#i don't think it'd have been as easy if he didn't sympathize with her in a way at the beginning. it's like they say the best lies have a

[allyriadayne]

Why do you think Larys gravitated towards Alicent and not say Rhaenyra? Did he think Alicent was easier to manipulate and more vulnerable or did he just think the greens were a safer bet?

it's half and half. i don't think larys is doing all that because he particularly believes in the traditional male inheritance and is ideologically aligned with the greens, nor that he thinks they are the safest bet (if he believed in this he would not have murdered his family lol). we don't actually know what are his grand plans in the books or in the show but while i don't believe it has to do exactly with personal power, it has to do with getting him into a position of considerable influence over the realm's affairs.

after saying this we can say that targeting alicent makes more sense than rhaenyra. why? for the same reason otto decides it's better to make alicent visit viserys to eventually trap him into marrying her rather than try to guide rhaenyra from zero. alicent is more pliable, more naive, and more willing to follow than to lead, even if she doesn't realize it that moment as the mother of the possible future king she has a lot of influence in court and council; larys has been watching her since she became queen (notice how he inserted himself in the women's circle during the hunt) and found her to be in the right position AND disposition. it was no accident that he finds her just after saying goodbye to otto in the godswood: she's finally free from her biggest influence, has no support system, and in such a vulnerable state that when larys does his tricks she falls really easily and believes all his words (the-green-dress-ramin-djawadi.mp3) because he empathizes with her ("when one is not invited to speak..."), speaks her fears out loud (rhaenyra, her lack of allies) and offers her his support when all she had was through otto.

as for larys, i like to think that he saw some parts of himself in her (outsiders, under strict parents, intelligent and overlooked), esp during those ten years of dinners where the friendly facade (or was it?!?!) was firmly in place (rip alicent you are never getting away) and that's why he doubles down in his punishments when she denies him. in any case, this would not had happened with rhaenyra at all. larys needs an entry and the only moment rhaenyra is vulnerable is when daemon leaves her pants down in the brothel, she's much more guarded and knows how to wield her privileges. poor larys would've been kicked out immediately plus after rhaenyra started seeing harwin there was NO WAY larys was going for the same route, that his brother liked her was already a mark against.

i think at this point when aegon was a baby many people were just waiting for viserys to change his mind, he doesn't really do much for rhaenyra so for them it was a matter of time. i think this is true for larys and because he's practically put all his eggs in alicent's basket he's throwing himself to be the best pet spy in the realm and not lose the foothold he has in the queen until the moment she or the cause is not useful to his goals anymore (let's remember he installed one of the puppet kings, did nothing when daemon took harrenhal, when alys did the same, and well, he did poison aegon lol).

[catboyebooks]

if anyone remembers that really long post i wrote about komaeda last year (this one, where i talked about how i think everyone misinterpreted what he was trying to do in chapter 5), i have an addendum to it? this is something i wanted to talk about back when i originally wrote the post but i couldn't make up my mind about it so i ended up not saying anything:

we never actually see the full information reward komaeda received for clearing the final dead room. obviously he was told about their pasts as shsl despair, but we don't get to learn the specifics of what he was told. and i couldn't decide whether or not he'd have been told anything about kamukura. on the one hand, he does say some things implying that he knows about the kamukura project, and on the other hand i just wasn't sure how you'd tell komaeda "the guy you have a massive crush on was selected by hope's peak academy to become the most talented person in the word and bear the title of shsl hope" without making him cum in his pants. again, the info reward for beating max difficulty russian roulette was clearly aimed at upsetting komaeda specifically — nobody else could have obtained that information — so i questioned whether telling him about the kamukura project would be in line with the mastermind's goals here. he might just be into that, right?

but i also talked about how i think people read the kamukura thing wrong and i think this ties into that. like, a good deal of the fandom seems to be operating under the assumption that the kamukura project worked and hinata was in fact given every talent ever via experimental brain surgery his high school did on him, and i really don't think that's the intended read. and thinking about it all again, i also don't think it's what komaeda would have been told. i think one could absolutely, without much difficulty even, present this information to him in a way that would upset him. it'd be easy to make hinata look pathetic for agreeing to the experiment, especially to somebody like komaeda, who believes that talent is innate and that untalented people cannot become talented. it would be easy to make hope's peak look like the villains here because they are. and the experiment was arguably a failure — kamukura didn't bring hope to the world, he became a despair terrorist like the rest of them and is implicated in the inciting incident that kicked off the entire despair apocalypse.

this would fit in perfectly with komaeda's behavior towards hinata in late chapter 4, in particular the lecture he gives about how talentless people shouldn't aspire to become talented — ostensibly this is just about hinata enrolling in the reserve course but i think it's about more than that, particularly given that in the same conversation komaeda asks hinata something along the lines of "were you willing to sell your body and soul to hope's peak academy?" that literally is what hinata did and it seems odd that komaeda would say something so on-the-nose by sheer coincidence. if it were just that maybe i could still accept it as coincidence but there's also the conversation the two of them have right before the fourth trial starts, when komaeda hangs back to talk to hinata alone. in that scene, komaeda tells hinata about a murder mystery novel he read where the twist was that the likable, relatable protagonist was the killer all along, and the book had essentially tricked him into sympathizing with her, and what does hinata think about that? hinata's response is like "what? i can't comment on a book i've never read" (extremely fucking funny i love him) and so komaeda drops it but surely that has to be about the kamukura project too. i guess maybe you could read it as just being about how they're all shsl despair but, like, come on — he's talking to the protagonist in a mystery story where the twist is "the protagonist did it" about a mystery story where the twist was "the protagonist did it" and there's no way that isn't on purpose on his part.

i don't have a conclusion here, just wanted to address this since i skipped talking about it earlier. tl;dr i do think komaeda knew about the kamukura project and i think this further supports what i was saying about how said project was bad and a failure actually

[nono-bunny]

This episode's Zakenna was really reminiscent of Poisony, specifically in her last appearance when she fights with her hair... And it was yet another time I was disappointed by this season's refusal to acknowledge the previous one. It would've been great to have the girls also make the connection and remember her, but they don't, so it boils down to just a superficial similarity only viewers who happen to remember will notice. When this was airing, there was a really long time between that episode and this one, so it'd make sense that people would forget, but at the same time... It was a very impressive and iconic fight and I can't imagine myself -even at a much younger age- not being able to make the connection if I was a fan who made sure to keep up with the show, y'know? I constantly feel like they should acknowledge how they've already beaten the Dark King a bit more, but this was a point where I very acutely felt like they should've been allowed to reference past events. It's not a big deal, honestly, but... I was really disappointed because I loved Poisony and think she was hands down the best adversary the girls faced, so when they didn't take this very easy chance to acknowledge her existence I just kinda... Missed her even more

All of the villains this season are bland, and I'm honestly very sad about it. I don't get how the first half of season 1 had great villains with strong distinguishable personalities, and then both subsequent groups are just bland. Juna did nothing interesting after his debut (which should've been utilized/addressed more, it felt absolutely tragic how one second he was a part of people's lives and the next completely forgotten!!) aside from showing how the Three Seeds are gonna die, Regine's personality was fascinating but went absolutely nowhere and was mostly used as a gag, and Belzei was just kind of a weird dude I would've loved to be able to either fear or sympathize with a bit more but he was just too flat for either, really. Like? They all could've had something going for them but they mostly just existed to show up for a fight every episode and you could absolutely feel it.

I also have no real interest in any of the villains this season- Circulas feels like Pissard lite (a cool looking entry level villain I am not threatened by whatsoever) but lacks the charm of the original, Uraganos is just a weird himbo reminiscent of Gekidrago (he even also has a thing with the VP!!), Viblis feels like an angrier and less smart Poisony, and Baldez is very obviously just the shady final boss masquerading as a right hand man type (which means I'll probably never come to care for him as I didn't fear Ilkubo and didn't find Belzei impressive). For the most part none of them are even remotely interesting on their own, and their only interesting scenes are together and with Hikaru, and just. I don't get it? I don't get why they nailed the first group of villains so well and then struggled so badly with all of the ones to follow. Like, the thing that made the first ones work was that they each had something going for them that set them apart, with Kiriya and Poisony being the standouts because of their connections with other characters. There have been basically no interesting conversations happening with the villains to succeed them, because they fail to cement themselves as individuals OR as believable threats. They're all incredibly bland and boring and truly just there just to fill a quota because the show needs villains, and I wish they were better but... At this point I've realized the only parts of this season I find enjoyable are the day to day stuff and the unimportant episodic plots, because the overarching narrative with the villains is barely existent at best and at worst difficult to follow. The slice of life stuff is genuinely great imo, so I'm enjoying that part a lot, but rn I'm definitely at a point where the inevitable episodic fight scene is something I dread because it's just... Boring. The villains show up at the end out of nowhere after MAYBE having a brief discussion about trying to figure out stuff the audience already knows, deploy a Zakenna, try to get to Luminous and inevitably get beat because they aren't doing anything smart or worthwhile... And that just seems like it's gonna be how things will go until a point where plot things need to happen and then they'll win out of nowhere with no justifiable reason as to why now... Same thing happened with Ilkubo btw, which is why he was my least favorite of the initial generals, and also for the most part with the Three Seeds (literally how did Belzei get the incarnation? No way did Wisdom just randomly mutter it to the parrot). Power isn't measurable, so the best way to make a villain victory make sense is through strategy or an explainable power surge, and when the Cures just lose one day out of the blue it just feels very cheap- and yet, that's the precedent set so far, and what I'm expecting...

Which is why I was super happy to see the VP again!!! Comedic king!! Absolute dumbass who has no idea what's going on but is nonetheless doing his best! Truly, the "normal" cast is carrying this season so hard- after the disastrous beginning with Wisdom and the Elder we barely even see the fairies anymore (which personally I find sad, I really enjoy Porun in particular but I know he's divisive so maybe it's for the best), it's been just pure slice of life with the obligatory fight every episode, and honestly? Yeah that's probably for the best if they don't know how to do anything interesting with the villains rn. Getting to see more of Akane is a treat, and Hikari is genuinely a sweetheart and I enjoy seeing her figure herself out!! Initially she really confused me, I couldn't get a read on her character but I'm kinda getting the sense that it was on some degree intentional- she definitely could've had a more polished introduction, this season had a rough start in general I think, but her being confusing on a lot of fronts make sense- even if it was obvious WHAT she was, WHO she was ends up being the real unspoken mystery.

Ngl I do wish more was done with the Sanae situation (also with Honoka and her life in general, but I knew going in that this was a Nagisa heavy season), I don't even really understand why the Cures have to keep their identities secret given that the villains know them? Same thing with Akane, actually- her image song all but screams that she knows something is up with those three, and the mind washing thing Hikari unconsciously did with her is wild and I feel like it'd actually be much more fun and moving if she was actually secretly in on the whole thing and voluntarily took in Hikari anyway

Ahh this episode was honestly fine actually, I don't really know why it was the one that got got me to suddenly air out all of these grievances? Tbh I think it was just the disappointment of being reminded of what a great villain Poisony was and how no one since has even come close, and when it was right alongside the VP's first appearance in a while? Idk. This season is honestly fine so far, it took a bit to find its groove with the addition of Hikari but it got there! It's just... Not as good as the first season by virtue of having weaker villains and too many half explored side characters (Fujipi is kinda the epitome of this tbh? Surprisingly I actually have a lot to say about him considering how little he adds to the show but that's neither here not there, at least I really enjoy hearing him talk because of his VA lmao). I hope they either continue to stick to their strengths and focus on the girls' normal lives, or find a way to elevate the villains as characters so that the fights can be actually interesting again haha

Precure Day 066

Episode: Futari wa Precure Max Heart 16 - “Nagisa’s in high spirits! In top form with your lucky color!!” Date watched: 18 August 2018 Original air date: 22 May 2005 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/eIUG1zR

Remember all my praise for the last episode’s animation? Yeah….

Keep reading

[unsoundedcomic]

When we first see Anadyne, she definitely seems more like a side character that's just there for the scene. Oh, Anadyne and Knock, they're just mini bosses from the Thieves' Guild, we'll see other Thieves Guild mini bosses with other quirky names show up from time to time. Was this fate always in the plans for her, or was she originally a Chapter 6 miniboss? It's interesting how much she grew into significance. Early Ana seems like one of those nameless henchmen you're supposed to forget about.

Ana's still not a major character with much of an arc, but she's been an important part of the plot, and a fine illustration of what can happen when you let your smoke eels win an argument :/ I'm pretty sure she was always meant to be in this role, at least as far back as I can remember outlining the whole thing. Stockyard's role did change massively, but Knock and Ana and Toby always had their path.

Prakhuta needed another form for the Silver - not just to make it more mobile for him, but we also narratively needed to put a slightly different spin on it, so it's more personal to Sette and so it has a direction that's very easy (I think) to understand: Ana got shafted and she's pissed and she's letting her rage and despair steer her. She's the face for all the millions of other phantoms that we didn't personally see get rekt in their lives. If the Silver was still a faceless boogieman here like it was in Ethelmik, I think it'd be more dull.

It ain't a pretty face, and I can see readers sympathizing with it less and less. That's what happens. Unless you have someone who loves you unconditionally - and most of us don't deserve that - you will damn yourself to isolation if you give in to the worst parts of you.

You can see that with Cutter too. Ana's only here because he couldn't stand being alone with his own awfulness anymore. He had to kidnap someone else into Hell with him.

[clearwillow]

💥 What is one canon thing that you wish you could change?

👻 What is your wildest headcanon?

🔥 Have you included any sexy scenes in your fics? [um, we all know the answer is YES 😆] If yes, do you find them easy or difficult to write?

Hiii @dchelyst!

💥 What is one canon thing that you wish you could change?

As much as most would probably say that all the sit commands, I gotta say the forced "love" triangle because it's not really achieving what they hoped it would. We can't sympathize with anyone over anyone else because Sunrise made it so everyone was wrong.

Kikyo's got a stick up her ass (she was brought back with clay so it's very possible) and was resurrected when she didn't want to be, so she's got rage going on and like anyone that's been rudely awakened they're picking violence for any reason. Inuyasha's got the empathy range of a teaspoon because he's been alone, and from personal experience people tend to shy away from someone that's unusual to them. He woke up still thinking it was Tuesday in 1972 and now it's Thursday in 2022 so he's got a lot of unprecedented global events to make sense of and just getting more and more pissed. Kagome's not any better, because it is extremely rare for a 15 year old to be mentally stable enough to handle traveling through time and space, demons, a piece of quartz with more influence than Taylor Swift, her own version of Twilight, navigating a time that hasn't utilized the Gregorian calendar, and dealing with a crumbling school and social life because her grandfather is about three pages away from saying she's missing school because she got the clap. The human brain won't mature for another decade. Those neurons are firing every which way because they've got fuck all idea what to do because they're just trying to make sure she stays hydrated.

Actually...if they'd have played into it like this it might've been more funny instead of wanting to tear our hair out...

👻 What is your wildest headcanon?

I dunno how wild it is, but I think if Kikyo's soul were to be reborn in anyone, it wouldn't be Kagome - it'd be Ayumi. The girl is intuitive and doesn't seem as phased as Eri and Yuka, and I used to think it was because she was off doing a side quest in her head, but what if she knows that there's things Kagome isn't saying in her words? She may not understand the feeling, but she rolls with it because intuition says "it's okay". She probably can't purify a cat turd, but she knows that when Kagome's missing school, it's not because of rickets. She just...doesn't feel like she can explain why to the others.

So when she sees Inuyasha without the hat at the school festival, she stares a minute too long for Kagome's comfort, but not for the reasons she thinks. Ayumi's processing that those aren't fake ears, and the voice comes back and says "he's fine don't worry about it", so she grabs Kagome and drags her off because they've got shit to do.

🔥 Have you included any sexy scenes in your fics? [um, we all know the answer is YES 😆] If yes, do you find them easy or difficult to write?

🤣🤣🤣 Probably more than I should have! At this point, I'd say difficult because there's that fear of recycling the same wording, a character's thoughts or actions, etc. If I could get out of my own head and not worry so much about that, it might be easier. So I try not to be excessive with smut scenes (there's probably some I could've cut) but if there are going to be multiples in one fic (like Nailed It for instance) I want to try to mix it up (the couch, the shower, the hallway...). And then there's oneshots like Kneel Before Me where I just...really stray left and hope I didn't go too far because I wanted to challenge myself 🤣

[purgemarchlockdown]

#i don't think people have to think over those details if it's not fun for them but they really do interest me#those things to me add an extra layer of depth to the prisoners#it's easy to synpathize with someone if you like them but it's much harder usually#for people to objectively hold the people they like accountable outside of doing something objectively jarring or heinous#i feel milgram is trying to teach people even if you like someone even if you relate to them or sympathize with them#it doesn't mean you shouldn't hold them any less accountable then you would someone else who did the exact same thing#we all have reasons for behaving the way we behave or reacting how we react what makes their reasons any more soecial than those they hurt#kotoko highlights this more in her second voice drama by calling to attention#we didn't care about her killing bad guys before but since we know these bad guys it's suddenly different#it'd be nice if that habit of attempting to understand the motivations of the prisoners could be extended to those around us as well#that's what i hope at least#also it'd be fucked up if those voted guilty got let out while those voted innocent were executed#kind of like going you thought innocent meant freedom just because guilt came with punishment but#a person can only avoid consequences for so long and if you don't give it something else will @archivalofsins Yeah! A Lot of Milgram is built on ideas of understanding I've been thinking about it recently. There's that one interview where Yamanaka says he wants people to see people on the news and think that they could be like the characters in Milgram. To extent that sort of understanding that these people are People, capable of both good and bad and everything in-between.

I feel this a lot especially with characters like Mahiru. She's such a Nice and Friendly person that I think it becomes really hard to reconcile how horrible she can be to people with that. But she can and I think it's important to recognize that. Especially since I feel like a lot of people's judgements can be extremely.....extreme? I guess, In the sense that they seem to lie on the extremes of infantalization and demonization. Muu especially is a good example of this where people went from seeing her as the pitiful victim to the evil mastermind.

I think Milgram really tries to make the audience Critical of the narratives that both the Characters and Milgram Itself is feeding you. It's never as simple as it seems and convenient narratives should be given the most suspicion (T1 Mikoto)

But again, to also remember that they are still people at the end of the day and that there should be an attempt to atleast Understand if not anything else. It's a really interesting part of Milgram, and I think it's really Awesome of Yamanaka really to create a work this centered around getting to know and understanding characters even when the circumstances are so grim and serious.

Also that Would Indeed be fucked but I wouldn't put it pass them....really curious to see how they handle not forgiven and forgiven in T3....

I like treating the murders less as actual crimes and more like a concept that just showcases the harm that extreme situations and mindsets can cause. I dunno a better way of explaining it but like- I treat it less like a murder mystery and more like "okay what Made them do something so Extreme and Harmful and Why" if that makes sense....