have a heart to heart. 

Gwen tells Miles that it is always so great to talk to him and that he is the only friend she ever really made since Peter died. Miles, knowing about Hobie, says “Other than Hobie, right?” and Gwen answers “That’s different.” This shows us that Gwen’s relationship and feelings for Miles are different from the relationship she has with Hobie. That’s because she literally has feelings for Miles, and she knows that Miles, in some way at least, feels the same. “We’re the same, in the important ways.” Gwen then says a line that literally shows she has fallen for Miles, otherwise there would be no need for her to mention it. “In every other universe Gwen Stacy falls for Spider-Man.” This is Gwen telling Miles that she has feelings for him. 

Hearing that reassures Miles and he moves his hand closer to hers. 

This is important: Gwen sees this! 

And then closes her eyes and flinches. She flinches because she wants to take his hand so bad that it literally pains her that she can’t. We find out why she can’t with her next words: “And in every other universe it doesn’t end well.” Gwen knows about canon events and knows they need to happen. She was probably being told that Gwen Stacy falling for Spider-Man and it not ending will is a canon event. 

She then gives Miles a look that I can only describe as “loving”. She would probably love to tell him more about canon events and everything regarding the Spider-Society. But like she said: She doesn’t know how to. She doesn’t want to hurt him and she wants to protect him.

Miles then tells her “There’s a first time for everything, right?” which makes Gwen chuckle and smile at him. It’s the first time where Gwen is confronted with Miles’ philosophy of going down his own patch and not bending to the rules of canon. Even if canon dictates something, Miles believes there is always a way. 

This rubs off on Gwen as she affectionately leans on Miles, enjoying the sunset with him.  Not only is this overall scene incredibly beautiful and masterfully animated but its purpose is to show us that these two indeed love each other. They want to be together but Gwen, at this stage, feels like canon is against them.

Miles and Gwen then enjoy some food in quiet and keep talking about the Spider-Society and how Miles wants to be a part of it. Gwen, without being able to tell him the truth, shuts him down and lies to him. Again, she is not ready to tell him everything, the same way she is not ready to confront her father. These 2 conflicts go hand in hand as they are her 2 biggest conflicts that she has to overcome. Gwen then snaps at Miles because he was about to find the surveillance footage of Spot which would therefore uncover her true reason for being there. Gwen obviously doesn’t want that to happen because she doesn’t want to hurt Miles. She wants to keep him away from the Spider-Society because she knows he is an anomoly AND because she knows he wouldn’t be safe there.

After she snaps at him she immediately apologizes though. They both get REALLY close after that, closer than I had remembered from my first viewing. They also lock eyes. I’m pretty sure if not for Rio, Miles and Gwen would have kissed here. Rio interrupts them and they have an awkward talk. Rio and Jeff obviously think there is something going on between Miles and Gwen which is the source of the awkwardness. 

Gwen then gets a signal from her dimension watch which is caused by the explosion that Spot caused. She missed her time window to catch him because she was having so much fun being around Miles. Gwen quickly leaves after that, having to lie to both Miles and his parents. 

You can tell she doesn’t want to leave Miles. She wants to stay, but she can’t. She is conflicted. And she is conflicted throughout the entire movie. That makes her arc so interesting. 

What follows is one of the most important interactions in the movie that show Gwen’s motives. She arrives at the explosion and realizes Spot escaped. Jessica Drew, who Gwen looks up to, remember, calls her and asks her where Spot is. Gwen tries to play the whole situation down, not wanting to be seen as a failure. That has one big reason: Since Gwen is a liability to the Spider-Society because of her connection to Miles she has to constantly prove her worth, otherwise Miguel will send her back to her universe. That is one of Gwens biggest fears. Having to confront her father again. She is not yet ready for that so she basically does everything that is asked of her, even if she doesn’t necessarily agree with it.  Jessica notices that Gwen is nervous and asks her if she visited Miles. Gwen again tries to play it down but eventually admits she went to see Miles. Jessica gets angry with her and Gwen tells her she will never see Miles again. Her voice noticeably breaks when she says that. That interaction tells us one very important point: Gwen was not allowed to visit Miles. AT ALL. Miguel has forbidden Gwen to see Miles. He probably also told her why. Miles is an anomoly and him getting entangled with the Spider-Society might end up badly. And Gwen, knowing all that, knowing she might risk the multiverse, knowing she might risk getting sent back to her own dimension and having to confront her father, STILL decided to visit Miles. That is how much she cares about Miles. She literally risked the stabilty of the multiverse for the opportunity to see Miles again. Even if its only for one evening. This alone should end the debate about how Gwen “doesn’t care about Miles”. She obviously does. A lot. 

This can be taken even further.  “You never made a mistake? Never got too close to someone?” This is literally Gwen telling Jessica that the reason she went to see Miles is because she has feelings for him. Jess replies by saying she did but that she got over it, prompting Gwen to do the same. We, of course, know that she can’t. 

This is one of the most emotional scenes in the movie for me. After Gwens dialogue with Jess she knows her only chance to stay on Miguels good side is to follow Spot to Mumbattan and catch him. She has to leave and knows she will never see Miles again. She longingly looks towards the rooftop she and Miles stood on just moments ago, not knowing Miles is invisible and right in front of her.  She whispers a last “Goodbye Miles” as she heartbreakingly decides to leave. As much as it pains Gwen, she thinks leaving now without explaining anything to Miles might hurt him, but it does keep him safe and away from the Spider-Society. It’s a lose lose situation for Gwen. She is fighting a losing battle. On one side she has Miles and the desire to be with him, on the other side the entire Spider-Verse and the conflict with her father. The fact she is even contemplating shows how loyal she is towards Miles.

Miles follows her through the portal and catches her off guard. Gwen didn’t know he was listening and thought she would never see him again. Miles, being in another universe without a dimension watch, glitches and endangers both him and Gwen. Gwen then says that she “never should have visited” Miles.  She obviously meant the fact that NOW Miles is involved and they can’t go back now. She didn’t want Miles to be a part of it and now regrets that she pulled him into this. She is more angry at herself than at Miles here. 

When the canon event approaches Gwen tries to stop Miles from disrupting it. Again, a lose lose situation for Gwen. She knows (or at least thinks at this point) that disrupting canon events can cause universe to unravel. She also knows how dangerous canon events are and that there is a good chance Miles might die if he tries to intervene. 

Miles, not knowing about canon events at all yet, intervenes anyway. (Because he is Spider-Man, duh) While trying to save Captain Singh and the little girl he gets covered by rubble. Gwen and Hobie go down to the scene and while Hobie immediately helps Pav to pull up the bus Gwen literally makes a dash for the rubble and tries to find Miles. All the while screaming his name, her voice breaking while doing so. The relief in her voice when she finds him alive and well is very noticeable. (Great voice acting by Hailee Steinfeld)

After disrupting the canon event, Miles asks Gwen what she thinks of the situation. Gwen, almost affectionately whispering to him, tells him that she always thinks that he is amazing. Another moment that makes these two get closer and it shows how much admiration Gwen has for Miles. Even after disrupting a canon event, Gwen thinks the world of Miles. This highlights her conflict again. While still believing in these canon events, Miles is slowly but surely changing her mind about them. He is not quite there yet but it’s coming.

We then go the Spider-Society HQ where Gwen introduces Miles to Miguel. Miguel immediately becomes hostile and blames Miles for disrupting the canon event. Gwen knows that Miles did in fact disrupt the canon event but still defends him.  “He doesn’t know any better:” Miles has no knowledge about canon events or anything related to it so he can’t be blamed for what he did. Gwen knows that, which is also a reason why she tried to stop him. 

Miles then finds out about the structure of the Spider-Verse and about canon events. Miles also finds out that Gwen did not only try to save him but also stop him from disrupting the canon event. 

When Miles finds out his fathers death is a canon event that has to occur you can see Gwen frowning. She knew this and now Miles knows it.  There is no easy way to tell that to someone. Not if you’re close friends and not if you haven’t seen each other for a year. It pains Gwen that Miles has to go through that, and on top of that she can relate to it as well, because...

... Gwen’s father is also a Captain who’s death is a canon event. This adds another layer to her inner conflict. She believes in these canon events and therefore also believes that her father has to die. Gwen, in that aspect, is similar to Miguel. She accepts it, runs away from it. Similar to how she runs away from the conflict with her father. 

Miles confronts the other Spider’s and tells them he can’t sit back and let his father die. He then tells Gwen, referencing her earlier statement, that she was right and that she never should have visited her. Miles does NOT say that because he hates Gwen. He says that because he is distraught and because of the fact that if Gwen hadn’t shown up he’d still be in his dimension. (Where he wants to be to protect his father) Gwen starts to cry because this is OBVIOUSLY not how she wanted it to go and how she wanted Miles to find out.  The fact is: There was never a right time or way to explain it to Miles. Gwen isn’t an emotionless puppet that never struggles or is perfect. She loves Miles and she simply couldn’t bring it over her heart to tell him that his father will die and that he isn’t supposed to be Spider-Man. She wants him to be happy and to be safe, and from her perspective the best way to do that is to keep him away from the Spider-Society. 

When Miguel traps Miles to stop him from going home Gwen and Peter get really agitated.  “That’s enough.” “Stop it Miguel.” They don’t want to be on opposite sides to Miles. They want to talk it out. Of course the chance for that is now gone. You can still see that both still very much are on “Miles’ side”. Gwen is put into a situation where she is forced to choose between her friend or the Spider-Society. 

While they chase Miles, Jess confronts Gwen and tells her that even though Miles is Gwen’s friend, capturing him is the only way.  Gwen then tells Jess that that’s not what her gut says. This, again, shows her conflict. She KNOWS she is supposed to be on Miles’ side. It’s what her gut is saying. It’s what her heart is saying. Her head is still thinking that the multiverse must be protected, and that canon events must be stopped from being disrupted.

She then listens to her head and tries to grab Miles with her web. The look on her face says it all. It’s pain, love and an apology all in one. Miles destroys the web, symbolic for their trust.  Miles breaks the net, he is saying that he doesn’t trust Gwen anymore.  Gwen knows that, which is why after Miles breaks the net her look is one of complete sadness and disbelief. Not disbelief because she couldn’t imagine Miles not trusting her but rather diesbelief because she can’t believe it has come this far.

She continues the chase for Miles because she doesn’t know what else to do. When Miguel calls for every Spider-Man after they found out Miles’ location you can see Gwen having a look of dread and defeat on her face. She did’t want it to go this far. She still wants to talk it out and make up with him. She feels sorry and is slowly starting to regret her choices. 

While on the train Gwen and Peter keep calling out to Miguel, telling him that he should stop and to take it easy on Miles. Miguel doesn’t listen.

This scene is where the trust between Miles and Gwen is broken completely. Miles finds out that Gwen knew all along that he is an anomoly and that his father is supposed to die. He finds out that Gwen didn’t know how to tell him that and that that’s one of the reasons she didn’t come to visit him. 

Gwen then tells Miles that its for his own good, a lie she told herself to make her feel better. She full on regrets her choices by now. She knows she made a mistake but feels too distraught to really do anything about it. Her world slowly comes crashing down on her.

Miles is able to overpower Miguel and sends him flying down the train. The way Gwen looks down at Miguel is really interesting. Its a look of pride and relief. She is proud of how far Miles has come that he is able to escape from Miguel and reliefed that he was actually able to.

While Gwen thinks that now the way is free for her and Peter to get to Miles and explain everything to him, Miles just gives them a look of hurt, sadness and betrayal. He then says “Goodbye Gwen”, again mirroring Gwen’s goodbye earlier in the movie. Both were sad but for very different reasons.

The change of expression from Gwen says it all.  This goodbye from Miles, in his eyes, is final. He feels betrayed and hurt and just wants to get home to save his dad. While Gwen and Peter probably want to just talk to Miles and explain everything, Miles may think they want to capture him, too. And Miles can’t take that chance.

After Miles decides to jump Gwen, again, has an expression of relief on her face. This time the relief is because Miles managed to really escape Miguel and the other Spiders. She knows Miles will be safe, for now.

Miles manages to escape and Gwen is furious with Miguel. Furious as to how he treated Miles and how he managed the whole ordeal. 

She speaks up and Miguel blames Gwen for the Spider-Society losing Miles.  This is where Gwen starts to see that she actually doesn’t have the Spider-Societies back and that she should have taken Miles’ side from the beginning. She slowly realizes the true extent of her mistake. 

Gwen then proposes to talk it out with Miles, on her own. Miguel refuses, saying they tried that already.

She goes on to tell that Miles is her friend and is starting to question the whole “Canon event” topic. “Do you know for certain what happens when he breaks the Canon?” She is starting to fully side with Miles. 

Miguel tells her he knew from the beginning that her relationship with Miles was a liability. Gwen looks to Jess for support but doesn’t get it. She is now on her own, same as Miles. 

Gwen gets sent to her home universe, the thing she dreaded most. The last thing she tells Miguel is that they are supposed to be the good guys. That shows where she stands in regards to the conflict inside herself. She now knows that what Miguel and the Society does is wrong.  She was on the Society’s side, now she is on Miles’ side. 

She immediately tries to go to Miles’ dimension but she is locked out from using the dimension watch. Miguel denied her access. Gwen is furious and now trapped in her home dimension. 

She returns home and wants to collect the polaroid of her and Miles. She doesn’t want to confront her father yet, but we all knew it was inevitably coming.

Gwen confronts her dad and opens up to him. She pours her heart out and tells him how she really feels.  Remember, Gwen is a 16 year old girl. She carried the burden of her rensponsibility and the conflict inside her while still always trying to do the right thing.  But she says it best in this scene, “She doesn’t know what right or wrong is anymore.” The entire time she believed these canon events to be absolute and followed through with the Spider-Society’s plans because she thought it was the right thing to do.  In the process she hurt and betrayed the only real friend she had. And that was the straw that broke the camels back. Her intentions are now clear.

“I can’t lose one more friend.” She doesn’t know whats right or whats wrong, all she knows is that she can’t lose Miles. 

During her speech her father decides to quit his job as captain, freeing him from the canon event. This is when Gewn realizes that canon events might not be absolute and that they can be disrupted without dooming the dimension. She realizes Miles might have been doing the right thing all along. 

After making up with her dad the only thing left to do for Gwen is to go and find Miles. With the help of Hobie’s watch that is actually possible now.

Gwen arrives in Miles’ universe and finds out that Miles is in the wrong universe. She overhears Rio and Jeff talk about Miles. They mention Miles lighting up when he is around Gwen and that they hope she doesn’t get him hurt. This is where the full realization of her actions become clear to Gwen. She hurt Miles and didn’t help him when he needed her the most, and she hates herself for that.

She blames herself for what happened to Miles, even though it is not her fault entirely. 

Gwen tells Rio and Jeff that she is going to find Miles and bring him back. She also tells them what she learned from Miles. “All is possible.” This is the lesson Miles gives Gwen in this movie. It is a lesson she needed to learn. She now fully believes that anything is possible. This will come into play in Beyond the Spider-Verse when they are going to try and stop canon events from happening. 

She resolves the conflict with her father, parts ways with the Spider-Society and has only one goal left now: To find and make up with Miles. In her arc Gwen faced the conflict of choosing her friend or the greater good. On one hand is Miles, who she obviously has feelings for. On the other hand there is the Spider-Society who tell her how the multiverse works and how dangerous Miles and other anomolies are. In the end, her friend won, though it was a harsh process that damaged their trust and relationship.  Gwen is not perfect and isn’t always right. She is a 16 year old girl with tons of complex conflicts going on. She fights a constant battle with herself and her feelings. She makes mistakes, as do Miles, Peter, Miguel and the others. The important thing is that Gwen learns from these mistakes.  This also shows that she doesn’t hate or not care about Miles like some people have said. If anything her actions show to which lengths she went for Miles to be safe.  She knows she hurt Miles and is going to make up for it in Beyond the Spider-Verse. 

[trolliworms]

I’m finally gonna make my post about the pjo show, spoilers if you haven’t seen it

I loved it so so much, so I’m just going to list some of my favorite things

“I am Sally Jackson’s son!”

Literally just everything about Sally she was such a queen I love her

“You burn what you’ll miss most.” And then he burns his blue jellybeans to talk to his mom instead of his dad, who’s an actual god.

“I finally have some real friends here. I think they really like me.” Percy, are you trying to make me cry?

“Not you sunshine, you’re with me.”

Flossing Percy, his smile when he pet the lizard, that whole scene was just perfect. I love Walker so much he’s so perfect.

“You fell in love with God? Like, Jesus?”

Luke. Just Luke omg. “She’s my little sister.” The way you can tell how much he despises the gods. The way he’s looking out for Percy. The way you know how he’s going to betray him in the end 😭😭😭. Also why did they have to make him so fine?

Annabeth was perfect, no complaints. “I’m sorry.” Then pushes him into water lmao. I feel like I can feel everything she’s thinking, Leah did such a good job.

Grover was perfect, too. I really liked how he told Percy his mom wasn’t actually dead, even though he might have gotten in trouble for it. A+++

Clarisse’s scream when her staff breaks, the absolute despair in her face. You just know that staff meant the world to her because it was a gift from her dad, I honestly felt really bad for her when that happened.

But Percy in that fight scene? He was such a beast like omg. I feel like in his pov in the books you don’t realize how good a fighter he is, but now we can see him kick butt without looking through his goofball lenses. I especially liked during that scene when Clarisse looks at her friend, and you can just see them exchange a really confused look because they expected him to suck lol.

The way they explained quests through Mr. D wanting alcohol and tricking Percy? It was played off as a joke but that is like genius writing. You get quests explained, it characterizes Percy, Grover, and Mr. D a little more, and it’s a goofy little joke.

Uncle Rick’s cameo!!! In the office scene!!! When I saw him I literally screamed at my friend, “THERES UNCLE RICK! IN A CHAIR!” lol

Bonus: the credits are so pretty 😭 I love them

Thank you for reading friends! Go watch the show if you haven’t!!! <333

[aeternallis]

Kim's Motivations vs Privileges // A Meta Rant

This has been sitting in my drafts for a while, so I figured I'd post it~

I’ve talked a little bit about Kim’s place in the mafia before, but I don’t think I ever got into detail as to what his motivations are, in regards to being part of a known crime family in Bangkok. So I figured I’d talk about it, since I’ve been mulling it over for the past eight months or so!

So, one of the most common takes I’ve seen in the fandom (from where I’m sitting, anyway) that feels like it's often taken for granted is that Kim is interpreted as actively trying to get away from the mafia. Or if not that, already out of it completely.

More specifically, from his family.

And meh, honestly? Who tf knows what goes on in this guy’s head, lmao! While I admit that it can be argued there is some evidence for this, I’m more personally inclined to think that Kim’s privileges as the youngest son and his personal motivations are—more often than not—misconstrued.

Now, just to be clear, I'm not totally against the idea of Kim being out of the family business/trying to get out of the mafia. On the contrary, it's a neat headcanon to explore, both in the realm of fanfiction and as a way of understanding his character arc when watching the show. What I'm more iffy on though is the fact that there are a number of cultural aspects to this idea that I feel like are—not willfully disregarded, per se, but there is a bit of a western bias to it.

And before I go on, my usual disclaimers

I’m not calling out or policing anyone; this meta is just an opinion at the end of the day, and something that I've been thinking about for a long time, so I thought it would be good to get it down succinctly. Y'all headcanon him in the myriad of ways you want, even if that includes him distancing himself from the mafia ongoings of the Theerapanyakul family. You do you, since that’s what fandom is for! Besides that, I can happily acknowledge that it makes for some delicious fic drama~

Culture is never static, it's an ever-changing set of mindsets and values, and by no means should it ever be seen as the be all end all when it comes to this sort of discussion.

I'm Filipino (more specifically, Filipino-Chinese ancestry), not Thai, the two cultures are very distinct in their own ways. There are cultural overlaps, but otherwise, these are only my opinions as a SE Asian, and in no way meant to be seen as a full authority on the subject, as lived experiences differ greatly even amongst those who grew up within the culture in question, or adjacent to it.

Having said all that, this rant is examining Kim's privileges in the context of Asian family dynamics and cultural traditions, and taking into account as to what those said privileges he enjoys could possibly motivate him to do. I'm also gonna include some novel bits, so if you haven’t read the book, here’s your obligatory spoiler alert warning, as well as my one plea of “please don’t attack me for reading the book and using it as part of my basis in arguing my thesis.”

But I digress!

In regards to my claim, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing; if anything, it goes to show how effective BOC, Daemi, and Jeff were in developing his character, that the Kim we see in the show embodies a key characteristic of his that’s very loyal to the original novel: his thoughts and motives are often hard to read, and even his own family members have trouble trying to understand what he’s really thinking.

I for one can definitely say that Jeff leaned heavily into Kim's character archetype of a cool and mysterious love interest, which we do see a little bit in the book.

As we see below, per Korn:

Like in the show as well as the book, the audience doesn’t really know what Kim is thinking.

(Just as a little side note, even within fandom, I think that's probably part of the reason he gets such a bad rap—yknow, outside the Kimchay community—and on the other side of that, there are sometimes conflicting interpretations (which is a good thing, we're engaging critically with the media!) in regards to what motivated him to make the decisions he did.)

He’s not a main POV character in the show, so his motivations are pretty murky, since it can be argued just as easily that his sleuthing behind the scenes can be seen as a way of strengthening his own position within the family, as it is his own efforts in protecting his brothers.

Perhaps it’s both or more than that—or hell, perhaps none of those things; it’s not as if he’s only allowed one or just those motivations, right?

Having said that, what the audience does know about Kim and can confirm, are the privileges he enjoys as the third son:

he was able to move out early and live on his own

he does not have as many bodyguards, which enables him to go sleuthing behind Korn’s back

he has the freedom to pursue a career in music, since that’s his main interest

In and of itself, the privileges Kim enjoys, if anything—demonstrate a lifestyle in which he is neither trying to run away from the shadows of the Theerapanyakul family’s infamy, nor is he really trying to gain a foothold within the mafia’s hierarchy in order to up one, or all of them. And I believe that's the entire point of his character, because we're not supposed to understand what he's thinking.

The way I see it, Kim enjoys the privileges as mentioned above because of the fact that he’s the third son of the top mafia family in Thailand, not the other way around. And because I see them more as privileges, they don't necessarily mean anything in terms of what motivates his actions.

There’s a few reasons for this:

Pursuing the Arts and Asian Style of Parenting

There’s a bit of a negative stigma in Asian cultures in general when it comes to pursuing the arts. Mind you, this isn’t unique to Asians, but it’s also a much more noticeable sentiment in Asia (i.e. the stereotype of Asian tiger parents wanting their kids to pursue something that contributes to society and makes a solid income, like doctors and lawyers). Asian parents in general tend to be overprotective and controlling of their children’s futures, and there’s still a relatively pervasive idea that one’s education is strictly tied to their lifelong career.

We see this in a multitude of ways in the show: for example, when Kinn first brings up his interest in music to Porsche during their ep. 6 forest adventure, he speculates on his father paying off the judges in the music competition he’d participated in. Even if at the time, Tankhun would presumably have still been the heir and Kinn was freely allowed to participate in the event, Korn exerted a tremendous level of control to ensure that Kinn came out on top, irrespective of how Kinn himself would feel about this.

Another example: Chay himself is willing to give up a college education, let alone study music, due to having seen how much Porsche struggles to financially provide for both of them. In the scene below, he makes it known that he's open to the idea of using the last of his parents' savings for his education in order to move some place else.

For Chay, the prospect of college is in and of itself a privilege they can't afford and at large, speaks very much to the wealth gap and inequality that still exists in Thailand, as it does for other Asian countries. It's not hard to understand why Chay is easily able to give up the opportunity of the oral interview in his dream school, besides just being heartbroken—he's always been more willing to face a reality of lifelong struggle, so long as it means he and his brother are together.

It's only because of Chay's own obedience to Porsche and his respect for him, that he even makes a show of going to the interview, rather than outright admitting to Porsche that he's no longer interested in going to that particular school. His short stint of teenage rebellion in the second half of the show is hidden from Porsche, in order to maintain the illusion that he's following the path Porsche specifically worked hard to set up for him.

Of course it goes without saying, this is no way meant to discredit Kim's work and effort to maintain a career in the entertainment industry, free of his family's influence or financial manipulation in that field. What I will say however, is that Kim's access to wealth, as well as the freedom afforded to him, allowed him to pursue his passion in music with significantly fewer obstacles, in comparison to Chay—enough so that the negative stigma is a bit of a moot point.

And we all have some idea of how Gun views Vegas’ culinary interests. :’D

Traditional Gender Role(s) and Internal Sexism

If we were to compare Kim's situation with any other character that would have been in somewhat similar circumstances regarding "leaving the family business," the only one that comes close to fitting the bill is Nampheung. Arguably we could also count Macau in terms of the lack of family involvement, but presumably since Macau still relies on his father and brother financially to support him, I'm leaving him out.

In the flashback scene with Nampheung, we see indicators of a contented life she's already begun to lead, away from the Theerapanyakul household: she's married with two kids, her husband runs a successful business, she manages to find time to pursue her passion in art, etc.

For all intents and purposes, she lives independently, and seemingly without having to rely on her adoptive brothers and father.

And yet, we know how Nampheung's story plays out, regardless of which brother pulled the trigger.

Mind you, although Korn and Gun's reason(s) for wanting Nampheung to return to the Theerapanyakul household has less to do with her sex and more to do with what she and her husband knows (whatever the heck that means, lol), it doesn't mean that a double standard, when compared to Kim's own living situation, isn't baked into it.

(And again, before I continue: this is in no way discrediting Thailand's efforts in furthering gender equality at large. The Thai government has made significant strides in improving women's rights, particularly in the work force. Despite this however, challenges still remain to this day, as do for most countries, when it comes to this particular issue.)

Why is it that Nampheung—a woman who was able to make a life for herself completely free of the Theerapanyakuls' influence—was still forced to return with Korn and the danger of being involved with the Theerapanyakuls, and yet Kim—who we can argue still benefits greatly from his family's (ill-gotten) wealth—is somehow able to more fully enjoy the freedom Nampheung could have only dreamed of and experienced for a short time?

In the same episode when Porsche reunites with his mother under the worst of circumstances, Gun makes a plea towards Nampheung to return to him, that he would be the one to protect her. The scene paints Nampheung as a damsel very much in distress, and though Gun claims to love her, he still treats her as a prize to be won, to take his side in their family conflict.

The framing of this theme in the show, of "trying to get away from the family," is gritty at best, heartachingly frustrating at worst.

I think this in particular is part of the reason why I'm less inclined to believe that Kim moved out strictly to not involve himself in the business. Like, for my own peace of mind, I try to temper this point (perhaps to my own detriment), yknow?

Personally, I feel like since Kim is able to live comfortably outside the family compound and pursue his music career, there would have had to be some sort of return or condition for this to be allowed (one of them being, he knows how to fight and protect himself).

After all, as Korn himself said:

Filial Piety and Birth Order

I've talked about this plenty of times before, so I won't get too deep into it (haha), but this perhaps plays the biggest role in what is disregarded in the "western bias" I spoke of earlier.

As a working definition, filial piety means showing care, gratitude, and obedience to your elders, be it one's parents, grandparents, ancestors, etc etc. This virtue is one of the most important cultural aspects in Thai culture, as well as other Asian cultures, and underpins the very bedrock of our communities.

I've written out another rant before that Porsche's initial judgement of Kim moving out of the family home hints very much at not only his own specific veneration of the family unit, but his internal biases in the way he sees how a family should function.

TL;DR: Kim moving out is something that Porsche does not see as a good thing whatsoever, despite his own misgivings about the Theerapanyakul family, when he first starts working for them. Porsche sees Kim's actions as being egotistical and self-serving, and to a certain extent, unfilial towards his family.

And part of this filial piety is the obligation that in their parents' old age, children are expected to take care of them. We see this in a couple of different ways in how Kim behaves towards Korn:

In the first and only scene they have together, Kim brings Korn one of his favorite snacks, to show consideration towards his father while stopping by for a visit, since his main objective (besides snooping around) was to ask Korn why Big was assigned to him.

Although the highlight of the scene shows the very mutual distrust between father and son, Kim still shows how dutiful he is towards Korn. He makes a point to show that he's very aware of his father's preferences in many different things: his food, his requirements when hiring bodyguards, hell—even the way Korn organizes his private space and his use of secret cuckoo clocks to open locked drawers, lolol.

The filial piety he exhibits towards Korn is, to a certain degree, very much a front. Yet its very role as a front in how Kim interacts with his father is telling of how much there exists a familial hierarchy between them, and that Kim still respects and is a product of his upbringing. He's not openly hostile against Korn, or even against whatever Korn has up his sleeve with Porsche's employment; if you think about it, at least up until Kim realizes he's fallen in love with Chay, Kim has the least to worry about with Korn's intentions in hiring Porsche.

Theoretically, anyway.

Another point, for which I've brought up before in another meta: at the end of the day, Kim is unable to actually disobey his father, as shown in this scene when Chan comes down to escort Kim to see Korn.

While there are definitely times in the show that Kim plays at straddling the line between filial piety for show and disobedient, spoiled child, at the end of the day, the deference he feels compelled to show Korn is still a leash around his neck. Even in this scene where Chay has gone missing along with Porsche, Kim cannot yet, if ever, cross that almost insurmountable boundary of actually going against Korn's word.

Especially given the context of this scene, at the eve of the Minor Family's coup.

In fact, I could even go so far as to say that perhaps another one of Korn's conditions for allowing Kim to live away from the compound, is Kim's obedience.

To be honest, Kim's place in the familial hierarchy of the Main Family is very much a double-edged sword, in that his position as the third son is simultaneously the place of least expectations from Korn, and thus, the one with the most freedom, yet also the last bastion of Korn's hopes and expectations for their family, should Kinn become unable to perform his job as the current heir.

The way I see it, though Kim doesn't have the pressure of running the mafia empire, he still carries the weight of authority that his name represents, and Korn (as well as the very environment and culture that he grew up in) holds Kim to that, as his father, as the one in position of authority in their family.

In retrospect, I think that's part of the reason BOC chose to elevate Kimchay's love story as much as possible, despite their story being almost entirely absent in the first novel the show is based off of.

Kim needed to be humbled by falling in love with Chay, because he too carries the weight of power like Vegas and Kinn. And like the other two men, he needed to understand what it meant to have a weakness.

(As a side note too, in terms of tropes in fiction, Kim's position in the hierarchy actually fits a number of them: Youngest Child Wins, Rule of Three, and Underdogs Never Lose.)

Conclusion

Kim, for me personally, is such an intriguing character because he represents both what Tankhun has long forgotten (and perhaps never even had in the first place—ambitions of his own, a passion to pursue outside of his family), as well as what Kinn had lost, when he took up the mantle.

Personally, I think the fact that he has these privileges—being able to live outside the compound, not having to involve himself in the tedious running of their family businesses, etc—gives him more reason to stay within the fold of the Theerapanyakul family (despite his emotional distance), not less, even if we don't take Chay into consideration.

We may not know what Kim is thinking, but beneath his aloof exterior, I'd like to think that, at least when it comes to his brothers and his father, he's not entirely self-serving (Chay is a different story, lmao).

Because again, at the end of the day, although Kim enjoys a lot more freedom compared to his two older brothers, there are still a lot of familial ties and obligations—forged and solidified by his upbringing and the culture he lives in—that even his genuine love for music and his burgeoning idol career can't fully replace or throw away.

[paravillintiniay]

I don’t have any mutuals on twitter who really care about The Penguin and we all know twitter is terrible for getting your posts to the people who want to see them so I’m gonna talk about The Penguin over here because omgggg episode 4 is crazy!!! Spoilers for The Penguin up to episode 4 under the cut!!

Okay so not to be an Oswald apologist because let’s get this straight with the context that I’m first and foremost a Sofia falcone truther BUT.

I really don’t think Oz meant for any of that to happen to Sofia. Oz probably couldn’t have known the full extent of what Carmine did to those women since he’s just Sofia’s driver and I don’t believe Sofia shared any of her suspicions about her mom with Oz, so I think Oz was afraid that when Carmine inevitably caught wind of what Sofia was toying with that he’d end up taking the fall for her and his head would be on the chopping block. Think about it, what was Carmine going to do? Kill his daughter that he loves? That he wants to take over the family business? No. But she could be punished, her driver is pretty expendable.

Oz tried to talk to her in the car and she basically told him to shut up and know his place because he’s just her driver which I think hurt his ego and that also contributes to why he told Carmine. He seems to have thought they were friends or at the very least that she respected him. I think after she refused to listen he got scared and went into cockroach survival mode which is a pretty consistent character trait from him throughout the reevesverse (and really all Oswald cobblepots)

I think it’s also fairly telling that he didn’t sign any of the papers calling her insane despite being around her CONSTANTLY and being a prime witness. He should have stuck his neck out and vouched for her but how could he? He sees what Carmine is framing her for, how ruthless he’s being to his own daughter? No. If there’s one thing about Oz it’s that he’s a survivor.

Now this absolutely doesn’t excuse what he did to Sofia in the present day, he’s a pussy for that how do you fumble a bad bitch like that!!

Also while we’re at it I do want to expand more on the cockroach survival mode thing Oz seems to do because I find it reallllly interesting!! I’m not entirely sure everything he does is manipulation (some of it obviously is, like playing both sides with the falcones and maronis) but instead I think it’s like a knee jerk reaction/compulsion. Like how in episode 3 Oz is very friendly with Victor and tells him he shouldn’t be ashamed to take up space! His disability doesn’t mean it’s okay for people to put him down! Paying him well and trusting him! And then immediately when he feels threatened and afraid he might lose Victor as a trusted employee he throws it all back in his face and hits him where it hurts saying exaaaactly the right things to make him feel small? I think he does this almost instinctively without thinking it through, which I really do find interesting about him and I haven’t seen anyone else talk about so maybe I’m reading too much into it idk. Maybe I’m reading too much into all of this. I just like to think about my favorite shows and characters a lot!!

If you see this and read this I’d looooove to know your thoughts and theories too!!!

[cleolinda]

Silent Hill 2 commentary: Opening & Eastern South Vale (1)

So, to start: this is the 2024 remake/expansion of the 2001 game Silent Hill 2. I think this is the one Konami chose to remake first (entrusting it to Bloober Team, the developers known for Layers of Fear and The Medium) because it has a stand-alone story, and it was one of the most critically acclaimed games in the series. 

The way I explain the story to people is, “It starts out with this guy James telling you that his wife wrote him a letter telling him to come to this town, which is weird, because she died three years ago.” Fucked-up shit ensues. Much of it is manifested from his own mind, and it gradually becomes apparent that there’s a lot he can’t remember, and there’s a reason he won’t let himself remember it. 

I’ve both watched others play the game and played it myself once through, so obviously I know what happens. I have a deep affection for James as my hapless pixel avatar that’s separate from who he is as a character, for the record; the way I talk to him (“Honey, I’m gonna get you through this”) is kind of a way of encouraging myself to not give up when the game is hard. In the end, I like to think of it as our job to pilot James to his ultimate reckoning(s), and I’m gonna do my best to get him there.

QUICK SPOILER POLICY: Everything except That One Big Thing (what James can’t remember). I bring forward a lot of information from the end of the game, but I talk around that big reveal, which doesn't happen until the last hour or so of the game. More on this policy at 07:50 below. 

QUICK CONTENT NOTES: Combat in the first two videos involves a lot of acid vomit, a large quantity of blood, body-horror monster designs, and violence against female (?) creatures that I discuss as being a genuine part of the story. (No, really. It’s okay if that last part means you don’t want to engage with any of this, or you just want to read/listen and not watch. But I think that the monsters have feminine and sexualized imagery for a reason, it's not just recreational misogyny, and it's part of the narrative. At the same time, I've also ragequit Let's Plays where gamers started calling the enemies "slut" and "whore." I'm not here for that. If you're watching mine, it's your call.) 

Themes in this video include suicidal ideation and verbal abuse, and I talk about themes of sexual abuse and domestic violence that we’ll see later in the game. I personally feel like the game handles these in a very subtle, delicate way 95% of the time, so much so that I have to point out extremely subtle background details to tell you about them. If any of these themes are particularly tough for you, I want you to be aware of them going in. Listen, I know this is a lot of preamble, but seriously, I am not comfortable leading y'all, especially if you're here just to see what I'm doing nowadays, into this kind of horror game if I haven’t told you what we’re getting into. I think it's an incredible game, but when I started playing it for myself, I already knew what would happen.

By the way, this is my second full run of the game, so I’m New Game+, which will have several items and endings not available your first time around, so I'll be able to talk about those. Pretty much every other Let's Play I've seen of SH2R has been streamers' first time playing it (so you can experience the surprise and the challenge of it), and that's one of the reasons I wanted to do a commentary like this—I get to share info people usually don't or can't. This is truly an extravagant amount of information, maybe even to the point of over-explaining, but you have to understand, I have friends who don't know anything about this series watching.

I verbally credit sources in the video itself whenever I can, and this writeup exists partly to link them in print. But there’s also a lot of things I state that are just kind of common knowledge in the fandom, or they appear over multiple sources, so I’m also including a list here of general sources (SPOILERS MAY BE ANYWHERE) where I learned these things myself:

My ever-growing research playlist (SPOILERS)

Dan Allen Gaming: 115 Incredible Little Details and Secrets in Silent Hill 2 Remake

Puzzle Knows: 174 EASTER EGGS & Hidden Secrets in Silent Hill 2 Remake / SECRETS and Amazing Details

Silent Archive: 1 Hour of Silent Hill 2 Remake Facts

Silent Hill Wiki on Fandom.com (take five ad-blockers with you, I’m sorry)

So FINALLY here’s sort of an outline by timestamp, if you’d like to jump around, with corrections and additions: 

00:00: I introduce myself and what you might have read of mine before, segueing into the fact that writing recaps has shown me that I’m good with putting together research about things I’m enthusiastic about, and thus: we are here. 

02:00: I talk about how I’d never played a video game before, but this one is the one that lured me in (the music, the mannequins, a scene I’ll point out when we get there). 

04:30: There are three people I have to blame thank for this video: my sister; my best friend, @tamaro606; and @idoherty451, who is doing his own commentary alongside mine. Ian and I refer to each other a lot because we’ve been discussing various theories and interpretations for several weeks now; he’s not just my imaginary friend or something.  

07:50: Spoiler policy: As discussed above. All kinds of information from throughout the game, especially about Mary, Maria, and Angela, but not That One Big Thing. Ian’s commentary includes all spoilers. If you would like to watch spoiler-free playthroughs before you watch mine, my recommendations are:

Players who know the original game:

Jacksepticeye (OG fan, first playthrough I ever watched)

Gab Smolders (OG fan, compares versions)

Gab Smolders: Original Silent Hill 2 playthrough

New players who don’t know the story:

Marz (Figures it out very quickly)

Hollow (Good for combat strategy)

WhitneysVision (In progress)

10:00: Content warnings: As discussed above.

11:48: Getting started. So as not to talk during the opening cutscene, I beg people to watch for:

— The subtlety of the acting, especially the face capture (did not mention: the fact that James’ leg is sort of restlessly shaking when he’s standing at the railing, which blew my mind as such an incredibly subtle motion capture detail to include).

All images are ©2024 Konami Digital Entertainment, and captured from my gameplay in January-February 2025.

— The fact that the game goes out of its way to show that his wedding ring is missing.

— James is associated with water, especially rain and running water, and we immediately see him washing both his hands and his face.

— This is the last time he’ll be able to look himself in the eye/in a mirror. (I think. I'll have to check on a particular scene with Angela.) Did not mention: IMO, the reason for this is that James feels guilty about [something], but also, this bathroom may be the last time he is in anything like “the real world,” and not being able to see himself in the mirrors may be a way to indicate that the Silent Hill world around him is not real. 

13:25: The game settings: why I’m playing on Light Combat and Standard Puzzles, with a quick look at the pizza box Pyramid Head mask (yes, you can wear this). See also GameRant: Optimized PC Graphics Settings for Silent Hill 2 Remake.

14:30: Opening cutscene. Actors are Luke Roberts (James) and Salóme Gunnarsdóttir (Mary). The frame rate stutters at the end ("NOT THE FRAME RATE!"), which is a known issue with the remake, but it doesn’t usually start up this early. 

18:20: Immediately go back into the bathroom to look at the graffiti. This is where we’re going to dive in with some links, sources, and additional explanation:

The Book of Job verses

Quick dance break to discuss a character who will show up much later: Maria (also Salóme Gunnarsdóttir) is a Sexy Wife Doppelgänger who is actually a manifestation “born from a wish” (the title of the original game’s DLC) from James’ psyche: a woman who is more fun and sexually forthcoming than his late wife during her illness. He arrives in Silent Hill determined to find Mary, but Maria shows up as a temptation to give up on that. How much personhood and agency Maria actually has unto herself is a subtle narrative arc, IMO, that the remake builds with new scenes and a different acting portrayal; she seems to have been more antagonistic in the original. 

When I was doing a practice run the week before to time how long this section of the commentary might be, I finally realized what/who the Bible verse graffiti on the wall might actually refer to: Mary and Maria. 

Book of Job quotes, recreated from the original game (source):

Job 13:28: "While I am decaying like a rotten thing / Like a garment that is moth-eaten." 

Moths will appear in the Blue Creek Apartments clock puzzle and with the final boss; there will later be a rotten apple that explicitly represents Mary.

Job 10:8: "Thy hands fashioned and made me / and now thou dost turn about and destroy me." 

If Maria is a manifestation from James’ mind, you could say he “made” her. (Notice that it says "the hands" instead of "Thy hands.") In some endings, she’s the final boss, and you will have to “destroy” her. 

Not knowing the full verses, I’d always assumed that they would refer to James feeling guilty about things he did wrong during Mary’s illness. It never occurred to me that the game would present Mary vs. Maria this early on.

Lilith symbolism

So I immediately fuck up here by calling Lilith a “Biblical figure,” which she is not—she doesn’t appear in the Bible at all; she’s a figure from Jewish (and Mesopotamian) mythology that some rabbinic authorities reject entirely. So we're doing a deep dive here so I can correct myself:

There’s a popular interpretation that Lilith was banished from Eden for not submitting to Adam, but it’s not in the Bible. (I link Wikipedia here because it has several scholarly citations.) And I knew this, and I caught it myself while I was rewatching the video to do this writeup. 

So the second thing I caught is that I had wanted to cite a Redditor’s theory that the presence of the Lilith art (which is, in fact, from a parchment amulet, as mentioned) stands in opposition to the Silent Hill cult, The Order: “This is a big fucking detail because it essentially indicates the cults mythos is bullshit made up stuff and it’s the klippothic forces feeding off the pain and suffering of its visitors. [...] Visitors are periodically traveling through the literal world of shells in ha Kabbalah. And what is Silent Hill, but a shell of a town?” 

(I simply present this theory as an explanation of the Lilith graffiti; I don’t have opinions as to what The Order is or isn’t about.)

However, in my commentary, my brain skipped like three connecting thoughts and went straight to talking about James ignoring the “cult stuff” in town during your first run—the cult presence is seen most clearly in Toluca Prison much later on, and that’s what I was thinking of. But I’m so jittery back there that my mouth runs off and conflates the beliefs of real people with lore written for this game, and I’m just not comfortable that I did that—my apologies.

A different interpretation

In fact, as I thought it over the weekend after recording the video, it occurred to me that maybe the Lilith graffiti isn’t about any of that at all. (Or it might also be, who knows.) We’ve immediately seen verses contrasting Maria and Mary, and it may be that Lilith is simply representing Maria in opposition to Mary as Eve. (Mary is also represented throughout the game by saintly Madonna-type imagery. The soundtrack melody “Magdalene” specifically associates Maria with another Mary. A parallel Lilith & Eve contrast is not far-fetched.) 

The Hebrew words under the Lilith drawing say “God,” “Lord Jehovah,” and “Shaddai” (as I mention in the video). I’d heard that third word before but didn’t know exactly what it meant. Turns out that “[El] Shaddai” is another name for God (Jehovah), but also (emphasis mine):

The Talmud […] says that "Shaddai" stands for "Mi she'Amar Dai L'olamo" (Hebrew: מי שאמר די לעולמו‎) – "He who said 'Enough' to His world." When he was forming the earth, he stopped the process at a certain point, withholding creation from reaching its full completion, and thus the name embodies God's power to stop creation.

In the context of the game, as something the devs chose to include: I think the word “Shaddai” could be intended to refer to the fact that Silent Hill as James experiences it is not a full, real world. (Later we will see the word “FAKE” in a record store.) Maria is a temptation for James to stay in a dream world (and there is an ending where he chooses her), but that would not be a real, complete life. Given the Mary vs. Maria imagery elsewhere in the room, I think this is a fairly solid interpretation. But ultimately, all of this graffiti is recreated from the original game, and I don’t know Team Silent’s intentions back in 2001.

Heaven’s Night posters by the door 

You see these in other areas of the game as well. Heaven’s Night is the club where Maria presumably works, and (I stated this a little too certainly) the blonde on the posters looks like her. (Actually, it looks even more like the original Maria to me. A later exchange between James and Remake Maria: “Is that you?” “Would you like it to be?”) In other words, here’s a third potential reference to Maria before James even leaves the first cutscene. It's hard as hell to see the posters in the dark, but here they are, albeit torn, outside in daylight:

Next post: LEAVING THE FIRST SCENE OF THE GAME, MAYBE.

(SH2R commentary master post)

[brooooswriting]

A very timid Hello from your best customer broko loco anyway hi I'm out of my request block anyway

How about some hurt/comfort with our baby gurl

Tara Carpenter

I had two prompts in mind either Tara having a nightmare about Gf killing R Orrrrrrr It was her killing R (

SPOILER IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN SREAM VI YOU'VE BEEN WARNED

(because she killed Ethan so her subconscious is making her see herself killing R) so R comforts her and reassures her

or

R getting into a fight when she was taking a stroll with Tara and Sam because some 4ssh0l3$ called our Fav duo murderers so Tara is patching up R afterwards

or

R taking care of T after the 2nd massacre like bringing her thing (painkillers, snacks, food, cuddles)

Those were my ideas but you can also do whatever you want Idm

Have a good day broko loco <3

Motherfucker

Tara Carpenter x reader

A/n: so I haven’t really been writing lately and I need to get back into it so yeah

“It’s just so much you know” Tara complained as you two and Sam walked around New York City. It was a small tradition you build up as soon as you moved here. You walked around to figure out the best ways through the city, it made Sam feel safer while you and Tara just liked to walk around. Her hand was slipped into yours, fingers carefully intervened.

Tara loved complaining about college during these walks, you loved listening to her and Sam would do anything for her little sister. There were a lot of people who didn’t recognized you guys but some did. Nobody ever said something, you were unsure of wether it was because of sams killer glare or just their common sense but you were happy about it.

You knew them during the attacks in woodsboro but you weren’t with them. At least not until the end, you and Tara kept your little flirt private which was why you weren’t attacked. You only arrived when everybody else was dead, you were at the party and you forgot your phone which was why you turned around. The way Tara broke down into your arms made you believe everything she told you, there was no way that she faked that.

“I know, but you’ll be fine. You’re a fighter through and through and something like college won’t bring you down” you told her, squeezing her hand for good measure. “She’s right, you’re gonna do great” Sam added smiling at her sister before checking the street over her shoulder.

You walked through a small park where a group of three boys, around 22, sat and watched the three of you. You watched them suspiciously, slipping your hand out of Tara’s and instead slipping your arm around her waist to pull her closer. Tara smiled up at you, unaware of the situation while Sam looked out for a man around the corner. You listened carefully, hoping to hear any kind of movement but it was quite for a moment.

“Look, that’s the murderer and her slut sister. I knew I recognized them from somewhere” one of the boys said causing you to slow down. “Fucking murderer. Both of them. They should have ended dead” another one added which made you stop. “I’d still fuck the slut tho” the third one said which finally made you snap. You turned on your heel and stalked over to the group. “What did you just say?!” You nearly screamed out on your way, Tara still standing at the same spot completely confused while Sam had a stare down with the man around the corner.

“What’s your problem huh?” You asked again, stepping up to the one who said he’d fuck Tara. “I could ask you the same thing, why don’t you go away with your two murderer friends?” He asked puffing out his chest, trying to scare you. At every other time you’d probably been scared but not now, now all you could feel was rage. “Say that again and watch what happens asshole” you dared. “They are murderer” the one next to him said. You were quick to punch him straight in the face, his nose immediately started bleeding and his eye started to swell. The one you talked to before drew his arm back but you were quick enough to dodge it, not seeing the third one make his way towards you, his fist landing in your stomach causing you to groan. You turned as quick as you could, your fist landing in his stomach this time before you turned and kicked the other one to the ground.

By now Sam was done with her stare down and finally noticed your fight, “fuck y/n” she mumbled and went to your help but Tara held her back. “She will kill you if you go there, she’s fighting because they called you a murderer and if you hit them it will be contra productive” she explained, it pained her to see you like this but she knew you were strong and she didn’t want Sam to suffer even more.

It took you five more minutes before they finally gave up, your face and hands were bruised and you were spitting blood but you won. “Gosh, you’re so stupid” Tara mumbled as she ran up to you and hugged you, pulling you close to her which caused you to wince. “Are you alright?” Sam asked as she walked closer, wrapping an arm around you shoulder. “M fine. Thanks. Can we maybe go back?” Both of them nodded and turned around to walk back to your apartment.

This time Tara wasn’t holding your hand, she was scared that she’d hurt you. The nervousness and the guilt was radiating off of her, so you wrapped your arm around her waist and pulled her into you which made her calm down. Sam was also somewhere else with her mind but you knew that something like a hug wouldn’t fix that and you knew she wasn’t going to talk about it in front of Tara so you decided to ask her about it later.

When you arrived home Tara immediately ran to the bathroom to get some things for your knuckles, giving you a moment with Sam. “You alright?” You asked her quietly so T wouldn’t hear.

“Yeah, it’s just that… thank you y/n. You protected us and you stood up for us. It was the nicest thing anyone ever did for us so, thanks” she answered squeezing your shoulder before disappeared into her room.

“I got everything that may be helpful. Like gauze, disinfectant, bandaids and some other stuff” she told you, quickly pulling everything out and cleaning your wounds on your hand. You kissed when the disinfectant started to seep into your flesh. The brunette quickly apologized before putting on the band aids.

When your hand was finally cleaned she moved on to your face, focusing on the wound above your eye. This time she warned you before putting on the disinfectant, which made it a bit less worse. You couldn’t help but admire her focused face, the way she bit her tongue and how her brows furrowed. It nearly made you forget about your headache.

“Do you need anything else? I’ll give you some painkillers as soon as you’re in bed and some snacks too” she told you and you smiled before pulling her closer to plant a small kiss on her lips. “Thank you” you said before kissing her another time and another, distracting her from her work.

“Stop, I gotta clean the rest of your wounds and I wanna take a look at your stomach” she giggled when she finally convinced herself to pull away. “And you taste like blood” she added. You smiled sheepishly and kissed her one last time before pulling back.

She sat on your lap as she looked at the cut you had on your lip, her legs on either side of you as she titled your head down to get a better angle. “This Looks okay I guess” she mumbled to herself as her fingers carefully touched the wound. You were getting bored and started to play with the hem of her shirt.

When she was done with your face she moved on to your stomach, there wasn’t really anything she could do about it. It was a bit bruised but there werent any cuts nor any placed that were so sensitive that she should be worried.

You both got changed and laid in bed, Tara made you swallow some painkillers and gave you some of your favorite chips before letting you decide what to watch. She made sure that you iced your hand and your nose, even if it might not be comfortable. She knew that you didn’t like the cold but there was nothing she could do. “Is there anything else I can do for you?” Her voice was soft and still filled with guilt which made you hurt inside.

“T, you know that I did it on my own account right? It’s not your fault or anything. I decided to do what I did” you said as you cuddled closer to her. Her body melting into your which made you melt too. “And even more important, I’d do it again and again because nothing is as important to me as you are” you added and kissed her head.

“I love you, a lot. Not just because of what you did today obviously” she grinned and titled her head up motioning for you to give her a kiss which you did.

“I love you too baby” you grinned as your hand rubbed up and down her back.

[1moreff-creator]

I remember you saying that Tsuno and Okazaki are your favorites from Tetro. How are you feeling, FF :3

Spoilers for TDRP CH3. CW: Murder, Okazaki.

I, for one, am feeling delighted on one hand and kinda sad on the other, as you can probably imagine! I can’t be too upset though, since I’m used to my favorites dying in general, but in Tetro especially. Sasaki was my favorite in CH1. Oka and Chiba competed for my favorite status in CH2. And now Oka and Tsuno were my favorites in CH3. I haven’t decided who is my favorite of the people still alive, but Hiroaki, Tamba and Yanagi are on thin ice (pun intended for Yanagi).

In particular, I’m not upset at all about Oka’s death. I think you put it best in some of your posts: she wasn’t gonna last forever, so I just wanted her to go out with a bang, and she went out with the equivalent of a nuclear blast. Her supervillain reveal is probably my favorite scene in all of Tetro, I can’t immediately think of any other that matches up to it in my books. Just completely unhinged behavior after what was probably my favorite trial so far, which is impressive given the whole “CH3 curse” canon dangan usually had.

She was just extremely entertaining, what can I say? Her insults, her taunts, her crazy beef with Tsuno, everyone’s reactions, all simply peak. And I know this might seem like a weird thing to focus on, but her background music is lovely. One of my main gripes with the Tetro format (and this is just personal preference, don’t take it as criticism because it isn’t) is the lack of bg music, so of course I’m glad my fave gets her own theme. Monarch shit.

And, come on. How often is it that both of your favorites have a storyline connection as peculiar as the whole “nemesis” thing these two had going on? Like, it’s genuinely awesome, and the fact that it’s completely one-sided just makes it better! I kinda wish we could have seen Tsuno’s reaction to this, because holy hell. How would you even react to this???

Oh, and the Watari thing. I’ve always been a sucker for terribly evil characters who have a soft spot for a nice person. Watari’s despair while Oka’s having the time of her life is genuinely awesome, and Oka clearly liking the time she spent with Watari is fun.

I do feel like I’m missing stuff, though? Like, I‘ve seen some analysis in Tumblr about Oka’s backstory which I assume is revealed in Staffside, because I have no idea what these people are talking about but it sounds cool. I really- I gotta read Staffside, I think, it’s getting critical by now.

Oh yeah, btw. Oka’s Yonekura’s kid! Since I haven’t read Staffside, that only tells me something about Dr Yonekura and not so much Oka. I will thank Oka for Dr Yonekura dropping one of my favorite lines in Tetro, though. “[Does your daughter have] Any special skills?” is crazy.

That said, I am slightly upset that Tsuno died when she did. I wanted to see her crash out after learning Oka beat up Wada! I would have loved to see her react to Oka’s made up beef with her! I wanted to see her crumble and burn out even more than she already was! I would have loved for her to outlive Wada just to see her reaction! I am a normal person with normal desires of seeing my favorites suffer horrendously!!! But oh well, fangans gonna fangan, I guess. Can’t be too torn up about it. At least Oka’s beef with her remains legendary.

I also feel like I should at least mention Kamimura? It’s funny ‘cuz like. He’s just There. He ain’t got nothing to do with the most toxic one-sided ship in history, he kinda just got caught in the crossfire. I feel like his death here makes sense, though; he had his arcs, he had his development and stuff, and now we get to see Hasegawa crash out for up to 3 chapters which is awesome! Assuming a standard DR formula, of course.

Anyways, thanks for the ask! I really should probably post more about Tetro, so this gives me an excuse lol :v

[ashisill]

7 layers

EXTREME WARNINGS: (abusive ex boyfriends, mentions of SA, mentions of rape (this is all in the past none of this is actively happening. Nor is this explained in details), murder, use of weapons, panic, language, fighting, smoking, drinking, and I believe that’s all.) As always if I missed any feel free to let me know

: So I’ve recently started watching Dexter. If you’ve seen that show then you get the idea of it. If not I definitely recommend watching it! As extreme as this story may be I think it might be my favorite! This definitely won’t be for everyone, but if it is I hope you enjoy!

~

There you were standing in the middle of a crowded bar. Why were you here? You hated bars, and don’t get you started on drunk people. It’s loud and reeks of smoke and booze. Your ‘friends’ drug you out here, and now you stand alone. Just like always your friends are never true to you. As they pick their boy toy of the evening you seemed to be invisible. A part of you wanted to be like them. Chatting away the night with random strangers. Instead you sat alone sipping on a drink with not enough rum in it. Maybe getting shit faced would take your mind off things. Then again alcohol has only ever made things worse for you. When a long-haired boy sat beside you the air shifted. You watched as he adjusted his shirt, called the bartender over.

“Whiskey please”

Your eyes glanced at him ‘he’s cute’ you thought to yourself. You felt silly of course he wouldn’t be into you. You turned away fast, but now you’ve caught his attention. He looked over at you, and his eyes widened. “Why hello pretty girl I’m Jake”

“Hello” you whispered, and looking down. You picked at your fingers nervously.

He was now desperate to get your attention. “You gotta name pretty thing?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know”

“I would love to know. I don’t bite doll”. He examined your facial expressions.

“Here sir” the bartender handed him his drink.

You sighed wondering about keeping the conversation going. You decided to test the waters little, and keep talking to him. Your night has been boring thus far. Why not?

“I’m y/n. Happy?” Truly you weren’t minding his attention too much. However his intentions weren’t clear, and you’re not taking any chances.

“Indeed. Pretty name for a pretty girl huh?”

“Whatever you say” you scanned him trying to remember his name, but failed. “what’s your name again”

“It’s Jake. Already forgetting me?”

“I’m bad with names” you finally met his gaze. Meeting his eyes for the first time had your stomach in knots. You stared for far too long before your eyes darted back to the floor.

“You’ve got pretty eyes darlin. Look at me”

You haven’t got a clue why, but you obeyed his request. “Ah much better. You’re even prettier than I thought” his eyes soften and his voice got trailed off. He couldn’t seem to look away from you.

“I know you’re only being nice to me because you’re drunk. Isn’t that right?” You raised an eyebrow at him.

“I’ve had two drinks, and spoiler alert I’m not a lightweight. Is that what you wanna know?”

“Sure, but you better move on because I’m not fucking anyone tonight”

“Woah woah who said anything about that sweetheart?” His brows furrowed. Your comment struck a nerve a little. Behind this tough guy act he really has good intentions. The only reason he acts this way is because it makes him confident. The last thing he wanted was you to think that way of him. “Is that what you assume I do?”

“That’s why you’re here. You’re gonna get hammered, take some lucky girl home, fuck her, and kick her out the next morning”

“So you’d consider them lucky huh?” He smiled at you. Hiding his pain behind his cocky attitude.

“Of course that’s what you take away from that” you roll your eyes. Already making your mind up about him.

“Listen doll come meet my brothers. If you don’t change your mind about me then I’ll leave you alone. It’s not often pretty girls strike my interest”

“Or you could go find someone else to bother”

“Stubborn aren’t you? I made you a deal you gotta work with me here. I’m not what you think I am”

“What are you then?”

“I’m a guy who lives alone, plays too much guitar, and I can’t tell you the last time I’ve had a woman for company”

You sighed knowing it would be the same as it always is. You’ve heard the ‘good guy’ story a thousand times. This however felt different, maybe just maybe he was telling the truth. What a ridiculous thought he is man after all. How stupid can you be? How many times are you gonna fall for it? You promised yourself you would never go through it again. You couldn’t handle it anymore. You’re protecting yourself, and maybe a little too much. You might go meet his brothers, but that’s the end of it. You’ll go home alone, and forget this even happened. Everything will be fine. Beside this is better then sitting alone right?. It’s just for one night what could go wrong?

He held a hand out, and you moved before even realizing it. Taking his hand, and following him through the crowd. When he spotted a curly headed brunette he walked a bit faster. The boy stood on one leg, the other bent, and against the wall. Funky sunglasses on, a white sleeved shirt, and khakis. You thought in a way he kinda looked like Jake. You assumed by his appearance that he wasn’t straight. Proving your previous assumption he had a guys arm around his shoulder. They talked softly, and close to each other's ears. His mouth curled into a smile every time the other boy spoke. His eyes sparkling with love as he looked into the eyes of the other man. Noticing Jake they were brought back to reality, and quickly adjusted themselves. You got the feeling you might have interrupted their conversation. Although that curly headed boy face lit up when he saw Jake with a woman behind him.

“Hey meet y/n”

“Ah hello darlin been a while since he’s introduced us to a woman”

‘That’s a good sign’ you thought to yourself. You realized there were more people with him than you thought when they all laughed at Josh’s remark.

“Ha ha so funny” Jake made a fake laugh.

He cleared his throat and introduced everyone. “This is Josh and his boyfriend” He pointed at two other long haired boys “that’s my younger brother Sam”

“Hello, nice to see a new face,” Sam said to you.

“And that’s Daniel my brother from another mother”

They all seemed lovely, but Josh really struck your interest. Jake stood in front of him making small talk. You could tell these two had a bond different than the rest. As they chatted you found yourself wanting to join in. Usually you just like to stay quiet, but something came over you.

“I like your sunglasses” you spoke quietly to Josh “they look cool”

Leaning forward to hear you better “thank you dear” he flashed you a smile. “I like your dress it’s quite flattering”

Your face lit up, it was obvious you don’t get that much. “T-thank you” you whispered.

“Quiet thing aren’t you? Don’t be shy darlin”

“M’ sorry I’m not used to this” you laughed trying to not embarrass yourself.

“That’s alright we’ll get ya warmed up. Smoker or drinker?” Josh asked.

“Stoner all the way”

“Ah my kind of girl” He pulled what looked like a vape out of his jacket pocket. You raised an eyebrow “Really? You seemed like an authentic type of guy”

“Well my guy was unavailable so you gotta do what you gotta do. Here” he waved it towards you.

“Is it strong?”. You took a long pull of the dab.

He nodded his head “very”

The night was going well, and for the first time you began to feel good. It was just something about them, and you couldn’t place it. Maybe it was the fact that they treated you like a human being. That would be a first. So welcoming of a new face, and they all talked so respectful. Not just to you, to the bartenders, and any stranger that crossed their paths. By the end of the night more people had joined the group. People none of them even knew, but treated as if they were family.

Jake sat very close to you, and it was obvious he was having a good time. You however started to get very sleepy. Jake noticed your heavy eyes, and slight head nods.

“You alright pretty?” Jake asked.

“Just tired”

“Dosing off already?” He teased.

You shook your head, and adjusted yourself “no m’sorry.”

“I’m just teasing don’t be sorry” he looked at you puzzled. “Do you have a way home?”

“Uber” You sighed.

Josh joined in “nonsense we’ve got you” he pointed to his boyfriend “designated driver”

Rule number one: don't get into cars with men you just met.

“No!” You said defensively “I’m fine I’ll be fine” You were stoned out of your mind of course you weren’t fine. The last thing you wanted was to be in an Uber by yourself.

“No you’re not fine you’re barely holding your head” Jake reached for you to support your head. You flinched pulling your arms around you.

“Please don’t touch me” you panicked. “Please”

“M’sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you” he sighed. Watching you carefully studying every move you made. When you completely zoned out he began to worry.

You just stared forward going quiet. Feeling embarrassed for making a scene. You wanted to cry, and you tried hard to push your feelings down. However, your eyes started to water. Silent panic started to set in. What have you done? How were you getting home? You knew you should have listened to yourself, but you were hopeful this was different. You shouldn’t have gotten so high. Your friends already ditched you now what? What are you gonna do? What are you gonna do? What are you gonna do?

When Josh noticed you he sat down his drink. Getting up from his seat, and stood in front of you. He started to move the hair out of your face to see better. Not thinking twice he moved to fast causing you to flinch. He made a face to Jake, and just the look alone contained a thousand words.

“Hey hey hey I’m not gonna hurt you” he tried again. Slowly bringing his hands up to your face, and gently pushing it behind your ears. His voice soft and comforting when he spoke to you. “Much better now we can see that pretty face. Are you afraid to leave with us?”

You nodded your head and apologized “I promise it’s not because of you it’s just w-well I-I”

“Shh shh shh I understand. I promise that you’re safe with us. I will stay here with you until you sober up if that will make you feel better. I need you to trust me okay?”

Josh seems to have this glow around him. Something about him made you feel safe. You wondered if it’s because he isn’t straight. Or maybe it is just because he’s friendly. Your mind is trying its best to protect you, but this time you went with your heart. “Can you take please me home?”

His face held a soft smile “that’s more like it! Absolutely we can take you home”

He led you out of the overcrowded bar, and to the car. You and Jake climbed into the back seat “are you okay?”

“Mhm I’ll be fine”

“That’s not what I asked”. He studied you for a while. He has a million questions for you instead he said “I’m glad you’re letting us get you home safe”

“I know I am a lot. Just be glad you don’t have to deal with me anymore”

“Says who?” He raised an eyebrow.

“I-I dunno I just assumed since-”

“Y/n which way?” Josh asked you.

“Right and you’ll stay down this road for a while” you paused turning your attention back to Jake. “Since you realized I’m not-not normal I guess. There’s a lot of shit wrong with me”

“Y/n look at me” he waited until your eyes locked. Gently he reached for your chin so you couldn’t look away “there is absolutely nothing wrong with you”

You nodded and stared out the window ‘nothing wrong with me?’. You repeated it over and over. You whole life has been full of everyone telling you the opposite. You weren’t sure if you believed him, but it was nice to hear something different for a change. Once he deals with enough panic attacks, and your emotions he’ll change his mind. If he sticks around that long to figure it out.

Eventually you arrived at your home. Jake and Josh got out of the car, and helped you to the door. You unlocked the door welcoming them inside. Once they were inside there demenor changed completely. Not in a threatening way at least not for you. However it did sober you right up.

“Names?” Jake asked.

“What? Names?” You asked confused.

“Someone has hurt you. I want to know who” they stared at you completely serious.

You laughed before realizing they weren’t kidding. “I don’t know what you’re talking about”

“You don’t? So you didn’t have a reason to flinch when Josh moved your hair? There was absolutely no reason why you were so terrified to get into the car with us? Nobody has caused that? It’s obvious someone wasn’t gentle with your heart babe. Just tell me who”

“That’s none of your fucking business” you snapped back defending yourself. “Just go”

“Don’t get harsh please. We’re not trying to open old wounds here” Josh tried to convince you. “We just want to know who it was”

“What would it change? I’m just trying to move on okay? I don’t want to think about them right now”

“Them? There’s more than one?” Jake asked obviously getting frustrated.

You nodded your head “this is why I don’t want to talk about it. You shouldn’t get involved in my mess. Jake just leave and forget about me. Just save yourself the trouble I’m too much”

“No! I’m not gonna-”

“Darlin just give us the names, and don’t worry about anything else” Josh said with a hand on his hip. He cut off Jake knowing the lecture he’d start to give.

You sighed knowing they weren’t going to drop this. “I’m going to tell you because you’ve all been so kind to me. Don’t say I didn’t warn you”

Their eyes bulged when the list hit seven. “Jesus fucking Christ”

“Jacob” Josh snapped “enough”

“You wanted them” you said feeling guilty with your head low. “I told you to not get involved”

“Thank you dear. I know that must have been hard for you” Josh said quietly. He grabbed your hand kissing the top of it. “You’re a very sweet girl, and I hope to see you again soon”.

He whispered something to Jake and walked out of the door. Leaving you two alone for the first time.

Jake gently slid your hair behind your ears. “Thank you for trusting me tonight”

You looked up at him through your lashes. “I-I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything. I understand” he kissed your forehead.

The wheels in your mind began to turn. He cared enough to want to help you. Maybe the thought of not seeing him again saddened you. You couldn’t believe yourself, but you couldn’t just push these feelings away.

“What’s going on in the pretty head?”

“Will I see you again Jake?” You asked softly.

“I’ll be back doll” he smiled at you. “Don’t you worry about a thing baby”

Placing a passionate kiss on your lips. His hands held your face as you melted against him. You wrapped your arms around his neck in a hug. He held you tightly and whispered “Y/n I’m not going to let anything happen to you ever again. That’s as much as a threat as it is a promise”

As confused as you were by that statement you took it, and smiled. You chatted a bit longer before he said his goodbye, and went to meet Josh in the car.

“She’s sweet,” Josh said.

“She’s damaged. I’m gonna fix it”

Jake’s pov:

When we arrived at my house I knew what had to be done. Me and my brother headed inside “I’ve got all the names right here”

“Put them on paper” I told him, leaving as little evidence as possible.

I got out my computer and began my work. “Josh don’t we know this guy?”

“Yeah I think so. Doesn’t he run that tattoo parlor?” Josh asked me, sounding sure.

“That’s what it says here. Time for a new tattoo?”

“I’d love nothing more”

We waited in the car until it was time. We watched as they all left one by one. He owned this tattoo parlor so it wasn’t hard to catch him alone. He was the final one to began to leave. As he walked up to the door we knew it was the time. No words exchanged as we left the car. I grabbed the door swinging it open asking “are you still open?”

“No sir we’re about to close” he looked away.

“Well the sign says you’re open” I said sarcastically.

“That’s because I haven’t flipped it” he rolled his eyes at me.

“That’s a shame. I’m a good tipper” I said ticking my tongue.

Josh carefully coming around the corner. He took a needle to his neck, and successfully knocking him out.

As I watched he awoke on my table, eyes fluttered with panic. The room was wrapped so not a drop of evidence would be left behind. Tied to the table there wasn’t a chance he was getting out of this. I walked over to him slowly as he pleaded “why are you doing this?”

“Do you know a y/n? I already know the answer let that be known”

“I mean yeah ex girlfriend. Why you fucking her now or something?”

“Quite the oposite. I’m fixing yours and the other six’s mistakes”

“Ha let me guess she told her ‘I hurt her’” he laughed in a condescending tone that made my nose curl up.

“And did you?” I asked knowing he’d lie. When he did I took my knife to his cheek. Slicing a line as a warning statement. As they always do he panicked, and the truth unfolded.

“Fuck man okay okay” his breath was heavy.

“So what did you do to her?” Josh asked from the corner.

“I raped her okay, but I was drunk”

“No excuses you fucking prick” my brother said harshly. “What else did you do?”

“I hit her, but only when she-“

“I said no fucking excuses” Josh yelled.

“I beat the shit out of her it always felt good okay? I hated her but she was always just sweet to me. That’s why I did what I did because I knew she wouldn’t leave. There is that what you want to know?”

“Almost. I’m curious how the relationship ended then?”

“Came home from work and all her stuff was gone. Sure her little friends convinced her” he rolled his eyes.

I spoke “you said it felt good to hurt her? Why?”

“It was an outlet for my stress. When she wouldn’t let me fuck her I-”

“Enough” I shouted feeling sick to my stomach. “You know what feels good Jaxson? What’s about to happen to you. She never deserved your fists, but you deserve my knife”

“Wait wait wait I can fix-”

Silence filled the air for a moment. Josh sighed “He made my skin crawl I won’t lie”

“That’s probably not the worst of it brother”

Josh’s nose curled up and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“Wasn’t it strange? He said that he liked hurting then said he could fix it”. I said absolutely disgusted by his nasty words.

“Ironic huh?”

We cleaned up our mess not leaving a thing out of place. Started my boat and discarded of that waste of a human being.

“Well one down six more to go” my brother spoke to me as we sat around the table.

“Shall we deal with another?” I asked him. Still pumped full of adrenaline and hatred.

“I should get home lover boy is probably waiting”

“He’s long been asleep Joshua. The nights still young” I tried to convince him. If he doesn’t go I’m going alone. I will not rest until I’ve kept her safe.

He sighed rubbing his face “I know you and I know you’re going with or without me. In the state your in right now there’s no telling you what’d do”

Without another word I opened my laptop. Researching the next scumbag who would meet the same fate. My heart dropped when I saw the face on my screen.

“What is it Jake? Something wrong?”

I slowly turned the laptop towards my brother. He gasped holding a hand over his mouth. His face pale and his eyes dilated. “Are we sure?”

I dug deeper unable to believe the truth until it nearly slapped me in the face. A picture with his disgusting arms around her. Her face unsure and timid. Once again I spun the laptop towards him. Seeing the truth laid out in front of him he sighed. I slammed it shut, grabbed my keys, and walked out the door.

“Jake! Jake!” He shouted at me. “You can’t make decisions out of anger. What did dad teach you Jake?”

I paused holding the car door handle “we have put all our trust into that guy. He’s our damn therapist Joshua. Can you use your fucking brain for a minute and think about what that means?”

“Don’t cuss at me Jacob I’m trying to not get us caught. I know it means she’s not the only one. Just take a minute before you react. Think about dad”

“Josh he’s fucking playing with their minds. He’s taking vulnerable woman and he’s assaulting them. Im going to fucking kill him”

“What did our father teach you?”

I’ve always been this way. I don’t understand it as much as the next person. My father did. Our dad was a cop. As I got older he knew he couldn’t stop me. He knew Josh would be involved as well. After all we did everything together. He knew he was the only one who could save us. Teaching us the ways. Out smarting the cops. Keeping a front your friends and family so they don’t even have a clue. The only rule don’t kill unless deserved. I would never harm the innocent, but I will protect them. Do we want rapist roaming the earth? Child predators? Abusers? Sometimes I think we were blessed. The law system fails us every single day. We can do something about it. Doing gods work so to say. There’s one thing I know y/n catching my attention wasn’t accidental.

Taking a breath I threw Josh the keys and settled in the passenger seat. He leaned up against the car smoking a cigarette. He opened the door snapping me out of my head. “Where are we going? Not his house right?”

“Yes that’s where we’re going”

“It’s late don’t you think-”

“Josh just drive I don’t want to talk about it”

“Okay” I heard him sigh. “I really don’t think this needs to happen tonight. You’re acting like a mad man”

“Something has to be done can’t you see that?”

“Yes Jacob but not in one night. I think we should go back home and rest. I just want to go back home to my partner he’s sleeping alone. He doesn’t deserve that please let’s go home”

“That’s to damn bad Joshua” I raised my voice at him. “I don’t fucking care what you want right now just drive! Drive!”

He looked at me with hurt in his eyes. He slammed on the breaks slinging me forward, spun the car around, and took off in the opposite direction of where we needed to to be.

“What the fuck are you doing? Turn the fucking car around”

“I’m going home Jacob. You’re sleeping on the couch so you don’t do anything stupid. Do you want to protect her?”

He asked me “what the hell do you think I’m trying to do here?”

“Then use your damn brain and calm the fuck down. You can’t do shit if you’re dead Jake. Don’t act on your emotions for god sake”

I didn’t speak another word. I knew he was right, and he probably saved my life tonight. I know without him I’d be dead or even in jail. I try my hardest not to lose my cool with him. Sometimes I just get so caught up with myself. I know he’ll forgive me by the morning. That doesn’t give me an excuse to treat him badly. I’d do just about anything for Josh. He doesn’t know the half of it. I have killed for Josh, but not that he’s aware of. He’s more sensitive than me, and I know that. I know sometimes everything weighs on him. He never truly wanted this life, but refused to let me do it on my own. He is and will always be the one person who understands me. I’d go into the house curl up on his couch. Hear Josh crawl into bed, whisper an apology to his partner, and he’d forgive him instantly. He’d lay his head on his chest, and try to push tonight out of his mind. His lover would play with his curls before they both drift off to sleep. Meanwhile I toss and turn on the couch, and attempt to get comfortable. While I stare up at the celling my mind starts to race. Id think about random things until my brain lands on her. Thinking about a future with her. Thinking about her in a flowered dress as I take her on a date. Holding her while she drifts to sleep on my chest. Buying her flowers, and watch her be overcome with joy. Comforting her while she crying just to make her feel safe. Spinning her around while we dance around a bar. Cooking dinner together, and sharing a bottle of wine. I fight sleep for an hour or so until I can’t no longer. My last thought would be her face smiling up at me after our kiss we shared. I find myself smiling softly, and let my eyes shut drifting to sleep.

~

You woke up groggy from the night before. Your thoughts flashed of Jake, and you started to replay the conversation. ‘Names?’

You talked to yourself as you made your morning coffee. A particular sentence really stuck in your mind.

“That’s as much as a threat as it is a promise”

What did he mean by that? Millions of thoughts rushed your head. You thought about the kiss you two shared. How he softly touched your face, and how soft his lips were. You thought about Josh, and how gentle he is. How he comforted you at the bar, and made you feel safe. You sip your coffee pondering your night. “There is absolutely nothing wrong with you”. You didn’t know why, but you had a feeling your life was about to dramatically change. Still flipping through the conversations, but you were interrupted. A loud knock on the door snapping you out of your thoughts. You started to shake with fear. Your breath started to pickup, and you slowly walked towards the door. Of course you had a good night, and he shows up now. An ex of yours still bothers you often. It’s been eight months since the breakup, but that didn’t matter to him. Your body filled with fear, as you slowly walked to the door. With a shaky hand you reached for the door handle, turning it, and there he was.

“Jake?”

“Didn’t forget about me did you?” He teased, but his face dropped. He noticed the look of terror on your face, your shaking body, and your eyes watery.

“Oh it’s you! Thank god it’s you!” You exclaimed desperately.

He was dressed in sweats, and a matching sweater. His hair still damp from the shower, and he smelled like wood and leather. His cheeks pink and his eyes looked like honey.

“You’re shaking” he paused realizing what happened. “Who did you think I was?”

“Someone else, but it’s you!” Clearing your throat trying to shake off your nerves. “It’s you”

He watched as you took a deep breath trying to calm yourself down. Anger filled him, but it couldn’t let you know. Instead he smiled at you, and waited until you spoke. Giving you time to calm down, and for your nerves to relax.

“Wasnt expecting you so early. Sorry I don’t look the best”. Now feeling a little embarrassed in your pajama pants and, an old sleep shirt. No makeup and your hair was an absolute mess.

“I think you look beautiful”

“sure you do” you tried smiled but your lips curved down.

“What? You don’t believe me?” He cocked his head to the side like a puppy.

You giggled shaking your head no. “I look a mess Jake”

“A beautiful one I might add”

Your nerves were calm, and soon felt at home. It all felt surreal to you. A beautiful man stood on your porch. Just because he genuinely wants to love you. He was dressed in sweats, and a matching sweater. His hair still damp from the shower, and he smelled like wood and leather. His cheeks pink and his eyes looked like honey. You invited him inside, and he sat beside you on the couch. He cleared his throat, and you could tell something was on his mind.

“I just wanted to apologize for last night. We didn’t mean to scare you. I just want to protect you that’s all it was. I know I came off strong and I’m sorry”

“Oh”

He thought he cleared things up, but it just made you more lost. “I just don’t understand why? You met me last night why do you even care? I don’t get why you’d involve”

“Because when I told you last night that women don’t usually catch my attention. I was telling you the truth. Then when we got to talking I knew that we met for a reason. It’s not often for someone to be so afraid of me. Especially not of my brother. Then you flinched when he moved your hair. My heart broke a little, and I realized that someone has hurt you. In that moment the only thing I wanted was to hold you, and tell you I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you again”

“But I’m damaged. I have so much baggage I just can’t understand why you’d want to involve yourself in the mess. Jake I am so much to deal with save yourself”

“That’s what you’ve been told because nobody has ever put effort into you. Y/n you deserve to feel love. With everything you’ve been through I want to be the one. I want to show you love. Gently love. You didn’t deserve anything you went through”

“And how do you know I don’t deserve it?”

His brows furrowed, and he paused for a moment. It upset him that you think so lowly of yourself. “because nobody deserves that y/n. Whoever made you think you do is a piece of shit. They have made you scared to open the door. Do you not see how horrible that is?”

“I dunno I guess it’s just been this way for so long. I’ve never been shown anything else how could I see how bad it is?”

“That’s exactly the problem y/n” he spoke louder, and his voice grew shaky. “I’m going to make it better. I’m going to undo all the trauma you’ve been through. One day your going to look back and all this is going to be in the past. I’m going to take care of you through all of it. I’m gonna love you on your good and bad days. When your smiling and laughing I’m right there with you. When your crying and you feel like youll never move on in there. Please y/n you have to let me in. Please let me heal you baby”

You fell quiet for a moment thinking about what to say. You had a change of heart for, and you believed him. This was new to you, and you weren’t sure how to respond. You could have fought him. Telling him you were fine, and you didn’t need him to protect you. Could have shoved him away like you do with everyone who tries to help. You can continue to fight your exs off alone. Continue this cycle over and over until it kills you. Instead you took him through your life. Who hurt you first, what has been done to you, and whats been said to you. Telling him things that nobody else knows. True to his word when the memory’s got to be too much. You cried into his chest, he held you tight, gently swaying side to side, and whispered sweet things in your ears. Promising over and over that you were safe now. It took you a long while to finish your talk. After you decompressed on the couch. Cuddled up beside Jake, as you both sipped your coffee. His phone started vibrating in his pocket. Comfortable as ever he sighed and picked it up. “It’s Josh I’m going to step outside”

“Where’d you rush off too?”

“Well don’t think I didn’t hear you two this morning” he laughed. “I went to see her and apologize for freaking her out last night. Except we talked, and she told me everything”

“Yeah we kind of forgot you were in the house. Like everything as in her exs?”

“Yes and Josh it’s worse than I imagined. We’ll talk tonight. Anyways what did you need?

“Jesus alright. I was calling to see if you two wanted to grab lunch. Lover boys getting hungry”

“I’m sure she’d love to. She’ll probably need time to get ready though. We’ve been lounging in the couch all morning”

“Well you’re crazy if you think I’m dressed yet. My hairs not even wash” he scoffed. “Let’s just meet at the cafe on Main Street in like an hour. Sound good?”

“Sounds perfect. Hey I just wanted to apologize about-”

“Don’t worry about it. I would do the same for him I understand”

He hung up the phone before Jake could spill his apology to him. Jake knew he’d forgive him, but it didn’t stop him from feeling guilty. He headed back inside as sat back down on the couch.

“Everything okay?” You asked.

“Josh invited us to lunch. Are you hungry?”

“I’m starving. Where are we eating?”

“That cafe on Main Street. The one with the blue trim”

“That’s like the most expensive cafe in town. I don’t think I I’ll be able to eat, but I’ll just get a coffee”

“I didn’t ask if you had money. I asked if you were hungry. No girl of mine will be paying for her own food. Go get dressed doll we’re leaving in an hour”

You stumbled over your words, and your face turned red. He just smiled at you, and placed a kiss on your hand. You happily went into your room to start getting ready. Applying your makeup, and fixing up your messy hair. Finding an old floral sun dress you thought would go perfect. Little did you they were Jake’s favorite.

He sat manspread on the couch waiting for you. Half watching the tv, and half thinking about the outfit you were going to wear. He wondered what your style was. Dresses and skirts or leggings and pants. He was pleasantly surprised with what you choice. Quickly rising to his feet to see you. He cheeks grew rosy and his eyes sparkled. “You look stunning”

You spun around showing him how your dress twirls. “Thank you Jake” your cheeks now matching his.

You grabbed what you needed, and walked outside. Only to find the nicest car you’ve ever seen. “Holy shit Jake this is yours?”

“Yes doll” he smiled at your enthusiasm. “Wait till you see the inside”

Like a gentleman he opened the door for you. As he walked around to the driver side you let out a squeal of excitement. Quickly calming down as he opened his door. Your face bright red, and a smile on your face. Looking around the car and feeling the softness of the seats. “Is it fast?” You asked.

“I’ll let you decide. Ready?” He smirked at you.

“Oh god”. He gassed on it throwing you back against the seat. Erupting a loud string of laughs from you. “You’re gonna kill us!”

“Okay okay you’re right” he hits the breaks slowing down. “Just kidding”

“Jake!”

When you arrived they were standing outside waiting. A cigarette between Josh’s fingers that he quickly discarded of. Jake opened the door for you. When you stepped out Josh did the classic whistle. You giggled and greeted him excitedly. “Hi Josh”

“Hello dear looking stunning love the flowers”

“Thank you. You look gorgeous lovin the pants”

He waved a hand in the air, and showed off his outfit. Putting his hands on his hips and swaying them. You watched him in awe almost fascinated by him. His boyfriend doesn’t speak much, but you complemented him anyways. He quietly thanked you and smiled. You could tell it made his day.

“He’s shy, but he’s a sweetheart” Josh told you, and wrapped his arm around him. He is definitely on the introverted side. Although he doesn’t speak much his eyes are kind. You can tell a lot through them especially his love for Josh.

You were seated at a booth and ordered your drinks. “Vodka soda please” Josh said. The table all sighed.

“It’s nine in the morning” you whisper.

“So?” he looked at you like you were crazy.

You just giggled at him “coffee umm no vodka”

Josh found you quite funny and laughed loudly with no shame. You wonder how he was so confident. The few people looked over at him, but he didn’t even notice. You hope to be as carefree as him someday. Your drinks came and it was soon time to order. You listened as they talked about this and that. Sipping on your coffee peacefully, but the tv caught your attention. Your mouth dropped when you saw the headline on the news.

“That- that’s my ex. He’s missing” you pointed at the tv.

Jake’s eye widened, and he gulped hard. Josh taking the lead “How strange. Any details?”

“Said he there was a disturbance call to his home the morning he went missing. He was last seen at work and he’s been missing ever since”

“Interesting” Josh took a sip “what do you think happened?”

“Probably fighting with his new girlfriend. Sounds about right. I’m sure he fleed after he did too much damage”

“That’s horrible. Sounds like a piece of shit”

“Jacob don’t be rude” Josh scolded him.

“He’s not wrong. Im just glad he’s out of here. He still bothers me sometimes. Hell I wouldn’t give a shit if he was dead”

“Sounds like he’d deserve it if something did happen to him” Jake said calmly

“Yeah absolutely”

The waitress came back to the table placing your plates down. You all talked about how good the food looked and started to dig in. Jake and Josh exchanged glances of relief. They watched you carefully afraid you would catch on. However, you sat there happily eating your expensive breakfast, and drinking your fancy coffee. You smiled to yourself, and realized you were in good hands. Realizing you we’re finally safe for he first time in forever. Completely letting your walls down you laid your head on Jake’s shoulder. Catching him off guard for a moment. Squeezing his arm you spoke “thank you”

“For what doll?” He asked confused.

“Saving me”

He kissed the top of your head “you’re safe now I promise”

“I know”

[tater-tot-jr]

Yapping time! Spoilers for DRDT C2E14

So the entire episode was great, but there’s one part I’d like to talk about most. David’s monologue towards the end. Specifically the second half, where he gets away from his logical stuff and into the more interpersonal stuff. I’ll break it down line by line.

“All I want is for Teruko to distrust others.”

Okay we are starting off interesting. Now, due to David’s nature we can’t trust him to be honest. We cannot take this as explicit confirmation of any sort of goal. With that said, his goal appears to be fucking up the class trial in some manner. We don’t know his motive, but that goal seems consistent enough to work with. So let’s work with it. Teruko is literally one half of this classes helpful trial participants. Her and Charles are the entire brain of this class. Charles can be killed, he has a glaring flaw in a debilitating fear of blood, he’s easy enough to deal with when the time comes. Teruko is stupidly resilient. To everything. The one thing she obviously struggles with is her trust issues/paranoia. If you’re looking to get under her skin that’s where you gotta go. Saying this is a clear demonstration he intends to poke at Teruko emotionally, which is an interesting thing to admit out loud. If I had to guess, it’s because he’s trying to kill two birds with one stone and make the class start to distrust Teruko as well.

“That’s why I’m doing this, telling such obvious lies.”

This is him saying he’s lying about seeing the body, I think. He’s doubling down on inciting paranoia, in both Teruko and the class. It’s interesting he would say this out loud. He’s hyper focused on fucking with Teruko and it shows. If you take out the brain, the body goes as well. It’s certainly a strategy of all time.

“There is no other proof of Eden���s innocence.”

As far as we know, this is a true statement right now. Unless I’m unaware of something that was the biggest piece of evidence meant to clear her name, and he brought it into question.

“As long as there’s a possibility that the evidence is false, as long as there’s even the slightest reason to distrust others, then Teruko cannot trust Eden.”

Oof, he’s got her dead to rights. I don’t think there’s a good faith argument for him being wrong. It’s cool to see how much he understands the cast. It’s an interesting way to show how Teruko’s thoughts process works without betraying her guarded nature. Having a character so ready to pick at her weakness is a good writing choice, and I hope they keep David around for a time. Teruko is the least trusting character I’ve ever seen in any fangan game, granted I haven’t played them all but still. There’s a chance the story doesn’t have any sort of lesson, and we’re just gonna watch Teruko suffer. The idea that she can’t bring herself to trust if there’s even a 0.001% chance of something being false is such a good character flaw. She’s clearly terrified of risk, and she doesn’t know how to get rid of her paranoia, even though I think she wants to.

“Isn’t that right, Teruko?”

Ohohoho you smug piece of shit. You fucking dick. This is more proof he’s not just saying these things in an objective way. He’s just trying to hurt her, as far as we can assume.

“…”

Yeah she’s fucking rocked. Teruko really doesn’t take things lying down. Befitting of her backstory, she’s the type to struggle and fight back against anything she can. But here she has nothing to say. David has read her for filth and they both know it. Now that I think about it, this probably also plays on her fear of being vulnerable. What could possibly be more vulnerable than someone telling you your own exact thought process?

“It’s in your nature to distrust people.”

This is a more interesting statement than it appears at first glance. Specifically because he says it’s in her nature. To him, this isn’t a choice she’s making because of the killing game. It’s not circumstance that has pushed her into this. No, this is who she is, and this is who she’ll always be. Which is a horribly insulting thing to say, because it’s within most humans nature to trust each other somewhat, and it’s life circumstances that push them away from collaboration. He’s saying that Teruko is so fucked in the head that she’s fundamentally different from the standard human baseline.

“Everyone you know has already betrayed you. There’s no one in this world who won’t hurt you. Even the people you love will turn their backs on you in the end. You know that well enough, don’t you?”

…Jesus Christ. He really is just the devil on her shoulder. These are her worst thoughts said out loud and back to her. Do you think she considers someone dying on her and leaving her alone a betrayal? Is that a part of this? Him saying “even the people you love” is interesting, does she really even have anyone she loves in the cast? Or does she just tolerate them. He’s making grand, sweeping statements about her life potentially before the killing game and hitting the nail on the head every time. An impressive feat of manipulation and perceptiveness.

“So distrust in others. Because that’s the only way you know how to live.”

Ow. Ouch. Owie. Not only is this a banger way to end the monologue but it’s just so telling. Teruko doesn’t even say anything in response she just waits for Charles to change to subject. Also, is he even really wrong? She tried to afford people trust and then she got stabbed and everyone else blamed her. She’s definitely swung too far the other way, but it’s not like she was good at knowing how much trust to afford people. This life is really the only way she knows how to live. How things are now, she’ll suffer any other way. It’s such juicy character writing. Damned if you do damned if you don’t. David has definitely been watching Teruko’s behavior, and quite frankly he has her figured out. He’s perceived her, and she hates it. I think we all know Teruko is lonely, she deeply wants people around her. But between being a danger to them and all her trust issues she shuts herself away. David is doing everything he can to keep her as far away from forming meaningful connections as possible. He’s clearly got some sort of plan.

—

There’s also a few things I want to talk about that I didn’t have the ability to put under a spoken line, so I’ll yap down here.

Firstly, Teruko extending some “trust” to Eden doesn’t prove David wrong. If anything, it strengthens his argument. Looking at the actual content of Teruko and Eden’s back and forth, it’s barely a scrap of trust and it’s completely conditional. Teruko basically said “because you helped me last trial I will trust you enough to investigate you second” which is still incredible progress for her, but it’s nothing close to genuine trust. This is not to diminish the progress Teruko made in that scene, but it’s nothing close to countering David’s claims.

Secondly, THAT VOICE ACTING HELLO?!?? David’s VA has always been great, but combined with DRDTdev’s wonderful writing and sprite design/choices he really brought this scene to life. He was perfectly smug and condescending. He had a voice that really portrayed that “I’m 100% right about you and you can’t do anything about it” vibe. Just a total piece of shit. 10/10 would listen again.

[heroictoonz]

king I've been putting off a rewatch of s15-17 for ages do u think its worth it

My instinct is so say no save yourself but like jokes aside I think that’s up to you like, I always said that they gave the RvBs a “bad ending” and that they ruined Tucker’s character post Chorus however, that was back when season 16 was literally first coming out

Flash back here but so when s16 was coming out I was just getting more and more upset with the writing of the show especially and honestly almost specifically Tucker. Somewhere near the end of s16 I stopped watching (didn’t even finish the season) and then after a bit I heard that the next season was gonna revolve around whole new characters

Now this, I only recently learned was weird miscommunication. See I’m trash ass shit at keeping up with news of shit even shit that I like so for the longest time I thought the story of this group I’ve been following since I was a teenager ended at s16 which KILLED me inside so I swore off the rest of the show and vowed to never watch it. Instead I mostly just rewatched Chorus or s1-s13 if I wanted to rewatch the “whole” show. Basically just watching till the end of Chorus and stopping. Every time I tried to go rewatch s15 to mmmaybe finish the show I kept remember how bad things got and kept running away

I’m gonna give some vague spoilers from here on out but it’s cause I do genuinely wanna talk about how I feel having literally only a few minutes ago finished s16 and s17 for the first time

I decided to finish RvB LITERALLY last night like no joke and it’s cause I saw spoilers out of context for s19 and I was like fuck it I need to see what the hell that is show is over anyways might as well finish it. So I am doing that now

I rewatched/finished s16 and fucking hated it. The good parts were Wash being cute and silly and my favorite guy ever of all time and forever. There’s also Grif and this character named Huggins they’re like on god one of my new brotps of all time damn RvB writes some good ass season specific supporting cast cause holy shit man. Also! I liked that Kai was in it! I enjoy Kai so so so so so much! I’ve always wanted more of her in the show! UNFORTUNATELY!

Tucker is so hard to watch. It’s so honest to god painful to watch. Maybe that’s what they were going for I don’t know. But, having now seen season 17 I get what they were TRYING to do I just don’t fully like how they did it.

In s17 Tucker admits to himself that the reason why in s16 he was acting so weird and gross and toxic masculinity “I have to have the biggest and most talented dong in the room at all times or I’ll kms” character ever is cause he was trying to be a leader

It’s sounds stupid and personally I think it IS stupid but now that I know what they were TRYING to write it makes these post Chorus seasons more bearable.

Basically, Tucker spent all that time in Chorus forced to be a leader. Once he finally got comfortable in the position of one Chorus no longer needed them. He wanted to keep being a leader keep feeling like a leader and it went to his head. He tried acting cool and tough and macho cause that’s what he thought a leader was and he says this! Out loud he admits all this to himself in s17! And honestly? That’s SUCH a good fucking concept it’s super fucking interesting and I really dig it plus with Tucker FAILING at being the leader it gave Donut well deserved character growth. I’ve always hated how sidelined Donut got compared to the others cause I’ve always liked him but s17 is definitely Donut’s season and to see him finally get screen time and respect and also have genuine moments of connection with the others was honestly really fucking awesome

So, do I like s16? God no. Do I recommend it watching it? Hard to say. You have to watch it if you wanna finish the show. Is finishing the show worth it? Honestly I dunno yet I haven’t seen 18 or 19 so it’s to be seen rn. But s17 where not perfect was definitely better than 16 and gave better insight on what they were trying to do. I don’t like the execution I don’t think it was as done very well but I like the ideas I like what they were attempting

S15 I admittedly do not fucking remember at all cause again it’s not a season I’ve rewatched more than maybe twice cause I kept stopping cause I just did not wanna deal with what I knew was coming. And I know me I know myself I know if I tried rewatching the show from the start or even s15 in an attempt to finish it I’d ever fucking do it so instead I just started from s16 and went forward

I don’t remember out right hating s15 but similar to the above I think there were good ideas and not all of them were perfectly done in writing. Also there’s this like really cool interesting thing that is about Tucker that then ends up being a stupid child support payment joke and that sucks so much it makes me so burningly livid I don’t even have a joke here it just makes me mad

But! It brings in the concept of other reds and blues other soldiers that were left in the rubbles of project freelancer which is super interesting again I think they coulda done more with specific parts of it and the “Tucker doesn’t pay child support for the buncha kids he fucked into existence” joke sucks especially when they CONSTANTLY SHOW HIM AS A VERY DOTING AND LOVING FATHER it’s fine I’m not mad I’m not bitter I promise

But uh yeah honestly if you like the show a lot I say watch it even if it sucks. Some of my biggest special interests are GARBAGE shows with writing so bad it makes me wanna commit actual arson. But, I love the characters I love the settings and I love what could have been maybe that’s why I always keep sticking around in stuff like this lol even if it sucks I like to imagine what could make it better cause I love it! And if I didn’t love it I wouldn’t care to put as much energy into wanting it to be better as I do! That’s the same with RvB! I wish it was better I wish SSOOOO BADLY that it was better but it’s cause I love it so fucking much not out of any sort of hate if that makes sense?

Idk tldr it’s up to you and you might suffer a bit but if you love the show I say go for it

Aaaand it’s 2am and I read ur ask wrong I thought that said “watch” not “rewatch” but? Points still stand I’m the kinda person that will rewatch even the seasons I hate to remember why I like the ones I love (I’m looking at you Ninjago season 3 you hot fucking garbage that I’ve sadly seen more times than I would like)

[utytimeline]

Thoughts on UTY (Pacifist Version)

Reactions from when I first played Pacifist, and observations I made as the game progressed.  A lot of these will be outdated by the time I get this list compiled, but it’s a faithful list of my reactions.  No spoilers, plz.  I haven’t done Geno, betrayal kills, or boss kills yet.  (I kinda don’t want to, these are my babies.)

Long post ahead.

Ruins

Questions

Clover is the narrator, aren't they? I don’t think Chara’s even in this game.

What happens if we don't leave a tip at the lemonade stand?

Is there a way to wake Decibat after he goes to sleep? (I know that's cruel, I'm just curious.)

Dalv keeps talking about a friend, talking like he thinks he will meet them again- Kanako?

Dalv is mistaking us for the human that attacked him, isn't he? The one that made Chujin decide to kill the next human?

Who was leaving Dalv corn? My best guess is Ceroba- that she's felt sorry for him this whole time.

How to look in Dalv's locked doors/drawers? (Probably have to kill him. That... is gonna hurt. I like Dalv, he's a sweetheart.)

Observations

Decibat's music volume decreases the more you stay silent. (Which makes me think all battle music is being generated by Clover, not the monster.)

"Penilla draws near." (Italics added for emphasis.) *facepalm*

"Rorrim" is "mirror" spelled backwards.

Also, "Dalv" is "Vlad" spelled backwards, so might Rorrim be Dalv's personal mirror? Seems to fit, Dalv is extremely tidy.

Dalv's furniture's "fine craftsmanship" is probably Chujin's work.

Other Thoughts

I feel like a sponge cake with 2x absorption should have an effect where it absorbs damage for at least 2 turns.

Snowdin

Questions

Does the Snowdin ice block ever move? The guy that comes here from the Dunes just stands there and does nothing. Perhaps I need to check very late in the game, return from the last SAVE in New Home or something.

What kind of creature is Mo? I looked it up, and all I can find is "he looks like a raccoon." Yeah, I can see that, but he's kinda reddish-brown, so maybe a red panda? I also considered the possibility that Mo could be a tanuki, a Japanese raccoon-dog (and yes, it looks like a raccoon) that supposedly tricks people, especially tricking them into buying drinks- and Mo is a drink salesman.

What are we to make of the human on the wanted poster that Marty describes?  She said they wore a hat like ours, but they came from space.  I can’t think of a single equippable UT item that seems outer spacey.  And since she’s describing a wanted poster, I don’t think she’s talking about Red (the monster she thought was a human).  My first guess is that some monsters may equate the Surface with outer space, since they’ve never seen either (and many monsters are obsessed with the stars- Starlo and all the monsters making wishes in Waterfall, for instance).

Observations

Flowey: "We won't be anywhere near your fancy surface air for a while." (Italics added for emphasis.) He sounds... jealous? This was when I first realized that Flowey's only playing nice, but I still have no clue what he’s really planning.

"Snowy" is just barely recognizable in "Snowfall."

Mo's theme is easy to recognize because not only does it use the Sega Genesis soundfont, it even includes the Michael Jackson whoop from Sonic 3&K.

Ice Wolf was when I started to realize that Yellow isn't that long before UT. (Yeah, I know, Flowey should've been my first clue, but I simply assumed he couldn’t be Asriel, that he was someone else that somehow turned into a flower.  Anything can happen in these games, after all.)

The Shufflers are all named after things you do with a drink: Toast, Swig, and my favorite, their leader Rephil (Refill).

The Shufflers scold Clover for starting a fight, but later Axis is the one trying to drag us into a fight.  I guess battles can go either way.

Shopkeepers have full animations, it's not just facial expressions.

Yellow finally gives us real puzzles. Some of them even take a bit to solve.

Flowey makes a comment about mailing ourselves to Asgore.  He clearly already knows about resets, so I think it’s likely that he’s seen the moment (at the end of The Dunes) that the whales start shipping people by mail.

Other Thoughts

Frostermit is so adorable. I need a Frostermit plushie.

Mo makes me think of what Spamton must have been like before Gaster (no, I'm not suggesting a connection, just that's what he made me think of- but given the other, more obvious DR inspirations throughout the game, I think it’s possible they were going for that kind of character).

Headcanon: Insomintot is related to Knight-Knight. They both inherited a genetic tendency to fall asleep when a human sings.

I love the UGPS jingle, it's so cute.

"(The remnants of a snowman. Once full of life. Now full of potential for new life.)" This line is a little creepy, to me. Clover may not realize it, they're probably just joking, but WE know that some snowmen in the Underground are alive, and I'm wondering what happened to this one.

I don't know if it's the same soundfont, but the Honeydew Resort theme reminds me of Final Fantasy: Mysticquest.

I actually picked "minor scales" when talking to the cellist at the resort, because I actually do like minor scales.

Being a Shadow the Hedgehog fan (the character, not just the game), I got a chuckle out of the description of coffee bean ammo. What do you mean, you can't eat the beans???

I haven't actually noticed any 4th wall moments, but Martlet's message on the second ball puzzle, the message that apologizes for making it too high to see and says the human must be very good at guessing, makes me think it's a very obscure allusion to the fact that Clover is being possessed by the player. There aren't enough moments like that in this game for me to go all crazy with lore and theories, but it's a nice touch to see such an allusion.

In all fairness, Marty has some craftsmanship abilities. Unfinished, shoddy workmanship notwithstanding, it still takes some knowledge of mechanics to make a water-powered door lock.

I just love Marty, she’s so sweet, I want her to be my little sister.

Waterfall

Questions

Why does the Royal Guard bother to survey their prisoners on “auditory ambiance” and things like that when they’re just gonna deliver the SOUL to Asgore???  I mean, isn’t the victim (except Red, apparently) usually dead before they get this far???

Observations

Not sure, but I’m guessing this is a different river than the one we travel with River Person.  Not only do we never meet River Person, but the colors of the ground and plants behind Ava look like the marshy sections of Waterfall that we never get to walk in.

Other Thoughts

I love how we never actually visit Waterfall (unless you count the post-credits scene), we just float past it.  Acknowledgement of the source material without actually copying it.  And gave them that much more time and room to include an entirely new area (2, if you count the Wild East as separate from the Dunes).

The mention of a Royal Scientist threw me off.  I totally did not expect Alphys, I thought this game took place many years before UT, and I’ve seen no Gaster references in this game at all.

The Dunes

Questions

More of a complaint than an actual question, but… if they wanted to make a Zelda reference, WHY OH WHY did they have to do the Death Mountain rockfall???

Since the Dunes are so near Hotland, could the gigantic Swelterstone be responsible for Hotland’s heat, too?

Since El Bailador calls us a “Sentinel of Silence,” how will killing Decibat affect the fight with Bailey?

If you do well in the Bailey fight, does he stop saying you don’t love dancing as much as him?

How to move the sunbathing (wait, what sun?) cactus that blocks that one road?

Observations

The Dunes is where I noticed that the battle theme changes depending on the location.

Sea Tea still increases SOUL speed.  Loved that they kept this in.

Same black slime that we met in MTT Resort Hotel.  And still outraged because of an elevator.  Feels like he’ll never find a working one.

Bowll being a china bowl shaped like a bull is probably a play on the phrase “a bull in a china shop.”

Clover got the green healing flowers (the ones in the Omega Flowey fight) from Violetta.

I sucked at Mew Mew Love Blaster, but I watched a walkthrough, and DID THEY SERIOUSLY GIVE MEW MEW A “BIG SHOT”?!?  (Coming back to this after finishing the game, I went, “yup, they did.”)

Other Thoughts

“Vigorous Terrain” is my favorite location theme, but I still haven’t figured out whether there’s any significance in it being a remix of “Your Best Friend.”

That first tumbleweed, the one that comes rolling out of the hole in the cliff, had me like “wut?”  I did love how they replaced Undyne’s rocks with tumbleweeds.

I also love the mines music.  The first few notes remind me of Zelda’s Lullaby (from LOZ).

I actually missed getting a free pickaxe because the monster’s trivia question about the Royal Scientist threw me off.  I still didn’t realize this took place after Asgore hired Alphys, I thought it came WAAAAY before that.  (This also finally confirmed for me that Flowey is, in fact, the same one we know from UT, Asriel.)

I tried not to make a lot of comparisons to DR, considering this isn’t even canon to UT, but I did feel like the mouse attack in Bowll’s fight was very similar to that one attack in the Maus fights in DR.  But I think the Maus fight itself was probably a reference to some old video game (can’t remember which one, it just always felt familiar), so maybe UTY was making the same reference.

Was stunned to see Undyne look-alikes in the Mines, was more surprised that they mentioned her, and was the most surprised to find that they’re not related.

Clover has a very cute animation for hopping in the mine cart.

I could not figure out Bailador’s fight mechanics, and tbh, I got thru it on an absolute fluke (and the silver scarf).  I had to look up a walkthrough later to realize you have to move into the right space AND press the action button when the color lights up.  I thought it was just being in the right space.  Every rhythm game controls differently, it seems.

Wild East

Questions

Do mail whales keep notebooks full of potential rhymes, like Marty and her notebook full of puzzle ideas?

Is “designated naptime” a reference to siestas, or did Star just not want to overwork everybody?

“A ballet shoe could be lethal if used enough times.”  Um.  Got anything to share there, Blackjack?  “Don’t question my morality!  I’m not prepared to speak on it!”  OKAY, I REALLY NEED YOU TO SPEAK ON IT NOW….

Can we get into the locked farm cellar?  (Preferably without killing anyone?)

Observations

Animals still living in the Underground at least provides some explanation for where monsters get their food (in addition to the corn).

The BEST part about the health overcharge?  You don’t lose it when you SAVE!  He might be a plague doctor, but Doc works absolute miracles.

Star paid double price for the gun he bought us.

They actually take around 15 paces for the dual (I lost count).  (And yes, I spelled it “dual” on purpose.)

Moray comments that Star made them walk around with a rubber snake in their boot.  I looked it up, and it looks like the first and most well-known movie to use that “snake in my boot” reference really WAS Toy Story (although it has origins outside of film from farther back).  So Starlo also watches animations (as long as they have cowboys).

Vengeful Virgil’s comment that not caring about others’ feelings is what makes him a villain, comes while we’re on our way to console Star after his cocky selfishness drove everyone away.  This was not a coincidence.

Every monster has a magical ability, and Starlo’s is literal “bullet time” (he can slow you down).

^This also makes me wonder: remember how he flew backwards in slow-motion when we shot him in the dual?  I wonder if he was using his bullet time on himself for dramatic effect.

Star’s family: his dad, Solomon (the sun), his mom, Crestina (the moon), and a brother who’s name I never found but looks like a 4-pointed star.  (I’ve seen people call him Orion, so I’m going with that, for now.)

Star has several sticky notes in his dad’s almanac, and keeps dad’s almanac on his own bedroom nightstand.  Seems like Star probably took his life on the farm seriously before he left home.

Star also apparently had an interest in outer space.  Possibly some confusion stemming from Toy Story?  (I actually started headcanoning that Toy Story got him into cowboys, and put together a fic on that.)

Not sure where the term “space cowboy” originated, or what Clover’s actually referring to when they say it about Star, but the first use of that phrase that I’m finding is a Steve Miller song from 1969 (referenced later in Steve Miller’s “The Joker” from 1973, the line that a lot of people associate with Steve Miller: “some people call me the space cowboy, some call me the gangster of love”).  The phrase has been used numerous times in multiple ways since then.

Seems like Star sewed his own outfit.

Other Thoughts

Picked “no” when Star asked if monsters die when you ride them into the sun cuz I thought the whole town would converge upon me, heh.

Was honestly surprised that the dummy finally showed up.  This was the first time I tried using the FIGHT option, and it turned out to be rather difficult.  I am not looking forward to Neutral or Genocide.

Star tells Ceroba we’re as good of a shot as him, and she goes, “Really?  A child?”  Still not entirely sure whether she’s poking a bit of fun at Star, but I don’t think she is.  Star doesn’t take any offense to her comment for himself, and her sprite when she speaks next, saying she’s “impressed,” looks extremely surprised.  (In all fairness, despite Blackjack’s claims, Star actually is really good.)

I suck at them all, but the mini-games in UTY are all so fun.

Love the change-up to the battle animation during Feisty Four’s attack, how they switch between characters and even team up.

“A tumbleweed rolls by.  It says hello.”  Well, why not?  I mean, the rocks and cacti are sentient.

The first mention of Kanako at The Lab had me in tears, because, like… we KNOW what happened to her.

Steamworks

Questions

“The Steamworks was the main power source of the Underground.”  This statement confuses the timeline a bit for me.  The Core is now the main power source of the Underground, but my understanding is that the Steamworks was operational long after Gaster died.

I NEED TO KNOW WHAT THAT LAST AWARD ON THE WALL SAYS.

Does the story change at all depending on what parts you use for Axis’ gf?  (Also, I wonder how many of us just picked up the first 2 or 3 items and then realized there’s way more than 4 items to choose from and wished Ceroba would let us start over.)

Is there a way to fix the grandfather clock?

Does the grandfather clock say something different if the time on your PC actually is 6:26 on a Monday morning in spring?

Observations

Ceroba telling Clover to wait in the corner, kinda refers back to her doubting that a child could be as good of a shot as Star.  She has very little respect for Clover at this point.  Not entirely sure if it’s just because Clover’s a human, or if it’s also because they’re just a kid.

Don’t think I missed Flowey’s comment about The Lab.  He clearly does NOT want us to go there.

Ceroba must have some kind of dimensional satchel, herself.  I don’t see how else she can carry the hunkajunk we built (not to mention pulling her staff out of hammerspace).

BTW, “dihydrogen monoxide” is just water.  Vendy probably just called it that to make it sound poisonous.

Vendy said their last boot up was yesterday and that their creator always comes by on Mondays to restock them.  Sadly, the grandfather clock is stuck on 6:26, Monday morning.  Kinda feel sorry for Vendy.

Guardener is actually nice.  She even grows a flower just for the bot that came late.

Telly-Vis starts using the bullet patterns of other monsters during the “reruns” portion of the fight.

You can cheat on the Axis fight if you have the silver scarf.  Just deliberately miss Axis when you ping-pong the red balls for enough turns to heal up.

I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m guessing that Ceroba would get mad and ditch you if you kill one of the robots, turning the run into a Neutral.

Other Thoughts

Screw those water puzzles at the start of Steamworks.

DAT MUSIC, THO.

I’m not gonna try to discuss Ceroba’s growing respect for us.  That needs a whole analysis post of its own.  (Well, everything about Ceroba needs its own analysis.)

Axis rolled in and I was like, “Oh, no, another one.”  Seems like we just keep running into these darned toaster ovens on wheels.

Axis music is fire, tho, all of it.

I swear I hear some DR inspirations in the music.  Haven’t learned the names for all the tracks yet, but at one point I thought I heard Digital Roots (when Ceroba’s fiddling with the generator) and at another I thought I heard Card Castle (the room where you build Axis’ gf).

A game mechanic I love: Ceroba’s shield effect (well, as long as it’s shielding Clover).

A mechanic I hate: Jandroid’s slippery floors.

I also love the manta ray ferryboat.

Mo’s level of professionalism is off-the-charts.  He ain’t about to let a little thing like his clothes and his stand catching fire ruin a sales pitch.

Being a Christian, I’m not going to share what I really think of the Axis chase.

Loved seeing the return of popato chisps.

I swear, I thought all that white stuff was monster dust at first.  Walked into the Science Division and nearly burst into tears.

I hope somebody finally has chance to either fix Guardener or shut her down properly once they reach the surface.

Conveyor belt puzzle caused me trouble because I kept trying to box up trash.  Took me a while to realize “red” and “blue” referred to the highlights around the objects.

I’ll talk more in depth later, but I love how Clover has this calming effect on Ceroba when she’s chewing out the productivity bot.

Believe it or not, I didn’t get caught by Axis in the fireplace room!  Go me!  (Actually, it’s really not that hard….)

Still not entirely sure what I think of Axis deliberately handing us a “weapon” just to give himself an excuse to attack us.

I’ve said this before: he took me an hour and a half to fight the first time.  I really hate the mechanics in his boss fight.  And it was especially humiliating for me because I’d only died, maybe, 3 or 4 times before him.  Didn’t have any trouble with Starlo, and while I never did get the hang of Bailey’s fight, I think I only died to him once.  Guardener was responsible for the other deaths.

I love how Ceroba’s been insulting the Steamworks the whole time, but I don’t think she ever insults Axis.  That was her late husband’s baby.  And then she even gives him tips on dating.

Ceroba finally respects us after the Axis fight.  It takes remembering why she needs us for her to be able to press on with her mission.

Chujin’s House

Questions

Woodworking, robotics, SOUL research, video game designer, loving husband and father- I know Chujin was kinda old, but how DID he find time for all this???

Marty finds Kanako’s room to be unsettling.  Not sure why.

Clover doesn’t like the gas stove and worries it will cause a housefire.  I’ve wondered before whether they came from an orphanage.  Did they lose their family in a fire?

“The Founder’s Crest.”  Who are the Founders?  Founders of what?  Or is this just a reference to something I’m not familiar with?  (Possibly something in Japanese culture?)

Was Chujin actually that much older than Ceroba?  Or did he just age rapidly because of his research?  If boss monsters only age when they have children, how could he have become so old before marrying Ceroba… unless he’d already had, and lost, one child before?

I’ve been told there’s a secret behind Chujin’s grave.  Will have to check it out the next time I do a Pacifist run.

Observations

Strange that Ed found the trapdoor so easily when Ceroba didn’t know about it until Chujin told her.  Ceroba must not have covered it up properly before locking up the house.  Possibly also Chujin somehow arranged it with her that he would be the one cleaning the dining room.

I feel like Moray’s the smartest one of the Four.  They knew it was a good idea to send for Marty.

And THIS is where Marty gets smart.  She takes charge in Star’s absence.  The Four listen to her, even Ed (reluctantly).  And SHE’s the one telling us to stay on track.

(Ok, she’s still a bit naïve- she doesn’t seem to consider that Chujin’s paper with her name is actually ABOUT her.)

The drawings on Kanako’s bedroom wall: Dalv, the monster on the Dunes swingset, her family… and a flower?  Well, I mean… a lot of little kids like to draw flowers, so that might not be anything.  Also a drawing of what looks like Axis lying on the floor.

“Nuh-uh!  Kids shouldn’t mess with knives!”  Nice little reference there, dev team.

And, of course, it’s Flowey who makes light of Ceroba’s mission, calling it a “science fair project.”  Well.  He has every right to say whatever he likes about SOUL research.  Doesn’t he.

Of course, we didn’t get Star’s letter in time because Ceroba wouldn’t let us check the mail.  But I highly doubt she planned it that way, as she had no idea the Five would be snooping around her old house.

Other Thoughts

Starlo is so. completely. PISSED.  And… uh, he has a right to be.  Like, she’s doing a lot of what he just did- lying and scheming and using Clover to fix her own problems (those two are a match set, I swear….)  And he’s torn.  These are his two friends, Clover being the human he practically worshipped, and Ceroba being one of his closest friends (not to mention the love of his life, but I digress).  He doesn’t want anything to happen to her, but he can’t let Clover get hurt, either.

The fact that Moray sent for Marty as soon as learning that Clover was in danger just seals in the idea that Marty is part of the family.

…how long has that corn chowder been in that fridge, anyway???

I’ve already discussed my thoughts about Chujin in other posts, a lot of them still in queue.

Hotlands

Questions

Kinda wonder what could’ve made Clover suspicious about the wall to the left of the UG Apartments.

Never did figure out where the “rain” was coming from.  I figure it’s just a leaky sink upstairs or something.  (I’d thought at first it was from the janitor cleaning the hallway, but that’s on the other side of the building.)

Observations

I’m sure everyone recognized it, but in case someone didn’t, Bailey’s in the colored tile room.

I think Muffet herself blocked the way thru Hotland, renovating for her pastry shop.

Mr. Cursor mentions a 10-sided die.  They have some version of D&D in the Underground.  Probably more like… idk, Houses and Humans?

Working for Mettaton must have taken quite a toll on the janitor.  He doesn’t look nearly so tired or decrepit here.

There was a flier on the bulletin board in the Wild East that was advertising the acts at the UG Apartments.  The band we saw in Honeydew Resort has a gig at the Apartments on Fridays.  So, this game- or at least by the time we reach Hotland- is on a Friday.

Other Thoughts

The monster candy is butterscotch-flavored.  *nods*  Of course, what else would it be?

Poor Heats.  Defeateeeeeeeeed again….

Star can actually survive drinking magma.  I’ve got headcanons about this boiling in my brain….

I thought Know Cone said he was just gonna look at Hotland from a mountaintop…?

New Home/Pacifist Ending

Questions

If there’s an elevator leading to the castle, I’m guessing that means at least one of the other endings has us actually fight Asgore.

How exactly does Kanako’s mask give Ceroba superpowers?  I feel like it might be a reference to Japanese mythology, but I know very, very little about Japanese mythology.

How exactly does Clover have the ability to see into Ceroba’s memories?

I kinda hate myself for asking, but… what happens if you choose FIGHT after you beat Ceroba?

Observations

Star is the one asking Ceroba if she’s gonna kill them all because while he doesn’t know all the details, he recognizes the headspace she’s in.

Other Thoughts

Not only am I thrilled to finally get to explore some of New Home, I’m absolutely in love with the design and the music.

I think when Ceroba says she lied about Kanako, she’s not saying she lied about Kanako falling down, or about sending her to the lab.  She lied about having any hope that Kanako would return safely.

How the heck do frikkin’ cherry blossom petals have so much attack power???

The dash mechanic took me time to learn, but if Toby ever decides to steal from Yellow, I hope he steals this :P

My reactions to Ceroba’s plan: “But Chujin specifically begged you NOT to use Kanako!  How do you think you’re honoring his memory by going against his final wish?!”  “Oh, I see, finishing the serum was his death wish.  That’s still no excuse to use your own daughter, tho.”  And finally: “…oh…”

I tried to get thru the game without cheats (except for being on easy mode) but I did have to turn on auto-fire for Ceroba’s final phase.

[esquie]

Hiiii I have still been playing avowed I'm 16 hrs in and I feel like I've hit a slump? Like I got to the 2nd part of the island. the emerald stair or whatever and idk. Not trying to give any spoilers bc idk where you are but I want a companion and it's bumming me out I'm having to do a bunch of fetch quests for her. Like I didn't have to do ANYTHING for Kai and Marius we just get them. Idk. I'd probably complain less if I found the fetch quests interesting but it's just a little awkwardly done I suppose? How are you fairing with the game? Tl;dr First 8 hrs were great, second 8 hrs have me like ready to throw in the towel.

to be honest with you. im at the EXACT SAME SPOT. and i haven’t picked up the game since hitting it.

the second location was real stuttery for me so i was already like Okay -_- and then you meet my girl and it’s :D but you don’t recruit her… and then you meet the other girl and it’s :D and then you don’t recruit her… like please i didn’t even want these boys but i had zero power to deny either of them. like recruiting marius felt so out of no where and when he wants to leave ur given 4 dialogue options that all say :( pls stay :( like why can’t i say ok bye. why can’t i even dismiss them? why am i forced to boy squad but they tease the gals in front of me like a prize i need to work my ass off for and it’s not even FUN. when kai jokes about u becoming assistant i was like. i don’t like this. this is boring. and quit and haven’t felt like playing again

this game starts off so strong with so much potential and it’s so exciting… i love parkour i love explore i love find things i love the voice story parts… but the second i hit zone 2 it felt like i was back at that part of the start of the game where it’s slowly teaching you the basics in the city . except then at least i felt good about fucking off first because there’s a cool lighthouse nearby. here i feel desperate to get the next companion cuz i’m dying here but i need to learn how to do the most boring talk to 3 different people side quest i don’t care about because i’ve known this gal and this town for 2 seconds and i just don’t care about them. it’s like they thought showing them starving and giatta being exiled was enough to get u soooo motivated to save her and help them and stuff and it’s like no. i’m sorry. your writing is just not powerful enough to get me that invested from some idle npc dialogue and one argument with multiple npcs i’ve never seen before and kai chiming in like “yikes” “that’s awkward” “cringe” OK KAI SHUT UP STOP INTERJECTING anyway. yeh. i agree. i wish the game kept the same feeling i had at the start but it’s like the more i play the more.. dull it is. unexciting. repetitive? i feel like if i keep going it’s just gonna… loop zone one. it doesn’t feel like it’s gonna do anything more. and maybe it will! but. it flopped so bad so fast i don’t feel motivated to see it. i literally feel zero motivation to play now? and it sucks. because i was loving it

also i was feeling drained from the combat which i’m surprised about . like u need so much money to buy better stuff or u need to really grind in ur exploring to find all the materials (and stick to one type of weapon or u will need so much more) and because things don’t respawn you can’t like. actually grind for mats. so i felt like i was being fucked by wanting to try more combat things and be more well rounded. and i felt weak. and stuck. like how am i supposed to get more money or more mats. i’m confused. ok next zone: ok everything is way more expensive here and oh my god there’s another fucking bear i don’t want to kill another bear i don’t wanna explore this location and find 50 bears i don’t even wanna try to find my materials because i’ll just weakly fight more bears!!!!!!

anyway. the reviews who gave this game lukewarm reviews… i see it . i can understand why someone would push through and finish it. even replay it (i like that backgrounds do give lots of dialogue choices - don’t like that most dialogue choices seem to be the same thing said different ways but alas) . but man idk if i’m that person. especially when i’ve experienced performance issues and glitches/bugs . maybe if they gave me women to hang out with i’d be happier. can you tell i don’t really like kai or marius . also why can’t i be any kind of evil . i gave up and decided to be the nicest cunt around because the game seems to really reward and like that. but being a dickhead doesn’t seem to be a choice i can make a lot. or being downright a bad person, that seems to be like. never. lol anyway i’m rambling in my disappointment

i’m definitely slumped. we are slumping

[noelwho]

Ultimate Chronological Order Imodna Playlist!!!

Hello! I feel like I have to introduce myself ‘cause I’m barely on Tumblr. I’m still learning how to use it, I posted a couple of fanarts and they went really well, so I want to try and make myself a spot in here. My name is Noel (they/them) and I’m a big fan of Critical Role. I started watching a few months ago, with Exandria Unlimited. Once I was done I went ahead and started Campaign 3. I’m currently on episode 49 (I know, I have a lot ahead yet). I also watched the first season of Candela Obscura and a couple of One-Shots.

Today I’m here to talk about the Lesbian Southern Gothic Witches. Earlier this week I started to obsess over a playlist. An Imodna playlist, to be more specific. It started with me listening to one I found on spotify (I will credit below because it’s been a huge inspiration for this project) and I got the urge to make my own. At the beginning it was something chill, something normal…until it was not. Over the course of the last 3 days I haven’t thought about or listened to anything else. I got the idea of making the playlist in chronological order and I started to take it very seriously. I divided their history in 10 different chapters and assigned each song to the correct time period. At first it was just gonna be into chapters, but then I started to put them in order inside the chapters too, and it became very personal. For real, this playlist has been the one and only thing I wanted to talk about for days. Last night I finally finished it. I’ve played it for run tests several times and I think it’s finally ready to see the light (kinda feels like the project of my life even though I only spent a few days working on it).

After all this brainrot it didn’t feel right to just tweet a link to the playlist, I wanted the world to know everything that went through my head in the process of making this. I also don’t have many people around who care about Critical Role, and I thought it was a good opportunity to connect with the fandom. So all of this took me here, to tumblr. All of a sudden it became very clear that this was the perfect place to set my baby free.

There’s some things I wanna make clear before you start reading, the first being the classic: english is not my first language. Sounds like a joke at this point but for real, it’s very likely that this thing is full of grammatical mistakes and I want to apologize in advance (specially about the in/on/at situation, I’ve been having lots of trouble with those for some reason) This is also the first time I do something like this so it may not be perfect. The second thing is that this will obviously be filled with spoilers. In fact I actually haven’t even got to The Scene, I saw it around on Tumblr and Twitter (impossible to avoid that spoiler, but I don’t really care). I’m aware that there’s a lot of Imodna moments that I haven’t seen yet, but I couldn't wait to start this playlist. I don’t know if the episodes I have left to watch will translate into new chapters or into new songs for the chapters I already have but either way, I will keep this post and the playlist updated.

With that being said, welcome to this ride through an unhinged mind. Fasten your seatbelts and enjoy!

The tether scene is one of my favorite ones. I love that metaphor with a passion. That’s why I chose this name for the playlist. With the photo I wanted to make an allusion to the red thread myth given that Laudna herself carries around a spool of red string. I even edited the picture so the hands on the right are slightly gray like Laudna’s.

There’s not just one specific vibe to this playlist, but I find it to be a very calming one, with the exception of some specific moments that we will talk about later. I tried to avoid strong and distracting beats so I could keep it a little ethereal. Lots of acoustic guitar (which I love). I’m not going to talk about every single song because some of them have pretty obvious meanings. Usually the songs aren't a 100% match, but they do have a part to it that speaks to me and to the story on a certain level.

× Imogen and Laudna’s separate lifes ×

At the beginning of the journey that is this playlist, I wanted to introduce the characters. Intertwining their songs, we get to know Imogen and Laudna’s pasts, before they have each other to face the terrors of being witches in a world that doesn’t quite understand them.

Delilah - Florence + The Machine (Laudna)

I sometimes wonder if Marisha has ever listened to this song, because oh my fucking god. I wanted to start the playlist with Abbey, I didn’t because with the intertwining I couldn’t make it fit, but this one is a very good start as well. This song shows perfectly how it must have been being brought back by Delilah and having that power all of a sudden.

Abbey - Mitski (Imogen)

Matilda - Harry Styles (Laudna)

Imogen - Nick Mulvey (Imogen)

Laudna's lullaby - Ginny Di (Laudna)

Time comes in roses - Bess Atwell (Imogen)

The Tradition - Halsey (Laudna)

Burn it down - Daughter (Imogen)

There’s several songs from this album on this playlist. It couldn’t fit better. It reflects perfectly the moment Imogen started to develop her powers. It even refers directly to the way she parts ways with her town (which doesn’t happen for a few chapters but still I felt this one belonged here). Her fear of being a disappointment, her father becoming absent, the feeling of being cursed. It’s all here.

The hanging tree - The hunger games (Laudna)

Still I wait - Anna Leone (Both)

Even with everything they had to go through, they both still wait and cling to hope.

× Imogen and Laudna meet ×

Finally, their paths cross. They experience the feeling of warmth for the first time in a long time. They both feel the need to keep the other one close and begin to appreciate the little things in life, learning how to be taken care of. Goodbye loneliness.

Season of the Witch - Lana Del Rey

I'd like to walk around in your mind - Vashti Bunyan

How important is this song knowing what Imogen can do…

Comfortable Silence - Bella Porter

Without you without them - Boygenius

A hole in the earth - Daughter

That Moon Song - Gregory Alan Isakov

Love brought weight - Old Sea Brigade

That distant shore - Steven Universe

Sick of losing soulmates - Natalie Dawn

I Hear a Symphony - Cody Fry

Sidelines - Phoebe Bridgers

The bug collector - Haley Heyderickx

Sometimes I feel that it’s always Laudna taking care of Imogen, as if she didn't have anything on her own plate. It can't be easy to live with a voice in your head and paranoia. This song shows how Imogen is there to hold Laudna too when it becomes too much.

Look up - Joy Oladokun

If the last one was an Imogen’s POV, this one is totally a Laudna’s POV. Her and her silly little pep talks. “You’re so capable”.

Daylight - Taylor Swift

I love the idea of them learning that life can be good if you find someone to share it with. This song encapsulates that perfectly.

Spell - Dora Jar

I wanted this one to be the last one of the chapter because it introduces the idea of leaving together.

× Imogen and Laudna run away together ×

“Would you run away with me?” They learn what it’s like to have a home that’s not a place, but something entirely new. The past still follows but they’re no longer crushed by it, because they don’t have to sustain it on their own.

Departure - Daughter

Second child, restless child - The Oh Hellos

Just the two of us - Grover Washington, Jr.

I really like to imagine Imodna slice of life scenes when I listen to this song.

Dandelion Wine - Gregory Alan Isakov

Homesick - Dwara, Khotton Palm

Graceland Too - Phoebe Bridgers

When I realized how much of a Laudna's POV this song is, I almost cried.

Telepath - Manchester Orchestra

I really really like Manchester Orchestra, it's one of my favorite bands. I never let go of the chance of spreading them around, and this one is the best song they have. Laudna's POV for sure.

everything i wanted - Billie Eilish

With songs like this one and Intertwined, I wanted to introduce the idea that even though they're definitely better off now that they left the town, that doesn't instantly solve all of their problems. As I said before, the past follows, but they're no longer alone with it.

Savior Complex - Phoebe Bridgers

Intertwined - Dodie

Nothing else matters - Phoebe Bridgers

As long as they're together, nothing else matters.

× You lied ×

Even though I only have a few songs for this precise moment of the story, I thought that it was very important to include their first fight. The gem is broken and Imogen feels betrayed. Laudna is left abandoned and thinks she deserves to be punished for Delilah’s wrongs. We explore jealousy for the first time.

Witches - Daughter

The silence at the end of this instrumental song represents the loneliness that Laudna felt when Imogen left her alone after her incident with Delilah

Landfill - Daughter

There are two possible ways of reading into this one. This is in my opinion a Laudna's POV. She could either be talking to Imogen, expressing her deep rooted desire for a punishment for what she’s done; or to Delilah, alluding to the attachment she has to her own powers (that at least as far as she knows are there because of Briarwood) opposed to the hatred she feels for her and for herself for wanting those powers (this is a theme that they explore later on future chapters)

Are you okay? - Winnetka Bowling League

Afterglow - Taylor Swift

The archer - Taylor Swift

× Laudna’s death ×

Otohan Thull relentlessly kills three members of Bells Hells. A coin is flipped and Laudna is gone, again. What awaits beyond the afterlife? Perhaps a little girl, a monster and a tree.

DVD menu - Phoebe Bridgers

If death’s not exactly DVD menu by Phoebe Bridgers, then someone tell me what’s like because I can’t imagine otherwise. I freaking love how this song connects with Daffodil.

Daffodil - Florence + The Machine

Death with dignity - Sufjan Stevens

Bells in Santa Fe - Halsey

I like to imagine that Laudna didn't appear in Nightmarish Whitestone immediately. Up until this point, she's in a limbo, accepting her own death. Bells in Santa Fe marks the moment she sets foot in that Upside-down kind of world. The constant repetition of “All of this is temporary” is like a mantra for her, the only hope she has of getting through it with her sanity intact is believing that this will also end and she will finally find peace.

Willow Tree March - The paper kiss

Hard times - Ethel Cain

Tether me - Galleaux

With this song and the next one, I wanted to express desperation. We don't get to know in the series how she feels throughout all of this, but I can only imagine how terrifying it must have been. There's a point where anyone would have started begging for help.

Matilda - alt-J

× Imogen’s grief ×

“Is she your favorite?”. Imogen feels deeply guilty for what happened. The possibility of bringing Laudna back is the only thing that’s keeping her from losing it completely. All the regrets, all the words she wishes she said before, all the times she didn’t approached her when she wanted to, come afloat. Grief, disassociation and sorrow.

Words - Storefront Church, Phoebe Bridgers

This song is meant to represent the exact moment of Imogen floating and losing control, with Otohan in her head pushing her to let go.

Goner - Twenty One Pilots

No other song in existence can express better the moment Imogen realize Laudna's gone for good.

Lanterns lit - Son Lux

True Faith - Ashley Johnson

Hurt for me - SYML

Carry you - Novo Amor

My love - Florence + The Machine

Lucky for you - Novo Amor, Gia Margaret

Killer + the sound - Phoebe Bridgers, Noah Gundersen

Should have known better - Sufjan Stevens

Ya'aburnee - Halsey

Show you a body - Haley Heyderickx

Imogen (even Laura) loses hope for a moment during the ritual they do for bringing Laudna back. The end of this song summarize this repeating a lyric over and over (you can clearly see through this playlist how much I love repetition).

× Back together ×

After Bells Hells confront Delilah at the Upside-down-Whitestone of Laudna’s nightmares, Pike manages to bring her back to life. Imogen and her are back hand by hand, and nothing can ever tear them apart again. Here’s where I think something awakes inside them, but they are far from realizing it.

I am the Antichrist to you - Kishi Bashi

Like an angel “fallen from the sky with grace”, Laudna’s back on Imogen’s arms.

Darling - Halsey

This love (Taylor's Version) - Taylor Swift

Now that you're home - Manchester Orchestra

Lose you again - Manchester Orchestra

Halloween - Phoebe Bridgers

But not kiss - Fayer Webster

Like I said, something changes after this. What they’ve been through is not nothing. This song is here to show that something is born deep inside them, on their subconscious far from their reach yet

× Back to Gelvaan ×

Same as with the “You lied” chapter, I felt that this one was important even though I just have one song for it. It just matches perfectly. Imogen and Laudna visit Imogen’s hometown and the place where they met, searching for answers. Old wounds, some closure and an emotionally absent father.

My tears ricochet - Taylor Swift

× Tethered ×

In this chapter the platonic bond is peaking. It takes place right before The Unraveling, giving in to the “Can I kiss you?” phase and becoming romantic. They’ve been through hell and back just to stay together. This is my personal favorite bit of the playlist, everything is extremely intense but not yet explicit.

Tethered - Sleeping at last

I Will - Mitski

Anchor - Alli X

Don't let them see you cry - Manchester Orchestra

Crosses - José González

Quietly - Manchester Orchestra

Francesca - Hozier

Moon song - Phoebe Bridgers

Capital Karma - Manchester Orchestra

Everywhere, everything - Noah Kahan

In a week - Hozier

Monster - King Princess

j's lullaby (darlin' i'd wait for you) - Delaney Bailey

I will follow you into the dark - Miya Folick

I wouldn't ask you - Clairo

× Can I kiss you? ×

Finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for. The beggining of something new, the next and most logical step of this journey. The platonic becomes romantic and they get to truly explore the feelings they always had, and some novel ones. This is the moment I know less about, but I’ve used my imagination and my own headcanons.

Can I - Genevieve Stokes

I debated a lot whether to put this one at the end of the last chapter or the beginning of this one because I don't know how relevant Laudna's death is up to this point, and there's a huge reference to this in this song. I know for a fact that the Delilah’s plot is not over and things will change, but I couldn't resist the urge to put it in here, given the name of the song and its obvious connection to the chapter.

We'll never have sex - Leith Ross

Wading in Waist-high Water - Fleet Foxes

This is the last time - The National

All my ghosts - Lizzy McAlpine

Prière pour la nuit - Barbara Pravi, November Ultra

Chewing Cotton Wool - The Japanese House

Bandages - Rachel Bobbitt

This is it, this is The Ultimate Chronological Order Imodna Playlist. I don't know if I'm the first one doing this, probably not, I don't know if this has any value to anyone beyond myself, but I had a hell of a lot of fun. If only one person were to read this till the end I would be more than satisfied.

I’ll link here the playlist that started all of this. Massive respect for this person whoever it is, I took lots of the songs from here

Infinite thanks to anyone who gets here or saves my playlist, feel free to respond with any song that you think adds to the story!! Something tells me this isn't the end of my Imodna brainrot so,,,, more things could be on their way (a fanfic, perhaps?).

No idea how to end this so… long live Lesbian Southern Gothic Witches!!!

[golden-wires]

I was annoying with the Metalocalypse Movie now let me get rant about much I loved this movie, if you haven’t seen it yet be warned of ⚠️Spoilers⚠️ moving forward! Ryan Coogler and Michael B Jordan you mother fuckers you got me hooked on this

I have to guilty admit when I first heard of the title about this movie I was quick to assume it was simply an action movie and that I’d see it eventually or some day. I assumed I wouldn’t be interested and shelved it in my mind- having actually seen the movie I would choke slam my past self for even THINKING to ignore this movie! It ABSOLUTELY deserved that 100% on Rotten Tomatoes

At the time of making this post it’s still in theaters and it’s a little hard right now to find quality images of scenes from this film on google so I’ll do my best here, I’ve seen this movie twice now and I ABSOLUTELY recommend watching it twice to appreciate some more moments

-Soundtrack 10/10

The fact the music wasn’t just background and SUPER IMPORTANT IN TELLING A STORY MULTIPLE TIMES WITHOUT SPELLING IT OUT FOR YOU AS THE AUDIENCE

Getting into it now from the perspective of someone who’s seen it twice!

This opening scene in my first watch through I took the flashing images as just jumpscares as he seems to be reliving the very recent traumatic events of what he just went through.

I can now in my Second Watchthrough appreciate that in this moment Sammie sees his father and his religion in a new lens! Especially since the movements his father makes with his body and arms/words remind Sammy of Remmick’s mocking and eye opening statements about this religion that was forced on him as well. This moment he’s now never able to look at his father’s teachings the same.

A new form of imprisonment and assimilation/colonization all the same but with a new name in the guise of “freedom”

The music of generations scene had my jaw dropped as I started piecing together what was unfolding as the scene carried on and we see ancestors and future generations begin flooding in!

Not just for African Americans but also Asian Americans and it was really nice to see the small mixing pot of history that juke joint cultivated because of Sammie’s gift! You’ll hear me say over and over how much I love the soundtrack in this post

Pearline’s number along with the building tension of the movie as we see Sammie go back and forth between the two rooms to lead us into the next act of the film is never gonna lose its magic in the energy and cinematography. Watching this for the first time in theaters closer to the screen felt as if the ground was shaking from actual stomping of feet on the ground from a crowd-

I don’t think I see too many people talking about the music that plays during Annie and Smoke’s reunion and love scene because it’s REAL GOOD, really nice moment for them I just don’t see too many people talking about it is all. And of course this moment also comes with some info about Smoke and Stacks business back from Chicago (hope I’m remembering that right)

Onto the secondary antagonist of the film Remmick, I am eating the writing of this Remmick character and who he was. I gotta state I don’t agree with him but can love his writing and how in manifests.

First of all seeing them all circling in the distance DASHED those hopes that only some got attacked- they got EVERYONEEEE

This man has been through the thick of it and facing his own problems being Irish in the Deep South and now far separated from his own self and ancestors.

But he’s now lived long enough to now put this same conformity and loss of individuality onto another oppressed group, he just can’t see it that way. By trying to make a new group of love and community with HIS hive mind he’s now stripped them of letting them connect with their own ancestors in death.

And what better way to show and display it than by the river dance scene, he wants to connect back with his culture and ancestors he’s willing to steal Sammie and his choice to get that back by any means necessary. Trapping all of them to partake in almost a bastardized version of Sammie’s connecting of generations scene, he wants the same connection with the past and future. It just simply can’t happen because he’s trapped innocents into their own bodies and putting his own actions and his memories onto them for this when their real connection to shared culture was back inside the warm lit barn.

Ngl a banger song accompanied with a beautiful and haunting narrative of people from Louisiana who are in this hive mind with this Irish Vampire, there’s a lot of layers going on in the scene on without him directly spelling it out. By far one of the best written scenes

And also I just love anything vampires/zombies/cowboys/ and bonus points on if the vampires and cowboy media is a period piece so seeing vampires in this setting somewhere not Eurocentric is really a breath of fresh air in writing.

Also using vampirism in the way this movie did on its themes of colonization was EVEN BETTER

Nothing but appreciation for Grace, she knew the real threat of this reaching back the town and just sometimes you can’t come out unscathed in what you do to protect others or when you think you’re doing the right thing, when she screamed the audience just all had the same reaction of “aw fuck”

The baptism scene where some would think “oh the prayer will stop him” HEARING HIM REPEAT IT BACK! ALONG WITH THE CROWD! Listen I grew up religious but no longer am myself- this scene was really everything and of course spells out more for the movies themes of colonization and power over another on religion now taking stage and just another form of it here- to have one of the antagonist having once used it as comfort as well and telling his truth of experience with it- GREAT

I feel like I’m not making a lot of sense here just it was a really good scene especially when it’s the lasting message Sammie took from Remmick and will then see that same image and message when looking at his father later when he returns. To be fair Sammie also made it known at the juke joint he didn’t have much intention to keep to the church when talking to Smoke but I have to think that night really solidified that in Sammie’s head

Buddy Guy in this post credit scene- man.

I can’t find a screenshot online for it but when he plays and it starts showing the best day of his life play out- AUGH this movie from start to finish has you interested and appreciating everything they put into here

Rude it wouldn’t let me add more photos since I realized I forgot about the Choctaw group until after I posted this, the group didn’t have the most screen time but boy they really have the most joke and meme posts of “not my problem anymore”.

Listen they tried to warn them, but with that sun going down I’d also not stick to die with idiots and racists

A sequel isn’t happening, but man I’d love a movie with them in this universe with vampires

And please oh please tell me what any of you thought of this movie

[penaconys-hound]

OOC: We’ve got new lore folks

//I just wanted to talk about the new lore I’ve seen in 2.2 so far and mini changes to the blog to fit with it

I have yet to finish it yet but I don’t care about spoilers I’m just that kind of person, but I respect other people not wanting spoilers so if you haven’t finished the new updates content yet I’ll put it under a cut:

So first off: The Dog has a name!

….It’s fucking SLEEPIE. If you don’t believe me, here:

It does have another name but that kinda just. Flew in one ear and out the other- So I will not be changing Sleepie’s tag (#👁️ The Dog.) because it keeps in sinister because it’s not common knowledge Sleepie is just “a Little aggressive”

It’s seriously just:

Caelus: Hey how are ya-

Sleepie: GRAAAAGAFAFSBSHSBSINSTWUD/SU

Caelus: GET YO FUCKING DOG BITCH-

Gallagher: It don’t bite :D

Caelus, getting stabbed: Y E S I T D O.

However when not In character/Character doesn’t call for it, I’ll refer to it as Sleepie, but I’ll still call it the Meme, or by it’s true name when I remember it, when In character

Second of all: Gallagher is apparently just a non-evil little guy, I never thought he was actually evil in my opinion, I saw him as the Grim Reaper, can be very easily characterized as evil, but he’s really not and was just tryna do a job man-

and it’s pretty satisfying to know I was right, means I’m good enough to be him/hj

With this new information I can Still see him as the Grim Reaper, however now I see him as the Sims 4 Grim Reaper specifically.

Ya’know, the job of guiding people to the afterlife (in this case people from the sweet dream to the real dreamscape) but then proceeds to do something like this immediately after-

And yeah he really is an Enigma follower and it wasn’t just for the Reaper bit (I doubt people thought that but the game clarified this so)

Anyways because of this I’m gonna set the Gallagher we meet here as the “True” Gallagher (until the games like “Hahah it’s another aaaact.”/hj you never really know and again I didn’t finish the update yet)

The Gallagher who acts as a Bartender as Half-True Gallagher, since it’s kinda cover up but he’s not very different then the one we’re seeing now-

And the “Villain” Gallagher You know the one that uses this Grimace Shake text on this blog Will just be when he’s ether being mysterious to fuck with you or he’s hinting at/playing his reaper role,

or when going full Enigma mode cause I think it’d be a neat idea to have Star Rail characters change the color of their text to match a path they’re following when they’re getting Really into it- (So for Trash President, my OC for an example, he follows The Destruction so in this idea it’s next could randomly change to this)

Anyways I don’t have anything else to say right now other then this cutscene scene is really pretty

//

-Mod Hanu

[uno-in-the-clouds]

I have. So many thoughts about Sun in help wanted 2. Not bad ones at all, just a lot thoughts. (Spoilers ahead for HW2 and a little from Ruin) also this is a long one, so buckle up

Aight, so I have not watched a lot of gameplay of the Arts and Crafts minigame, bc I would have simply been way too excited to even stand still and not get overwhelmed by pure joy. BUT I have listened to his voice lines in the game (via YouTube)

After listening to all of them, I got three main thoughts (and a bonus thought about Moon)

One, holy smokes he is a freaking savage (and even more of one once I discovered that apparently his line “It speaks to me!” Was actually NOT him complimenting you genuinely and he actually immediately shreds your work in front of you after saying that, and I’m dying of laughter here FHSGGFGDJDJG)

Two, I’m like, actually kinda happy that there’s this side to Sun? Like, it gives more nuance to his personality overall. And I think has been a part of him from the start, back in the main security breach game? We just haven’t been shown it much. Maybe not much of his sassiness, but I’m also thinking about his temper. Like, sun was really pissed at Gregory at the end of the daycare mission, to the point that he bans the poor kid. And there’s also that one cut voice line of his that goes “I’M PUTTING YOU IN TIME OUT!” And it’s in a really angry voice, unlike moon surprisingly, despite both of them sharing this one line. And then there’s also that one fazwatch about how moon practically traumatized kids enough that they’re scared to sleep with the lights off, but when the lights turn on, the kid straight up wets themself. Which implies that not only has Moon terrified kids, but so has Sun as well. And if we’re really supposed to be a kid in the arts and crafts minigame, then i think we found the context for that part of the message. I feel bad for that kid.

I’ve kinda kept in mind for a while that Sun is not always so patient and uh, kind. And I kinda like that since then it’s easier to write him In certain different situations. And this revelation from HW2 honestly validates the way I’ve written him in my own AU, and oh boy is this gonna fun!(no sarcasm) (I not gonna elaborate on that point bc it’s not the focus of this post, tho im happy to talk about my AU if anyone wants to know more)

Three: I genuinely wonder if we’re specifically playing as a kid, an adult (maybe a staff member) or, as I’ve heard from other people’s theories, we might be playing as a possessed staff bot?? I feel like the first idea might be likely since there’s a voice line from sun in the minigame, where he says that we (the player) are gonna be in timeout until our parents come to pick us up. However, I’ve only seen the beginning of the minigame, and only know the rest through listening to voice lines. So I don’t have much context for the voice line and I could very well be wrong.

Bonus thought: I’ve heard that Moon appears a lot in other mini games compared to other characters, including Sun. But despite that I really can’t get a good read on his personality besides either him being a silly yet unnerving boogie man (SB and HW2) , and literally in aggressive pain(Ruin) and probably a softie but we really haven’t seen him act that way, only just read/seen it second hand, like his moondrop posters and one description from Cassie in Ruin. Again it could be bc I haven’t seen much of the new game and only heard voice lines from one of his mini games, but I’m really not sure.

Aight that sums it all up. This game is really good.