#is how ive interpreted him

[moon-daisie]

i think it would have been such an interesting interaction to meet someone else with seolite heritage in the game, bc kim is literally the only one, and he’s adamant about having as much distance as possible from that side of himself to the point of being openly proud of not speaking seolite. he knows about his family’s history but which implies he was raised by extended family, or maybe he did some digging when he was younger? either option is interesting bc if he was raised by extended (also of seolite heritage) family, does he still talk to them? is he so hellbent on distancing himself from anything seolite he distanced himself from them too? if he did some digging and wanted to know his family history what made him stop? what made him look in the first place?

and then interacting with another seolite person during their investigation: would he give them the same speech he gave harry? what would he do if they reacted with anger, or confusion, or sadness (“i speak seolite. am i not ‘vacholiere’ enough for even you?”)? it seems as though he’s convinced himself that he has a foolproof sort of alibi but what good is his denial when the person standing in front of him is the same as him? if harry was racist to them or stereotyped them what would kim do? he doesn’t say anything when you stereotype lizzy beaufort and he’s a blue lives matter cop through and through but yet he doesn’t like bullies. he idolizes the aerostatic pilots from the same army that brutally murdered his parents.

[applestruda]

*redesigns my grian the night before the new hc season*

[waterghostype]

i thought this was a beautiful nonbinary lesbian but it’s just morro from ninjago

[sketchy-tour]

@johnnystruant @just-watching-dont-worry (wonder why I can't seem to tag ya sorry)

But teehee I agree, Johnny is my favorite little critter.

[jemmo]

Making sense of love for love's sake: the game

Despite all the things i absolutely adore about how the plot unravels and expands in love by love's sake, upon first watch, there's some things i couldn't piece together, which @lurkingshan echoes in their post:

'The way the author was messing with Myungha and forcing cruel choices on him really does not track with a desire to help him find happiness.'

And to preface, this is not something i fully get yet either. I think i'll need a good month and a sizeable reading list of relevant resources to understand just what/who this author/sunbae is and what his role is and how he is associated with myungha. But as always with the best shows for meta (aka bad buddy), as a plot unfolds, you can always find a better understanding by looking backwards and re-contextualising what you've already seen. so i watched ep 1, specifically the scene between myungha and his sunbae at the bar. And i will talk about how everything said in this scene has a whole new meaning now we know the full story, but for now i wanna focus on that question that they keep coming back to; "Then... will you change it for him?".

When you watch the show for the first time, your brain follows the simplest, most obvious version of the story you're being told, one where myungha has been pulled into the world of his sunbae's novel that's being turned into a game and given the opportunity to fix the thing he didn't like about it; making yeowoon happy, and thus you just think the rules of the game are imposed by the author, and so when these cruel choices first come up, you see them as the difficult roadblocks that are nevertheless necessary to any kind of game, forcing the player to make an impossible choice so that the game can continue in a certain direction and its only after that you learn whether it was the right choice or not, or there is no right choice, it simply changes the game you are playing.

And when its revealed what this game actually is, at first i tried to interpret these cruel choices, namely the choice between yeonwoon and myungha's grandma, and at best i could come up with the concept of this being a choice between staying stuck to the past aka choosing his grandma, even though he knows that choice doesn't mean she's safe bc he knows the future where he loses here, its an inevitability, but thats the small happiness he knew before it was taken away and thus that happiness is known and safe, theres no risk, versus choosing to pursue a new happiness, a love of yeowoon and thus himself, which he doesn't know, he hasn't experienced yet, and could be risky. Its a happiness that isn't guaranteed like his grandma, but its a happiness that looks to the future and has hope in it that he can find a new happiness to pursue despite what has happened in his past.

And that fits nice, okayish. But then i watched ep 1 and heard that question "Then... will you change it for him?" And watching through the rest of the eps, we come back to this scene at the bar and each time we get a new run up to the author asking this question, either new dialogue is added or we hear a different piece of the conversation entirely. It starts at the beginning of ep 1 as:

"Because Cha Yeowoon is the only one who's miserable." "It can't be helped that some people's lives are like that" "The fact that some people are destined to live that kind of life is what's vile."

Then a bit later in ep 1 we go back and its expanded.

"It can't be helped that some people's lives are like that" "The fact that some people are destined to live that kind of life is what's vile." "Why? Do you think you'd write it differently?" "Yes, definately. Someone like Cha Yeowoon, or someone like me with an awful life, can also be happy."

And then all the way on in ep 6, we get this new dialogue.

"I don't like talking about destiny." "Why?" "Because it means everything is predestined." "Then do you not believe in fate?" "Fate and destiny are the same. My grandma likes to say that. She said life is like a written book, and how you'll live and die are written in it. (...)I don't like things like this. Even if fate is already destined, I think it can still be changed. Otherwise, there's no point in trying." "Really? Then Myungha..."

And while we don't hear the author ask the same question, I feel like him getting cut off like that insinuates that the conversation leads to that same ending point. All that is to say, every time we hear this question being asked, its like we learn more and more about what this whole thing is, what the game is, what myungha is saying he will do by agreeing to do what the author asks. And every time, we see myungha being more defiant against the idea of yeowoon being resigned to his miserable ending. He starts off thinking that kind of life is destined, and while it's miserable, its not something he can fight. Then he says he'd want to write the story differently, bc yeowoon, or even him, could be happy. He challenges the idea that yeowoon, and thus himself, is fated to be miserable, and opens up the possibility for happiness for them both, but doesn't yet have the means or resolve to do it, its like he knows its possible on a fundamental level, but doesn't see it as something he can actually achieve. But then we circle back to the idea of destiny and books, both of which came up in the previous quote, and seems incredibly pertinent seen as this whole thing is about a novel this author has written. Myungha talks about how he hates the idea that life is a book where everything written is predestined to happen, from the moment you live to the moment you die. He says "Even if fate is already destined, I think it can still be changed. Otherwise, there's no point in trying." That vile way of life he described before that he said was destined, he is now saying it can be changed, and that possibility is now something he's holding onto, its what he sees hope in so that he can keep trying, bc now he finally is trying, he has the resolve, he's trying to realise this thing, this impossibility of rewriting the life he thought was destined through the way he loves yeowoon.

And coming back to those cruel choices, given this fresh context, it made me think. bc this isn't actually a game that myungha has been put into where the rules are dictated by an author completely separate from him. He said himself, he'd rewrite it, he'd change things for yeowoon. And when you start to think of it less as him fighting against a rigid, removed system and more like him being a character in a story he is trying to rewrite himself, that has both the author and his own limitations, or just his own if you're in the school of thought that the author is some figment or part of myungha himself or his conciousness, then you can start to see where these cruel choices might come from. They could be myungha, the author making edits to this new story, imposing his own doubts and limitations on himself. When he says he has to pick between Yeowoon and his grandma, what if that's the new author myungha seeing this story unfold and thinking no this isn't right, he can't have it all, i'm not deserving of this much happiness.

And what makes me like this idea even more is that when we get that second choice between ending after 14 days or getting 100 days back at the cost of resetting Yeowoon's affection to 0, that whole conversation happens in what I think the bar actually is which is this frozen moment in time where myungha is in the water with this extension of a voice in his head that is talking through these things. That conversation in itself needs its own post, but when you look at it both as a decision to break up or not or a decision to hold onto life or not, you can see how the author is just this soundboard relaying the decisions myungha is going through in his head. The author's voice is his own, weighing up his decisions. And if he is the author here, it only reinforces that the person making the rules of this game is him. You can even extend it further to the idea of the debuffs, where he puts in place this thing that makes it so he causes harm to yeowoon when he's around, and its only by garnering affection that he can prevent it. He gives himself a reason from the get go to stay away from yeowoon and reason it as him doing it for yeowoon's safety, when in fact the only way to make yeowoon safe is to increase his affection, which he can only do by being near him. Its a system that at first gives myungha a reason to stay away aka not like himself, but ultimately says the only way you're going to make yeowoon like you, or the only way you can like yourself, is if you accept risk. And that in itself screams to me of a myungha writing in these game systems that are trying to encourage his own-self love while falling at the hurdle of his own lack of self-worth.

The idea is still messy in my head even for me, but i just really like the idea that myungha could be trying to fix this thing both as a character and game master, and that both these versions of him have these flaws that manifest in their different ways to cause the events we see. It kinda is the definition of being your own worst enemy, the idea that in order to work towards loving yourself, the biggest obstacle you have to encounter is yourself, bc we are the ones holding ourselves back, making all these rules that make it harder to like ourselves and pursue our own happiness. The voices in our head telling us that we aren't good enough and aren't deserving are our own, and while the things that happen to us can inform what they say, we're the one's reinforcing those words. And what this show teaches us is that, if we're the one holding that pen all along, we can choose to change what those words are. If we make the rules, you don't have to create a game with concrete ultimatums, you can create a game where rules don't control you. Instead, you make the decisions, and you can make the ones that make you happy.

[the-pea-and-the-sun]

its so funny how fan redesigns of chilchuck and snufkin are so similar. not funny exactly its pretty awesome i jus dk how it happened. but fuck yea give those guys tails an more hair !!! shade the bridge of their noses !!! those dudes r creatures !!

[koszmarnybudyn]

Little (mostly) Cecil doodle page, cause brain images are wierd.

[falmerbrook]

I love seeing people's characterizations of Nerevar because the fella is so important, but he also functionally isn't a character. He has almost no characterization to speak of. You can pull some tidbits out about how he might of been, but he's basically a plot device--a backstory for all the important people. The only accounts we hear about him are from the most biased and untrustworthy sources in the whole game. So it's so fun to see what people do with those scraps. At this point he's Morrowind fans' collectively owned OC

[moonstruckdraws]

Aphrodite & Antheia

yep, going down this rabbit whole on my blog

Aphrodite is, I would say, the goddess I know the most about (even though I'm still learning new things). I literally did all my mythology projects on her when younger lmao

Stars it's been so long since I've drawn people-

Anyway time to yap

The way I first learned (and preferred) of Aphrodite's birth was emerging from seafoam. I thought it was the coolest thing ever, and was so so SO happy to see people incorporate the ocean in their designs of her. I felt it only appropriate to do the same (I am worried I made her too ocean based- so it's the reason she's got those wings lol)

however, sticking with her origins, I gave her stretchmarks (that I'll likely edit later to detail better) that look loosely like waves. I thought they were cute. Her hair is based on jellyfish frills, and made the underside yellow to be kinda-not-really like scallop shells. The ends of her lashes have little pearls because they are also a symbol of hers

Her animal is the dove, sometimes swan though I see that more with Eros, so I put these utterly useless wings in the back of her head like a hair ornament. They are folded to be in the shape of a heart.

The other lady is Antheia, one of the Graces or Charites, Aphrodite's attendant and the Goddess of flowers (& gardens & other stuff). Her and Aphrodite have a close relationship, and as a kid when first learning about her I thought she was another lover of Aphrodite. She's not, but I consider her Aphrodite's best friend. Her only symbols are flowers, usually roses & blossoms. And for fun, I have her hair loop back into the snake on her head. She's not associated with snakes, but I thought it'd be fun to give her a Garden Snake (though again I'll have to edit that for its patterns).

[kindaorangey]

recently i've been thinking about rowan omondi in terms of the "supportive black best friend" trope. i've had this idea for a while that it would be interesting to see a story that deals specifically with the psychological effects of being the designated "support friend", especially in cases where that character addressing/expressing their own emotions and advocating for themself would be stigmatised because of their race... and obviously, rowan fits into this neatly, actively repressing and refusing to talk about his feelings because he isn't usually given this sort of support by his friends, it's usually him who's supporting them. and i guess on a metatextual level, once he begins to address his own emotional repression and step down from that support role, you could view it as him becoming cognisant of his own role as the "supportive black best friend".

[a-shade-of-green]

yeah so that scene where mike kicks down the fort in his basement in s1 is definitely supposed to be paralleled by will taking down castle byers in s3. just if anyone cares about when mike turned his back on being a kid.

[ketavinsky]

(leans in so my lips touch the microphone) hello first corinthian enjoyers does anyone want to yell/howl/holler about the corinthian as the singular seed from which the culture of glorifying serial killers and their rampant brutality sprung forth. the corinthian as the original visionary lauded in the cereal convention and beyond for inspiring not just an enjoyment but a mythos of violence that goes wherever he goes but notably takes root in the united states. does anyone want to talk about the corinthian in that tiny drawer with an actual demon from hell, absorbing each other, learning from each other. all they are is teeth and empty eyes in a box. do you think they whispered to each other. do you think there was silent laughter shared amidst the dust and the darkness where all of morpheus' forgotten dreams went.

[threepoint14art]

deuzaggie ill take you out of the pits of hell (no one makes content for them)

i like to give them matching bangs and i also like making Deuz huge (bear) U-U

[trainerethan]

Bpd green...I see a vision...reds avoidant personality would be hell on earth for him but it's okay. They can work it out.

But for awhile after their reunion I know green woke up every day convinced red was going to walk off into the mountains again. Also just endless guilt about being mean to red when they were younger so he way over compensates now and it feels weird and forced for both of them.

Red has long forgiven green and wouldn't just leave again but unfortunately he doesn't actually like speaking out about how he's feeling so he seems sort of distant which makes green spiral a little.

Red isn't avoidant/closed off bc he thinks green won't care/doesn't trust him to confide in him but green probably sees it that way for awhile. He just has 0 experience with actually talking about your feelings instead of staying silent about how he feels and then leaving to live on a mountain to avoid any stress factors.

It's okay. Theyll figure it out. Being reunited after years of one of you living alone on a mountain and the other drowning in guilt over it will have your conflict resolution skill be a little rusty.

[good-beans]

You talked a little while ago about why you don't think Shidou would make a good father to Amane (agreed) and proposed the idea of Mahiru adopting Amane. That's cute but I want to tell you about my post-MILGRAM headcanon:

Amane joins the Kajiyamas

Not Fuuta specifically adopting her, but like him taking her back to his family's house. I'm sure they'd have a spare room

I think people don't think about Fuuta's homelife much, or if they do they take Fuuta's one interrogation question where he calls his dad an old fogey and assume its like, abusive

And don't get me wrong, I don't think the Kajiyama household are perfect. Fuuta' beautician sister surely hasn't helped when it comes to Fuuta's body image issues and I'm betting they're all a bunch of tsunderes too embarrassed to say they love each other

But in a series where most of the abused characters are still convinced their abuser loved them/acted out of love. Seeing a guy not be afraid to call his dad a loser is almost a green flag

I think it'd be good for Amane to not necessarily be adopted as the lone child to a single parent but get to be introduced to a very different style of family unit from her own One where its normal to express different opinions or disagreements or even have arguments and not have it be the end of the world

Amane already has a snarky side to her, I bet it'd flourish in a brash household like the Kajiyama's (or at least how I imagine them to be)

OOHHH wait I love that so much! >:O

I agree -- I never interpreted Fuuta's family as abusive or harmful, just not super close and struggling a bit after his mother left. (And yeah, all as openly emotional as him😭) They seem stable and very capable to taking in a extra, very well-behaved child. Assuming Fuuta is the way he is because of them, that atmosphere of being very honest and forward would work well for her. They say things as they are, little by little pointing out the harmful parts of her worldview. Like you said, none of them make excuses about harmful behavior stemming from love, so she'd get a really healthy dose of truth in that area. She never feels coddled or treated like a baby. They care for her while treating her very maturely.

I absolutely love how well she and Fuuta get along, with that snarky side to her that you mentioned. It would allow her to fit in well in the new household, getting the sense of belonging she'll lose after leaving the cult. Also, seeing how Fuuta and his sister let things slip and aren't perfect sons/daughters, she'll be able to relax about earning a parent's love through perfect behavior. She'll probably stay exactly the same, but her stress about it will fade <3

I doubt Fuuta's father can ever replace the hole she'll have from her own father, but the addition of an older sister will be huge. Amane will never get the feeling her mother is being replaced, but the woman will still fill the gap of the older, same-gender role model she needs. Her beautician job may throw Amane at first (being an indulgence in vanity), but it isn't as in-your-face as other careers. I think she could definitely ease Amane into accepting it, and over time, accepting her own personal "indulgence."

Plus, her moving in would also be really good for Fuuta! I think he'd recognize there's a ton of fun things she missed out on, and that heroic side of him outweighs the part that cringes: he gripes and groans about going to "kid places," but he's always the one to announce "I can't believe you've never been to __, we're going right now!!" This allows him to touch grass leave the house and experience his own life to the fullest. He's able to channel his desire to help society into a healthier outlet. Also, seeing her studying habits and plans for the future might even inspire him to do the same. (might.) He becomes the stereotypical good big brother, though of course he denies it viciously...

I have recently been going insane over their friendship so I'm completely taken with this idea OUGH thank you for telling me ;-----;

[mando-din-lorian]

I was so worried that they were going to full on write Din’s covert off as an actual cult this is season, and I’m so so happy that’s not that case so far.

I think there’s so much more nuance to Din’s covert that a lot of fandom don’t give it credit for. I swear, some of ya’ll act like Din is being held captive by his covert (and Bo too after the recent episode) and it’s like…they’re not.

The Armorer literally told Bo that she’s been redeemed by the way of their Creed and if she WANTS to she can join them (for however long she wants to be there), but she is free to leave any time she desires. No one is going to hold her captive there.

Same with Din. Yes, he broke his creed and became an apostate, but they didn’t hunt him down and strip him of his armor. This is the Way they follow and they’ve survived so long—have been together so long—because they stuck to is to rigidly. I love how faithful Din is to his Way. I love how much it means to him. The covert is his family. Of course he’s going to fight for it.

I don’t know, some peoples relationship with Din’s covert in this fandom is weird. Like yeah, it’s not perfect, but it’s not a full-blown cult keeping all its members locked away from the rest of the galaxy. They’re a people on the brink of extinction and doing what they can to survive.

I just think we’ve gone so long with just fanon content that it’s skewing perception on canon content.