#im 1 from 100 so

[itty-bitty-sunshine]

Although there's a very specific reason for them to be working at the Pizzaplex, that doesn't stop them from infodumping every once in a while!

Knowing a bunch of random info turns out to be pretty useful when working with curious kids and a 8 foot tall robot who's always more than happy to listen to anything. Besides it makes for great stories to tell

[eldritchred]

Lights up on a sunlit field, just south of Dormont. SIFFRIN lays sleeping, centerstage, about to wake from a strange dream. It is the day before the end of the world.

piece i did for the isat palette challenge thing !! i got a very green palette obviously and i was more than happy for the excuse to use my hoard of grass brushes :3

[razberrypuck]

"I can't wait for you to figure out [troy's] real name and intentions" could mean so many fucking things too this is going to drive me insane. like he could be a robot he could've taken the place of The Real troy lougferd he could be posing as a son that mr lougferd never actually had his first name might just not be troy. like bizly what do you mean REAL NAME and REAL INTENTIONS what the fuck. he's a sneaky bastard doing sneaky bastard shit.

[hualianisms]

finally got a copy of the revised tgcf novels and skimmed book 4 and the fenglian breakup hurts so much more in the revised version... fx's whole line about "i really don't know, then why have i followed you all this time" is removed. instead what happens is, right after xl says "no, it was the past me who was crazy", xl directly tells fx to leave:

XL: "You should go." FX: "What?" XL: "I said, I don't need you anymore, you should go."

all the other parts of the scene are the same. these revised lines, though, are so painful... it also makes it obvious that fx did not abandon xl, he only left bc xl literally dismissed him as a servant and directly told him to leave 😭 fx doesn't even have that line questioning why he followed xl anymore.

[skitskatdacat63]

Fernando Chair Lore: 2013 edition(no lore, just pics haha):

[milkbreadtoast]

doodled Stayn from living with magicians webtoon... I like him :) (just felt like drawing random webtoon characters fsr lmao)

[mcl38]

girl!drivers part six: 81

(series)

[qiu-yan]

jiang cheng would not play gacha games and therefore cannot experience gacha rage, but jin ling would on both counts

[narwhalandchill]

oh my fucking god i feel. SO stupid rn at How i didnt make the (super sane very normal just absolutely. Yes. Surely) connection earlier but uhh

so anyway im now like 89% certain that whatever the "traces" of the narwhal that remain on ajax and facilitate their (ever-growing) innate connection are like. an actually fundamental aspect of it (them?) more or less.

why? because if you consider its pov just for a moment. the narwhal was literally about to depart teyvat for good. it had nearly finished consuming the primordial sea and preparing to breach surface to finish the job by eating the french for the leftovers their human bodies were made from. its an interstellar voyager it does not linger on planets it devours. it goes glug glug and it leaves.

and like if it wasnt for traveler intervening its confirmed through narzissenkreuz and renes world formula that teyvat wouldve just been destroyed. no one could have stopped the narwhal not neuvillette not focalors not anyone.

so what was the one other thing it did right before going for that french brunch? calling for ajax. getting them reunited in the primordial sea. like all the possible implications aside bc theres many different ways to speculate on the exact reasons why and the nature of that link. the point remains.

it wasnt leaving teyvat without finding him.

like the narwhal is about to fucking Dip from this cringe planet and whatever part of it that ajax carries within himself his narwhal Absolutely wanted to be reunited with. what the fuck am i supposed to read from that. hoyo???????!??! answers?!?!?!

and its not only the calling from the narwhal side itself either bc this is ALL coinciding with the growth of a 'restless power' within ajax and his vision malfunctioning (the things celestia is literally confirmed to harvest energy thru to repair its damaged authority) and his connection with the narwhal reaching an actual conscious level (arguably subconscious n emotional too bc i find it Curious his mood is poor right as the narwhal is repeatedly described as positively malding to the point its boss fight mechanic is literally a rage meter). ajax' power is growing. his destiny is starting to shift and something is drawing him to fontaine... right as the narwhal is getting close to finished with the primordial sea. funny how it overlaps eh. how it aligns 🤨�� why are they orbiting each other like this (they should kiss)

(& not to even Mention how ajax just Happened to get that absolutely exponential and borderline unbelievable feat of power spike in extending his foul legacy endurance as massively as he did. while. within the primordial sea. with his narwhal. who had at that point all but incorporated the power of that sea into itself. i s2g if childe was getting passive home turf co-op bonus exp with a 4x multiplier automatically the whole 40+ days 💀💀)

[deus-ex-mona]

if the trope works, it ✨works✨ y’know~

[art-from-the-juice-box]

gen loss >:] and a written out talking to myself because i think it’s funny that it looks like a star wars intro

[good-beans]

My @milgramcf Zine came in last week and I just wanted to say thank you for all the hard work the mods and creators put into it!! I've never been a part of anything like this before -- it was such a fun and coordinated project, and the final book came out stunning 🤩 It's exciting to participate in a charity project, and I love my little items haha!

[psychology-department]

trans protagonist theory and ayin lobcorp- a small character analysis

(lobcorp spoilers + slight ruina/leviathan spoilers under the cut)

A couple nights ago, I saw this tumblr post by @/somekindofsentience which coined a term called trans [protagonist] theory, regarding the changing of narrative roles of main characters. It comes in two flavors, PtA, and its inverse, AtP.

PtA (protag to antag) can happen in several ways, one of which is to discover something about yourself that likens you to evil, or starting with a goal and just getting more and more unreasonable with it. knowing that what they are doing can be considered "evil" or morally reprehensible in their universe.

PtA is a trope often not done well because they're usually just protags painted to be sympathetic and/or naive antiheroes/antags. Occasionally, while following them on their goals, and feeling what they feeling downplays villainous traits, can't say i'm not guilty of writing that, bc i am an author, and authors are imperfect.

AtP (antag to protag) also usually involves a change in mindset and understanding of self to railroad them into different perspectives, and sometimes go hand in hand in replacing each other's role they 'transitioned from' (or not depending on narrative).

Ayin and PtA

In Greek tales, the hero is tragic, with a flaw that ends up costing everything, driving them to become an antagonist in their stories. It usually serves as a moral lesson in how one trait considered “villainous” can end up causing destruction and death on a large scale. The morally gray nature of humanity can cause debate on what's “good” or “evil,” or whether or not one leads to another, blurs, or overlaps.

The story of A’s ideals goes from being shown as just wanting to continue a shared ideal to day 48, where it is revealed that for this entire time, he was only doing it for the sake of making it up to Carmen, and Carmen only.

Ayin can be said to be an example of a greek tragic hero. He is too stubborn and dedicated to his goal, he didn’t stop to look back on all the death and destruction caused by him following Carmen’s dream in his way, and though he (briefly) considered these consequences, he still continued to trudge on in spite of these traits made to be flaws. He knew, even by a little, that what he was about to do was going to make him seem bad, but went on.

His viewpoint of the world and himself did not change after everything, but stayed the same (sacrifices are necessary), and it’s not because it stayed the same that was most of the problem. it was his actions.

His actions, which at first seem like just accidental neglect, add up to a list of infractions of letting those he cared about the most along with many innocent lives die, injured, or neglected. It is the journey that he takes which makes his reasoning more and more unreasonable to the viewer, the more you go into the game.

The reason why Ayin is such a good PtA (assuming you played the games in order) is not only because you get to sympathize with what he did, Project Moon also made sure that his morally reprehensible traits aren't downplayed, with Angela's narrative in LoR. It avoids the naive protagonist trope, while also being somewhat sympathetic.

Ayin and AtP

One thing I did not mention about AtP earlier is that characters could also be their own antagonist to protagonist, seeking to atone for their previous actions. Ayin feels extremely guilty over the things that he did, and wants to free himself from the guilt after all is done.

…and so, as The Manager, he does. He manages the Sefirot and helps them calm down from their suppressions, making both parties learn lessons from each other and slowly but steadily changing his role in the story to be more aligned with the protagonist.

I believe that throughout the loops, he slowly changes from just wanting to make it up to carmen, to making it up to others, even if those attempts were not successful. (such as with Angela, which he had forgotten about. I believe there’s no do-over for things like that.)

Even in the light, he continues to try and help the people realize and (indiscriminately) continue their goals without giving into despair with EGO, still trying to make things up to others. He apologizes to Angela up there, too.

His goals are still the same (SoL), but his understanding of everything changes, which leads him down the AtP pipeline of trying to learn his lessons through the Sefirot learning theirs, and to do better. If given enough time for character development, who knows what else he would have done to further this path of redemption.

Ayin, the antagonist, perpetuates a cycle of suffering of death, neglect and suffering. By playing Lobcorp, Ayin tries to that very cycle that he put everyone and himself through with his own hands. He is the start of the conflict, but also the end of the conflict. He is a PtA, but also an AtP, even if his attempts at redemption are only partially successful. This complexity is, in my opinion, what makes him such a well-written character.

[plan-3-tmars]

"You're Just Sitting On The Train" - Double MV Analysis

There's a conversation between the two main character's in a podcast I love called Red Valley which reminds me of the imagery in Double.

"You know when you're on a train, and it's held up, and you're just stuck in the middle of a field while they get the leaves off the line or whatever, and you're going to be hopelessly late, there might be awful consequences to get stressed about but... there's literally nothing you can do about it. It's not your fault. Hopefully you've got a book or something. You're just sitting on the train."

The conversation in context with the scene is about being able to put your problems and stresses, like being late for work, on someone else's shoulders. Let them take responsibility for what's going on so you can feel some relief. It got me thinking about Mikoto and Orekoto (who I'm just going to call John thanks to Neoplasm) and I want to talk about what I think the meaning of it is!!

Trains have many, many different meanings - like almost a ridiculous amount of different interpretations can be made - but I think the meanings that are the most important while talking about Mikoto are trains representing the passage of time, destiny and loneliness.

Loneliness:

While on a train, or waiting for one, you are surrounded by people. However as shown here, most keep their head down and don't speak unless spoken too. It gives a sense of loneliness, you are surrounded by people yet completely alone.

I think this could apply to Mikoto's situation and was possibly a stress factor for him. It is implied from his T1 interrogation questions that Mikoto was popular enough, knowing a lot of people either now or back in high school, but he doesn't seem to open up to any of them. He's alone in the big city with nobody to talk to. He lies to his mother that everything's okay in their phone call and bottles up his stress. Because of this he is dependant on John to function : "But if you persist, I guess it's my job to keep things on an even keel."

The Passage of Time:

This shot showcases how long the train actually is, it flies through each carriage insanely fast, blurring slightly from the speed alone.

It's been extremely clear since T1 that Mikoto suffers heavily from dissociative amnesia, something that is a very common symptom of DID, and I think the fact this shot blurs could be representing that.

Trains representing time and how humans view the passage of time is probably one of the most popular ways they appear, we tend to think of time as one thing that moves forward constantly in a straight line, similar to an uninterrupted train on a train track, but for Mikoto (and John) time is blurry, hazy. It may seem like things move too fast to keep track of (pun not intended) or individuals with DID can sometimes describe it as feeling like you're missing hours, fronting in a place or room you know you weren't in before and being unaware of the events that led up to you getting to this point.

This feeling of missing hours is relevant to this specific scene as after the camera moves through the train the first person we see is Mikoto - not John, who was in the doorway.

Destiny:

Trains are always headed to a specific location so they can also be associated with life's journey, or in other words, fate and destiny.

Both Mikoto and John are shown as the passengers on their train, not the conductor. They are not in control over life's events, just sitting on the train and this is extremely stressing - especially for Mikoto. John says things like : "another day with that hardly barely there of a smile // You're going to break // You're overdoing it, you're already broken". Mikoto seems to find it hard to deal with life's events, aka the train ride, and perhaps feels like the end destination is unattainable at times of stress.

This point is stressed further imo by the fact that we can't see outside. The windows of the train are either white or black for the majority of the MV, sometimes light or 1 image makes itself known but never a full image of what's actually outside.

Bonus: The Train's Maps!

The map's of the train are shown glitched out, also possibly hinting to the feeling of the train's final destination being unattainable, or could also be referencing hazy memories, but I think this specific detail is about John.

We see the maps glitching out when John sings the lyric : "I don't even know the reason why I'm here." [Future Mars I now know this was Mikoto singing but um.. my overall point still stands.] I think the maps glitching could represent the feeling of the loss of purpose.

John was 'born' in order to protect Mikoto, to help carry the burden of whatever is stressing him so much, yet instead of helping Mikoto he ended up being scared of him ("hey, now I saved you right? So why in the hell are you crying?") and it was John's actions that landed them in Milgram - an environment that Mikoto finds extremely stressing, to the point of there being a chance he goes dormant in T3.

Trains are created to arrive at a certain destination, so a train with no idea where it's going (glitchy maps) has lost its purpose.

Despite being an alter 'born' to protect, John has accidently caused Mikoto more harm when he tries, so he questions his role in the system.

Edit: Journey into the Subconscious

After staring at the MV a couple more times I think there's one more train theme I forgot to mention that fits here too, which is that trains can sometimes represent a journey into the mind.

I think there's a chance that the train could represent the system as a whole, or more specifically headspace. The only people on the train are John and Mikoto and the fact we never see what's outside gives a sort of surreal, dream like atmosphere, almost as if this was happening in an environment with no psychical appearance.

The lyrics sung in Double seem to be more directed at Mikoto than the actual audience, and from the last line "I'm so sorry" we can deduce that this song is something of an apology and explanation of John's actions that he wants Mikoto to hear.

[dukeofthomas]

why is everyone so obsessed with absolving bruce of all responsibility and fault. like no actually he is not 100% innocent in the child vigilantes he did in fact literally just Yoink Jason and make him robin at the ripe age of 12. jason would Not have become a vigilante (or died!) if bruce hadn't made him that. like he is actually 100% responsible for picking up a kid and turning them into a soldier

[skitskatdacat63]

Prince Jenson of Somerset

+ process & lore

Yayyyyy omg finally have drawn portraits of the four main characters!!!! I'll show the process of Jenson's first and then them all four together. Though it's a shame the Seb/Fernando ones are older, I think it's hopefully obvious how much I've improved since November?

Look at him in all his handsome, princely glory 🥹 It's funny, I'm always happy with the second sketch and initial lineart, and then I start coloring it and I absolutely hate it, and it takes a significant amount of time into the painting for me to like it again. And then I reach a certain point and I'm in love with it again. Ugh though I gotta say, I love drawing the curls, it's just so 18th century, but at the same point, man I always will love my original lineart for the hair the best ah. Also yes I absolutely had to give him a big ass hat with feathers, he really is that kinda guy to me. I originally drew a bicorne and then realized that those don't really exist until basically almost a century later oops, so tricorne it is!!

Okay now omg look at them all together 🥹

Haha wow I have improved a lot! Just like the Seb/Fernando ones, Mark and Jense's were meant to be put together. I think there's a lot of inherent characterization in their poses that highlight the difference between them. Mark is looking up, very wistful, looking up to greater people, greater things. Jenson's head is tilted down, almost looking at the viewer, he is very satisfied with his role and revels in it, he's here to slay!

Okay, yes, lore, characterization, sorry that it is so far down on the post!!

Jense would probably be the fan favorite if this AU was an actual book or show or something. He's the guy you randomly find while browsing Wikipedia and you're like, woah this guy is so cool??? Unlike Sebmarknando, he doesn't really have the same level of angst, he's kinda just chilling. He's a bit harder to write a lore post about, because he's basically that character who is always magically around the corner, ready to witness some crazy thing and just breeze past it.

He is less linked to Seb than people like Mark and Fernando, because he's basically just his personal minister of transportation(read: horse fucker), so he avoids a lot of the relationship complications and drama, but that isn't to say he's completely uninvolved. He really likes Seb, and loves to hang around with him and serve him, but he's not as beholden to him. He's who everyone goes to air their grievances or to get away from the others, and he's very happy with this role. He's generally willing to play any side in an argument, but does tend to have a pretty big soft spot for Seb overall(Seb also gives him cuteness aggression, and he wants to bite him. Especially when Seb puffs himself up and acts super bratty when he gets offended at not being seen as a proper ruler.)

He's royalty from other kingdom, but pledged his loyalty to Seb's kingdom when he was quite young and has served him(his father first) ever since. He started off somewhat low in the military, rose to a pretty high rank, was a renowed war hero, and then ended up retiring pretty early to tend to Seb's horses. That's an oversimplification, but yeah. He liked the military life, was very good at it, but decided he had done enough, and wanted to be involved in more direct service, albeit more laid back. As I mentioned in Mark's post, Mark *really* doesn't understand his choice to do this, because if Mark had been in Jense's position, he can't ever imagine being able to let all that go and living the quiet life.

He is the palace whore, everyone has been with him honestly. It'll be like, some man walks into his bedroom, only to see Jenson in bed with his wife, but instead of being angry, he's like "wow you couldn't even wait for me??" He's just very carefree, and happy to just slut around and tend to Seb's horses.

I think he definitely still advises Seb, and would go to battle if truly need be, but generally seems to be living in a different world than the weird psychosexual homoerotic political drama that the others seem to be living in. But as I said, it's not like he doesn't contribute to it! He loves to goad Fernando, and constantly plays devil's advocate in "debates" between Fernando and Seb. He's also obviously the one that keep "accidentally" locking them in rooms and forgetting where the key is.

Sorry if this isn't very explanatory, I hope it gives a general idea to the type of character he is???? As always, let me know if you have any questions! I kinda struggled on what to write here because I'm finishing this at almost 8 am 😭 so I'm not sure if it's great or not. But basically you need to know: horse fucker who is generally breezy and carefree but also can be a bit of a menace to society every once in a while.