#like there's LOADS of other themes and like playing with an interesting story and characters and such too

[eyepatchdate]

time displacement is great :D

Oh! Thank you so much! I do want to go back to it someday but that's not on my docket atm. It is near and dear to my heart though.

[magicwhiskers29]

“You don’t always have to be the Hero!”

“It doesn’t always need to be you!”

As I understand, this line has been thrown around a bit because, well, it’s just a really good line, for any situation it can fit for. It’s impactful, the voice work on the original is really good, and it summarises a lot of LMK season 5’s core themes really well! Heck, it probably summarises a lot of themes really well, but I think there’s something interesting to be found in the fact that it’s Macaque saying it, originally.

Let’s roll back a second to Shadow Play, s2e7, because I think that can really recontextualise it.

“The Hero and the Warrior were like the sun and moon, their light a protective glow, shining upon the world.”

“Together, there was nothing that could stop the two of them, in either the Celestial Realms, or on Earth.”

“As time went on, the Hero gained power beyond comprehension.”

“As his light grew, so too did his shadow, and soon, the Warrior was cast in that shadow.”

“In the darkness, the Warrior was forgotten by the Hero.”

…okay, so I’m pretty sure a good half of the fanbase already has this monologue memorised, but I digress. Because the loaded meaning behind the words “Hero” and “Warrior” are never forgotten by the show. If we cut ahead to Embrace Your Destiny, the s3 special, we get a direct reference to these titles in a practical setting.

“I’m not a Hero, bud.”

“Then be a Warrior!”

This is the moment which really kickstarts Macaque’s turn to start working with the Monkie Kids. He doesn’t work against them again, after this point! (As of season 5) MK tells him that to do good things, and save the world, he doesn’t have to be the Hero in limelight – he can be the Warrior, doing good from the shadows. And for as much as Macaque does take quite a prominent role in the fight after this, literally taking on Wukong 1v1, it’s still MK who ends up with the glory, in the end.

Macaque needed to hear this because he does these antagonistic things out of self-preservation, yes, but also out of a spite which he knows isn’t especially heroic. And because he doesn’t want to be the guy who leaves stuff behind. But after this, he doesn’t act as an antagonist again, and he does stuff which he really doesn’t want to do, like confronting his past with Wukong in the scroll, in the season 4 special! What MK says sticks with him.

And to get it out of the way, not every time the word “Hero” is used in the show is necessarily a reference to the Hero and Warrior. For instance, when Mei yells at a possessed Wukong and LBD in the season 3 special, she says “Because that’s the hard part of being a hero!”, but I don’t think she’s talking about the implications of limelight, or Wukong and Macaque’s story. I mean, she never even saw the play in Shadow Play, so she likely doesn’t even know the deeper meaning behind that word...

A lot of these other moments can carry interesting implications when examined through that lens (E.G. how Mei fits into the Hero-Warrior dynamic, or the nature of LBD’s “Save your hero speech, child” from the end of season 3) but I think those would better be left for a different analysis.

These two lines from season 5, at the beginning of this post, have a direct connection to the Hero-Warrior stuff though, because they're from the character who invented that metaphor, to the only other character who understands it. It’s like a coded message, I suppose.

Throughout a lot of Macaque’s screen time, especially in the earlier seasons, he preaches about self-preservation, specifically under the advice of “look out for number one”. He believes that people like him, and later MK, need to be the ones to look out for themselves, because otherwise, no one will. This is expanded upon to seem a little more heroic and noble in later seasons, to be similar to a sentiment that Wukong expresses about choosing your own destiny, and forging your own path. The core of the advice is still centred on trusting yourself, and prioritising your own beliefs, but it’s no longer about something that could be perceived as selfish, and more a tool to use for good.

Macaque is shown to want MK to look out for himself less selflessly. His advice in season 4 is this choosing your own destiny stuff, but it also mirrors the end of season 5 really well. He tells MK that the two choices of fighting Azure, or not fighting Azure don’t have to be the only choices. If MK goes to fight Azure as is, he will lose, and there is a good chance that he will die. Like, obviously Macaque doesn’t want the whole universe that he lives in to be destroyed, but he’s also not yet fighting for it, at this point. He does want MK to do what is most likely to save everyone, but the reason he pulled MK aside was to appeal to him to take care of himself.

Season 5 already mirrors and is a true continuation of season 4 in a lot of ways, with the main threat once again being the sky cracks that symbolise the end of the world due to the death of the Jade Emperor, but it’s thematically that we can really see that. Macaque even literally brings up that MK is misconstruing his advice from the previous season in the line right before the ones I’m supposed (haha, we're getting there) to be analysing.

Once again, MK has two choices, functionally: save the world at the cost of himself, or do nothing. Once again, Macaque is advocating for MK to make a third choice, one where the world can be saved without MK likely dying in the process, but MK had taken the whole “choose your own destiny thing” to be choosing the choice that only he can. Macaque’s biggest argument to this are these two lines. That MK doesn’t need to be the Hero, this time, or any time.

The Hero exists a public figure that people can rely on. He represents absolute power, as well as recklessness. In Macaque’s story, the Hero gains power, and then leaves his friend behind, so he’s strong, but doesn’t stop to think about consequences. Now, obviously Macaque is very biased in his story, because we know Wukong very clearly does still care about Macaque, but to what the story represents between MK and Macaque, that’s not necessarily important.

Macaque is just telling MK that he doesn’t need to be someone who’s the public picture of heroism. He has all of this power, but it’s his choice how to use it. Sometimes, it’s okay to take a backseat and be a Warrior, someone who can look out for themself, and who doesn’t always have to do everything themself. Once, the Hero and the Warrior were ultimate power together. The fact that the Hero became that by himself suggests that he still does the job he once did – he just doesn’t need to have anyone help him with it.

The Hero is supposed to be presented as a selfish figure, but that can also flip around to be someone who’s selfless, so selfless that they try to carry the weight of a good mission on their shoulders alone. The Hero’s sin was abandoning the Warrior, not unspeakable evil or something. And… Isn’t that sort of what MK is doing here? He’s trying to an act so selfless that it really could only be called heroic, but to the friends he’s leaving behind to make a sacrifice that’s really a not-so-subtly-disguised suicide allegory, it’s selfish. He abandons them all to fulfil his supposed destiny, but they don’t need him to sacrifice himself ��� they want to find another way with him.

If you want to look at it that way, MK is playing out the story again. Seems fitting, when later in the same episode, Wukong, the original Hero, tries to take his place and make the same sacrifice.

Macaque’s statement to MK is so loaded because of his history as the original Warrior, and what being a hero really means to him, and across the show with MK’s actions as a whole. He doesn’t need to always be the Hero – sometimes it’s okay to just be a Warrior. And it doesn’t always need to be him – just like the original Hero, there are people who would want to help him, if he just doesn’t leave them behind.

[freudenstein]

Simulanka fed us so well that was great....a W for the scara fans especially. The parallelism with Durin linking important pieces of the lore together while creating a heartwarming storyline with a solid message made for a pretty worthwhile investment.

The crumbs regarding Scaramouche's personal feelings and his lingering scars and insecurities, the subtle hints towards future plots that remain unresolved, and Scara's character development as overseen by traveler and Paimon were satisfying. Moments like when the traveler silently gave him a VERY loaded look after someone mentioned the hero of simulanka, and his snide and dodgy responses, his awkwardness and avoidance and Traveler's giddyness, absolutely sent me lol. The idea of making Scara act kinder to himself via extending kindness to his thematic match is pretty good, and having Durin put more words to the pain they share was nice. Scara is a refreshing hero to follow because he's self-aware and is more savvy than the other characters, so he comes off grounded and easy to empathize with in a more profound sense and he cuts through the bullshit and gets to the heart of things efficiently. I think it's cool and good writing that Scara was the hero of Simulanka because of his strong sense of compassion, one willing to show bravery in following that big heart of his. Coming immediately after the Sumeru archon all I can say is that his characterization is solid and very consistent. Plus, he's very fun when he's being mean, and while he shows that he knows what to do in his self-aware state of villain redemption limbo, he still acts in ways that make Paimon yell at him LOL.

Plus seeing scaramouche get flustered and angry because he's acting nice was like, crack cocaine, so.

It was very nice to see Navia and Nilou and Kirara as well. Surprisingly enough, this ragtag group of people worked well together. In my opinion, Kirara's presence was the weakest, but the Narrator Footnotes story was very, very fun to play through with the 4th wall breaking stuff and bright sense of humor. The themes in this event were rather interesting and heavily pandered towards some theories I've held about Teyvat its lore. I'm still confused about a lot of the lore drops so I gotta check out what the theorycrafters and meta posters are cooking up about this event. Nilou's chapter felt the weakest but she as a character came off pleasant still. Navia was gorgeous and I took a hundred screenshots wherever she was on screen.

That's about it for my thoughts I guess.

[lurkingshan]

Intergenerational Trauma Challenge - 180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us

It’s winter and I’m huddled up in my house hiding from the cold weather, so obviously this is the perfect time to tackle another entry on the intergenerational family trauma challenge list. This week I finally watched 180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us, a Thai drama about Wang, a young man just coming of age who is desperately seeking answers about his father’s death; Sasiwimol, Wang’s very complicated mother who does not want to dig up the past; Inthawut, his father’s best friend who has been hiding from it for years; and Siam, the black hole at the center of this story.

Before I dig into the trauma themes, let me just say that this show is excellent, if not for everyone. It has a very intentional style that makes it feel like a stage play—the writer is a playwright—and it’s basically eight episodes of very intense conversations. It’s not a romance and there’s an intellectualism in the writing that I found kept me at an emotional remove from the characters even as I marveled at how well crafted the dialogue is. And the dialogue is very important, which is why the translation of this drama is much stronger than we typically get from Thai productions—the words matter. It’s also loaded with visual metaphors and is all around beautiful to look at, and the three main performers are fantastic. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes theater, stories about complicated families, or beautiful and talented actors showing their work. And more than anything else, this show does incredibly strong thematic work and its messaging is on point: this is a story about how noble idiocy ruins lives.   

So, with that said, onto the trauma! Spoilers ahead, and I am assuming anyone reading past this point has watched the show. Some themes you’ll see in this one: taboo, denial of queer identity, homophobia, filial piety, and lots of emotional manipulation. Shoutout to @bengiyo and @twig-tea for reading this to make sure I didn’t miss anything in this complex story.

There are two main sources of intergenerational trauma radiating down toward Wang: the absence of his father, Siam, and his intense relationship with his mercurial mother, Sasiwimol. The story is structured around Wang’s determination to seek answers about Siam—both who he was and how he died. He has grown up knowing a certain story: that his parents met and fell in love in college but divorced when he was young, that his father loved him very much despite not staying with his mother, and that his father was an alcoholic who died in a drunk driving accident. Shortly after his father’s death, his mom put him in boarding school so she could focus on her career and became a weekend parent to him—as she was not around to structure his day to day life, their relationship became more about her taking him on fun adventures and spoiling him when she had time off, treating each other as best friends instead of like a mother and son, and never talking about Siam. He has always suspected there was more to the story of his parents that he was not being told, and as he has grown up, come into his own queerness, and picked up on his mother’s casual homophobia and obsessive devotion to compulsory heteronormativity, his suspicions about the secret his mom was holding became sharper. 

Enter Inthawut. Inthawut was Siam’s best friend, and with nothing to go on but a set of old pictures, Wang has an instinctual certainty that he is the key to the secret he’s seeking. And thus he engineers a way for he and his mom to “coincidentally” stumble onto Inthawut’s property and get invited to stay a few days in his isolated home, at which point Wang begins his campaign to figure out what the hell happened between Siam, Sasiwimol, and Inthawut at any cost.

One of the things I find most interesting about this story is how much the plot hinges on Wang going against Asian cultural norms in his pursuit of the truth. He is not respectful to his elders. He does not maintain filial piety and deference to his mother. He refuses to restrain his emotions. Instead, he is pushy and relentless and emotionally manipulative (all tricks we can plainly see he learned from Sasiwimol) and Inthawut doesn’t stand a chance against him. And so, because Wang explicitly acts against these cultural values, the truth comes out and the trauma is no longer suppressed. 

And in the end, it’s a simple, if desperately sad story: Siam and Inthawut were in love, but Inthawut was battling internalized homophobia and deep-seeded fear and so he relentlessly pushed Siam away and toward dating and then marrying their friend Sasiwimol. And when Siam, miserable in this heterosexual relationship he never actually wanted, finally snapped and confessed his true feelings, Inthawut rejected him and ran away to study abroad. Inthawut was running due to his own fear, but he also had noble notions of somehow protecting Siam from his own queerness and told himself that if he was gone, Siam would accept his heterosexual life. Of course, that did not happen, and in the fallout of this rejection Siam sank further into alcoholism and died soon after. Inthawut’s reaction was the exact worst fear of all gay people who work up the courage to confess to a friend they have developed feelings for: outright rejection, abandonment, and destruction of the relationship. And in his mind, he did this to Siam “for his own good,” a fairly textbook execution of the noble idiocy trope. In the aftermath, we see how Inthawut has isolated himself, part in penance, part in self-protection, and intellectualized his way to a romantic construction of his own cowardice that he tries to convince Wang is righteous.

But Wang is deeply affected by how the denial of his father’s queerness ruined his life and is absolutely not having any of Inthawut’s self-denying bullshit, and this is where things get messy, as both Wang and Inthuwat seem to start seeing Wang and Siam as interchangeable and they develop an emotional entanglement that is deeply unhealthy, to say the least. Wang wants to understand Siam so badly that he starts to be him, and Inthuwat is so desperate to address his regret and shame that he starts to see Wang as Siam, as well. Wang also uses this attachment as a way to shock his mother and forcefully bring her real feelings about Siam and Inthawut to the surface. Despite Wang’s many loud protestations to the contrary, I don’t believe that he and Inthawut actually love each other. They are using each other to work out their trauma about Siam.

And they’re not the only ones! Sasiwimol seems to have her own psychological confusion about Wang as he relates to Siam, and their dynamic is very strange as a result. She refers to Wang as dua-eeng (and has taught him to do the same with her rather than calling her “mom”), a Thai endearment that literally means “self” but is often used between lovers. They have a very physically affectionate relationship that often had me grimacing in discomfort, and she clearly sees Wang as both a source of pain—because he is so like Siam—and her one source of comfort and happiness. She is a successful woman by any standard, but she’s also desperately lonely, hanging on tight to Wang as her only companion in a way that often veers into overbearing, and deeply wounded by her past with Siam and Inthawut. It was through her own friendship with Inthawut that she pursued Siam in the first place, and she clearly feels betrayed not only by Siam, but by Inthawut, both for getting in the way of her relationship with Siam and for leaving them. Her feelings about both men are complex and the story never fully spells them out, in part because Sasiwimol never does. Determinedly not thinking about what happened between them is a big part of how she copes, along with sublimating her suspicions into homophobia, which she perpetuates quite intentionally in her work via production of heterosexual romance propaganda.

Wang clearly loves his mother even as he is frustrated by her prejudices, her desire to control him, and her tendency toward emotional manipulation. He is a perceptive kid and he has studied her closely; he understands her very well and can often predict exactly how she’ll react to a situation. Which is why his decision to announce baldly to her face that he is in love with Inthawut—not only coming out as gay but declaring his intention to move out of her home and in with a man 20+ years his senior who is deeply entangled with her own trauma—felt very intentional to me. He knew what kind of reaction that would get from her, and he wanted it. And sure enough, Sasiwimol crumbles at this repetition of her trauma and the perceived disloyalty of Wang choosing Inthawut over her just as his father did. The rest of the emotion she’d been holding back comes pouring out, resulting in the three of them finally airing out everything that lies between them and everything they are feeling about the Siam-shaped hole in their lives. And once she breaks down, Wang is able to forgive her for the grievance she’s caused him and ultimately decides to remain filial and continue living with her, because he does not actually want to punish his mother for what happened to his father. 

So, in the end, where did the story leave us with all this trauma? I can’t really say that any of these characters have healed, but I do think Wang kick-started that process, at least for himself. He got what he needed most out of this little scheme: deeper understanding of who his father was and why his life took such a drastic turn. He remains caught in the dysfunctional dynamic with his mother, and I’m not sure he’ll ever fully break out of it, but at least there is more honesty between them now about what they’re dancing around. She now knows he is gay and she has to accept it to keep him with her, and given that he has backed off from asking her to accept something much scarier than that, I do think she will find a way to make her peace with it. Inthawut is the character who seems to have progressed the least, standing firmly in his stasis and remaining determinedly alone with his pain, though the show leaves us with a note of ambiguity that suggests he may someday find the courage to move on.

The messages of this work are clear. Internalized homophobia and denial of your own queerness are poison for your soul. Rejecting a loved one “for their own good” is an act of cowardice and selfishness, not an act of love. Hiding from and sublimating your trauma will never allow you to heal. Refusing to process your pain will only lead to you pushing it down on the next generation. Ultimately, this story told us that bravely looking ourselves and our trauma in the face and confronting our truths head on is the only way to begin to heal, and that running from them only leads to ruin. 

[eleni-cherie]

agents at first sight ✨ || bts • ksj [ONE-SHOT]

"you're Squirtle?"

"you're Charmander?"

about two interpol agents falling at first sight, literally, thanks to a master thief on the run.

© 2024 | eleni_cherie

[one-shot in 'the thieves collection' series - can be read independently!!]

»»»

— word count: 5.1k

— genre: interpol agent au, gangster comedy, adventure, romcom, humour, angst, fluff, sexual tensiON, slowburning, mutual pining, strangers to lover s2l

— song recommendations/inspirations:

the last shadow puppets - the element of surprise

solar - honey

frank sinatra - strangers in the night

keri hilson - i like

»»»

COPYRIGHT. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

IDEA/STORY/CHARACTERS BASED ON MY PREVIOUS STORIES: "A THIEF'S ORIGIN" , "AMONG THIEVES" AND "A THIEF'S END".

this one-shot aims to give the backstory of how seokjin and yongsun met, as mentioned in the other parts of the series.

if you want the full context and also know what happens with with them afterwards, check out the other stories as well!

PROTAGONISTS:

KIM SEOKJIN AS HIMSELF; LEADER OF THE ROBBERY DEPARTMENT / "CHARMANDER"

KIM YONGSUN AS HERSELF; AGENT IN THE ORGANISED CRIME DEPARTMENT / "SQUIRTLE"

ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE. CHARACTERS NOT NECESSARILY LIKE THE REAL PERSONS. ALSO VERY UNREALISTIC PLOT LOL - JUST PRETEND READING A MANGA/COMIC OR WATCHING A FILM, REALLY.

SUGGESTIVE THEMES. MENTIONS OF VIOLENCE & BLOOD (BUT NOTHING TOO GRAPHIC, IT'S STILL A COMEDY!)

NOT FREE FROM LINGUISTIC ERRORS - ENGLISH IS NOT MY NATIVE LANGUAGE.

DON’T BE A GHOST READER. LIKE, COMMENT & SHARE THIS STORY IF YOU LIKE IT :))

DEDICATED TO EVERYONE WHO’S READING THIS FANFIC!

CHECK OUT MY OTHER BTS STORIES AS WELL: HERE

-Elenixx

»»»

[set after the final chapter of the main story but before its epilogue]

Straits of Singapore, 30km off Singapore

"Sir, are you sure he'll show up tonight? It's been hours and still no sign from Park, Kim or Min."

Seokjin studied the piece of paper between his fingers. It was crinkled from having been stored in his jacket all evening.

A dry laugh left his lips then. "Don't worry, Blake," he said into the radio, "When Park Jimin says he's showing up, he will."

"Roger."

A muffled chuckle was heard beside him as he put the device down and he glanced at Hoseok resting his folded arms on the desk. "But only if you cracked his riddle correctly," his former team mate and friend pointed out with a raised brow, "I mean, you sure about time and place?"

"Pretty sure, yes. He sent that with a postmark from Singapore," the leader of the robbery department nodded and held the paper out for him. Hoseok grabbed it with curiosity, reading over the scribbled note with a hum.

'Meet me at the deck with no cards,

when the sun comes home.

Don't forget to wear a bow tie!

I'll bring the bow, not the arrows though.

See ya!'

"'Deck', 'bow' and the 'see', which is a homophone of 'sea' - it all hints to a ship. And this cruise ship with a bunch of loaded people is the only kind our thieves would be interested in."

"Yeah, I see - no pun intended," the leader of the organised crime department said and slid the note back, "And 'when the sun comes home' means when it's the closest to earth, which was today. Summer solstice."

"Exactly."

"Okay, fine," Hoseok sat back and let his eyes wander around the security room. Eventually adding with a sigh, "But I'm still bummed he had to pick the same time and place my team's got to perform an undercover operation at. Too many cooks spoil the broth, you know. There're so many other places or dates."

"You forget the CEO's wife owns this highly valuable black pearl. I bet everything I have that this is what they're after."

"Probably."

"The better question is, why does that mob boss you're after have to attend the same party."

"What do you think.." Hoseok propped his jaw on the palm of his hand, a sarcastic smirk playing on his lips. "He's acquaintance with Lee, that CEO."

A short laugh left Seokjin's lips and he averted his gaze from the security screens. "Of course, criminals and CEOs are not that different from each other after all."

His younger colleague showed his agreement with an amused chuckle when his radio transmitter beeped.

"Sunflora here, what do you have for me Squirtle?" he answered, causing Seokjin's brows to furrow.

'Squirtle' and 'Sunflora' were the names of Pokémons after all. So he gave Hoseok a wondering look which the latter only dismissed by waving his hand.

"Purugly is heading to the restrooms. S-should I follow?"

'Purugly'. Another Pokémon.

"No, but keep an eye on him nonetheless and wait in a good distance. If he doesn't come out in five, report."

"Understood."

He put the device back down, meeting Seokjin's questioning face. "So?"

"What?"

"You got Pokémon codenames? Never knew you were so into it."

Hoseok shook his head though. "Wasn't my idea," he explained with a laugh under his breath, "Squirtle is her favourite one and she claims she looks like it, that's why she always uses it. So I thought why not using these names for all of us? Makes the whole undercover thing a bit more fun."

"Huh, that's clever. I should do that, too, from now on." The older agent paused but only for dramatic effects as he added with a sigh, "Disappointed I didn't come up with that myself."

"Be my guest. Have you any in mind already?"

"Charmander, of course!" he exclaimed full of enthusiasm and picked his own radio device. "Blake, Jeon? From now on only call me 'Charmander' over the radio. Got it?"

Jungkook's chuckle was heard on the other line. He was rather amused than irritated, but even Skylar wasn't questioning her supervisor's quirks anymore. Both replying with: "Roger that, Charmander." 

"You really do with them whatever you want, huh?" Hoseok wondered with a laugh while scanning over the security screens from the ballroom where the birthday party happened. 

Considering they were on a cruise ship, it was impressive how grand it was. Opulent decorations like crystal chandeliers hanging above the heads of guests, adding to the ambiance of the ballroom. People dressed in their most expensive and fashionable gowns and suits while enjoying conversations and litres of flowing champagne and wine. 

Seokjin only shrugged with a smile. "The kids are alright and they're able to see a joke. But I do sometimes miss you and Namjoonie. Remember when we first started out together?"

Hoseok huffed out a laugh, reminiscing the past when the three of them started out in the robbery department together. "Don't remind me, I'm glad I don't have to deal with the shenanigans of these thieves anymore." He patted Seokjin's shoulder than. "But it was surely fun with you guys, I miss that, too."

He was about to add more when his transmitter beeped once again, interrupting his train of thoughts.

"Squirtle here, he hasn't come out yet."

With a groan, Hoseok's face hardened and he got closer to the screens. His eyes narrowing as he switched through the cameras. It always astonished and in some way also scared Seokjin how he could go from cheery to professional within a second.

"Squirtle, you hear me?"

"Yes, Sunflora."

"There hasn't been any records of him leaving through the other side of the corridor. Are you sure he hasn't returned to the party?"

"Positive. Is there a different way out?"

Seokjin's eyes widened at this and he grabbed the blueprint they'd got from security, eyes searching for any possible vents or openings. He gestured to Hoseok to pass him the radio over.

"Here's Charmander. According to -"

"Sorry, who's there?"

Remembering he'd literally only just come up with his new codename and had never directly spoken with this 'Squirtle' before, he laughed a little embarrassed to himself. "Sorry, agent Kim from the robbery department here," he spoke firmly, "The blueprint doesn't show any other means of escape, unless he decided to swim back to shore. So he must be still in there. Wait another five."

"Okay, got it."

"Is that Squirtle good?" he questioned his friend while sinking back into his seat, observing the monitors.

"She's my best agent actually," Hoseok answered truthfully, "You should've seen her shooting her way through and bending a whole gang boss to his knees. It was beautiful."

The older agent whistled lowly, quite impressed by the thought of that. Or at least how he imagined it. "Sounds like a feisty one."

"Depends. She's surely a lively person, but once you get to know her, she's an easy-going homebody. Similar to you."

A scoff passed Seokjin's lips, pretending being offended by his words. "So you wanna say I'm not unique?"

"Well, I wouldn't subscribe to that," Hoseok said with a teasing grin, "Both of you also get upset in the same hilarious way actually."

"Ouch, that hurts my pride you know."

The two shared a laugh when a sudden commotion on the monitors caught their attention. The guests seemed to be agitated and scattering around the area.

"Jeon, Blake, what's going on there?"

"The black pearl, it fell from Mrs Lee's brooch."

"There's multiple pearls on the floor now! It created a turmoil."

"I can imagine," Seokjin muttered before speaking louder into the radio, "Keep your eyes closely to the guests. Surely that's a distraction by Jimin and the like."

"Of course."

He stood up then, sliding on his black suit jacket. "I'm heading out for support. See, told you he'd show up."

"You need my help? I could tell my agents -"

"Nah, don't worry. I'm sure you guys have your hands full with this commotion, too."

"Sunflora?" Indeed, Hoseok's own agent tried getting in touch with him. And he gave Seokjin a thumbs up, wishing him good luck as he headed out, before grabbing his radio device then.

"Sunflora here."

"I spotted Purugly. He's rushing out with a group of people due to some uproar, I'm following him."

"Roger, Squirtle. Be careful in the chaos, it's a distraction from the thieves. The robbery team will handle it though. You focus on our guy."

"Got it."

»»»

Seokjin squeezed through the noisy and fidgety mass, people hunching and picking up any black pearls they could find - or at least the fake ones Jimin had spread around to cause this uproar.

It was impossible to draw his gun with so many civilians around, so he just continued with careful steps and sharp eyes. Soon spotting something that rose enough suspicion in him to follow it. A rather calm man was galantly making his way among the rambling crowd.

The main reason this man rose his suspicion was rather intuitive though. He recognised him being one of the bodyguards close to the Lee's, he'd stood beside them all evening. Of course his agents had already checked all stuff members for possible disguised criminals before boarding the ship, but they hadn't been observing them nonstop ever since. And this bodyguard now was clearl heading to the exit instead of being on the other side of the ballroom with his boss who was panicked and shouting at his men to find his wife's pearl.

With a confident smirk, he neared the man until he was close enough to grab him by the shoulder. "And I thought you'd never make your appearance, Park Jimin. You had me waiting for quite some time," he sighed in fake-annoyance.

The man visibly flinched at Seokjin's words, glancing over his shoulder then with a lopsided grin.

"Sorry, pops! Got a date with a pearl!"

He abruptly crouched, disappearing from his sight and Seokjin spotted him a few seconds later further away. He'd got rid of his disguise by now and promptly continued his way among the people. But Seokjin wouldn't let Jimin throw him off so easily.

He was close on his heels and Jimin could feel it. His eyes quickly scanning the area for any possible distraction when seeing the interpol agent almost having reached him again. But then he realised that he was literally in the middle of possible distractions and smirked as soon as he spotted a suitable one.

As he continued pushing threw the mass of people, he grabbed someone's wrist and abruptly tucked the person backwards. Right in front of Seokjin, blocking his way. It was a young woman with dyed dirty-blond hair and in the pushing and shoving, stumbled and fell against the agent's chest who caught her out of reflex.

"My apologies, miss, but -" Seokjin was about to politely shove her away when their eyes met. And any further words got stuck in his throat instead. 

He swallowed hard. She was the most mesmerizing woman he'd ever seen in his life. 

Full cheeks, cute nose, pillowy lips and soft brown eyes which were staring back at him intensely, placed so perfectly that it completely disarmed him and took his breath away.

For a moment he wasn't in the middle of the ballroom anymore, he was in the abyss of her wondering orbs.

The woman seemed just as stunned, her expression mirroring his.

However, soon he was washed back to the shore of reality and his memory returned, recalling his initial task of chasing after Jimin.

"S-sorry."

The woman's eyes turned into a dazed scowl, as if she herself had just snapped back into reality and wouldn't recognise the place she found herself in. She stepped back, at least as much as she could in the crowded space, his hands sliding off from the warm skin of her arms. And without a single word, she simply turned and disappeared back into the sea of people. Like a siren who had lured him into her world only to release him again after growing bored.

Someone in his work field and position shouldn't get that easily distracted and usually he didn't. But something in this mysterious woman completely enchanted him and it was more than unfortunate they had to meet under such circumstances.

Perhaps, in a different profession, in a different life, he could've met her differently. Could've spoken to her more.

By the look in her almond eyes, she might've felt the same sugar-rush shooting through her chest. But it didn't matter anyway, he wouldn't see her again. And he had to focus on more important things right now.

He began running through the now less dense becoming crowd, out of the ballroom. The double doors closed behind him with a dull sound, drowning out the jarring voices from inside. The corridor was long and he'd seen Jimin running towards it so it was his best shot right now. 

Eventually reaching outside the deck, he was met with the strong night wind of the open sea tousling his dark waves. It was sparsely lit, only a simple lamp every few metres illuminating the broad area. And there at its end, on the very edge, he found the masterthief standing and laughing as soon as he noticed Seokjin nearing him. As if he'd been waiting for him all along.

"Oh damn, didn't expect you back so soon. Really thought I made a good choice there, could swear she'd be your type."

The agent laughed under his breath, biting down his lip. It wasn't surprising to him anymore, knowing his opponent well enough in all those years to know his little mind games. So he chose to ignore his comment, not giving him the satisfaction of a retort. Although Jimin already knew the truth by the brief look that passed Seokjin's eyes.

"Hands up," the agent said instead with a confident smirk, now able to draw his gun, "Unless you wanna fall into the cold sea."

The thief, however, only met him with an unfazed glance. His arms slowly going up before one of his hands turned, revealing something between his fingers. And under the light of the full moon he could see it sparkling dark. The black pearl.

Seokjin could tell it was the real one.

"Hm, maybe I'll do just that. You know, return the pearl to its natural habitat on the way, too. Thanks for the great idea, pops!" His lips curled further into a beaming grin and before Seokjin could react, Jimin let himself fall backwards.

Perplexed, the agent rushed to the railing. The harsh wind hitting his face as he looked over it, making out the outlines of a motorboat in the darkness. Diverging from the ship and driving towards the coast. 

"Dammit." He sighed and hit the cold metal of the railing, letting it echo get swallowed by the waves. With a dragged sigh, he couldn't help but laugh shortly before pulling out his radio device.

"Jungkook, Skylar?"

Jungkook was faster to answer this time."Yes, sir?"

"Find a radio unit and alert coastguards and agents on the mainland to keep an eye on a motorboat coming from our direction."

"I assume it's about our thieves?"

"Correct, Jeon."

"Roger, I'm on my way."

Returning inside, he caught sight of security guards and staff members who had managed taking back control over the situation and calmed people down.

He came across one of the other agents of Hoseok's team and asked him where his supervisor was. The agent told him in the manager's office with their suspect and Seokjin thanked him before making his way there. As he passed by with hasty steps, walking to the other end where another door led to the offices and security room, he spotted the CEO and his distraught wife being questioned by Skylar in a corner.

Soon he reached a cherrywood door, giving it a few knocks and watching it open at the third knock, revealing his friend behind it. And Hoseok stepped out.

"Heard you got your man, that must be him I assume?" he motioned to the handcuffed guy at the armchair behind Hoseok's shoulders.

Hoseok grinned. "Yup, our 'Purugly' aka Mr San Shinjuk. Isn't that right?"

The criminal kept an desinterested and bored expression, unimpressed by his enthusiasm. "You got nothing on me anyway."

"I wouldn't call a wad of 100,000 won notes and exposing documents, nothing," Hoseok countered with a raised brow, making the man scoff and grow back quiet. Making Hoseok grin widen before joining Seokjin outside in the corridor, closing the door behind him.

"What happened with Park?"

Seokjin only let out a dry laugh. "Well, let's say at least you got your guy.."

Hoseok's eyes widened. "You mean he -"

"Yeah, yeah," Seokjin ran his fingers through his hair, "They got away again."

"Well, next time then."

"Of course next time!"

"I gotta say though. Thanks to the little panic he created, San couldn't complete his restroom deal," Hoseok chuckled.

The irony that his friend was thankful to his nemesis wasn't missed on him. "So that's what took him so long in there.."

"Exactly."

"But I surely won't thank Jimin," Seokjin huffed then, "Would only get into his already big head."

"Sir!"

The yell coming from the end of the corridor, cut their laughing off. The person audibly churned up as they came closer.

"Sir, I'm sorry I lost San. Someone pushed me and there was an idiot blocking my way. Otherwi-"

"Don't worry, Kim," Hoseok interrupted her with a reassuring smile, "You did a good job. We got him."

The woman sighed in relief and her tense shoulders relaxed. A weight seemingly being lifted from her shoulders. "I'm glad, I was worried we wasted our chance."

She was about to leave again when her eyes landed on the person beside her supervisor

Seokjin had turned around to see who Hoseok was talking to behind his back.

And both grew stiff.

There she was, the woman with the full cheeks and dazzling eyes. Her waves pushed to one side, cascading down her shoulder softly as silk. Their bright shade contrasting the black fabric of her tight dress. Now without endless people surrounding them, he had a clearer view on her, seeing it reached only half her thighs, leaving a handwidth of skin between its hem and her overknee boots who added height to her rather petite physique. And he noticed the grip of a 9mm peaking out from one of them.

He watched her burgundy lips part then in shock, unable to avert her eyes from him either.

"The idiot," she eventually breathed, causing the sudden tension to dissolve abrubtly. And Seokjin scoffed amused. "Excuse me?"

She dismissed his question and instead glanced at Hoseok behind him. Only earning a confused glance back. "You two know each other?"

"This is the idiot who blocked my way!"

"Hey, wait a sec, I didn't do it on purpose!" Seokjin quickly defended himself, "Jimin pushed you onto me, so if someone blocked anyone's way it was you blocking mine."

Flustered at the unknown to her details on the incident, she folded her arms and looked away. "That- that wasn't my intention," she mumbled then with a small embarrassed huff.

The taller man sighed and mimicked her in a less serious manner. "Neither mine."

"Well," Hoseok began then in an attempt to change topics, "Agent Kim, how about you let me introduce you to the other agent Kim then?"

She frowned, looking Seokjin up and down. "You're an agent?"

He ignored her judging glare and flashed her a charming smile instead. In a way, he found her even more intriguing now than before. "Nice to meet you. And you are?"

Hoseok nudged his arm as he stepped beside him. "She's the one you talked to earlier. Agent Kim Yongsun."

"You-" His eyes grew, facing her again with a stunned expression. "You're 'Squirtle'?"

Yongsun unintentionally backed off, equally astonished. "You are 'Charmander'?"

This was the guy who also used Pokémon codenames like her? No way.

»»»

"Hey."

Yongsun averted her gaze from the waves beneath her, the wind brushing rather harshly against her bare skin. The ship was heading back to the harbour, all guests having been gathered back inside until arrival and she used the short length of time to enjoy the city lights in the distance sparkling like watercolour on its dark surface.

"H-hey."

She straightened herself when seeing Seokjin approaching her on the deck. He emerged from under the sparsely lit canopy with a timid smile on his lips. His dark brown hair pushed back by now, his forehead peaking behind a few loose strands. His tall figure came to an halt beside her then and he shoved his hands into the pockets of his suit jacket that was casually left unbuttoned. 

"I didn't think I'd find anyone here. You alright?"

"Yeah."

Oh, he did look like a deity – exuding the perfect balance of authority and charm.

Her breath hitched and she managed to give him a nod along with a hum through her folded lips. Focusing back at the crashing waves underneath. 

Truth was, she was uncertain of how to face him again after the previous hour and perhaps also tried avoiding him by staying out there. After all, she'd called a department leader an idiot. It didn't matter that she'd found out - after asking around her team mates - that he was actually a year, almost two, younger than her. In the agency, he remained a senior agent to her.

Sure, she hadn't been aware of who he was in that moment and he'd also seemed taking the whole story with humour. Yet, she couldn't help feeling awkward and mortified in his vicinity. She couldn't even look him straight in the eyes anymore. Even if it didn't cause her trouble at work, it still remained an embarrassing memory and she felt her face heat up.

"Sorry again for earlier," she mumbled while grabbing onto the metal pole of the railing, in search for the right approach, "For.. for blocking your way and.. and also calling you an idiot."

He hummed and contemplated for a moment by tapping his finger against his chin. "Hm, thinking about it now.. I should probably get compensation for personal suffering. That 'idiot' really hurt, you know," he deadpanned, earning a quiet gasp from Yongsun.

She faced him with wide eyes, ready to argue when instead she met his amused grin. He was only joking. She relaxed and tucked away some streaks of hair the wind had swept in front of her eyes.

"You totally should," she laughed softly then.

"You wouldn't mind paying me compensation?"

"Who says that I'd be the one paying?"

"You were the one making me suffer after all," he countered.

She could only laugh out at his teasing smirk. "But wasn't it all the thief's fault in the end?"

"Hey, he wasn't the one calling me an idiot," he countered with raised brows. The fake upsetness on his face made her laugh even more. It was a loud, squeaky laugh and her eyes disappeared.

He smiled. She was cute and not intimidating at all. Hoseok had been right.

The friendly banter had calmed her previous nervousness. It was easy to get along with him which shouldn't be surprising considering he was friends with Hoseok, one of the nicest persons she knew.

But she remained firm in her stance. Arms folding in front of her chest then. "He was the one pushing me to you, though, so it's his fault really," she said. An almost cartoonish grin on her painted lips.

Much to her surprise, however, Seokjin's demeanor visibly softened at this. Eyes flickering over her round face before settling back to the illuminated skyline of Singapore. "Ah, but I don't mind that part so I can't hold it against him."

Her brows furrowed, feeling like she'd lost the thread. "Why not? I thought it prevented you from catching him."

He simply shrugged his broad shoulders. "I got to meet you this way, didn't I? So it wasn't all too bad."

The night was rather brisk out there on the open sea and yet Yongsun felt like standing at 32°C in the midday sun.

He was most definitely flirting with her, even if it was in a smooth subtle way. And the worst part was that she didn't mind.

Still, she decided not to make a big deal over a hot flush because literally anyone, even furniture, would get butterflies with this guy.

His eyes left the lights in the distance then, a timid smile dancing on his lips. "Sorry, was that inappropriate?" he asked bashfully considering her silence, "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

She hadn't noticed how flustered she'd been and swallowed, clearing her throat when finding her composure again. "I'll let it slide," she said with as much nonchalance as she could fake in that moment, glancing briefly at him and noticing his blushing ears, "But only because we're in different departments and I won't have to fear favouritism."

"That's true. Although your teamlead is one of my best friends, so who knows.."

"Well, I'll trust that he won't do any."

He laughed lightly. "True, he wouldn't."

"You should be extra nice to the thief next time," she continued then, "You know, to thank him."

"Not that bad of an idea actually. I could crack less jokes when arresting him."

Propping her jaw on the palm of her hand, she glanced at him amused, the distant lights dancing in her eyes. And when she smiled in a way her teeth peeked a little through her lips, he could swear that he died, just a little bit, when she looked at him like that. Like he was the only man in the world. "You're a funny guy, aren't you?"

He breathed. "I try to at least."

Her gentle eyes wandered down to the sea again. The harbour shining clearer now as they drew closer. "You know," she spoke up, mischieviousness returning to her features, "I'm only apologising for the 'idiot', nothing more."

His brows knitted together. "Didn't you also apologise for blocking my way through?"

"Hm, I take it back since you said you didn't mind that."

Humming, he folded his hands and propped his elbows onto the railing. Neither one was a big deal for him and he'd found it rather funny how flustered she'd been once Hoseok had told her who he was. But he couldn't help it, he enjoyed teasing her over it.

"Mh, fair enough. I still forgive you for both though."

"Maybe I should've called you something worse then. Like douchebag or jerk," she mused with an arched brow only for her laugh to die down as soon as Seokjin leaned in. Narrowing the gap between them.

All of her pretend-confidence fell apart at the sudden proximity of their faces. Heaving a shaky breath, her eyes flickered to his plump lips which he noticed. And it took everything in him not to close the gap completely.

"You can call me whatever you like." His voice was deep and feathery, brushing over her flushed cheeks like a whisper only for her to hear. "But obviously not during work," he added with a laugh as he retreated, "That'd appear highly unprofessional. For both of us."

Taken aback, Yongsun watched him walking away, heading back inside without even giving her time to properly ponder over his words and their meaning.

"Wait!" She turned around abruptly. There was a lovely innocence in her round eyes. "What do you mean?"

Seokjin, however, only shrugged with an ambiguous smile. "Who knows." He opened the door then but before entering, he paused and faced her again. "You should also come inside. As beautiful as this dress is on you, it won't prevent you from catching a cold."

She frowned and looked down on her short dress. Only then she sensed the cool breeze surrounding them again. In all the time he'd been around she'd completely forgotten about the chillness out there.

"Uh, yeah. In a minute," she said, feeling her cheeks blushing over his, once again, subtle way of complimenting her.

He gave her a nod and disappeared through the door. Leaving Yongsun back on the dim-lit deck.

She couldn't quite figure out if the beauty of his lips was more their softness or their association with the words he spoke.

Scrunching her nose, she folded her arms on the railing, letting the wind gently tousle her blond waves. It was a pity that she began shivering now considering the beautiful view. Perhaps she should indeed get back inside before catching a cold, despite the urge to clear her mind even more after that anew intense accounter with him.

And she wondered, was it alright flirting with him like that? He might not even be in her department, but he was still another agent. And a higher-ranked one, too. Then again, he had done most of the work, really. She'd simply played along.

Shaking her head, a dry laugh left her tinted lips. 

Either way, it wasn't like this would lead anywhere. They worked at different departments, on differents floors. Their paths most likely wouldn't cross again unless another joint operation happened.

And for some reason that realisation filled her with disappointment.

She wasn't usually the type of woman to feel easily attracted to men or even cared enough to give a second thought to them. But his kind eyes and enticing face did sparkle something in her. And the fact his male ego didn't seem hurt but rather took her earlier blunder with humour, was definitely a bonus point. Besides, he generally didn't seem to take himself too serious either. Both fatally opposite traits in most other men.

Yongsun was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't pay attention to the sound of the door opening again and someone stepping out. Only when fabric met her skin, wrapping around her shoulders and back, she realised she wasn't alone anymore and was ready to draw her gun when a soft laugh was heard.

"What a scaredy-cat," Seokjin teased and her eyes widened when seeing him standing there in nothing but his black button-up shirt. Her glance fell and she realised his suit jacket was drapped over her, instinctively grabbing its collar. She about to reject his offer, when meeting his warm smile.

"Thought it's better than nothing."

"T-thanks."

He gave her nod and turned around, returning to the door when he glanced at her over the shoulder. "You can return it next time we meet. I'll make sure it's soon, this is my favourite suit after all." And Yongsun's eyes widened when seeing a wink follow his words before he returned inside.

Stunned, her thoughts raced and tripped over each other.

They'd eventually meet again. Soon.

Her fingers unconsciously curled more, tightening their grip on the suit jacket.

She only hoped he was sincere. After all, she could tell he wasn't the kind of man a woman got a simple crush on. He was the kind of man you fell hard for, and the thought of that terrified her. She didn't want to fall hard for anyone at all, especially not a superior agent or someone who might not mean any of his words. 

But she had always been a curious cat. And Seokjin definitely triggered her curiosity.

With a small huff, she slid her arms into the jacket. It was still warm from his body and it made her shudder. Burying her hands deep into its pockets.

Great, she thought. 

Now she had a crush on her supervisor's best friend.

THE END

»»»

if you wanna know what happens to jin x yong, check out the other stories for more context and info!

💜check out the whole "thieves collection" series or my main bts masterlist for other members' stories in this universe or in general💜

Don't forget to like, reblog & leave feedback!♡ It motivates me to keep writing :)

[2nd-toughest-in-the-infants]

Crown of Ashes and Flames (WIP) on itch.io Review

Author: @coeluvr

Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Choice: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Replayability: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall: 4/5

Pros: ANGST ANGST ANGST‼️, absolute monster of an antagonist, compelling characters, regular updates.

Cons: awkward dialogue from younger characters, no return button on UI.

**SLIGHT SPOILERS**

Notes:

TW!: Family Death, Murder, Forced Marriage, Child Marriage, Bullying, Isolation, Struggles with Mental Health

Crown of Ashes and Flames is another really strong IF WIP on itch.io with a very active author and so far it’s been receiving regular updates so I’m quite excited to see how the story develops as the game updates further. As it stands, I still want to share my thoughts on what is available to play so far.

So, Crown of ashes follows the MC who is the last surviving royal of Vesphire after King Luceris of a neighbouring kingdom, Rosea, declares war on Vesphire, murders MCs entire family, takes them back with him to Rosea and forces MC to marry him and become the new Royal Consort (at age 9?!?!) all for the sake of avenging the death of his wife, who he believes was killed by MCs older sister. As you can probably tell by that quick summary, this is an IF that is absolutely LOADED with Angst and drama, so, naturally, I was drawn right in!

I have to start off by saying how good of a job the author did in managing to create a cast of characters that are all so uniquely compelling in their own right. It can be the case that sometimes IF authors will focus too intently on just one or two main ROs while the others can feel like a bit of an afterthought, but in CoAaF, I feel as though all the characters are given equal opportunity to shine. That isn’t to say that there aren’t stand out characters, because there absolutely are and the first that comes to mind has to be Luceris. For me he stands out because not only is he an incredibly well-written, complex villain I find it rare that I have as much of visceral hatred of a fiction character as I do for him. I mean, what he does to MC in the name of ‘vengeance’ and the way he justifies himself just solidifies him as one of the most delusional and twisted villains I’ve read in an IF.

Also, the setting and minor characters in the story really serve to highlight how the MC is ostracised in their new ‘home’ as punishment for their sisters crimes. And it really is sickening how both adult and young characters justify the way they effectively bully MC because of something MC doesn’t have any control over and really serves to highlight the theme of injustice vs. justice that has been present throughout the game so far.

Furthermore, I enjoyed the amount of choice given to the player over the way MC reacts to what they’ve been through as well as to how the people around them treat them (both good and bad) and provides the player with the opportunity to explore how the traumatic events of the game impacts the MCs attitude and mental state.

It’s also quite interesting to see how the MC develops as they grow as the story starts with the MC as a nine year old and eventually grows up. This however, can be quite tricky from a writting perspective as typically authors can have difficulty with writing young child characters. Unfortunately, this is something that I have noticed was the case with this author as I felt that a lot of the dialogue exchanges between the younger characters (particularly the MC) just didn’t really feel accurate coming from a nine year olds mouth. Aside from that however, I feel as though the rest of the dialogue fits very well and overall I would say the writing is of a good quality.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this game to anyone interested in picking up a new, angsty WIP and I will certainly be patiently awaiting updates!

[comicalfont]

Undertale is for Everyone

Happy Valentine's Day! Yesterday marked five years since the day I first started playing Undertale. It's led me to dwell on what exactly I would say the game has meant to me, with how loaded a question that is. There's so much I owe to Undertale, and the joy it's brought me is something everyone is as deserving to be a part of. Despite some recent fandom events, all members of the fandom need to know that the game celebrates and welcomes them with open arms, which I'll get to more in a bit.

I first played Undertale at a period in my life with a lot of unanswered questions, both for present me and future me. I'd managed to not give it a try in the first few years it was around, but after running into enough Deltarune fan content in the wild when it came out, I played Chapter 1 and loved every bit of the atmosphere and characters, and I wanted to play Undertale right after. After accidentally killing Toriel and starting over, I was immediately drawn into the story it told and the friendships I was making. My appreciation of Sans was there from the start, and here I am, many reader fics with him later, and the rest of the main gang felt like buds I'd been hoping to meet some day. Even the minor characters meant so much to the journey, and by the time it was done and I'd seen what Frisk/the player's kindness and want for peace can do, I was completely hooked and the game rented a free condo in my brain.

What I wasn't expecting was the other ways Undertale's touched my life. I'm trans, and before I'd played, it had only really been associated with discomfort and a wish for things to be better, without much of a light at the end of the tunnel to look at. Undertale's queer-friendly themes and the characters' insistence on being themselves opened me up to thinking about a future where my own kindness and, well, determination can lead me to being the true me. While my trans story was far from done, it helped me see the future as something I can smile about, rather than needing to be afraid. The fics that I've written about Undertale, and especially the bone-friend, since I played have also led me to meet the people I consider my closest friends, as well as being a gateway to other fandoms that have captured my interest. These connections I've made through the game are ones I'll carry with me for the rest of my life.

So, where am I going with all this? Undertale has invited me into a better path than the one I'd been taking, and that's an opportunity I'll forever be grateful for. Unfortunately, there are some in the fandom space who have shared hateful views about people simply for who they are, and everyone should know how far those views are from the truth. Undertale is a game about love and growth, and it is the responsibility of those who participate in its community to follow its footsteps and celebrate everyone for their traits; not just tolerate, but celebrate. For fellow trans people in particular, I've been thinking about this the most; you are real men, real women, and real non-binary identities, and all of those things are represented in Undertale itself. Celebrating trans lives isn't just the right thing to do, it's a part of this wonderful game we're all enjoying together.

Maybe this reaches just two people, or twenty, or more if I'm lucky, but whoever does read this far, thank you for taking the time to see how much Undertale has meant to me over these five years, and I hope you know how much you mean to the community. We're all making it a better place by being ourselves, and I hope the game keeps lifting people up for many years to come. Now, go read that new volume of the Undertale/Deltarune Newsletter!

[saintsenara]

2 and 21 from the year in review game please!

thank you very much for playing the 2024 review ask game, pal!

2. what's something new that you tried in a fic this year?

a non-linear narrative isn't something i'd never tried before, but i certainly hadn't tried it to quite this extent...

21. what's something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? did it change the story?

just how profoundly unsympathetic i found myself to harry across swathed of order of the phoenix, reading it from sirius' perspective as part of writing the war of the roses.

obviously, order of the phoenix is the book in the series which is most explicitly a coming-of-age story, and one of its central coming-of-age themes is harry moving past his hero worship of james and learning to see his father as a flawed and human person.

[hence it ending with the liminal becoming permanent, when sirius - his guide across this threshold - falls through the veil...]

as a result, loads of characters are used as references to james - dudley surrounded by his gang, tonks annoying harry the first time they meet by being so arrogant, ron messing up his hair as he describes his quidditch glory - and harry himself is among them. while order of the phoenix is often pointed to by fans as the book in which harry's at his most traumatised, i think we shouldn't do him the disservice of ignoring that it's also the book in which he's at his most arrogant.

that is to say, that it's the book in which he's most like his father.

when i was originally planning the war of the roses, the main question i was thinking about was how the harry of my fic would end up being different from the canon harry because he wouldn't have had experienced the grief of losing sirius.

i thought he'd retain his trust issues for longer - in half-blood prince he confides in arthur weasley about his suspicions of malfoy, for example, because he recognises that not trusting other people with his burdens in an effort to protect them enabled the situation where he'd never opened the mirror and therefore couldn't verify sirius' identity - and his saviour and martyr complexes and other things which are entirely understandable given the circumstances of his life.

i didn't expect that i'd also have to find a way past the fact that - without the sharp shock of sirius' death - he'd also remain a bit of a dickhead, who's convinced that he's the only person the war is happening to and has no interest in doing anything for the collective if it inconveniences that view of himself in any way...

[lumarose512]

Welcome to my Blog! :>

Shinzo wo Sasageyo! "Dedicate Your Heart"

Hi! I'm Luma and welcome to my (mostly) Attack on Titan related blog! This is the background image I made for my web browser version of the blog that is in the works (please stay tuned for that ^^)

I plan on reblogging AoT related things often, sharing pictures of my own collection and figure photo shoots, my own fan-art, writing about AoT related things I think about (a lot lmao), cosplays, and edits.

I will occasionally share something related to other things I love if I need to get it out of my system as well!

A little about me:

I am a girl from Austin, Texas trying to have a positive, minimal, and deliberate internet experience surrounded by the things I love and people with similar interests :)

I got into AoT in 5th grade at the crisp age of 10 years old (some say that's a little young, but whats done is done lmao. I had a friend who I thought was soooo cool and her older sister got her into AoT, therefore I got into AoT. I quickly became OBSESSED and even more into it then my friend. That same year me and my family had a big move to a place where I was totally new and unfamiliar. I struggled to fit in at that new place for a long time and my love for AoT only grew to make up for it. I started out as a purely Levi fan-girl (no hate to you guys I respect y'all lol) but as I got older my love for all the characters, the art, and the story as a whole only grew deeper as I waited for new chapters to release. I remember going to Barnes and Noble with my mom to get a new AoT manga if I got good grades that semester. In high school I started collecting the Funko Pops and started expanding on my collection besides just the manga with my fry cook money I was earning!

Immediately after graduating high school I married my best friend and high-school sweetheart and started a VERY big girl job which AoT probably played some part in. I'll let y'all guess what it might be. I have worked hard and now I have my own space in which I live out my nerdy little life with my husband as my Attack on Titan collection grows. I cant wait to share it!

My favorite characters are Reiner and Armin, with Mikasa in the top 3 right behind them! My favorite AOT songs are Attack on Titan and Call Your Name (GV) by Sawano Hiroyuki, as well as Under the Tree by SIM.

Non-AOT related interests:

While I do love AoT the most of all my intrests, I share my love with other things too of course!

Favorite Video Games: Super Mario Galaxy, Skyrim, Animal Crossing, Legend of Zelda (like all of them lol), Miku PROJECT DIVA mega mix, Super Mario World, and Calico.

I love to draw and do so traditionally and in procreate :) I also crochet and run!

While I love AoT I also enjoy lots of other anime and manga! Some of my favorites are Beserk, Gurren Lagann, Code Geass, Neon Genisis, and Death Note! jeez..now that I read that I think I love watching anime characters try to play god lol.

Lastly, I am a huge lover of music! My dad had a huge impact on my music taste growing up and even makes his own music. My husband recently got me a Miku themed Mp3 player that I have been LOADING with all my favorite songs and albums! I also enjoy cassettes. Physical media for the win!!

Favorite Musical Artist: Casiotone for the Painfully Alone

Favorite Song: Phaser by Superdrag

Favorite Album: The Mighty Ocean and Nine Dark Theaters (by Astronautalis)

Conclusion of my Yap Session

If you made it all the way to the bottom of this post thank you so much for taking the time to read about my plans for this blog and a little bit of what i'm about. If you think id enjoy your blog or some of your music recs feel free to shoot me a message and i'd love to check it out :)

[entomolog-t]

is there any reason u think small knights are kind of a common theme used in the g/t community? i’ve seen it used a few times and am a bit mystified by the coincidence

- 80

OOH Thats a good question!

I think theres lots of factors at play there- The main one I can think of off the top of my head goes as follows.

Subverted expectation

Charismatic Archetype

Easily "accessible" g/t premise

Symbolism

First off, its a great role reversal/subversion of expectations. Knights are seen as protectors, a beacon of strength and what have you, so making the knight small is an easy way to make something enticing to an audience since it defies expectation. This can be for comedic reasons, or angst ( or both). I think the biggest factor is going against the grain creates new avenues/perspectives to explore/thus high intrigue.

The second point is that knight are a fairly fun and charismatic archetype- their role is already exciting, and you don't necessarily need a lot of background knowledge to use the archetype to make a compelling story. So while prevalent in g/t media quite often, I think they are also quite prevalent in media as a whole (especially fandom), and would fall in the same "Charismatic Archetype Bin" as other such characters like witches, vampires, mafia bosses, pirates etc. Though I do think knights stand out particularly in g/t, which leads me to my next point-

Its an easily accessible g/t genre. Adding a g/t element can at times be difficult- Giants in a modern world usually mean a lot of question about world building pop up, as well as logistics. A knight setting is normally much more primitive, and often times has a fantastical or magical element, thus taking a lot of the "How can we make this work" leg work off the creator's shoulders.

Lastly I think Knights as a whole offer a lot of interesting symbolism. Certain aspects could be a combination of things such as strength, duty, loyalty, obedience, bravery, dedication etc... And those make for a very interesting character, especially when making that character small.

How do they handle losing/not being able to use their strength?

Does their sense of duty crumble in the face of someone so much larger than them? Does their bravery crumble ?

How do those traits look on someone so much smaller? Is it inspiring? Sad? Comical? Infuriating (A good ol combination is my favorite)

Whatever the case, knights act as a very clear symbol in both the cultural zeitgiest and within the unique perceptions of an individual. Its easy for one's mind to project particular feelings onto a symbol.

For example, someone who may highly value duty/responsibility could easily (both consciously or not) project those feelings onto a knight character. Making that character small could be a way to vent/explore the idea of ones responsibilities being overwhelmingly large, or as if you feel like you've lost the capacity to deal with them.

Another may write about others not viewing them as capable because of their size, despite having the skills and abilities of a knight- they just aren't seen seriously.

Knights offer a really loaded character archetype, especially in the G/t sphere, since the symbolism of both themselves as a knight and then the concept of being small can create such a variety of metaphors for the audience.

[makobakuboom]

Hetalia playing pjsk hcs

WC: 1.2k

Includes: America, Austria, Canada, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Prussia, and Russia

I don't know if these fandoms have any overlap but I was playing pjsk and randomly thought about these!! Probably ooc but these are just for fun as I don't actually know much about pjsk's story. I'll make more if asked enjoy ^_^

America/Alfred F. Jones

America's fav group would be vivid bad squad because to me they have the most “American music” if that makes sense. I also think he would find the Akito focus where they're learning english to come to America absolutely hilarious and that would be his favorite story.

The japanese server getting updates a year/exclusive events before the english one would make him so annoyed. Japan always offers to make him an account but his pride stops him, he’ll never shut up about how annoying it is though.

I think he would play hard mode max because he'll lose focus in expert mode. His favorite is probably Akito because he just has that spunk to him and his favorite song/most played is traffic jam.

Austria/Roderich Edelstein

Austria’s favorite group would be Nightcord because their story is really interesting. I also think that he would admire their music composition and adore Kanade for being a producer.

He would be really good at the game because he already plays instruments so expert to master level but wouldn’t play as much as the real thing. Would definitely be those people who get MVP in co-op.

I think his favorite song overall would be Tsugakiogarashi because of all the traditional instruments and he would just enjoy the way they're being played and composed together.

His fav would probably be Toya because he also plays instruments. However it could also be Rui because he would probably enjoy the theming around WxS and would enjoy his overall character.

However I don’t think this favorite rhythm game would be pjsk and would actually be bandori. Morfonica would obviously be his favorite, I won’t go more into this though as I’m not a fan of the game.

Canada/Matthew Williams

Canada would be really good at the game since he's always alone so he'd have more time to play. He's better than his brother and this is the only game he has over him.

His fav group would probably be More More Jump because they're cute enough and calm enough to fit him. His favorite characters are probably Honami and Kohane just because they have similar vibes to him.

He'd also enjoy Nightcord more than the other groups. His favorite song is peachy key out of them all. (Totally not biased because it’s my favorite mmj song)

Estonia/Eduard Von Bock

Estonia would be AMAZING at pjsk like expert to hard mode and get no more than like 6 mistakes in any song on the first attempt or not. This is because of his avid internet usage, he also probably posts his achievements online.

His fav group would be like Vivid Bad Squad and totally not because it's my fav and he's one of my favs..

He'd have really good reaction times from playing so much but the only time he'd use this is for gameplay because there's no other reason. Probably plays at around 10.5-11.0 for comfort but can definitely play faster.

It’s a guarantee that he has the latest cards and has a super powerful team. Always S tier and somehow always has enough to pull for what he wants, has insane luck too getting the cards he wants within one to two pulls.

However since Estonia is known for having slow internet he wouldn't be able to play as much as he'd want, loading times at least a minute per song. Glitches are basically guaranteed unless he's playing at another country’s house like America’s.

His favorite song would probably be Doctor=Funk Beat because he finds it really fun to play and it impresses others.

(can you tell I like Estonia)

Germany/Ludwig Beilschmidt

Germany would only play to try to understand Japan and Italy more but probably get addicted. He'd try to hide it because he finds it embarrassing.

If anyone found out he'd say Niigo was his fav and say Tricologe is his fav song but he'd probably be a WxS fan like Italy and play Mr Showtime. I could see him like Nene

Italy/Feliciano Vargas

I think Italy would really like Tsukasa because they're both so outgoing and silly. This also leads me to believe he'd be a really big WxS fan because their songs aren't as serious.

I think he'd play Law-evading rock a lot. For difficulty he'd play hard just depends on the day if he's good or not…

Japan/Kiku Honda

Japan would either be really good at the game because his people made it or really bad because he's not keeping up with trends. However he probably got roped into it because of the other countries.

I think he'd really like Kohane because they seem alike. Shockingly if he was bad or not he'd be an absolute pro at Luka Luka night fever, like master mode.

The after would go "oh I really like her songs.” All shyly, because of that he'd probably like the Vocaloids the most.

He has a really good team like Estonia but he only really pulls for cuter cards. Anytime someone asks why he’d explain in a panic that they’re the best designed cards but he just likes cute things.

Prussia/Gilbert Beilschmidt

Prussia's fav groups would be WxS because Emu and More More Jump. We all know he LOVES cute stuff so they're like cute enough for him but he expresses his love most for WxS because they're also awesome enough to where he's a PROUD FAN.

He'd probably say his favorite song from them is King to seem cooler to others but it's probably like Theme of Niccori Survey Team or something else cute.

He'd definitely be good at the game because, like Canada, he's alone most of the time and plays then. He definitely plays expert mode in front of everyone at 11.0 speed to show off.

He’ll only pull for his favorites because according to him his favorites had the most awesome cards. This ends up with his team looking odd as he waits for them to get a good card, such as four stars with three and two stars together.

He’ll ONLY pull his favorite characters together so his team is basically just WxS and More More Jump joint together. Saiki also ends up on his team because she’s just so cute and he just loves her.

(Can you tell I like Prussia)

Russia/Ivan Braginsky

Russia's fav group is Nightcord because they mostly hold darker elements but are still pop-ish. It's just how Russia is soft looking but also scary.

His fav character is probably Kanade because they look related and he felt seen with the white hair. His favorite song from them would be jackpot sad girl, it's got similar vibes to him.

Since he's also alone, like many other nations named before, he'd be able to play a lot. Meaning he's good at it but I don't think he's a try hard like the others, playing only expert on his favorite songs.

He'd happily introduce Ukraine to it and they would play together. However he'd keep it far away from Belarus out of fear she'd get jealous of him playing too much.

The warmer elements of the game would definitely attract him more to the game because he’s so used to the cold. He would enjoy the darker parts, because that’s just how he is, but the fluff is absolutely his favorite.

(Can you tell I like Russia)

[callieretro]

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

System: Nintendo GameCube Release Date: Oct. 17th, 2005 (NA) Genre: Tactical Role-Playing Developer / Publisher: Intelligent Systems / Nintendo

Completion Date: Jan. 26th, 2025 Playtime: 32.7 Hours (In-Game Time)

Story: Having recently finished it's direct predecessor The Sacred Stones, Path of Radiance's story was a massive improvement. Character writing has always been where the franchise shines, so giving characters extra scenes without having to use the archaic "support" system allows the writers to show off that great work, while also weaving the main story's narrative in with individual party member's. Path of Radiance provides a huge breath of fresh air to said main story by having the main character, Ike, not be an aristocrat, a first for the series. The first third of the game really shines as Ike and his band of mercenaries rush to stay ahead of the invasion of their home country, witnessing the uncaring nature of those whose lives have yet to be effected by the war. This ends up being one of the game's major themes, as we also see this same attitude in the elites of Begnion, and many of the distant Laguz tribes. The story's handling of racism, prejudice, and the propaganda of both, is surprisingly subtle, paralleling Jim Crow-era America, as well as Japan's own imperialist history.

Gameplay: The pacing of the campaign is fairly breezy, although it does start to drag after it's false finale. Level variety is great, with a number of new gimmicks, varied locales, and new clear conditions adding some much needed life to the aging Fire Emblem formula. Battles have a nice flow to them, and as with many other strategy games, it's easy to keep thinking, "one more turn", until it's 2:00AM. Later chapters rely quite heavily on siege weapons/spells to disrupt your game plan, which can be very frustrating with the zoomed in view. You think you're all set until your Pegasus Knight eats a ballista bolt. Despite this, the game is fairly easy. You have all the information before you have to commit to any actions, but making any mistakes or getting bad luck can be very time-consuming due to the series' signature permadeath.

Presentation: This is decidedly the game’s weakest area. The CG cutscenes are wooden and fall into the uncanny valley of neither being realistic nor committing fully to an anime aesthetic. On top of that the audio mixing on them is atrocious, rendering the poorly dubbed characters nearly inaudible. Having stylized, anime-esque cutscenes like Three Houses would've been ideal. The 3D graphics for the map and combat are serviceable, but undoubtedly lack the charm of Fire Emblem 6-8’s gorgeous pixel art. The combat animations feel especially lacking compared to the electrifying animations of those games. Speaking of combat animations, I ended up playing most of the game with them turned off, as the small load times before each one cratered the pacing of battles. The last presentation style the game has are visual novel-esque dialogues that take place in between chapters. The character portraits here feel flat compared to Sachiko Wada's previous work. This style ends up being functional as the conduit for the stellar story, but definitely reflect the game's transitional nature.

Conclusion: Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance is among the best that the franchise has to offer, and among the best strategy RPGs of all time. It’s an easy recommendation to anyone that has even a passing interest in either category, and a great entry point for series newcomers. I'm personally excited to move on to Radiant Dawn in the future!

Score: 8.5/10.0

[peachpitss]

The Player in your Undertale fic is cool. People usually get meta like that in Deltarune fic. What made you do that for Undertale and what do you think the canon relationship between Frisk and the Player is like? :O

ah!! this is such a challenging question. i'm glad you like the way i tackled the subject in my fanfics! i don't think i'd suggest using them as a blueprint for how to interpret the canon player/meta elements in UT per se, since it was mostly just unrestrained summer fun for me. i was just playing in the sandbox trying to figure out how to portray subjects that work MUCH better in a visual/interactive medium. hahaha

i've stated this elsewhere, but i don't think undertale is nearly as concerned with direct player/protagonist relationship and conflict as deltarune. in deltarune, the friction created by kris being seemingly aware of this relationship and their lack of autonomy is one of the plot's primary occupations. undertale seems more interested in playing with the meta of actual video game mechanics/frameworks and turning them diagetic. (hence saving/loading/resetting = timeline/time travel shenanigans.) but in a story where player input still shapes the world, despite the characters involved being much less directly aware of the fourth wall, i decided to depict the player as a sort of eldritch third influence. (the first two influences in my fic being frisk and chara respectively, since i was writing a narrator!chara fic.) the player as a mysterious miasma presence that you can't quite pin down or look at directly. if you had a player, but didn't know what the player was, how would you perceive that? on some level, what i've written may not really be canon-compliant. especially when i tackled the no mercy route. (i really upped the drama there and made things very direct!) and i wasn't really aiming for that, since i was just having fun! there are some really great people doing UTDR analysis, so i'm sure someone has articulated the canon meta elements in undertale much better than i could myself. i'm not generally a theory-crafter and don't have time to go scouring for canon bits to analyze right this second. but to answer your question: i'm not certain if there IS a canon diagetic relationship between frisk and the player since i don't think frisk specifically is aware of the player in the distinct way that kris is.

in my fic, i implied that the repetition of timelines over and over made the memory of where frisk and chara's actions and desires ended and where that "third influence" player element began blurry. IS this something frisk wants to do? is it prompted by something else? are your desires really your desires? it was an echo of frisk and chara themselves finding the boundaries between the two of them increasingly porous. so i was just taking some artistic license and having a lil writerly fun with those themes.

but i'd love to hear other interpretations/answers here bc i frankly just wanted an excuse to write cosmic horror. (':

[dingodad]

honestly itd be kinda sick as fuck to get a new Big Bad introduced. irt whole "other invested forces at play" and the whole "unveiling of candy to the rest of paradox space"

like. its honestly so early in the comic that we might just be playing with far too few pieces to predict what comes next, similar to how early homestuck was focused on other threats that paled in comparison to what was to come. remember all those theories during early homestuck that missed the mark because there literally just wasnt enough info on the playing field yet

i'm excited to see what's next too but i think i have pretty strong reasons to be apprehensive about this kind of thinking. HS1 was able to go more than 1000 pages before namedropping its main villain because it's an 8000+ page epic, and even then there are still to this day a significant camp of readers who think lord english is a bad villain because he wasn't set up earlier than the third act. as much as we would all hypothetically love for HS1 to keep going forever i don't think any of us really want HS2 to be 8000 pages long so i think it is kind of running out of time to start introducing loads of new stuff. (the big climax flash, whenever it happens in the next 6-12 months, is probably the point of no return as far as 'radically changing what HS2 is actually about' goes.)

iteration and escalation was part of HS1's DNA from early on + lord english makes sense as a villain because he is basically a distillation of notions that had been with the story since the beginning (the black king, the invincible demon, the malevolent parental figure, extranarrative forces influencing the characters' lives) so i get where you're coming from re: a "new character based off existing foreshadowing" because that was basically the bread and butter of HS1's storytelling (introducing calliope and caliborn so close to the halfway point of the comic is completely insane if you divorce it from the context that we already knew about lord english) but the thing is i don't think HS2 has anywhere else to escalate to at this point. HS1 already stretched its themes to the absolute limit and i don't know if we can possibly take that to a more interesting place than where we already are.

and i know i've frequently argued that HICU shouldn't feel constrained by what HS1 was and should be able to go in new and unique directions free of those expectations but at its core HS2 is supposed to be tying up the threads that were left wide open after the epilogues and i think the best way to satisfyingly achieve this is by focusing ON those threads and not introducing new ones that only further complicate things. i think i can survive a completely new villain showing up if that's what al really is hinting at because this team have demonstrated they have the creative chops to make that interesting but i don't WANT the current threats represented by dirk/jane to 'pale in comparison' to what comes next because, like, those are the main characters. you know. i want the main characters to keep being the focus of the story

[mycomicbox]

Random Thoughts on Live A Live

🕑 General:

I'd like to make it known that I'm jumping into this game almost completely blind. All of my prior knowledge of Live A Live comes from this video.

Beautiful presentation, though that's pretty characteristic of the 2D-HD look. More retro games should be remade in this style.

This soundtrack slaps, as to be expected from Yoko Shimomura.

One complaint: why is the file menu so laggy when the rest of the game runs fine?

I'm choosing to play the chapters in chronological order, beginning with Prehistory and ending with Distant Future. I'm also playing with the English dub.

🍖 Prehistory:

Fred Flintstone called. He wants his car back.

I can't say that I've ever played a JRPG with zero dialogue.

I like the item and ability descriptions. Why many word when few work?

...My party members can fart and throw shit at enemies. 7-year-old me would've been rolling on the floor laughing.

Pink gorilla harem to the rescue.

GO GO GADGET CROTCH LIZARD

🐼 Imperial China:

Interesting how you play as a kung fu master teaching his techniques to his disciples, rather than the reverse, like in other stories. Fitting that Shifu is at the max level from the start.

This chapter's narrative really feels like an old tale from ancient China, what with a kung fu master single-handedly defeating dozens of men and tigers, entrusting his techniques to his student, and passing away.

I wonder if any student could have been Shifu's surviving disciple in this chapter. For me, it was Hong, but Yun or Lei probably could have been the new master. (UPDATE: I looked this up after the fact, and I was right.)

🍡 Twilight of Edo Japan:

I like Oboromaru's design. He looks fun to cosplay.

Really cool how there are no-kill and no-mercy routes. I tried (and failed) aiming for the no-mercy route, but I'll have to check out this chapter again some time.

Okay, so the Edo period is a little more recent than I initially thought, considering that a few characters have firearms.

Can't trust a single mf in this whole chapter smh

🤠 The Wild West:

I've heard that a few terms in this chapter were changed between the Super Famicom release and this remake. Like, the ointments and jerky used to be alcohol and cigars in the original.

That "your mom" joke got me good.

The part with the townsfolk trapping the town was really cool. Feels very fitting for the setting, and I like how it has a tangible gameplay effect.

I've seen that Sundown and Mad Dog are a semi-popular pairing, and I can definitely see why.

🏋‍♂️ Present Day:

I love Masaru's gimmick of learning techniques from other fighters. He's like a physical variant of Final Fantasy's Blue Mage job.

The saxophone in this chapter's battle theme slaps so hard.

🏙 Near Future:

First time in this game that a character directly addressed me, the player.

Psychic powers are one of the coolest tropes in fiction. The MOTHER series got me hooked on it years ago.

In terms of battle capabilities, poor Akira is probably the weakest of the protagonists, or at least he felt weaker to me.

This chapter feels like I'm playing through a mecha anime. I dig it.

🔧 Distant Future:

Not to get political or anything, but I would die for Cube. I want a plush of them.

something something Among Us joke

When OD-10 commandeers the ship, it even takes over the loading screen tips...

This chapter may have my favorite narrative.

-

⭐️ [A new chapter has been unlocked.]

-

⚔️ Middle Ages:

His fight for heroism was in vain.

Betrayed by an ally, framed as a murderer, denounced by his country and his lady...

With nothing to lose, he gives his heart to the Dark.

Odio.

-

⭐️ [A new chapter has been unlocked.]

-

The Dominion of Hate - Oersted:

From what I've read, choosing Oersted here will lead into a unique (and short) take on the final chapter, adding yet another incentive for replayability. In games with multiple endings, I like to view the bad endings first.

Through pure misanthropy, I'm retconning the outcomes of previous battles to ensure hatred's victory. That is so cool... and so depressing.

There are actually two outcomes to this chapter. The first is by beating all 7 battles, where Odio simply celebrates his success. The other is far more crazy, only achieved by being knocked to critical HP during any of the fights. Odio just... fucking blows up the world in order to recreate it.

The Dominion of Hate - Hero's Route:

I chose to begin this chapter as Oboromaru, mainly because I like the variety of elements in his skillset.

Not gonna lie, this was when the game lost a bit of steam for me. Due to the lack of fast travel or a detailed map, the last few dungeons were a bit of a chore to get through. It's why I put off this chapter for a while.

Even though this is a modern remake, some mechanics in this chapter still carry that air of '90s JRPG crypticness (which could be a positive or negative depending on the gamer). Like, I stumbled into Akira's dungeon on complete accident! And how was I supposed to know about the hidden boss you encounter by fleeing 100 times?

That final boss phase was pretty bittersweet, what with Oersted opening his heart again, freeing himself from Odio. And to think it was a brand new addition, exclusive to this remake.

💭 Final Thoughts:

If I had to describe Live A Live in one word, it'd be... unique! I can't really say I've played any other RPG like it, with each chapter being a mini-adventure with its own unique gimmick. At the same time, it's not just a bunch of demos, as it still manages to come together into a well-written narrative about choosing trust over misanthropy, despite it all. It's almost unbelievable that a game like this released in 1994!

I'm not exactly dying for a sequel, but I can't help but wonder what a "Live A Live II" would look like. Not a direct story continuation, of course, but I'm thinking something like the Final Fantasy or Shin Megami Tensei series (where each game is standalone, yet also shares common elements). I might draw my ideas some time.

Overall, a fun and interesting hidden gem, and I'm glad that it got a well-deserved remake.

[2n2n]

I was wondering if you’ve heard of the Japanese myth that lovers who committed dual suicide get reincarnated as twins? It feels like the Yugi twins are a warped version of that myth if the incestual undertones ( not even undertones ) have any credence to them, in that Aidalro sensei shows us a kiss or something. I just wanted to see if you felt there was a connection with that myth! I find your thoughts and ramblings very interesting!!!

I'll veer slightly off-topic and quibble a little bit about ancillary stuff, but I don't think there needs to be something like a kiss to lend credence to the Yugi twin's love!! I think they could never, ever kiss within the canon, and we could still have effective 'confessions' in a metaphoric and symbolic sense, which we could all understand plainly & have a hard time denying. I think central, evocative story themes that are understood in a prevailing literary sense to be symbolic of romance, is actually lending all of the credence it needs. (In that case, cultural divides probably would become the factor in not perceiving it...)...

I think an awful lot of people would not have any questions or second-guessing if they got the kinds of images we get for the Yugi twins, for their pairings… and, I think if one replaced the images participants with Hanako and Nene, or , well, Mitsuba and Kou, that it would be transparent. If you had an image of Mitsuba on his back, clutching Kou's lips, Kou looming above him, dressed as his Knight, with imagery of flower petals & torn wings scattered about them, and anyone looked into the symbology of such… there wouldn't be a single question about the intentions of that image. Actually, I think if you tried to fervidly deny the implications, you'd be called homophobic or something, right? I mean this playfully and with good humor, ok.... it's funny!!!

The same can be said about story parallel between Hanako and Nene-chan, and Amane and Tsukasa…. Sumire and Hakubo's story…

Anyway, I would say that, the entire aspect of a murder-suicide does call to mind all sorts of various theater plays, stories, myths, etc, in Japanese culture!! the very word 'shinjuu' contains the 'mind/heart' (心) and 'inside'(中) characters...

isn't it an interesting thing..............

'Shinjuu' are said to grant lovers to be reunited in heaven/the next world together. This is why Amane's decision to perform a shinjuu with Tsukasa is innately suspicious-- it's loaded… What was he hoping to accomplish? There almost isn't a way to depict this negatively or neutrally, in my opinion… the deciding factor (in how familial we perceive it to be) becomes the author's choices regarding imagery, emphasis... the very language of 'bound' reminds one of the dire passion of a shinjuu, the act of lovers binding fates. He is bound-boy Hanako-kun! He binds Nene-chan to him through the mermaid's curse ... binds, binds, binds....

As for this 'lovers reuniting as twins' contingency you specifically bring up... it doesn't seem to actually be a historical mythos quite like the old buddhist beliefs around shinjuu, but more secular, and maybe it seems to be more of a scattered superstition? I'm not very familiar with it, as a result!! It does seem to exist ? but not altogether popularly ?... hmm.. the only research I could easily find on it as well, referred only to twins of different sexes (kind of makes sense-- I don't think most people would want to like, imply or lampshade a same-sex relationship even by a magical proxy like this... I think it would generally be seen as tragic to be lovers reunited to be same-sex LOL... also, this research is dated from the 90s)

the term 'shinjumono' mentioned here, I mostly just see referring to shinjuu-centric kabuki/puppet plays.... no relevance to the superstition here. I can't find much.

I would say it's doubtful as a reference AidaIro-sensei themselves intend to make?

if YOU know of other research or historical accounts, let me know ?! I'm no expert hahaha....

However, I would love to take the chance to reference the mythos of lovers turning into butterflies after dying together, which AidaIro-sensei do borrow imagery from....

AidaIro-sensei love to use the imagery of butterfly's wings… for both the twins, and HanaNene. With Hanako, we'll see his wings as torn, damaged…. this spread coupled with the Severance arc-- an arc which ends with Nene-chan attempting to kill herself to be with Hanako in the far shore.... in the story, a girl mourning the death of her beloved, leaps into his grave to die with him instead of marrying another.

so too, of course, does Nene-chan forsake her future prospects in favor of dying with Hanako, her beloved.

Of course, someone else threw their future prospects away.... but why?

so, tattered butterfly wings scattered around a pair of lovers, gives an interesting impression...