#i think i've officially lost my mind with that last review

[starrsarchive]

uhm here's my fight club letterboxd reviews except they get progressively worse (at least i think they do)

contains spoilers btw

first watch:

second watch:

third watch:

[saintsenara]

THE AUDIENCE CLAMOURS FOR YOUR VOLMIONE TAKE!!!!!!!!! In all seriousness the curiously is piqued tenfold by the fact that you go hard to bat for the other two voldemort/golden trio ships

i've definitely been putting this one off, anon, but it's hermione's birthday, and since the requests have kept coming...

maybe i have to grit my teeth and get through it.

i am, like my good pal @yorickofyore, broadly a tomione/volmione disliker - which is a spoiler for what follows. there are - obviously - huge numbers of people who are not, and they may sit happily in their ecosystem while i flop around photosynthesising in mine.

and the reason why i don't like tomione/volmione is right there in the last three screenshots: it relies - like several other hermione pairings, snamione and sirimione chief among them - on a portrayal of hermione's intellectual expression which bears absolutely no relation to how this is written in canon.

across all seven books in the series, hermione's intellect primarily manifests itself in a sincerely impressive ability to retain and repeat information [very usually verbatim from the source she got it from]. she is able to use this ability to retain information to understand the theoretical components of magic in a way neither harry nor ron ever manage, and she is then able to apply this retention - that is, to repeat the information she has acquired - of knowledge to the performance of magic which is [often considerably] ahead of her expected level both in terms of the hogwarts curriculum and in terms of what would be seen as the median ability of an adult witch or wizard.

but hermione is never shown - at any point in canon - to be a particularly radical, creative, or experimental thinker.

she places an enormous amount of intellectual trust in disciplinary authority - not only in the respect she has for following textbooks and teachers to the letter [hence why she won't attempt any of the modifications in the half-blood prince's textbook, she thinks it's offensive that they contradict the "official" peer-reviewed and sanctioned instructions] but also in her agreement with the gatekeeping imposed by the state and/or its authorities on academic inquiry.

[hence her disliking the invented spells in the half-blood prince's textbook because they're not ministry approved, or her easing her discomfort at having read the books from which voldemort learned to make a horcrux by insisting - undoubtedly correctly - that dumbledore wanted her to do it and she therefore has the permission of an intellectual authority].

she's immediately mistrustful of anything she can't find [something she regards as] an empirical source for - which is why harry's mental connection with voldemort frightens her so much, or why she thinks that harry's lost his mind when he begins to insist the deathly hallows are real and important, or, most famously, why she thinks divination is bullshit.

she's never shown to be able to synthesise her knowledge [she never answers questions in class in her own words, she always goes massively over word limits], or to use it in ways which are considerably removed from its typical application.

[the protean charm on the da coins, for example - the magic she's using is sophisticated, and is being applied in a way which wouldn't necessarily be classroom-sanctioned, since she's using it to defy umbridge, but the evidence of canon is that it's not magic which is being used in a way which is removed from the spell's original purpose. terry boot is impressed because he's looking at a flawless execution of newt-level magic by a sixteen-year-old, rather than because hermione is using that magic in an unusual way. the same is true of the polyjuice potion - it's impressive because she brews it flawlessly aged thirteen.]

this is a very logical, rational, and scientific approach to learning - and one which the series, which tends to take a dim view of anything which deviates too far from the status quo, views extremely positively - and it is intelligence. i know some people think that when i say this about hermione i'm saying that she isn't clever - or that i'm saying she's less clever than the characters [all of whom are male] that the series permits to be "brilliant" - but that's not the case. hermione is clearly extremely clever - and her logical, empirical, careful approach comes in clutch for the trio throughout the series, right from philosopher's stone. her intellectual expression just isn't the only way intelligence can manifest itself - and it isn't an intellectual expression which will automatically mesh with another very clever person's approach.

which is to say... lord voldemort, both as a teen and an adult, is - intellectually - the complete opposite of hermione.

he is someone - as he tells us - who thinks of magic as a creative force he has every right to shape as he sees fit, something whose boundaries he has the inherent right to smash through. he rejects disciplinary authority [his loathing of dumbledore - as an adult, at least - is because he thinks that dumbledore is a petty-minded gatekeeper who attempts to repress the dark arts - magic, snape tells us, which is inherently ever-changing, unfixed, mutating - because he's afraid of them and their refusal to be neatly contained in disciplinary boxes; his appeal to slughorn's authority is purely a manipulation technique]. he is an adaptor and inventor, and he uses magic in ways which radically deviate from its intended purpose.

and so the common "teen tom riddle and hermione are at school together" trope that they'd both get off on being academic rivals is, in my view, impossible to justify while keeping either of them remotely canon-coherent. she's going to think he's a cunt. he's going to think she's irrelevant.

indeed, i genuinely think the most likely scenario if the two are at school together is that the teen voldemort wouldn't be able to pick hermione out of a line-up - not least because she has very little to offer him when it comes to his plans for world domination.

when it comes to those he's "nice" to, the teenage tom riddle targets the socially prominent, rich, and influential, whom he can use parasitically to his own ends.

he's happy, undoubtedly, to have minions who are less useful to him from a social-advancement perspective, but who come in handy as pawns in his schemes - as dumbledore puts it, "the weak seeking protection, the ambitious seeking some shared glory, and the thuggish gravitating toward a leader who could show them more refined forms of cruelty" - but this is the only thing he sees them as. hermione has a capacity for cruelty he would undoubtedly see potential in [even if he would probably be wary of her "run and tell teacher" vibe], but as someone who does his bidding only, rather than anyone for whom he's willing to fake [or, indeed, to actually feel] any degree of mutual affection.

and i do think this - in and of itself - is interesting. hermione is someone - as i've said elsewhere - who has a tendency towards blind loyalty, which often causes her to accept people she likes and/or respects treating her cruelly [something we see in canon particularly in how she reacts to snape's behaviour towards her]. she's also someone who is incredibly deferential to authority, fairly naive, convinced she's always right, convinced she's not irrational, superstitious, or emotionally-driven, and capable of pretty egregious cruelty in pursuit of being rational and correct.

or, in other words, she's very easy for a flesh-and-blood voldemort to manipulate.

[she's not at risk from a horcrux because she's possessed of the empirical fact that they can't hurt you if you don't let them get emotionally close to you, which impacts how she behaves around the locket.]

on the rare occasions when i've enjoyed fics with this pairing, then, they've tended to be ones which actually acknowledge this - and which have hermione completely destroyed by a voldemort [usually in adult form] who has never cared one iota about her, all because she was convinced she'd be far too clever to fall for his tricks.

[my rec: enigma by devdevlin.]

and this is the main way my view of tomione/volmione deviates from my view of tomarrymort or ronmort - i don't think there's any circumstance where it can ever work as something mutual, whereas the entire point of tomarrymort is that the relationship is something voldemort perceives as equal, and ronmort sees the dark lord running headfirst into ron's ability to disarm and confuse him by possessing a crumb of emotional intelligence. i don't think voldemort would hate hermione - or even be particularly irritated by her - but nor do i think he'd find anything about her interesting enough to make him want to keep her around for any longer than she was useful.

but - like so many hermione pairings - the default in tomione/volmione tends to be "omg, hermione is so hot, brilliant, and fascinating that [insert man here] becomes completely obsessed with her". whether the story leads to voldemort becoming a better person or hermione going over to the dark side, the way the pairing is written always assumes that hermione is someone voldemort would consider [often very quickly] important to him [even in circumstances where she is a prisoner]. only very rarely do fics ever explore the much more canon-justifiable - and, in my view, much more interesting - idea that voldemort is somebody hermione could and would consider important, while he wouldn't give a single fuck about her.

[neither of them give a shit about dead rabbits though. it's the only thing they have in common.]

[mysticsparklewings]

Obscutober 2024 Day 21: Hyaline 🫧

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Hyaline (adj./n.)

having a glassy, translucent appearance

a thing that is clear and translucent like glass, especially a smooth sea or clear sky

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2/3 of Inktober down, 1/3 to go!

Does that mean I've got figuring the art for the day out down-pat? Nope! I was probably the most lost I've been so far with this one.

But y'know what? I found my way in the end. The color palette is doing a LOT of heavy lifting, I think, but sometimes that's just what it takes!

Click the "Keep Reading" and we'll talk a bit more about my general thoughts/process. ✨

⭐️ Like My Art and Want to see more of it? Here's All My Links! ⭐️

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As the caption-y bit says: We are officially now 2/3 of Inktober down, 1/3 to go! On the one hand: Yay! 🥳

On the other:...What do you mean October is 2/3 over?? 😱 😖

But I will ignore the minor existential that thought stirs in me for now and attempt to at least get through writing this description first...

[Again, as the caption-y bit says] This was easily the word that had me absolutely the most lost on what to do so far. I was getting hints of ideas thanks to the noun allusion to sea and sky, which I think comes through pretty clearly [haha] in the final product, but I had several false starts and didn't feel like I really had any idea where I was going with this until I was maybe 70% done with it. 😅

Because let's review the images this word put in my head:

glass, like glasses you drink out of or stained glass ["glass" in general puts "stained glass" in my head 99% of the time]

a "smooth sailing" ship; Particularly at night for reasons even I don't fully understand

bright blue, sunny sky on a clear day

That's not a ton to work with, and none of those translate particularly well into mandala doodles. The sky might, but I learned the hard way on Day 17 that it's still no cakewalk, at least not for me.

I was also a little worried that if I wasn't careful, this one might come out too similar to previous days, and I was mostly thinking of shapes and color palettes we've already made considerably use of: Dark Blue + light colors, moons, clouds, etc. Not to even mention some of the more subtle ideas/motifs.

Still, I had to do something, so I started fiddling with cloud shapes.

Somewhere in there—maybe because I had both "glass" and "sky" top-of-mind and I watched Clue last night—the idea of a chandelier occurred to me. Chandeliers can be be made up of a lot of glass and hang up high, also as if they were in the sky. And, more pointedly, when I attempted to look up references I did find some chandeliers designed to kind look like clouds in various ways.

Very briefly this resulted in my own kind-of cloud chandelier, but it felt...Pathetic? I think it was something about clouds being "tied down" when normally they float around as they please. Either way, it was not working for me.

So I went for a more abstract "general" chandelier kind of thing. That worked a lot better, but it was far, far way from being enough to build the rest of the mandala on.

Still a loss, I went back to fiddling with free-form clouds and started thinking about stained glass options.

It was while looking "Sky Mandala" for more ideas of what to do with the clouds that the "biggest help" idea would occur to me—The moon with "light beams" radiating from it. It's such a simple idea, and I had touched on it just a little before on Day 4 and Day 9, but it was just what I needed!

I thought they were a great way to incorporate more rigid lines that feel very stained-glass-appropriate, fill a lot of space fast, and divide up the image a bit so what blank space I'd have left was less intimidating.

The moon also helped finally bring a cleared picture out of those hints of ideas I mentioned before: A little sailboat, drifting on a sea of clouds under a clear night sky.

So that's the image I tried to stay true to as put the moons in and fleshed out some details of what I already had. And short of adding the boat itself—which I had trouble figure out where to put, but I managed!—the stars, and some hatching, admittedly I didn't really do much else once the moons and beam were in...Because it felt like I didn't really need to. More stuff would just be more cluttered, and too cluttered would mess with the "clear sky" idea.

But the real star of the show here I think is the color palette, which really tied everything together and is probably doing the most heavy-lifting of any color palette I've used so far this month. 😆

I had gone into this know I'd probably use a lot of a desaturated blue or gray and white to go for a glass feel, which I did, but I'd also had inklings way back on Day 6 that I might want to squeeze a soft, blurred rainbow in there somewhere. That's why I specifically tried to stay away from using too much blue back on that day, and yeah the idea stayed with me all this time. Though I did second-guess if I'd actually end up going through with it after I actually got started today.

And for a minute there, I really was sticking with just the blue, white, and a tiny bit of yellow. But I'm so glad I stuck with my guns and kept pushing in those little bits of color. I think they really helped the chandelier stand back out after the moon beams had kind of subdued it, and they really marry together the sky and sea elements in a way they just weren't coming together before.

In a way, I think this one was the opposite of Day 17. For that day, I had what felt like good ideas but no strong ways to pull them together. Today I started out with what felt like no good ideas, but I managed to bring together some small ones really well. 😁

I think we might have a new favorite here, but I'm also a bit wary that I might just be that glad I managed to make something I like when I started out at so much of a loss...And I didn't have to rush through it, either! 🤩

It would be so nice if all the days when I start out super lost could turn out this well, but I know better than to get my hopes up on that. 🫠 I'd settle for at least half as much, most of the time though!

Speaking of getting my hopes up, let's see if I can have a similarly pleasant experience in cross-posting tonight. I really doubt that, as I always do, but you never know, right? 😅

Either way, I hope you Sparklers like today's piece as much as I do. Enjoy, and I'll be seeing you all tomorrow—Possibly a little earlier than usual as I work around some IRL things, but we'll see!

Toodles! 🤗

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See the Prompt List

Artwork © me, MysticSparklewings

Obscutober Concept Inspired by nikolas_tower

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⭐️ Like My Art and Want to see more of it? Here's All My Links! ⭐️

[perfectlovevn]

(i'm so sorry, i'm not sure if you accept reviews or not so feel free to ignore this)

Helloo!! I'm brazilian and i'm still learning english so forgive me for any grammar mistakes. I've gotten all endings (i guess- please let me know if i missed anything!) so here's my review of Perfect Love! ♥

I loved this game sooo much! I never played an visual novel with a mean main character and it was just amazing. The trope of ''us'' being the actual villains is very interesting and it made the game super unique! It's also pretty obvious the amount of effort and hard work that's in the game, I was impressed by the quality of it all.

The music and sound effects are pretty good, I loved it all! The artstyle is very pleasing to look at and the black/white/grey contrast with Milo's blue/red eyes are such a nice touch too. I also loved the amount of easter eggs (you couldn't imagine the face I made when I named myself 'Ren') and secret endings/scenes.

Fortunately, when I first played, I knew nothing about the game nor about Milo (which I believe made the experience better since everything turned out to be surprising) and the endings were really good. Through the gameplay, I've encontered one grammar mistake (which I forgot to screenshot it, sorry) and one sprite glitch but nothing that made me annoyed.

After finishing the 8 main endings, I decided it was time to look a little bit on the official Tumblr's page of the VN and that's when I decided to test out all of the easter eggs and that's when I discovered the secret scenes.

So, to summary it all: absolutely 10/10! I can't remember the last time I had so much fun playing a game and being so invested in unlocking all of it's content! I was flabbergasted when I lost all of my endings heh

Please let me know if I missed anything- I'd be more than happy to clear the game entirely.

Hello there! I love reviews. On my other blog I always write recommendations/reviews for other vns, so I'm always open to seeing what people like and dislike about the game. I hope you don't mind that I'm just gonna mash these two asks into one ask.

Thank you! I also think that a lot of vns don't always focus on being the bad guy in the story and those that do I usually enjoy quite a lot! I'm glad you like the quality of it, it was a lot of fighting renpy and it's UI because I have a one sided rivalry with the base renpy UI. I tried to make it look good though I think I maybe should have attempted to redraw some of the sprites for Milo (for like the third time).

For the art style itself, I actually did it in black and white because it was originally for the 2023 yanjam and I wanted to make a style that wouldn't be extremely tiring for me, and I really like lineart so I made everything in black and white (and also because I'm lazy, I say as I animate half of my assets). The red and blue really make it pop at the end since it's one of the few time color is used in the game. I love when people put easter eggs in their game and I know of a lot of yandere vns so I wanted to put in a ton! I'll probably put in even more in the update when I get all of the extra stories done because putting easter eggs like that is very fun.

Having no knowledge of a game is always a good way to be surprised about the premise and I think it definitely was something good in your case too! For the grammer/ sprite errors if you do ever play or remember what they were, please let me know. I'll try to fix it in the next update if possible.

It's always so nice seeing that people like my game though! I tried my hardest to make it a worthwhile experience and considering it's (technically) my first game, it really makes me happy to see that people really like it! Hopefully it doesn't have too much of the first game amatureness that tends to come (nothing wrong with it, but I hopefully have showcased I kind of know what I'm doing, I say, sweating profusely) .

Yup! That is all of the scenes in the game so far. At least that you can access. If you look inside of the code, I actually have two scenes that I put in there. One of them is pretty much a test scene featuring the character from the next game I'm making, and the other is a special scene where you go to Milo's apartment. You can't access those in the main game, but you can play them if you edit the code a bit.

Basically (for those who don't know), all you have to do is put "jump" and then the name of the label afterwards (so for instance if the label is "rabbit" you would put "jump rabbit") after label start in the code. The two scenes that are not accessable in the game are the last two scenes in the script.rpy file just to make it easier for you. (I put a note that says like "#I'm very dedicated to my craft I say as I disect Milo and then beat him with a stick" because I'm sorry Milo, you deserve better)

But yes, thank you for taking your time and writing your long review! I love it so much.

[studentbyday]

☕ december study challenge

i didn't do much schoolwork on friday, so i need to catch up! 🥺

📈 study stats (30 min):

S: 🍅🍅🍅 Su: 🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅

🎒 school/cs50:

finish reviewing biochem module 4 ✅ (i have a little more than 1 section left)

finish reviewing 4 pages of mol bio module 3 ✅ (😬 let's hope i remember it. out of all the courses i've taken this semester, i have the least solid background knowledge for this one...i haven't repeated the info enough times over a long-enough time period to be sure it'll stick yet 😅 at least for biochem, i have some "pegs" of solid background knowledge from physiology to hang the new content on...)

finish remainder of flask lecture (~50 mins) ✅

🩺 self-care:

physio exercises ✅✅

full body floor workout ✅

journal ✅

meditate ✅

🎶 winterstella - stella jang / appassionata, 3rd movt (piano sonata op. 57 no. 23) - beethoven / my day in music, sunday edition

💌 uuuuugggggghhhhhhhh lately not been feeling too good bc the dictionary of lost words is depressing ("poignant" as @zzzzzestforlife described it) and it makes me feel lonely along with school and whenever this happens (or i otherwise feel like a mess) i get in a philosophical mood. i have been in this mood for at least a month now (before i started the book but after midterm season). it used to only last about a week or 2 (every month, mind you 😂). i can't wait to take philosophy so i can hopefully fix my brain by practicing being more rational and critical about *waves hands* whatever things my mind drifts to, to try to piece myself back together (which sometimes pulls me back apart with an existential crisis) 😅 (i also think the fact that some of the same thoughts i'm thinking have also been thought many times by others would be some comfort 🙂) but i think i'll only be able to take it the year after next bc of other (technically higher priority) subjects (for my field 🧬🦠) which...in better days i would be really excited about. i comfort myself by thinking the christmas break will restore me.

💌💌 also i'm not going to officially finish the dictionary of lost words anymore. i've slowly been reading the ending out of order so i basically know what happens and i saved the final major happy event for last. my final thoughts are that i want a relationship like esme's and gareth's but i want it to last longer than theirs did 😭 that's it. i can't deal with this depressing stuff anymore. maybe someday i'll come back to it, but right now i cannot. sometimes i ask myself why i feel so fragile these days...i'm not sure i know why... sometimes i get a feeling that smth is missing, but it will eventually pass as i fill my cup in other ways.

💌💌💌 recently discovered this channel and loving their hyperspecific titles that tell me exactly what vibes i should expect from the music. i especially like the chemistry playlist for studying (hot take but i'm not a huuggee fan of ludovico einaudi, but for studying, it's okay) and the playlist for "making your brain shut up"

[lutawolf]

Love In the Air Ep 5 Review & Running Commentary

My freak flag is waving and I'm here to review for my fellow kinksters and the vanillas that want to be informed. For those that are new here, I do have previous reviews that can be found here. I've been asked how I feel about the lack of discussion and guidelines. I think this is a lifestyle couple from Thailand, which most Asian countries already have a soft D/s lifestyle. From what I've seen of the Asian relationships around me is that they are similar to the US South. Where someone in the relationship always holds more control. Which means there is already an expectation of figuring out who is in charge. In which case there is a softer way of doing guidelines and harder on consent commands. You'll see this same play out in more experienced D/s relationships because they are already familiarized. Also going over guidelines can take days, nobody wants to wait and go through that in their show. Okay, clearly some people do but not me. I'd rather skip to the good part.

Speaking of good part. We ended on a really good part last week. I just want to remind everyone of that before we get to the drama, lol. Okay, so there is just something about seeing the day after when they are still in the bed. It just instantly puts you into that moment. It's this warm and fuzzy feel. And he is sick. By the way I got a lot of answers to the Sick In The Rain comment but basically the rain comes during cold/flu season, which makes them more susceptible. Really interesting. I appreciate everyone who answered my question.

So back to Rain being sick. NO! But now that Rain belongs to Payu, he'll take care of him. Omg, Payu caring before almost killed me, now that he'll be more open about it. I'm gonna die! By the way... That hair. 👀 It's so fucking hot. Oh bless him, I know what it's like to wake up with a headache. Sucks ass and not in a good way either (if you didn't catch my Vegas reference, you most go straight to jail and you do not get to pass go). Yeah Rain, you didn't stand a chance luckily for us. Mom is valid. I don't care who you are, child or roommate. If you aren't coming home, call. So people don't worry, it's not about age, it's about respect and safety. These are top priority in BDSM too.

Stole pic from @liyazaki. I'm dead. The show is officially killing me. Take his clothes baby boy, I promise he won't mind. A Dom will give their sub the shirt off their back in a heartbeat. Smell me, smell like me. Yes, wear my claim. Que goofy smile on face from the coconut and damn right he a coconut he left while Payu is working out. Doesn't say anything. Oh baby boy, you gonna be in some trouble. You really like a sore ass and you don't care which way you get it.

Seriously Payu, was last night not enough of a work out. You couldn't you know, stick close to your newly acquired and sick sub. "I won't let you escape." Hell to the nah you won't. "You've long lost your chance." Go get your boy. OH, sick boy, you are really in for a sore ass. smh

The Calm Before The Storm

And the Storm has arrived. I would tell you to run but you already got some of the primal instincts going in your Dom. Your safest course at this point is to freeze. "Why are you raising your voice to me?" You know why he raising his voice. I mean, he is sick, I'm sure in his head he thought what he was doing was valid. Just explain it Payu. "Do you know how worried I am? You had a fever this morning so I let you rest. But you suddenly disappeared. What would I do if you had an accident?" I know what you would do. You would snap and cry. A lot. but nobody is asking me. "You don't understand my feelings, do you?" Um. No. I think you should spell it out for him in great detail while I watch. Ohhhhh, Rain that submission was so 💋 He took two seconds to realize where Payu is coming from and then is reaching out and apologizing, begging. I won't tell you how turned on I am right now because that would probably be too tmi. Okay, never mind, turn your head. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, he is begging and oh damn, why do I love begging soooo much. Luta, you're at work, take deep breaths. They'll notice if your panting.

Ugh! The hug. "Don't disappear on me again." This is a gentle correction but also a command. There will be serious consequences if he breaks it. I'm still banking on him getting a sore ass.

gif stolen from @gunsatthaphan "You got sick. Rain away from me. Didn't answer my calls. Are you ready to be punished?" He may not be but I am! Do it!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Fever reducing, rectal suppository! I'm choking you guys, choking. I really like the way you think Payu. See you guys! I told you there would be some ass soreness. Did he really call for his mom! OMG, sweet fucking jeezabell. I love you Rain aka @suga4mycoffee. That's a total you move.

I love that he keeps telling him, he will kick him. Payu is like, do it but Rain can't! This tussle is killing me. Fuck, submit Rain just submit. 🤣Here comes mommy dearest with snacks. Moms and food, it's a tradition. That brow lift of Payu, like yes please, please wipe him in front of me. Oh look at that charming Dom talent come out. If you got it, flaunt it. Ahhh, he has no pants on!! hahahahaha. Love It!

Prapai!!! ahahaah "Well, it's the day that a certain cutie will be caught in the devil's trap." Tell me again that you don't think the brother knows. "Cause if he is the devil, than I'm the beast." Niiiiiice, I like it. Bonds well for Sky. Okay, maybe not Sky but it does for us and really that's what matters. Alright now did you pay attention to the verbiage used? "If you are a beast then what am I? I wanna be an angel." "Being ordinary suits you best." What does it mean? What does it mean? Is he calling him a vanilla? Are Prapai and Sky going to perhaps be D/s as well?

Skyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. Um, yes. As a matter of fact someone is talking about you. A lot of us actually. I would like to put in a special request for more hickeys.

I mean, I got to agree with him Rain. That was totally germ spreading. Ahhh, Payu smooth talked Rain's mom. Letting her know that Rain will be spending lots of time with him. "Why did you put a triangle in a glass case?" "That's my lucky charm during the entrance exam." "Don't address yourself as Rain any more." "Should I address myself as wife instead?" "No, because we're just senior and junior. Your time to win me over has come and gone." Payu, you ass. I'm gonna beat you. You about to have a sore ass. I know you are an emotional Sadist but daaaaaaaaaaaaaamn. Rain isn't the only one effected here.

Can I just say that I have mad respect for how Rain doesn't let shit get in his way. He wants it, he gets it. He is good with begging if it gets him what he wants. "It's raining like the first day we met." "Don't cry. What I'm saying is from now on, I'll be the one pursuing you." Emotional Sadists are the worst.

pic stolen from @thenerd10

You sir, deserve to be beat with a pillow. Oh, scratch marks. Go little kitty go. "But I think I have already won you over." Yeah, you've both fallen off rainbow bright bridge together. "Don't flatter yourself. You won't succeed until your next life." Denial is not the river in Egypt. But it's a river baby boy really drinks from. "I want you to choose." ugh the kiss. The kisses melt me! "Choose what?" "Between you becoming my wife or having me as your husband." So he is recognizing that they fell into this relationship and that Rain just became, his wife, but he wants Rain to choose him. "What will you choose." "Answer me!" "Wait, you call those choices?" "Whether you'll be wife or I'll be your husband. I'll take good care of you and won't let anyone bully you. Because I'll be the one to bully you. I won't make you cry. But it's another thing if you cry from embarrassment. I can help you with model making, CAD drawings, and your thesis. I'm giving you such a hard sell. You've got to buy me now." OMG is this such a Sadist vow or what. "I'm not going to choose because I'll have both." Baby boy chooses him. He chose last night and he chose again, he just wants Payu.

"Cunning." "Not as much as you." "How about a reward for this cunning boy." Ugh. okay let's talk about how Payu talks when he is being sexy. There is like a sing song to his voice with a Dom growl and I'm instantly wet. Sorry if that's tmi, the exit is to your left. But seriously, his voice. I would play the video of those two having sex and just listen to him talk. Cause damn. It reminds me of the sound of a Harley Davison. That's the best way to describe it. Normally I'm about a deep voice but shit this one just unique. What did you whisper! Whattttttt?! How dare you keep it from us. Ohhh yeah, they are using tongue. No half ass kisses for them.

Payu in a good mood. Woot. I would be too. "Are you sure the love struck one isn't you?" Good sir, I do believe you are right. Lucky for us. So Rain has texted Payu to let him know where he is and what he is doing. Appropriate sub behavior. Payu offering a reward if Rain gets good marks and Rain wanting to know what will happen if he doesn't. Sounds familiar, I won't call you out but you know who you are. *stink eye* Anyways back to Payu who tells him, get ready to be punished. Sore ass! He has been a baaaaaaaaaaaaaad boy and needs to be punished. Shhhh, don't call me out.

Sky, I love you. That's right, get Rain's head out of the clouds.... Okay, Okay, I know that was lame but I mean. You have Payu which means Storm, then Rain, and Sky. There needed to be a joke. HE TOLD HIM HE LIKED HIM!!!!! *screams internally because my co-workers don't want to hear that* That squeaky voice. Do people really do that? Go away Ple, don't ruin my mood. Sky. Sky. Sky. Your boy came to you about catching a guy and you did not blink an eye. Now you talking about spring. You fit right in with Rain. You is a lovely bunch of coconuts you is.

Ugh Ple. Omg Rain, if you hadn't just got yourself a husband 🤣 Oh, she wants your husband's number. Hahahahaha. Please tell her, please. I mean I don't want to burst nobodies bubble, I just can't wait for you to say it. Brother and sister like the same guy. hahahaha. Damn these fruity siblings. I totally snorted. This is awesome.

Oh! Rain is totally gonna take this out on Payu. I love it. "I'm just annoyed with a certain charmer." Payu teases him about not taking him to the movies and Rain is like, hell no bitch, that is my reward. Commands "Then smile, I want my boyfriend to be happy." To which Rain gives him the flash of teeth but hey he tech followed the command, right. Okay Rain, the bike is right there, how else did you think you were going to get there. Walking. Fucking white crayon.

Aww, he fixes his hair. That is so fucking cute. "Hold on tight. If you touch something you shouldn't. I won't guarantee your safety tonight." Touch something! Touch! Something! For the love of all that is unholy, touch something! Oh! The EGO! I don't think there is enough room on the bike for it and Rain.

Thank you Rain! Bless you and your wandering hands. May you have the sorest ass but it be totally worth it. Okay, so they are coming out of the movies and Payu asks if Rain enjoyed it. Then asks him where he wants to eat. Rain is suspicious of his motives. "What if I get spoiled?" "Then I'll be the one to straighten you out." Hmm, that's hot. I'm not gonna lie, I feel like I should be taking some notes. @ellaspore lie to me and tell me I'm this charming. Aww, fuck it, at least I'm pretty. That's right Rain, tell him how you were a good boy. Okay, it's getting deep. You are not obedient and you for sure talk back.

Ahh, they are so freaken stinken cute! Ohh Sky!! oh oh what's gonna happen. I'm scared. Can my second hand embarrassment take this. OMG! OMG! I love you, Sky! Okay that time he gave me @curiositykilledd vibes. Cause I've pictured you looking this exact same way at us on a few occasions. Like every time I save another gif porn video to our chat so I won't lose it. I'm not the only one that does that right? Anyways, back to Sky. Sky be like, spit it out. Rain confesses and Sky admits to having known. Then he talks about Rain chasing after Ple. Then says he was just waiting for Rain to tell him and that he doesn't care that it's with a man. Well duh. Stating the obvious there considering your ex but okay.

Love that Payu doesn't just get jealous. He recognizes the bestie love. It's a special bond that is very important. Oh! Ple being brought up. hahahaha. Payu and Sky together as compadres is the best. Lawd, his ego is big enough Rain, don't take it too far. "oh, my friend has become silly after getting a boyfriend."

Don't mention the fight club, I mean the race. Payu is like, fuck Ple, you claimed me. I'm good. Rain just keeps on claiming him. Oh boy you gonna get railed. Oh! Oh! Oh! We are getting the singing part. Yes! Ahhhhh, he's already dog tired because of you Payu. Love it! Get it boy! Now sing! Opps, Rain commanding and Payu gave a gentle correction. He in a good mood. I wonder why, hmmmm. We got commands and then negotiations. I like it. What's this panning shit we are doing. Why am I looking at slippers. WTF. Ohhhh, okay. So the lyrics are literally do you know how my life has changed and then it's panning to call the couple stuff. Okay, I'm with ya now. Awww, look at the storm and rain drawing next to the pencils. So cute! They're so cute!

Pic stolen from @massiveweirdo They are in love your honor. The brother is like, not in front of me tea. Oh, brother do you want to get knocked out. Do you really think that Payu wants to bring Rain into danger? He is right, too many assholes. Rich kids ARE assholes. Sorry not sorry. "If anyone asks just say that you are Payu's wife." Don't mistake it guys, he isn't falling into misogynistic speech. He is being a Sadist about it.

I don't want to watch any more. I know something bad happens. I just know it. Ahhh OMG they are fated! He gave him the triangle that brought him luck and is in his glass container!! Don't nobody piss in my corn flakes. Yes, I believe in fated mates. I believe in kindred spirits and I believe in soulmates. I love soulmate shows!!!!!

And we've come to the end. For those who stuck around and didn't exit side right. Thank you ��💜💜 Sorry these seem to keep getting longer and longer but I hope it was as fun for you as it was me.

[samshogwarts]

My review of 2020

Or: I say thank you.

First of all, sorry for the long post 😅. You guys know I don'tike long posts without a "read more under the line". But I nade the post with my mobile phone.... Aaaaaaaanyway. Also sorry for all the tags. I hope I don't annoyed someone with it <~<. So let's continue:

I think this year has been a particularly difficult year for everyone. As 2020 is drawing to a close, I mentally let the year pass again.

The bottom line is that I have to say that 2020 was turbulent for me, but not necessarily bad. Much good, but also bad, has happened. And I want to start with the bad things right away.

At the beginning of the year, my depression and eating disorder relapsed. I've always had trouble talking about it because I know my friends can't handle this issue. I felt pressured because they wanted to do things with me, but I couldn't. So I withdrew completely, hiding my emotions and wearing a mask.

At that time I created this blog. At first I didn't want to create my own content, just follow the content of @ladycibia, @hogwartsmystory and @kyril-hphm. Incidentally, that is also the reason why I call these 3 blogs the Big Three. So it's their fault that I'm here. Lol.

And then the first Hyops message came at the end of March. A very good friend of mine got Corvid-19 and lost the battle against the disease a few days later. I still remember how the news pulled the floor from under my feet. It feels like I completely lost faith in everything and I started to realize how dangerous this year could be. 

But life goes on and so I visited a friend and her family in early July. It was the anniversary of her husband's death, who was also a very good friend of mine. He died of cancer last year and I couldn't go to his funeral. So I wanted to stop by on the day he died. I actually thought I could do it. But when you read a friend's name on a tombstone for the first time.. Guys, that's a punch in the stomach like no other and I can't really describe how it feels. I had made up my mind not to cry in front of his wife or children because it was hard enough for them. Didn't work.

And of course this year meant to go one better.

Another friend of mine died of the virus in mid-August, leaving behind a wife and a child. Again, I was unable to attend the funeral. And to be honest, it still bothers me way more I want to admit. In two years I lost three wonderful people who meant a lot to me and I couldn't say goodbye to any of them. When I see the three of them again after my death, you can be sure I'll kick their butts for it.

But August was the worst month for me in many ways. In addition to the death of my buddy, my father's family also volunteered. And that means only one thing - trouble.  And properly. I haven't had contact with this family for over 12 years for good reason. Now one person from this family has passed away. And first of all, I don't really care if anyone of them would die. I don't even know the person who passed away. But I wasn't told either by my grandmother or my father. So my deadline to cancel the inheritance has expired. Of course it was debts. You have to know that the inheritance rights of my country are very complicated. The reason my father or grandmother didn't tell me about it was because they didn't want to bother with the paperwork. They always had the opportunity to contact me via Facebook or my half-sister. But that would mean work for them. And while I was walking from lawyer to lawyer to court to court, I was allowed to hear sayings from my grandmother that I apparently have achieved nothing in my life. Nice to know that some people never change. I'm still struggling with this matter to this day and will probably not be able to fully clarify this until the beginning of 2021.

At the end of October everything seemed to be taking its revenge and I passed out at a friend's house. Nobody knows exactly what happened until today, but my friend took me to the hospital where I had to stay one night. That was Halloween. And I'm such a big fan of hospitals hahahaha hahahaha. After that I was allowed to wear an ECG for 2 weeks and it turned out that my heart values ​​had deteriorated. Why not. Let's just take everything with us this year!

Rounding out the negatives this year was my (as a teenager) best friend's suicide. I have to say that I haven't had any contact with this person for 9 years. However, it is the one who cut herself in her youth and then called me afterwards because she didn't know what to do. It was also the one I tried to get into therapy for 2 years. But her mother was always against it. And it was exactly this mother who was standing in my mother's shop, telling her about her daughter's suicide and that I was probably in the farewell letter. I don't know exactly what it said, but the mother now blames me for her daughter's suicide. And do you know what's craziest about the whole thing? I agreed with her! I really thought it was my fault because I knew how sick my former friend was. Yet I was the one who ended the friendship (for many reasons that had nothing to do with her depression). And I still wonder what would have happened if I had acted differently.

But enough of the negative things! A lot of nice things happened this year too. Among other things, I have found a new job within my group, earn more money and have pleasant working hours. I've renovated my apartment and I've started saving money on a new one. My two nieces are now going to school and I am a proud aunt. My male best friend and his girlfriend (my best harry potter friend) are pregnant and are expecting their first child soon and my mother's health is better.

But one of the best things that happened to me this year is this blog.

I already mentioned that I actually only created this blog to stalk the Big Three. I didn't want my own content at all. But I discovered more and more blogs and these incredibly great MCs that I thought I wanted to do whole too. And so Samantha O'Connell was born.

I received so much great support and encouragement on this platform. I don't think many people even realize how much that means to me. Especially this year.

I have also found great and lovable people here, some of whom I also call my friends. Even if we come from other countries, speak other languages ​​and may never see each other in real life, you are my friends and I am grateful to know you.

@annabelle-tanaka-official : I'll start with you of course! XD on tumblr you are just my best friend. I don't write as much with anyone as I do with you. You are such an incredibly talented person and so warm hearted! Over the year we have invented so many insiders that soon nobody will know what we mean.  Be it the monster hug, or that my cats are your spies or our many RP scenarios, which I really enjoy and which always make me laugh. I thank you for that!! I love you so much and I am so glad that we are friends! *minster hug*

@lunasilvermorny / @lunasilvermore : you are next to you !!! XD the next person I write to almost every day. What started with a little conversation about among us has turned into a friendship. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to streaming with you next year (and this year)!!! You are such a good listener that strengthens me. Your support is so nice of you too! Just the fact that you have subscribed to my YouTube channel xD (because of the language I even have an idea). I'm looking forward to the next year with you! Thank you so much for dealing with my craziness and still likes me! 

@kyril-hphm : muahahahaha. You can't escape me !!! Yes, what should I say? One of my big three even made friends with me. One of my Senpais noticed me! And then it's a lovely fluffy marshmallow! I still think it's funny  that we have such similar circuits and hearts! Nevertheless you are an incredibly honest, loving and talented person. I've never told you before, but sometimes I stare (for 20 minutes +) at your drawings to improve my style (just not working so far). You are an honest person and I am happy every time we talk, or when you react to my content. I would like to say thank you for that too! You are great and you can trust yourself more.

@carewyncromwell : my Chinese fireball, my Disney princess. Yes, for me you exude the aura of a Disney princess and nothing can change my mind. So! You were one of the first friends I made here on tumblr and one of the first to write with me! I still remember how proud and nervous I was back then! Just when I was in the hospital on Halloween and couldn't sleep that night, you kept texting me and distracting me from my fear. That means a lot to me. You are such a creative and lovable person too. Ah, that's just amazing. Your comments or hashtags always make me grin or laugh. Thank you for all your support and help!

@catohphm : my fluffier Ravenclaw brother!!! Of course you can't be missing either. I also write with you almost every day and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your kind words and your support. I just love the energy between Samantha and Cato. And it's always fun to write RP with you!  Thank you for being such a lovely and kind person!

@mira-shard : MIRAAAAAAA! It's kind of funny how long we've basically walked next to each other without talking to each other. And now I don't want to miss you anymore! You are such a fun and happy person. Writing with you is just fun! I also love your cosplay photos. Someday I'll come to visit you, and then we'll do cosplay shootings together until the camera bleeds! I would also like to thank you for your support and your kindness. 

@sirfluffig : ha. I hope you didn't think you were escaping me! Where should I start with you? Maybe that you were one of the first to give me such lovely feedback on Samantha? Or this super funny stream and that you helped me to stream in English? Or just like that, when we talk about our MCs or pen and paper. It's definitely always fun. I want to thank you for that and I'm looking forward to playing together again soon (get Among us)

@nightrhea-hphm : * run into you in slowmotion * Night! My wonderful supportive Gremlin! I've grown very fond of them over the years. And your support and feedback are just amazing. I also love the friendship between Night and Samantha. I think it's very similar to ours, right? You are also such an incredibly creative and lovable person. You make you feel like it's ok to be who you are. Thank you!

Of course there are many, many more like @rosievixen, @wangxianforever000 , @mollydarling-hphm , @morningstarinwinter , @hogwarts9, @hphm-brooke , @raymondhope-writer , @nikyiscreepy , @immagrosscandy , @mizutoyama , @ariparri-hphm and many many more.

I want to thank you all for your encouragement, support and feedback. You are the reasons why I am adding more and more details to this blog, why I dared to start with the fan comic and many more. 

It's still so amazing for me to meet so many talented, creative, kind and funny people. 

This year showed me again that life isn't just black or white. Life is Grey. Good things and bad things happen. Sometimes one side more than the other side. But as long we are taking the next step, life wl continues. Just keep in mind, as like you support me, I want to support you. So if you ever wanna talk, no matter what, remember you guys can always contact me. 

I'm really looking forward to next year and already have so many plans. I can not wait any longer. Enjoy the last days of the year, stay safe and most important: they the way you are guys! 

Love you all so much. 

[violetharmonclothes]

Beginner's guide to collecting violet exacts

Alright, so the first thing is to need patience. Sometimes exacts will be listed as other things, so while looking up "violet Harmon" can get you tons of great exacts for sale it can also be shitty because they're being sold as exacts the seller will usually price it higher. Especially since exacts are now rare since murderhouse aired forever ago, these clothes are 7 years old or older, so it's hard to find. But I just recently started to actually collect (before I'd only do vi fashion, not actively look for the pieces she wore!) About this month, and I already have 7 exacts (all found under the non official name except for my rose cardigan) it takes time to dig. But I'll write down the sites, things to type, exacts that are always available or very easy to find and more!

Exacts that are easy to find:

-converse high tops (in any colour, but hers were brown)

-nana book (the manga book she was reading. Even though it's not clothes it is an exact!)

-free people trapèze slip (even though you might not find it in the exact colour, it's always on different sites!)

These are exacts that no matter what, will be easy to find, and can be found for cheap.

Sites to look on

-eBay

-depop

-poshmark

-marcari

I found most of mine on poshmark, but only people in the US can use it so I asked my lovely friend to pay her and she could order it and send it to me, so I'm waiting for 4 exacts from her at the moment. Poshmark will have TONS of violet exacts.

Things to look up on selling sites

I have never typed "violet harmon" and bought something listed. Sellers honestly take advantage on eBay. I talked to a seller, and she mentioned she was selling her exacts to pay for a medical bill and her items were still reasonably priced because they were rare. But other sellers selling their stuff for 300+ and prices in the high hundreds is insane, it's a piece of fabric. Violet exacts are gorgeous but please don't get scammed! If you want to find a violet exact, look up the name of the piece of clothing. Don't type "Zoe benson" or "violet Harmon" because you'll very rarely find something with a reasonable price tag. I bought vi's Christmas dress for 40 CAD under a random free people lace dress title, while another seller on eBay is selling it for I think 150 USD not including shipping under violet harmon's name. Look up the name of it or let's say you're looking for the Christmas dress you could type "free people red lace dress" or something similar. If you dig, I'm positive you'll find an exact! I was looking for the free people Terry lace cutaway and I typed "free people purple lace pullover" on ebay and while I didn't find it after a while, I did find the lost in the forest purple pullover after scrolling for about 5 minutes! If you dig, I promise you'll find something good. Most times, the seller doesn't know it's an exact and will tag it as what they see it as. So they'd see the tag and describe the item, not saying the official title. But you can also find alot of the exacts under their official name so try both methods.

Bargains

Don't be afraid to bargain with the seller! Ask for bundles, combined shipping, lower the price, lower the shipping cost, ect. I got 5$ off my macrame vest, 5$ off my white lift pullover, 3$ off my animal print tank and I think 5$ off my purple litf pullover. I saved almost 20$ from making offers! And if you find a violet exact from a seller that knows it's an exact (in the violet tags!) I'm sure you can make an offer and they'll accept. Most likely they've had the clothes for a while and won't mind taking 10-20$ off if you purchase it. You'll never know if you don't ask!

Prices

Please, for the love of the gods don't get anything over 100-150 except for the modcloth or an item that was originally more than that. Even then. These are used clothes, they're about 7-8 years old (except for the new rust cardigan and gap dress vi wore in "return to murderhouse"). Most of the lift pullovers are probably stretched out, the ecote boots worn out from use, ect. Clothes definitely don't last forever and ever though vi exacts can be in really good condition like most lift shirts and other pieces, it's still used! Keep looking for the best prices possible (as Vi said, she's sick of everyone and their designer bullshit), so try to find cheap exacts or alts, you can have alot more pieces and grow your collection that way!

Reviews

If you buy an exact, don't forget to leave a good review if it's good! Usually sellers were collectors at one point, and if they sell more of their pieces in the future they might contact you first since you left them a good review and were kind! Tbh I've never had this happen to me, but sellers always appreciate a good review if the item was as described and it helps them out to sell more things.

That's it so far, I hope this helps!

[daffodi1]

So... it's been years since I first read danganronpa. I was there back in the old days, when we didn't have an official english translation of the game and had to read it on somethingawful forums, when they called Monokuma "monobear" and had to censor "fuck" and "shit" to "gently caress" and "poopoo".

Ahh... the good old days.

But after seeing some people start to play the switch versions, and since I wanted to get my partner into it, I thought "why not?". And so, here I am revisiting it almost a decade later, as a 24 year old with a fresh mind. Some of my opinions of the characters have changed, and some haven't, so I'll get right into talking about them. We also played DR2, and I've revisited my old opinions about them as well, which I will talk about in a separate post. I will probably refer to them as a mixture of first and last names bc while the game refers to them as their first names (except in cases like Aoi, who they call "Hina"), the forum mostly used last names (except in Celestia's case, who was nicknamed "Celes" in that translation). Please try not to get confused.

DISCLAIMER:

I will only be talking about my feelings toward the characters for how they appear in canon, not whatever fanon version you have of them in your brain. Please try not to take offense to my review. Transformative works are valid, but let's not give credit to the canon author where it isn't due, yes? Also, I tend to review based more on personality and story content than character design itself-- so if you're a fan of a certain character bc of their design, you might find yourself insulted on their behalf by what I have to say about them. Sorry.

Also, please don't read this if you haven't completed DR1 and DR2 (bc even if this is only about the DR1 characters, I do refer to it here). Here there be spoilers.

I'm gonna go in order of the murders so it makes sense. Cool? Cool.

Chapter 1:

-Sayaka:

Idk what to say about her, to be honest. She's an interesting character, and part of me wishes she hadn't been killed off so soon (especially since I hate the trope of Woman Dies to Spur Manpain) but at the same time, her participation in the murder and her manipulation of Leon and Naegi is what makes her so interesting-- otherwise she'd be just another Cute Girl Love Interest(tm).

I do like the foreshadowing surrounding her as a manipulator since I am a slut for foreshadowing, with her talking about doing "nasty" things to acheive her dreams and Naegi's promise to protect her almost sealing his fate. I like her, but I don't think she reached her full potential either.

-Leon:

I'm sorry... I just can't bring myself to care about this guy. They really don't give him anything at all, and his reason for killing isn't even tied to the motive. (And you can't tell me it was genuinely self defense-- he had already beaten Sayaka when she locked herself in the bathroom. She had no weapons and had basically lost at that point. He could have left and told everyone else what happened and he didn't, which tells me he had a reason to want to leave, but they didn't go into it).

And part of me like, understands that the writers probably didn't want the audience to care about him too much since they built up Sayaka to be this lovable character, but it was like... everyone was crying over his execution while I'm just in the corner like "Y'all hear something?" At least they learned their lesson on that when they started writing DR2 (because love or hate Teruteru, his motive was sad and you can't deny that).

Chapter 2: (Into the Thicc of It because hoo boy I have feelings, please do not come for me.)

-Chihiro:

I absolutely adore Chihi; they're sweet, polite, smart, soft spoken, cute, and genuinely just a good person all around. They're a doormat to nearly an extreme and don't want to hurt anyone, but they also want to change and confront their weakness. Their character development could have been so baller and I will never not be furious at the way the game treated them. Yes, Alter Ego is an important part of the story, but still. We could have had all that if the programmer LIVED.

As for why I use they/them pronouns... I'm fine headcanoning Chihiro as transfem nonbinary, but reading them as a trans girl straight up is uncomfortable to me personally bc if I read it through that lens, it looks like a detransitioner narrative. And I can't with those bc it reminds me (a whole trans person) of trauma. This doesn't mean I hate the headcanon, or think anyone who HCs Chihiro as a trans girl is wrong; it just means I personally can't do it. Please do not revive Chihiro Disk Horse in the year of our lord 2022, and let's focus instead on what a wonderful and kind character they are.

-Mondo:

I... ugh. And I guess the Disk Horse continues. I WOULD have liked Mondo. I loved his friendship with Taka, his backstory with Daiya and the way he fronted as a strong guy while trying to hide his own weakness and complex as a little brother who would never measure up to his perfect big brother. I like his free time events where he speaks on his love for his dog. I liked how he faced his death with grace and accepted what was going to happen to him even though he arguably has one of the most brutal executions in the first game, and the final scene between him and Taka is nothing short of heartbreaking.

HOWEVER. Unlike my partner, I can't like him because even if his motive isn't truly transphobic in nature, it closely resembles many trans people's worst nightmares. The threat of coming out to someone and being faced with violence is a very real fear that every trans person faces, as well as having people misgender us and treat us as liars for concealing our AGABs after death. I know his real motive was about his jealousy and rage toward Chihiro for having the strength to confront his weakness when he didn't, hell, he even made the effort to keep their secret after their death, and I get it rationally... but when I first read this story, I was only around 15/16 and still coming to terms with my own gender and it hit close to home. I don't hate Mondo, nor do I love him, and I'm not indifferent to his existence either. I'm more just sad about the way they handled his character, and I get that DR is an ~edgy~ series but they could have handled this part of the narrative with more sensitivity and grace. He is not canonically transphobic, but he reads like a transphobe who killed someone for revealing their AGAB and I can't pretend it doesn't bother me. I don't blame his character for how the writers handled him, but it does make me sad.

Chapter 3:

-Kiyotaka:

I love this dumbass; like, you can love or hate him or think he's annoying, but you can't deny that he's funny. He may not have been the most well-rounded character (well... outside of his FTEs, but I try not to count those considering that most people will not experience all of them, and you have such a limited amount of time to spend with the characters before a murder happens) but I love him for the fact that he's not boring no matter what. He has a rigid moral system that he abides by, and it's interesting to see him bend and break when those morals are tested when his bestie turns out to be a murderer.

That being said... I kinda feel like they tossed him aside after ch2 and his arc wasn't complete when he died. I understand that he was being set up as Celestia's victim, but damn, it felt like the writers were like "LOL idk what to do with this guy so guess he's gotta die now" and it felt like, really messy and rushed. I will say that one thing I think DR2 did better was that a lot of the character arcs didn't feel as incomplete by the time they killed them off (except for like, Hiyoko I guess but again, that's another post) but Taka did not feel finished when he died. Idk if that makes sense at all. Also wtf was Ishimondo/Kiyondo. That was some of the weirdest character development ever.

-Hifumi:

Okay... unpopular opinion here, I know, but I love Hifumi. He's a king and y'all can fight me on this, I'm a huge Hifumi apologist. He's a funny dork who writes weird doujinshi and he respects women to the point that he's willing to bonk a bitch with a hammer when he believes that said bitch sexually assaulted his Girlboss Bestie. Yes, I know that arc is also about his weird feelings toward Alter Ego, but at the same time, can you blame him for that? He's a lonely guy, and the only person he considers a friend is obviously manipulating to him and won't listen to him about the things he likes, which is something that I personally can relate to.

And yes, I know he's kind of a pervert but he's nowhere near as bad as Teruteru or Soda, and people still like them. I'm p sure the reason people really don't like him is bc his design is not attractive (even for a fat character, and DR knows how to design appealing fat characters, just look at Twogami), and like, that's fine, whatever, but I do think he deserves better than to just be tossed aside. (Also yes I know he's responsible for Taka's death, and Taka is pretty beloved in the fandom, but it's not like a character being a murderer has stopped this fandom from liking them before???) Also, I don't care about the anime retconning this, Usami's design was influenced by him talking to Alter Ego about anime and you can fight me. (Even the pet minigame has Princess Piggles in her room!!!)

-Celestia:

Ah yes, Girlboss Gaslight Gatekeep herself. God, I love this evil goth bitch, she's great. Is she terrible? Absolutely, but she's terrible in the most entertaining ways, and she even makes herself a morally grey character by taking on a leadership role in the first two chapters. I love both her English and Japanese voices, but the English voice's change in accent to her just sounding like a 30 year old woman is so fucking funny to me. Like, she sounds like she pays taxes and I love it.

There are also a lot of interesting aspects to her in how she hides who she is and that a lot of her motive comes from her shame about the circumstances of her birth. Her lust for money isn't just about greed but wanting to change a part of herself so she can live her ideal lifestyle and kill the part of her that she perceived as ugly and plain. She's a complex character and is pretty fascinating in her own right. She's probably my favorite blackened in the first game (I don't count Sakura as a blackened since she's also the victim).

Chapter 4:

-Sakura:

GOD if she isn't the best girl. Her relationship with Asahina is everything, her loyalty and kindness and strength is everything, she has so many funny lines, and I even like her design. Ik a lot of people don't, but big strong girl who wears a cute sailor uniform is just so god tier. I do prefer her English voice to her Japanese voice, since it's way more respectful and less transmisogynist to have her actually voiced by a woman than pretend she's really a man or whatever (though we are not getting into that today).

Actually getting into her arc, she's got a really compelling one where she's revealed as the traitor, decides to oppose Monokuma to protect her friends, and even sacrifices herself for them in the end even though they were mostly horrible to her, refusing to murder any of them even if she might have been justified in wanting to do so. She's a really admirable character who stuck to her guns until the bitter end. Stan Sakura Oogami for clear skin.

-Asahina:

Yes I knoooow Hina isn't really a victim or a blackened, but her involvement is important to this case, and this case is important to her character development, so I'm putting her here anyway. She's such a good character in that she spends a lot of the game as comedic relief and another Cute Girl(tm) for fanboys to drool over, but whenever she loses her friend, she gets great character development.

You get to see her empathetic, humanitarian side when she calls everyone else out for hurting Sakura and trampling on her feelings when Sakura was just as scared and weak as the rest of them, and the fact that they bullied her and acted like she wasn't a normal person. Her arc with Sakura endeared her a lot to me as a character. In the end, it's her desire to do right by Sakura that encourages her to be brave.

Chapter 5 & 6 (Combining the two for an easier time):

-Mukuro:

...Honestly, not much to say about her. DR1 gives her nothing because she's in disguise as Junko the whole time. I kinda enjoyed her bond with Chihiro. I need to reread IF because it's been years since I have and I don't remember how she acted there.

-Junko:

Ah yes, the main mean girl herself. The ultimate despair. God, I love Junko. She's like the jonker except for women. She's so funny and entertaining and great. I can't wax poetic about how she's a complex character or whatever because she really is just a crazy bitch who wants the world to burn (even if her backstory is like, insane and I can kinda understand why she is the way she is), but I kinda like that simplicity sometimes in a villain, especially w/ female villains bc we don't often see female villains without them having some tragedy past motivating them (and it's usually tied to a man). My favorite girlboss.

Survivors (Minus Hina bc I addressed her):

-Naegi:

I don't have a lot to say about him-- I do love him as a protagonist, he's cute and a sweetheart and I think he gets decent development! I got all emotional seeing him, Kirigiri, and Togami again in DR2 just like I did the first time, it's like seeing your baby all grown up. But he does kinda suffer from Protagonist Syndrome-- the disease that main characters suffer from when artists sacrifice compelling and interesting traits that make them human in the name of making them likable and relatable so audiences can project on them. But he is a sweet boy who deserves good things, and it's cool how he goes from believing he's nothing special to becoming The Ultimate Hope, just for being kind and optimistic and continuing to go on even when everything has gone to shit. It's a pretty inspiring message.

-Kirigiri:

I am kinda torn on her. Don't get me wrong, I do like her and I think the buildup to discovering more about her character was well done. Also, she has sweet bonding moments with Naegi and everyone. She's a smart girl and iirc her backstory is pretty well developed in the spinoffs, even if they don't get all into everything in the first game. But I wish they had told us more of that in the game itself, especially since she's so tied into the plot.

And I guess that's part of my beef with the game itself-- it spends a lot of time getting you attached to the characters who die, and while that IS important for the deaths to carry weight, you also have to get us attached to the ones that live too. And FTEs, again, don't really count bc you only get a limited amount with everyone and there's no guarantee you'll use them on a specific person. DR2 does a better job at getting you attached to everyone outside of the FTEs and developing characters with the time it has. But I wish they had given us more on Kirigiri's backstory and motivations in the game itself, especially regarding her father and I wish we had a chance to see more vulnerability from her.

-Toko:

I'll admit that I didn't like her the first time around, and I'm still torn on her herself. I'm told I'll like her better if I play/watch Another Episode, but they don't have it for the switch, so I'll just have to wait. I'm also not a huge fan of the whole "Killer who has DID and Evil Alters" tropes and stuff (which is to say-- I despise it with my whole being and it makes me want to bite people, fuck you) but I like Genocide Jack. She's so fucking funny and her lines are iconic.

The whole thing she has with Togami is really toxic and creepy though, I do not understand people who want them to be cute and wholesome together when he isn't even the slightest bit into her.

-Togami:

Listen. LISTEN. I like him. Yes, I know, he's a jackass. Everything he does up until Chapter 4 makes him seem irredeemable, especially in Chapter 2. Like, he is wrong for that. But he also gets some of the best development in the fucking game, going from being an insufferable bitch who cares about nobody to taking leadership and trying to help everyone escape, and also giving Naegi chances to shine. I also love that even though he does go through that development, he's still himself: just as bitchy and haughty as ever even if his values changed.

That's all for this round, stay tuned for round 2 where I talk about DR2 and... Komaeda lol.

EDIT:

OH I forgot about Hagakure... well, anyway, bye everyone!