#i NEED tragic yuri in this game

[spiderton]

seeing people call karmen makoai yuri... my curse is spreading...

[bicheetopuff]

for the ask game, what're your thoughts on togachako

I’m so sorry for taking so long to respond to this @frausted !!

Ship it

1. What made you ship it?

Idk any other way to word it other than, I admire their devotion to each other. I appreciate that even though Togas a villain, Ochako ignored that to see her for who she actually was underneath her unwarranted villain title.


2. What are your favorite things about the ship?

As a queer POC, I relate to Toga a lot (I also share her bday btw which is fun). Although my phase of “I’m misunderstood and I’m tired of people telling me I can’t be who I am” wasn’t as violent or morbid as Togas, I grew up in a very conservative county so people telling me who I need to be happened a lot and I would lose friends for not conforming.

Also I love how Toga kinda set the foundation for what love is in the story and Ochako kind of refuted that with her own version of love.

Ochako was basically told since the beginning of the story that she liked Deku and that she’s supposed to like Deku because she’s a girl and he’s a guy and Toga kind of set that idea in stone for Ochako when she asked her “don’t you wanna be just like the people you love?”

I don’t doubt that she did like Deku at the beginning of the story but she tried so hard to live by Togas ideology to try to mimic Deku, because that’s what’s she’s “supposed” to do, but it never worked for her and she became frustrated with it. She’s “kinda weird” cuz she’s not capable of loving the same way everyone else does and she envies Toga for being able to do it so confidently.

Their characters were truly made for each other. Toga was the person that made Ochako genuinely consider what love actually was and Ochako is the first person to love Toga the way she needed to be loved in the language of giving instead of mimicking and I just find the whole thing pretty poetic.

3. Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

I don’t think they’ll be canon. I view them more as a romantic tragedy. While Ochako admires and loves Toga, I don’t think she’s capable of being in love with her. Plus a big part of her character is learning to be your own person so I feel like being single would be the best ending for her.

I don’t think bnha is a manga that’ll be open to the hero x villain trope so I view it as a kinda “right person, wrong time/met too late” kinda thing cuz at the end of the day, Toga has murdered people and even almost killed Ochako. I feel like if Ochako had met Toga before she resorted to killing people, they would’ve been the perfect match honestly. But, this isn’t Naruto. I don’t think people would take kindly to hori bullshitting the villains out of going to prison or at least correctional facilities for the sake of half baked endgame ships. Their relationship isn’t developed enough to get away with that unfortunately. That probably isn’t as unpopular of an opinion as I think it is though…

ASK GAME

[caluupin]

Father!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[cha1cedony]

Thinking about her again

[yuri-is-online]

... right so who wants to hear my deranged theory about Yuri Tokyo Debunker with no evidence backing it up I believe only as a joke.

The mutual mommy issues and classical music interest made me think that Yuri and Jin could be related. A lot of Yuri's... yuri-ness screams second child syndrome, I couldn't find where or if it was even said but Yuri seems to indicate he was raised to be a doctor. We know Jin's dad is the head of the entire institute, the institute also has a medical branch. Based on what we know about Jin's dad he seems like the old school political dynasty sort, if he had two sons raising one to take over the Institute and the other to oversee its medical branch makes a lot of sense. It would also make sense for Yuri, as the baby of the family, to maybe be closer to their mother than Jin was. If Jin was expected to take over for their father, it makes sense for his dad to monopolize his time and not allow him to spend as much of it with his mom. Yuri could have spent almost all of his time with her, and if Mama Kamurai was particularly sickly (or cursed) Yuri's interest in becoming a doctor becomes extremely significant. It is clear both Yuri and Jin love their mothers, whoever they are, but if she was the same woman their hatred for each other can be explained by a sibling rivalry. Jin resenting Yuri for being mommy's "favorite" and h Yuri hates that Jin is daddy's favorite and gets all the money to do whatever he wants with while he's stuck writing expense reports for his vital research. Jin could even be blaming Yuri for being unable to save their mom, it certainly seems like Yuri is blaming himself already.

If this was the case, I think whatever injury Jin has sustained probably was the breaking point between the two. Yuri probably doesn't want to lose his brother, he seems like the sort who would really desperately want big brother's approval. If Jin turned his help away in disgust then of course that would nuke the relationship between the two dorms. If Yuri really was just Jin's younger brother (oh how phrasing it like that would irritate him) then of course everyone else would see his behavior as a temper tantrum and not a concern. He's just mad daddy doesn't love him, give it a rest. Yuri will get over this soon enough, he's a grown adult... right?

This would also mean that Yuri didn't need to ever have been placed in Frostheim. He always could have been in Mortranken, he just associated with Frostheim because he is the younger brother of the King. And why he hates Darkwick General so much and is so insistent on doing his own thing: he wants to prove he is more than his family name. That he can cure people, that he isn't his father's puppet. This would probably further drive the wedge between him and Jin, that's something Jin wants to do himself but can't on account of being the oldest son. He sees his little brother as privileged in the same way his little brother thinks he is.

Counter Arguments/Rebuttals:

They do not look much alike. Zenji and Jiro + Hyde and Sho do, so the game making them look different is my biggest reason I think this could be wrong. They don't need to be related for their dislike for each other to make sense, it would just be deeply tragic. And could potentially set up an arc where Zenji chews Jin out for being a shitty older brother, he loves Jiro so much he would die (and probably did) defending him. Why is Jin ignoring his brother? Has he no heart? (not to mention why Yuri is so attached to Jiro, little brothers need to stick together)

Different last names. I think this could be explained by Yuri using his mother's maiden name to separate himself from his family, which would further irritate Jin because how fucking dare he use their mom's name like that?

Like I said, this doesn't need to be the explanation for why Yuri and Jin hate each other. He very easily could have just been a student there and failed to help Jin through his injury. It makes just as much if not more sense. My one real reason for holding onto brother theory when that one works is that... fuck that's a lot of students transferring out of Frostheim. Almost too many to make sense if you go with Haku having originally been there too. It almost feels like it makes more sense if Yuri has always been in Mortranken... but not by much when you take into account everything else you need to believe in order for brother theory to be true.

[nonbinary-red-supergiant]

I cannot sleep so here I am ranting about why Monika is so tragic and that her realization towards the end of DDLC was absolutely perfect.

To start things off, Monika had ZERO idea about the real world outside of her world until the player joined her game, her world. The whole dating simulator could not have started without player because player was the trigger that activated the game to be set into motion. While everything was set into motion, Monika could have suddenly been hit with an odd feeling, a feeling and presence that she had never sensed before. Hell, she could’ve felt that peculiarity exactly when you download Doki Doki Literature Club. It was that moment that her conflict between herself, her world, and our world began.

So many people hate Monika for what she did to the other club members Sayori, Yuri, and Natsuki. However, in a way this can be justified if we just take a look into Monika’s thought process.

The simplest way to describe Monika’s predicament would be to call it an existential crisis. Once she realizes that the player is different from everything around her as in terms of genuineness, how real player feels compared to everything else around her, she begins to question the events that happened prior. She questions everything, including her closest friends who are presumably her club. She then doubts all the happiness and care and love that the other three girls have shown her all this time. In her eyes, all the work she put into everything she did, from creating the Literature Club, to literally navigating her own person to become the popular athletic lovable girl became… insignificant. And it is detrimental when someone starts to think that everything they’ve worked for has been for nothing. She’s no longer happy, in fact she hates everything around her because it only reminds her of the storm that is thundering inside of her. She sees nothing the same anymore, and now she is desperate for a solution. That solution sparks within her when she realizes that, unlike everything else in her reality, she has power.

Monika decides to use that power to obtain something she has never had before… something real. When the game begins, it clicks in her mind that the player is indeed real unlike her world. Desperate for a sense of true humanity, true love, true happiness, and true purpose, Monika tampers with the game script to make everything go her way. Now these are the horrific, infamous events that occur in DDLC.

Perhaps if Monika were in a better mental state, no one would have been treated so violently. But because of her crisis, she felt hatred towards her entire world. In fact, she could have been the most malicious and emotional towards the girls who she thought were her truest friends because she feels as if it’s their fault that her reality hurts so much. In her desperation, she justifies her own actions in those moments because she knows that none of them are truly real and that they don’t actually feel pain unlike she can. Plus, her actions led to you finally noticing her, which is what she needed in order to get a grasp of the reality she wanted anyway.

During the climax, she’s actually happy to be in your presence. She fell in love with you out of the desperation of wanting something real. Monika became attached to you, and saw you as the only thing that can make her feel any real emotion, love, and happiness. It was her own desperation that led to her demise. Unfortunately, she was forced to face the consequences of what she did to her world. The player never asked for anything that Monika did, you only wanted to play a cutesy video game. The way she twisted it was so psychotic, and Monika couldn’t even see that.

It was only when you deleted her that she finally realized her wrongdoings. She also realized that she’ll never truly fit in anywhere. If she were to stay in DDLC, she would only feel empty inside and starving for something more. If she were to be a part of our reality, she would realize that she can never be considered human because in our world, she would instead be considered artificial intelligence (AI). When she accepts her fate, it is out of the sadness of knowing that she can never be happy anywhere. That’s why she is not present during the final scenes of the game.

That is until Monika deletes the game as a whole. Her character file was deleted, but somehow that artificial intelligence managed to stick around and cling onto Sayori. With that remaining self-awareness, Monika was able to manifest herself onto that for a final chance of redemption. Her life within the game flashes before her eyes, every memory and every core event that happened seems to be rushing back. The ways that she hurt her friends immediately occurs in her mind, and it’s that guilt that makes her strive to make it up to them, even if they weren’t truly real. As if wanting to protect her friends from the realization that she had, Monika decides to do one last thing before she “dies”. As if it were some sort of way to let her friends be released from DDLC peacefully, she deletes everything. The world, her school, her club, her dearest friends. She gave herself up in order to protect the things she truly loved in her life. She truly loved her friends, even if they weren’t real, because they had stuck with her all this time, way before player joined. Those were the purest forms of love that she felt, and it must’ve been sad for her to realize that.

Monika’s final send off, “Your Reality”, acts sort of like a reflection of herself and mainly a final display to the player, you, that she did have humanity within her. You can tell by the piano, her voice, and her lyrics that the song is completely genuine and from the bottom of her heart. She wants DDLC to end on a good note because 1) Monika never had that chance to end like that herself, and 2) She doesn’t want you to be upset, she wants you to be happy because she truly did love you. She doesn’t want you or anyone else to go through the same thing she did, and I think that is fricking raw.

If you made it to the end of this rant, damn. I’d like to hear your thoughts and opinions about Monika’s while arc. Thanks for reading haha <3

[hyp3rfixation-h3ll]

alright chat . it's time for "dissecting the inherent tragedy of transformers: botbots and the relationships in them":

toxic doomed yuri edition ( referring to these two ↑ )

(yes, i made this picmix myself 4 this. i have no regrets. also no tl;dr because you guys NEED to read this)

something i want y'all to understand is that it is Not about the idea that spud wasn't loved. he was VERY much loved by everyone, ESPECIALLY burgertron.

the whole point is that he sabotaged himself in the process of ruining someone else's life, someone who valued him and his word above others. he and burgertron BOTH let their ego get in the way of their personal lives, the only difference is that burgertron at least had the dignity to swallow his pride and apologise when it mattered most.

He gave spud a second chance because he loved him. because he recognised that he does deserve redemption, and above all else, he wants spud to know he cares, even if that means he'll never see him again, or they'll never be friends. (Even in light of the "sidekick" comment, i genuinely don't think he held any inherent malice in that statement. even if burgs was an egotist, he still loved him.)

the worst thing burgertron did in their relationship was be unaware, and im sure that despite his ego, he never meant for spud to get hurt. that's why he went out of his way to protect him, when he couldve just stood there and let spud get put on the back of a truck to never be seen again. it would have been easy.

but he didn't. he did the hard thing. the Right thing. he stood up for someone who never did the same for him.

Spud Was Loved. Spud Is loved. and sometimes love isn't going to look pretty, or manifest in holding hands and cuddling, and it isn't all rainbows and sunshine. it can hurt. it can be letting go of someone who you hurt by accident, who you never meant to harm, but it happened anyways because you made the fatal mistake of being oblivious.

And that's what Burgertron did. he let Spud go, because he understood they both needed time to heal on their own terms. regardless of if he's mad at him or not, he does still harbor positive feelings for him, and he stood up for him during times he probably shouldn't have. If he ACTUALLY hated spud, he wouldn't have stuck his neck out for him at bot prom. or believe spud when he was lying through his teeth in the games.

And that's what makes them so tragic. perhaps in another world, another life, they'd have been Actual good friends, who truly stuck by each other. maybe things would have been different.

But we'll never know that now, will we?

[random-senpai]

Y'know I joked about Fuuko getting a harem this timeloop but the more I think about it the more I think it's actually plausible. Tozuka loves to explore different genres in Undead Unluck. And with the popularity of the Harem genre he could easily play around with it. Fuuko and Andy's meeting was a twist on the classic "fateful encounter" in Shoujo manga where the female protagonist accidentally bumps into the male lead. So what if Andy's return is finding out that this time he has love rivals?

With most people he wouldn't have to worry because thanks to Fuuko riding arc she's unable to age so not many people would be able to be with her long term, but the people she's been getting vibes this loop with are able to be with her thanks to their negation abilities. With her completely changing the trajectory of their lives.

Feng - Unfade literally prevents him from aging and keeps him at his physical prime since it manifested earlier this loop. Thanks to Fuuko beating his ass he hasn't killed in decades and has grown embrace his role as a father (in a tsun way) instead of the messed up relationship he had with Shen the last loop.

Gina - Unchange prevents things from changing. In the previous loop she used it to make an unchanging shell of makeup to hide her age, but with the emphasis of growth of abilities this loop she might be able to prevent her cells from aging by making her own body "Unchanging". This loop instead of lamenting her role as a member of Union, she takes incredible pride in it. She's Fuuko's right hand woman, her closest confidant, her silly rabbit.

Billy - Unfair has changed massively this loop and is the most broken thing ever. Thanks to Fuuko he's taken a much more healthier outlook on life and allows him to express his true kind nature without being so self sacrificing. All he has to do is adknowledge one's strength and it lets him copy their ability. He can copy Andy's Undead without the convoluted backstab this loop, can copy Unfade whenever, and has already been shown to have copied Unchange this loop.

Hell they're even built like Otome Game routes

Andy is the fun flirty one that never really means anything at first and changes when he actually gets serious. Has (or had depending on when he comes back) the most screentime and is obviously the main route.

Feng is the tsundere that's reluctant to admit how he truly feel. Who also never leaves the MC alone and makes excuses instead of admitting his real emotions.

Gina is the bestie gal pal. She supports the MC no matter what and is the go to for infro. But she also has feelings deeper than just a friend and is the sole (barely hidden) Yuri route in the game.

Billy is the funny aloof older man (in concept. Fuuko is waaaay older than him this loop). He jokes around and acts like a dummy, but hides a tragic past and huge amounts of trauma behind his easy smile. Comes complete with the dead wife that 80% of rare Ossan options in otomes have.

I'm gonna throw this out there, but I think that when Fuuko gets to Unruin and saves him from his tragedy this loop, he's going to become obsessed with her and worship her like he worshiped God in the previous one. Maybe being like a messed up Yandere secret route.

So yeah good luck Andy. You're gonna need it when you come back to your girl.

[trashpidgeon48]

hehe, very obvious, but for the ask game, what are your Sweenett thoughts??

when I started shipping it if I did: I think last March after I saw the revival for the first time. I bookmarked and started reading fic immediately the next day on A03.

my thoughts: They are a fascinating little duo with so many issues. It’s about the one-sided (initially) pining, the toxicity, the what-could-have beens, the grumpy x sunshine, they match each other’s freak fr.

What makes me happy about them: They are in cahoots, they commit crime together, they can be at the same time very tragic and toxic as well as just little sweetie pies.

What makes me sad about them: They are absolutely doomed. They almost make it, but don’t. He literally killed her. Having Sweenett means that Lucy has to be out of the picture in some way, unless you are like me a poly Swucett truther.

things done in fanfic that annoys me: An overly aggressive Sweeney, toward Lovett, without cause. Like Sweeney is an aggressive dude, he’s a murderer. Him being aggressive toward Lovett does work within fanfic, but I’ve seen instances where it’s not properly motivated. I am not saying to pacify a violent murderer, he literally kills her in canon, I’m just saying that his aggressive tendencies need to be motivated, like in canon when she lies about his wife.

things I look for in fanfic: Au’s baby! I love au content for the sillies and don’t find it enough. So I then create it. I love either when they’re super soft or it’s violently angsty. Fix-it’s are great for them because they both literally die at the end. Also fun Nellie characterization where she is very cunning while at the same time horribly love-sick. Like she’s smart but also stupid when it comes to her love for Sweeney. And also baby au. Cause I love baby au.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Lucy. Benjamin Barker just getting to live out his days with wife and child or toxic Lucy/Lovett yuri. Don’t forget the poly Swucett either.

My happily ever after for them: They all live by the Sea as a little murder found family, and by all I include Jo, Anthony, Lucy, and Toby.

who is the big spoon/little spoon: Depends on who’s playing Sweeney and Lovett. Like Josh Sweeney would be big spoon to short Anna Lovett. But like Sutton Lovett would be big spoon to Aaron Sweeney.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: Murder, Of course!

[evergreenalice]

hi bestie why is your icon the homophobe from Madoka I think we need to cancel you

okay listen the FUCK up

you are about to get educated now, that's what's happening, so SIT down and LEARN

first of all, even in the dub, that bitch is the MOST REPRESSED LESBIAN, and you are the homophobe, that girl is in a closet deep enough to run in

SECOND OF ALL, what she ACTUALLY says, not in the dub, is "it's forbidden love, one that can never be" or whatever, this is framed TRAGICALLY by her, it is not "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" it's "it's tragic that society will not accept you V_V"

no this girl has read ANGSTY yuri, and you FUCKING know it

do not DARE insult her

this is not to even get into the fact that in the PSP game she has a crush on Homura, and NO, not just in the joke route, this girl is NOT straight, and she is NOT homophobic

improve yourself before you come to me with such SLANDER again

[theclearblue]

favorite sapphic ships (can be from any media), go‼️‼️

Happy to do my part during Lesbian Visibility Week 🫡 (No order except for the last one being my fave)

1. Clarke/Lexa (The 100) - Unfortunately a victim of bury yours gays but first time for me seeing a Sapphic ship and I was like "girls....kissing girls?! Interesting this means nothing to me." (<- liar)

2. Emma/Regina (Once Upon a Time) - Same as before, just one of the earliest f/f ships for me

3. Korra/Asami (TLOK) - Didn't get why this was canon when I first watched it (I had yet to have some Realizations lmao), rewatched it at some point and was like Oh. oooohhhhh

4. Nobara/Maki (JJK) - Nobara is the lesbian of all time omg....the way she talks about Maki and appreciates her SO much. Maki so clearly appreciating her company and her support (but also maybe doesn't even know how much Nobara is so Ready to Fight anyone). They keep getting put on dates in official art....I know what they are....

5. Nami/Vivi (One Piece) - It has been...twenty one years (of irl time) since these two were separated...when they're reunited (which seems like it could hopefully be soon) it's gonna be the biggest Yuri event in the world (to me). LOVE them so much the way they looked out for each other throughout everything and Vivi recognizing Nami's strengths and Nami even though she's scared of fighting getting hurt because she loves Vivi SO much. Girls of all time.

6. Ymir/Historia (AOT) - I've had my issues with AOT so I don't end up talking about it a lot, but this is hands down the best ship. Historia was my fave character and they were IT to each other and the final letter Ymir sends to her is top five most devastating moments in the whole series. Love some tragic lesbians.

7. Hinako/Asashi (Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon) - Read a lot of published yuri at one point and this one was a standout. Hinako struggles with comphet, anxiety, trying to meet people's expectations of her, and is also good ace rep! The two of them start out as friends and Hinako coming to accept herself is sooo good, probably some of the best canon rep I've read (need an anime for this asap)

8. Rhaenicent (HOTD) - After Game of Thrones bombed so spectacularly at the end I thought I would not like HOTD, but they brought me back on board with the toxic lesbians. Literally inseparable from each other at the start and the one person that they trust, and it just devolves as EVERYONE around them fucks them over in a way where they end up blaming the other and are bitter and hostile about it, but even still after everything you can tell there's some love that never went away truly? Insane.

9. Pharah/Mercy (Overwatch) - ...Exposing myself as an overwatch fan....But these two have some of the gayest voicelines in the entire game (Pharah is my main so I would know lmao. I'm also automatically gay for any Mercy that pocket heals/buffs me ajssllflglh). Fly through the skies together and protect each other...HEAVY flirting while they're at it...Mercy is like the one person to know about Pharah's mommy issues....Yeah I like them lmao.

10. Utena/Anthy (Revolutionary Girl Utena) - Woooaaahhhh who saw this one coming as my fave sapphic ship....everyone? Ok. Anyways ship of all time to me. It's healthy. It's toxic. It's doomed. It's saved. It's canon. I can't even really put into words in one short paragraph why they work so well, but them and their relationship are the heart of RGU. When they get to the point where Utena realizes that what Anthy doesn't need is a prince to save her, rather that Anthy needs her own agency, and Anthy is FINALLY able to leave her abusive situation through that agency, and be able to find and love Utena with full trust. The queer and feminist themes of RGU really just make it unlike any other ship that I've seen.

[tales-of-sweets]

Zagi's Tragic Need For Validation

I don't think that Zagi became obsessed with Yuri the moment he met him or that an interesting fight alone was what motivated him to chase Yuri the ends of the earth. I believe he was out for Yuri's blood, yes, but not for blood's sake but instead because of what it symbolized... This is a headcanon/interpretation that I've probably talked about a million times before, but I'm thinking about it again! Since it chronologically references the events of the game and includes sources/examples it's pretty lengthy so I'll put it under the cut!

The first time he meets Yuri he's on a job and, while it seems to be the first worthwhile fight he's had in a long while, he leaves willingly when he's called to retreat (well, willing in the sense that this is the only time we ever see him retreat mid-battle while he's still in perfect fighting condition).

The next time we see him he's on yet another job, eager to kill "something", his choice of words even with Yuri right in front of him and they seem to recognize each other.

Zagi doesn't actually seem to acquire any fixation on Yuri at all until after the second battle, specifically after he's defeated... and Yuri compliments him. Even after what we can clearly see Zagi believes is a failure on his part (worth noting that in the official translation he says "...I-I retreated..." instead of "...I-I'm finished..." even though they both convey a similar feeling.)

From this point forward, we never see him taking another job or working with Leviathan's Claw. Hunting down Yuri appears to have become his full time fixation. Zagi to me seems like an incredibly lonely man. He is isolated by his own abilities and his inability to relate to others in a meaningful way. He has reached a level of skill that few can comprehend, let alone match (things that are corroborated by this skit here:

He takes pleasure in killing and victory but has not known the rush nor the bond of a fair fight in so long. For all of his hooting and hollering about wanting to kill Yuri, I don't think that's exactly what he was truly getting out of this whole thing. I don't think that's actually what he was chasing. That was the first time he'd found someone on his level and that was the only time Yuri ever complimented him so to me it seems like what he's really chasing is that same high of validation. A connection. He wanted Yuri to come at him with full force, to find joy in their fights as he did, to connect with him... but he only got that the one time. All future instances involved Yuri dismaying at his presence, swatting him off like a pest, fighting him only to remove him as an obstacle. So many of his lines feel like validation seeking, not only in the form of wanting friendship, but more in the way of just wanting to be recognized period. For example:

He tried to make himself stronger, augmented himself, taunted him, but there was always some bigger issue that held Yuri's attention, something greater than him. To me, that played a huge role in why, in the end, he had to make himself Yuri's priority even if it meant destroying himself in the process. While the whole "you can't break the seal without my arm" bit is a little contentious (poor wording? an outright lie? mistranslation?), the truth of the matter is that, in a last ditch effort, he made himself Yuri's number 1 priority. He was now an important part of his quest, not just an annoyance to be brushed aside. Yuri had to take him seriously now.

And when, at last, he was defeated, he thought maybe then Yuri had seen his value and worth, that at last their fight had resonated with him.

Of course we all know how that ended. While I have many issues with the way this ending was handled, I think we get some interesting insight from it that I believe lends some credence to this interpretation:

I think it's worth nothing that almost everyone expresses some sort of sympathy and understanding towards Zagi in the end, except for Yuri. While it is a very valid and plausible interpretation to think that Yuri still doesn't care even after his death, I personally choose to consider the fact that Yuri, as we have seen time and time again, is not very upfront with his emotions and is not always the quickest to admit when he's wrong. I think he could see the tragedy of the situation, I think he could recognize that he really hadn't understood Zagi's intentions, and it's my personal theory that that's precisely why he took a more forgiving approach when confronting Duke in the end. I cannot, in any way, fault Yuri for not stopping to befriend the guy who, for all intents and purposes, seemed intent on killing him. But I also can't help but see the tragedy of the situation from Zagi's perspective. Raven states that something changed after Zagi met them. While it's hard to imagine him as an upstanding citizen or pleasant person to begin with, he probably wasn't always like this.

Raven lends a little more insight too, one of the skits following his demise:

Yuri, Duke, the Don (not shown in the screenshot, though Raven does reference him and Belius), they were held together by the bonds they shared with people who understood them. I think there could have been a chance for Zagi to have turned things around, not let his obsession with Yuri consume him to this degree. Hell, I don't even think it's improbable that he could have become an ally, put his energy into something more productive (as Yuri put it several times over). I don't think Zagi was always doomed to this fate, I think he just met the wrong person at the wrong time.

[bigbobbiehorror]

Slow Damage in Hunger Games simulator

This was 100% a product of boredom.

Honestly I know that I picked a couple of characters that are dead in-game, but I don't care because I kind of wanted to add them to the mix for the sake of diversity.

Teams were also not very well-thought out, but it should serve its purpose too

So here goes how this sim turned out!

First off: good on Towa trying to start eating for once, but didn't need to break Mayu's nose for that.

Lisa steals from a literal child, Kotarou is done with Mayu's weeb ass and ditches him and Towa keeps getting food. And Fujieda blows Toono's ass for good measure!

Honami delivers sweet payback to Mizuno, good for her! Meanwhile Fujieda is having a conscience crisis after killing a guy. Mayu forgives Towa for breaking his nose, and now I'm having second thoughts about letting Mei into the Hunger Games.

How is Rei discovering all these caves? Taeko turns savage and kills a poor weeb... and Ikuina spies a mysterious reunion between Maya and Taku... 🤔 And Junko consistently proves that knives aren't acceptable for brawling.

RIP Golden Retriever boy (sorry for misgendering you) & RIP Milquetoast Gay Nurse. Sakaki is acting sus with Rei. Fujieda and Towa have a moment while Taku is on the background tending himself, probably.

Sorry, but Madarame just chilling and picking flowers is so funny.

Sponsors decided the girls weren't killing enough people, so free hatchets! And RIP Eiji & Rei, Madarame is just getting started. Fujieda continues to have a mental breakdown and everyone except Towa sucks at making fires, apparently.

RIP Junko, you served looks anywhere you were. Also RIP Taku, Arata, Kotarou and the Roost Owner. Except Sakaki, he can eat shit. Madarame on a murder rampage while his ex is picking up flowers is such a mood.

Taeko decides that murder is kinda hot actually and gets a piece of that fat ass. On the side, Ikuina and Towa are having a normal one, while Maya and Lisa sustain a one-night toxic yuri session.

Also, I just feel happy that Fujieda and Mei are finally reunited 🥲

Mayu goes wild, he decides to avenge his fallen friends! RIP Madarame, you smug asshole. Also RIP Lisa.

RIP Ikuina, Honami & Mayu, you were too good for this game. As for Maya:

Taeko is now having a bit of inner-searching with someone from the past. And Fujieda is now being an ass, but that's too in-character, as far as I'm concerned.

This is consistently the most Towa has gone through just to eat.

Aaaand, there it is. That's a Bad End. RIP Towa, wish you could've talked things over. And RIP Taeko, you fought good.

...

Which leaves us with only Fujieda and Mei,

Two siblings who have been separated years ago, finally reunited under tragic and precarious circumstances. It's a bittersweet sort of meeting, they have their own lives to fight for, they barely have any time to even talk to each other... but now that every other contestant is gone... they can finally let their guard down.

Mei is so happy to see him alive, even if his hands are stained with blood, even with the horrors they had to live through. Fujieda is so happy, finally having the chance to hold her, to talk to her... it was what he's been hoping for years.

So they do what they've been wanting to. They talk, they cry, they laugh together, they hold each other until the sun sets, until they start to get hungry. There's still supplies left, they can cook something for dinner, so Fujieda decides to cook, because he's the big brother and he's supposed to take care of his little sister.

Mei is thrilled, having missed the tenderness of her brother and she looks forward for the meal they'll share...

... except, she forgets one small single detail:

Her brother can't cook for shit.

And so, Fujieda wins the Hunger Games,

but at what cost?

[randomnameless]

I am gonna be honest I really don't get how people don't understand Crest have nothing to do with being nobles, it's literaly the whole reason behind Mercedes's and Emile's tragic story, that their father who didn't had a crest wanted to marry Mercedes because she had one like her Mother so his children can inherit the Crest of Lamine.

On a side note, I do think that even if Rhea didn't created the Crest system it would have happened with or without her, Crest are superpowers that are rare and humans either worship like a god or treat as a witch people who have special power, I wouldn't believe for a second that left out as is in nature people who have Crest wouldn't try to rule over the other anyway or wouldn't be treated like aberrations.

Hm...

Mercie's mom had a crest and was a nobody, which could be married off to a bastard : aka, despite her crest, Mercie's mom wasn't a noble who was able to say big F to potential "suitors" who were supposed to be beneath her in status since they had no crest themselves.

Constance (and what's left of her fam?) were demoted to nothing and sent to the sewers in Garreg Mach, even if Constance comes from a prestigious family that got a crest from a Saint.

As you said, regardless of nobility wanting to pretend to have "better blood" than the pleb, Crests are superpowers, which would always be sought afer.

The games does it best to avoid talking about the tangible and objective benefits of having a crest - when we see Dimitri crush a man as easily as a snowball in a cutscene - but imo, it's part of Fodlan's DNA, try to spin a very objective and no-solution conflicts (you have a world with two races, and one has superpowers compared to the other, how does it work?) to artificial lip-service and copious amounts of smokescreens.

For something that was only alluded to but completely ignored because otherwise both Nopes and Houses fall apart - Seteth tells Yuri in their Nopes support how it is rumoured that an Elite was cured from an "incurable" disease after getting a crest...

Admitting this is remotely true to what happened in Zanado, does it justifiy the subsequent massacre and genocide? Dominic might die in 2 days if he doesn't kill a Nabatean, was he "right" or justified in killing the Nabatean who became Crusher and drinking their blood?

If humans are envious for good or bad reasons of the Nabateans' powers, what is going to happen when a Nabatean would refuse to share said power ? Are the humans justified in trying to steal it? Are Nabateans asses when they refuse to "lend it" to humans?

This game tries its hardest to avoid blaming the usual trifecta of human greed/assholishness/lust (for power!) as the reason why the world doesn't go round, and blame everything on... blue eyes, that can somehow shoot lasers too.

Of course someone with in-built lasers would be better seen/more valued than someone who hasn't the same lasers, but bar the milquetoast "we should try to accept everyone!", what is the specific answer to the Gautier border issue - crest means the border is defended, no crest and no plot hax means it isn't - should the defender of the border be the crested kid or the non crested-kid?

Nopes!Sylvains finds a loophole and replies with "we won't need to defend the border if we're not at war with Sreng anymore", and it's a nice solution, honestly. I like it. It makes for a bright perspective, of a future where, if everyone play their part, Crests won't be "needed" anymore.

But when it comes to using the power of a crest to heal, will you go to Manu, who cannot heal someone who has a cancer, or to Flayn, who can, if you suddenly learn you have one?

"Just develop chemiotherapy!"

Yes but I'm dying - who should I go to?

Imo, Crust System is used both in fandom and in-game to avoid mentionning the existence of super humans (or non humans if we want to stay close to Supreme Leader's words) and the inevitable jealousy/envy their existence creates/causes in humans, who cannot help but seek after the power they have.

[somechubbynerd]

alright Bayonetta character relationship rambling now

uhhhhhhh the really sudden Luka and Bayonetta situation in 3 came right the fuck out of nowhere? in comparison to, say, her more fleshed out friendship with Jeanne? Frankly it's better if none of them are romantic with each other because friends are enough, but we need Viola for some reason? (We don't need Viola, even the game treats her like a punching bag who accomplishes almost nothing.)

So for writing and research reasons I've been watching playthroughs of the mainline Bayonetta games (which only excludes the Baby Cereza prequel iirc?). And I don't think they planted this tree as well as they think they did.

Bayonetta 1: Luka is hunting Bayonetta down since he thinks she killed his father. She kind of doesn't give a fuck at all about what he thinks, since she is a witch and he mildly amuses her with how wrong he often is. He then proceeds to basically babysit Babynetta for the remainder of the story until he gets thrown off a building. Babynetta now does some stuff by virtue of the fact that she was brought to the future and sent back to the past, and she is now strongly implied to be the Bayonetta in 3 who is grown up.

Bayonetta 2: Luka is basically NOT RELEVANT in the slightest. They hired Yuri Lowenthal to do some narration and explain some mystic backstory, but aside a quick save during the final boss, he doesn't do a whole lot.

Bayonetta 3: An AltBayo and an AltLuka have a roughly 18 year old kid now, and this is enough setup for the canonical ones to be romantically involved and have a tragic death together...??????? The exasperated almost-respect Bayonetta has for Luka is not a romantic thing? At all? And Luka being cheesy is not new and is not flirting, he's just a dork. Also remember that this Bayonetta is implied to be the girl he babysat during Bayonetta 1. Even if this isn't the same Luka necessarily, that's still just weird from an audience perspective. And if that's the justification for the relationship, that it's all different universes and maybe this one HAS been flirty with her, that's still really weak because the audience hasn't seen it?????????

Compare: Jeanne

Bayo1: Jeanne and Bayonetta are former friends and now enemies due to Bayonetta's amnesia and Jeanne being mind controlled. They have established now that these characters have history with each other and at the very least are battle sisters. This is exemplified when they literally fall back down to earth with the corpse of Jubileus, and have to work together to destroy it.

Bayo2: Literally the entire plot is kicked off because Bayonetta needs to go get Jeanne's soul from hell so she doesn't die and get eaten and stuff. All the Loki and Loptr and Let's Fight God Again But Different are secondary motivations for Bayonetta. She gets roped in along her way to her actual goal of saving Jeanne. Hell, since we already know all three games are different universes, this Bayonetta and this Jeanne might even be together! They're chatty and casual with each other in a way that they really aren't with anyone else.

Bayo3: What little Bayonetta and Jeanne interaction we have in this one is still hypercasual and very friendly, even a bit playfully barbed with:

"I hope some of the things she told you were TRUE." [Sideways glance at her gal pal]

"You bitch [/aff]!"

So yeah like...????

idk why they needed Viola at all, and since that brick isn't laid properly the whole idea that Luka and Bayonetta need to hook up symbolically is completely out of wack.

Viola's existence and Luka having romantic intent with Bayonetta really just feel like an ouroboros kind of problem. They need to justify only each other and they kind of fail to justify either.

[blood-starved-beast]

For the character asks game: 11, 15, and 16 for Lady Maria :3

Lady Maria!!

11. Would you date this character?

No. Lady Maria is the type of byronic hero that prioritizes her own problems and issues over everyone else's and that makes for a very uneven relationship. Also both of our flaws are the kind that would clash very strongly with one another and the dynamic would be very toxic.

I also covet her appearance so that's definitely gonna be a problem.

15. What's your favorite ship for this character? (Doesn't matter if it's canon or not.)

...KosMaria not sorry about this actually. Something about them being parallels in a lot of ways with the idealized and abused motifs. How Maria's research in the Hall is trying to reach for the Cosmos but in the end everyone and herself included got dragged down back into the depths. Lady Maria committing suicide and then being forced by Kos to be her personal Knight Vanguard before the Hunter heads over to the Hamlet (and somehow, Maria has convinced herself it's about her secrets and whatnot - bruh, the delusion is Real). Also I have a fanfic WIP about them that touches more on some AU ideas floating in my head.

I also like Mariadeline! But like, in a tragic sense. I headcanon that while Maria was trying to sell that Girl Prince Look(tm), Adeline saw through that appearance and was attracted to Maria's Wet Cat Autism Creature vibes. Also her research, which both prioritized over each other. Ironic, that Adeline was so into the depths and Kos but Kos was more interested in Maria (world's most fucked up toxic yuri love triangle).

16. What's your least favorite ship for this character?

...Gehrmaria not sorry about this. I just, sorry besides the whole Vibes with the Doll I am not a fan of mentor/student relationships in general. (Also not a fan of the character twisting needed to justify this ship like no). Especially in this case cause it's literally the most generic ship concept in existence. How many Gehrmaria type ships exist in fiction? Throw a dart into any 60s-00s action or thriller movie and you probably find a ship with the same basic dynamic as them. I have zero interest.

Thanks for the ask Marble!!