#inane ramblings

[buddydacote]

[quasi-normalcy]

Maybe not the worst plot point on Buffy the Vampire Slayer but one that has stuck with me for how bad it is is how, midway through the final season, they introduced this primordial uber-vampire called the Turok-Han that was so strong that it took Buffy, all of her friends, and an army of potential slayers two whole episodes just to kill it; but then, in the final episode, they just hack through an entire army of these things; and yes, the slayer-potentials are actual slayers now, but even so, the Turok-Han was introduced as being significantly stronger than a slayer and it shouldn't have been so easy

[uncrownedjules]

Mouthwashing is such a phenomenal game, like really bottled wildfire type experience. So it's so vindicating to see it kinda popping off pretty hard online compared to some other great indie releases from the last few years. Like I've had a deluge of just gorgeous fanart to look at and I'm so grateful

[myaorta00912d53]

what if ranger saw gashu mourning. what if ranger caught sight of the tears in gashu's hysterical eyes as he watched him bellow in laughter, reveling at how kai set himself free (something gashu was never able to do)

what if ranger saw love, manifested as grief. what if for the first time in 20 years, gashu made tiramisu. "to commemorate," he coldly explained (his death, his victory) (my affection, my bitter affection)

what if ranger saw the love of a father. right in front of him, on a silver platter.

but it wasn't for him. dolls can't eat tiramisu. they weren't made to.

[skylertheminish]

Wait so folk don't know botw and totk take part in all timelines by some sort of off screen unification? I mean even I knew this thanks to the website mentioned in the tweet.

[hypabeast]

im kinda sad i never read the geronimo stilton books as a kid bc like. hes my type. and im only now learning who he is. what the fuck

[seeminglyseph]

it's so funny to me... looking at video reactions and content about the anime of Erased and realize how many people felt like... idk. cuckolded? by the fact that Kayo did not end up with Satoru in the end, but with Hiromi, the boy who also would have died if the timeline had not been reset.

and like. some of my amusement comes from like... my own ignorance in not realizing that would be a reaction. because like. Obviously. We've been in Satoru's shoes this entire journey and it felt like, especially in the anime, Kayo and Satoru were having these big meaningful moments. like. how could that not be a romance? even though Satoru repeatedly is like 'I am 30, I'm not catching feelings in this situation, what am I doing?'

which I took as like. "Oh, he's inhabiting his little 8 year-old body and also has not had social connection in a long time and is just... having emotions. and Satoru's story is about learning to care and feel again. because adult Satoru had shut down so much due to the trauma of both losing so much in his youth and having the adults around him cope by basically refusing to deal with it and shutting it down. Returning to his childhood before the trauma is reawakening his ability to connect, trust and feel again. Which is something adult Satoru is as confused and unfamiliar with as child Satoru would be with a crush so it reads very similar."

but I also like. ran out of episodes at episode 9, then read the manga, then got like... really really invested in what the story had to say about trauma and the cycles of abuse and silence and well meaning cruelty and convenient victims and patterns of violence and community scapegoats and justice and how people act to preserve face and the justice system and like... the anime picked one thing in the manga to focus on and it was Kayo. and it did that thing like... really really masterfully. it made Kayo's story so heartrending that people forgot almost entirely about everything else. but like. the manga is about like... multiple other subjects of which Kayo features predominantly but like. The character that Satoru is freaking out about having been killed in his flashbacks in the manga is Hiromi, because Hiromi was his friend. It doesn't change the fact that Kayo is very impactful, but the story doesn't revolve entirely around her. So the fact that Hiromi and Kayo found love instead of death, but many anime viewers seem to forget entirely that Hiromi is also a would-be murder victim, is because so much of the non-Kayo story is just... not present or altered.

And even stuff with Kayo because like. She came back after being taken to her grandmother and helped them with the investigation and protection of Aya, the other potential murder victim that goes to a different school.

Honestly sometimes I feel like even people who talk about the anime ending being bad vs the manga ending, miss the parts of the manga that the anime changes. The anime is very excellent for what it is as a stand alone piece, however since it had adapted so much out of the manga to make itself a stand alone piece it didn't give itself an ending that matched what it had created. The anime had devoted itself entirely to the Kayo aspects of the story because they evoked such strong emotions, but the ending... isn't about Kayo. because in the manga, the story wasn't about Kayo. the thing that seems kind of funny to me is, they were stuck with 2 episodes to wrap up a fat chunk of the manga. They were always gonna have to do an anime original ending. They *could* have just gone balls to the wall and gone completely original and played into the fact that they'd been focusing on Kayo the whole time. Not necessarily "waits for him the whole time" but something that puts more focus on her to give more emotional catharsis to the audience. Instead it went with the option no one was happy with and did a limp noodle fast adaptation of the last chunk of the manga with no character development or deduction or planting from the rest of the anime because half the scenes that made any of it make sense got cut.

And now everyone remembers Erased as that great anime with a terrible ending. which sucks because the manga honestly really has a lot to say about a lot of topics. And the anime is artistic and beautiful as hell. but like. the fact that so much of the message is fully not like... either adapted or perceived by audiences or like. Ignored. feels like a sign of something kind of frustrating...

Or I am overthinking big time. That's. I guess a possibility. It might not be that deep, but I think it is. there just might be a level of clumsiness in its execution sometimes, but I think the themes and messages are still there...

[flonautilus]

Thinking about the way vox positions his brand and his own image -- his company stands for perfection, for innovation, for trustworthiness and progress; how hard he probably works to maintain a respectable image while wangling Val's whims. This is a man who, in a hell that respects pure brute power over anything else, created an empire based in consumer trust and playing on the human instinct to follow the herd, don't fall behind, keep up.

We know that alastor made a name for himself by almost deliberately playing a provocateur, upturning the status quo, framing himself as an unpredictable threat, and it's fairly consistent in behaviour patterns as well -- Alastor relishes in disturbing other people's sense of comfort; he turns to fear and intimidation as his first weapon.

Both of them use reputation as a tool but in completely opposite ways, and even in their personal relationships as well (another interesting point -- Alastor is much more genuine with people he does consider friends, like Mimzy and Rosie, but Vox never seems to fully let down his persona even with Velvette and Valentino? He has that big fake smile on with Velvette in ep2, and with Val he drops the smile but still plays the charming, reasonable, logical business partner -- at least until Valentino gets under his skin by mentioning Alastor. There's technically ep8 but I'm almost certain that's an exceptional case?) And both of them know very well how to play to their audiences

Well there isn't really a conclusion here but I find it really funny that in one season we're sorta already seen both of them break their own image to an extent? Vox obviously showing a total lack of composure on live tv, but also, Alastor's loss to Adam. Like I've seen some people say it's not a big deal because Adam is so strong, but the problem is that Alastor's reputation relied on the mystery of his power ("no one knows where he came from; he just started toppling overlords one day, and not small ones either"), and losing to Adam puts a definite upper limit to his power.

Basically he went from unknowable eldritch monster to like, powerful overlord sinner, but still a sinner.

Thoughts about recent leaks under the cut

You know what else is interesting? Vox's biggest asset is not his personal power (though it's almost certainly not small either) but rather the trust the people of hell invests in his brand. It makes me think that actually the primary conflict of season 2 will not be a physical battle (Adam) but a battle over the narrative. And who's the people of hell going to trust more, the overlord that's been providing them with technology and protection(?) for decades, or the princess of hell who's not here visible in public eye for ages, and heaven, who's been trying to kill them since who knows when? (obviously charlie stopped the exterminations which is a big plus on her record but that wasn't exactly a show of redemptive power was it? The strength to resist and unite yes but also the power of having hell's big daddy on your side)

And okay I'm not super sure still what vox is planning to do with hypnotizing the whole of hell, but I wager rather than any aggressive action (not his style) it'll have to do with convincing people that they really are irredeemable, that hell is the status quo and come on, do you really think those angels believe in redemption? Do you really think you can be redeemed after everything you've done? Pentious was an exception; he wasn't all that bad to begin with, and you don't think the princess' silly hotel can actually help you, do you?

And y'know what putting it this way it's suddenly clear to me why the vees are designed that way (because obviously they were planned to be one of the main villains way ahead of time) -- they represent respectively mass entertainment/social media/porn and drugs, all possible means of addiction and soft control and getting people to basically surrender to their own vices (more than hell already does of course) (gambling is another addictive means and I'm hopeful but sceptical that they'll explore it through husk)

But anyway. The Vees have much to lose if redemption succeeds (technically all the overlords do but eh). It's why I'm sorta hopeful that S2 and maybe S3 will feature a much more in-depth discussion of the topic of redemption? Who can be redeemed, what does redemption involve (beyond literally sacrificing yourself?), are there any limits to redemption?

Though putting it this way makes me think none of the vees aren't going to meet good endings ahshdd or at least they'll have to fall very very far to even get a chance at it bc why tf would you even consider redemption if so much of your power depends on people just giving into hopelessness and dependency? Not that any of them would ever want to be redeemed but...idk. and really that's a huge conflict in the show right? Charlie doesn't fundamentally understand why some people wouldn't want to be redeemed not just bc of addiction or other reasons, but the ones who benefit from the status quo (Alastor, vees, the overlords to some extent or another). And heck like Rosie and cannibal town helped stop the extermination but how much do they actually care for redemption vs getting a chance to eat angel meat? The show makes it pretty clear it's the latter. Charlie struggles to understand even Angel and it's why it's husk who gets through to him, cuz they can understand each other (but it doesn't mean Charlie's efforts are insignificant, they created the space for redemption in the first place)

And that's I think the central conflict of the show? That heaven (at least the side represented by Emilie) and Charlie believes everyone will to some extent want to be redeemed, it's just the lack of opportunities; Adam and lute and sera's side, who disdain and fear that if provided any opportunity, hell will always rise up and overturn heaven (ngl heaven and hell in Hazbin always reminded me of gated communities?); the vees who want hell under their control and in extension to convince that redemption is too far out of reach to bother; and maybe like Lilith too who I sorta suspect doesn't actually care for redemption as much as overturning heaven's authority? (But all we know of her is like a few minutes/seconds so like...)

Final thoughts but I was admittedly disappointed in the presentation of episode 6; for redemption to be worthwhile you need to show why heaven is so good, not just why hell really sucks, and imo the welcome to heaven song isn't really that convincing? It's a clever mirror to like a happy day in hell, but you can't just tell me everyone is happy every day in heaven and call it a day, like what's life actually like in heaven, rlly it just looks like a metropolitan city but in pastels?? Do people in heaven ever have personal conflicts; how are those settled; what does social life look like; happiness isn't just the lack of like addiction, poverty, pain, etc tho that goes a long way.

[netmomplus]

Goombella has leg but no arm

Vivian has arm but no (one?) leg

This is why they need to kiss immediately.

[aadrawings]

The great feeling of seeing people going on about the Wander pilot is rivaled only by the frustration of seeing no one talk about the Kid Cosmic pilot

[buddydacote]

Just imagine how much better the world would be if geocities never went out of business

[unlovablecreatureofsin]

this body is a prison and brother i am not the warden

[uncrownedjules]

Late Night Musings About Hunter x Hunter and the Pull of Human Desire

Hunter x Hunter rules for a lot of reasons, but I think the thing that's stuck with me the most since binging through it is its rather earnest approach to depicting human desire. I think it's safe to say that desire/greed is the biggest theme of the series (there's a whole arc literally named Greed Island for a reason after all), but it's not just the simple "greed is bad" reading that you expect in a lot of simple shonen narratives. Every character is defined first and foremost by what they desire and what that desire does to them/how they use it as motivation.

Characters like Leorio at first blush are the classic greedy asshole who just wants all the money in the world. But his desire is born from this very humanistic desperation, this realization that no amount of study or care for medical practice will mean anything if he doesn't also have the cold hard cash to back up his ventures. He sees money as the most important thing in the world, but only because to him it is the only clear path to protect things he loves.

Meanwhile our main character Gon smiles happily as he essentially gambles on his own life on the off chance it might resolve this void in his stomach about his father. He is pretty sure he doesn't even want to meet his father, but wants to understand him so bad it drives him down a path that most adults in his life think is sheer lunacy. And don't even get me started on how Gon's desires warp in the Chimera Ant arc.

Even beyond the main cast this sense of desire is so important to every bit of HxH. The power system is a direct manifestation of your own aura that you actively design to suit your own tastes and wants and each character's nen ability speaks volumes as to who they are as a person. And hell, the occupation of "hunter" essentially boils down getting licensed to be able to pursue your own unbridled desires. A license can get you almost anywhere and is coveted because it frees you to chase desire entirely. And every hunter we see balances whatever they desire with what the world needs from them, even if their idea of balance is just killing anything that demands too much from them.

Really I could ramble about this stuff forever. This topic is one of those where I very well might try and script a proper essay for it at some point because it really does bounce around in my head a ton. From Meteor City's "We'll accept anything you leave here, but don't ever take anything away from us." motto to the clashing egos of the Succession War, to just literally everything about Meruem, its one of the most successful themes in a shonen manga I've read and I'm so happy I finally gave Togashi's masterpiece a try.

[myaorta00912d53]

Kai didn't trust Sara. It's true that he "stalked" her but he didn't know her.

This was evident in the Russian Roulette minigame. Kai didn't trust Sara in the sense that he didn't believe that she would be emotionally strong enough to be the Challenger.

We know from the letter he wrote on his laptop. He only saw her as some poor innocent child who was tragically dragged into the hands of ASU-NARO.

Furthermore, Kai could have possibly seen himself in Sara, particularly from her innocence. He knew the happiness in innocence in childhood (at least a little bit), he knew the cruelty of ASU-NARO, and he knew what it's like to have a person die right in front of him.

Imagine if that person's death had come from your own hands. Kai couldn't, and he definitely didn't want Sara having any of it.

(Additionally, maybe it's possible he was aware of the simulations where Sara was that bloodthirsty teen. I highly doubt it though, considering ASU-NARO's cultish hierarchy and how Kai ranked low, and considering his development that sort of conflicts with this notion. But if he did, he definitely did not want ASU-NARO to get their way with her. He did not want them to have their "star".)

That's why he'd rather have Q-taro be the challenger. True, it was risky to put so much trust on a complete stranger who was very open about his distrust. But Kai prioritized Sara's safety (from accidentally taking a life) much more.

(This also brings up the implication that Kai would rather have Sara get shot than have her kill someone. Might be a sneak peak into this guy's values.)

But of course, a major part of Kai's character was the development of how he perceived Sara. After beating the Russian Roulette minigame, Kai learns that Sara was much stronger than he thought.

This development completely pulls through when he literally kills himself in front of the already shocked and grieving Sara, giving up all his hopes to her, knowing she's capable. He spoke positively, he wanted to encourage her and everyone else, but it's undeniable that he also hurt her that way.

Post could end here but let's relate Kai to Keiji. Kai and Keiji are the same considering how they have their own perceptions and expectations for Sara, but their opposites in terms of how they view Sara. Kai saw her as a victim he needed to save while Keiji saw her as his escape ticket. Both characters eventually learned to see Sara the other way, with Kai doing That (and also confusing Sara at that time, funniest shit ever) and Keiji putting more effort and consideration on who he should trust for his survival.

[skylertheminish]

First full thing done with water based markers and lord it looks like it was done with crapola lmao. Cardstock was a mistake but printer paper isn't good for obvious reasons. Anyway have spooky Ceru.

Like it? Reblog it! :)

[hypabeast]

thanks mom