#i will NEVER forgive for that line the in ep2

[spectacular-skywalker]

Time for my DWTS thoughts!! S33 Ep2

Spoilers BTC and a lot of typos (sorry!)

okay oscars night yayyy i like the lineup so far and also i would bet money that illona does the dirty danving lift

YAY Jen first okay first of all this song makes me think of Riker Lynchs dance to the same song many seasons ago. And that dance WAS SO GOOD so unfortunately I am comparing them subconsciously. Okay first of all the pink! pop off HMMM that beginning was strange to me, also its wayyy too fast imo, idk if they can choose the speed also choreo not my fav but its not Jens fault (im looking at you sasha) the scores, i hate to say it but i think its deserved

AWWWWW britt is so sweet and this is actually making me emotional BRITTS DRESS IS GORGEOUS YES GO ERIC that was actually beautiful DEREK WHAT YOU HORRIBLE MAN OMG WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT the audible gasp that came out of my mouth dude

Dannys lucky because he has whitney as a partner whitney hot as usual better facials , props, he needs cleener lines man, but he kept up well so good aw he looks so happy (ps i hate top gun)

poor ezra, okay heres my take on anna no i dont think she should be on the show, however im not going to be an asshole because shes here. honestly i think shell go one of these first weeks because people wont vote, so im going to watch and just vibe i do agree, she did pretty okay but she needs more energy/emotions

REGINALDDDD geez derek what are you on tonight

chandler chandler i love you BEAUTIFUL GORGEOUS AMAAING shes going to go all the way omg this is actuallt so beautiful my only thing is she mightve needed more hip action?? i feel like rumbas have alot of hip we'll see what the judges say SHE WAS made for dancing she did make it look easy shes so real

i love reginald hes so cute AHAHA hes so funny emmas dress is gorg go dude go, so far im really proud wtf feel from the ceiling in the beginning tho (ive never seen die hard) carrie ann is so right steven next hes so fun DEREK WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU

i forget steven has so much muscle i am a person who thinks tha tsteven is more of a peter parker than superman BUT THAT WAS SO GOOD overall that was really good and hes so entertaining i do feel like he has trouble getting back into hold sometimes but thats hardly a concern okay yes Bruno i agree, just a bit more finesse that was the best fucking answer stephen could you get any better

w song for jenna, shes so beautiful lady gaga supremacy oh dude chill out its a dance and you have to act sorry hes just a normal guy i need to be more forgiving his ryhthm seems off, but could jsut be me

phaedra did good still needs a bit of tecnique refinement but overall that was super good

some of toris spins were super nice but not enough content

first of city of stars slaps second daniella is so smart that was super super good like that frame was better than some of these guys who have normal heights so real bruno that spin was gorgeous

imma be honest yall i dont like brooks, idk she irks me therfor i will not comment a lot "so connected" omg rme theyre definetley fucking wait that was actually good i like how i said im not gonna comment alot and here i am BRUNO AH OMG it was good in hold, her lines were nice gleb fucked upp cause he very distracted wink wink AHAH ezra and rylee in the back

YASSSSS ILONA i lover herrrr also the lfit fucked up the thing a littl but she got back on track overall good much better and shes seems so HAPPY ilona is iconic she was much lighter on her feet this week

hmmm im conflicted im thinking anna and eric ohhhh i was wrong aw jennas oh thats us LOL i hope tori goes sorry not sorry i liek reginal wayyy more YAS aw i like pasha poor ezra

okay earlier i was being sympathetic with anna but with that final response its an absolute know (im sorry im a hypocrite)

[ranboo5]

I'm sorry OK not to be a hater bc GenLoss on the whole is fantastic and I'm extremely excited to see the next generations+where it goes from here. None of my haterisms are killer criticisms I did on the whole really like it and I do think on a fundamental level it really works and Also I think people have been a bit harsh on the first two episodes

HOWEVER. Out of those criticisms Hetch is absolutely the strongest one and the one that I find hardest to forgive

For a character apparently written by the same person responsible for the absolutely fantastic and effective Squiggles, Hetch is abysmal. While I liked fine what he did – his role in ep3 is fine, I don't have beef with the evil concept I think it works, and the faux-reveal in the closet of ep2 is fantastic as a plot beat, and hell, the bit where he was obviously lying to Ranboo in ep3/the prereveal dynamic is compelling enough – almost all of his dialogue was trite, overwritten, overexplanatory sludge. The first time he appeared in episode 1 he elicited a reaction of "well that's a bit cheesy and blatant but I can forgive it." It did not get better. Hetch's dialogue is exhausting to me from a story perspective – none of what he explains conveys any information that isn't conveyed and conveyed BETTER by Ranboo's reactions. It wouldn't work with the way the Social Experiments deal with surveillance to not have Hetch's dialogue audible, but if you put that aside, cutting the vast majority of it out would lose you nothing and net you a more satisfying story that doesn't feel like it's trying to explain itself to you at every turn. Hetch saying the obvious is least egregious at the end of episode 2, because Ranboo's reactions really sell the value of the scene as a faux-reveal subverting how this kind of thing is Normally a Shocking Twist, but his appearance in episode 1 doesn't manage to be quite worth it in the same way, and when he's explaining things about the situation that doesn't make sense to matter as a direct lie ("Oooh the mall Changed when Showfall moved in", explaining the wire monster (a different can of worms), &c), it without fail feels overwritten and irritating – I feel like I want to fast forward through it. The villain monologue at the end is the worst and most harmful example of this – it's so cheesy, and overhammed, and next to Squiggles already giving literally all the necessary information for Showfall's role in this and intent for Ranboo in WORLDS more effective and haunting way and to Ranboo's as always fantastic unmatched breakdown acting (has never flopped), it's actually painful in a way only matched by the agony of listening to Amon showing up anywhere in StarCraft II. Hearing him explaining in excruciating detail how actually, if you didn't connect the dots, Hetch evil, by the way, in case you didn't know (like WOW, I guess the next reveal we're getting is Squiggles evil, in case we didn't know, and then we're going to turn to the camera and say "the moral of the story is the entertainment industry is dehumanizing, be sure to turn in your reading comprehension worksheets by Monday,") is awful, and the stupid "THE AUDIENCE HAS VOTED FOR YOU TO DIE" line is especially awful for leaving me groaning in exasperation over an otherwise viscerally affective last scene. (It doesn't help, also, that Ranboo's acting is just in a completely different league from that of Hetch's actor's, making the contrast seriously jarring)

Hetch's role in the story is fine – excellent, even, with what it says about the incentives of the entertainment industry and how alone and doomed the MC truly is – but that role doesn't necessitate "fleshing out" of a character any more than Squiggles' does, and frankly, Hetch already gets far, FAR too much screentime and tedious, condescending (much of it not in the fun way!) dialogue as it is. Again, I'm still excited to see more GenLoss, and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if streamer ends up making me eat my words here, but like, as it is, I think it's a step in exactly the wrong direction to give Hetch MORE screentime

Floral Mel Days and I were discussing last night – it's likely that Hetch with his explanations and blatant dragging up of the pretty clear and surface level message (not a criticism! GenLoss wearing its identity on its sleeve isn't a bad thing and it does a lot of deeper and more subtle things with it) are a response to the audience reaction to c!Ranboo, which makes me, honestly, viscerally upset. While making GenLoss more accessible and, uh, possible to rewatch is definitely a sensible goal, GL's subtleties are easily its strongest aspect to me, even – hell, especially! – if they go over people's heads. It really does feel like Hetch is writing to people who are unable or unwilling to actually read into what the series is saying, and it feels really restrictive and sad, same as the Ranologues getting ditched. Hetch feels like trying to overcompensate for the worst of the esotericism of c!Ranboo lore with the most "ah, awkward improv" infodumps thereof, while also lacking entirely the character and pathos of c!Ranboo – a character and pathos that it takes time to build, and that, frankly, Hetch does not have enough of my good faith left of to enjoy

TL;DR: Hetch as a story element works awesome but Hetch's actual screentime almost all sucks absolute shit because it violates the principle of

I DON'T WANT TO SEE HETCH'S CHARACTER A LITTLE MORE

[bluezorya]

Eskel, the Knight prt 1.

The man didn’t know what had disturbed his sleep. He woke up tired but the sun was already up, so he got dressed and gathered his belongings. He looked back at the room one last time, not because of the memories, but to make sure he'd left nothing behind.

„Already leaving, Master Witcher?” asked the innkeeper as he saw the man walking up to him.

„Yes,” he replied. He was happy that the locals had made room for him. Most folks hated witchers but he had killed the monsters that had terrorized the village for years. Archespores, nasty things, from a distance they were almost unrecognizable, but when any warmblooded creature came near them they attacked and they were deadly. The witcher had been a bit dizzy for a few days because of the archespores’ poisened thorns, but his elixirs, and a roof above his head had helped a lot.

He put some coins on the table, in front of the innkeeper, then left. A long road lay ahead of him. He was in Zerikkania and he needed to get to Kaer Morhen before the first snow falls and it was a months long journey to Kaedwen.

He had always liked the heat, the hot weather, but he had spent two years in this country and he really missed his brothers and the familiar terrain. He also really wanted to rest, he had travelled to almost every village of Zerikkania and had met some really gruesome, poisionous monsters.

By noon he was already miles away. He was kinda in a hurry – he really didn’t want to be there when the innkeeper figured out that his daugther had spent the night with him. Sometimes he wondered, why people hated them so much, but having sex couldn’t be a reason, could it?

***

The soldiers led her through the village, it had once been full of live but now it was barren, where once houses had stood, only ashes remained. The air was suffocating, filled with the unmistakable scent of burnt flesh, the flesh of innocent men, women, and children. The people she had sworn to protect, the people, who had been her subjects, all of them were dead because she had been unable to protect them. Now she was just a tool, a toy for the Nilfgaardians, a whore, nothing more.

She looked to the side and wished she hadn’t. On the street lay at least twenty small, broken, and burnt bodies. The children probably ran out of the orphanage, just to meet their ends. She stopped for a moment, why, why did Nilfgaard do this? To what end did they attack? It didn’t make any sense. They had never provoked them. Their spies had reported that the Nilfgaardians were on the move but they had never imagined they would advance this far. She heard from the soldiers that they wanted to take the north but to what end? What was it that the emperor seeks?

„Move, whore!” yelled the captain, pulling her chains. She pulled the chain back and in an instant she was on the floor – one of the soldiers hit her. She tasted her blood, she had bit her tongue in the fall.

„Ah, don’t be so mad.” said the captain with a laugh. „We are just teaching you manners. Don’t you think it would be easier for all of us, if you would just let us fuck you?”

„It’s really sad that you can only fuck women in chains,” she replied and felt a poweful grip on her throat. A hand raised her into the air, she couldn’t breathe. Let it end, she prayed. Get on with it. But the captain just laughed and ordered the soldier to let her go.

„Don’t worry, I have something special in mind for you tonight,” he said with a smile that made her skin crawl.

***

He was not far from the next kingdom but the sun was going down, so he had to find shelter for the night. Regardless, that during the day the heat became almost unbearable, the nights could get pretty cold, and fast. He found a shelther and hoped no nasty thing was gonna desire him at night. The last time he had spent the night outside, a scorpion had really wanted to devour him – he had spent the next few days in a really delirious way. Why did every animal and monster have to be poisonous in Zerrikania? He asked himself that every time he entered the country.

By noon he had left the desert behind and the world started to turn green. He smelled ripe fruits, flowers; in the distance laughing kids played. He was happy that the secret passages between the countries were still intact. The next country was days away – but reaching it would mean he'd only have to go upwards to reach Kaer Morhen.

***

Every inch of her hurt badly. It took days until she was able to move again. The new whip marks burned like hell and she had a feeling they had broken some of her ribs, too. She wanted to kill all of them, torture them, flay them alive. She was unable to decide whether to give up or fight until the very end. She wanted to be there for her family. But they were dead. Cintra had fallen, which meant her family was dead also. Queen Calanthe had invited them to a feast and his father had left the country in her hands, to defend it, before they had departed. But she had failed. The gods had turned their face away from her. She had failed them, too. None of them answered her prayers.

She heard the murmurs about a secret passage leading to freedom – that was what the soldiers were talking about. She had a feeling that they wanted to desert, escape through the mountains and disappear forever. She knew, if that was their plan, she only had days left. They wouldn’t carry a whore with them who could easily expose them. She had to escape, or die trying, she was still weak but she was running out of time. She owed it to everyone who had been killed by the Nilfgaardians, to try at least. She needed a plan and fast.

***

Thanks to the uneventful days he reached the mountains in days and despite the news about the Nilfgaardians he hoped the rest of his journey would be this lucky. Especially because the Nilfgaardians had been defeated at Sodden Hill. The rumours said Mages had helped the northern kingdoms to turn the tide. At least they used their magic for something useful, he thought. While Witchers were outcasts, Sorceresses and Sorcerers were royal advisors, meddling in affairs he was taught to avoid. His brother, Geralt, despite the teachings, really loved to meddle in these kind of things, he had heard the newest ballad from some northener in Zerrikania. Geralt apparently broke a Striga curse which had been cast on a princess. And his other brother, Lambert… ah Lambert, he never knew when to shut up. The last time Lambert had been in a court he had almost lost his head. Witchers with short tempers were not a long lived ones. Those two assholes, his closest brothers. The man hoped that they were still alive.

He heard yelling, a woman’s voice echoed through the mountains. He couldn’t make out what she was saying but she sounded mad, even through the echoes. He changed direction and tried to pinpoint the source of the echo.

***

The soldiers just laughed at her, as she yelled her heart out. Her ribs hurt and she ran out of oxygen from time to time, but she always started over. She had to create a diversion while she unchained herself because her chains were heavy and really loud. After 15 minutes the chains were gone and an illusion of the chains was in place. Nobody knew that she was a mage, her parents had taught her how to master her magic, and how to hide it. A princess should not be sent to Aretuza, they had said. This had been hard to explain to the staff after she had set the whole laundry on fire. But with time she had learned to control it. She was really fond of creating illusions, just as much, as she loved to learn how to fight. Even on her worst days she was deadly. She had taken out at least 10 Nilfgaardians before they had been able to take her.

She really didn’t want to leave her blades behind, which were somewhere in the camp, but she was too weak to create a bigger illusion, so she could gather them. She really wished she could take out the captain but she was not even sure that she would manage to flee. The sun was already below the horizon, it was time to move.

***

„… and your small dick, it’s a joke! The Nilfgaardian captain, with the smallest dick I ever seen”

The man finally found the source of the echo. A blondish-redish-haired prisoner in a Nilfgaardian camp. She sat beside a tent within some kind of illusion. The man was too far to see excatly what the illusion was but he could feel it.

The captain walked beside her and spit in her face. She was faster than the captain anticipated, she headbutted him. The soldiers attacked - she was obviously in pain but managed to knock out two of them. But there were too many, at least 13 more.

The man didn’t know why, or when he started to move, but he was only 10 meters from the camp. Then suddenly, a thud. He looked down, the woman was in the grass in front of him – she tumbled down when she ran into him. She stood up quickly and looked behind herself, the soldiers were closing in on her.

„Stop her!” yelled the captain to the man. The man just gazed into the woman’s eyes. One of them was blue and the other was yellow. He still hadn’t moved but the woman had. He heard as his knive slipped out of its sheath. The woman threw it right into the captain’s eye. Dead.

***

As the captain fell, the man beside her pulled out his sword because Nilfgaardiands advanced to attack. He was fast, way too fast to be a simple human. The man cut through the men as if they were only toy soldiers. He moved like an animal, circling around his prey. He was fast, and brutal, but not fast enough.

The woman heard the sound, as the sword cut through her saviours chest. She heard the unmistakable sound of flesh and bones as they were ripped apart. She pulled the knife out of the captain’s eye and threw it again. Only two left. She grabbed her saviour’s sword and defended herself, then returned the attack. Only one. Just one, and she would be free.

„Whore,” he laughed. „I’m gonna mark you, and fuck your dead body, then throw it to the wolves.”

„Try,” she said but the soldier’s laugh quickly turned into a desperate scream, as she melted his flesh from his bones.

She turned to the stranger who had helped her. He was loosing blood rapidly.

„I’m gonna help you, okay?” said the woman with shaking hands.

„My… bag,” he replied powerless. He felt warm, even though everyone said dying was cold. He also felt electricity in the air, maybe a storm was coming? He did not know.

„Whats your name?” asked the woman. She wanted to know, she was not sure why – to try to help him calm down, or so she would be able to carve it into his tombstone.

„.. Eskel” he said, then lost consciousness.

[taki118]

Go Watch the Venture Brothers

So just heard the complete and utter Bullshit news that Adult Swim has cancelled one of (if not the best shows) they have the Venture Bros. This series is one of those shows that for WHATEVER reason never got to the level of fandom Rick and Morty has even though they’ve been at the genre parody game longer and in my opinion better. 

The series is about Rusty Venture former boy adventurer and failing super scientist who in an attempt to keep his head above water in debt goes around with his two boys Hank and Dean, and bodyguard Brock on misadventues while various legal archnemisis go after him, such as the Monarch. 

So if you never watched or never heard of this 7 season series let me give you a break down on why you should, 

1) Art Style & Animation

Venture bros is one of those rare Adult aimed animated series that that really truly tries to utilize their medium to the best of their abilities. Season 1 had like such a small budget and corners had to be cut so it can be a little hard to watch at times. 

But with each passing season they get a little better, a little more fluid, go just a little harder and it truly feels rewarding to watch. Like seeing an artist you follow online improve over the years. Like they COULD have stayed with the choppy and stiff animation from season 1 it fit right in with its fellow adult animated shows but it didn’t. They strove for quality to have something that matched the story they were telling.

2) The Writing 

Venture Bros has some of the tightest and consistently great writing of ANY serialized show I’ve seen, adult, animated or other wise. Wanna know why? Cause it’s all done by TWO people (save for like one ep each season where one other person is allowed to touch their baby). Yeah TWO people and they work their asses off every season to interject, humor, refrences, parody, plot and character development in equal measure. 

3) Character Development

Um yes in case you were wondering that’s right an adult animated show has CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT  that holds as the series goes on. Not to give spoilers but characters will go through changes in alignment, relationships will develop and change, some characters will go through negative arcs where they are straight up unbareable for a season before coming out the other side even better than they were before. There is no end of epsiode or even end of season reset. Characters, settings, and dynamics all change over the course of the show and it feels just so god damn good.

4) Story Development 

Just like the characters the story of the Venture Bros grows and changes each season. Things that are set up even as early as season one are paid off as the series goes on. Like not to be that bitch but you know how RIck and Morty teases an overarching plot ALL THE TIME but like will often just spit in the face of fans hoping for more than like one episode a season addressing it? Yeahhhhhhh that doesnt happen here, fans are consistently rewarded for putting the time in to rewatch and really think about what happened in the series. Characters that are seen in the background or are just referenced by other characters will be brought in to be recurring characters, things that start off as a small detail or gag will be given larger relevance and each time they do this you get that “OH I remember that from last season! So thats what it was!” The writers WANT you to rewatch, they WANT you to analyze and they WANT you to theorize, and they give you a show that gives back the time you put in.

5) Parody & Reference 

This series does a great thing with parody. They make real characters  who are just as enjoyable as the characters they parody, they make story lines that both poke fun at the absurdity of the media but shows the writers love for it. So often parody and references are just used to mock the thing but with Venture Bros you feel the love and care so when you know the thing being parodied you can laugh but feel good about laughing cause they are never laughing at a thing maybe you cared for in your youth but rather laughing with it.

And it’s never just one thing. When they parody a thing its often layered with other things to make it even more unique. Scooby-Doo is overlayed with famous criminals, Laura Croft is mixed Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, GI Joe is given the look of the Village People and so on. They never go for the easy joke or reference. Hell theres an episode that starts with them reciting the lyrics to David Bowies Space Oddity for really no reason other than they could. They weave these things in naturally with their setting and characters so nothing feels out of place. Like if you dont catch a reference or parody you dont feel like “I think this isa reference to something?” like a LOT of things do not just adult animated shows. You arent taken out of the moment cause it all feels so natural. 

6) The Characters 

God damn these characters, I could go on for hours about these characters. From main to one off these are some of the most likeable characters you can find. I mean it when I say I can’t think of a single character I wish they had cut cause they are all so well created. Even the ones I hate i have fun hating cause they were made to be that way. I’ll be good though I’ll only talk about my absolute top faves.

- The Monarchs

You ever sit and wish villain couples could have functional  healthy relationships? Well look no further than Malcom Fitzcarraldo aka The Monarch and Dr. Shelia Girlfriend (yes that is her last name). The Monarch is a high strung impulsive saturday morning cartoon villain whos tendency to over react is only matched by his unspecified hatred of Dr. Venture. And Dr. G is his nonsense partner in crime who will cut a bitch if they don’t play by their admittedly weird rules. Both characters are great on their own but are better together. Though that doesnt mean they always get along. Like a real couple they have their ups and downs they fight, break up, make-up and grow stronger in their relationship with each season. 

- Shore Leave

Ok ok so I want you to imagine James Bond, mixed with GI Joe simmering in a cocktail of the most flamboyant gay men you have ever seen and you have one of my favorite gay characters/characters in general. Shore Leave is a member of OSI (the shows SHEILD/GI Joe parody organization) he’s loud, brash, flippant, sassy and highly competent at his job loving every second of getting to beat bad guys down within an inch of their life. I love seeing him play off the stoic Brock and the two have this great brotherly dynamic that’s never called into question. He also gets to have a very cute romance with Al the Alchemist (who is also great). I could talk about this man all day.

- Dr. Rusty Venture

They did such a good job with this man. He’s a self serving, sexist, perverted, whinny, self important asshole and yet you feel pity and genuine sympathy for him and want him to succeed. You can see how Dr. V was given a raw deal by his father who seemed to care more about his adventures than his sons well being and how this molded him into the bitter man he is today, but on the flip side you can see where he chose to use that as a crutch for his worst behaviors and impulses. Seeing him slowly grow and change and be an actual good father to his boys while all the while still be a giant dick is actually really great. 

- Dr. Byron Orpheus 

Ahhhhh Dr. Orpheus part Dr. Strange Parody part busybody stay at home dad, he’s just such a delight. Dr. Orpheus is a divorcee, with an unfulfilling job of maintaining order to the cosmos (which isnt as hard as one might think), and uses his magical ablities in ways most of us would (ie menial tasks and home chores). Overly dramatic and affectionate Dr. O is a delight whenever he appears, but he’s at his best around his daughter and old friends The Order of the Triad. 

Again I can go on but all these characters ranging from main to recurring are crafted with the utmost care for you to want to see them succeed or fail, to see them again even if you know it’ll never happen, and want them to cross paths with other characters. 

The Venture Bros is one of those series that I will ALWAYS recommend even to the pickiest of humor tastes. But if you don’t believe its as good as I said or don’t think the concept is to your tastes I’ll recommend a few eps that I think best show off the base idea of the series without giving much away. In terms of plot and spoilers, though somethings wont make a lot of sense. 

- S1 ep10 "Tag Sale – You're It!" - Dr. V is having a yard sale so of course all manner of costumed weirdos show up.  - S2 ep5 "Twenty Years to Midnight" - basically a fetch quest around the world to save the planet with daddy issues - S3 ep2 "The Doctor Is Sin" - Again daddy issues but with one of the best recurring characters and a great showcase of the series deeper emotional plots - S4 ep6 "Self-Medication" - Really embraces the parody as Rusty goes to a former boy adventurer support group.  Anyway the show is 7 seasons with 80 episodes, please go watch it. I will never forgive @adultswim​ for cancelling what was to be their final season. And in closing GO TEAM VENTURE!

[thevibraniumveterans]

I'M STARTING WITH THE MAN IN THE MIRROR...

I'm asking him to change his ways And no message could have been any clearer If you want to make the world a better place Take a look at yourself, and then make a change

-

A couple of points to make.

1. Loki and identity

According to head writer Michael Waldron, "in a series that, to me, is ultimately about self-love, self-reflection, and forgiving yourself, it just felt right that that would be Loki's first real love story." 

Loki learning to love himself, reflecting on who he really is as a person, and forgiving his past misdeeds, is the ultimate character growth, something that the TVA was hell-bent on preventing because it did not line up with how they saw Loki to be. Loki seeing himself in his mirror and realizing that he needs to change? Yeah. That's the big thing going on here.

According to Tom Hiddleston, "I don't think Loki's relationship with himself has been very healthy. Trying to accept those aspects of himself, which he's been on the run from, was a way of thinking about that in a really interesting way."

Think about how Loki praised Sylvie for being amazing because she's been running rings around the TVA. Again, it's a metaphor, because Loki has never in his entire life, honestly praised himself and talked about himself in a good and honest way. I will talk about how Sylvie is Loki's mirror and metaphor later, because this is important. It's also the reason why I started this post off with the chorus of Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror". It's relevant, okay?

According to director Kate Herron, "The whole show is about identity. It's about him, and he is on a very different path, and he is on a different journey." And it is! It's kind of how the saying goes, when one reaches rock bottom, there's nowhere to go but up, right?

2. "Love is a dagger."

Terrible metaphor it may be, according to Tom Hiddleston of what Loki says to Sylvie in Ep3, "They were having a talk about love and trusting other people, and not being able to either love or trust for whatever reason." The dagger, then, would represent "Loki's experience of love, I suppose. He certainly feels like it's not been something he's been close to. It has been some sort of illusion that he has trusted and been let down by."

(https://www.marvel.com/articles/tv-shows/loki-love-is-a-dagger-sylvie)

3. "Love is… uh, something I might have to have another drink to think about."

Interestingly enough, I've had several thoughts on the relationship dynamic between Loki and Sylvie.

Yes, Mobius did describe it as "Two Variants of the same being, especially you, forming this kind of sick, twisted, romantic relationship", but even I'm having opinions that would start to contradict each other.

At first I went around saying that the dynamic between Loki and Sylvie are strictly platonic, and I pointed out that to me, the Nexus Event might've been honesty and truth, because according to the "Sacred Timeline", those are two things that nobody associates with Loki, and the fact that in that short amount of time, Loki realizing that he needs to be honest with himself throws the entirety of TVA into disarray. It's a chance for Loki to be honest with himself and really come to terms with who he is as a person.

Now where does Sylvie fit into all of this?

In my opinion, even from Episode 3, I saw Sylvie as a mirror, Loki's perfect metaphor. Why do I say this? Remember in Ep2 when she told Loki, "If anyone's anyone, you're me"?

I had jokingly thought to myself that Loki was just about to tell Sylvie how he feels about her and himself (because Loki talking about his feelings is rare, as he himself said, “this is new to me”), but then I thought a little deeper and went, “hmm, this doesn’t have to be taken in a romantic way at all, Sylvie is not a love interest (because to me that’s just weird, no offense, unless the circumstances were super different, under which I think it might’ve been okay then and depending on the situation, but not here in these circumstances) it’s just Loki admitting what kind of a person he is, and if he can be better, it’s just Loki figuring himself out.” (I'll talk about why I have conflicting thoughts later.)

Even Tom Hiddleston, in a recent interview with ComicBook.com, had specifically stated about his character: "It will be interesting to see what happened when Loki can't talk his way out of a situation, as is his dominant strategy in most encounters. I am most excited for fans to see what happens to Loki when he has nowhere left to run, when he can't delude himself anymore." That last bit with Sylvie? Yeah, Loki coming to terms with himself, being honest, not being able to delude himself anymore. He had nowhere left to run.

I know I did say that at first I did not see Loki and Sylvie as having any romantic tension between them, but please, hear me out first. 

According to Classical Mythology, PSYCHE is "a personification of the soul", which is exactly what Sylvie is to Loki. It would make the "if anyone's anyone, you're me" comment make way more sense. Remember how I said Sylvie is Loki's mirror? Loki getting this close to talking about his (what I see as non-romantic) feelings about himself, how he sees his own person, talking about himself in an emotional way, really admitting to his mirror that reflects the deepest parts of himself who he really was, and then just STOPPED before he could do so was so heartbreaking.

I had said that he was not gonna tell her he loved her because that’s so messed up (I get that narcissism is loving yourself but Sylvie is NOT Loki, nor is Loki Sylvie, they’re two different individuals), but Loki was just about to reveal his true feelings, his real emotions that he’s been trying to hide from himself all along. Loki can no longer run away (remember this comment from one of the interviews?), from himself, his emotions, there’s nowhere for him to run, it was time to be honest with himself.

Somewhere I made a comment that went like this:

Loki finally finding a connection with someone who is so much like him, yet so much unlike him is rare. ("Sylvie's not Loki. Sylvie is Sylvie" and "while they're the same, they're not the same" - Hiddleston / "She is him, but she's not him." - Herron) In that Loki has always been alone, and everything that he did was a cry for help that he never received, while Sylvie had been alone for so many years she's had to rely on herself to survive.

It makes sense then, that both Loki and Sylvie see themselves in each other ("I see a scheme, and in that scheme I see myself" from Ep2) and acknowledge that they are both lonely survivors who made it through so much, that they had each other for even that short amount of time.

That connection they had, that emotional attachment that they came to share, was not romantic in any way. (I'll get to why I’m conflicted about this, and why I may come to be okay with it, in a bit.) I read somewhere that the Nexus Event was not as Mobius described it, but was that Loki finally knowing that he'll never be alone, that he's honest with himself, which is something that goes against the TVA's dictates. THAT's the Nexus Event!

According to the TVA and Ravonna, Loki can't be caring! He can't change from being a homicidal maniac! He can't change! But we know Loki can. Loki himself knows that he can change. This knowledge and acceptance was enough to cause the damn Nexus Event, because the Timekeepers did not decree it! Even in Ep1, Loki declared that he would not let the TVA dictate how his story ends. It's clear that Loki's story is nt over yet.

Two lonely survivors find each other, so it's not surprising that Loki himself was THIS close to finally admitting the truth about himself, admitting and being honest with himself... until Ravonna pruned him.

Ravonna has always been pro-TVA and anti-Loki, so it's not surprising that earlier when she was speaking to Mobius, he's like, "Loki can change" but she's like "no because the TVA said so", so therefore when she hears that Loki is finally being honest with himself (through almost revealing his feelings to Sylvie), Ravonna cannot take it and obliterates him herself. According to her, which says that according to the TVA, Loki having an honest and real change of heart is the real Nexus Event and as such, must be prevented.

Now, about love, I guess, new to Loki as it may be. 

(Talking points from https://www.marvel.com/articles/tv-shows/loki-sylvie-in-love)

Here's where I think I can explain why though I'm not 100% on board with Loki being romantically involved with Sylvie I might warm up to the idea, the possibility of them being kind of a thing. I'm a little divided on it myself, but here goes.

First and foremost, here's something that head writer Michael Waldron says about the possibility of a romance: "That was one of the cruxes of my pitch [for the series], that there was going to be a love story. We went back and forth for a little bit about, like do we really want to have this guy fall in love with another version of himself? Is that too crazy?" Maybe, maybe not.

You see, as you know, Sylvie is a version of Loki, but is not Loki. Mobius describes them as "Two Variants of the same being." Director Kate Herron notes, however, saying of Sylvie about Loki that "she is him, but she's not him. They've had such different life experiences." Tom Hiddleston chimes in with "Sylvie's not Loki. Sylvie is Sylvie. I think he realizes, and she realizes, that while they're the same, they're not the same."

But what about the love story?

Mobius concludes through context clues that Loki is "an incredible seismic narcissist! You fell for yourself!" He taunts Loki, "You like her! Does she like you?"

Here's where it gets interesting. Loki had reassured Sylvie that people like them don't die so easily, they survive. He had praised her for running circles around the TVA, calling her amazing (again, another metaphor, but I think I've covered that), after which she had placed her hand on Loki's arm. Notice his reaction - he looks down at where her hand had made contact with his arm, shifts in a way that suggests his surprise. He's like, 'Is this warmth I'm feeling? I've never felt someone's gentle touch before. I think she cares for me, is that even possible for someone like me?'

He looks up at her, and though his story differs from Sylvie's, he recognizes that though he may have suffered, she had been physically on the run her entire life, whereas Loki had been mentally and metaphorically on the run from himself. We see from the look on his face that though Loki and Sylvie had spent less than 12 hours in each other's presence, he's come to respect her and her courage to do what he could never have. "You're amazing," he says.

Michael Waldron continues, "The look that they share, that moment, [it started as] a blossoming friendship. Then for the first time, they both feel that twinge of, ‘Oh, could this be something more? What is this I'm feeling?’ These are two beings of pure chaos that are the same person falling in love with one another. That's a straight-up and down branch, and exactly the sort of thing that would terrify the TVA."

Sylvie's not sure if she's got any sort of feelings for Loki, but she does ask if he's okay after they reach the golden elevators that would take them to the Timekeepers. Anyway, after the time loop punishment on Asgard, during which Lady Sif tells him, "You deserve to be alone and you always will be", Loki realizes that he's scared of being alone. He hopes that there might be someone out there with whom he can connect on a deeper level.

Director Kate Herron points out, "Who's a better match for Loki than himself?" Or Sylvie, for that matter. But because "but she's not him. They've had such different life experiences," it would make so much sense and would totally be in character for Loki to connect with someone he sees himself in, again, metaphorically speaking.

This is the ultimate journey of "self-love, self-reflection, and forgiving yourself", as Waldron puts it, so for Loki to come to terms that he might possibly love Sylvie is a metaphor for accepting himself as he truly is, not what or who he projects himself to be. It's about being kind to himself, because as he reflects on this new feeling about Sylvie, he's also reflecting upon himself and whether or not he can keep running from his emotions, as Tom Hiddleston says. The answer is no, he cannot run any longer from his acknowledgment that he's got feelings for Sylvie than he can run from his own realizations about himself. He forgives Sylvie as a metaphorical way of forgiving himself for his past misdeeds, like admitting that cutting off Sif's hair was not funny at all. It would make sense then, according to Waldron, that "that would be Loki's first real love story." Not a story about a narcissist, but a story of identity and self-acceptance and honesty.

The fact that Loki and Sylvie are two COMPLETELY different people who are so dissimilar except for the fact that they're two lonely survivors, could possibly result in them having a relationship.

Hear me out on why.

You know how Loki had said to Sylvie at the end, "this is new to me"? He means that he has never before known how to express love and care because he's never received any of either. For all of his life, he had been treated badly by all except perhaps his mother, but as in Ep3, he agrees that though he's had courtships before, none of those relationships, none of it included any type of love that felt tangentially real to him. Loki doesn't know what real love is... until Sylvie comes along. She does not make him know what love is, because he comes to terms to his feelings all on his own.

Tom Hiddleston says, "When Loki meets Sylvie, he's inspired solely by curiosity." Herron adds, about the relationship, "It was just about giving it the space to breathe and digging into it in a way that felt earned." And I think that I might come to accept that it is earned, in some way.

Two lonely survivors who quite literally run into each other, who recognize each other for who they really are, who accept each other and themselves, and who can finally be truthful and honest with themselves and each other. It's not always a game of checkers or chess. Sometimes, it's a maze of metaphors and mirrors.

I understand that this relationship between Sylvie and Loki is controversial for some, cute for others. If I hadn't already made myself clear, I was never really against the pairing, just that I was never 100% sure I'd board that train myself. I was initially of the opinion that their dynamic was strictly platonic, but because I'm open to different interpretations, I decided to have a look at why people saw the relationship between Loki and Sylvie as a beautiful one.

The conclusion I came to, is that there definitely is more than one interpretation of Loki and Sylvie's dynamic, and that I'm okay with both. We've got two episodes left, so I'm curious to see how Sylvie and Loki's dynamic plays itself out.

Ultimately, this story is about Loki.

Loki has to start with the man in the mirror. The person he metaphorically sees himself in is Sylvie, his perfect mirror, and he's asking himself to change his ways. No message, no relationship, no reflection, no realization, no feeling could have been any clearer. So, if Loki wants to be a better person, which we know he can and will be, he will take a look at himself in his mirror and make that change.

[earthenterran]

right, ep2 for tell me why is done, i had a harder time with choices this time around

what i picked:

-alyson’s memory at the house -alyson refused house showing*

*my first thought was to accept - but there was also a possible glitch in my scene where tyler said alyson always sided w/ eddy (i didnt side w/ him in ep1) and i went back and ended up choosing the other option. mainly from like, a game stand point where we’re choosing decisions that will separate or bring the siblings closer. BUT idk maybe the other choice would have be validated down the line or even at the end of that conversation. I would’ve picked that if i just thought about.... them needing money for the moving and such. 

-tyler didnt forgive eddy**

**THIS was a hard one I sat with for about 5 minutes, bc I felt the line ‘we could get there eventually’ but I also felt.... eddy said the right words and he expressed remorse and he does care but he also didn’t.... actually apologize. I got the ‘im sorry’ for how they learned about mary-ann’s file, but he never actually said sorry for his involvement. he expressed conflicted feelings about how he dealt with mary-ann but not like.... regret? which made me wanna be like..... i hear you but also i have the right not to forgive that. and it’s not unforgivable, I just didn’t want to go down that route

-accepted michael’s compliment 

he seems nice and i like the flow of the conversation. 

-tyler forgives tessa

i liked the line here ‘i dont wanna lose anyone else’ bc I just had the falling out with eddy. it’s interesting how the way that convo went down affected how i felt with tessa, but also tessa’s lines felt.... they got me. they reached out and they felt like enough. 

extra: it’s not all listed but i think there were 3 sets of memories. i picked twice to side with alyson (at the cemetery and the house), I don’t remember tylers but i feel like i picked him once (or im mixing up and only picked him in ep1 but idts)

[spanimator]

What's your opinion on Mitch's death? Do you think it was deserved? I personally never saw that much of an issue with it, the character never got any kind of development that didn't go nowhere, it shows that since they started writing the episode Mitch was meant to die, as much as I love Mitch, I don't feel like it's fair to get mad at Telltale for his death, they never really "promised" much more than that for Mitch. Now if Mitch was set-up to be a lot more important, I would be mad too.

I’m fine with the fact he dies in episode 2 ‘protecting Tenn’ at the hands of Lilly but I have issues with how it was executed! (sorry this is long im mad) 

First off, I just wanna say I REALLY like Mitch! He can be a dick sometimes but I like the little development he gets in ep 2 where he ends up forgiving Clementine and they even start becoming friends which is sweet.He also has some pretty entertaining lines, I found it insane how he kept making remarks about AJ shooting people, like the dude has no chill!! “I wouldn’t stand in front of him like that, sometimes he shoots.” or “I trust you to put a bullet in the back of my head!” MITCH!!! He’s just really entertaining and funny tbh intentionally or not. I love his obsession with knives and bombs, his voice and his personality. He’s an okay dude he just has a temper I mean I get it, he’s a teenager. I really enjoyed him in ep 2, he really shined! If I would of changed anything, I would of definitely given him more screen time in ep 1. He barely speaks which is too bad because he’s pretty important in ep 2. Its just weird because his character just becomes important out of no where! 

Now when it comes to his death, I just found it pretty stupid honestly. I know its part of his character that he can act without properly thinking and be reckless but honestly, running at Lilly yelling at the top of your lungs like a fucking idiot is just ooc to me? I don’t think Mitch would be foolish to the point of doing something like that. 

So in my opinion what could of been done instead is after the explosion, I would of had Lilly land A LOT closer to Tenn because from the footage I saw, ??? Tenn was not even close in reach with Lilly which is why it makes the death even dumber because it makes it look like Mitch is running to attack Lilly for no real reason. Then, I would of had Lilly actively try grabbing/capturing Tenn to put him in the cart and in the process, Mitch would attack Lilly WITHOUT YELLING and then a fight would take place between them instead of Mitch just dying instantly which was really lame. Violet mentions Mitch is good in a fight so why not show us that? 

According to writers, Mitch’s death is supposed to show us that 1. Shit gets real and the raiders aren’t fucking around and 2. Showing us that Tenn tends to mess up and get people into trouble and show us he did in fact indirectly cause Mitch’s death (for future mentions in ep 3 and 4). BUT IT FAILS. When Lilly killed Mitch it was accidental, not intentional! And it was Mitch’s own choice to attack Lilly, Tenn was not directly threatened by Lilly so its not really his fault for getting Mitch killed lol.

But as Mitch and Lilly throw some punches, Mitch attempts to stab her to show us that he is being threatening. Tenn would then manage to run away back to safety but during the fight Mitch gets distracted by Tenn yelling that another raider is approaching him, getting him stabbed by Lilly in the moment intentionally. THEN Lilly would be like, “KILL WHO YOU HAVE TO, TAKE THE REST!” This would show Tenn truly indirectly got Mitch killed and that the Delta are not to be fucked with. Obviously the ideas here are not perfect but you get my point! The 2 points I made should of been more obvious in the scene.

I agree that Mitch’s death is important to the plot and to other characters’ development like Willy. I just wish it could of been executed better When AJ says “Tenn was messing up again like he did when he got Mitch killed!” (in ep.4), to the players’ perspective, this could of been seen as a one time thing because it was never mentioned prior that Tenn messes up a lot. (its only revealed in the route where you save Violet at the end so?? its just confusing) also uh.. at least a shot of Mitch’s grave would of been nice. Its in the files… 

Obviously you could of done something more with Mitch living past ep2, I’ve seen a lot of cool head canons and aus where he lives or gets captured and they’re all real neat! And seeing Mitch and Clem become the ultimate brotp would of been awesome. But at the end of the day I understand why Mitch was killed off and look, at least it wasn’t for no reason at all! Mitch was killed off for a reason, it just needed to be executed better. That’s what I think! 

-Rest in Peace i’ll miss you big knife boy

[a---fire---inside]

game of thrones 8x4

Who am I kidding, I’m kinda disappointed at the whole episode, not just at the Ghost part. I never expected GoT to be centered on romance or to have a traditional happy ending but showing everyone so in love/close to someone else in ep2 then breaking all of them seems made for gratuitous sadism lol. 

Gendry being made Lord by Daenerys was already unnerving since it was a political move, but Gendry asking Arya to marry him was so stupid I can’t even. As if he doesn’t know her at all and ok, Arya is difficult to know but he was one of the few who did, after everything they went through. 

Of course she jumped on a horse headed to King’s Landing, of course she joined Clegane, cause that’s who she is. Anyway their scene was one of my faves. Actually all Clegane’s scenes are my faves. Especially the one with Sansa, I was really happy she went to him, their little talk was cool, the fact that he, who never wants to talk, actually told her that she could have avoided all the pain if she escaped with him, was really impressive imo, and the way she replied was badass and poetic, and very much in line with the overall theme, that everything they went trough, all the pain and anger and hardships, made them become who they are now, and led them to where they are supposed to be. That everything happens for a reason that is bigger than the single person. 

The funeral was moving, both Daenerys and Sansa feeling the same pain for having lost such important persons in their lives was beautiful. It shows how on a human level they might understand each other, but politics and ideals divide them. It’s sad and realistic because people are the same everywhere, but values and cultures divide them.

I also liked Jon staying by Lyanna Mormont’s side. Very much.

The celebration scenes were nice, especially Tormund anything. I love Tormund ok? I’d say Brienne and Jamie had nice moments but you know what, I hated how they ended and not because I shipped them cause I didn’t care. I just hated the whole vibe. F*ck Jamie tbh. He was my favourite male character for a while, cause he wasn’t afraid to admit his mistakes and start all over, but the way he acted showed he was still under Cersei influence. Was he trying to protect Brienne into not fighting? A knight? His equal? Was he showing her his dark side, after he had told Tyrion that all the bad things they had done led them where they were supppsed to be, as Bran had told him thus also showing him a forgiveness he needed? Wat. He’s gonna die anyway. Tormund come back 

Speaking of men who lack their own personality are town between 2 women, be them lovers or family or whatever. Jon.  I swear I liked him drunk with friends and comrades. And he loves Dany and sure he doesn’t want to make her suffer after she went on and on with her throne like a broken record by claiming a throne he doesn’t want, and I appreciated him telling his FAMILY. But dude. You’d expect a better determination and quicker judgement from a former Nightwatch Lord Commander who united Wildlings and Northerners, just like he convinced Daenerys ‘my way or the highway’ Targaryen to fight with him, and the King in the North who took Winterfell back and who also incidentally came back from the dead. 

I really liked the scene where he speaks with his brothers, I’d like to see tons of thenes with the Starks tbh, I also loved how he involved Bran into it. I didn’t like Sansa betraying his trust, you can tell the difference between all of them during that scene and in the way they acted after. I’m not sure if Sansa spilled it to Tyrion because she seemed really shocked or as a strategy. Tbh I hope it won’t put her in a bad conflict with Jon cause I liked their relationship, or with Arya, as the relationship of the sisters is so beautiful.

I expected these episodes to have a lot of political talk but huh how boring. I respect Varys serving the Empire meaning its people who don’t have a voice, not kings. I respect him more than Tyrion.

Also because Danaerys acts like she’s only thirsty for power. And like a tyrant. In order to protect the people she wants to kill the people. Right. I miss her freeing slaves days.

I was sorry for Missandei, I always liked her very much and I shipped her with Grey Worm since day 1, her death was necessary to the plot? maybe or maybe not. I think it was more for shock value, but she died in a very brave and loyal way, very fitting for her.

What irks me the most though was that the dead and the Night King were a scary, mythological-like enemy. A sort of dark god with supernatural powers. Since he made the dead come back. It’s not something you can easily defeat, and to do so they all had to unite and fight together. They lost many comrades and risked so much. That had to be the final enemy. Humans vs walking corpses, life vs death. And life is above petty thrones and political steategy. Death is stronger than Cersei holding on to that f*cking seat and Dany wanting to sit on it soooo much cause it’s hers by birth (lool hi Jon or Aegon). I would have preferred if all this came before the fight vs the Night King’s army. Even though I’m excited to see what Clegane and Arya would do, and what Sansa would do, cause their revenge is what matters to me. And I get that this way the narrative is smoother cause the armies are at an even level, but it’s boring and quite depressing that humans can become allies for a threat that is bigger than them, but they don’t learn anything and when it’s over they’re still into petty things. It’s realistic, it happens all the time in real life. But fiction could be better.

[kyuu-rereads-umineko]

Ep6, Chapter 3 (Part 2)

meta in your meta in your meta

The boat arrives at the harbour, and this time, the relatives are greeted by both Gohda and Kanon.

Seeing Kanon putting himself forward like this... makes me feel really emotional. On one hand, it’s heartwarming to see Yasu reaching out like this, in spite of all her bitterness and anger that Kanon carries, but on the other hand... for some reason, it brings to mind Shannon’s acceptance of George’s proposal in Ep2, and what that really meant. It’s complicated.

Rosa and Kyrie comment that Kanon is looking brighter than usual, which... again, brings Shannon in Ep2 to mind. The way she seems to come out of her depression after starting to date George, the way that other people pick up on it...

“...Maybe the real surprise should have been that his normal expression must have looked so incredibly sullen in comparison.”

Arriving in the rose garden, he sees Jessica running towards him, and preempts her by asking if he really looks that different. lol

Kanon admits that he didn’t really have any work to do earlier, then mentions that Shannon is planning on getting married. Jessica reacts... sullenly.

“I decided that... I would stop working here if Nee-san ever quit.” Man, Yasu really did think of everything, didn’t she...?

After saying that he’s unsure of what he’s going to do, Kanon admits his feelings for Jessica, saying, “I have the feeling that, with you, I’d be able to get away from the part of myself that I hate for being furniture.” Yasu...

“So that I can be with you all the time... I plan to stop being furniture. I ask that you give me some time to do that... Please forgive this last bit of weakness.”

And Jessica rightly replies that there’s nothing weak about that at all. Tohya’s love for Yasu is really, really apparent in this episode, even compared to his others.

Jessica asks if Kanon would’ve admitted to anything if it weren’t for Shannon telling him about her engagement, and he’s unable to reply. She asks if it’s because he “wanted to see what love felt like,” and he affirms.

Y’know, I’m still not sure what to think of the premise of this Episode. If I had to speculate, then my guess would be... Sometime before the start of the game proper, Battler got back in contact with Yasu, and apologized for going AWOL for so long. Whether Yasu told him the truth about herself or not, I’m not sure, but the end result was that she gained the resolve to keep on living, and actually be herself, as opposed to one of her characters. That’s not necessarily to say that she’s telling Jessica everything right now (remember, there’s no detective in this episode), or even that she does before the game gets paused, but I’m not really sure how else to interpret Shannon and Kanon’s behaviour so far. Shannon declaring her intention to get married to George and Kanon deciding to be honest about his feelings are part of this - Yasu’s made up her mind to actually confront her conflicting feelings head-on, to find out who she feels strongest about, as opposed to being torn between George, Jessica, and Battler.

That also segues into what happens with Erika later - since she’s not intending to blow up the island anymore, Yasu doesn’t kill anyone, allowing Battler to set up his murder mystery “prank” - but we’ll get to that later.

Anyways. Jessica admits that she was also jealous of George and Shannon, and the narrative says, “[Kanon and Jessica] had been shown the courage needed to speak up and tell the person you love how you feel.”

Kanon decides to call Jessica by her name when they’re alone, and gives her his own name - Yoshiya.

“The red, red flowers of the rose garden seemed to celebrate the two lovers whose feelings had finally connected...”

And we cut to meta, where chick-Beato is watching the scene unfold, clearly unhappy.

“By calling someone by their name, people acknowledge the worth of that person’s soul. That is why names are sacred.” Beato wonders if that’s why Battler’s so insistent she call him by his name, instead of Father. That’s probably part of it, though given the connotations of “Father” in this case...

“When Father sees me, it reminds him of that other me... the past me. And I’m sure that ‘me’ called Father by his name.” It occurs to me now that we probably are seeing a pretty accurate replay of what happened between Kinzo and Beatrice II, aren’t we...? Just, uh, since meta gonna meta it’s a bit less horrifying

Beato wonders how she can make herself useful to Battler, while Ange and Featherine watch the scene... or read it, or something. Meta in your meta in your meta.

Featherine remarks that she never expected to see Ange extend compassion towards Beato. Well, I suppose in a sense, that’s true, but at the same time - Ange’s character arc in Ep4 was all about the true nature of magic and witches, understanding what magic is, who uses it, and what drives them to use it. The way she uses that understanding to destroy Yasu’s Golden Land and drag her back to the game is... Well, yeah, okay, not exactly “compassionate,” is it?

But, at the same time, it’s her own experiences and understanding that allow her to do that. Even if she doesn’t know the details of Yasu’s life, she knows what kind of person must be hiding behind Beatrice - and given that said Beatrice decided to destroy the entire island and Ushiromiya family, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say Ange would’ve known that her pain went so very, very deep.

What I mean is - it’s easy to compare Ange’s mindset in Ep4, when she kills the stakes and asks her classmates to kill her, to the mindset that drove Yasu to start playing with the bomb and spinning her roulette. There’s a deliberate parallel to be made there. The thing is - even though Ange is suicidally depressed throughout Ep4 after that, that’s still a far cry from plotting an elaborate murder-suicide mystery. Even if Ange isn’t sure who to direct her anger and sorrow at, she’s aware that the incident was premeditated to a great degree (even if that didn’t really affect anything in the real world, but still).

i’m good at dancing around the point huh

TL;DR - While saying Ange “felt compassion” towards Beato in Ep4 isn’t really right, she did feel compassion and express an understanding of other witches, other people who use magic. If it weren’t for that understanding, she wouldn’t even be having this conversation with Featherine right now.

Ange states that it’d be unfair to call chick-Beato the same person as the original Beato. Featherine reflects that Battler’s probably “very depressed” that his resurrection efforts didn’t work out as hoped.

“I can sort of understand Onii-chan’s despair... However, I can understand how this child feels as well. No person can become a replacement for another... Not even the past version of themselves.” I feel like there’s a parallel to draw here between Meta-Battler/Chick-Beato and future-Ange/Tohya, but my memory of Ep8 is pretty hazy...

Ange and Featherine start talking about Beato’s “purpose,” and Ange expresses confusion - “So, the Beato who was born for Onii-chan’s sake eventually commits a serial murder and drags him into a bizarre game that she calls eternal torture?”

Again, we’ll see if this gets clearer as I read more, but I can’t help but feel that this “Beato exists for Battler’s sake” thing only muddies the waters even further, because for Yasu, that’s really not why Beato exists. Yes, Beato’s the one who’s “assigned” her love for Battler, and that’s a big part of what makes her transform from the ghost of the island to the Golden Witch as we know her, but “Beato the power fantasy” is just as important to her identity.

...Which, I realize, is characterized as Elder Beato later on, so I am wasting my breath here, aren’t I? Oh well!

At any rate, Featherine reminds Ange that “one can become a different person over a thousand years,” so.

“At the very least, Beatrice was once a pure creature who was born for Battler’s sake.” nvm i stand by what i said above

Ange questions the meaning of “a thousand years,” and Featherine says it explicitly: “Six years can become a thousand, and a thousand years can be nothing more than a quick nap.” She also throws in a Higurashi reference, just for good measure!

“So, does that mean something bad happened during those six years that made her hate Onii-chan?” Well, yes and no.

Ange expresses that Beato’s hate must be “misguided,” since Battler’s been away for the past six years, and Featherine just ...’s in response. VERY SUBTLE

Back in the, uh, gameboard-Meta? I guess? yeah let’s go with that

Back there, Kumasawa finds Beato sitting in the arbour of Kuwadorian. Beato asks her about her name, confirming that she is, in fact, Beatrice...

“However... the Beatrice that Father talks about... isn’t me.”

“I think Father wanted me to be that person... I think that might be why... He was disappointed because, no matter how much I looked like her... I am a different person.” Kumasawa replies that no, she’s the same “Beato” as the one Battler loves, she’s just “lost her memory” due to being “reborn.” If what we’re supposed to get out of this is how Kumasawa reacted to Beatrice II’s similar questions... Euuugh. Chick-Beato asks how she can regain her memories, and Kumasawa doesn’t have a reply.

“If I can’t regain them... can’t you at least tell me what kind of person the Beatrice Father loved was?”

“I was born for Father’s sake. So, I want to become the Golden Witch that he desires.” Oooh, I’d forgotten about this line.

This sort of strikes me as a marked difference from the situation with Kinzo and Beatrice II, and highlights one of the critical differences between Battler and Kinzo - while Kinzo was willing to erase his daughter’s “identity” for his own desires (to an ultimately tragic end), from what I recall, Battler... doesn’t. He asks her not to call him “Father,” and reacts negatively to how different she is, true, but as far as I can recall, he never tries to overrule her sense of self in the same way as Kinzo did.

I mean, in the end, we still go from him thinking “I should treat her as Beato’s daughter” to joining in on the love trial despite that, which is certainly... Questionable, but, y’know.

Ange cuts in, commenting that Chick-Beato is “an incredible kid,” without those “thousand years gone wrong.” Featherine says that she’s taken a liking to her, then allows her access to her study. oh man i forgot this scene was this early on

“So you’re going to make her read aloud the stories about her previous self... Yes, I want to know too. The tale of how the Golden Witch Beatrice was created.”

Back in the arbour, Kumasawa turns into Virgilia, “You must choose the path that you are to walk down... Let us call it a path of roses. The beautifully blooming roses may encourage you, and their thorns may torment you... but even so, it is a path that you once walked down. You may pass through the same thousand years. You may pass through a different thousand years. If you wish, you may even return back the way you came.”

Beato states her resolve - that she doesn’t want “to spend a thousand years in this garden drinking tea.” This is definitely evocative of Beatrice II’s decision to leave Kuwadorian behind in Rosa’s flashback, huh...

The two of them warp into Featherine’s study, where they meet Ange and Featherine herself. meta gonna fuckin meta

“The Beatrice you’re trying to become... was suffering from something. At the very least, you’ve been released from that for now... Will you really go on a journey to regain those shackles...?” Beato replies that, yes, she does. “I want to become the Golden Witch... That is the reason I was born.”

virgilia formally asks ange to “make beato’s journey through purgatory a pleasant one” and ange stiffly responds with her own formal reply lmao

Beato asks Ange to tell her about herself, and Ange says, “Sure... And I’ll want you to teach me. Why did you become the person you were?” That’s really the core question, isn’t it...?

Featherine states, quite simply, that solving the witch’s epitaph is a “trial” for becoming the Golden Witch, and that even Beato herself can’t skip it. In a way, that’s exactly what happened for Yasu. She was the “witch of the island” before she solved the epitaph, after all.

Ange realizes that she can’t interfere with Beato’s resolve - she’s simply a spectator. “This was just a bit of directing... to shine the spotlight onto the tale of Beato’s past.”

Featherine says it quite simply - reading the archive isn’t going to make Beato regain her memories. It’s up to her to decide what she takes away from the experience.

and beato goes to think her and trips over her name lmao, she’s too cute like this

“After being welcomed in by Featherine, Beato left on a journey to know herself. That tale connected the old tale with the new one. It wove them together. The thousand year old tale about her returned to its starting point, becoming a snake eating its own tale. [...] The thousand years of the witch born on Rokkenjima... were tied to the island. Was it a thousand years, or just six? ...Or did this tale extend even further back into the past?”