#liking the resolution of a ship isn't activism

[anxietycheesecake]

Urgh as someone on both ace and aro spectrum seeing my identity being used to justifying the no-homoing off a canonically gay and bi characters is so shitty. It's not fucking acearo rep. I left wwdits fandom post S5 as the show lost the spark for me eps being hit and miss and how the show treated Nadja. And I'm honestly I'm glad I left seeing people be so rude to you for calling what it is queerbaiting has been so disappointing. Is criticism of shows we like not allowed anymore? And yes it can still being baiting even with queer characters this shouldn't be hard to comprehend. Guess it's both queerbaiting and ship baiting. Also this is last season even if they pull korrasami and get together at the last EP it's not good rep?? It's fun and silly show but shouldn't be on pedestal of queer rep when it isn't and we shouldn't have to settle for scraps.

I can't wait to see how they're going to twist this ask into you being aphobic lmao. It means a lot to hear I'm not crazy, btw. Luckily, all people blocking me are folks I've never interacted with and my most respected followed blogs have agreed with me, so I can't be that mad.

Also, gotta laugh at the aphobic accusations, because I deadass take part in anti-aphobia orgs and initiatives irl all the time, I've fought tooth and nail to have aroace people where I live validated and most of all respected (since corrective rape is a common experience, sadly), the main character of my novel is an asexual actress who struggles with the over-sexualization of her persona and it's been praised by the community, but some folks on the no grass-touching allowed website don't like my opinion on how two CANONICALLY ALLO CHARACTERS' relationship was handled, so I guess I hate aroace people now lol

[utilitycaster]

This question is entirely in good faith: I’m currently watching campaign 2 for the first time, and you’ve said multiple times that you are a mighty nein girlie above all else. I am enjoying it, I think it’s fun and characters are great. But I find myself preferring campaign 1 more. I know this is a minority opinion as everyone loves campaign 2, but I just can’t really find myself embracing it the same way. What is it that draws you about the MN?

So I do want to preface this with the statement that I think it’s extremely valid to prefer Campaign 1 to Campaign 2. Plenty of people whom I respect do! The Mighty Nein happen to appeal to a lot of my sensibilities specifically but I don’t expect it to appeal to everyone else in the same way.

I also want to note that while it's true Campaign 2 is the fan favorite, firstly, the correct response if you prefer something that isn't the fan favorite is to commend yourself on rarified taste, and secondly, statistics are a funny thing. It's worth remembering that what you see as the Critical Role Active Fandom mostly doesn't include people who dearly loved Campaign 1, didn't like Campaign 2, and drifted away entirely in 2018; whereas people who loved C2 and didn't click with C3 are a little more likely to be around just because it's been less time and because there's more non-main-campaign stuff to hang around for (ie, people who haven't kept up with C3 might still have watched EXU Calamity or Downfall, or might be interested in Midst or Candela stuff, or are hanging out for TLOVM/Nein Animated reasons). You are not seeing Every Person Who Ever Liked Critical Role; you're seeing this segment in time.

ANYWAY. Getting to the actual point, I think Campaign 2 is my favorite because I think I take a fairly holistic view of fiction. I have my favorite characters and ships and themes and all that, but it is difficult for me to enjoy something if I don't enjoy a significant portion of it. I can't just watch for one blorbo, because the character should feel deeply rooted in a world, and have a plot that engages with who they are. This is what drew me to D&D and actual play in the first place!

Campaign 2 is the CR campaign that, in my opinion, achieves this to the highest degree. Hilariously, if you see the campaigns as a trilogy, while usually the middle of a trilogy gets slammed for being all moving pieces and no resolution, that actually works out great for a D&D game. Campaign 1 had the responsibility of introducing an entire world that was being built as the game went on (and introducing the players to TTRPGs); Campaign 3 is the realization of all that plot set up. Campaign 2 gets to explore, build out the world, and delve into characters who are inextricable from their setting, and that's what I love.

I started with Campaign 2, but decided to start catching up on Campaign 1 concurrently as I watched C2 week to week, and I started this quite early and finished C1 in about 4-5 months, and I happen to remember that I watched C2 episode 12 and an early Briarwoods Arc C1 episode back to back, and at the time, I preferred Campaign 1. Campaign 1 has its rocky starts, but the cast had already found their characters (even if the mechanics were being ironed out still) and there were very clear tasks. Early Campaign 2, while I still enjoy it, has a lot of milling about and aimless fucking around, and, understandably, the cast is still figuring a lot out. If you put, say, the Nein in Alfield next to Vox Machina at the Briarwoods Banquet? Yeah, one of these is stronger.

The thing is, that aimless fucking around led to character moments, which is the absolute heart of why the Nein are my favorites, and why I think many others love them as well. Without a clear mission or benefactor, this party had to figure out an identity and what they wanted to do, and in doing so, we got incredible moments between pretty much every party member. Vox Machina has no shortage of incredible conversations, but, for example, Keyleth and Scanlan just straight up don't interact one-on-one very much. You can't point to something like that in the Nein. I also think the fact that none of the characters knew each other terribly well helped with this. I've brought that up to contrast with the bonds in Campaign 3; it's not a bad thing to have a person your character comes in with and knows well, but much as I adore a twins conversation, the reason those conversations are so good are because Vex and Vax both spend a lot of time with other people as well. With the Mighty Nein, everyone has to do that because really, with Yasha gone half the time and then with Molly's death early on, we've got Fjord and Jester (have known each other like a month longer than anyone else) and Caleb and Nott (six-ish months and they're both hiding a lot.)

I really do get if people prefer that Vox Machina has two clear missions (with plenty of fuck around time built in) to start, the show-stopping Briarwoods arc next, and then the Chroma Conclave, especially watching after the fact - I am not sure how C2 is if you binge it vs. watch week to week, and it may suffer from a binge watch whereas C1 honestly might benefit. But the payoff is so great; you do not get the interpersonal relationships the Nein eventually have with each other without that early need for them to set their own direction.

Moving on from there, I love the setting of Wildemount and how much slow travel there is (which, to be fair, Vox Machina didn't have because that was all pre-stream; the Nein started teleporting at level 9 and Campaign 1 starts with the party at level 8). I love, as I mentioned, how tied to the continent everyone is and how relevant that is to most of their stories. I do think Molly's abrupt and unfair death early in the story is a crucial part of who the Nein are, and serves as a defining moment that is impossible to replicate but is very meaningful to me.

Also, and this is getting into some very idiosyncratic stuff: I love wizards and clerics and paladins and we get all those. I like gruff or overly formal characters with tragic backstories and good hearts and that's most of the party (unsurprisingly, Vex and Percy, in that order, are my favorite VM members). As someone who is constantly fighting the "Dump WIS not INT" fight, the fact that the Mighty Nein is fairly smart and has multiple characters specifically interested in history and politics and lore is right up my alley (the twins and Percy and Scanlan in C1 serve a similar purpose, and the fact that C3 doesn't have anyone really like this...shows).

I also like that the Mighty Nein are never famous, and I think some people don't like that. For all they are heroes of the Dynasty and end up with connections in the Empire, they aren't council members or tied to anyone specific, and this floating mercenary nature means they are setting their own pace. The only part where I think things get frustrating after some of the rockier early days is when they're hunting down Obann, and that's only a few episodes. While Molly's death is a defining moment, what is honestly a more defining moment is a few episodes earlier, when they decide against the multiple institutionally-backed job offers and decide to take a couple of jobs that will get them out of the city. I think it was jarring for people used to Vox Machina, with their duties to the council of Tal'Dorei, who dedicated a third of their campaign to saving the continent from dragons; but the Mighty Nein's greatest duty is always to each other and to becoming better people. The focus is always on them. Yes there are fetch quests, yes there are NPCs who give them some unavoidable tasks, and yes people use the term "player agency" in weird ways all the time; but the Mighty Nein are, I think, the zenith of what a player agency driven campaign can be. The story is, above all else, theirs and theirs alone.

I don't know if there will be a Campaign 4 - I'm a bit more sanguine about the prospect than I was earlier in C3 - but for what it's worth I don't think Campaign 2 is irreplicable. Or rather, it can't be replicated, obviously, but I think they could do another campaign that is deeply tied to its setting and lets the party choose their own adventure in the same way. It just takes a little more prep up front, and a little more flexibility once it actually starts. If there is a campaign 4, I really hope they do it in that same style.

[air--so--sweet]

TUA Season 4 Spoilers

I saw my friend today who, I wouldn't say she necessarily ships Lila and Five, but she said she's read them as romantic since last season since she felt they were following the archetypal enemies to lovers plot, and the cheating didn't bother her because she sees that as fitting with the whole idea of the characters being flawed (also she never like Lila and Diego together).

All that said, she is in theory one of the fans that this is written for, and she hated it. She said it's unsatisfying because there's no resolution or conclusion to it. Lila neither reconciles with Diego nor leaves him for Five, and the conflict between Five and Diego goes no where because they don't even really argue, just physically fight and then Lila breaks it up and then they all die.

And I think this brings up and important point, because, a lot of us were never going to be behind Five and Lila, but if fans who were primed to enjoy that storyline, still aren't satisfied, then you've fucked up and written it poorly.

Also, while she wanted Five and Lila to happen, she wanted it to happen because the writers were trying to tell a particular story or they though that was what the characters would do naturally. She didn't want it to happen because Steve Blackman randomly decided Five should have a romance and he's not someone who would date so the only option in the existing cast is Lila.

And I think this one of my biggest issues with this season as a whole, none of the characters have any clear motivations - Klaus relapses because he has his powers again when he doesn't want them, not because he has powers again and so it terrorised by ghosts and can't take it (I mean this would retcon last season but it at least makes sense).

Viktor keeps saying he's fighting for Ben because he's his brother but he's not his brother, they didn't grow up together and they don't really have a relationship. Elliot Page said Viktor will always be in Ben's corner because of what Brelly Ben did for him in Dallas and I love that, but we get no hint of that in the show.

Allison says to Claire she has to save Klaus because that's what she's always done - that's objectively not true. In fact we've seen her actively enable Klaus in the past.

Aidan Gallagher keeps saying Five is lost and adrift, but bar the opening scene where Five talks about this at the Keepers meeting, we see no evidence of that. Show don't tell is one of the most basic tenets of writing, but also they tell us literally once and then don't mention it again (to be clear not blaming the actors for the writing, just saying what they're saying isn't demonstrated on screen).

Ben does what he does because he's controlled by the durango attracting the marigolds, he has no agency.

[bumblingbabooshka]

Tuvoktober Day 23: 'Resolutions' Au. [Patreon | Commissions] -Mountain Goats Love Love Love Starts Playing-

Ok. So. In this au Tuvok doesn't go against Janeway's orders and refuses to contact the Vidiians and he and Harry Kim go on to have a long and incredibly tense Captain-First Officer dynamic where Harry grows to actively hate him and is working against him whenever it won't put the rest of the crew in danger. Constantly looking for ways to save the Captain and Chakotay. Constantly keeping everyone on the verge of mutiny: Can you believe he's just wearing the captain's uniform now? She was his closest friend but I guess that didn't mean anything to him. He never liked Chakotay in the first place, why would he think it's important to go back for a Maquis, right? Tuvok doesn't seem good at managing groups of different people if they aren't already primed and willing to listen to him. He also has outstanding bad blood with the Maquis that he canonically never really addresses and I don't think he's capable of addressing it in a way that isn't essentially "I did my job, please put it behind us and do yours." (He isn't good at intentionally winning people over) This when compared to Harry Kim's charisma, passion, and the ease at which he makes friends is a disaster when it comes to morale and public opinion. At a certain point it becomes no longer 'we should go back for the captain' but more 'Tuvok shouldn't be captain.' Harry doesn't really WANT to be captain - his goal is saving Janeway & Chakotay, but if Tuvok isn't going to do it then he doesn't want Tuvok to be in charge. At a certain point, some people also start feeling bad for Tuvok because he's clearly not doing well. He keeps Harry Kim as his first officer despite Harry becoming increasingly insubordinate (there was a long stretch where he pretended to comply and be content while working behind the scenes but that's over now) because, as it turns out, Janeway wanted him to be her successor in the event that she died of old age. It was written in a will she gave Tuvok and now it seems that Tuvok will keep him by his side even though Harry's ready to feed him to the wolves. Maybe he deserves it. Tom asks Tuvok why he's so resistant to giving up his captain's seat (after going to his ready room and getting into an argument with him bc he's like "Look dude, Harry's got almost everyone's support. There's GONNA be a mutiny if you don't step down.") and Tuvok says simply that the captain- Janeway, appointed him Captain and gave them their orders. He will follow them. "To what, your dying breath? That's not very logical is it?" He will follow them, lieutenant. That is all. Dismissed. Eventually there is a mutiny and Harry tries to force Tuvok to step down as captain voluntarily. Tuvok refuses. Harry, frustrated and grief-stricken to the point of near madness at this point, points a phaser at him. They're staring into each other's eyes and Tuvok still refuses and Harry realizes that he can see that wild, broken glint in his own eyes reflected in Tuvok's. They're both so far past the tipping point. Unreasonable. So laden with sorrow and horror and hanging on to the past with both hands bloody so they won't have to face how bad things have gotten, how far gone everything they cared about is in both directions. Harry lowers his phaser and turns away. Tells the mutineers to confine Tuvok to quarters but NOT to hurt him. They're going back. "Aye, captain." Someone says and Harry turns to them, angry and confused. "I'm NOT the captain!" he shouts then looks out at the view screen as Tom turns the ship around, shaking his head. Harry...Harry...what've you done? "We're going to save the captain," Harry insists, gripping the arm of the captain's chair to keep himself steady without sitting in it. "We're going to save them both."

[penultimate-step]

Love, Lies, and Romance: The 3 Ships of Oshi no Ko and 3 Thematic Resolutions

Oshi no Ko is a series deeply concerned with what it means to love and be loved. Ai's wish to love is what starts off the series; her love for her children, and their love for her in return, form the emotional fulcrum upon which the whole manga turns.

Romantic love, too, is a type of love. Aqua's three possible romantic relationships each represent three different interpretations of how to love, and how those relationships are treated is a reflection of how the series views those kinds of love.

For organization's sake, I'll go down the list in order of what I judge as least to most likely to occur in the manga itself.

Ruby - Love is Lies

I've already written a longer meta about this, but to summarize the relevant parts: Ruby, as depicted in chapters 77 to 142, doesn't understand Aqua, nor Gorou. She instead loves him for the image she's constructed of him in her head, for the way he makes her feel - but this has very little to do with the man himself. Her view on Aqua is, in my opinion, a direct parallel to Aqua's view of Ai - she puts him on a pedestal, idolizes him, but that same impetus is what has her mentally keeping a distance from his real self. You can see this all the way back in chapter 77. When she thinks of him, she first thinks of how he made her feel:

Now, this isn't on it's own a red flag, but it is contrasted directly afterward: when asked to predict his own actions and feelings, she's hilariously off:

I think many readers kind of wrote this off as a joke at the time, but this kind of thing lines up perfectly with her behavior in the movie arc. Not only is she inventing a backstory for him (does Gorou ever show romantic interest at all? Why would she assume he was in trouble with girls?) but more importantly she interprets his kind rejection as a tease, and his care to a friend and patient as romantic intent.

A version of the story in which Ruby is Aqua's love interest would literally validate Ai's famous quote, that lies are love - that the person doesn't matter, only how they make them feel does. And that is directly contrasted by, uh. The whole rest of the manga. But to pick a specific scene, see C9:

The kind of love where one person projects on another, the manga has shown us again and again, the kind of love that is lies, results in this. It cannot end happily, for anybody. If Ruby and Aqua end up dating for real, my next bet is that the story ends in tragedy, because that's the only end for that kind of love in Oshi no Ko.

Akane - Love is Lying

To Akane, love is an act - a lie. But hear me out, this is markedly different from Ruby's position. Akane, I think, is actually the closest of the main characters to Ai's mindset. She doesn't feel that she understands love, but she wants it, so she actively cultivates an image of herself that can show love. We know this well, of course, given her actions at the end of LoveNow. She creates a persona of love in chapter 28, much like Ai describes in 4.

And believes that regardless of the artificiality of it, she can keep up the act forever: to earn love through the act is to earn it in reality.

So you may be asking: what is the difference between what Akane is doing, and what Ruby is doing? Well, the difference is in the intention. It is not the lies that are the important part, but the lying - neither Akane nor Ai felt they knew how to love, but their desire to love, their care for others, that was all real love. The performance they put on for others was not an impersonal pedestal, but an active effort done for another's sake. It may be lying, but it is an act of love nonetheless.

If Aqua/Akane was the endgame ship of Oshi no Ko, it would be a simultaneous validation and rejection of Ai's worldview. Yes, if you care enough, lying can be love, if you are willing to forge that connection. But, in this paradigm, Ai's mistake was lying one-sidedly, to a faceless crowd. The crowd cannot return your love, not in a way other than idolization, and we discussed how that turns out in Ruby's entry. Akane's relationship, on the other hand, is much less one-sided and unhealthy, because she lies for Aqua's sake alone, and doesn't hide that she's doing it. As such, her performance can be recognized and appreciated as such, and he can reach back and return her love.

As such, while the lying is a performance, their relationship isn't a lie. The two of them start to see each other's real selves. The dynamic of two people who don't really understand love or how to love, performing a relationship together until they can learn how to do it together, is a sweet one. I could actually totally see this as the main relationship of Oshi no Ko.

But the actions of the characters make clear what the issue is in this kind of love. The seeds of this breakdown are set in chapter 72, which is ironically one of the ones that sets the dynamic up - even as they are trying to create an equal relationship, Akane decides to lie to him for his own good. After all, their relationship has already been established on the basis of lies. To lie for someone else's sake is inherently a one sided choice, and while in chapter 28 we can see it as a cute start to a relationship, it comes back around in a much more harmful way here:

which pays off in their grand breakup in chapter 98. Akane is willing to one-sidedly make the choice to kill Hikaru for Aqua's sake. Aqua, in return, refuses to let her make that choice, tracking her position, then stopping her and cutting her off for her own safety. While Akane is the one who calls him out for this, neither of them are treating the other as someone with agency, and both are making choices for the other. As such, in Oshi no Ko, lying cannot be love - you cannot impose your love on another.

Kana - Love is Sincerity

Kana, differently than Ruby and Akane, is defined in her moments of honesty and sincerity. She is an actress, yes, but even her acting is a kind that emphasizes her true self. There's too many pages to post here, but chapters 60-63 talk all about this directly - her modern acting is about hiding herself in order to aid others, but her best acting is when she ignores everybody else and acts to her heart's desire.

This same sincerity is what forms the basis of the Aqua/Kana ship. Unlike the two above ships, which are on some level founded on artifice, many of the moments between Kana and Aqua are focused on moments where they are each acting as their truest selves. Chapters where they interact, like 30 and 117, show that they both have an easy rapport, acting thoughtlessly and honestly. Chapter 40 points this out directly: Kana has the ability to draw Aqua out of his depressed and overthinking mindset, letting him be his unrestrained self.

This is similar to Ai's own actions in chapter 4. Though she normally puts on a facade and acts out love for the cameras and crowds, the one moment that she is truly recognized as smiling is the moment she accidentally lets slip, and shows true love for her children:

As such, Aqua/Kana serves as a complete repudiation of Ai's mindset. She was wrong that one can lie to love. The only way to love is to be honest, the only time she was able to honestly express love was the moment she died, when she was able to tell her children she loved them. If you aren't sure how to love, you must reach out honestly and you will find it. No act or performance can be love, no matter how well meant.

If this is the ship the manga ends on, which it could be, the message would be that love is in baring oneself to others. Hiding from others with lies, even when well intentioned, like Aqua does to Kana before chapter 107, is a mistake, and to love truly you need to face up to your own feelings and see the other person directly.

Finale

So, what does this all mean? It means that the romantic love demonstrated in the three ships are unavoidably intertwined with the story's ideas about love as a whole. However, his isn't necessarily a foolproof prediction of what the author plans to do next, or what ship the story endorses. Though obviously I think some of these are much more supported by the series than others, until we reach the end it is still possible that things will change, and it could go with any of these, or none of them. This is merely the lens in which I interpret the romantic interactions in the text.

In fact, it's entirely possible that the series ends with no romantic resolution at all, rejecting all three above views on love. After all, while the romantic relationships are undeniably important to the narrative, the love that started this whole story was Ai's familial love for her children - thus, I wouldn't be surprised if platonic love between family and friends will be the most important in resolving it. In any case, the question of how to love is a key part of the series, and will have to be resolved by the story's end.

[aihoshiino]

Ok it sounds weird but I've been wondering if they solved the incest stuff off-screen. It's not just bc of the recent lack of incest but also bc of the ruby and akane moment you mentioned in one of your posts (pre-reveal, she was invested in akane and aqua's relationship so it would make sense then but not post-reveal). And it feels like Akasaka is just acting like black star ruby+flanderized ruby doesn't exist anymore.

IDK that it's been actively resolved offscreen in the sense that Ruby was rejected but with the way the series has been going, I wouldn't be surprised if 150 & 157 in tandem are sort of treated like the 'resolution' to the AquRuby tension. And if you're about to say "but claire that wouldn't resolve anything"… yep, that's the point! Not showing an explicit rejection and failing to elaborate on what the fallout of Ruby kissing him was allows the ship to remain in Schrodinger's Incest territory, where a lack of explicit confirmation or deconfirmation means fans can interpret Ruby as having 'won' while people who dislike it can dismiss it because it is not made textually explicit on page.

I hope this isn't how things go just because I think it would be pretty toothless and feel like a confirmation, to me, that the incest was only ever bait and that Akasaka never intended to give Ruby (& Aqua) any kind of real arc or interiority in relation to incest. It is the outcome that would annoy me the most which is why I think it has a good chance of happening. <3

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

do you find darklina or alutegra more interesting? why?

Oh I mean Alutegra is MUCH more layered, and I think the actual relationship is more competently conveyed? Darklina is interesting to me in the broader brushstrokes of what it suggests + I have an existing forever interest in "kill your overbearing mentor" as a narrative trajectory. From a practical perspective, the larger story also just has more set pieces to play with, a larger cast, and the fandom is all around more active, which is why it's currently occupying my brain more lol. (Also Darklina isn't even my favorite TGT ship dfghjkjhgf I'm a Nikolina truther through and through) I would say Hellsing is straight up better, but its scope is rather limited and like the cast is small and the story is super stylized. I'm personally also an OC hater, so playing in that sandbox is simply more limiting. But if we're only comparing the relationships, Darklina appeals to the things I enjoy in like Phantom of the Opera, and Deathless, and Elisabeth das Musical. That kind of stock dynamic from a lot of gothics of an ingenue and a larger than life villain with all the obvious melodramatic stylistic trappings of it. It's death and the maiden, Don Bluth Anastasia if Rasputin was sexy lmaooo. It’s tried and true, it's fun, it's silly, but it has just enough depth and genuine ugliness, that it can have a more meaningful, visceral heart. I find it the most compelling as a predatory dynamic, and interrogating it from the lens of like abuse and grooming. Despite the silly fantasy plot, the point is that Aleksander wants to break Alina completely, because he has a gaping hole in his own life and he expects her to fill it. And there is so much interpersonal cruelty in that, and that is interesting to me!

Alutegra is meanwhile like playing with similar stock tropes but turning them on their head. Alucard is just outright fucking Dracula lmao. He's thee vampire genre corrupting force. But meanwhile he's Integra's savior, her dog on a leash, and despite all loyalty to her, also personally ruining her goddamn life. The moral quandaries are like tripled; being in league with him goes against everything she supposedly stands for as a vampire hunter, meanwhile he's a ruthless, bloodthirsty murderer and her burden, but also her family's victim. And there's something unique about like... wanting the ruinous canker in your life to... stay there. The "kill your mentor" plotline involves a fairly straightforward like rising above and beyond, but there's no resolution here. He met her when she was fucking twelve and she doesn't know any other life. Even when he disappears for thirty years, she is still fixated on him. It's such a suffocating dynamic! But also they are trying so hard to be nice to each other????? The genuine good will just makes it so much worse. It's like yes, there is a dull, rusty, and poisoned knife in my gut, but I'm going to keep it there and make sure the wound gets worse, and in my heart of heart's I know it doesn't want to hurt me but yes it does <3

[qedmirage]

Episode 14 clear!

And there we go. The climax to our Arc 2 plotline, finished. As usual, gameplay thoughts above the cut, story thoughts below. I feel like there isn't actually much to talk about with the gameplay in chapter 14. The new mechanic of Active Orignium storms is interesting at least; tiles will have Pollution, and a nasty storm that gets stronger and larger each time it touches them circles the map. Plus, some enemies benefit from being in or crossing the storm. The Beacons being used to steer the storm is neat, but the deployable beacon only shows up in 3 stages, so outside of puller/pusher strats there's not much interaction with it. There is a very cute moment in 14-1 where a large number of Originium Slugs look at the Originium Storm and just run away. An 'even speedwagon is afraid' moment. The second half of the mechanics, dealing with the Revenants on the airship and in the Assimilated Universe, doesn't stand out as much to me. You basically have swarms of lil' baby units you want to keep separate from the main units, or they'll eat the small guys to empower their attacks. Works well enough in the main stages but frustrates me in HI-2 because of the sheer quantities of mans they start out with; it ends up feeling like something that really WANTS you to have massive AOE DPS. Special mention to the new flying Chalice enemies, which absorb a portion of the damage suffered by all enemies in an aura around them, have giant HP pools, and 0 defence. And you know what that means:

On to the story. Spoilers abound!

Episode 14's story is long. It has to juggle the resolution for the Self-Salvation Corps, Siege, The Followers, the Taran rebellion, and also the RI gang going up to stop Theresa. It juggles all these plotlines...okay. I felt I came away from it all with more questions about 'Theresa' 's goals and motivations than answers. Okay, high points! First off, chapter 14-10 has an amazing cutscene in it, where the narration talks about the struggles of different members of the Exemplars to get Siege to the 'stone of the sword'. As it does so the image pans up, scrolling as Siege and the sword advance, the narration shifting to the different members of the Exemplars as it does so. The full piece is amazing:

my cinematography! A high point of the story.

Okay, since I know I get a ton of non-arknights players reading these, I'll warn you in advance that this isn't really a full summary of the story, of everything that happens in chapter 14. But I will drill down a bit on one bit, because people make a lot of memes about her and I think she's one of the more interesting parts, and that's Priestess.

Priestess was first mentioned in chapter 8, RI's ship has an AI called 'PRTS', and the map interface has 'Eyes of Priestess' written along the bottom. She (in as much as she has a gender) has been haunting the background of the game, and we don't really learn much about her until Babel and then again now. Back in chapter 8, she's someone who holds Doctor's hand as Doc goes into the Sarcophagus for the first time, and says this:

Well, we've given the writers a few more years to figure out what they want to do with her, and they've landed on some fun stuff! Priestess only appears in person after the airship contacts the originium crystal Ammannan, with everyone being almost instantly devoured by crystals. Like, doc sees this:

And then comes to rest in a dark room with Priestess. Storywise, Priestess is the only known surviving precursor other than Doctor. But she isn't out there 'in the flesh' ; she seems to exist as a digital consciousness inside Originium. And while Doc doesn't remember their past, she does - including their civilization's last struggle before its death, and the decisions they made as a result.

In Priestesses' telling (Which may not be accurate - other characters have disagreed), Originium is a record of their civilization to leave far beyond the disaster passes. The harm that it may cause to other civilizations along the way is irrelevant; it is THE solution, and all those other societies were going to die anyways.

She's very devoted to Doctor, having been with them for a long time; she describes her first introduction of herself as:

"My name is Priestess, a linguist. I am researching the final sound waves emitted by planets as they die. I like quietly spending my time alone, but I also wanted to find someone to explore the universe with."

and it's unclear just how long they were together, but their transhuman hyperspace adventures clearly spanned quite a while. Back in Babel there's a line where Doc references the 'billions of lives lost' in the search to an answer for that disaster, and we also get a firm answer for how long Doc was in stasis before Theresa awakened them: 13,021.9 years [BB-ST-2]. Priestess has been sleeping within Originium for at least that long, and this is where we get to the final neat leg of Priestess's character; her patience and supreme confidence that things will go her way. See, Priestess is an antagonist. From what we know so far, she wants to see Originium flood over the surface of Terra, converting all the life on its surface. She wants Doc to give up and retreat into despair. But Priestess is also loving and affection to Doctor, in the calm way of a long life, and she's confident she knows what Doctor will do. Her words before parting in 14-19 sum it up well.

It's calm, welcoming, caring. But there's a manipulative quality to it, right? Amiya and Kal'tsit are 'doubts'. The entirety of Doc's involvement in the surface world is 'grand rhythms and minute pulsations' destined to fall into silence. At the same time she's far from a standard anime yandere, as she doesn't actually do anything to stop Doc's involvement in the surface world, and wishes them well as they go. After all, why not? She's immortal, and so is Doctor. She can be patient. You will return to her side. ... Okay, some last notes. It's really funny that in the Assimilated Universe, the 'The Matrix' - like construct inside Originium, Logos the words and grammar wizard intuitively understands that the place 'has its own grammar' before Kal'tsit tells him to not study it too deeply. My man got put in a computer and almost instantly was thinking on how to hack it. The Follower's drama with Shining and her dad (sorry I am not copying those names over) is very abstract but I think I get it after a while. Poor Liz, I hope she can find a happy life. Also as Arknights is a game by otaku who definitely read Fate/Stay Night, if your dad is a Matou Zouken you are obligated to kick his ass with your girlfriends. It'll be really hard! But you gotta do it. Finally, I actually have this book on my back shelf, 'Great Mambo Chicken and the Transhuman Condition'. A sort of study of scientists poking at ways to live in space and survive the heat death of the universe and all that, with a bit of a lens of 'aren't these guys kooky' if I remember correctly. It's been over a decade since I last cracked it open. BUT I do remember that the segment on how to survive Heat Death introduces, as one concept, creating a virtual world that would slow its clock rate down as the usable energy lowers, extending the last few perceived seconds of its inhabitants into infinity. Given the literal demons Arknights has in the form of Collapsals I think the disaster that befell Priestess and Doctor is somewhat more direct, but it was neat to see digital arks as a long term survival method again. "Until the stars fall", huh.

[buckybarnesss]

Something I think is interesting is how Stiles and Scott both have troubled childhoods but it's very under the radar. Almost invisible.

Physical abuse, like what we see with Isaac's dad, is very visible. Everyone sees it and says "yes that is abuse."

But Stiles being left alone at the hospital with his dying, delusion mother? Scott's dad being a drunken, violent mess?

It's hidden.

I think this is why the sheriff is so beloved: the trauma he caused Stiles isn't something easily recognizable unless you've had experiences with a parent who tells you to your face that you're a troublemaker. I think this is why Scott's instinctive reaction to Derek is so divisive: it's a trauma response that is going unrecognized because Scott and Stiles don't really talk about it.

it really does fly under the radar that each of the og main cast of teens are deeply troubled one way or another.

teen wolf gets dismissed so easily because it is a campy, silly show that isn't some high brow avant garde piece of television. people online only know it because of the shipping or because jeff davis isn't the best at understanding how time works.

it's also in turn dismissed because it's not buffy or angel and only see it as some emulation that only existed to try to cash in on the twilight craze.

which fair. i'm certainly not going to argue it's prestige television but teen wolf contains multitudes actually. it says something actually.

at it's very heart the show is about generational trauma and overcoming said trauma. it's about growing up. it's about grief. it's about loneliness.

teen wolf says "be your own anchor". teen wolf says the people you choose to have in your life -- your pack --they make you stronger. teen wolf says even when you are at your lowest you can still rise.

it's not perfect by any means but i think people dismiss it too easily.

it tried.

but no one wants my treatise on the underlying themes of silly ol' teen wolf.

scott and stiles resolutely do not talk about their respective issues. it's unspoken between them. they don't need to because they know.

stiles is actively and openly hostile to rafael mccall for a reason. scott is quietly radiating worry and concern when stiles appears to be losing it in riddled because he knows about claudia.

the parents aren't prefect in this show. they are various shades of bad parents.

knowing rafael mccall is an alcoholic that all but abandoned his family explains everything about scott's attitude and behavior towards derek in season 1 and 2.

(no really i need to know if rafael paid melissa child support because it doesn't seem like it. throw this whole man away.)

knowing stiles has unresolved grief about not just the death of his mother but from the trauma of her illness on the family explains why he is the way he is. (the stilinski's storyline is one of the best carried emotional beats of the show).

and it's not like it's just scott and stiles.

lydia's parents are in the middle of a divorce in s1, her father talks shit about her in the parent teacher conference in the tell. he's seen when she's in the hospital after being attacked by peter but he's never seen again after that. it's natalie we see tell lydia about her mother-in-law lorraine so it seems lydia's father had his own trauma and ditched his daughter. natalie is the only parent lydia has from s2 onwards and natalie is spotty at best.

i've gone over allison's abusive family. jackson has so many issues he became a kanima instead of a werewolf. kira has sooooo many issues with noshiko. malia's traumas have traumas. liam has IED and an unexplained absent biological parent.

even the parents have trauma. chris argent has gerard as a father. the man would sell him for a bugle chip. noah stilinski had an abusive father. melissa was in an abusive marriage with an alcoholic.

and of course the king of trauma on television himself -- derek hale.

not all trauma is seen and not all abuse leaves marks on your skin.

[frostbytemyrik]

Sam Manson, for the character bingo sheet :)

I'm sorry, Sam fans. 😔 She has the horrible combination of being a teenage girl AND being a girl written by Bitch Fartman. She's got potential tho, and since the problem of being written by BH isn't a thing anymore with the comics, maybe she can finally be allowed to be a character.

Details below the cut for those who aren't in the mood to read Sam critique. (I get it, especially if you're a fan of her.)

Fun fact: Sam was created with the idea of: "Danny needs a girl that he falls in love with." That's already an awful place to start from, but it can work... It just...didn't work this time.

Many complaints fans, including myself, have with Sam is that she's pushy, selfish, hypocritical, and kinda misogynistic. And those are good flaws for a teenage character to have!! But...the show rarely if ever portrays these faults as a bad thing (especially her "not like other girls" mentality. There was an entire EPISODE about how Sam is cool because she's not "shallow" and "only thinking about makeup and boys" like "other girls" (Beauty Marked). Also remember how Valerie wasn't in that episode because her existence would've harmed the shaky message they were trying to send to kids- I'll stop here).

She wants Danny to use his powers to further her own goals, no matter how noble her intentions, but chastises him for doing the same (Memory Blank). She prefers to escalate a conflict than try to find a peaceful resolution (Mystery Meat). She will impose her own life choices upon others without any regard for their own say (again: Mystery Meat). When Tucker shows these same flaws, retribution is swift, but Sam is allowed to get away with it.

...But I've seen what Sam is like at her best. When her independence is a strength. She values genuine connection over superficial socializing and status-flaunting (Attack of the Killer Garage Sale). She can show genuine kindness to her friends (Control Freaks), and can use her own dedication to being original and true to herself to encourage others to be comfortable with how they are (13 is my favorite example of this). She's also nurturing and responsible, though she doesn't enjoy letting it slip (Life Lessons and Urban Jungle).

I'll skim over the love life section since these are the same points everyone and the ghost haunting their basement brings up: Sam and Danny are SUCH a forced couple in most episodes and their "will-they-won't-they" bit is enough to make Miraculous start sweating, Sam and Danny are at their most satisfying to watch when they're acting like best friends rather than blushing and stuttering like schoolgirls meeting a boy band member (or worse: when they're actively stalking each other), and Danny seems to click a lot better romantically with Valerie anyways. (As for Sam ships, I LOVE her chemistry when she's alone with Tucker so I'm 100% a Veggie Burger truther, but that's just me. Those two just work so much better when they aren't competing with Danny for the spotlight.)

She and Tucker both have a lot of wasted potential in the writing dept, but if A Glitch in Time's quality writing is any indication, things are looking up and we might actually get to see these two get to grow as characters.

[nighttimeebony]

I just got into the Percy Jackson series, so here is a collection of my actual thought process while reading the first book that I bothered to write down. So, spoilers for Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief under the cut. I guess.

EDIT: part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5

Aww, Percy. Neurodivergent rep, I am fed

Is Mr. Brunner Dionysus? I think Dionysus is a major character in this series. But then what’s the wheelchair for? And Dionysus in mythology doesn’t have a beard like that. Oh! What if he’s actually Hephaestus? That would explain the wheelchair and the bearded old man look.

HOLY FUCK IT’S THE MINOTAUR

HOLY SHIT SALLY’S DEAD WHY

Is that tree on the property line the Olive Tree from the founding of Athens myth? Because Percy is the son of Poseidon?

Percy’s dream has got to be some kind of foreshadowing about Poseidon and Zeus fighting each other. Zeus would be the bird because he’s a sky god, and Poseidon would be the horse because in a really really old myth, Poseidon turned himself into a horse to chase down Demeter. Also, the voice from underground egging them on is definitely Hades, because god of the underworld and all that

Also goddammit, Hades is the villain?? Why????? Goddammit, not again…

Mrs. Dodds was definitely a fury, but she’s called a Kindly One. Wonder what that’s about

There’s some Thing about characters dissolving when they die. Wonder what that’s about

Oh shit. I was wrong. Brunner is Chiron. Interesting. Now the whole teacher thing makes sense

Wow, Dionysus is an asshole in this one. He’s more like his older Orphic version than the newer, modern Dionysus I’m familiar with

Everyone is so in love with Luke it's embarrassing

I just adore how casually neurodivergent Percy is. All the jokey references to Dyslexia and ADHD, I just—I love it so much. And I love that it actually is dyslexia and ADHD. And that apparently all the half-bloods are dyslexic and ADHD too. We love to see it.

Oh my God, I love all of these children so much.

HOLY SHIT AUNTY EM IS A GORGON

I WAS RIGHT

I find it amusing that Hermes named the activation password for his magic shoes after his mother

I wonder what Persephone's like

Grover's gonna be the friend to betray Percy, isn't he? He better fucking not be. I love him. If Grover's the Traitor MHA-style, I'm gonna riot

One difference between Harry Potter and Percy Jackson (the characters) is that Harry marvels at every new instance of magic. But after Percy learns about the magic system, he just stops giving a shit. Once he learns that magic is real, he is surprised by absolutely nothing and does not question the irrelevant stuff, like Annabeth's invisibility hat, or how the fuck a ballpoint pen can turn into a sword.

Percy is such a sassy, sarcastic little shit and I love him so fucking much.

ECHIDNA

"Isn't that a kind of anteater?" I love this child

*Percy wondering what all the mirrors are for in the Tunnel of Love*

Me: "It's gotta be a kink thing."

*While Ares and Aphrodite were smooching with each other they could look at their favorite person: themselves*

Me: "Called it."

Wait……. Is the traitor Luke????? He's like the only other "friend" Percy has

Thank God Hades isn't the bad guy

Aw, I wanted to see Persephone. Don't worry, Percy, I'm disappointed too

You know what, from now on, anytime a protagonist has to live with an abusive parent figure, the only resolution I will accept is turning that bitch to stone and selling him on the black market.

Thank God Percy can have a nice, stable home life with his mom in between rounds of risking his life.

I'm so on-board with Percabeth, and this friend group as a whole

I FUCKING CALLED IT! LUKE WAS THE TRAITOR!

Thank God the characters in this book have a fucking brain. Percy's an impulsive little chaos gremlin, but he's not an idiot.

I'm kind of curious to see what the shipping side of the Percy Jackson fandom looks like, cuz Percabeth is great, and I'm pretty sure that's the main canon pairing, so I'm curious….

Honestly, I can't wait for Percy and Annabeth to start dating. I'm so excited to see what their relationship will be like in a romantic context

I love this book and I want more immediately.

[eponymous-rose]

So I've been rewatching Star Trek: TNG as comfort TV during/post-move and just got to Yesterday's Enterprise, which I remember liking well enough, but man, it's really unusual in the context of the rest of these early episodes. For one thing, the violence shown is a lot more stark than we've seen in the show thus far - Riker with his throat cut, Captain Garrett with the metal shrapnel in her head, lingering close-ups on dead faces. It's dark and moody and the "happy ending" resolution (as far as we know at this point, anyway) is saving the few survivors of a brutal battle, patching them up, and then shipping them straight back into that battle to be killed.

Given the show's not-so-great track record with its female characters, it's weirdly refreshing that we get a re-do for Tasha Yar. And yeah, she falls in love with a dude and goes off with him on his ship, but she was ready to say goodbye to him and that would've been that - what finally prompts her to step willingly into the meat-grinder is the realization that she had an "empty death" (Guinan had some really raw lines in this one) in the other timeline, and that now her death can have some meaning. It's nicely done, if a bit of a self-flagellating "mea culpa" on the writers' parts.

The alternate timeline isn't the gleeful, campy evil of the Mirrorverse, it's just an exhausted grind through the final days of a losing war. Lots of little touches show how desperate things have become - Wesley's been fast-tracked to a full ensign, Picard is a tactician first and foremost (he takes officers' opinions under advisement, yes, but he's also keeping from them the inevitable, imminent surrender), the bridge is laid out so the captain is front and center with everyone else in the background. As a contrast with the actual Enterprise's chill 90s living room lounge vibe, it's pretty striking. It's like a sneak preview into the bleak and war-heavy sci-fi that would start saturating pop culture a decade or so later, and then it's a firm rejection of that premise - "This isn't a ship of war. It's a ship of peace."

I have a long, long history with TNG - DS9 is my favorite Trek on balance, but TNG is encoded in my DNA. From around ages 3 and 5, my brother and I were watching and rewatching TNG constantly. (My parents would laugh over the fact that my brother didn't know how to read yet but had memorized the episode titles of the first couple seasons.) We had pajamas. We scoured every garage sale and had a giant metal can full of action figures and phasers and tricorders and ships and even, shockingly, that transporter toy that made things disappear using mirrors.

The tactile experience of those toys is burned in my brain - the loose nacelles on the Enterprise model, the click of the left phaser button, the little hole at the bottom of the Borg cube that we once stuck a pencil in and had the tip of the graphite snap off and rattle around forevermore. My brother and I played incessantly with our action figures, to the point where most of them had the paint at least partially rubbed off - we created hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of new episodes over the years. The first time I ever used a touchscreen was at some sort of Star Trek exhibition in Canada in the early 90s that we stumbled across on our way to visit my grandparents.

I'm always fascinated by how kids interact with fictional media - my brother and I were so young, but we obviously knew Star Trek wasn't real. Except... I just always assumed that important people watched it, realized "well, that seems nice", and were actively working to make that future happen. I was (perhaps a little embarrassingly) older when I realized that no, we weren't gonna be out there on science missions to the stars during my lifetime. At least, not in an Enterprise kind of way.

At any given time, there's just this Star Trek filter over how I experience the world - when I got to go to college thanks to scholarships, I had that weighty feeling of responsibility and awe that came with daydreaming about Starfleet Academy. I saw my career shift from the gold of engineering to the blue of science to the red of command. And the older I get, the more I appreciate a show that, for all its flaws, managed to make a utopia interesting and complex.

Because TNG was such a phenomenon when I was a little kid in the early 90s, a lot of my family relationships also have TNG tied up in them. I remember going to my grandparents' apartment and my uncle showing us a fan magazine about the show. I remember another uncle who didn't really "get it" but gifted me and my brother astronaut ice cream because he knew we liked that space stuff. I remember watching most episodes curled up on the couch or my parents' bed with my brother and my mom and dad. When Mom got sick and we talked about death, I remember the way she wistfully brought up the Nexus from Generations or how she hoped she could see the next season of Picard (she didn't, sadly, but she really enjoyed that first season). Hell, one of the first real bonding moments I had with my otherwise hyper-professional and businesslike PhD advisor was when she made a TNG joke, I laughed at it, and she said, "I just love that show, everyone's so nice to each other."

It's just been a lot of fun coming back to this show, is all. I think I periodically forget how much it's affected me and the extent to which it was a fundamental, formative influence. While a lot of it either hasn't aged well or fails to hold up to modern media analysis, so much of it is still lovely, and occasionally there are these moments of shockingly good storytelling.

Star Trek good.

[candaru]

Fixing Marie and fixing Stein's arc*

*Disclaimer: I am ONLY an anime watcher. I have some loose knowledge of the manga, but this rewrite comes from the standpoint of "what would make the story tighter" with no thought of the manga canon.

Soul Eater starts as a 1/10 show and gets up to a solid 8/10. Those early episodes don't interest me at all, because fixing them would require starting over from almost scratch, but those 8/10s are so fucking juicy and easy to turn into 10/10s with just a little bit of rewriting. With that being said:

Spirit should've been the one to pull Stein back from the madness. Marie's arc should've been about motherhood, and she should've been used as a foil for Medusa.

This isn't even about shipping, though I do ship Spirit and Stein. This is about tightening up a story to actually wrap up loose ends and not create female characters solely to exist for the male ones. Here's how the fixes work:

For of her introduction, instead of the "I just want to get married for money and be lazy" gag which we never actively see from Marie (she is clumsy at her job, but never lazy), and the godawful "I'll marry a toilet" joke, Marie is introduced as being upset being called into work because she wants a nuclear family. She dreams about being a housewife and stay-at-home mom, and focuses deeply on the latter part. When Azusa points out that she'll have a chance to teach lots of children, Marie points at Blackstar and Death having an explosive fight in the distance and says something akin to, "Those aren't normal children!!!" It's Soul Eater, it's a comedy.

There are already a good number of scenes where Marie and Crona interact, and Crona clearly sees Marie as the (good) mother they never had. All that needs to be done to further this agenda is showing Marie's POV—she's initially unsure of how to treat Crona, given their circumstances, but quickly grows fond of them and begins to take special interest in caring for them.

Marie is still sent to live with Stein, as her extremely empathetic and kind nature is a good balance to his apathy and insanity. However, he is not just allowed to wander free, ESPECIALLY after being caught trying to free Medusa. Death doesn't want him in chains, because he feels that's animalistic, but tells Marie to keep him under house arrest for a while.

This would've worked fine, except that the snake planted in Marie has been lying dormant, and when Medusa activates it, she can control Marie like a puppet to let Stein out. That's when he goes and gets lost in the maze of his own mind.

When Crona comes to Death to request seeking out Stein, Marie says she can't trust them anymore, and demands to come with. In response to that, Spirit says he can't trust Marie, because the snake might still be residing within her. Besides, he knows Stein best. He's coming, too (instead of SITTING AROUND IN THE DEATH ROOM DOING NOTHING FOR SEVEN EPISODES).

During the battle against Stein and Medusa, Marie and Spirit both try to lunge for Stein, but Medusa cuts them off with an attack. Marie ends up separated and with Medusa vs. Crona, while Spirit ends up separated and fighting Stein alone.

When Medusa taunts Crona for being an obedient child, Marie cuts in with, "Yes, they ARE obedient! And kind, and gentle, and patient! That's why you don't deserve to call yourself their mother!" She turns to Crona and nods, affirming her trust in them. This is a resolution to Marie's saying that she can't trust Crona until she sees them fight Medusa, and fills Crona with emotion and strength: they realize they have another mother who cares about them more than Medusa ever did.

Meanwhile, Stein says to Spirit what he did to Marie in canon (begging him to run away before he attacks), adding that "I hurt you once before, I'll do it again!" but Spirit stands strong. He might be terrified inside, but he doesn't show fear the way Marie does, because he's seen Stein like this before.

Inside Stein's head, we see the radio. LET'S TALK ABOUT THE RADIO. In canon, Medusa tells him to smash it, and at one point it seems the radio might be his way of hearing the outside world, because he hears Maka's voice? But usually, his own voice is muttering nonsense, and it seems to represent his madness, in which case Medusa would never suggest he destroy it. Then the solution is to "accept it," which is not a good suggestion given the in-universe context and ALSO doesn't have anything to do with the radio metaphor.

So, in this rewrite, the radio is clearly representative of his madness. It's Stein's own voice, repeating things like "follow the path of madness," "you belong to Medusa now," "dissect everything," etc. Stein tries to reach towards the radio to turn it off, but every time he does, he seems to interfere with it and a loud, awful static noise happens over the voices. This makes it so he can't hear the voices, but is also painful, and he keeps stopping to cover his ears. He can't get close to the radio, so he doesn't know what to do. He doesn't want to listen to it, but if he tries to turn it off, the static gets louder and hurts him.

Medusa suggests that he just stop trying to fight it. If he stops fighting it, the voices will come in clearly, and he won't be in pain anymore. "Just accept it; just listen to the voices. That's what you really want, anyway, isn't it?"

While he fights Spirit, both of them are going all-out, yet exceedingly good at dodging and blocking each other—because they were Weapon and Meister for years, and they both know how the other moves. Because of this, Spirit manages to corner Stein against a wall with a blade to his throat.

Stein, with his eyes shadowed over so it's unclear if he is mad or sane, tells Spirit to just cut it off and end it all. Spirit shakes his head, and reaches out to soul resonate with Stein.

He enters Stein's headspace the same way we see happen often with Maka and Soul; he sees Stein crouched on the floor, hands to his ears, and the radio. Stein explains the situation, and tells Spirit to try smashing it with his blade. Spirit can tell this will kill Stein, but Stein says he doesn't care. "I can't fight it. I'd rather have it destroyed."

(The fights between Medusa/Crona/Marie and Spirit/Stein cut back and forth to add tension; I'm just telling them in order to make things clear.)

Spirit walks over, seeming as if he will smash the radio—then reaches out to the dial and turns it. It's a volume dial. The voices turn way, way, down. Stein looks up, startled and looking as though the pain has suddenly rescinded.

Spirit explains: "You're right. You can't fight it—not alone. That's why you need people around to help you. I can't turn it off, but I can at least turn down the noise."

In the real world, we see that Spirit has turned Stein's head gear. It looks like the radio dial. Stein has been trying to turn it down himself all this time, to no avail, but when Spirit turns it, it works. Stein falls against Spirit momentarily before opening his eyes and waking back up into sanity.

"Spirit..." "Yeah?" "Sorry about experimenting on you." "Eh. If you really want to apologize, you can buy me a sake when we get back."

It's Soul Eater, it's a comedy.

At this point, Marie is able to get to them, and throws herself into the hug, overjoyed to see Stein back to normal. She pulls Stein's glasses out of her pocket and hands them to him. It seems the battle is finally going their way, but Medusa is preparing another attack on Crona.

At this point, the canon resumes as normal, with Maka and Soul showing up, etc. Absolutely nothing in the other plots is ruined, since Spirit would've just spent the entire time stuck in the Death Room with Azusa.

[hiddenfolk]

fish,,

Davy Gamigin • Rank 7

Bloodline ability: Flying Dutchman

Gamigins can create spectres, ranging from abstract balls of light to more humanoid ones. These spectres can possess and manipulate objects much like a poltergeist. At close-mid range, Gamigins have full control over the actions of the spectres, but at longer ranges the spectres can only follow very simple commands, given to them beforehand. Also, spectres cannot alter the physical properties of an object in any way; they can merely move it. They can however activate any intended functions of a tool.

Backstory:

The Gamigin family isn't a particularly prestigious or high class family, but they have built up a decent level of respect within their small corner of the world. The Gamigins live by one of the most brutal and dangerous seas in the demon realm, one too vast to be crossed by flying. They essentially function as guardians, helping ships navigate dangerous sea routes, rescuing drowning demons and manning the local lighthouse. It's quite a tough job, even for an aquatic demon, but the Gamigins take it with a quiet but resolute diligence that those around them have come to acknowledge.

Bio:

Pretty much as said above. Davy spent his days on the high seas, fighting the elements and guiding ships through storms, slowly but surely building up a decent reputation within the circle of Lady Levy. At some point she invited him to become a teacher at her school; after all with his experience, he'd be able to provide the students with a lot of real-life survival knowledge.

Unfortunately for him, Gamigin REALLY didn't fit in at Levialon. His rough-around-the-edges personality and messy approach to life didn't exactly align with Levialon's focus on good manners and discipline, and the other teachers weren't exactly enthused with him. At some point he decided to move away, and transferred to Babyls. It's not 100% clear whether he moved because he was transferred or transferred because he moved.

Gamigin is the senior's Practicals teacher. Since he spends most of his time in the senior's buildings, he is not very well known to the younger classes.

Personality:

Gamigin is a pretty quiet person who tends to keep to himself. Not necessarily out of shyness, more because he's vaguely out of it. To others he comes off kind of messy and disorganised, wandering away wherever the wind takes him and coming back whenever he pleases, usually mysteriously damp and smelling of seawater. However he is by no means incompetent. An incredibly practical, no frills person, Davy doesn't waste time on anything but the most important, integral survival skills and drills them in like a drill sergeant.

Simply put: Davy only expends his time and energy when it's something vitally important. However when that important moment comes, he is always the first to act. He's a quietly observant person, who pays a surprising amount of attention to others even if he doesn't show it.

Davy cares about other people, but doesn't necessarily know how to socialise. After all he spent years in the middle of nowhere, where the only interaction he had with others was making sure they didn't die. It matters to him that people have the ability to protect themselves in any situation, but he can't help but see others as living in a fundamentally different world from him. Two ships passing in the night, if you will. He doesn't really expect anyone to stick around long term, so he doesn't really put that much effort into forming a strong emotional attachment with them. He doesn't feel positively or negatively about this, it's just kind of a neutral fact of life. In practice though, that means he has no particular social skills and doesn't really put effort into learning any. He's kind of awkward.

Trivia:

•While he's away teaching, the sea/lighthouse isn't unmanned, don't worry- the rest of his family are still around and they're doing fine without him. In addition, the amount of ships navigating the area, and periods of bad weather are pretty seasonal, so there are definitely plenty of peaceful months in the year. Davy does still take time off to pitch in during the busiest seasons.

•Davy's room is on the bottom floor of the teacher's dorms because he sleeps in a giant water tank.

•Has a LOT of scars all over his body. He does deal with chronic pain from old injuries.

• Younger students are scared of him but the senior students tend to see him as kind of a pathetic mop. The kind of teacher who's pretty chill about being the butt of the joke.

Likes:

• Water. Babyls is inland and therefore has much less access to bodies of water, so he will embrace every single opportunity to be in water. Has gotten in trouble with Dali about running up the dorm's water bill before.

[burrowkit]

So, I full out acknowledge that my life has been good, but a lot of random, weird, awful stuff has also happened that feels relatively fine but like...

Sometimes someone calls it out and then it's like "wait, that's just a Tuesday for me. Is this not normal?"

Among some of the stranger (bad) things (I guess)-

Basically growing up with minimal oversight at a sailing club (still was safe, it was def community watches all the kids attitude)

Girls snapping each other's bras back to cause pain

Playing a game called Man Hunt which was kind of like tag, but like, if you were tagged you joined the hunting party, and tried to find everyone in the school yard

A reminder that being popular tends to be seen as well known. You could be the heavily bullied kid but still considered "popular" because everyone knows your name (I'd argue popular and well-known/notorious are two different things, but whatever)

Had the entire male population of my class (and many guys from the other classes) be my bully (as a gal)

Had a guy (different school, why is it always the guys? This actually should go above the previous 2 points, but anyways) spend the entire year sneaking up behind me to scare me. This has resulted in my very LOUD scream when I'm startled, as a defence mechanism

At every immunization/flu shot/vaccine dose, someone would always punch my arm near/at the injection site for up to a week later (someone as in another student)

Cornered into small spaces by a guy

Had my stuff constantly stolen (when it's the entire male population, it's pretty easy for them to steal and hide my stuff)

Had my OCD made fun of while I was clearly struggling

Was bullied because I was crying because my grandmother had just died (my dad was being a tad tough and forcing me to go to school because he couldn't miss work, the kids didn't seem to understand I had little choice in my ability to stay home)

Attempted to give the silent treatment/ignore my bullies as a New Year Resolution because I was desperate to just not have them in my life (which ultimately made things worse and got me called a bully for wanting to cut out people actively tearing me apart)

A break for positivity, reading all sorts of cool books during lunch

Okay. Had a crow call my name, repeatedly. When I made it to High School, it did move there. It does occasionally find me, continuing to call my name.

Had everyone constantly shipping me with everybody. Constantly. Any guy I talk to? Clearly they're my "soulmate" and I need to date them. -eyeroll-

Jumping back in time, we used to camp with a giant group of my parent's friends, and we all love Scooby Doo. We'd spend every year trying to do a show of some sorts. One year, we made a horror film (which is really more of a comedy, but anyways)

Spent time as a kid playing catch with the wind. (Tossing a giant frisbee into the air, it would hover for a few seconds, then come back to me)

Had 2 friends be given the "it's them or us" choice. First one chose the new group, bullied me out of our friendship. Second one chose me, held it over my head. Learned the lesson that it's best to bow out.

Frequently late to school (high school) due to the school bus picking us up late. Got made fun of for that.

My friends became obsessed with locking out bad emotions, and pushed me to lock up all my emotions except seeming happy to them.

Things time in such weird ways, and I can't even explain that

Randomly picking up phones before they ring.

Was told off by a random city bus driver because I couldn't see the accident (no one else on the bus saw, but he took out his anger on me)

{I should mention, I was once told I was a bully magnet. Like, went to this class specifically for people who are outcasts... they made me the designated outcast... of outcasts. That kind of hurt}

I constantly learn something new that I have normalized as "this is life", only to find out that it's so absolutely not. E.g. having bad fevers with a period isn't always normal. Nor is feeling like one is dying... anyways...

Being treated as a Reserved Sign in High School for the tables in the cafeteria during our free... even when there are other tables available.

After a car accident (MINOR car accident), being told by the doctor that I'm lucky to be alive, let alone the fact that I was the only one with minor whiplash

Being laid off during the solar eclipse (and having a minor surgery pre-planned later that same week, and my car being fixed magically too)

Said lay off came with the bonus of being able to spend time with visiting family which was a great coincidence

On the other negative thing, learning that abusive work conditions are often the same red flags as relationship ones. Same names, different 'this is what it looks like'.

[samasmith23]

The best Saladin Ahmed Ms. Marvel scene

One of the strongest elements from the original G. Willow Wilson run on Ms. Marvel IMO was the complicated relationship between Kamala Khan and her best friend Bruno Carrelli. While Kamala & Bruno already had a long history as childhood friends, Wilson portrayed both characters struggling with developing romantic feelings for each another due to them now being teenagers and dealing with hormones and all that jazz. Saladin Ahmed followed-up on this subplot during his run on Magnificent Ms. Marvel after Wilson left the title, and in Issue #9 seems to finally settle the "will-they/won't they" drama of the character's relationship by having Kamala suddenly kiss Bruno when she was torn between stopping a supervillain's rampage and staying at the hospital with her dying Abu.

However, by Issue #15 after Kamala felt awkward about publicly dating Bruno and suffered a near-death experience due to the events of the Outlawed crossover, the two decide to have an incredibly honest and earnest conversation about the status of their relationship:

Although I’ve used to be a huge shipper of these two as a couple, I can honestly understand both Kamala & Bruno’s perspectives here on why they feel it won’t work for them and feel they should just stay friends despite their feelings for one-another. And I love how Kamala acknowledges being confused about her feelings for Bruno since she kissed him in a heat of passion when she was emotionally stressed due to other factors like the Stormranger Nanosuit influencing Kamala's physical behavior to try and kill her arch-nemesis Discord (aka, Josh Richardson) and her grief and anger over her Abu dying in the hospital while she had to go off and fight the supervillain Mr. Hyde.

Additionally, Bruno acknowledges that maybe he was too fixated in the ideal relationship he always imagined having with Kamala that and ended up being a jerk about wanting to be more open about their relationship after the kiss. And while it’s a more subtle implication, Bruno’s mentioning of his ex-girlfriend Mike from G. Willow Wilson’s run is a reference to Bruno and Mike’s relationship developing at a more natural pace without any of the awkward baggage that comes with Bruno & Kamala being best friends since childhood.

Furthermore, this conversation between Kamala & Bruno served as a nice callback to the rooftop scene from the Last Days arc of Wilson’s run wherein Kamala similarly stated that she wasn't ready to pursue romance due to her life as Ms. Marvel. Except here, Ahmed provides some resolution and closure to Wilson leaving possibility of a relationship developing between the two open-ended, settling on the two characters deciding that the messiness of being a couple isn't worth risking their friendship over.

Overall, I was surprisingly impressed by how Saladin Ahmed handled Kamala and Bruno maturely sorting out their relationship and their decision to remain friends going forward. And I say all this as someone who defended and championed the KamalaXBruno ship for quite awhile (especially since a large subsection of Ms. Marvel fans on Twitter seem to actively despise Bruno as a character for reasons that I honestly don't understand...).

From Magnificent Ms. Marvel (2019) #15 by Saladin Ahmed & Minkyu Jung.