#ive made him not likeable

[alaricseer]

Always kind of a bummer to think about how the changes ive made to ala over the years so that i could enjoy him more are also ones that have made him more... niche? Or less generally palatable? But i also know i cant go backwards, nor do i want to.

[emmavakarian-theirin]

i knew it was only a matter of time before it happened but to actually see beardless lucanis and on my dash?? BEGONE

[houliburns]

if frank burns was allowed one (1) truly redeeming moment in the entire show that gave him some dimension but also was tasteful enough that it didn’t attempt to downplay how terrible he is or undermine his role as a parody of conservative awfulness... what would have been that moment? 

[embarasseddragon234]

Gold Rodger ALSO wore a straw hat??! (Perhaps. The SAME straw hat? Unclear.)

My HEART!

I just.

I'm having a lot of feelings right now that I'm not sure how to articulate but-

It's something about connections and legacy and family and how your loved ones are never REALLY gone because YOU are there and you share the things you've learned from them and-

I-! I'm just like-!

[aria0fgold]

I don't know what I'm doing with this fic's story anymore at this point, I'm just doing feck all but somehow it's also so fun to just... make it a lil wacky.

[ultimateloserboy]

duck and red guy are not good people.

ive probably said this a million times already but friendly reminder that they’re incredibly grey. they ruin their own lives just as much as the house does it for them, not to mention how theyre responsible for most of the turmoil in yellows life. duck especially loves with his entire heart, but that doesnt stop him from being a piece of shit.

a lot of you watch the series with this idea that the main three are poor innocent babies trapped and helpless when actually, if there was anywhere else to go (which its implied there isnt) red and duck would never fuckin get there because theyre too selfish and stupid to make it.

becky and joe said themselves in a QnA that yellow made it up the stairs alone because red and duck are just too cynical and selfish to ever make it anywhere. the second yellow started heading down the stairs it was over for him, because red and duck will NEVER listen. they want answers but are too stubborn to ever receive them. The house could be unlocked completely and theyd keep themselves there

Not to mention how they treat each other. they either enable each others shitty behavior, or give up on trying to stop each other. red starts to get onto duck for his behavior towards yellow, but then he joins in to make fun of him multiple times. because he doesnt actually care that much, and that apathy can make him cruel

i think a lot of you forget that even as they are normally, even on the regular floor— not even being bigger boys— they DROWNED THEIR FUCKING CAT!!!!!!!!

and they did it together, is what gets me. theyre codependent. theyre all the other really has, the only other adult really to talk to. they completely disagree on everything, having the opposite worldview of each other which causes them to argue constantly— but theyre all the other has. the only one as shitty as themself. they get stuck with each other in the bigger rooms. growing grotesque together, ruining themselves TOGETHER. they get farther apart. they speak to each other less. they torture smaller things for entertainment rather than talking with each other— but theyre still stuck together. glued to each others hip until the world stops spinning, but always being too cowardly and stubborn to be kind to one another and let themselves be happy together.

even when they reach clarity, or they hit an arc that makes them better people— theyll just forget tomorrow, and go right back to being terrible.

theyre not helpless. sure theyre victims, but not perfect ones— and they themselves have victims of their own

and dont even get me started on the mischaracterization of red in this fandom. YES hes just as bad as duck!!! hes not a fucking baby hes a grown ass man!!! he says the same shit as duck all of the time and yall see it differently cuz his voice is nicer to hear or he says it quieter. and may i add— he can be socially awkward and still an asshole. he can be neurodivergent and still an asshole. it doesnt cancel out, you dont have to pick one or the other.

yall take everything interesting out of these characters so you can make them sexymen but to me the sexiest part is the nuance of the character. duck and red are assholes but that doesnt make them unlikable, the show itself proves that. theyre incredibly likeable but still do terrible shit, and yall forget BECAUSE of how likeable they are.

this isnt meant to be some post to make you think theyre bad people that you should hate because thats bullshit. theyre not good people but theyre not overall bad people either. their actions are terrible but at the end of the day they can and have been better, even if only temporarily. there is a part of them that could easily fit into a happy family— a part of them that can heal each other instead of hurt each other. but unfortunately thats the part thats always erased

(little edit i dont know if they explicitly drowned their cat BUT its implied they did kill it. sorry two-three years of piecing my own shit together i lose which parts ive determined myself. dont wanna sit here and just say my own theories as fact tho, so the drowning specifically was just my guess! sorry abt that chat i hope u still trust me with canon cries)

[spghtrbry]

so i’ve been. THINKING lately.

you can find many similarities in both stories but there are also huge differences…

in cain and abel’s story cain murders his younger brother because of his jealousy and because god preferred abel over him, which is obviously similar to how chuck’s pride made him envious of jimmy because he’s more likeable and made their mom laugh etcetera etcetera..but i’d say abel was a pure guy, he didn’t do anything bad, he was like. basically the purest human being at that time (well it’s not really difficult to be the best person when there’s like 4 people in the whole world and two of them literally got kicked out of heaven but anyway). and cain murdered him. which is clearly not the case with jimmy and chuck because obviously in the legal point of view chuck is a better person than jimmy …

and we’ve got esau and jacob, which is i think a really underrated story. i mean i love cain and abel but i think people often forget about those two. esau, (technically) an older brother, always gets tricked by jacob. jacob buys his birthright and steals his father’s blessing that was meant for esau. and esau rages at him because. i mean. that’s not a nice thing to do. but in the end jacob becomes one of the Main Characters in the genesis… personally i think this story is more… idk, specific? there’s just something about the younger brother constantly tricking the older to get what he wants, even though the reasons not always are completely selfish. BUT! in the end esau and jacob made peace which is (spoiler alert😨) not the case with chuck and jimmy ………..and also jacob didn’t really have a redemption arc and esau just. idk. moved on with his life. got a family and all that. so he basically became a normie. but yeah ANYWAYS!

so yeah. i’d really love to hear ur thoughts and opinions on this one because i am a little bit insane about all this stuff as you probably noticed

(also if i messed something up or if im wrong anywhere please lmk lol it’s been a while since ive read the old testament…….)

[fascinationstreetmp3]

okayyy i finished tva and i think ive come to appreciate marius more as a "concept" in a way, even though i don't find him all that compelling or likeable purely as a character on his own

but instead, being this big important force in armand's life; this spectre deep in the back of his mind during their centuries apart; this glimmering walking reminder of the past, the good and the painful, once they reunite. the one who saved him, reshaped him, made him. the one who bought him, took advantage of him, owned him. armand's feelings towards him being turbulent and complicated, love mixed with fear mixed with hatred; armand not wanting to be dependent on him again though he craves that familiar feeling of all consuming love and servitude at the same time. the way it hurts knowing marius will never love him the way he used to, the way he's always seen himself as a disappointment who couldn't live up to marius' expectations of him. marius, his parent who of course always knows what's best for his child even when he kicks and screams against it. father saviour master mentor murderer lover abuser maker. how marius' relationship with armand informed and influenced armand's own relationships with others. the connections marius has with so many of armand's loved ones and how that hangs over everything

i can appreciate his presence and importance to armand like that. and i can also find him supremely irritating and self-righteous and terrible in a not-fun-way and want to kick him in the balls

[snekdood]

playing 4d chess with white dreads over here, who's just passed tf out

just like the old times,,

[electronickingdomfox]

"The Entropy Effect" review

Novel from 1981, by Vonda N. McIntyre (same author of the novelizations for the Star Trek movies II, III and IV). This is also the first TOS novel of the Pocket Book line, not counting the novelization for TMP. Even though the Bantam books have some nice stories (in particular, those by the Haldeman brothers are pretty decent), they all seem more like episodes of the series. This is the first time I had the impression of reading a proper novel, and the leap in quality is evident. I really, really liked this novel. It's also veeeery sad; it even made me shed some tears. Of course the reader knows this is Star Trek, and everything will turn out fine in the end, but the sense of despair the author conveys is quite effective nonetheless.

The characters are given much depth, and even the bunch of new additions receive proper attention, and their own side-stories and aspirations. The relations between the triumvirate are pretty much flawless (with echoes from "The Tholian Web"; Spock and McCoy are the real protagonists here). And surprisingly, Sulu has his own subplot and a romance story.

I can't really think of many downsides. Maybe it's a bit slow at the beginning, specially since it needs to introduce the new cast. But as I found the original characters interesting and likeable, it wasn't a major issue for me. Also, the story involves time-travel, so expect the usual head-scratching moments. Though as far as I noticed, there were no plot holes.

Some spoilers below the cut:

Spock is investigating an unusual black hole, and his observations make him reach the disturbing conclusion that entropy is rapidly accelerating, and the universe may have little more than 100 years to disappear. He's about to confirm his suspicions, when the Enterprise is suddenly diverted to the Aleph Prime station by a maximum priority message, so Spock has to leave his work half-finished.

In the station, they're greeted by prosecutor Ian Braithewaite, who is confused at first, since he didn't send any urgent message. Nonetheless, he had asked for a ship to help him bring a prisoner to a rehabilitation colony, so Kirk accepts, once he learns the identity of such prisoner. He's an old physics professor of Spock: George Mordreaux, and Spock is sure he can prove his mentor's innocence, for the charges of murder and unethical experimentation. But when he tries to learn more about the case, he finds all info and details have been erased, so there's something definitely fishy about it all. In the station, Kirk also reunites with Captain Hunter, an old girlfriend, and has serious doubts about his decision to break up with her. He even considers the option of leaving the Enterprise and giving another chance at their relationship. For his part, Sulu has fallen in love with the new security chief: Mandala Flynn. But leaves her, and the Enterprise, to join Hunter's crew, in the hope that this will further his career.

Thus the Enterprise, minus Sulu, starts the trip to the rehab colony, with Modreaux and Braithewaite aboard. Spock insists the professor isn't dangerous, and places minimal security on him. Everything goes awry when the professor appears inexplicably on the bridge, and shoots Kirk and Mandala with a spiderweb gun. This spiderweb has really gruesome effects: it creates some sort of metallic web inside a body, which expands quickly through all organs, even covering the eyes. However, Mordreaux doesn't seem to have left his cell at all, and no intruder or imposter is found aboard. Soon thereafter, Mandala is dead. While McCoy completely breaks down, and insists on keeping Kirk artificially "alive" through machines (though deep down, he knows Kirk is dead for real). In the end, Spock convinces McCoy to disconnect the machines. And there's a gut-wrenching scene, in clinical detail, where McCoy starts turning off all the life systems on him.

After Kirk's death, Spock and McCoy are left in a similar situation as in "The Tholian Web". Though in the episode Kirk had simply disappeared, so there was still hope. Here things are far more depressing. McCoy can't accept Kirk's death, and pressures Spock to try time-travel to save him. Spock refuses to play like that with the space-time continuum. However, while interrogating the professor in his cell, Spock learns that the real reason he's convicted, is because he's been tampering with time travel through a new device. This disruption may be behind the entropy effects Spock had previously discovered. And it's also behind the murder of Kirk, at the hands of a future, insane version of Mordreaux. Since all these events are the results of time alterations, Spock needs, in fact, to travel back in time, and restore things to their original order.

With the help of the (still sane) professor, Spock initiates a series of failed attempts at fixing things in the past. While gradually deteriorating through each time travel. And McCoy has a hard time, being left in charge of the ship and covering up for Spock (they can't tell anyone else about the device, in fear of being arrested for it, just as Mordreaux). Meanwhile, Braithewaite is being a pain in the ass, and gets paranoid about Spock and McCoy having conspired to murder Kirk. He even manages to make Scotty suspicious of them, so things get even more complicated.

In summary, the stakes are pretty high, and the story gets really exciting (and sometimes frustrating for poor Spock and McCoy).

McSpirk Meter: 10/10. I usually only rate the Kirk/Spock material, since is far more common, and ranges wildly from one novel to another (with some of them being borderline slash). But in this occasion is impossible to separate the members of the triumvirate, as the love goes in all three directions.

For starters, there's Spock casting aside all his reservations about hand touching, when Kirk is shot with the spiderweb (maybe this is the first time it's explicitly stated that Vulcans avoid touching hands?). He tries to mind-meld with Kirk while he's dying, perhaps to die himself instead, but Kirk pushes him away to save him.

Then there's the absolutely devastating effect that Kirk's death has on McCoy. He gets totally drunk, breaks down among sobs, and finally passes out. Spock carries him in his arms and puts him to bed; then keeps watch while he sleeps. Later, McCoy starts crying again while viewing Kirk's last will. But once he learns it's possible to bring him back, he's all sunshine once more. Still, the mere reliving of his death is enough to bring him to tears, even while on the bridge. McCoy's pain for losing Kirk is also compared to that of Hunter (who was Kirk's lover), and Sulu's grief for Mandala (also a lover). When Hunter asks McCoy what he has to gain by helping Spock in his mysterious plans, he answers "everything".

Spock deals with the loss of his Captain in a far more subdued, Vulcan way, but it's evident he's falling apart too. He doesn't want to stay in the Enterprise anymore, and once he completes his duties aboard, he's probably going to leave Starfleet altogether.

McCoy has also some tender moments with Spock while treating his wounds, and choosing civilian clothes for him (which he says that enhance Spock's eyes).

Once everything's been solved, Spock lies in bed while recovering, and Kirk and McCoy take turns watching him. Only Spock remembers the events of the altered timeline (for everyone else it feels just like a nightmare). And Spock's reaction upon waking up and seeing Kirk alive has to be read to believe it. Let's say, a mixture of "this simple feeling", and his smile at the end of "Amok Time".

[autisticjoshrusso]

really struggling to formulate my thoughts on this episode here. i think a lot was done right and a lot was done kind of poorly.

i think it was a mistake to end tommy's plotline on the show in that same lukewarm place that it had been for the entire time. the narrative was simultaneously too kind and not kind enough to him at the end in a way that didn't match the energy it had been giving. im not normally one to advocate for something to be made more black and white, but i think this is one of those times that the plot would have benefited from it. they needed to lean harder into him being an asshole or being a good guy. if they wanted him to get a redemption arc and the breakup to be very sad etc like they were apparently going for here, they should have made him more likeable this whole time. it felt tonally disconnected to me. like if he's going to be this emotional guy who cares too much about potentially being heartbroken we should have been getting that the whole time and we just objectively weren't.

i'll get into the maddie, josh, and buck scene separately. that's gonna need its own post from me because you know thats my special guy and i gotta really get into it.

i'm definitely glad to see the relationship be over. i've stayed pretty middle ground this whole time because i loved the potential tommy could have had as a character, but that was just never delivered in canon, and ive said from the beginning that even at their respective bests, i don't think buck and tommy are right for each other. they both have very different needs and would both be better served finding different partners. i'll probably return to writing my joshtommy content once the ship war starts to blow over and i can sit in peace with the knowledge that im just having fun and not trying to propose that any of it will ever be canon.

the choice to make abby's ex be the same tommy was a brilliant one, and i feel like they almost... wasted it? when buck decided he should forgive tommy for leaving her the way he did (by which i mean josh convinced him he needed to feel a certain way, more on that later as i said), it was the perfect opportunity to have tommy go, um, actually, im the one who has a problem with it now, bye. that would have really cemented the sort of avoidant behavior and lack of close emotional attachment they'd been characterizing tommy with up until that point. so to have it come back around to the same sort of hang up with buck's inexperience instead was a bit strange.

that said, i DO love their decision to put buck in breakup green and ask tommy to move in. the way my stomach dropped in that moment because i knew it was over, they were breaking up, etc. because he was doing it again. once again he was unsure about the relationship and then immediately overcompensated by proposing a major step forward. i think it was a great choice to showcase this again because realizing he's bisexual didn't change the Behaviors. he's still on the hamster wheel. and of course the final name drop change from evan to buck was just soooo. chef's kiss. no notes.

anyway thats all ive got right this second i'll hit yall with a second post about the josh and buck of it all later on (potentially not even tonight depending on how smoothly writing it goes but hopefully sooner than later.) please try to be normal and not kill each other today folks <3 at the end of the day this is a fictional television procedural about first responders, and the real world has enough problems without inventing more things to be mad at.

[crguang]

glad 2 see you are also not a topaz enjoyer, idk why she's so popular but i firmly cannot like her ass

i personally don’t find topaz interesting, i don’t think her character has any depth to it worth mentioning. she’s in the same tier as skott to me just bc she has no life or personality outside of the IPC and the only words that come out of her mouth are “market” “profit” “job” “numby” and “IPC” like oh my god we get it. i know they “saved” her planet from ruin and she’s grateful for that, that she was likely groomed into her role as well but that doesn’t stop her from perpetuating their toxic mindset and personally im just sick of it. any character that is IPC affiliated is getting a side eye for me except for aventurine because he actually wants to leave that evil corporation so he’s ok. at least jade has intrigue around her character outside of her job, and a hobby. something that topaz desperately needs.

i don’t find the IPC as a corporation interesting at all. they’re just evil capitalists and i think they should be eradicated, i dont see anything remotely interesting about that tbh like there are enough to go around irl. i also believe that you have to be a little evil to have such a high position in that corporation so i don’t believe the people who tell me that topaz is a good person just because she helped belobog once, cause right after that she called them servants for accepting the help of the astral express twice (while she wanted them to accept the help of the ipc??😭) then admitted that the ipc only cared about profits so… shes not dumb, she knows the basis of capitalism is exploitation and shes good with that. again, morality is not something that will determine whether i hate a character or not but topaz is not a fleshed out character at all, there’s nothing to her but her sob story about her home planet. if i want an evil, intelligent woman im not going for topaz, jade is right there. if i want someone who’s always ten steps ahead kafka is right there. if i want an analytical mind, there’s ruan mei and herta. like what exactly is topaz supposed to do for me when these characters all have unique personalities and lore. granted, we dont know much about jade (yet) but her abilities and collected personality already makes her more interesting to me

i felt insane playing the wardance and having that pile of junk with a camera for a head reprimand luka for his distrust and “prejudice” against the IPC — they treated his life and all of belobog like stock market numbers?!?! then he always had to concede to the others’ points like i was going crazy. then the scrap metal goes around calling MY BEST FRIEND boothill a dangerous savage oh i was mad, the IPC glazing and propaganda in that event pissed me off. luka getting an ipc sponsored mechanical arm just like igor did when the whole point was that igor had to sell his body parts to please rich egocentric snobs just for the hope that they would care about something other than themselves. he made himself a merchandise to save his planet and failed. i hate that the luka situation was portrayed as beneficial for both parties so there was no harm done and topaz was just helping him. that’s the thing that makes me feel crazy about hsr, they will show us every instance of the IPC being evil, greedy and cold then will turn around and try to make them likeable because some playable characters are IPC. i feel insane.

i also don’t like her design, imo it’s very basic for a 5* character. i remember playing the belobog quest and being surprised that she was a five star character because i found her so boring 😭 they didn’t even try like, man whatever. she’s not cute to me. she’s the only character in the game that i can rant about hating like that’s crazy. i hate ratio but i wouldn’t type an essay on him, ive had to argue about topaz too many times to be chill about her. and jadepaz also contributes to me hating her. what those ship brained gays did to jade after her release is criminal nobody cared about her on her own i felt crazy. i went through that with black swan already, no more. i need topaz deleted off the game

sorry sev

[daftdrac]

Ive been procrastinating watching X-Men '97 so hard because in the first 15 minutes of the first episode there's already so much I don't like about but I just. The ONE thing that's making me want to give this series a chance is gambit istg

I will list my complaints below if you're a '97 fan and don't give a shit or you just like gambit and want to hear me scream ferally about him you can skip

Imo: jean being pregnant at the start weirds me out idk I get a major ick

I also don't like the one scene where she's talking about him quitting X-Men and shit like she doesn't know he's committed his life to the team like girl. This is out of character STOP.

Logan's voice actor is bad. Just stop. Please.

Who the FUCK is Morph. Also they make me uncomfortable 😭. Or they did in like the scene where they're trying to find the rich kid at the rave and they're imitating Jean to tease Logan. That is just uncomfortable to me like ew stop please

Idk who jubilee is I'll be fr and that makes me wary of her. I know she's a comics character (Im pretty sure) but the only X-Men content I've watched is two other of the cartoons (xmen evo and wolverine and the xmen) and she's not in those and my autism reallyyyy doesn't like change so randomly finding out about new characters is uncomfortable but she seems cool and silly I like her

I also think from what I've seen of him '97 Scott is the LEAST likeable version of himself, but also probably the most simp worthy I'll be fr that tanktop gets to me too y'all-

I also don't really like the art style. It's a cool STYLE but most of the character designs don't look quite right with it and it just. Eurgh. Idk. Gambit is like one of the only characters who I like in the xmen '97 artstyle

The ONLY thing I can praise in this show so far is gambit. I love him. Look at him

(img found on Pinterest credits to original artist/creator)

Just LOOk at him. This man is such a slut I love him. Long red hair a crop top AND slutty jeans?!?? And don't forget the cHOKER,, like DAMN this man is a FRUIT! SALAD! And the fingerless gloves I almost forgot to mention those. Hc his shoes are blue converse im making him gayer. Also the belt chain GOD this man is GAY i LOVE HIM. This is by far his best design I swear to God. Evolution does him so DIRTY dude it actually made me fucking CRY laughing when I first saw him I felt SO bad he's RIDICULOUS

sigh. Poor soul. The fucking BOWL CUT THEY GAVE HIM

God and wolverine and the xmen is hardly better 😭

I LIKE HOW THEY DID HIS OUTFIT. ITS COOL. BUT GOD HIS FUCKING HAIR

Long story short/tldr I dislike X-Men '97 but it's portrayal of gambit is AMAZING I LOVE this GAY MAN

Ok I have a class I have to get to I need to post this BAHSB BYE

[sporesgalaxy]

ok i watched 2001 a space odyssey a while ago and i got why Hal would be very likeable but i didnt quite understand why he was so extremely loveable as Ive seen him treated. well i have just watched 2 clips from 2010 the year we made contact and I get it now. I get it now. I understand

i was trying to decide if i need to watch the whole movie (2010:tywmc that is) sometime and the answer is Yes

[orionsangel86]

Ive been thinking about this post again today after I saw some posts in The Sandman tag that seemed a bit like gatekeeping to me and using the comics as an excuse to make fun of Dreamling shippers.

I usually ignore stuff like that, but I think its worth reminding fans of a few important points.

1. Whilst I highly recommend reading the sandman comics, it is totally not necessary if you just wanna enjoy the show (and not spoil upcoming stories!) As Neil Gaiman has already previously said, Sandman is for EVERYONE regardless of which media you choose to engage with. No gatekeepers allowed!

2. The Sandman universe in the comics is rich and full of super interesting characters and only gets better the further on you read (Overture my beloved fave!) BUT fans of the show DO NOT have all this context and therefore will only want to explore what theyve seen in the show. Don't be dicks pointing out how show fans are somehow wrong for their show based headcanons.

3. If show fans wanna make up headcanons and fan theories that don't fit in with comic book canon that is totally within their right and it is no ones place to mock them for not following comic canon.

4. Learn to live with Dreamling. Yeah look I get it, its a tiny fragment of a story in a much wider multitude of beautiful stories. Yeah it can be frustrating how fandom has "main charactered" Hob Gadling. Just accept that fandom is gonna fandom. Dont like, dont read. Keep scrolling, rant on your own blog OUT OF THE MAIN TAGS if you must. Hell, make an anti dreamling tag if you must waste energy on negativity but please keep the negativity tagged and separate from positive fandom fun.

4. On the Dreamling note, its worth mentioning that Hob Gadling in comic canon is not a really nice person. He is selfish, he makes bad choices, he is rather rude and tends to be on the wrong side of history. He's not very likeable. He says inappropriate things sometimes. He's not what fandom has made him (because fanon Hob is a fandom projection and self insert character more than anything else at this point). That is not an excuse to piss on peoples Hob Gadling headcanons and smugly point out what an ass he is. Its certainly not an excuse to attack people as if liking him makes them morally inferior to you.

5. Honestly though if you're looking for perfect characters you're better off quitting Sandman altogether because literally all characters in the comic are flawed especially Dream. He's THE problematic fave. He's a bit of an asshole, even though we love him. Tbh even comic Dream and Hob are made for each other in that respect.

6. The show is not the comic. I feel like this should be obvious, but its very clear that the show is telling a kinder story than the comic. The characters are far more likeable already and a lot of the more eyebrow raising stuff (such as Desire raping Unity) has been removed. Therefore anyone using the comic character flaws to somehow justify why Dreamling shippers are morons and their faves are assholes is just a dick. Let show fans enjoy what the show has presented to them.

7. At the end of the day, let people have their fun. The Sandman is an ideal fandom sandbox in that the world is rich and full of potential and a beautiful source for creative inspiration. Fans wanna play in this sandbox and make up their own fun ideas and stories and that is a wonderful thing.

Don't piss in the fucking sandbox.

[skyflyinginaction]

Shin Megami Tensei IV FINAL Official Setting + Shinwa Sekai he no Tabi translations 

I don’t own the raw scans or the translations in this post all credit for the translation belongs to Miel who did a wonderful job on it. The Nanashi bio was already translated by Dijeh and the rest are translated by them.

Asahi

In the early scenarios, she was supposed to be a tomboyish character who often used foul language. As you can see, she ended up the complete opposite (lol). Asahi was designed as a child whose parents had lovingly raised, and had her life planned out for her to survive in this destroyed world. They were hoping that she would one day be able to see the light of dawn, hence she was named Asahi. We based her design off themes of the sky, hence the goggles, hat and the blue color scheme to make a pure, orthodox heroine.

Navarre

A harmonious, all-green presence… Actually I just came up with that after (lol). But I think the meaning of Navarre's scarf color was shown pretty well in the game. His ghost form and the fact that he would be a partner was decided from the very beginning. I wanted him to be able to run around the map following the MC, so I suggested a mascot-like design that could float alongside the MC. I'm glad he was able to re-appear as a likeable character (lol).

Nozomi

In the previous game, she was an event character with only pixel art, but in this game, we decided from the very beginning that she would be a partner along with Navarre. We tried to keep the same imagery she had from the previous game but designed elements unique to this game. After she became one with Danu, I wanted a change in both mind and body. Her hair and eye color, as well as her physique are all mixed with Western features, and when compared to the main characters who are all children, she looks like a mature adult lady.

Hallelujah

We had planned to create a mixed-race child who would show what kind of world setting it was in this game. His brown-colored skin was the only thing that still remained of his initial draft; every thing else about him was totally changed from the initial planned scenario. We gave him a Ashura-kai styled outfit, as well as a school jersey to make him look like a child delinquent. The pointy ears and black nails were to give him a demonic feel. When he transforms, he changes color, and I think it perfectly represents the devs’ ideal image of him.

Chironnupu

When Chironnupu was created as a demon, I was requested to make him a mascot-like character. They did not want a standard cutesy character, but rather something that had a “Megami Tensei" type of cuteness. There are very few legends about the Chironnupu, so I got ideas from keywords such as Ainu, fox, divine spirits, and hunting, and instead of simply drawing a fox, I made him a young spirit that wears a carved wooden mask.

Gaston

When I first heard that Navarre’s younger brother was going to be in the game, I laughed… and I was very surprised. Of course they must have the same hairstyle and facial expressions to live up to the family name (lol). Since he is an elite member of the newly established Samurai group, I put his Samurai uniform over his inner wear, so that he looked like a medieval musketeer but set in modern day. The cross symbol represents God and the four archangels. Michael's spear was originally meant to defeat Lucifer, so I based its design off Lucifer’s motif.

Toki

Out of all the characters, this character had the most changes and was the most difficult to design. In the early designs, she was made to look like a miko (TN: shrine maiden) who served Lilith, so I wanted her design to emphasize her young age when compared to Asahi and Nozomi. That design later evolved into a tall, ephemeral type of girl, and then later, finally settled into the design of an assassin. She’s designed as a member of the Ring of Gaea, and her unmasked face has the cuteness of a Japanese doll but also a beauty that exudes an exoticism. 

Nikkari

This is a character that appears right at the beginning of the game, but we did not originally plan to have an illustration for him. However, there was a request for a illustration to show the worldview of this hunter from Tokyo, and how the world and the people he cared for were being overrun by demons. Thus we created illustrations for the 3 of them: Nikkari, Manabu, and Master. The name Nikkari is based off a famous sword, but you’ll just have to find out whether or not his sword is the real deal by playing the game.

Manabu

As a more senior hunter, he has become a unique character. Like Nikkari, we had initially only planned to have pixel art for him, so we made sure to exaggerate that reggae-like feel to convey his love for reggae, even if it's a tiny pixel art. Compared to veteran hunters, he didn't have much experience yet, so we designed him to still look a little naive. Having designs for the sub-characters was not initially planned, so I only had a short amount of time to design them, but I was able to take a breather and had fun while drawing them.

Master

When I was making drafts of his design, I borrowed the design of the adult form of the protagonist (lol). Since the character is a former hunter of an inhabitable society and a master of the company, I gave him unshaven stubble and thick arm hair to give him that rugged feel, but also gave him the outfit of a bar waiter to give him a sense of tidiness. Anyway, it feels like a strange coincidence that the pilot-style outfit worn by the original adult protagonist ended up being worn by Asahi instead. I wanted to see how well he would do.

Swordsman Hunter

During the idea stage, there were many variations for a non-human hunter. This is a lightly armored female hunter whose main weapon is a sword. Her personality also seems outgoing.

Professor Matsuda

This was the initial idea draft for Matsuda. Back then he was planned to be a NPC that you can speak to but didn’t have a character portrait. His facial expressions can’t be seen clearly from the small portrait, but you can see his hunched-back posture.

Elite Hunter

An elite hunter who has a high rank and is well-dressed. It's the type you don't see very often in the underground world of Tokyo, but it seems there’s actually some hunters who are living a privileged life out there.

Punk Hunter

A female hunter that catches the eye with her standing hair and studded clothes. Strong female hunters who live by fighting with demons are all cool-looking. The same goes for Nozomi. It’s no wonder Asahi admires them.

Child Hunter

The boy with the spear is an NPC you can talk to. During the designing stage he was made to be a little child hunter but the final version of the NPC seems to be older in appearance.

Gaea Elder

An old man who was created as a member of the Gaea. Compared to the fierce male members and cold-looking female members, he’s more of a good-natured old man character.

Asurakai Member

Most of the Ashurakai members were thugs in suits, so we had the idea for a man who actually looked dangerous because he had a drawn knife in his hand. Might’ve been a change after Tayama’s death.