#or at least is the substantial main cause of it

[xetlynn]

alt au claggor x reader childhood friends to lovers maybe mylo convinces claggor to confess maybe spicy??? thank you ❤️❤️

>:3 made this feeling sick as heck but so proud of it🙏

Arcane Imagines- Claggor

Confessions Lead To…

⚠️WARNING🔞: SMUT [arcane] [main page] prompt: in which Mylo actually has good advice for Claggor, leading him to a wonderful night. (I made it modern college au, just little mentions of modern day things) containing: fem!receiving oral, missionary, riding, anvil position, unprotected sex, creampie, slight cockwarming.

“Just do it, she obviously has a thing for you too!” Mylo tells his brother, hanging from the top of his loft bed. Claggor was pacing back and forth. “I can’t! I don’t want to ruin our friendship. What if I make it weird?” He esperates, rubbing his hands through his hair dramatically. 

“Dude, would [Name] do that? Honestly, answer me that.” The shorter one of the two asks with an annoyed expression laid on his face. “I mean, no but it could feel awkward between us and then I’ll look stupid.” Claggor frowns deeply. 

He’s had a crush on you for months now, it’s only getting substantial. “Claggor, I can’t tell you what to do. But I am telling you if you don’t do it you’ll be a pussy.” Mylo points a finger down at the larger man who gives him a deadpanned look. “You were the same if not worse when it came to Gert!” 

“Hey, at least I’m with her now. I shot my shot.” He defends himself, crossing his arms and looking up at the ceiling. Claggor sighs, knowing that his annoying brother is actually right. 

“Ugh, I swear if I’m doing the wrong thing no one will see me for a while.” His shoulders drop in defeat, leaving his brother’s room to get ready to confess his long-time feelings. Mylo wasn’t paying attention, raising a brow when he noticed that Claggor left… ten minutes later. 

•••

You hummed in your kitchen, finishing up some chores you wrote down to do for the day. You had the house to yourself since your roommate decided to go on a trip with her girlfriend. 

You get a ring from your phone in your back pocket, wiping your sweat and you pull it out. Answering it without checking and putting it up to your ear. “Hello?” “Oh, hey [Name]! That was a quick answer.” Claggor chuckled on the other line. A smile erupts on your face. 

“Hii, Claggs.” You threw your rag on the counter, leaning next to it. “Can I come over? For a little bit. If not, I understand.” He seemed extremely timid which caused you to tense up. “Um, of course! I’m just doing those chores I told you about but I could use a little break.” You happily say despite the horrible gut feeling you got. 

“Awesome, see you in 5.” He hangs up the phone before you even get the chance to respond. You stare at the phone for a few moments, placing it beside the rag. You go to the bathroom to clean up a little bit, interrupted by the sound of your doorbell. 

Claggor’s apartment was two floors down from yours so you’re not surprised he got here as quickly as he did. You go to the door, swinging it open. You move out of the way allowing him to enter. “Something wrong?” You scrunch your nose. “No, not at all. Why?” He asks with sweat forming on his forehead. “You seem a little off is all.” You shrug your shoulders. He heads to your bedroom, you behind him. 

“What’s going on? You’re worrying me a little bit.” You mustered a meekly smile. “I’m sorry.” He sighs, drooping down on your bed. He comes over often so this is normal for the both of you. He was too embarrassed of Mylo so he deemed your place to be better to hang out if you guys weren’t going out. 

“Is there something I should be worried about?” You hold yourself now. “I don’t know. I’m just going to come out and say it so prepare yourself I guess?” He avoids eye contact, his eyes wandering everywhere except at you. “I think I like you. Well I know I do. A lot. I have for a few months now. I didn’t know how to stop them and when I tried it made it worse.” He explains leaving you in shock, this being the last thing you were expecting from Claggor. 

“I feel like a child, giddy whenever the smallest thing happens between us. It’s truly pathetic.” He laughs at himself, your lips twitching upwards. “It’s not pathetic.” You tell him. 

“I’m the same way when I like someone.” You sit next to him on the bed, grabbing his hand. “When I like you I should say.” You watch his face blush a bright pink. “You feel the same?”

“Yeah, I have for a little bit now.” You nod your head, keeping his hand folded with your own. “That’s crazy to me. How could someone like you give me such the honor of liking me.” He whispers it was mainly to himself but you heard. You rolled your eyes playfully, grabbing his face with your other hand. “You’re so dumb. You’re perfect for me.” You coo, slowly leaning forward. His eyes widen but he follows your lead. 

Your lips locking, the warm, soft feeling on one another. You deepen it by getting on your knees and unlocking only a few times to go back for more. 

Swapping saliva as your tongues tease each other. His hands travel to your waist, pulling you onto his lap. Your plush thighs on either side, straddling him. “Hmph.” He breathes roughly after you nibble at his bottom lip. You go to apologize but he does it back. Making it fair. 

You grin into the make-out, grabbing onto him as you attempt to pull him even closer to your body. 

Your hips subconsciously roll back and forth across his crotch. His lap tenses at the motion but he doesn’t stop you. His arm is latched around your waist as the other is keeping himself along with you propped up. 

The further into the make out the more blood progresses to his boner. It’s now prominent enough for you to feel against your area. 

Arousing you both to a degree you’ve never felt before. The wetness of your juices soaking through your clothes. He swore he could feel your cunt spasm on him. He loved it. 

He wanted to feel more. With the arm that was around your waist he pushed you down gently enough you couldn’t even tell what he was doing. You moaned in his mouth at the pressure. 

Your head was beginning to feel dizzy at the lack of oxygen you were taking in from being too excited to breathe. You had to pull away from him to catch your breath. His chuckles at the sight of your flushed out face, lips plumped out even more, your hair slightly a mess. You were beautiful. 

“I need more.” You huffed out, lifting your hips up only to plop back down upon him. He gasps from the movement. “Yeah?” He asks with hooded eyelids, giving your body a once over as he leans back. “Mhm.” You nod your head and then all of a sudden your back was against the bed as Claggor was in between your legs. You squealed out, laughing. 

“I don’t have condoms on me.” He suddenly remembers, he goes to get up but you grab the hem of his shirt to stop him. “I’m on birth control.” You say, legs wrapping around his thighs since his waist wasn’t close to you anymore. He smiles eagerly, passionately kissing you. 

“Such a pretty girl.” He mutters in your mouth, pulling back. He takes his shirt off and you admire his body as he does so. He had muscle that showed but also such a soft adorned tone. You were obsessed. 

And if you weren’t wet before, you definitely were now. You followed suit though, throwing your shirt and bra over your head, throwing it to the ground. 

His eyes glued to your chest, a little too long in your opinion as you grew self-conscious. Covering yourself without realizing it. He takes your wrists, pulling them to your sides. “You’re too beautiful to be doing that.” He shakes his head. His hand touches your face, digits trailing down from your jaw to your neck… Lower now as he dances around your nipples before lightly pinching them. You whimper at the feeling causing him to smirk. “They’re sensitive?” He tilts his head and you quietly nod your head. 

He chuckles, now doing the same with the other one just to hear the little noises that exit your mouth. 

He innately rubs his crotch against yours, pushing up against you. You rut your hips up to meet him, wanting more. 

“Please, I want to feel you.” Your hands go to his shoulders, lightly prodding him away. “Alright, I guess I had my fun.” He sighs jokingly, he moves back a bit, repositioning lower on the bed. Once he gets comfortable laying on his stomach, face to face with your clothed pussy his fingers find the top of your shorts. He toys with you, heavily breathing at your core. You wanted to squish your legs together so he’d stop but you resisted. Finally after what felt like minutes to you he tugs your shorts and panties off of you. 

“I made you this drenched?” He satirizes, you frown, looking away from him. He snickers at your shy response. His pointer and middle finger pull your lips apart to get an even better view. It caught you off guard from the sudden coldness at your pussy. You gulped down your own saliva that built in your mouth. 

Claggor glances up at you as his own mouth watered. Impatient to taste you. His best friend that he had just confessed to. His best friend that likes him in return. He was so worried that you wouldn’t like him and now here you are letting him eat you out.

His tongue lays down flat in between your nub and entrance. His top lip above your clit. You felt his teeth rub against you and you wince in pleasure. And as his muzzle moves, so do you. You felt your body squirm as his movements were intense but so so so satisfactory. 

He somehow was paying attention to your clit and your achy hole at the same time. And to be honest he didn’t have a technique he just wanted to taste all your juices. 

His tongue slid into your hole for its last time before attaching your nub once again, this time it was for longer. His tongue swiped left and right to up and down. Writing his name at one point and then yours. He felt your thighs closing against his head and your body tensing up.

 “H-hah- holy shit, Clag… I’m gonna-” You breathed rapidly, grabbing hold of his short hair and practically yanking at it. He groans in slight pain but keeps his focus on you, only going faster. Your torso trembling upwards. “I’m- I’m cumminngh-guhhh!” You wail, accidentally pushing your hand down on his head, keeping him in place against your pussy. 

He doesn’t mind, he feels you twitch on his mouth. All your delicious sap flowing onto his tongue. Your hips rolling throughout your high. 

And as it was over all you could do was lay there, letting him go. It was one of your most intense orgasms you’ve had in a while. “Thank you.” He whispers as he gets up to kiss you. “I should be thanking you.” You pant out, his small hands wandering around his torso. 

“Mm agree to disagree.” He shrugs, pecking you once more. As his torso goes up your hands slide down back to the bed. He plays with his belt buckle, undoing it. Claggor gets off the bed, letting his pants fall. You eye his boxers that clung to his skin. The noticeable bulge that stuck out. You were ready yet again. 

Your own fingers go to your clit, it was now delicate to the touch but you still rubbed it slowly. When he sees you touching yourself he feels his cock jump in its barriers. “Restless so soon?” He beams. 

“I need you inside me.” You mewl, spreading your legs even further than before. And just at your movements his boxers were being kicked off his feet. You giggle as he climbs back on the bed. Your eyes stuck on his large member though. 

You figured he would be blessed but… blessed was definitely an understatement. You now worried if it would even fit inside you.

“Gosh, you’re too gorgeous for your own good.” He clamps his hand on your jaw, squishing your cheeks making your lips puckered out before he kisses you. As he leaned over his dick laid on your tummy. 

“You ready for me?” He quizzes your jaw still captured in his hold. “Yesh, scared ‘s too big thoughh.” You muttered through your squeezed cheeks. He snorts, not expecting that answer. “I promise it will fit. I’ll go slow.” He kisses you again before letting you go. 

Your eyes observe as he pumps his dick with his hand with his own spit. His mushroom tip slipping through your folds, hitting your clit a few times. “Are you sure you want this?” He looks you in your eyes. You smile at his question for consent, double checking even though you’ve already came once and pleaded for his cock. “I want this more than anything.” Your hand wraps around his wrist, helping him proceed into you. 

He hisses at the feeling of your gummy walls just being around his tip that leaked precum. Your chest heaved up and down with anticipation. “Keep going.” You encouraged with a nod of your head. He listens to your words, inching more and more inside. 

As he bottomed out you clamped around him, flinching at the string that you felt at first. Your face contorting slightly. “Are you okay?” His hand caresses your cheek. “Yes, one second though.” You stuck your pointer finger up, you swore you felt every crevice of his cock. He was huge. 

“Okay, okay…” You shiver out. “Start moving.” 

His hips move away before clicking right back. Your mouth opens at the feeling. Now keeping a steady pace. He grips at your waist, hearing your moans make him want to cum at the spot. Only being in your pussy for two minutes. 

“H-harder.” You claw him, trying to keep him as close as possible. Seeing this along with hearing your words his hands lift up your thighs around his shoulders and he presses down closer to you. Now in an anvil position. “Ohmygod!” You shriek, feeling him deeper than he was before. He fucks into you at a harder, faster pace. 

Your mouth letting babbles come out, words mashed together and not making any sort of sense. Claggor grunts in your ear each time his skin slaps against yours. Your toes curling above his head. 

“Fu-uck meee~” You cry, throwing your head back against the bed. The exhilaration, the adrenaline, the sex of it all filling Claggor’s mind to keep going. Hear your voice lighting a fire in his brain. No other thoughts. 

“Gonna cum soon, princess.” His thrusts grow sloppier. “Wa-wait! St… stop!” You cry out, his pelvis immediately hitting a halt against you at your singular word. “What? What happened? You okay? Did I hurt you?” He asks, forgetting what he had just said. 

You pause for a moment, taking a quick breather. “I um…” You puff, “want to ride you.” You tell him, propping yourself up on your elbows. He lets out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding at your words. “Oh okay.” He grasps at his heart, calming down. “What?” You furrow your brows confused. 

“I mean, I’d love for you too but you scared me.” He slowly slides out of you, your pussy now clenching around nothing. 

“The way you said stop… I don’t know. I blanked.” He rubs the back of his sweaty neck. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I couldn’t exactly get my words out.” You nervously laughed, reminding him of what he was just doing to you. His cheeks blush brighter, not because of embarrassment but because it made him a little proud of himself for pleasuring you so well. That’s all that mattered to him. 

You got up to your knees and you led him to sit down by the headboard. His back against the thousands of pillows you have on your bed. “Comfy?” You ask him with a closed eyed smile. He snickers, tugging at your waist to pull you closer to himself. “C’mere.” Was all he said.

You climb back onto his lap. His torso was leaned back so you had a good advantage when riding him. Your feet planted on either side of his hips. Your hands held onto his shoulders as you now stood over his dick. Your lick your lips, practically drooling at the sight. “Help me?” You glance up through your lashes. He smiles, using his left hand to keep his member up for you. 

You lower yourself down on him, excited to be filled back up. As your ass fully goes against his thighs you go back up then right back down all in slow movements. He watches as your pussy sucks him in each time again and again. 

Then you get bored of yourself, going faster, bouncing on him. Your tits are right in his vision. His hand grabs at both of them as his other is laid on his own stomach, keeping it to himself. 

“Too good, ‘s good.” You moan out, gripping his shoulders with each bounce. 

The stinging in your thighs were slightly bothering you but you had to keep going. One of your hands that held his shoulders went down to your clit. You rubbed it intensely. “Fuck!” You whisper out, he can tell you’re getting tired fast. He holds onto your hips, helping you go up and down. 

Still admiring the way you focus on getting to your release. And all he wants to do is help you get there. “Get on your knees.” He taps against your hips with his pointer finger. “Hu-huh?” You look at him confused. “Just do it.”

You let your feet slide backwards so you were now back on your knees. “There you go, more comfortable?” He asks sincerely. You only nod your head, not rolling your hips on him. He lifts his hips up and slides his body down so it would be more comfortable for him. 

You fuck yourself on him. “Ooh, I’m close.” Your voice rings out, Claggor hums in response, feeling his own orgasm coming. “Me too, where do you want me?” He asks, just so he knows before he cums. “Inside, don’t worry.” You pant.

“A-ah, cumming!’ Your nails accidentally dig into his biceps as you feel your release. The pain only brings him over the edge, his jaw slacking as his seed spurts inside you. 

You feel the warmness spread within you. Feeling his cock soften inside. You kiss at his chest before laying down on him. Keeping him in place with his dick still stuck within those fluttered walls. 

“Fucking hell, Claggor.” You spit out, his arms wrap around you. “You were amazing.” He mumbles. “No, you were.” You lift your head up at him. “That was insane!” You exclaim, accidentally jolting your hips causing him to hiss at the sensitive feeling. “Sorry.” You chuckle. 

“It’s okay.” He waves it off. He goes to help you get up but you stop him. “I want to stay like this for a little bit.” You tell him with a heated face. He raises a brow. 

“I was hoping for round 2… But I want to feel you grow inside me.” You quietly admit to him. Now it was his turn for his face to heat up.

Flushing as he now replays everything the two of you just did. And you get exactly what you wanted. 

[vamphorica]

Because I hate being happy for more than two hours at a time, I've been considering to what extent Matt knew that Takada's kidnapping was a suicide mission.

I've been looking at this screenshot while I've been using it as a reference for a drawing and given that the poor boy is only designated sixty-nine seconds of screentime in the anime, I think it is interesting that there's a substantial pause on this specific frame. Matt is surrounded by Takada's bodyguards, unable to get out of the predicament he has found himself in. At this point, he believes there are two possible outcomes: he will either be arrested, or shot dead. You could interpret his expression here as apathetic, as that is how he tends to be characterised, but he sits in his car and looks out towards the row of headlights for about seven seconds. He considers his situation, acknowledging the number of men pointing their guns at him, and then he leaves his car.

The question is, did it occur to him then, or had he known beforehand, that his death was inevitable? Remember – Matt is one of a few characters in Death Note to be killed 'traditionally'. Should we take the Shinigami Eyes into consideration here, we have to assume that Matt is fated to die at this exact moment in time, regardless of circumstance. There is nothing that would have saved him from his demise that day.

However, I do wonder if, at nineteen years old, he is truly apathetic about his own life. I genuinely believe Mello sees his own death as an inevitable sacrifice, but I am not so convinced that Matt actually cares enough about defeating Kira to lay his life down for the cause alone. The manga suggests he leaves his car almost immediately upon being caught, and his final words, sadly, suggest a lack of foresight about the gravity of danger he is in.

Kira's world is not one in which justice prevails as Light envisioned, but rather it is an autocratic reign of terror. There is absolutely no chance in which Matt would be detained in a society in which death is considered the appropriate solution to crime. He is a Wammy's boy, but even if he had not have been associated with the House, Matt would have still been aware that his risk of death is heightened exponentially through his association with Mello alone.

In the anime, when Matt looks out the window of his car, we hear his inner monologue. Nonchalant, there is no fear to be heard in Drew Nelson's performance of the lines, and Matt's awareness of his impending death is presented as being limited. Is it an act? Or is Matt portrayed as lacking self awareness to such an extreme extent? Perhaps to 'justify' Matt's position as the third successor to L, Ohba felt the need to present Matt as ignoring the inevitable, but at least to me, this feels like it greatly undermines his intelligence. He may not be competing against Mello and Near, but that does not negate the fact he was still raised in the same institution that they were. All the children are freakishly smart, that is the whole point.

Did Mello propose the plan to kidnap Takada to Matt with the acknowledgement that they were both likely to be killed? Mello's final thoughts in the manga and anime are asking Matt for forgiveness, his death apparently unanticipated by the former, which feels like a failure in writing the deaths of these two in a manner that reflected who they were.

Matt is, by all accounts, a fandom project rather than a fully developed character within the Death Note canonical universe, but we are aware that Matt was created for Mello. I hardly expect Death Note to explore the intricacies of such themes in the series (particularly given, as much as I hate to admit it, Mello and Matt are not the main characters within the franchise). However, even with the rather minimal source material provided to us by both manga and anime, we are made aware that the two have a very unique relationship. They know each other intimately, and Matt does not fear Mello as many of the other characters in the series do.

Mello does not want Matt to die. He values Matt and while one could attribute the gratitude for him to the popular fan narrative that Matt is the one to look after Mello after the explosion, or indeed the idea that the two are in a relationship, their interactions with one another already set up their alliance as one that appears to transcend the regular boundaries of friendship. Again, I'm pulling a lot from fanon here, I know. Take it up with Ohba.

Narratively, if Mello has to die, so too does Matt. Ohba could not foresee this character that is so dependent on another to live beyond him. Yet I simply refuse to believe that Mello would have placed someone so important to him in a compromising position where the likelihood that he will be killed is almost certain. As much as I believe that Mello's final thoughts being directly addressed to the deceased Matt demonstrates an important ode to their relationship, I cannot understand how Mello would have been shocked to hear of Matt's death, given the risk.

We know Mello was fully aware that he was going to die that night. If he did not die, Near would have, and I think to Mello that would have been the greatest loss he could have suffered in their ongoing conflict. Regardless of whether you believe Mello cared about Near to any extent or not, I genuinely cannot imagine Mello would have been happy to succeed as L had it been attained through Near's 'sacrifice'. I am actually exploring an AU of this very idea in a fanfiction I intend to publish early next year, in case you're interested, haha.

This returns to the question as to when Matt realises he is not surviving this mission. Presumably Mello asked for his cooperation, and in doing so, he would have had to explain the plan to Matt which, quite frankly, reveals Mello's intent to die as soon as it is advantageous to do so. Given that Mello did not want Matt to be killed, did Mello reassure Matt that he had created the plan to guarantee his safety? Did Matt believe him? Was Mello deliberately vague, only telling Matt that he needed to set off the smoke gun, then hit the gas and get away from Takada's security team?

As far as I can tell, there is no reason as to why Mello would have been dishonest with Matt, explaining what he was planning to do and why. Perhaps he even suggested to Matt that he could find someone else to take on his position, given the danger he anticipated they would be in. Matt is, as I think the series makes clear, very loyal to Mello, and so I doubt such a proposal was even considered, but I think it is safe to assume that if Mello knew how this plan would end, so too would Matt, whether Mello explicitly told him or not. He would have figured it out.

When Matt and Mello part ways for the final time, not shown to us in either the manga or the anime, they both know that they are saying their last goodbye to one another. I think Mello hopes that Matt will survive somehow, experience a Kira-free world and move on with his life, but I believe Matt knows, well before he got caught, that there is no escape from the inevitability of his death.

Maybe, when he steps out of the car, confronted by the 'big guns', he holds out a little faith that at least he might see Mello again soon.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

In Defense of Marinette

I like Marinette. While there are many valid criticisms of her writing, the same can be said for literally every other character and she's actually doing pretty well given that she's the main character. After all, in a show where consistent characterization is an ongoing issue, the one with the most screen time will probably be the one who's the biggest victim of the issue.

This is heavily exacerbated by the rule that supposedly governs Miraculous. Namely that, in each story, Marinette must make a mistake. Or, at least, so says the head writer:

I really do not care what this guy says on Twitter or anywhere else. I only care about what's in the show because, if you have to go outside the text to understand the text, then you have no idea how to tell a good story.

However, unlike many of the tweets that I've seen, this one isn't some BS bit of lore. It's a writing rule and it has substantial backing in the text. It's extremely rare to have an episode where Marinette comes out smelling like roses and that's a problem because Miraculous has over 100 episodes. In other words, to follow this rule, the writers have to come up with over 100 ways for Marinette to be wrong so of course she's going to come across poorly. Why would you do this to your main character?

It's extremely common for kids shows to have a "lesson of the day" element to them. Someone always needs to learn something, but I've never seen a show misunderstand the assignment so badly. Learning a lesson is not the same as doing something wrong.

It's been a while since I watched the 2010 version of My Little Pony, but it really leaned into that whole "lesson of the day" thing and it actually knew what it was doing, so I'm going to talk about it briefly to discuss things that Miraculous should have done.

The first thing to note is that MLP had an unambiguous main character - Twilight Sparkle - but Twilight was not the one who learned all of the lessons. She had a pet dragon and a crew of five friends who would, occasionally, be the ones to learn the lesson because there were lots of lessons that simply didn't fit Twilight's character. Instead of warping Twilight to make the idea work (cough cough Ikari Gozen cough), the writers just let someone else have the spotlight for a bit.

This is an excellent way to build out your cast and Miraculous had plenty of opportunities to do it. For example, Lila should not have been Marinette's issue. The fact that Lila hates Marinette could have certainly stuck around, but the one who takes her down and learns to investigate her sources? That should have been Alya. A liar is the perfect enemy for an investigative journalist, but a poor enemy for someone who shines as a battlefield commander and overthinks when she's given too much time.

Another way that MLP would teach lessons was to have someone other than Twilight or the main crew cause the issue that they then had to deal with. This leads to one of the best moments in children's television:

And, frankly? Marinette deserves a moment like this. That poor girl has been through hell and is never allowed to make the right call when it really matters. The show will even completely rewrite its lore to make her fail (see: Strike Back). That is such an awful thing to do to your lead! Shows about female empowerment should include women feeling powerful and, no, Lila and Chloe don't count!

Also, the show is literally about Gabriel taking advantage of people who are upset. You don't need to have Marinette make a mistake to shoehorn in a life lesson. Akumas are life lesson fodder and season 1 actually seemed to get this. I'm not sure why they switched gears to "Marinette is the star and, therefore, must always be wrong."

The final way that MLP taught lessons was to have Twilight do something wrong because having your main character do something wrong is a totally valid way to teach lessons. It just shouldn't be your only way because you know who is always wrong in children's media?

Villains.

They wrote Marinette like a villain.

And a large part of the fandom hates her for it because of course they do.

You're not supposed to like villains.

[yes-no-maybe-soo]

Please don't forget to fill in the survey, fellas!

As consumers — and as people who care about the longevity of this game — it is vital that we make ourselves heard whenever possible. And surveys like this one is one of the best ways of voicing our concerns and/or complaints.

(For anyone looking for a template, @/simp4liferz on Twitter has one that you are free to use and build upon as you wish)

Below are the requests I plan to put in my own survey, for anyone interested:

1. Release the rest of Sylus' standard content, increase his affinity cap, and update his orbits.

2. Give us roadmaps for future updates/additions to the game

3. Add more permanent ways to farm Diamonds and other resources.

-As currently is, it is incredibly difficult for end-gamers and F2Players to earn Diamonds outside of dailies and SHC, the latter of which requires a high number of high level 5 stars and protocores, and a variety of stellactrums. For Sylus mains, Caleb mains, low spenders, and F2Players it is near impossible to adequately meet these requirements.

4. Increase event rewards.

5. Increase droprates for bounty hunts.

6. Increase the rewards for awakening memories.

7. Lower the mats needed to level up memories.

8. We need better and clearer communication from the company.

- the total lack of response or communication from the company regarding the concerns we — your consumers — have repeatedly brought up through emails and social media during these last couple of months has been incredibly disheartening and disappointing. As customers, we deserve the bare minimum of communication from you. The lack of it causes uncertainty, as well as in some cases the spread of rumors and misinformation.

9. Add more regular updates to the main story.

10. Add more permanent and substantial features to the game, such as additional playtime minigames or new battle modes

11. Announce new banners at least a week before they are released so that every player has a chance to somewhat prepare for them.

12. Release reruns of past banners, particularly solar myths.

13. Fix the lighting for low light kindled scenes. At present, the lightning issues in said scenes make it difficult to see MCs with darker skin tones in them. We want this game to be equally inclusive for every player

14. Do not separate the outfits and hair/cosmetics in limited banners. Put them all in the same crate.

15. Do not put event outfits or hairstyles/cosmetics behind paywalls.

16. Do not put any of MCs non-combat outfits behind paywalls.

17. Make curly hair for MC an option in cutscenes and etc. Not just in glint photobooth.

18. Allow us the option to hear MCs voice during kindleds and Tender Moments.

19. Slow down the speed of MCs subtitles. They go by so fast that they are impossible to read without pausing the game and using the dialogue log, which breaks the immersion.

20. Sell LADS merch globally.

21. (during battle) Don't start the timer until the player has reached the checkpoint.

22. Release at least one 4 star with an illustration of Sylus and MC together. Every other LI has at least one each with MC. Fair treatment amongst all 5 LIs is important

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

⭕️👋Hi I’m new, I really like your character analysis, world lore analysis etc,…I think they’re very accurate and provide more insight into the twisted wonderland world,

do you think NRC gets enough funding cause they’ve been losing to RSA for like almost 100 years now and the Magift incident where the recruiter’s and scouts probably didn’t really pay attention to most of the players cause of Malleus .I know they probably get funding and tuition and stuff from affluent parents who care about the quality of education & environment of their children but is that really enough? Is Crowley secret Stressed about funding cause of their losing streak to RSA???

I just wondered what your thoughts were on the matter

Hello and thank you very much ^^ It always warms my heart to hear that people enjoy my more analytical writings!

Now to answer your question, I don’t think NRC is hurting for money. Like, at all.

You did bring up a fair point about NRC’s almost a 100 year loss streak to RSA + the lack of interested Spelldrive/Magical Shift scouts in book 2, but that’s not enough of the big picture. RSA is only one rival magic school out of several. Just because NRC is not doing well against one other school doesn’t mean that NRC is suddenly deemed “lesser”—NRC is still considered a top arcane academy and eclipses other magical institutions like Noble Bell College. In regards to the pro recruiters, I don’t think it has a huge impact?? Sports is only one sector at NRC; they’re still doing relatively well outside of it (such as in academics, extracurriculars, and connections for internships) in the grand scheme of things. Update: Trein states in his vignettes that NRC is falling behind RSA in academics, which isn’t great news—but again, RSA is but one school for comparison. NRC still ranks above several other magic schools. Things like not winning VDC and not being noticed by scouts seems to only really impact the career prospects of students who were interested in the entertainment/sports industries; I doubt that this would seriously hurt whatever funding NRC is receiving.

Night Raven College is a private school, so they are most likely receiving money from tuition and not the government. Though tuition is not explicitly mentioned in TWST (at least not that I am aware of), if we assume the average cost for one student to attend a British boarding school—for which NRC is modeled after—that means 25,000 pounds per person, PER YEAR. Let us assume that NRC had only 800 students (this is the rough estimate TWST provides us). That means, from one year’s worth of tuition alone, the school is raking in 20,000,000 pounds or 4,058,310,000 madol. Note that this is just money in, not yet factoring for expenditures, taxes, etc.

The school also receives 10% of Mostro Lounge’s proceeds, and while we cannot put an exact number to that, we do know that most menu items range from 600 to 1500 madol. The lounge must also make significant enough money to pay for its ingredients, nice silverware (something which Azul stresses to give customers a high class experience), and even provide pay to workers (Ruggie would not be doing labor for free and refers to his time at Mostro Lounge as “a job”; see: his Ceremonial Robes vignettes). While this doesn’t make up a large part of NRC’s money, it’s still a nice little bonus to account for.

NRC also has many, MANY wealthy students, including literal celebrities and royalty. In fact, the upper middle class to flat-out rich make up the majority of the main cast (close to like 70-75%). If this is also the case for the regular mob students, then there are many other ways for the school to get huge donations. In the main story alone, two significant donations are mentioned: Kalim's dad gave enough money for NRC to completely renovate Scarabia and the Shroud parents paid for all the damages caused to the school's buildings. Additionally, Crowley says that the Shrouds made "substantial contributions toward expanding [NRC's] facilities."

Please note that this is just donations from current students’ families. Think about potential donations coming from NRC alumni too!!

It should be noted that NRC has the financial power to spend liberally, and no one really says that this will put the school in a touch spot. For example, all students are provided free uniforms (school, dorm, PE, robes, labwear, etc.; even the birthday outfits are said to be provided by the school), but they have to pay for replacements if they fuck up their first one(s). Crowley literally buys up Sam's entire stock of goods during Ghost Marriage... and if you know anything about Sam, it's that he can magically keep things "IN STOCK NOW!!" Crowley even indicates in one of his voice lines that he is in constant competitions to buy out Sam's stock and has scarcely managed to one-up him--so the fact that Crowley does buy out Sam during an event is meaningful and speaks to how much of the school's money he is throwing to save it. He also tells Sam to bill the school for the cost of the fairy dust in Fairy Gala.

Both times, Crowley complains about how he would rather not spend money, but he does so anyway. This in of itself does NOT prove that NRC is in need of money, this is just proof of Crowley's cheapness. (We see many other examples of this greed and stinginess of his; he guilts Yuu for spending money on them, constantly tries to get free food and souvenirs from his students, and cuts costs for Halloween candy.) If NRC were truly hurting financially though, then they would not be able to throw lavish events or donate back to the community, both of which still happen multiple times. For example, NRC holds a huge Halloween event every year in which they open their campus to outsiders. This event is entirely free and involves a budget large enough for each dorm to create intricate decorations and costumes for 800ish students. There is also enough money to throw a celebration party for the students at the end of it—and let’s remember, NRC has the money to afford five star ghost chefs to regularly cater, serve in the cafeteria, AND teach their Culinary Crucibles/Master Chef courses.

While explaining the nature of the Halloween events, Crewel cites that NRC has survived this long in part due to the "While explaining the nature of the Halloween events, Crewel cites that NRC has survived this long in part due to the "understanding, cooperation, and subsistence of Sage's Island locals." This implies that the immediate community on the island also supports NRC in some ways. Perhaps it isn't financially, but it's clear that NRC still has social capital and a good reputation in spite of its losses to RSA.

In Port Fest, Crowley states that setup, food supplies, and all other expenses will be covered by the school. Half of the proceeds will then be donated to charity and the other half will be granted to the students to celebrate their hard work. Again, would NRC be giving away this money if they really needed it for the institution itself? They're not obligated to give money to the students, yet Crowley easily agreed when Azul asked for an incentive.

And let's not forget the school cultural festival, which was largely open for the public to attend. If they choose to spend on additional things (such as food and drink or VDC tickets, which are a "hot commodity"), that's on the individual. The school itself is hosting the event for free.

Yuu is offered a large sum of money (if the NRC tribe wins VDC)... and Ramshackle renovations (from Crowley) in book 5 in exchange for letting the boys host their training camp in their dorm. Look at how old and run-down Ramshackle is; there is no doubt that such repairs would be pretty expensive—but Crowley doesn't complain about the cost, he's not above bribing someone to make himself and his school look good.

Crowley caring about his reputation isn't new either, it's a pattern. We see him getting upset at NRC's loss in book 5 and lamenting bad publicity/being excited about good publicity in numerous events (Ghost Marriage, Wish Upon a Star, etc.) The school has been under his care for a long time, so naturally he will feel proud and/or slighted whenever NRC is involved.

This leads me to the conclusion that Crowley, the figurehead and headmaster of NRC, and his own personality quirks are being misconstrued as an indication that NRC is in a bad financial spot. His own fixation on triumphing over their rival school, acquiring and maintaining material goods for himself, and wanting positive attention do not reflect the state of the school. Notice how no one but Crowley whines about the financials and how while Crowley still complains about spending money, he has no qualms with spending lavishly himself on school events and holidays. This means NRC has money to spare, but Crowley is just stingy about how those funds are allocated.

[goddessxdivine]

The Pitt - Episode 8

•the show does a good job of showing humanity both at its worst, and through it efforts of being better. it does a really good job of showing the shortcomings of the US healthcare system as well

•i literally cried so bad when that little girl died from drowning. then her little sister saying that she was only in the pool to save her and drawing her that get well card … yeah i lost it. this show focusing on things that happen in everyday life (not just shocking discoveries of medical anomalies) really makes the impact feel even more real. it’s not uncommon to hear the story of a child accidentally drowning even if the pool was fenced and that news is always devastating

•so glad Ginger’s daughter didn’t abandon her. that would’ve been so sad. but her accidentally falling asleep being why she didn’t pick up further proves the point that primary caregivers need support and that needs to be more easily accessible. if they hadn’t gone to the hospital and interacted with Dr. King they might’ve never known of other options

•Dr. Santos … girl! after last week’s episode where we’re given a bit more of her background, i can understand her “sharp around the edges. trust my gut”nature. however, the thing with the vial and bringing it up it to Dr. Garcia just isn’t smart. there’s a hierarchy and seniority in almost every field so being basically at the bottom of the totem pole and accusing someone above you of using hospital drugs is something to do with much caution. yet you’re telling me this girl who is headstrong and self-assured in her smartness thought the smart thing to do, as an intern, was accuse her superior of drug abuse to her other superior? it’d be different if she’d been observing him long enough to have substantial evidence. but it’s been one shift and the issue with the vial could be attributed to her having an off day before people suspect Langdon (who doesn’t seem like it) to be functional addict

•Dr. Collins miscarrying then having a case where a 6 year old died from accidental drowning and doing the honor walk for the 18 year old accidental overdose omg she’s had such a day! she was miscarrying in real time and still had to do her job, women go through so much. I’m curious to see how that affects the rest of her shift. Nurse Dana is the only one at work who knew about her pregnancy and now Dr. Robby suspects too so it’ll be interesting to see those interactions. plus it seems like basically a confirmation that Robby wasn’t the father of Collins’ baby. however, he obviously cares about her more personally because of their history so it’d be nice to see a comforting moment between them.

•SEASON 2 CONFIRMED!!! I’m so happy to see where they’ll go from here. personally I don’t think the current format of each episode being one hour of one shift is sustainable, at least not for (main) character growth. but idk what that would look like if they shift the format. watching the show feels like im spending the day shadowing doctors and i appreciate the show not overdramatizing the lives of the doctors like greys anatomy would. but id like to see ~some~ more of their personal lives. no shade to grey’s, i watched it for a long time but this show feels like it’s meant to be different from the rest of the medical dramas that have been airing in the last 20 years

•can’t believe we’re more than halfway through s1 already. hopefully it airs yearly cause a two year wait might drive me insane

[covid-safer-hotties]

Reference saved in our archive

TL;DR: Covid restrictions saved lives at the beginning of the pandemic.

Key Points Question How did state restrictions affect the number of excess COVID-19 pandemic deaths?

Findings This cross-sectional analysis including all 50 US states plus the District of Columbia found that if all states had imposed COVID-19 restrictions similar to those used in the 10 most (least) restrictive states, excess deaths would have been an estimated 10% to 21% lower (13%-17% higher) than the 1.18 million that actually occurred during the 2-year period analyzed. Behavior changes were associated with 49% to 79% of this overall difference.

Meaning These findings indicate that collectively, stringent COVID-19 restrictions were associated with substantial decreases in excess deaths during the pandemic.

Abstract Importance Despite considerable prior research, it remains unclear whether and by how much state COVID-19−related restrictions affected the number of pandemic deaths in the US.

Objective To determine how state restrictions were associated with excess COVID-19 deaths over a 2-year analysis period.

Design, Setting, and Participants This was a cross-sectional study using state-level mortality and population data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 2020 to 2022 compared with baseline data for 2017 to 2019. Data included the total US population, with separate estimates for younger than 45 years, 45 to 64 years, 65 to 84 years, and 85 years or older used to construct age-standardized measures. Age-standardized excess mortality rates and ratios for July 2020 to June 2022 were calculated and compared with prepandemic baseline rates. Excess death rates and ratios were then regressed on single or multiple restrictions, while controlling for excess death rates or ratios, from March 2020 to June 2020. Estimated values of the dependent variables were calculated for packages of weak vs strong state restrictions. Behavioral changes were investigated as a potential mechanism for the overall effects. Data analyses were performed from October 1, 2023, to June 13, 2024.

Exposures Age and cause of death.

Main Outcomes Excess deaths, age-standardized excess death rates per 100 000, and excess death ratios.

Results Mask requirements and vaccine mandates were negatively associated with excess deaths, prohibitions on vaccine or mask mandates were positively associated with death rates, and activity limitations were mostly not associated with death rates. If all states had imposed restrictions similar to those used in the 10 most restrictive states, excess deaths would have been an estimated 10% to 21% lower than the 1.18 million that actually occurred during the 2-year analysis period; conversely, the estimates suggest counterfactual increases of 13% to 17% if all states had restrictions similar to those in the 10 least-restrictive states. The estimated strong vs weak state restriction difference was 271 000 to 447 000 deaths, with behavior changes associated with 49% to 79% of the overall disparity.

Conclusions and Relevance This cross-sectional study indicates that stringent COVID-19 restrictions, as a group, were associated with substantial decreases in pandemic mortality, with behavior changes plausibly serving as an important explanatory mechanism. These findings do not support the views that COVID-19 restrictions were ineffective. However, not all restrictions were equally effective; some, such as school closings, likely provided minimal benefit while imposing substantial cost.

[knightforflowers]

I have a lot of headcanons for Ethersea obv but one I’ve been thinking about for a long time (especially recently) is how prestige affects the bodies of the magic casters who utilise it. I looove stories where magic has interesting and substantial consequences for being used and Ethersea definitely scratches that itch in terms of the overuse of magic causing the literal apocalypse and what have you, and since prestige is a byproduct of Ethersea water which notably warps and changes things submerged into it I think it definitely has some side affects too.

I think prestige affects the body in a number of ways but most notably is how it affects the user’s eyes, due to how they glow whenever magic is being channeled. The first, most common, and least detrimental side affect is the user’s eyes becoming reflective to light like cats (or more thematically; certain deep sea creatures) (I drew a little thing illustrating this idea with Devo which you can find here :3). This is mostly a cosmetic change and is generally harmless, it typically manifests after two or three years of using prestige.

Long term use of prestige however, say ten-twenty or so years depending on the circumstances/level of usage, eventually leads to slow degradation of the users eyes entirely, causing a lot of magic users to get glasses or contacts in their later years, or even earlier depending on when they started utilising prestige and how much they use it. Of course this is something that is most commonly seen in the Parish/those connected to the Parish more than anyone else in Founder’s Wake, due to it being the main figurehead of magic use in the city. (My personal designs for Seldom and Guidance wear glasses because of this (ik Guidance has them canonically but still the thought is still there LOL) and my post-canon Devo has them too, my Orlean doesn’t but I think it’s bc he has contacts instead).

In more serious cases however, whether that be through continued long term use or incredibly frequent use of prestige, the user can eventually go entirely blind, which I think is something that happened occasionally in Hominine before the storm; a lot of long standing and incredibly high ranking cardinals/bishops/ect of the Benevolent Parish were likely blind because of this. Prestige caused blindness doesn’t stop people from being able to cast magic anymore of course, but it does make it significantly harder to channel. I think this blindness was never seen as something bad by the faith, and was probably viewed by most in the cloister as a great honour come at a great price— to be able to give one’s sight completely to Benevolence, and allow him to be their sole guiding light in the darkness. Something something blind devotion to your faith, ya know.

I also think this is the case bc lately I’ve been brainstorming abt more NPC designs that I hope to draw soon and I think Benevolence is also blind, which is where a lot of the Church’s symbology and feelings surrounding that stage in prestige use come from. I also like it in terms of a parallel to Koda, who is depicted mainly with eyes/being all seeing (through the use of the Biggest Baby and his influence over the Chaperones) so I think Benevolence being associated with blindness is a fun contrast.

Anyway thank u for indulging me and my headcanon if you got this far LOL I love weird magic shit that ties into worldbuilding 👍

[quirkwizard]

One of the catalysts of the series is 1-A getting attacked by the LOV at the USJ. What if it was 1-B that got attacked instead?

So for the sake of this, I'm taking this as more of a "could they handle it and how would it play out" and not a "how would this change the story?". Because if I'm being real, I could see a lot of the same events playing out without many changes. And a lot of this would depend on several factors, namely who ends up in what are and with what group. That is just way too many variables.

-So I think that Class 1-B would handle this really well, but not excel in the same way that Class 1-A. When comparing the two courses, 1-A has the strongest students of their grade. However, 1-B has a much better average in comparison. They don't have characters as limited as Hagakure or Mineta. I could see most of them making quick work of the mooks and being more present in the final battle.

-Vlad King could potentially fair well against the villains, but that he is an unknown factor. Something fun you could do is have him block "Decay" with his own blood to keep him from making contact. As for the other students, things may be different since Kirishima and Bakugou attacking and causing Kurogiri to separate them. But let's be real, they'd just be replaced by Tetsutetsu and Kamikiri.

-Setsunna would be the one to make a run for it to get help. Besides Pony, she's the only one that could fly and be more likely to be able to reach help. And with her smaller profile, it may be even easier to escape the USJ. She may not have Iida's speed, but the fact that she can fly could cut down on travel time substantially. Plus, characters like Bondo and Kosei could help stall Kurogiri until she leaves.

-As for any of the other students, Kamakiri is going to be going on a rampage wherever he is. Jurtora may have the best odds of at least stalling the Nomu via a monstrous brawl. Kendo would try to find and rally students. Komori would be super effective in stopping Tomura with choking mushroom trick. A really fun option could be Kuroiro trying to possess Kurogiri to give Setsunna an opening.

-Juzo, Kodai, and Ibara would be the Shotos of this arc. They would be sweeping whatever area you put them in. There sheer range and capabilities of their Quirks would make quick work of the area they are in. Juzo might even be the MVP against the main villains. "Softening" could quickly trap Tomura in mud he can't decay. In fact, Juzo could just soften the walls and let everyone escape that way.

-Monoma could be the POV for the arc. It could be a good way to try and establish himself as a leader figure as he works with the rest of the students he's with. He could show off his ingenuity for Quirks and how they can be used together for greater effect. And you could easily have his penultimate moment where he takes "Shock Absorption" to try and hold off the Nomu for as long as he can.

[projectjasper]

new siwaj is genuinely so good at the romcom genre (with a dash of something like slice of life here and there), so good at showing humour and domesticity and intimacy and cute fluffy romance. fully unparalleled in those departments. and i think so far perfect 10 liners manages to stay within the bounds of the genre the best.

putting aside some of new's earlier works and focusing on two generally amazing romcoms that he has made in recent years that i absolutely adore - 'a boss and a babe' and 'we are' - there was pretty much only one issue with both of them: they tried to bite off more (complicated and heavy topics) than they (as romcom series) could chew. the way abaab handled the abuse storyline was just bad and it might as well not have brought up the question of the relationship's power dynamic cause it didn't have anything substantial to say about it. don't get me started on the way child abandonment is waved off in 'we are'. and i honestly think these more serious topics were eventually dealt with so flippantly not because new is incapable of handling such serious topics at all (see: until we meet again) but because seriously handling them in this case would take us too far away from the romcom genre. they are simply something it is inherently unequipped to deal with.

meanwhile, perfect 10 liners (at least, so far - fingers crossed for the rest of the series) has been really good at presenting human characters with a backstory that is significant and effective in establishing conflict but also pretty normal, not entirely world-shattering, or uniquely heavy. having a shitty ex or divorced parents are things that do absolutely have a serious negative impact on people, but they are also very common and it is exactly because of how ordinary and easily digestible they are that they can be dealt with fairly quickly and painlessly, not requiring too much nuance and in-depth discussion. what i'm saying is they are not like your first love being a survivor who killed herself or your boyfriend being sent away and abandoned at age five. you know what i mean? they are perfect conflict set-ups but are also not too much for a romcom to handle.

because at the end of the day the romcom genre is like the dessert of media. it's awesome, it gives us a sugar rush and, to some (me, it's me, i'm talking about myself), it is the best part of the meal. but it cannot handle the same amount of density the main course can. it is mostly lighthearted and largely uncomplicated by definition and it should stay that way. (part of the reason why i think romcoms have been struggling with this is because there has been a trend of people wishing to feel constantly intellectual just for the sake of it and thinking complexity and heavy themes are the only acceptable things in media, but that's like... a whole other essay).

and, although i know a lot also depends on the screenwriter(s) and the source material, with the way conflict has been presented and wielded in perfect 10 liners, i really think new is finally fully getting to that point where he knows exactly what this kind of series should look like, what his own strengths are, and how to mix the two.

at this point, at least to me, new siwaj is the king of the bl romcom genre. and, as someone who has been watching straight romcoms his whole life and has always loved the genre but yearned to see himself in it, i am eternally grateful to new for finally making that dream come true.

[the-minster]

My hot take is that the same people who call Jason copaganda, pr-gunviolence or etc are from the same vein as people who blame schoolshootings on videogame violence, who blamed crime on Metal and satanism.

Instead of taking a critical look at a system within which a symptom of a problem is making itself known, you look if there is an outside influence, a kind of "virus" that you can blame for making it "sick".

DC comics are a little fucked up. That's the agreement you entered when reading them. All characters are inconsistent and sometimes in the wrong. Jason is a Bat, so at least it feels like he's maybe substantial enough to blame for the whole batclans issues, in a way that Helena Bertinelli (for example) can't be, because she is less closely tied and has less appearances. Congratulations, you have an identified patient! Jason is the problem that is rippling out and causing all these nasty and unsatisfied feelings the readers have about how crime is handled in these comics.

We see crime being fought in imperfect ways and our current cultural consciousness goes off with warning bells to identify the problem. But what you were taught was to identify what outside influence happens to be present and connecting the issue, and how to justify that all evil stems from this malignant influence. So surely if we could just remove this bad thing, we could go back to the wonderful world we knew where everything was ok.

That world never existed. The thing we are nostalgic for, is the world before we became aware of it's flaws. The problem has always been there, has always been an integrated part of this whole you used to love and admire.

But because the kind of people blaming Jason for "copaganda" do genuinely and truly come from a good place of wanting social justice (I'm saying you are good people. I disagree and think you are making a logical error, but we do care about and want the same thing. Good People) because you come here with the right intentions, you use the buzzwords of copaganda. Or gunviolence. You know from what you have heard that the issue is systematic, but you are struggling to find what that system equivalent is in DC comics. You are falling victim to the fallacy of assuming a main narrative perspective. Just as irl cops are hard to identify as the problem bc you might have to first struggle through the cognitive dissonance that your old worldview of good cops was wrong (so so wrong), you experience cognitive dissonance if trying to read comics with someone like Batman being wrong and flawed.

Looking beyond any superficial similarities to cops Jason is called out for (uses a gun, kills, enforcing his vision of justice) he really doesn't have much more similarities. He isn't a figure of authority, he lacks the nigh god-given justification to do whatever he wants whatever the outcome and is questioned at every turn. Just the sheer instances of Batman or another Bat showing up to beat Jason up and lecture him on what he does.

Extending this, he does not have the pervasive and persuasive power to shape a narrative. Jason's narrative is so far out of his hands. Which has been a core truth about him since for ever. From his maleable origin story, to his death, the years of him being gone and having No Voice Whatsoever, his resurrection in utrh showing him trying, struggling to have a voice against Bruce's story and being drowned out and denied his perspective, the inconsistency of his character after, each writer trying to shape him into something. Now cops fucking have a narrative. Their narrative is the main one we are fed. Their violence is structured and oppressive. Jason is neither a structural systemic power, nor is he oppressive of anyone. If you disagree with his violence for the sake of the moral highground of condemning killing.... Then, just, there are other media, you know.

Cop violence is systemic violence. It is violence that is "justified" to the extent it requires no justification. It is above being questioned. I am genuinely willing to hear an argument how Jason is cop-coded. But to me he is the punk resistance based "violence" that is only organized in the anarchical but organical sense of caring to protect the community that surrounds you. He doesn't approach Gotham as a paternalistic force of protection shielding it from above, but as one of them from within, showing up for the people who are suffering the way he has suffered too.

[braxiations]

What is Hylics Canon? - The Accretion

Preamble/Disclaimer

Hi! This post will be a bit different from my previous analysis and theory posts. Unlike those, I'm going to be doing very little theorizing or speculating -- at least, that's not my primary goal. What I want to do today is go over everything we know about "The Accretion," a vague event referred to numerous times throughout Hylics 2. Additionally, I'll try to draw some conclusions about what I think is Mason's authorial intent with the Accretion. I'll do my best to walk through my logic and view multiple sides, and whenever I speculate or make a stretch I'll try and be clear about it.

Before we start, I want to apologize for if I come off as rude or dismissive of certain headcanons or interpretations. Later on I'll be tackling 3 of the main theories I've seen floated around and I intended to be critical and clear when I think they contradict the established canon. However, I do not mean to invalidate these interpretations. Hylics' lore is very interpretive and vague and "canon" isn't something that needs to be strictly abided to. If your interpretation conflicts with what I've shown here, that's perfectly ok!

Basically, my post is for people who either care about adhering to canon or are just curious as to what evidence there is. That being said, let's jump in!

The Basics

"Gibby! Emerge from that vessel. The Hylemxylem was a failure. Only now does the Accretion's long dark age begin to subside." This dialogue, said by Wayne to Gibby before the final battle, is perhaps the only piece of required dialogue referencing the Accretion. This paints the Accretion as the cause of a "dark age," although it's unclear what this entails, which the Hylemxylem threatens to begin again. Many have taken this to indicate that the Hylemxylem caused the Accretion, but there isn't substantial evidence for or against this. It's certainly a valid possibility.

"Back when the accretion hit, the strongest gesture was buried." This line, spoken by one of the Waynes at Waynehouse is one of many indications that the Accretion was an event. Many other pieces of dialogue have wording that confirms this, this is just the first the player is likely to encounter. I bring this up to dispel the idea that "the Accretion" could be the name of the dark age itself.

This is also the first instance we see of the Accretion being claimed to "bury" things. This might indicate that certain objects either hit the ground with such tremendous force that they sank deep in. Alternatively, the Accretion might have actually produced a layer of matter that buried objects on the surface.

Known buried objects: - Disthlarn Moon. (New Muldul NPC: "When the Accretion buried the sage's great ship, Disthlarn Moon, my wife and I were stranded here on the surface.) - The Bombo-Genesis monitor (The TV Wayne and various other NPCs. The monitor is in Disthlarn Moon so this makes sense.) - The labyrinth ("The key is ancient. Whatever door it unlocks is likely deep underground, buried in the Accretion." Said by Smuldunde, referring to a key that unlocks a door in the labyrinth.)

You'll notice that many of the things explicitly listed as buried in the Accretion are specifically those that belong to the Sages. This makes sense given what we'll discuss in the next section.

"A great gesture may oppose Gibby. But accretions place it beyond our reach, and embolden his agents as they seek reconstitution." The Sage of Accretions gives this line, and like their name it confirms that the Accretion is just a singular instance of an accretion, and in fact there have been multiple. The Accretion, denoted by "the" and also capitalized (at least by me, the in-game dialogue is inconsistent) may have just been a particularly damaging one.

Given that a Sage of Accretions exists, they're likely not all catastrophic and could be somewhat akin to weather event. They happen from time to time and aren't necessarily bad, but under particular conditions or if emerging suddenly, they can be a disaster. These are all just assumptions though. Accretions could happen over massive spans of time and the Accretion is only referred to as such due to being the most recent. As we know that the "great gesture" referred to here was buried in the Accretion, the fact that multiple accretions place it beyond their reach may indicate that smaller accretions have occurred since. This is all just speculation.

The Age of Sages

"Our empire was undone by a sudden accretion. Only the cabinets recall its grandeur now." This line, spoken by the Sage of Monitors deep beneath Viewax's Edifice first establishes an "Empire of the Sages" and the idea that that empire was undone by the Accretion. The Empire of Sages is also referred to by Pongorma and Gibby. Pongorma specifically refers to Disthlarn Moon as a "remnant" of their empire. This indicates rather clearly that the "Age of Sages" as I've decided to call it was specifically ended by the Accretion, which cast the labyrinth and Disthlarn Moon deep into the subterranean.

"The surviving sages hid themselves, one in Viewax's edifice, another under the fortress at Foglast, and a third in those halls which recently held this ship." This line from an NPC within Disthlarn Moon directly implies that many Sages perished in the Accretion. The mention of three survivors is interesting in regard to the other three Sages we know from Hylics 1. This is something we'll talk about later in the theory section.

This provides us a pretty solid layout of events. For a time, the Sages led a prosperous empire. However, a sudden accretion ended this era of prosperity, plunging society into a dark age.

The Cabinets

An often overlooked detail is that the arcade cabinets provide some of our only looks at the world of Hylics before the Accretion. The cabinets can be presumed to have been built by the Sages, given that they protect items like the deep key that corresponds to the Sage's labyrinth. We see many within Viewax's Edifice in complete disrepair, with only one functional, as one might expect from ancient machines caught in a catastrophe.

The Sage of Monitors also remarks that "only the cabinets recall its [their empire's] grandeur now." This may suggest that the games within the cabinets are actually designed to tell important stories of the Sage's empire or hold information. This would make sense given the story we see play out, which follows a Wayne transforming into the Sage of Satellites. It's not a stretch to suggest that the Sages chose to immortalize the ascendance of one of their own.

With this in mind, we can use what's seen in the cabinets to date certain things to the pre-Accretion times.

A flag bears the image of Odozeir and Gibby, suggesting they're not only older than the Accretion but were even allied back then.

The, or a Hylemxylem, seen in the background. It resembles the reconstituted Hylemxylem in Hylics 2. This is probably the previous Hylemxylem before it grew into the Moon seen in H1.

A structure resembling the Waynehouse. Notice the egg pod in the basement, the bathroom, the bedroom, and the tv.

At least one Wayne (the player aka "Sat-Wayne.")

Poolmen

Coutures

Truculents

Numerous kinds of airships

Various other enemies

The labyrinth and drill site also indicate what species existed before the Accretion, albeit less directly. Tyros are depicted in numerous statues in the maze, and a tyro in the drill site seems to refer to a herd of galliforms as being pre-Accretion (although this dialogue is kind of vague and could refer to the labyrinth itself.) The labyrinth also has a pool hooked up to the Afterlife, implying that it existed back then too. There are also numerous enemies found inside the labyrinth which one could assume were sealed down there in the Accretion, but they may have crept in through breaches in the structure or other means. I'm not comfortable saying they're definitively pre-Accretion, although I won't disregard the possibility.

There is another character heavily implied to have lived before the Accretion, Pongorma.

This dialogue amounts to show us that Pongorma lived during the Sage's rule, and I believe we've successfully concluded earlier that the Accretion is what ended their empire. Thus, Pongorma is pre-Accretion. This fits in well with his introduction in the first game: we find him sealed away within a vault "through long ages."

The Three Main Theories / When Did it Happen??

Okay, so this is the real meat of this discussion. I'm going to lay out the three main theories I've seen discussed and go over evidence for and against each of them. I'll also be making the case for what I personally believe to be the canon intent of Mason lindroth.

Theory #1 - The Human Extinction theory: It is widely accepted that the world of Hylics is a post-human one, following some kind of apocalypse that wiped out humanity. This theory suggests that the Accretion is the event that caused this. Note that some believe humanity didn't necessarily die, but rather that they were transformed or evolved. Regardless, this event is what caused humanity to stop being human, which is really the only thing we can prove or disprove. I'm going to say "extinction" for simplicity.

Theory #2 - The Moon Crash theory: This is the only theory of the three that actually proposes a cause for the Accretion, being the crashing of the Moon at the end of Hylics 1. This theory states that, after Wayne's crew killed Gibby and trashed the Moon, it crashed into the planet, causing the Accretion.

Theory #3 - The Other Apocalypse theory: This theory is kind of vanilla compared to the other two. It just states that the Accretion happened before Hylics 1 (and presumably long after the extinction of humanity if you believe that to have also happened.) Because this theory says so little definitive about the Accretion, it's sort of the default if the other theories are disproven. As a result, it's the theory I personally subscribe to, and I will explain why below.

This is where we get into harsh, potentially theory-"disproving" territory, and I want to again reiterate that I don't intend to invalidate anyone's personal interpretations, I'm just speaking in terms of what the games show us and what I think to be canon. That being said...

The easiest of these theories to """disprove""" is the Human Extinction theory. This comes from the views of the pre-Accretion world given to us by the cabinets. The world depicted in the Accretion is very Hylics-y, still comprised of clay, having Hylics-age species, and no traces of human civilization or typical Earthen life. Even if the world and the people in it underwent some kind of transformation and the Sages and Pongorma were originally human, this directly shows that clay species and landscapes existed pre-Accretion. There are a few explanations for this, hence why I put "disprove" in quotations. One could argue that only parts of the world were clay'd at this point, or maybe the scenes depicted in the cabinets have changed over time as did the world. I personally find these explanations kind of contrived (the former would make the Accretion seem nearly redundant if the world is already transforming, and the second would make it incredibly strange for the cabinets to "recall" events if they can't recall them accurately.) There's also the language in which the Accretion and its ensuing dark age is described. Wayne calls it a dark age, and Gibby seeks to return to the Age of Sages' grandeur by forging a new zone. The "dark age" in this theory wouldn't just be a more stable society, it would be a completely different world that, to put it simply, none of the characters we know would fit into. It seems especially odd for Gibby to want a return to this sort of world when the fortress he launched transformed the inhabitants into surreal creatures. Personally, I find the Human Extinction theory to be uncompelling. While it can't be outright, factually disproven, explanations for it require inelegant contrivances. There isn't really any evidence for it either, and in my opinion it removes depth from the world's history.

Now we'll discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the Moon Crash and Other Apocalypse theories. First, I'll give what (to my knowledge) is the main evidence for the Moon Crash theory. As Oxford Dictionary defines it, "Accretion" can have a few definitions, but two are primarily relevant to us. 1. the process of growth or increase, typically by the gradual accumulation of additional layers or matter. 2. the coming together and cohesion of matter under the influence of gravitation to form larger bodies. The second definition, astronomical in nature, is particularly intriguing and relevant, especially with Hylics' themes of moons. This brings light to the idea that maybe the Moon crashing into the planet is what caused the Accretion.

"Pongorma, you witnessed the empire of the Sages." Here, Gibby speaks directly to Pongorma as someone who witnessed the empire of Sages, something we previously established ended at the Accretion. This heavily implies --but again does not directly confirm-- that the other characters didn't see the empire. Why would Gibby call out Pongorma specifically if what he was saying applied to everyone? And, if the gang indirectly caused the Accretion, how could they have not witnessed the time before it? There's also the general language with which the Accretion is spoken of. As previously mentioned, Wayne says the Accretion caused a "long dark age," and Smuldunde says that the labyrinth must be "ancient." The monitor containing bombo-genesis is also called the "monitor of the ancients," indicating that the Sages must be viewed as ancient too. While Hylician lifespans and therefore general scale of time may be amplified compared to ours if that was the case we would expect adjectives such as "long" and "ancient" to be equally stretched. However, there's no indication that such timespans have passed since Hylics 1. It'd be especially odd to refer to a time as ancient if most people were alive for it. While Pongorma certainly was, his age is portrayed as an exception. Although I understand that this is ephemeral, the general vibe is that only a few years have passed (or whatever the equivalent is to Hylicians.)

The only evidence against the Other Apocalypse theory I can gather is how the remaining Sages are described. One inhabitant of Disthlarn Moon says "The surviving sages hid themselves," going on to describe the locations they're found in. Another says "Tokens from the three sages." This could be taken to say that only three Sages are currently alive, which would imply that the Sage of Computers, Brains, and Monitors from the first game have since perished. Otherwise, there'd be six. I would like to counter this with two possible explanations. For one, this dialogue exists specifically to tell the player where to find the Sages. If the NPC also said "another sage can be found in the hall of deadly statues," players would be confused because that location doesn't exist in this game. It'd defeat the purpose of this dialogue in the first place. Secondly, we know that the Hylics 1 and Hylics 2 locations are different, evidenced by Somsnosa's dialogue about moving away from her island home from the first game. It'd make sense for the NPCs to not be discussing Sages from distant lands. If you were talking about a natural disaster in your country that only left 3 politicians alive, no one would correct you saying "actually, there are plenty others in other countries!" That's simply not what you're talking about. It's even possible that the Accretion wasn't a worldwide event. The Hylics 1 location could've been unscathed and thus be equally irrelevant.

Conclusion

An analysis of all the dialogue referencing the Accretion brings us to a few conclusions I find to be rather sound.

The Accretion was a particularly sudden or strong instance of an event called an accretion. This particular accretion buried numerous objects like the labyrinth and Disthlarn Moon, as well as ending the empire of Sages and plummeting the Hylics 2 location (and possibly others) into a long dark age. "Only the cabinets recall its grandeur now." We know that Pongorma, Gibby, and Odozeir witnessed the time before the Accretion, and it seems likely that Wayne, Somsnosa, and Dedusmuln did not. As indicated by the cabinets, the previous Hylemxylem (likely the one that later became the moon) existed before the Accretion. The labyrinth shows us that so did the Afterlife. The pre-Accretion world is shown by the cabinets to be similar to the current one, still made of clay and containing many of the same species. Given the general language in which it's discussed, it's likely that the Accretion occurred before the events of either games. Less catastrophic accretions may have occurred since the large one, further burying Disthlarn Moon, but this is unclear.

I hope you all enjoyed this analysis! It was tough to write because basically everything is vague, and with this vagueness, it's tough to not rope in a billion other subjects and ideas. I ended up leaving out quite a few things because otherwise, it would've come out even longer and more bloated than it already is. I might make a follow up post containing every piece of dialogue I could find about the Accretion, the Sages, and their associated artifacts, just in case there's something significant I missed.

[crippleprophet]

Is it okay for people with agoraphobia to look and take some of the advice you have for housebound people on here? I'm not really great at picking up nuance so I'm worried that it'd be crossing some boundary or that it's not the intention of the tag

that’s completely okay, i appreciate your desire to be respectful even though i’m sorry you were concerned! i absolutely consider folks with agoraphobia my comrades + community members and i’d be super honored if anything i’ve shared is helpful (+ am always interested in hearing what that was if you’re comfortable!) the rest of this is not anything you need to answer your question, just thoughts i’ve been having on the subject

i haven’t had the opportunity to talk to enough homebound [due to chronic illness / “physical” reasons] people to know if this is a common experience but for me i’ve noticed that similar to chronic illness often carrying depression with it, since becoming homebound i’ve become terrified of leaving the house.

this is definitely influenced by the fact that it’s untenably painful, my photosensitivity (in the UV sense not the epilepsy sense), the ongoing pandemic, the fact that i only left the house to go to the doctor for over a year & i’m afraid of the doctors appointment itself due to medical trauma, etc etc but like. there’s also the very strong pull of habit – i’m an incredibly obsessive & ritualistic person – and what Goffman refers to as “the relief of self-isolation” for marginalized people sheltering from a hostile society, a phrase i read in undergrad 5 1/2 years ago that’s stuck with me ever since for how profoundly it resonates.

i’m not trying to say these are necessarily your or any other person with agoraphobia’s feelings & experiences, more to illustrate how the liberation of all homebound people & shut-ins & hermits is bound up together; any sanist strategy for oppressing agoraphobes can easily be leveraged against me, not least because as a severely underdiagnosed person, the medical establishment does not think there is any “legitimate” “physical” reason for me to be homebound. to respond to this oppression by arguing it’s inapplicable because i’m not crazy would be untrue + a cruel act of lateral violence.

i’ve been reading a lot of butch/femme history recently (i post about that on my main @campgender; followers age 18+ only please) & have found myself entirely reconfiguring my understanding of the queer art of isolation, the incredible ability of our ancestors to hunker down & survive under circumstances unimaginable to the average person. i absolutely don’t want to deny the deep pain – not only the aspects i experience but also the heightened isolation of people without or before internet access + the ways these circumstances / forms of oppression can foster abuse –

but my god, so many 50s butches didn’t leave their homes during daylight hours for years in order to not be hate crimed for their gender presentation, & that’s the folks who were making it to the bars. so many others – “discreet” couples who didn’t want to risk being outed by engaging in queer community; people assigned female who “passed” as men & their partners; butch sex workers & other people with identities perceived as contradictory or unacceptable – existed marginalized by both queer & normative communities.

every time i think substantially about homeboundedness i always get tracy chapman’s “subcity” stuck in my head. obviously my access to housing period is a huge position of privilege, & i’m in the most economically secure position of my adult life so far; the abjection i experience is nowhere near the scale of people in the position of the speaker of the song, who’s implied to be street homeless. but the line “people say it doesn’t exist ‘cause no one would like to admit that there is a city underground” is such a succinct & accurate depiction of living the kind of life society tries to convince itself is impossible. but there truly is a rich genealogy of homeboundedness especially in queer history.

again i hope some of my posts & such are helpful / resonant! wishing you all the best 💓💓

[misty-eyezz]

Guess I should explain this AU a bit more while I'm getting ready. For people on my X knew a bit, but people here might not know. It's supposed to contain mature themes such as drug and alcohol abuse. As well as workplace harassment, withheld wages, stealing credit, etc. Wade is the main focus of the story, unlike Ember in the original. It also takes place four to five years before the movie. For example, the movie came out in June 2023, and Wade is 26, according to the Unlikely Friends book. His unofficial birthday is February 20, so he was born on February 20, 1997. So this fanfic AU is set in 2019, when Wade is about to turn 22 on the day his band, Mainstream, has their return concert after their first world tour. The return concert is actually set to be on Wade's birthday. It's ironic because they are releasing the album inspired by him and his life, "Wade to my Heart" but his manager, Ty Phuong, scheduled it on his birthday on purpose to fuck with him.

There are four members; Creek Mill, Angel Falls, Font Sailor, and Wade Ripple.

Creek is non-binary but their manager, Ty Phuong, is an asshole and refers to Creek as male often in the story and in media so he can call the band a boy band. Creek is the shortest and a drummer, they are always put next to Angel who is self-conscious about his height.

Angel is the oldest member. He can't play any instrument at all. He worked with Mr. Phuong the longest but failed because he had no musical talent besides singing. Angel is a jerk and steals credit for the band's work.

Font is the tallest and strongest, he plays bass guitar. He played Waveball to get into university to be a music major. Talks to Wade about his dad. He met Creek there but they didn't get close until they joined the band. They started dating a little after talking about how Phuong mistreated Creek. In photos, he is never allowed to be next to Creek to hide their chemistry.

Wade is the lead guitarist and writes almost all the band's songs. He is the fans' (Streamies) least favorite member. Ty Phuong is their manager, he is an air man from Chinook. He's an asshole who purposely manipulates Wade, Creek and Font in a way where they are trapped to work with him. Creek and Font have no family to return being NB and gay as well as following music careers instead of something more 'substantial.' Lastly, Wade is purposely alienated from his parents and it only gets worse after his dad dies

Some information about their world tour is here on a shirt. They visited a different country every month, but in October they went to two different countries (more in image description) I spent a long time trying to come up with element-related puns for the places they had their concerts.

Wade has a very strenuous relationship with Angel, but the other members tend to stick to themselves. Wade admits his relationship with Angel is like a toxic co-dependency, Angel would be nothing without Wade and vice versa. Or that's what he is manipulated to believe.

Dewey in this AU doesn't die until Wade turns 18, he dies from a degenerative heart disease. His backstory is about he same, but slightly different since his health deteriorates and he is forced to quit Waveball early on. This allows for Dewey to be a much softer father than the original because he knows he's dying and unable to hide it from his kids early on unlike how it is depicted in the book where he hides it until it's too late causing him to have much harsher mood swings. All the kids work hard to fulfill their dreams before Dewey passes away, graduating school early, playing Waveball, and Wade starts in the band at age 16.

Ember is actually a huge fan of the band. She owns a limited edition chainmail band shirt from the band's tour in Fireland. However, it's a size too big since the one in her size was too much. She also made a custom chainmail hoodie that she wears only every once and awhile. These are red flags for Wade originally when they first meet, but he can't seem to pull himself away from talking to her since she doesn't recognize him as a member of the band. This is how Wade is able to talk to her freely without the fear of her judging him as others have in the past.

"It was the first genuine smile I've gotten in a long time. She saw me for who I am and not what I was, it made me want to cry. At that moment I wanted to tell her the truth, but then would her smile change?"

(not an actual quote but it's the idea I'm going for lol)

This next part you'll have to suspend your belief for, I realized based on my sibling's criticism that Ember not recognizing Wade despite being a fan of his band strange. I admit it's a little far fetched but let me have my fantasies ok ｡ﾟ･（>﹏<）･ﾟ｡

Anyway, more info on each image above in their descriptions

You probably already noticed throughout, Wade and Ember are smoking. Wade unlike the other members avoids taking narcotics, bu he ends up addicted to smoking. This is the whole reason Ember takes interest in him in the first place. She's never seen a water person smoke before. This makes her chase after him and that's how they start talking. Anyway, that's all I should say without fully spoiling the story. To be honest it's strangely my comfort story. Writing Wade's backstory and how he finds solace in talking to Ember despite manipulating the truth to avoid her knowing who he really is, is sweet to me?? I read too much manwha stories ngl lmao

[spxdyr]

A lot of bucktommy shippers who have no media literacy when it comes to 9-1-1 just haven’t watched most of the show. And if they do watch the show, it’s gonna be through the lens of Tommy for some reason. I remember scrolling through tumblr one time and this person (who was obviously only watching the show for Tommy), literally saw a helicopter at the train derailment episode (the episode where Abby came back with her fiancé) and took a picture of a air rescue helicopter that was in a scene for like a few seconds and posted it with the caption “Tommy!” When in reality, no one was thinking about Tommy when that episode aired lmao. Cause he wasn’t that important of a character, and he never will be.

This isn’t to say that all bucktommy shippers are the same btw, but like it still explains why some of them have some interesting takes. It’s hard to have a substantial opinion about a show or a storyline when you haven’t even watched it. And while I do know that some people watch 9-1-1 specifically just for Buddie, I feel like it’s a little different b/c they’re main characters? Even though I still disagree with it, I still understand it way more than watching a show because of a character with barely 30 minutes of screen time throughout the whole show, and that only is ever there to add support to the main characters in some way.

Also to add to the thing that Ryan said Eddie is a straight man…..Buck was literally canonically a straight man until 7x04. Even though some of the fandom considered him to be bi for a while at that point lmao. All the arguments they use as to why Eddie can’t be gay are the same arguments people used before season 7 as to why Buck can’t be bi or into men. But wait…..they wouldn’t know any of that….because they haven’t watched all of the show.

When I was younger I might watch a show for one couple but I would at least watch the whole show to do it. I can't imagine watching a show for a character only to find out the character is not only, only in the show for like 10 minutes but for the first eight of those minutes he was a tool to show what racism was like for ACTUALLY main characters in the early days of the 118. Then sticking to that character like glue, WILD.

[ultraericthered]

2020 Memories: Digimon Adventure Last Evolution Kizuna

Back in late February of 2020, this movie got released into Japanese theaters, a movie that supposedly coincided with the earlier Digimon Adventure TRI film series and would conclude the story. Given how much TRI suuuuuucked, it was a worrying prospect. But unlike TRI, which was styled like an anime series, this would be just one movie. Hopefully much less offensive, or even good enough to salvage the story. It had a better writer attached to the script, and it even had Hiroyuki Kakudō on board as a director this time! Surely, this was going to be a worthy compensation for what we endured i....huh? Kakudō walked away from the project? Something about the premise being a "violation" and "betrayal" of the original canon? Oh NO....

Yeah, the movie turned out to be ass. Over focus on Tai and Matt and their Digimon, the 02 DigiDestined still getting the shaft (though we at least got to see them this time!), absolutely no follow-up to the dangling threads of TRI and in fact there's a straight contradiction to TRI in there (How is Meicoomon back???), some egregriously out-of-character behavior from some characters (SORA), cheap emotional manipulation to cover up for lack of substantial story and character ideas, and the worst part of all that had Kakudō turned off being this absolutely out of thin air bullshit Narnia rule imposed on being a Chosen Child where once you're no longer a child, you can no longer have a Digimon partner and have anything more to do with Digimon and the Digital World. Which is used to justify a separation ending that flies in the face of how Adventure 02 ended, as well as drive the motivations of the main antagonist in a completely ridiculous way (what good even is this rule if it can fucking cheat like that???) All because pretentious director Tomohisa Taguchi wanted to force a message upon both the characters and the audience that they need to grow up and leave that childish Digimon nonsense behind for good (despite the fact that all of TRI was basically about pandering to adult fans who loved Digimon Adventure in their childhoods and hadn't outgrown it!), so he wanted to Torch the Franchise and Run.

Karma hit this thing hard, though. It majorly underperformed in theaters due to the COVID-19 pandemic hitting and causing it to be pulled out early, the scheduled US theatrical release for March had to be postponed, eventually cancelled altogether so that the film and its English dub would have to be released in July, only for that to be delayed so that it ended up finally getting released in Fall. To top it all off, the director's intentions went unrealized. A far better follow-up film, Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning, came out in 2023, which did away with the bullshit aging rule and actually got Kakudō back on board for an upcoming PV featuring adult Tai and Matt with their Digimon. So when all's said and done, this film was one big nothing.

^ Sora Takenouchi watching as Last Evolution Kizuna flops. Sweet Vindication.