#i just wish people could see past the persona like hes probably not actually a dickhead

[avnasace]

its very irritating interesting to see a lot of people hating aventurine, like yes hes sly and seems like this rich guy who cares about nothing else but money, but ironically he hasnt really lied to us so far, or screwed us over, in comparison to some other characters hes actually been honest and helpful and at least we know his motives.

also theres the whole 'he was a slave who didnt get an education and his family probably died horrible deaths' thing, and after all that he managed to crawl his way to the top of the ipc ladder by himself, aka the people who (presumably) enslaved him.

like??? of course hes not going to be a warm person helping you out of the kindness of his heart, he (presumably) got enslaved and most people who meet him are racist as fuck like???? what do people expect

also ironic the amount of people wanting darker/morally grey characters and moaning theyre not all Good or simping over TB 24/7

like just say you cant handle complex characters and go.

[blackbirdsblackberries]

I Hate The New Hero!

Pt 5: What?!

Finally getting home from your patrol you sneak through the window of your bedroom and collapse onto your bed. After the call you decided that your patrol was done.

Frankly you're still coming to terms with the fact that Batman and his protogese are the same people who are essentially praying on your civilian self's downfall yet adoring your vigilante persona like it's the greatest thing in the world.

Though, now that you really think about it, it makes sense. Bruce Wayne is the richest man alive, he'd be able to afford to do this, they have the same amount of members as the heroes, same builds and heights, actually... Basically everything matches up.

Not to mention the fact that your senses goes off around both group members!

From outside your small room door you hear your parents arguing again - more like your mother yelling and your dad breaking things and stomping his foot. It was probably your dad's fault again. Don't get you wrong, you love your family! It's just that they're dysfunctional.

Your dad has a massive drinking problem that landed him working as a goon for Black Mask, he's struggled with his temper for years after he got hit a bit too hard in the head by Batman. Pair that with the fact that he's mute and he's a force to be reckoned with.

Your mom is always busy and rarely ever home, when she is she couldn't be bothered to interact with you unless you got into trouble. She grew up rich, often talking about how she went to the same school as Bruce Wayne and how she was a popular cheerleader before her life fell apart. She doesn't talk much on the topic but it's clear she holds distain for your father and, by extension, you.

You sigh to yourself, you need to shower. That means you need to get past them without them bringing you into it. Or you just don't shower for the night and have one tomorrow...

Your mom screams something out about not throwing knives and you decide to just shower tomorrow morning.

You change out of your costume and hide it safely under a loose floorboard, you change into your pajamas and get into bed. Today was a massive mental drain and physical drain.

...

You awake to a knock at the front door. Your parents usually ignore it and make you answer when someone knocks because "you're dispensable" as they say. Looking at the clock on the wall of the kitchen you see it's around 7am.

Groggily making your way to the door you look through the peep hole and see Tim standing awkwardly on the other side with a guy next to him, the guy next to him being so big and tall that you could only see a small part of his chest and arm.

You curse to yourself quietly, this is by far the worst luck you've ever had.

You open the door and look at the two. Now seeing the other guy the thing that stands out is a stripe of white hair on his head. Instantly you know it's Jason Todd.

You aren't an idiot. He's the only one in the family built like how he is - not including Bruce.

"What do you want?" You ask, annoyed. Tim chuckles weakly, as if nervous. "Wayne Enterprises wishes to give your mother her letter of departure." You blink once, then twice. "Huh? Letter of departure? The fuck does that mean?" You mutter, genuinely confused.

Jason scoffs, "it means your dear mother is losing her job, kid." He states uncaring of how blunt he's being. Tim elbows him and hisses something about being more considerate.

You don't listen, all noise becoming white noise. Why is she being fired? She works hard, she dedicates her time, she does her best! Is this because you have beef with Tim? That's not fair!

She's the only stable source of income, without that job you all would be living on the streets. You've heard AND seen so many horror stories about teens living on the streets, it's something you'd pray never happened to you. But now it's entirely probable.

So, in a moment of desperation you grip Tim by his shoulders "Please! You can't fire her! We'll end up homeless! She works all the time, she tries! My mother will improve if you ask, she needs this job. The whole family does!"

Tim seems shocked by this, his posture stiffening. Jason looks on guard, as if assessing whether he should step in, though he doesn't seem fond of the idea. You wouldn't doubt that he was made to accompany Tim as a body guard.

Tim opens his mouth, then closes it, then opens it again. Clearly he wasn't expecting you to beg for your mother to keep her job.

"Uh... Look, I don't mean any harm by it, it's just that we need to make way for brighter minds..." He stumbles slightly over his words as if making the excuse up on the spot.

You won't back down however. "Tim, please, I desperately need you to realize this. I. Will. Die. On. The. Streets." Probably not true because of your mutation but the fear remains. "Please, I'll do anything for you to not do this! I already promised Bruce to stop talking bad about Aranea!" You please desperately.

Tim glances to Jason who quirks a brow and shrugs. The sound of movement from behind you makes your eyes widen and behind you you see your dad approaching, you were probably too loud.

He glares at you before yanking your hair so you move away from Tim and remove your clutches on him. You hiss in pain at the feeling but bow your head down.

Your dad eyes the two boys before looking to the paper in Tim's hands. He instantly knows what's going on and storms down the hallways of the complex to do who-knows what. That scares you. Your dad is unpredictable.

After some silence Tim speaks up. "Are you okay? Your dad pulled your hair pretty tightly..." You look down, ashamed. You couldn't even bother putting your walls up and defending your pride. Your life is basically falling apart at the seams.

"... I'll do anything for you to not fire my mother..." You mutter meekly, a far cry from how you usually act, something Tim notices immediately. He sighs to himself, he debates the odds. Maybe if he doesn't fire (Reader)'s mother then they can be even. The feud can end, it was pointless on your part to begin with for hating someone so sweet and kind, then hating him who defends the innocent.

"Fine. Your mother can stay, but, it may not be permanent. I suggest she find elsewhere in the mean time." Tim states before walking off. Jason takes a second to stare at your relived form, the slight smile of disbelief and look of relief in your eyes. He then leaves with Tim.

You close the door to the apartment and sink to the floor. That was terrifying. You'll have find a way of telling your mother the news before she goes into work in two hours.

You're officially having the day off from school and patrol today.

[astermath]

 “So? Whatever.” pt.3

pairing: dave lizewski x popular!fem!reader

summary: you and dave grow closer and you both share stories and secrets. one faithful night, when he’s got nowhere else to go, he reveals his biggest one.

word count: 1.7K

warnings: mentions of blood and injuries

♡ LANDING PAGE ♡

notes: this is probably the final one in this series, but I’ll definitely be writing some blurbs and whatnot using the popular!reader. any requests or things you want to see between these two, or just dave, are welcome in my asks!! thank you for the sweet comments and reblogs, they mean the world to me, hope you enjoy!! <3

Meeting Dave at your house had now become a weekly occurrence.

Every Saturday he’d stop by for a “tutoring session”, backpack filled with new comics and sometimes collectibles, usually bought with the money you gave him for his time. You’d started enjoying your time together so much that you started bailing on party plans or shopping trips, raising some suspicions from your friends as to what you were up to. You simply said you were focusing more on school to finish the year off properly. Which would be a decent excuse if your grades were actually improving, which they weren’t exactly. 

Your Saturdays were usually spent on the carpeted floor of your room, pages spread as excited voices filled the space, talking about your favorite arcs and discussing who the best supervillain really was. 

You had easily become one of Dave’s favorite people to spend time with outside of his vigilante duties, and the feeling was mutual. A crush had started brewing between you two, but neither of you wanted to admit to it. Not just because your worlds outside the safe space of your bedroom were so vastly different, but because you didn’t want to ruin this perfectly good thing you had going on with each other. Even if it meant suppressing the urge to ask him to stay the night, or him pushing away thoughts of kissing you before he’d leave, it was for the best.

Dave had grown so fond of you, you’d shared so much about yourself. You’d opened up about your insecurities, about how competitive cheerleading had affected your mental health, how you hated how your father was away so much for work, how you felt trapped by your reputation... All these things you could never talk about before, they were safe with him.

That’s why Dave felt so ridden with guilt any time you would share things like that with him. Because he was essentially just... Lying to you. You had no idea he was Kickass, at least that’s what he hoped, and the thought of you resenting him for it was eating away at him. If you knew what he was doing when you weren’t there, if you found out about this entire other persona, there was no way you’d still want to spend time with him. At best, you’d turn him in to the police, and he’d never see you again.

But something inside his head, something really stupid and naïve was telling him you’d accept him.

That really stupid part was also in love with you.

Dave’s text messages had been less frequent lately, further adding to your worries about what he’d been up to. He’d cancelled multiple times in the past few weeks, something he’d never done before, and when you asked what he was doing he got so nervous. He’d usually just give some strange excuse or said his dad needed him to be home with all the crime that’s been going on. But that wouldn’t explain the bruises you’d notice on his arms when he took his jacket off, which he’d quickly try to cover by pulling down his sleeves. You’d asked your brother if him or any of his friends had been messing with him, threatening to light his jerseys on fire if he lied about it.

“The fuck would I know about what your boyfriend’s been up to?” He spat, upset that you were bothering him with this at all.

“He’s not my boyfriend, shithead!” You yelled, throwing a pillow at his head.

But damn, did you wish he was.

You sat in your room, flipping through the pages of the collector’s edition Spider-man comic Dave had gifted you months ago. Your fingers traced across the lines of the damaged paper, wondering if he really bought it like this or some asshole at school did this to it. For someone so secretly strong he sure let a lot of people fuck with him.

You thought back at all your years in high school where you deliberately ignored him or even allowed your friends to make fun of him. You wished you could turn back time and give him a chance earlier on, maybe be able to spend more time with him now that he seemed too busy for you now. 

Your thoughts were interrupted by a knock against your window. You didn’t respond at first, thinking you imagined it, but when the sound returned a bit louder you got up. You squinted, finding it a bit hard to see who or what was outside your window when it was so dark outside. You approached and realized it was Dave, looking a bit panicked. You didn’t even think much about it, sliding your window up so you could talk to him. “Dave! Where the fuck have you--” 

“Can I please come in?” He interrupted, his breath ragged, looking like a mess. It was only now you noticed the bruises and the cut across his cheek. You nodded, moving aside so he could come in. He struggled, limping a little, and you turned back around to close the window, hearing him take off his jacket and drop his bag.

“What the hell were you even--” Your own sentence was cut short when you were met with a sight you had not expected. Your eyes widened and your expression changed into one of shock and worry.

There he was, full Kickass attire, no mask. 

And everything clicked.

The random bruises, the comic book obsession, his secret strength, his sudden disappearances...

A heavy silence filled the room, the only sounds present his rough breathing as he put a hand against your bedpost to keep standing. 

“Is... Is this why you’ve been so busy?” Your voice sounded hurt, betrayed even. “You’ve been fighting people?”

Dave struggled to get any words out. He’d hoped he’d never have to do this, but he had nowhere else to go, and you deserved to know the truth. He looked to the side in shame, sighing. “I’ve... Been meaning to tell you. For a while now, I promise, I just... It all escalated so much, I never meant for it to become such a big lie.”

You looked at each other, and Dave’s heart literally ached at the sight of your teary eyes. Or maybe it was the cracked rib that was doing that, who knows honestly.

“Sit down.” You said, pointing at your bed.

“W-What? I don’t--”

“Sit. Down.” Your voice demanded, eyes meeting his with a look he’d never experienced from anyone before, not even when he was getting his life threatened by criminals.

He gently sat down on your bed, groaning slightly at the movement straining his injuries. You silently walked to your bathroom and took out the first aid kit from below the sink. You sat down next to him on the bed as Dave kept his head down in shame. He was certain he’d cry if he saw the expression on your face right now. 

“Take it off. The top part.”

He didn’t say anything, reaching behind him and unzipping the back, peeling the layer of clothing off his body and revealing a wide array of injuries. Normally you’d be excited to see him shirtless, his toned body surprising you, but right now all you felt was hurt. You put some rubbing alcohol on a cotton pad and gently patted the cut on his shoulder. Despite your anger, your grip on his arm was soft. 

He winced slightly at the burning feeling, looking at you and seeing a few tears roll down your cheeks. “Hey, I’m... I’m really sorry.” He spoke softly as you prepared a bandage. He said your name so gently, so sweetly, that you almost wanted to kiss him, if you weren’t so upset. “Everything got so real, and I met other vigilantes, other people like me... It started taking up so much time, I felt bad, and I couldn’t just abandon it, so...”

“So you abandoned me instead?” You finally looked up to face him. You were still holding his arm, and even like this, crying and upset, he thought you looked so beautiful.

“I...” He felt his own eyes start watering. “I would never abandon you...” His hand reached out to rest over your back. “No matter what, I swear, I would never give up what we have...” He gently pulled you in, hugging you so softly, a bit hesitant.

You leaned in closer, head against his bare chest as you started calming down. He didn’t hate you, he didn’t leave, he was there, right there. You closed your eyes, listening to his heartbeat as he reached down to rest his face against the top of your head, the gentle scent of your shampoo calming him as well. You stayed just like that for a few minutes, holding each other. Nothing else in the world mattered, everything you wanted was right there in the room with you.

You gently pulled back, and Dave was certain he’d be met with either a slap or a finger pointing to the window to get out.

Both of those guesses were wrong.

You leaned in, lips meeting his in the softest, gentlest most loving kiss either of you had ever experienced. No lust, no intentions other than to just feel closer to him. Your mouth opened slightly and Dave leaned in more, a hand reaching out to rest on your cheek as yours sneaked into his brown curls. A warmth had spread through your body, mind running blank, until you gently pulled away.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for so long.” You whispered against his lips.

“Yeah...” He whispered back. “Me too...” The both of you leaned back in, passion growing as your breathing became heavier and the kiss became more intense. His arms snaked around your waist and you moved onto his lap, straddling him. He didn’t care if it hurt, all he wanted was to be even closer to you, to never let you go. 

You pulled away and looked into his eyes, before a soft smile appeared on your face. “You know I’d never hate you, Dave...” You reach out to gently touch his cheek, and he melts into your hand, tilting his head slightly to lean into it.

“I really thought you would...” He smiled. That adorable, nerdy, slightly nervous smile that you’d grown to love.

“Of course not...” You grin. “In fact...” You leaned in closer to his ear. “I always thought Kickass was kinda hot...”

Heat rises to his face, and his grip on your waist strengthens just a bit at your lustful tone. 

He gained another ally that night. His most valuable one, for sure.

tag list <3

@nephilimsss @tangerinesgf @dynamitehacke @izzyisstuff @cinawoah @amoebagrl @ykyouluvme  @stilloverthinking @erodastylinson   @reneehillary69  

[darcytaylor]

Tbqh I always knew LN would flop bc there's an undercurrent of cringe to him that he hasn't been able to shake. I have no doubt that he's a nice guy but this man about town persona he's been cultivating over the past year or so fits him as poorly as those oversized suits they keep putting him in. He's a bit of a dork and the cringe for me comes from the incongruity between who he's trying to be and who he actually is, like when he lets his hair down when he's with people he's comfortable with, like certain interviews with Nic or Jonny, especially when they're tired and loopy. I wish he liked himself enough to drop it. I liked him most when he was with Jade, it just felt like he'd found an equal, and it's sad to see him lean into the Hollywood lifestyle so awkwardly.

While I do see some questionable actions on Luke's part in this whole situation. And while some of his actions make me question what the final goal Luke and his PR team are aiming for, I do think it is a bit early to say that he is a flop.

It's interesting for me to see the 'old' and the 'new' Luke be so at odds with one another. He created a fan base for himself based off of the way he used to portray himself online and he is now trying to to play the opposite. He's losing the battle at the moment because any well adjusted person would have a hard time keeping up with his new image, or just coming to terms with it in general.

I do think that if he didn't have to go on a promo tour and have so many interviews online during this time, the change could have worked for him. You wouldn't have seen the 'old' Luke on your screen as much and the change could have been more organic.

People as a whole like consistency. When marketing anything (and this includes Luke, since he is the brand), consumers prefer brands to have consistency and to be recognizable. Luke is not recognizable to his core fanbase. This is causing backlash.

With Luke flipping the switch, it makes the situation hard to adjust to. I do think it was a bit premature on Luke's part to try and flip the switch so drastically. He hasn't given the fans time to adjust to who they see him as and who he seems to want to be.

(I think who he is, is somewhere in the middle, but since I don't know him personally it's hard to say).

I'm sure that he has had some talks with his team and they are probably trying to correct some of the wrongs that have happened in recent weeks/months. But things like this take time, and it can be hard to get back into the good graces of consumers/fans.

It's probably a delicate situation, and none of us know what is going on behind the scenes.

(I actually like the oversized suits, but I understand that isn't everyones taste!)

[maxzinn]

What bothers me after all this drama is that those users that made the posts calling out the type of fics they were bothered with, didnt actually include like a list of those fics (probably to avoid an entire purge and hatred), and everyone in the comments of those posts just suddenly at a flip of a switch, all could only think about one. single. story...and that was the 2 part fic from the now deactivated account.

So for a fic which diverges from canon by having Aventurine NOT go through the entire rollercoaster of drama and be given a chance at a normal life, everyone and their mother jumped to bully the writer. Please, gimme a break, he could've still become the same charismatic gambler we all know and love, just he would've had an oh idk- a little support system given by the person that got him out of a much crappy life? Seriously, how many fics AREN'T out there which diverge at one point from canon?! Or, even better, ignore the canon completely and they are their own thing! HOW MANY- A LOT OF THEM ARE!

It's like they were bothered that there can be a "what if Aventurine was saved before he went through the rest of that hell?", as if his canon story is the only thing that matters and shouldn't be changed at all - THE MAN IS IN SHAMBLES. HE WANTED TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM LIFE. And I cant be the only one who doesnt believe that him, as he grow up, didn't wish for someone to come to his aid, to take him out of there, but the more time passed, the more hope he lost and he just "well, guess I'll do this on my own". He. Has. No. One. To. Talk. To. Without. Him. Hidding. Behind. The. Persona. He. Created. No one.

Anon you have said exactly everything that I wanted to hear ‼️

(They all started this mess so I’m not gonna stop till I get my point straight across their faces)

These people CANNOT tell me that Aventurine didn’t want to be saved. They CANNOT tell me he didn’t hope for a helping hand throughout this whole hell.

The IPC had failed him and his race from the very beginning when they failed to protect Sigonia IV and the Avgins from the Katicans, and yet I still see people saying that creating a fic where he was saved is disregarding his effort in surviving like pls- my girl… he wanted to DIE to be with his family again and he’s literally in the clutches of the very same company that FAILED him and his kind. His life is literally in their hands and NO ONE would ever want to be at the mercy of the very same people who failed you.

He’s tired. He thinks so lowly of himself. He thinks he has no worth. He has no self-esteem.

All of that could’ve been avoided if someone had helped him, way before his neck was branded by the slave mark, or even during the time he was enslaved.

Like you said, there are already tons of fics that diverts from the canon story of the character into something that is almost disregarding it, so why is that an issue now?

We all love him the way he is, but don’t you think it’s also insensitive to say that when he himself hated the process or events that transpired to become what he is now?

I give him credit for his hardwork and efforts for staying alive and getting past the hell, but that cost him EVERYTHING. He survived, but he thinks so lowly of himself. He still think he’s only worth 60 tanbas. He didn’t refute Ratio and Sparkle’s insult. He throws his own body on every gamble because he thinks that’s his only worth… and now a simple harmless fic that aimed to provide him a normal life free from that tragedy was frowned upon by everyone just because the reader “bought him as a slave”.

[evelynpr]

How IN LOVE are the Genshin cast with the Traveler? An ANALYSIS of the cast's affinity for them based on voice lines, events and other media!

This goes for both Aether and Lumine, and even Paimon occasionally for the friendship/family tier! If there is anyone or smth I missed please feel free to add I love studying character relationships!!! Of course you are free to interpret these differently, or see it as "something more" if you wish hehe ;)

Lowest Tier : Friendly-er

These characters are here because they are not the type to have many friends, but traveler is special to them, not romantically

Raiden Ei - I interpret their relationship as one that is trying to build a stable friendship, but still recovering from past events slowly. Ei has done a lot of harm both directly and indirectly at the traveler, but has gone through the events of the quest to re-center herself in which the Traveler helped greatly. Deeply thankful is what I'm lead to believe, but casual is still iffy because of Ei's acts of cutting off all close connections in the past.

Shenhe - She is very protective of the traveler, because they were her earliest friends (yes Paimon too) and her story does revolve around her learning to fight for others (I find their friendship very sweet, but not romantic at all since Shenhe has a much longer way to go in understanding social relationships) (I'm kinda surprised I've never seen someone ship this romantically actually-)

Diluc - Definition of a Gentleman when it comes to the traveler. He always offers his support, gives his hand-picked grape juice to them for free, etc. He always sees them in high regard and trusts them greatly (but you could probably say he does the same for Kaeya, Jean, Adelinde, Elzer, basically anyone he sees as family)

Ningguang - She says herself that she keeps her friends few because of the dangers her enemies pose on those who are close to her, but as Liyue's protector she puts great trust in the traveler. Her hangout imo shows that she generally trusts us more than a business partner but as a friend (very wholesome, but nothing more than that and that's cool!)

Razor - Traveler is Lupical. Razor is inherently very protective of the people he cares about because of feeling like he failed to protect his lupical in the past (I believe that's the story behind his vision). So obviously it is not romantic, but his interactions with the Traveler, Paimon, his family and friends are just so special and heartwarming especially in his latest event (SO SWEET I LOVE FOUND FAMILY)

!! SPOILER FOR WANDERER'S STORY QUEST !!

Scaramouche/Wanderer/babygirl/whatever you named him - He clearly doesn't have that many companions (or even any at all), even less those who he shows any sign of vulnerability to. Personally I see it as one of the most interesting traveler relationships in the game yet because they both do not fully trust each other, nor fully accept the other as a friend, but because of him revealing his trauma and past to him, and also the traveler also revealing a part of their own mind and longing, they have an understanding of each other like no one else does. (I do not see this as romantic, but more like a camaraderie which may lead to a deeper connection in the future)

Side note: Most of the playable cast are friends with the traveler, I point out these people specifically because they don't show vulnerability often, or already have other of friends so these relationships have another level of importance to the character.

Middle Tier : Flirty~

These guys are sweet talkers, may or may not be into the traveler

Kaeya - He kinda just talks like that if you ask me. He genuinely cares for the traveler and the other Knights and his family, but his language is just one of the ways he puts on his persona (As Razor would put it, his "fake smile")

Lisa - "Hey cutie-" makes me feel things, ok. Other than that though, nothing tells me she's into the traveler any more than a flirty way? I mean she appreciates them for their skills and support but I think it ends there?

Kazuha - man is a sweet talker honestly. Of course he also cares for the traveler deeply, but his poetic and colorful language is from his own nature, and the traveler generally has a special presence (His language IS very pretty if you ask me haha) (I feel some would say its more *suggestive* than others so that's up to you already lmao)

If there's anyone else you think has a rather *flavorful* way of speaking to the traveler, please do let me know :> If you think these have deeper meaning though, that would be interesting

Above Average Tier : Very sweet, could be something more?

Pseudo-canon material (the comics and hangouts are great man)

Thoma - You give him flowers in his hangout, and in another ending he gives you his omamori which is very sentimental to him. Thoma is generally an incredibly sweet person, so interpret it as you please haha <3

Heizou - This is pretty romantic if you ask me (depending on your taste). He keeps saying how much he wants you to be his "partner" (technically in the investigation sense), and has dialogue about how he feels comfortable around you, it's very sweet and has potential. Not to mention "Traveler, you are so dreamy~" (I swear this guy is 80% fanservice but do you see people complaining?)

Noelle - Her hangout was really adorable, it had a very innocent and young long vibe throughout it and it's just cuteness overload :> (What I would call a babyship)

Childe - Chilumi (not counting Aether) is basically canon in one of the side comedy comics, but in game, it's implied they do battle for fun, traveler does still keep their guard up around him, but his story quest shows he puts great trust in the traveler despite their differences.

Highest Tier : VERY interested, in love even

These are all in game, and pretty canon events (Teapot lines may still be questioned on how canon they are, but further reinforce the mindsets and affinity for the traveler these characters have) (of course it still has headcanon and my own stupid simp heart but bear with me okay?)

Albedo - He always talks abt how interested he is in you (not just scientifically anymore lmao), and suggested for you to live (totally not with him) in Dragonspine. He also trusts them more than others quite explicitly. He is, I believe, deeply enamored by them because of their kindness, strength, intelligence and reliability because the traveler is the person he is most comfortable with. They are the reason he wants to interact with others more as well (Shadows Amidst Snowstorms +Teapot highlights this). The teapot lines are just the icing on the cake, man is making a MOVE on the traveler for REAL by asking him out and showing how he wants to spend more time with them.

Xiao - I feel like despite how common this pair is, it's quite overlooked just how much Xiao trusts and admires the traveler. Xiao is very sensitive about people calling him by his name to use it to control him (that is what his old master did to him) so the fact that he tells only the traveler (not just suggest mind you) to call him anywhere anytime using HIS NAME, are massive displays of vulnerability, trust and protectiveness. (I believe that protection is his main way of showing affection because others are currently an anomaly to him) Xiao also both literally and emotionally feels a calming presence around them because of their healing ability and kindness. He also just can't say no to them, and wants to understand the traveler more even if it means in partaking in "dumb human activities"

Ayaka - She sees so much freedom and beauty in the traveler it is so sweet, and it's quite obvious how much she wants to spend time and be closer with the traveler emotionally (maybe I am just a simp but please she is so tender and sincere) It is also mentioned repeatedly how much she talks about them in very high regard. Once again the teapot lines are just the sugary coat on top with "May I...hold your hand?" being one of them (I screamed like I just won 50/50 in one pull with that line)

!! SMALL SPOILER TO WANDERER'S STORY QUEST !!

The old lady of the Kamisato Estate also mentions how thrilled Ayaka is every time they're around, and also talked about how talented and admirable they are. She also implied that they are Ayaka's "Knight in Shining Armor" and that she talks about them all the time. Idk if you need anymore convincing at this point of how much Ayaka likes the traveler after that.

SIDE NOTE : I find it refreshing and fascinating how the genders actually seem quite mixed and what relationships characters have with the traveler are varied. I really appreciate the writing team for the amount of detail they put into them!

AND THAT'S IT FOR NOW!!! This is my longest post yet soooo THANK YOU SO MUCH IF YOU MADE IT THIS FAR AND ACTUALLY READ THIS!!

[vulpixisananimal]

SIFSTEM PLAYLIST

I got a few suggestions from people, and I have explinations for a lot of the music too BECASUE IM A HUGE MUSIC NERD!!! Below the cut!!

ALSO I'm gonna add more songs over time and will probably update this. Lol. I'm ALWAYS taking suggestions for it! I like music!!!

PLAYLIST ORDER

Each section for the Sifstem members is designated by an ISAT origonal song, and in each section is song for that member! There's two exceptions which I'll go over real quick!

Your fault/Last Midnight - First song on the playlist, it's about basicly all the members. It's about a bunch of characters arguing about who's fault it is that everything's gone to shit before blaming it on the witch. And then in Last Midnight the witch goes off on them about it doesn't matter who's to blame, they have to deal with it.

It takes two - Last song on the playlist. Also from Into the Woods, this, by contrast, is about how people change and work together well.

Also some songs I choose off lyrics, others off of just vibes.

NOW FOR THE SECTIONS

Siffrin

Final room (act 5/6) - If there was a good Siffrin theme from ISAT, I think this is it. I like it.

Russian Doll - "Why should I try again?" This was a song reccomended to me a while ago actually, it fits.

Touch - ok this one's a bit mean but, listen, he is so touch starved. This song fits. "Touch, I remember touch, feelings came with touch."

No dogs on the moon! - vibe song! Silly fella song!

Bohemian Rhapsody - one of my favorite songs of all time ever. There's too much to type out, tbh.

Loop

How can you help me, Stardust? - do I even need to say anything?

Absolutely cuckoo - listen to the lyrics. "You might decide I'm a nut \ Give me a week or two to \ go absolutly cuckoo \ then when you see your error \ you can flee in terror" LIKE COME ON

The Future - "I'm worried about the future, ain't fucking with that past shit." Loop is really trying to move on. How could they? They're stuck in their betters shadow, their mind.

A humans touch - this one was by @\jackoboltrades! Very fitting for Loop who still feels they don't deserve love, or that they're just a star, not human, not real.

Rage Awakened - based purely on the loop fight. It's a vibe song but I love this song. Also Lingering Will (the character this theme is for) does have some similarities to Loop, being echoes of the past defeats and wishes.

Haunted - being haunted by past mistakes or just the past in general. Though it has some romantic undertones that I can take or leave

Mal Du Pays

Mal Du Pays - AGAIN do I need to explain anything

Mr. FEAR - "Hello, my name is mr. fear." considering how Mal Du Pays is introduced and how it interacts with Siffrin, well, that line alone makes it an MDP song.

Dark Impetus - Vibe song! Mysterious figure cloaked in dark, too. Lol.

Ghosts - "Maybe the past aint what it cracked up to be \ Maybe I'll find a way to just move on \ Maybe we're all ghosts cause I cant feel the ground \ And all these shades they dont make a sound \ I think there is a God \ I think he hates his job" Do I need to say anything.

Stained, Brutal Calamity - Recomended by a friend! Both vibes but also the lyrics that come later have a MDP vibe. I like it.

Burn My Dread (last battle) - "Tear up your fear \ the end is coming near" Honestly Persona 3 has a vibe that could fit MDP quite well.

Null

I WON'T LET YOU GO HOME - Act 5 Siffrin, someone who's both repressing their own feelings to their family but also doesn't want to let them go, to the point of hurting everyone. Nuff said.

Panoramic Feeling - this and the other Katana Zero songs are here cause, well, Zero fictive, plus has the vibe.

All for now - same song used to fight Ramos. It was this or Full Confession, and this fits more for it's desperate or crazed vibe.

L'impeto Oscuro - This is actually a retrain of Dark Impetus, it's the them of a time traveler who can stop time (Kingdom hearts lore dont worry about it.) This specific mix also included the music for when time is stopped during the fight. It's ruthless, endless.

I'm my own master now - Very heavy and hard and strong and powerful, also! The Lyrics! "Bear the mark of my scars \ Shedding blood underneath the stars"

Labyrinth - Being lost in an endless labarynth of their own mind. Very much like act 5 Siffrin, like Null. Plus, Null is not exactly mentally stable.

Rain on brick - Katana Zero song, it's the menue theme. It's just. . . Vibes.

[a-lonely-dunedain]

OC Questions Tag Game

Ty for tagging me @merilles ! How’s this work, you answer the three questions about some OCs then come up with three different ones and tag people right?

(gosh I am so sorry this got so long winded 😭 Meril I guess that's a testament to how great these questions are lol)

1. How does your OC present themselves to the world (i.e. their persona) and does it differ from what they are actually like? If so, who do they feel comfortable taking the “mask” off around and why did that “mask” develop in the first place?

-Ah ok so for Tossdir it’s definitely his tendency to hide any pain he's in, both physical and emotional. I think this came about around the time his parents died. Once it finally sunk in to him that they were gone gone and it was up to Meneldir to take care of him now (something he was woefully unprepared for), little Toss got it into his head that he had to become as self-sufficient as possible as to not be a burden. He learned how to hide/downplay any pain he was in pretty effectively, leading people to think he was taking things pretty well and being very brave! But in reality it was just an unhealthy coping mechanism that no one really saw for what it was, so it persisted into his adulthood.

As for who he can take off the mask around… well not many people. At the point he probably doesn’t even realize he HAS it. He isn’t comfortable showing that kind of vulnerability around many people, especially considering it came about from a desire not to burden his loved ones with his pain. Eventually it did become easier for him to be open with Meneldir about it, and Ethedis too eventually.

- Ethedis has a similar-ish mask to Tossdir, but unlike him she’s very aware it’s there and intentionally maintains it. She uses her bubbly optimism to hide her pain sorrow and weakness, partially because she knows what a powerful weapon despair is to The Enemy, and partially because of the impact seeing her mother succumb to grief had on her. Her mom left because she essentially became too sad to continue living in Middle Earth, so Ethedis decided from a very young age that it is now Her Job to be a beacon of hope, a light in the darkness, a warmth amidst the cold! (All skills/titles she canonically has in game) so she’s not allowed to be sad or hopeless ever. (To her detriment in the long term. Shockingly, this is a bad way of dealing with your emotions)

That’s not to say her optimism is disingenuous or anything, far from it, but she’s just very careful to make sure she never shows it when the darkness begins to wear on her. It’s not really helped by the fact that certain NPCs will stress to her that her ability to inspire hope is one of her most admirable/valuable traits. That’s a lot of pressure, man! I mean thanks, but man!

-Margim's mask is one of solid stone, but she does actually have a sense of humor under there! It's pretty dry and kinda grim, but it is there. She's also just, generally a lot more caring than she lets on, even surprising herself with it. That part of her mask only started to slip for the first time after she met Celeair, and she was actually pretty alarmed by the change and the vulnerability that came with it.

-Celeair is a bit of an outliar in the sense that he really doesn't have as much of a mask as my others. He's a bit of a "wears his big heart on his sleeve" kinda guy, and lying in any form doesn't come naturally to him. This man has like, no filter.

2. What is one thing they could change either about themselves or the past? Why would they make that change? How would that change affect who they are and the world around them in their current timeline?

-Well, for both Toss and Eth the obvious answer is that they wish they hadn't lost their parents.

If Orndir and Elenath were still around would Tossdir have been able to convince Meneldir to come home? Would Meneldir have even left in the first place if he still had a family to vouch for him? Things would have been so different with them still in the picture, and probably for the better as far as Tossdir can imagine.

And Ethedis just wanted the chance to even meet Talagan. Ethuilas spoke very little about him, and when she did her words were always tainted with deep sorrow. Elrond was able to tell her a little more about him, but all the stories in the world could never truly make up for his absence. If her father hadn't died in the attack on Edhellion, her mother never would have had to sail, and they could all be living happily together in Rivendell. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. (it's either that or she wishes she was a half-elf or someone else who could choose a mortal life. *Looking Directly At Corunir*)

-Margim would have some pretty complicated feelings on this question. On the one hand: she wishes she was never born in Mordor, never had a Black Numenorean father, never abandoned by her birth mother, and that she NEVER had to endure ANY of the horrible things her life consisted of before escaping.

...but on the other hand: if things had played out so differently, she never would have met Celeair, and she never would have been there to save him when he was brought to Mordor. He would have died without her ever knowing him. And upon that realization, she decides she doesn't want to think about it anymore. Horrible things happened, but she overcame them and that's that. No sense in thinking about "what if"s because no amount of wishing will ever change the past anyway. And frankly, changing the past would mean changing her present, and despite all the pain that led her here, she wouldn't trade her current life (and by extension Celeair) for anything.

-Celeair he wishes he could have been there for his brother Halhir in the closing days of the War of the Ring. He was stuck in Dunland at the time, and while things were bad there he at least had the comfort of Margim's company, but all Halhir had was... a lot of dead friends. Celeair only learned about it after the war was over and he could finally travel back to Gondor, and the guilt he felt upon learning everything his little brother had to endure without him was... a lot, to say the least.

3. Drawing from the language of flowers, what flower(s) would best symbolize them and why?

Oh I actually already had this one figured out!

-Tossdir is red aster, symbolizing grief and undying devotion. This symbolism actually made it into lotro too canonically, so it seems rather fitting (with red aster being mentioned by name in a quest involving a ritual to honor the dead, and the same red aster model also appearing among the iconic "fields of red where life has fled" in Cardolan). Not to mention red is also His Color so it worked out perfectly.

-Ethedis' flower is either white lilac, symbolizing youthful joy, or snowdrops symbolizing hope, rebirth, and resilience. oh oh oooor possibly yellow tulips, meaning cheerfulness and hopeless love. (the hopeless love part is related to inherent angst of elf/mortal relationships *Looking Directly At Corunir*)

-Celeair and Margim: the humble dandelion! a flower I've always associated with them <3 specifically Margim is tied to the blooming flower, representing growth and resilience, while Celeair is associated with the fluffy seed head, representing hope and healing.

oooh gosh now I need to think of three questions to pass along and people to tag uhhh

What is a trait your OC can't stand in other people vs. a trait that they find themself drawn to

What animal would you associate with your OC? can be for in-character reasons (I.E their favorite animal) or a more symbolic reason

What is their biggest regret? was it truly their fault or some unavoidable tragedy? (and can they tell the difference)

annnd tagging uhh @find-the-path @aurore-parle-de-ses-idees and @rohirric-hunter ! (apologies if the questions are worded funny/unclearly it's 2:30am and I should have been in bed an hour ago lmao)

[voidsumbrella]

betrayal, hide, mask for witchwraithhaven?

iiiiiiiiiii forgot i reblogged this lmao whoops!

oc blocktext time~!

betrayal: Has your OC ever been betrayed by someone they thought they could trust? Has your OC ever betrayed someone who trusted them?

…y'know, i don't think ive done a whole lot with literal betrayal arcs for these three? like ive got some conceptual "perceived betrayal of the past self's ideals" going on, and wraith had an ex girlfriend backstab them in an early draft of the writing project, but that got cut bc it made the timeline clunky, and i haven't played with it much outside that.

hide: What does your OC hide? Why do they hide it?

witch: they got so much shit kicked under the bed, both literally and figuratively. their house is a dragon's horde of accumulated Stuff that no one else can access (besides wraith+haven), they are extremely close-lipped about their personal life, if i listed off all the specifics we'd be here all year. their biggest ~secrets~ are the ones that pose a safety risk to them and their loved ones. the most important physical object they're hiding is the only copy of the blueprints for a device that creates gods by destroying universes, and then kills and eats those gods; handling that is the plot of vast and empty spaces was such an Ordeal that they (and wraith) took the knowledge of it out of their head, so that if they get mind read or truth serum'd or something it'll still stay hidden. the memory's just in their room, so it's not like gone-gone, but all they know without checking is that there is something Extremely Destructive in the lowest level of their basement that they shouldn't talk about. the most important concept they keep under wraps is probably their true name. names have Power, and it's important to them that their persona as a wish granter is the main thing people see; even their "common name" is just a shortening of their title, not something they personally picked out to be called.

wraith: they're sometimes accused of hiding their whole self; they're very hard to read, don't communicate their thoughts, and rarely take action in a way that other people can tie directly to them. none of this is on purpose, per se- they're naturally extremely unexpressive, have trouble speaking/signing/writing coherently, and dislike drawing attention the themself- but they know full well that this shuts them off from people and have zero intention to do anything about it, so it's not wholly a false accusation. witch knows them, haven knows them, everyone else can get fucked.

haven: actually does hide a lot of himself as a person, mostly as an anxiety thing. he goes out of his way to cover any skin besides his hands and face (yeah, yeah, full coverage clothing ≠ hiding inherently, but it is what's going on here in this case), it takes a long time for him to be comfortable wearing anything even slightly attention getting; he's extremely self conscious about his hobbies and interests and avoids discussing them; he's a chronic people pleaser and terrified of confrontation, so any conversation with someone he doesn't already know that requires him to have an Opinion will result in him saying whatever he assumes will cause the least friction, even if it means outright lying. his assumptions are often wrong, which is why he can only make friends on accident. oops. he also keeps the whole "reincarnated from another universe" thing under wraps when that becomes relevant, for obvious reasons.

mask: Does your OC wear a mask, literally or figuratively? What goes on beneath it? Is there anyone in their life who gets to see who they are under the mask?

this has a lot of overlap with the last question, in the sense of them having multiple "selves" for a private and public context, but i will be splitting hairs about using the term "mask", because that has some connotative layers to it.

i don't totally think witch's public persona is a mask so much as it is a curation; they're playing a character so they are seen the way they want to be seen/the way they need to be seen in order to do their job, but they keep that character as close to themself as they can, as it's easier for them to be genuine than not. their "actual face" is kind of a behind-the-scenes type deal; as i said before, they have a lot of secret-secrets, but a lot of what they keep behind the curtain is the mechanics that let them keep the play going, and they just don't need other people to see that.

wraith's mask is more of a cardboard cutout they happen to be standing behind. they're not going to try to move out into the open, but with a bit of effort you can walk around it, and they're not going to stop you. they might make the path a bit harder or easier based on if they like you or not, but in the end if you can't or don't find them, that's on you.

haven is only functional in public due to his customer service face, which is very intentionally constructed to be at least partially separate from who he considers himself to really be for the aforementioned anxiety/judgement evasion reasons. secretary!haven can make phone calls. normal!haven gets anxious checking his email. you get the picture.

mask or no, none of them hide any part of themselves from the other two. loving and being loved is synonymous with knowing and being known.

[fivekrystalpetals]

[this is mostly a repost of this chain of reblogs bc I had a few more things to add after rt.93+, wanted to have all of it in one place easy to read instead of adding one more rb to that chain, nobody talks about Lottie in general :( etc. etc.]

1] Lottie's real character

—is not the whole 'bloodlusty-sadistic-femme-fatale' persona she puts up but something close to this—

—the moment she sees a strange ragged child, a newcomer to her house on top of that, her first instinct is to go: "oh no, you are so dirty... come over here I will clean you all up."

then she goes on to console Lily for everything that happened in her life and explains why none of it was her fault—

Everyone here's gone through similar trials... but at the same time, it warps 'something' in people around you.

I am so curious about Lottie's past (on one hand, I am sad I won't ever have an answer; on the other I am happy bc I can make up whatever backstory I want for her!) because she says this as a matter-of-fact, like she (and everyone there) has experienced her share of trauma and abuse so can easily relate to Lily (also, please look at Lily's cute little adoring this-lady-is-so-cool face and her round, neatly combed mop of hair lol)

Lottie is a caring, motherly, nurturing person from her heart. This isn't even big-sisterly; she just straight up adopts a child that appeared at her doorsteps. At first, I thought her sweet character got warped after her traumatic experiences from the Tragedy of Sablier, but actually no. She still is the same, she simply suppresses it for the sake of her persona.

Because, here in Retrace 34, her first instinct on seeing Vincent beat up Echo was to confront him about it:

and she gets angry too when Vincent very coolly replies that he was taking out his pent up frustration on Echo.

However, then, she slowly relents, probably making up her mind not to interfere any more in his personal business because it was doubtless more important to keep Vincent on their side than making an enemy out of him.

annnd yet, she still voluntarily offers to accompany Zwei on her assigned mission to Sablier. because she is worried about her running off somewhere by herself. Practically a mom, I am telling you

.

and yeah, something else to add on here: the reason I say her Sadistic Sexy Girl persona is fake,, because she doesn't seem to enjoy the attention men 'give' her at all. two times iirc: when Vincent and Break grope at her without her proper consent, she appears highly uncomfortable. (or, it could only be dubcon at the best ig (also see: Lacie who was requested for her 'permission' in Glen's 'experiment' by the Glen himself. It is mentioned time and again that Baskervilles' can't go against the Glen's wishes,, implying her 'permission' was merely a formality))

See this, her first instinct is to irritably slap away Vincent's hand when he so much as touches her hair (Retrace 34):

But Vincent ignores her and continues to grope at her body.... with her finally giving in. Or rather, she was shown to be very shocked and annoyed all of those three panels before she abruptly switches to her 'sadist' persona.

With Break, I don't know how she would have reacted if he pressed on but since he pulled away, she went from being annoyed and uncomfortable to ending up more confused about what was going on (Retrace 41)

on the whole, I feel like on returning from the Abyss after a hundred years and finding that the Baskervilles had been replaced in the society and condemned to being barbarians and mass murderers, the survivors had to obviously collect more information about what really had happened. They had to find their master Glen as well. Hence, she assumed this persona to achieve her objectives—using her face and body to lure in possible informants. Also, when she needs to interrogate 'weaker' men, she simply uses it to scare them and get what she wants (sorry Oz, don't mean to dunk on you but you are the example here lmao). Like how Break clowns around so that people don't take him seriously. but.... that's not what she is, nowhere near what she is, and that's why she is so uncomfortable when men voluntarily make advances at her.

2] Lottie's smart observations

—because, many a time, it's because of her observations I started to think in an entirely new track.

in fact, the first time I started to pay closer attention to Jack's words is because of this panel (Retrace 27)—

Till then, I simply took it for granted that Jack Vessalius was a celebrated war hero, that Glen Baskerville was the one that caused the massacre which Jack put a stop to by killing his friend etc. etc.

But when Lottie pointed this out, I started to wonder if there was indeed something more to the whole Tragedy than that meets the eye. Well, honestly, calling a war hero a hero is in itself not all right but now when I realize what Jack was actually up to, it doesn't surprise me that he had no proper answer to Lottie's accusation here. He simply scares her off saying the Baskervilles won't be any match to B-Rabbit, to which, at the time I was reading this chapter, I went— okaaay? and what's that to do anything with anything?

He doesn't answer anything with regards to Glen because, apparently, he was trying to protect his dear friend's honor (bullshit); he says this to Glen's loyal followers as if they are gonna desert Glen or something. They stayed and still searched for him even after he gave the orders to kill everyone in Sablier so Jack, what's your point?

Next is here (Retrace 46)—

the first time I read this statement, do you know my mind directly went: oh, does this mean Vincent is the Head Hunter? Because if the Baskervilles don't know who the Head Hunter is but she is helping them out (in other words, in league with them), won't this narrow it down to Vincent? plus, he did kill Phillipe's dad (within the excuse of not wanting him to be dragged into the Abyss) with the chain which had connections to the Head Hunter case they were investigating.

But then, Vincent went on to say the Head Hunter attacked Gil too (which he couldn't have possibly done), and that he would be the one to slay her, and.... I entirely dropped that line of thought. Afterward, we went through the whole seesaw of whether or not Elliot is the Head Hunter to finally getting revealed Vincent was the true Head Hunter after all and I was like: ah, my first hunch was right after all... (ノへ￣、)

In the same chapter, here too:

Vincent (who is one of the smartest characters in the story) commends her on picking up things super fast. So does Break when she directly questions him about his words from the other day (Retrace 52):

Next, this one might be a bit of a weak argument but I think, of all people, it was only Charlotte who never fell for Jack's charms. In her past memories, it is shown that she didn't trust him at all. He enraged her, in fact. Yes, this whole scene is played off for gags but.... tl;dr, is that she questions him every time he enters their mansion without any particular permission or intention (Retrace 27)

and see here too:

She is shocked when she comes to know that Glen had let in Jack, an outsider, on to their secrets. Well, we have Jack here denying that he was at all interested in Glen's affairs but we later on realize that was not the case. That Jack was very much interested in Glen's affairs. So, Lottie's instincts ring true every time,,

(I was wondering why Lottie didn't know Jack at all since that guy has been loitering around the Baskerville Mansion since forever but that too was explained. she became a Baskerville after Lacie was cast into the Abyss, Oswald became Glen and Jack fell into his depression.)

but here, here (Retrace 87) can we talk about how smart Lottie is in this scene? (I love you, Break! but this post is about Lottie so I am gonna leave you out; I have made a separate post for you and your badass ways so there, there,)

Had it not been for Shirley, Break might have lost here, died even,, because what she says is right. He is fighting but he has not at all healed from his previous injuries (which, thanks to Vincent, got aggravated, seriously what's the sewer rat's problem?!),, so he is fighting for and with his life. Using his chain only adds to burden that his body can't take. lol, and so what a simple logic she uses-- just stay away from him by a certain distance, out of Mad Hatter's range and don't throw your chains against it either. He would self-destruct by himself ;-; Break looks so annoyed here, he must have realized that her logic would work.

3] Lottie is NOT a blind, stupid Glen fangirl/follower

As I mentioned in the 2 section, she is the only one that questions the intentions of Glen-sama's 'one and only friend' Jack who loiters about the Baskerville grounds for a lot of no reason;

similarly, she is the one who first hesitates at Oswald/Glen's actions after his taking over Leo's body and on a regret-fuelled warpath of probably more disastrous outcomes from changing the past than the Tragedy of Sablier.

Look at her, she is horrified at the way Glen killed that man, even skewering a sword through his mouth in his last moments (Retrace 81):

Yes, it is true that Pandora can not be easily cleansed of their brainwashing by Jack and misunderstanding of the Tragedy of Sablier but.... this was too ruthless and too cruel a murder of an innocent person. I think this is the first time she starts to question if Glen was really doing the right thing. (Even, I wonder if she gets flashbacks to the Tragedy of Sablier like Vincent bc she looks visibly shaken here)

Also, back in Retrace 79, she is right by Glen's side and even comically annoyed at Gil and Oz's escape and at Rufus for hiding while Raven attacked the place, so it didn't seem like she was questioning Glen at the time. Maybe, her first instance of hesitation was at Glen's immediate decision to get Gil killed, Gil who is one of them and was once Glen's valet. I don't know but she did seem to me to be a lot shaken there as well.

And not only now, back then, too. A 100 years ago. Yes, in front of Glen, it was Fang who openly questioned Glen's decision to kill all humans in and around Sablier but Lottie too was equally shocked to hear it (Retrace 27)

(Well, back then, it is true Oswald had no choice but to go ahead with killing all humans to save them from breaking away from the 100-years cycle or getting turned into chains (although I am writing a post on how a lot of the tragedy could have been avoided had he not been so passive; when I finish, I will link it here) but not in the present.)

Back to Lottie--

In the previous chapter (Retrace 26), she tells Oz that Glen's orders are absolute and the Baskervilles are 'built' to obey them. Her mannerisms show us (and Oz) that she has no remorse in killing all those people and is, in fact, super gleeful about the massacre and the role she played in it ("Aah, it feels like only yesterday", she says, as if she is nostalgic and thirsty for more bloodshed.)

However, this.... is all a huge lie.

Maybe, she thinks it will be easier to get an answer out of a hostage if she behaves cruel and threatening. Maybe, she is trying to hide her own regrets and guilt by putting up the mask of a psychopathic killer. Maybe, she feels there is no point in trying to justify their actions from a 100-years ago (something the Baskervilles themselves don't understand properly) to the citizens in the present, because, no matter what, they won't understand their stance and look upon them as barbarians and murderers, so it'd be as well to accept it.

Whatever be the case, the truth is: (Retrace 98)

What is this...? What exactly have we gotten ourselves into....?!

Lottie scolds Fang for even harboring a thought like one of their family has turned traitor, ultimately breaks down and cries in his arms. Plus, the Baskervilles themselves were scared of Jack and his chain-killing-chain (they didn't know it was Jack at the time) but they knew that someone, a human contractor or maybe one among themselves, had turned on them. Fang was so relieved to see Lottie alive. He feared she too might have fallen at the hands of the traitor, who had killed off many of the almost immortal Baskervilles assigned to be the messengers to and from Glen. I suppose had those messengers managed to reach Lottie and co., they would have known the real reason behind Glen's orders to kill the humans (if you see Retrace 74-pg. 29 (not adding that panel too) Glen does explain his decision to a red-hooded Baskerville, who I presume was killed by Jack on their way to the others)

Having said all this, I can't not add this panel bc this too is canon *face palm*

4] Lottie's views on living and death

This is a bit difficult to explain but there's a lot of stuff about this in spite of her few appearances (gotta read between the lines), so let's start with this panel:

while reading this for the first time, I thought she is talking about the Tragedy of Sablier. I am not so sure now. Because, although they killed lots of people, it was not for their own gain at all. It was to save those people from a fate worse than death. But, in this chapter (Retrace 25), Lottie doesn't yet know why Glen had asked them to commit the massacre so.... she must have bought the common (Jack-fed) tale that Glen wanted the Intention of the Abyss for his own gain. In a way, she is still trying to convince herself that their crimes on that fateful day were justified.

It's impossible to keep on living without hurting anybody, okay?

What I mean is this should be her own idea of life—that living is cut-throat and unfair. If we simply do nothing, then others will trample all over us and use us to achieve their own goals. Even if we try to live a life without hurting others, the same need not always be reciprocated. (which is exactly what went down between Jack and Glen jkjkgsjk but Lottie doesn't know lol)

I feel like the whole conversation hints more at her past than her days with the Baskervilles, because, even prior to that, the topic she was discussing with Oz... had nothing to do with the Baskervilles or the Tragedy. She was merely curious why Oz surrendered so fast when Ada was with him and why he wasn't fighting back right now. Thinking about it, Oz underwent a tremendous character development from a This-is-Fine, If-I-do-Nothing-I-will-be-Fine attitude to actively fighting back for his friends and family. Retrace 82, when he finally wrestles the control out of Jack's hands in spite of his constant taunting that nothing could belong to someone like Oz. In a way, he did take Lottie's advice and act upon it.

Lottie has the right hunch about most things. Remember this scene (Retrace 75):

I wonder what her life before joining the Baskervilles was like because she sure has tons of worldly experience and can easily see through people. Just like that, she offers words and advice that people (here, Oz) needed to hear.

.

I believe this is also the reason why her reaction to Break was quite... different compared to little Lily's outburst whenever she spotted him that they gotta kill him and get revenge for Fang.

For one, yes, she knows Fang passed with a smile on his face and was freed from his burden. She was relieved for him. But I also think she doesn't want revenge on Break because of this very principle of life. Fang died protecting Lily. It was a fair fight, a fight for life where if one even slightly falters, they are gonna get killed. It was not like Break had an advantage there; it was not like Fang was gonna go easy on Break had he given in or something,, (compared to Glen's killing of those Pandora men, where he had an overwhelming powerful chain, ig those men were mostly unarmed too idk)

And of all people, it was Lottie who finally ended that cycle of vengeance that started with Reim and Lily. Remember how it went?

Lily kills two of Reim's companions -> Reim seeks revenge and shoots Lily in the head -> Lily didn't die instead she attacks Reim -> Break arrives at the spot (coz of Vincent), jumps to conclusion that Reim is dead and seeks revenge -> in the fight that ensues Fang dies and Break gets grievously injured -> Lily wants revenge for Fang (in the meantime, Vincent reopens Break's half-healed wound from then) -> in the fight between Break and the Baskervilles, he gets even more exhausted bc of his chain (the reason he went all out was for Sharon getting slightly hit in the head btw) -> finally, Break dies but Lily isn't satisfied, she wants to cut up his body -> Reim offers her to shoot him instead bc he was the one that started it in the first place

Had Lily killed Reim here, this cycle could have gone on forever (maybe, Sharon might seek revenge next lol)

side note: from this, I realize that Break acts a lot more out of emotion than Lottie; Fang was equally important to Lottie like Reim or Sharon were to Break. Yet, she decided to put an end to the cycle of vengeance and accept Reim's offered hand of friendship. Supposing if Reim and Fang were the ones that died back then and Break lived in the end, would he have agreed to ally with the Baskervilles? I doubt...? (Another thought with no real proof is that she'd already been thinking of working with the protagonists ever since Break asked of her (remember, she was the one curious about his words) but that's a topic for another post ghjshgjs I promise it won't be shippy lol)

Back to the topic, I am genuinely surprised that she didn't hold the slightest grudge against Break. I understand allying with the protagonists for they are pursuing the same goal but she really didn't have to stop and say such a sweet prayer for his soul, a man who killed her friend after all:

May your soul return to this Earth.... once it has completed its hundred years cycle.

She is promising him to see Oz and the others through to the end in his place! Something he was regretting at the very brink of death, that he didn't have it in him anymore to continue on the path with them,, so whether he can or not hear her, this sure was a reassurance he needed to hear. (As I said before, she just..... knows what to say, she can easily see through people but I don't think it is appreciated enough ;_;)

And here comes in her views of death and the Hundred Years cycle (reincarnation) of the soul, something she takes very seriously (she should, considering they are the servants of the Abyss) and I believe she is of the view that demise needs to be respected, no matter friend or enemy. Now, do you see why she was so horrified at Glen stabbing a sword through the man's throat while he lay there dying? A close example I can give is that of Chuuya from BSD rebuking Dazai for shooting bullets at a corpse. They might have killed lots but they still know to respect the dead/dying.

This went so long--and I will go on and on about Lottie lol (I even reached the 30 image limit ig idk) so I will end here with Charlotte reconciling with her master and assuring him that she will support Leo in his place. This is the first time she has visible tears in her eyes:

[dreamingon-forever]

hi i know this is random but i want to hear an opinion, Do you think if attack on titan had levi and hange relationship backstory or like an ova in terms of how they gotten close (I know it's quite obvious that they are) , do you think the dedicate your heart scene when hange is about to die would have hit alot alot harder than it already has ? (Obviously it was depressing for hange to die)

Oooh! This is a very interesting question. I think it could go both ways. One, if they had explored their backstory closer, I'm sure people would have felt more attached to them being together, and more understanding as to why it was so hard for Levi to let go of Hange. As we all already know, if he had been selfish enough he would have chosen to not allowed them to go, but because he treasured Hange so much, he put their wishes before him, and I think that is poetically bittersweet. And it shows already the level of trust and understanding they have for each other with just the scenes we've been given. Adding a backstory to them would magnify the extend of how much love they held for each other, and how much they gave up for the sake of the world. Seeing their backstory would also make it harder to watch them split off since their interactions would be played off from the years they've experienced together. Not only do I think it would make the Dedicate Your Heart scene more impactful, but I'm sure it would have made the confession scene in the forest also shift and be seen in a more romantic setting as well. I honestly think a backstory would make the meaning of sacrifice hit harder because of the added point of view as viewers where we see them grow closer together, and creating this unique bond that progresses naturally as they survive their ventures into the outside walls. I can only imagine how long it must've taken for two complete opposites to becomes so understanding of each other to the point they're the only person that fully gets them in the end. And being able to watch this progression would hurt like a truck by the time they bid each other goodbye.

On the other hand, I also feel like for some people it can take away the special feeling of the scene. Because from what we have seen and read from the manga and anime, it leaves so much for us to interpret on our own about the in betweens of their relationship. When we're not given the full story, we can only interpret some aspects of their history together, we can only assume how they became so close, and that in itself is also a part as to why their goodbye scene hit so hard for some readers. Because based on what what one imagines had occurred in their past together it can be interpreted differently, and for those who envision a certain backstory can be affected differently. And if we had been given a backstory, it could destroy some expectations of how they see their relationship. An example is how we've seen Levi's character mourn before, but we saw for the first time Levi wishing to hold onto someone and be vulnerable to them. Because we have no backstory to Levihan we can only assume just how they'd gotten to that point, and I think that's magic in itself as to why the sudden shift in Levi's demeanor hit so hard in their goodbye scene. Where they in love with each other? Did they push back these feelings all this time until their end? Did they finally get the courage to confess at the end? Had something happened between them in their years together? All of these plausible possibilities depending on the viewer can influence how much the last scene means. And I think that's why Isayama probably left it like it was for their goodbye scene. I think Dedicate Your Heart already seems pretty self explanatory to how Levi felt for Hange, but how deeply it plays out depends on the reader themselves and how close they think the two actually were. Sometimes the missing pieces to a story creates the most painful conclusions because you'll never understand how they came to be.

Me personally, I would of course love to have a backstory to Levi and Hange. I want to see their progression from comrades to inseparable besties that can't go a day without teasing and shit talking each other. Because let's be honest, when had Levi ever let his guard down enough to joke so easily with someone? I've always wished for an expansion to their history. And I 100000% believe that it would've made me bawl even more at their goodbye knowing how far their journey had been together, only for them to end up on separate endings. But I can also see how the lack of backstory can also be a device used to bring out more pain since we lack so much of their story, and can only take what we've been given as face value to what had been their relationship as we know.

Thank you so much for the ask, anon! Really got me thinking there (and I might not have been typing this for over three hours now since you got me into a hole). I would love to hear what you think as well!

[jourke-rourke]

some assorted insights I have gained from analyzing the wanted posters shown at various points throughout the show: (this is gonna be mega-long as i am allergic to concision. to be fair I did issue a clear warning about inflicting text posts on everybody)

from episode 1. One and Three are listed as having the same height and weight (both 6'0" and 210 pounds).

who do they think they are kidding. I do not buy this for either of them

unless they weighed Boone while he was carrying multiple holstered guns. Which, y'know, maybe.

I can buy 6'1" and 210 pounds for Six, but uh. What's up with the race there?

African American? My man is not from Earth. He doesn't even know what planet America is on

ALSO Jones and Boone have the same NCIC number. This might be a mistake on the showrunners' part but I think a funnier interpretation is that the GA just never bothered to assign his fake persona a real number so they just copy-pasted Boone's

Alternatively maybe it is actually Jones' and there's a weird glitch in Boone's GA profile where it just displays other people's ID numbers. supporting evidence is this shot from S3 where he inexplicably has Ryo's ID number (while Portia doesn't get her number listed at all)

this is from the blink drive scientist in the past who downloaded the GA database. fun fact: since Portia is in prison clothes but Boone does not yet have terrorism added to his charge list, it seems that the scientist left for the past at some point during S2. neat!

Also both Boone and Portia have a note on their profile that says 'not permitted to carry weapons or firearms under any circumstances.'

yeah, good luck with that one.

getting into charges (these are all S1):

for some reason Jones is never charged with terrorism despite the fact that he is an undercover agent and they could literally charge him with anything they want, it's not like they'll have to prove it.

he was literally part of a terrorist cell and instrumental in bombing 10,000 people. why was he never charged with terrorism.

also can you imagine being the poor merc who gets knocked off the 10 most wanted list in favor of an undercover cop's secret identity created to fool like four people. your rep would never recover

Corso is the only one with a trafficking charge, which I assume refers to human trafficking. I'm gonna be real, I'm amazed Boone hasn't scored one of those by now, given that we see main universe Boone exactly twice and both times he immediately attempts to sell the first person he sees into slavery. maybe he's just never been successful but is really gunning for that so he can fill out the fifth charge slot on his most wanted poster with something cool.

Boone does get a kidnapping charge, which I'd wager is probably from his old crew, since 'snatch kids to blackmail parents' seems to be their M.O.

this one's from S2E11, 'wish I'd spaced you when I had the chance.'

They finally got Ryo's name right! It was still under Tetsudo when he was arrested so I assume when Misaki showed up she was like 'hey man you know that's not his name right?' and the GA folks updated it

Nyx just has theft, assault, and fraud charges, none of which seem to warrant imprisonment in the most maximum security facility in the galaxy, so I'm assuming she was sent there because she kept beating people up in min sec

Also, damn, Two is really racking up the charges. New extortion, kidnapping, armed robbery, and corporate espionage. Wow.

However, she has inexplicably been cleared of the piracy charge. Absolutely no idea what's going on there.

I'm assuming kidnapping is from when she snatched Tabor, and armed robbery is basically a normal Tuesday for them so whatever.

The corporate espionage and extortion could theoretically be old charges- the wanted posters list charges in descending severity, with violent crimes first, so it's possible they just got left off for space purposes

But I think corporate espionage is actually related to when they snuck into Dwarf Star to steal the nanites

Also, that's such a cool crime. Five would probably be wildly jealous if she knew Two had gotten an espionage charge. Five definitely deserves one with all the hacking she's done

theoretically Six and Three could also earn that charge since they did the same stuff as Two. We never find out if Six was charged with it.

I can't put subtitles on this or make it into an actual gif but the robot reads his list of charges as murder, assault, kidnapping, piracy, and terrorism.

Hey, he finally filled out that fifth slot on his wanted poster!

He might also have a corporate espionage charge (if so, lucky him) that the robot left off for concision (couldn't be me)

That said, the terrorism charge raises its own set of questions. Or mostly one question, which is 'why is he the only one who got charged with it'

Obviously it's from the white hole bomb, but why didn't Two or Four get charged with it? My best guess is maybe Three was visible on security footage somewhere, or in the memory stores of the male android if the GA got access to those? Or maybe just left his DNA at the scene since he got bloodied fighting the Android while the others (except Five) were elsewhere. God only knows and he has not deemed to share his secrets with me

and for a final note we're going back to lovely Five!

she's not on the 10 most wanted list but she does still get an actual wanted poster, so score

that said. uh. as previously established, crimes are supposedly listed in descending order of severity

so this shot implies that out of all the sketchy shit Das did, while illegally stowing away on a space station, hacking into restricted areas, and surviving through thievery and pickpocketing for literal years. of all the things she did.

the crime that the GA is most concerned about

is truancy

can you imagine being such a notorious criminal that you get your own actual wanted poster that cops all over the galaxy are expected to study and know your face. and the primary thing that you are charged with is truancy. if i was her I'd be pissed

'ah. yes. the most wanted criminals in the galaxy: mercenaries, murderers, space pirates, terrorists, and also this random teenager who hasn't shown up for class in like four years. we have got to get this terrifying criminal off the streets ASAP.'

anyways nobody at the GA appreciates Five's diversified criminal portfolio. charge her with espionage, cowards. she'll be thrilled.

[brucenorris007]

Hot take (granted it’s about a show almost 40 years old but I’ve never seen this come up anywhere else): Muten Roshi, the Kame Sen’nin, is one of the most traumatized characters in Dragon Ball. 

Yes. This dork.

Wait, wait, hear me out, I know his reputation, but bear with me...

I’m essentially expanding on thoughts I’ve had for a while and started putting into to words through an ask for @dragonballwish​ but I had another epiphany on the subject a few days ago and now it’s all boiling over. 

All right, everyone knows Roshi is the OG Dragon Ball sensei character, the one in the memes about perverted old men, who people probably like to laugh at but maybe not talk about at length. I’m not going to list instances of the sort of behavior that gave him this reputation, IYKYK and all, but what if Roshi had a reason for living isolated in the middle of the ocean, away from people, interacting more with animals and sea creatures than other human beings, who in all likelihood will die long before he does?

No, I’m not accusing Toriyama of doing anything other than his usual MO of flying by the seat of his pants, I’m just saying, the pieces are there for a pretty compelling narrative/character arc.

Roshi’s vague about his personal history. When Dragon Ball gets rolling with the Wuxia elements of the story, he’s iffy about taking on pupils; he primarily makes the initial offer to Goku because he’s Gohan’s grandson. He only takes on Kuririn after the boys bring Lunch back to Kame House for... let’s call it companionship. Despite his choice to live alone, one could infer that he’s actually truly lonely. Hell, his goofy perversions could easily be the result of extended isolation, which all of us know does weird things to the mind.

Wish actually brought up this point; his isolation likely started after seeing the results of his teachings in Ox-King and Son Gohan, one a pillager, a murderer and a hoarder of treasure, the other thankfully not violent but uninterested in interacting much with the world (seems like Gohan also had his own sad story.)

He takes great pains to keep Kuririn and Goku from getting swelled egos; perhaps not only for the sake of their growth, but so as to avoid the mistakes he made with his previous pupils, Son Gohan and Ox-King. 

He’s unfazed by most forms of threat to his life; Goku’s Ozaru form startles him, sure, yet he refuses to kill his student despite clearly being capable of doing so and chooses a far more drastic alternative instead. The Red Ribbon army showing up at his house only get taunts, a chuckle and a beating until someone takes Lunch hostage. Even then, he discourages her more violent persona from killing the soldier who threatened her; his appreciation for the sanctity of life could be part of his own disciplines, but it’s just as likely something shaped by his experiences.

He drops out of the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai, despite hints that he could’ve gone to the finals again if he’d continued; he plants seeds of altruism in Tien’s mind to sway him away from Shen’s violence and in his words, foster the growth of a new hero. 

We only learn anything of substance about Roshi’s past when 22nd Budokai arc ends and kicks off the start of the Piccolo Daimao saga. 

And it’s here that we see Roshi well and truly rattled for the first time. 

Roshi fought Piccolo Daimao alongside Mutaito and his fellow students; the battle cost him the lives of his friends and his master. Worst still, Shen, the only other martial artist shown to have survived the fight and the Kuririn to Roshi’s Goku, turned bitter; the last friendship Roshi had became so sour and resentful that neither of them could stand each other. 

When the time comes for Roshi, Tien and Chaozu to confront Piccolo, the old hermit refuses to let anyone else face him; for all he’s lived through, he wouldn’t survive fighting another doomed battle alongside friends.

Toriyama doesn’t show or explain anything else about Roshi’s past, but we can infer that, at some point in the intervening years before Goku’s story begins, Roshi established his reputation as the Kame Sen’nin, while Shen did the same as the Tsuru Sen’nin. 

In contrast to Shen, who garnered his reputation alongside his brother for taking the technique and skills he learned from Mutaito and twisting them for the purposes of torture, pain and assassination, Roshi must have gone to lengths to heal, at least somewhat, from the trauma and survivor’s guilt and grow stronger. Personally, I think to assuage his guilt, he would’ve traveled and helped people (maybe ‘twas in this time when he met and grappled with Korin) as something of a... hero.

I know it might feel like a stretch to see him that way, and I suspect he doesn’t feel much of a hero himself despite the somewhat flashy façade he puts on as Jackie Chun. But consider this fact: 

There was a time when Roshi could ride Kinto’un.

We don’t see it, nor is it explicitly stated (that I can remember) but both Roshi and Turtle are surprised when he falls through the magic cloud instead of landing on it when he passes Kinto’un on to Goku. So something that happened between his Master’s demise and the start of the story we’re shown that robbed his purity of heart, at least by Kinto’un’s definition. 

Again, was this traumatized survivor narrative what Toriyama intended for Roshi? Probably not.

I’m just saying, all the pieces are there.

[selkiesbittybonanza]

Hey! If you’re still doing matchups, I was wondering if I could request a lamia bitty matchup :)

• I’m a perseverance soul with a bit of justice

• I work in bursts of energy

• I love fantasy and psychology

• I’m an ambivert

• I love teasing and puns

• I’m a bit flighty / socially awkward / shy, but I’ll willingly take charge if no one else will

• There’s an 11/10 chance you’ll find me daydreaming and not paying attention

• I’m easily embarrassed and quick to become defensive because I care a lot about what people think of me.

• I love polka dot patterns

• I like collecting keys

• I’m unorganized and lack time management skills

• I do not like trying new things because I just assume I’ll be great at it right away and get upset when I’m not

- You can probably guess that I’m not the most patient person ever

• I make wishes when the time has three repeating numbers

• I tend to be overzealous and take on more than I can actually handle

• Honestly, I’m just looking for a bitty that will motivate me into trying new things, but can also appreciate a lax day every now and then

• I put on a bunch of personas, so I’m also looking for a bitty who will see right through them and accept me for who I truly am

Constellation: These upbeat bittys can be your personal cheerleader! They love trying new things and are very patient with their adopters. They’re also good with time management skills and will help you create a schedule, if you want. They’ll find all your quirks charming!

Twister: Twisters are more laid back and prefers to go with the flow. They are very good at looking past appearances and understanding what’s beneath. He won’t pressure you, unless you ask him to.

Marvel: Marvels are fountains of positivity and would want you to find your own! If that means motivating you and trying new things, all the better! Marvels are more perceptive than they seem and are very accepting.

[gretelfrei]

OK HI i DO NOT mean this as a personal attack to OP or whatever. but. as with how insane i am about this game it was inevitable that my frustration with this post was going to reach a breaking point and to be honest this is for my own peace of mind and just because the misinformation was bothering me but anyway.

i genuinely don't see how this post disproves the view that 'soushin is a toxic ship' so i wrote a response to OP's points. (again i stress i mean no hate to you, dont take this personally, everyone obviously has their own opinions, interpretations etc. and i respect that.)

with that said !! my opinions on why this doesn't do anything to prove soushin isn't problematic/my general issues with this post (under cut cause this is long)

i'll format this post as my responses to each of the main points made in the original post. for reference anything in bold is from the original post.

“Shin saw Midori like an older brother”

Actually agreed on this one. Totally valid and true.

“Midori groomed Shin”

Shin is canonically 21-22 years old while Midori’s age isn’t stated, but since they were in highschool together it can be assumed he wasn’t all that much older than him.

Okay, so first off this is an extremely misleading way of phrasing this. “They were in highschool together” completely avoids the fact that midori didn't even go to shin’s school (said in the quote "I only found this out later, but... He wasn't even a student at my school." - of which a screenshot was included so that kind of confused me), so therefore doesn’t confirm anything about his age, apart from that he was at such an age where he could pass for a highschooler, so, doesn't actually confirm anything. Also as with many points from this post, midori being the same age as shin doesnt make their relationship any better.

Also, key word: assumed. The original poster disproves common interpretations of shin and midori's relationship by saying how the ‘antis’ base this all off of assumptions (and without getting into the fact that we have so little 100% confirmed information on their relationship/past that it is inevitable that people will have to make assumptions at some point) yet they made an assumption here to prove their own point. Very hypocritical and not holding himself to the same standards.

Midori changed to Shin’s school so that he could get his signature but he also became his friend in order to make the Shin AI. He could have easily just been a highschooler himself.

True, but also, nothing more than one possible interpretation. This doesnt actually prove anything.

Many people who say Midori groomed Shin say that he groomed him into believing he had to leave himself behind and that is why he took on Midori’s persona in the death game when it’s clearly not the case in canon.

Agreed here. Shin is probably a chronic overthinker and it is clear that his imagination runs wild especially since, you know, being put in a death game with 0% chance of survival.

“And you… should become the person you want to be, so you can meet them proudly.”

This dialogue is part of Shin’s lost memory, where they are talking about Shin’s wish to meet his lost sibling. It’s one of the only shown scenes of Shin and Midori pre-canon, and he’s clearly being supportive and wanting Shin to be happy with himself.

Actually not clearly. As said, this is the only scene we have of them pre-canon, so in actuality it gives us very little insight into their actual relationship, let alone a clear one. Just as you have made the inference that midori is “clearly being supportive” of shin, someone else could make the inference that this is not genuine, which, being backed up by other hints about their relationship in game, is just as valid an assumption to make as was yours, so, in short, that proves nothing.

People often assume that Shadsou is another consequence of Midori’s impact on Shin, as if he isn’t his own character who can make his own decisions. This fandom often waters down his character and infantilizes him like this.

This is also just another assumption? It is perfectly reasonable to think shin’s character is influenced by someone who was a very central part to his life and character arc. Taking this viewpoint doesnt automatically mean that shin isnt making his own decisions, or that this thought process did not start with shin himself. Acknowledging that a character can be influenced by someone else doesn’t infantilise them. Weird point to make. Also doesnt even have much bearing on this topic because shadsou is, as OP said, most likely another version of shin (in a roundabout way - his thoughts. ykwim it's literally his shadow).

"Midori is Shin’s abuser”

The reality is that Midori and Shin’s relationship is ambiguous

Agreed. It is ambiguous.

Saying that Midori abused Shin is an unsubstantiated claim so it’s just a headcanon, not saying you can’t have that but again, you can’t be claiming it’s fact.

OP say this here but most of their points to ‘disprove’ such claims are also unsubstantiated assumptions about their relationship. Again, the hypocrisy is showing.

This is the cg where Midori is encouraging Shin to be someone he’s proud of. Not very abusive guys.

As is the emerging theme with many of her points, this also means absolutely nothing. We know from midori’s past interactions with other characters that he was ‘encouraging’ and ‘supportive’ of them too (take for instance midori’s role as gin’s school counsellor(i dont remember if that was the exact role but that's not relevant here, ykwim), but very obviously had shallow intentions towards them. While the situation is clearly not the same with shin, as midori does seem to have a strange sort of attachment/affection towards him (more on this later), this just goes to show that it would certainly not be any sort of great leap to assume that midori’s words towards shin are ingenuine.

“But it’s implied to be abusive”

Midori’s mannerisms are scary.

OP is just stating a fact here, this doesnt prove/disprove anything.

 Shin finding Midori to be scary doesn’t mean he abused him.

As unbelievable as this may be, this is not the only implication that their relationship is not healthy. Also, proving that midori didnt abuse him doesnt make this healthy. I fail to see the point. Relationships can be unhealthy without involving all out abuse. A narrow minded take here.

People claim that it has deeper meaning but really it comes down to how you want to interpret it.

Yes, this is true, but the fact that this is the last quote from that screenshot OP talks about genuinely baffles me. It skips out the entirety of “but whenever i looked into his eyes… i felt really restless… i was so scared, i started sweating, i got anxious…” and while i know this doesnt necessarily ‘prove’ anything, if you are perceiving this as a normal and healthy relationship i dont know what to tell you. Also, she fails to address possibly the most concerning aspect of this, being “he really seemed to enjoy seeing me like that…”. ?????????????????????????? to me that seems obvious that the way midori viewed/treated shin was not normal, as it literally says he seemingly enjoyed seeing shin ‘scared’ and ‘anxious’ because of him. And yes, there is the argument that it was because of midori’s research into human emotion and such, so of course he liked to see shin in an anxious state (he liked to push humans to their breaking points, of course), and that it was nothing about shin specifically that brought on this behaviour. And i would agree with that, but, regardless of the reasoning, that is still, clearly, unhealthy and not normal behaviour. The whole point of ‘oh, midori is only like this because of asu naro' etc. is completely irrelevant because that doesn’t make any change to his actual behaviour being unhealthy.

Midori’s odd mannerisms towards Shin could just be how he shows his love. awww. isnt that so sad

Sure, its sad, whatever. That doesnt automatically make his actions okay. This point is irrelevant. Just because someone has reasons for acting the way they do doesn’t make that fine. Someone can have justified and explainable reasons for acting in a bad way, and still be acting in a bad way? Im going to be honest this point really confuses me because its just stating the obvious, and doesnt mean anything in terms of this topic.

...It’s gotten to the point where people like this dear anon believe these things to be true!

While a lot of what you say here is true, the fact that midori ‘is not an abuser’, ‘is not a groomer’, etc. does, in no way shape or form, mean that the relationship between the two is a healthy one. Relationships are complicated, and this one in particular seems to be a very complex one, with many interpretations, but i think what is important to remember is that, whether you claim this ship to be healthy (which i think is overwhelmingly clear that is is not, even with your so-called ‘debunking’) or view it as unhealthy, the confirmed information we have as of right now on their relationship and past is very vague, and very ambiguous. OP claims that soushin ‘antis’ build their dislike for this ship only on assumptions about their relationship, yet he does the exact same thing here in his attempt to discredit them. I agree with him on certain points, as in, it is nowhere confirmed in game that midori abused shin, or something of that nature, but just because that is not confirmed does not mean the ship is healthy, as OP seems to imply that it is. It is not a simple fact of ‘midori is shin’s abuser, or he isn't’. Relationships are far more complex than that, especially so in a game with nankidai’s writing.)

I would like to be clear now that my aim here wasn’t to definitively prove to you, or anyone reading, that soushin is a toxic ship (although that is my opinion of it), and i instead just wanted to point out the many inaccuracies and hypocrisies in your ‘disproving’ of that view of soushin. A lot of what you said is either not true, irrelevant, or missing out on important factors. I dont mean to personally attack you in any way, as this whole post was mostly for my own peace of mind because it was bothering me that this post seems to say soushin isn't 'problematic'.

As for your last point, I fully agree, and many people do, (in some ways) inevitably, base their view on this ship off of certain people’s (non-canon) interpretations online, although that does not mean this ship is not toxic.

i am kind of insane about this game, my apologies for any passive-aggressiveness

Anyway, I hope we get to see more of the past between these two characters in shin's past episode.

OKAY wow im done now. sorry for this horrifically long post this was entirely self-indulgent.

u said ur not a proshipper and stuff but isnt soushin a proship tho.... abuser x victim>???? and shin saw midori like the older brother he didnt have../??? /gen

Originally I wasn't going to respond to this, I thought it was funny so I giggled at it with my friends and I thought that would be it. But I realized this is a wonderful opportunity to write a really long post disproving these theories that this fandom insists are canon. I’ll start by debunking some common arguments. I put a lot of effort into this and am actually using proper grammar IM SERIOUS GUYS!!! This is really long by the way

“Shin saw Midori like an older brother”

I’ll get this argument out of the way first because it’s weak, it’s a common trope in media where relationships are described as familial to show the closeness of the relationship. Even so, Shin probably said that because he looks up to Midori and respects him. If you just want to see them as having a brotherly relationship, that’s fine, but this argument doesn’t stand for calling Soushin proship.

“Midori groomed Shin”

I honestly have no idea where this theory even came from. Some people say that Midori preyed on Shin and that he was much older, while it’s more likely they are both in the same age range. Shin is canonically 21-22 years old while Midori’s age isn’t stated, but since they were in highschool together it can be assumed he wasn’t all that much older than him. Not saying you can’t headcanon that they aren’t, but you shouldn’t push your headcanons as canon to insist Soushin is proship. Midori changed to Shin’s school so that he could get his signature but he also became his friend in order to make the Shin AI. He could have easily just been a highschooler himself. Midori is an Asu-Naro agent and from what we know about them they have used underaged people for labor (eg. Kai, Sei, Hinako). If the common theory that the silhouette in Kai’s mini episode being Midori’s mom is true, it’s probable that he grew up similarly to Kai and Sei, being made to do Asu-Naro’s bidding as children. It’s not like you need the credentials of an adult to give out contracts. You could also make the argument that Midori must be older because he worked as a nurse and school counselor while trying to get participant signatures, but one could argue Asu-Naro has the connections to get him in such a position without schooling or even have higher levels of schooling to get the education in a shorter timespan. But I’m getting off topic. Many people who say Midori groomed Shin say that he groomed him into believing he had to leave himself behind and that is why he took on Midori’s persona in the death game when it’s clearly not the case in canon. It was Midori who wanted Shin to be the best version of himself.

“And you… should become the person you want to be, so you can meet them proudly.”

This dialogue is part of Shin’s lost memory, where they are talking about Shin’s wish to meet his lost sibling. It’s one of the only shown scenes of Shin and Midori pre-canon, and he’s clearly being supportive and wanting Shin to be happy with himself.

Here ‘???’ is the shadow version of himself, he is having an inner conflict of interest. Commonly referred to as Shadsou, is the actual reason Shin took on Midori’s persona. What Shadsou is exactly is ambiguous but generally it’s the personification of Shin’s devil's advocate. People often assume that Shadsou is another consequence of Midori’s impact on Shin, as if he isn’t his own character who can make his own decisions. This fandom often waters down his character and infantilizes him like this.

“Midori is Shin’s abuser”

Again, another headcanon people insist is canon. The reality is that Midori and Shin’s relationship is ambiguous and it hasn’t been explored much in canon. Soushin can be explored in many different ways because of how vague their relationship is. Saying that Midori abused Shin is an unsubstantiated claim so it’s just a headcanon, not saying you can’t have that but again, you can’t be claiming it’s fact.

This is the one cg we have of Midori and Shin pregame btw:

This is the cg where Midori is encouraging Shin to be someone he’s proud of. Not very abusive guys.

“But it’s implied to be abusive”

This is usually the evidence they use for the implication:

“He’s… a scary friend of mine…” 

Midori’s mannerisms are scary. It isn’t just Shin who thinks that he is, he’s one of the main antagonists of the game. Shin finding Midori to be scary doesn’t mean he abused him.

“Though I learned a lot of things at his house…”

It’s insane to me that people use this as evidence but, this is clearly about Midori teaching him how to code. People claim that it has deeper meaning but really it comes down to how you want to interpret it.

There are multiple points where Midori is shown to feel affection in strange ways. It’s possible he didn’t understand ordinary forms of affection, similarly to Kai who was deprived of affection growing up as an agent. Midori’s odd mannerisms towards Shin could just be how he shows his love. awww. isnt that so sad

Many people call Midori Shin’s abuser and claim Soushin is proship without proper canonical proof. A lot of people who kin Shin project onto their relationship and insist that it’s abusive because their bias rooted from their own trauma and experiences clouds their perception of Shin. This happens along with people infantilizing Shin and excusing all of his actions by blaming the supposed ‘grooming’ or ‘abuse’ he experienced from Midori. This is just a common problem with mischaracterization of Shin and Midori by the fandom. It’s gotten to the point where people like this dear anon believe these things to be true!

Then there's the people who ARE proshippers and insist that Soushin is abusive or pedophilic because they want it to be and are looking at them with that lens of thinking. These people greatly help spread the idea that Soushin is a proship, making it much harder to discern canon from fanon when much of the Soushin content is by these people, specifically outspoken adult western fans that praise proship and advocate out for Soushin being problematic, that's what the general fandom now sees it as even though it’s just not canonically happening.

At the time of posting this, Shin’s minisode has yet to come out. I’m sure that once it does it will give a much clearer view of their relationship, maybe I’ll have more to say then! For now, that is all I’ve got for you tumblr.

[worldofroma]

June 2nd 2023, Friday - 2:53pm

I love to lie. I absolutely love it. Something about lying to people on the internet is one of the best things you could ever do. Because I find so many things to be boring, timewasting, or plain stupid, I find myself to have almost too much free time. With that time, I either read, write, find ways to further enhance my appearance, or message embarrassingly thirsty men on the internet using a fake persona besides my own pictures. I’m currently using the lie that I have a house in Ontario, but I’m constantly moving and travelling due to the fact that my father is a hitman. And the real shocking part of it is that they actually believe it. They believe that my mother died during child birth, that I’ve smuggled guns and drugs accross borders for my dad, and I’ve never atteneded real school. And I think I know why I enjoy it so much. I’m a writer, I write all about different things and problems in the world and create each and every character as if they were my own children. I hate some of them, I love some of them, and I wish I was some of them. With the amount of internet I have access to and the wide variety of people I can chat with, this gives me the opportunity to create more characters but within the real world as I act out as them. They have their own names, own backstories, own likes and dislikes, but look exactly like me. I think this may be a sign of how unhealthy my obsession with being someone besides myself is quickly growing. I’ve already been thinking nonstop about when I’m able to go to university and be whoever I want to be as I’ll be far from home with people I’ve never met before, but if I truly do that it may get out of hand. I’ve realized lately that I do everything I can to be someone else. I’m constantly comparing myself to people I see online, specifically pinterest, and even fictional characters I read about or see on tv. It’s getting to the point where I force myself to have a certain personality to fit the criteria of a character I like. Sometimes when I think about it too much, I recognize how sick and sad that sounds but I actually don’t mind it too much. I can be whoever I want whenever I want besides at home which is probably why I despise being home so much unless I’m alone in my room. I fully blame this on Barbie for telling me I can be anything.

I also just want to say that after reading over one of my past entries (don’t expect me to give an exact referral to which one because I didn’t even check myself) about how I never seem to cry and when I feel it coming on I just avoid it, but thats not entirely true. I watched the movie Beautiful Boy for the 30th time and remembered how sad that movie is. Every single time I see it, I sob. I think I find it so sad because although I’m not specifically struggling with drugs, I am suffering deep down with anything and everything and I don’t have someone who cares about it as much as the father cares about his son in that movie. Something about the scene of them in the airport and the father is telling his son about how the summer away from him will be short and theres nothing to worry about and when they tell each other “everything” as another way of saying “I love you” makes me cry like I never have before. It’s not even a sad scene, but it breaks me down every time. I’ve probably wrote this down in here somewhere already, but it really does affect someone to have an emotionally unavailable mother and a physically unavailable father. Especially when that father and all of his relatives claim that he loves my brother and I more than anything as if he didn’t fail to show up to court for custody over us several times. If you love us so much, why did you never put in the effort to see us or take care of us or demonstrate this “love” for us?