#rather than just a blank slate that posts art

[pachirobi]

Hi chat I wrote something for 4/3 also

Except I DIDNT because I'm EVIL and this was written over a year ago and I never posted it because I got scared so have fun with it now I guess

[dalesramblingsblog]

In honour of an episode that seems consciously about the construction of narratives around fundamentally meaningless aspects of the universe, a Twitter conversation with one of my last remaining mutuals to survive the Muskening, lightly repurposed to serve as a singular, narrativised Tumblr post in a way it was never designed for.

Who says art is dead?

73 Yards was strange and haunting and not entirely comprehensible in a way that Doctor Who seldom manages.

I suspect it's one where personal tolerance for that sort of thing will make or break the episode, but I certainly think that, knowing this was Gibson's first filmed episode, she did a phenomenal job.

It was also, for me at least, a more generally successful invocation of the kind of eldritch horror implied by the Toymaker or the Maestro, largely by virtue of it giving itself room to be ambiguous.

I've seen the complaints about stuff like the PM being a blank slate, but I do rather feel like that might be the point. It's an episode all about perception and projection and narrativisation of a universe that can be cold and hostile and incomprehensible.

(And frankly, I'm starting to suspect that the whole of RTD2 might be about that on some level. "We see something incomprehensible and invent the rules to make it work" and all that. It's audacious and bold in a way that Doctor Who hasn't been in half a decade.)

And as someone for whom those themes really hit home a lot of the time, yeah, I loved it. I know I probably sound like a broken record but I am genuinely just having a blast with this latest series.

The worst thing Doctor Who can ever feel like for me is an obligation that I only keep up with out of a need to stay relatively current in writing about it, and that was what the Chibnall Era often boiled down to for me.

Part of the reason, in hindsight, I poured so much of myself into my book reviews was that the show itself was simply failing to excite me with the level of regularity necessary to keep me engaged.

Knowing that I can put on Doctor Who on a Saturday night and be reasonably well-entertained and intrigued is, frankly, enough for me, but I do think there are enough aspects of genuine quality that I'm not just blindly worshipping at the altar of a false idol or w/e.

I dunno, I think at the end of the day I'm just a big sucker for TV that makes sense to me on an emotional rather than logical level. It's why I'm a big fan of Twin Peaks, or the second season of Millennium, or hell even Masks over on TNG.

The episode had the general feel of one that will be quite important to the overall themes of the season, so I can't imagine it will linger in *complete* ambiguity forever (though honestly if it did I would kind of love that).

Like I wouldn't be surprised if we're building up to a similar time loop reveal wrt Ruby's general existence. The fact that we've now got at least three instances of her timeline being haunted by mysterious old women cannot possibly be coincidence.

(Well, it can be, but that way lies goblins, as we know.)

IDK, there's a strangeness to Davies' acknowledgments of mediality here that goes even beyond Moffat's usual tricks. Casting a recurring actress by the name of Susan Twist while conspicuously mentioning Susan for the first time in forever feels so on the nose that while I initially suspected we might be building to the return of Susan, I now feel like we're instead headed for something much weirder.

There is so much going on and so much to unpack and frankly I don't have any idea how it could possibly tie together but I'm fascinated.

And again, the fact that this episode was almost explicitly about the process of fans theorising as to what the hell is going on with the season makes me further suspect a rebuttal of theory-focused cult fandom is in the offing.

When I first watched Once, Upon Time in 2021, I commented that it felt like Chris Chibnall's attempt to do a big, bold, incomprehensible piece of television, something almost in the vein of Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 8 but for Doctor Who.

But it's revealing that the only thing he could really think to do was dump a bunch of Doctor Who lore and simply edit things out. He's a mystery writer in the most tediously literal sense of the phrase, creating gaps that feel like they were made with a hacksaw rather than feeling like any sort of deliberate lacuna.

And I'm sorry Chibnall fans, there are some Thirteen episodes that I do like, but when I look at an episode like 73 Yards... whatever its faults may be, and I'm pretty confident I don't actually believe it to be perfect, it is bolder and weirder than anything Chibnall ever wrote. This is the kind of television I want to watch, and I make no apologies for that.

It's a rare piece of Doctor Who which comes close to capturing that sheer, terrible splendour I felt watching a slow zoom into an atom bomb explosion while being serenaded by the Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima. And sure, it's still very far out from being quite that strange, but it retains a curious power nevertheless.

What a show.

[ufonaut]

"space case": the pre-2005 martin jordan

these days the quintessential hal jordan is easily defined by two traits: a distinct lack of fear, and a penchant for wearing his father's air force jacket. hal's father is his hero, you all know that. or, that's what you've been led to believe by the post-2005 geoff johns era of green lantern that has completely overshadowed everything that had come before and worked hard to erase the slightest hint of friction between hal & his father.

first things first, the post-2005 continuity can be looked at as half a fanboy's wish and half editorial mandate -- the biggest inspiration for hal's hero worship of martin (+ the whole deal with his jacket) and his overall attitude comes from darwyn cooke's elseworlds dc: the new frontier 2004, its unparalleled commercial success was undoubtedly a leading factor in the changes that followed and cooke had once spoken about being asked to work on green lantern secret files and origins 2005 (the one-shot that would jumpstart the 2005 ongoing series after the rebirth miniseries) for precisely that reason.

(graphic ink: the art of darwyn cooke)

secondly, for thirty (count 'em!) years of hal jordan's existence there had been no mention of his parents whatsoever. he had brothers, cousins, uncles come in and out of his life throughout green lantern 1960 but never parents. that all changed in 1989 with green lantern: emerald dawn #1, the first real attempt to give hal an origin (see below).

lastly and most importantly, martin had undoubtedly been an abusive father to hal and remained one of his few deep deep actual fears.

i'll be your guide through these pre-2005 appearances and mentions of martin and his relationship with hal, presented in chronological order based on real life release dates rather than internal chronology.

("you just can't make me proud of you, can you, son?" emerald dawn 1989 #2)

("well, he's still like he always was. i guess i'll always be a failure in his eyes, that's all. nothing i can do is going to change that", green lantern 1990 #48, published 1994)

("my fault! all my fault. father always said i'd be a failure!", superman: the man of steel (1991) annual #4, published 1995)

("the problem with you, hal, is you always got your head in the clouds", unpublished 'emerald interlude' originally slated for legends of the dc universe 1998 #33)

("screwed up again, didn't you, space-case?! just once i'd like you to get something right!", legends of the dc universe 1998 #35, published 2000)

("you become what you know. and what you didn't know you knew. like what you learn at the end of someone's arm. you learn to go blank. like maybe things with him would change if you could just give him what he wants. if you could just take it like a man", dc comics presents: green lantern 2004 #1)

interestingly enough, each of these stories is the work of different writers and between legends of the dc universe and dc comics presents: green lantern the narrative woven throughout becomes explicit -- hal perceives martin's abuse as abuse of power first and foremost, and doesn't just fear becoming 'what he knows' but also fears that he already did by abusing the power of the green lantern as parallax. all in all, it's an incredibly complex narrative seldom afforded to superheroes nowadays and an entirely vital part of hal's characterisation that we've been robbed of for far too long now.

[utilitycaster]

💙💜

Which character is not as hot as everyone else seems to think?

We've talked about this in DMs anyway but OTOHAN. She's physically attractive I suppose, although that's 100% from official art and absolutely not from initial description (perhaps that's just me, but Matt described her as having eyes like a bird of prey, and somehow the image of her in my head has always been. does anyone remember the weird turkey pictures of Ole Golly in Harriet the Spy (the book). Is this too weird a pull? Did I make it up because I can't seem to find an online image? Unclear.) But point being before the official art came out I was not imagining her as attractive, even. And then there's personality. Like, yeah, you can say someone is hot based on just a physical image without knowing them; this is how celebrity works. But when you've only one got one singular physical image and it doesn't really match your mind's eye which isn't terribly attractive, anyway and then there's no personality but...I can't even say zealotry because we literally don't know anything about her motivations other than raw murder. I can't even enjoy the inherent eroticism of the sword. Anyway. If you want hot middle age women villains why not og Delilah before she became a loser, or Raishan's human form, or Ripley, or Avantika, or Vess deRogna, or Liliana. If you just want hot middle age women with a propensity for violence why not Deanna with Jerry the Goat. If you are specifically interested in the "milf" archetype (Otohan is not a mother, so this is rather telling) then might I suggest Veth, who is not middle-aged yet but she is a mother and she is super good at violence. All of these women have hopes and dreams and personalities and aren't a blank dull slate to project upon, as I personally am entirely unattracted to the latter. Anyway hopefully this also fulfills one obligation to either @playerkingsley or @whirlingbadger who asked about "mischaracterized"; Otohan is a polarizing figure with many who agree with the above as well but she is also wildly mischaracterized as hot and interesting when she is at best depicted as attractive and deathly (and deadly) boring. She bored everyone to death; the sword just got in front of her.

Which character is way hotter than everyone else seems to think?

Eshteross. I fear we moved on too soon when he died. Everyone in Bells Hells wanted a slice of this hot old orc man when he was doing his sword practice, and also he was community-minded and loyal and devoted. More generally you know that post that's like "hobbits have it all figured out, farmers market high as shit, why are people horny for elves"? This is true but also might I suggests orcs. Elves are overrated. Why are people's fantasy lithe hairlessness. This is a very narrow beauty ideal and I reject it. We, as a fandom, and dare I say, a society, need to be hornier for orcs.

I'm going to go watch candela and the inbox remains closed and will for much of the rest of the day but there are two more asks that have the exact same two hearts and I will be providing two more separate answers as well as another mischaracterization answer, and possibly making an eye appointment although I'm inclined to think the hearts just look super alike on my computer.

[neonlitlesbians]

do you have a masterpost or some key posts that help explain the setting/worldbuilding or context for your ocs? or intro posts to learn about them?

oh shit oh shit oh shittttt ok i really need to organize a little better around here BUT i have a little bit i can offer right now! (ive been meaning to make intro posts for my ocs, thank you for the reminder—i will try to get on that soon!)

(LOTS under the cut you have no idea how much i have to say!! thank you SO much for this ask)

The World

Alana and her friends live in a huge, dying cyberpunk city.

Nine years ago, the algorithm governing the city decided that infinite capitalistic growth was no longer sustainable, and went into power saving mode. Those who hid, survived; the vast majority of the city's inhabitants were given a choice between dying and going into stasis. The remaining inhabitants have come to refer to this event as the Crash.

It's not like they could just leave—The Old Internet is chewed up and defunct, existing only in archives; the remains of GPS satellites have long since crashed to earth; and it's not like an old map would be much good, since a city in what was once barren Nevada is now... on the coast.

Understandably, the ones surviving today are still traumatized, as well as lost and more than a little bored.

(The city's name hasn't been established yet—i might just call it The City but i'm not sure yet.)

Characters

Each of these characters is diligently tagged on my blog, so you can search through all of my art that features them!

Alana/The Watcher (she/her) – One of the most capable fighters in town. Angry and quiet, but deeply caring. Died and was brought back to life by Ethlyn, now running on both red and black blood. Literature nerd and occasional writer. Zinnia's lover, Ethlyn's best friend, and Hostility's dueling partner.

Electra (any) – Alana's childhood best friend, returned after a nine-year absence. Can suck the charge out of electronics, store it, and release it. Incredibly strong, and one of the two people who can evenly duel Alana (Hostility being the other). Protective and confident.

Zinnia (she/her) – A workaholic journalist who was nearly killed by a structural collapse. Saved by Alana and given a new body by Ethlyn, she now tails Alana with a camera and documents the ruined city in photo form (not like there's much to write articles about). Quiet and serious, tending to come off as rather cold. Alana's lover.

Ethlyn Calloway (she/her) – A genius engineer, especially in the field of cybernetics, and kind of a horndog. Made most of her friends' augments and then some. Extremely hyperactive, chronically short of sleep, and prone to mood swings. The cast's leading historian on the old, defunct Internet. Bell's girlfriend and Alana's savior.

Bell Anderson (he/she) – An incredibly skilled medical doctor and surgeon. Helps Ethlyn with installing cybernetics, and was critical to Alana and Zinnia's survival. Also a highly capable chef (a good thing, too—Ethlyn would survive on nuggies alone without him). Amiable, generous, and open. Ethlyn's lover and caretaker, but gets along well with just about anyone.

Hostility (she/her) – A capable engineer and swordsmith. Made all of her own augments, as well as Nico's and some of Darcy's. Makes and maintains Alana's weaponry as well as many others'. Built an entire car out of scraps from the junkyard that she melted down and reforged. Wise and laid-back. Crowe's girlfriend, Alana's friend, and one of Rat's closer friends.

Rat Manchu (she/it) – An informant. The "word on the street." Shrewd, greasy, and much smarter than she looks. Kind of an asshole and hard to get along with, but ultimately means well. (Usually.) Also has a car (but Nico usually takes the keys before she can do anything stupid). Gay and in love with Nico and Darcy.

Nico Lombard (they/them) – A former cop and current encrypted-data-vault-slash-blank-slate. Jailbroken thanks to Hostility and Darcy, and now lives with Darcy and Rat. Still figuring themself out. Gay and in love with Darcy and Rat.

Darcy Relayer (shx/hxr) – A 1337 H4XX0R with some of the juiciest databases on the network at hxr (many) fingertips. A little bit insane. Just as hyperactive as Ethlyn, but more data-driven. Prone to using goofy slang terms from bygone eras. Gay and in love with Rat and Nico.

The Guitarist (she/her) – A traveler from abroad who plays at the Z-Axis, though sometimes you can hear her music on the wind at the edge of town. Blind and mute, relying mainly on her guitar to communicate. Doesn't really have any strong ties to anyone, past or present. Mysterious, but easy to get along with.

Crowe Stormwell (she/they) – A dancer and prostitute at the Z-Axis bar. Ethlyn's favorite test subject to try new types and models of cybernetics on. Whimsical and sensual. Hostility's girlfriend.

Aly (they/she) – [WIP] The bartender at the Z-Axis. The cast's only fully fledged android. Happy-go-lucky. Narcoleptic due to a faulty power source. Crowe's roommate, when they don't just pass out at the bar.

Lizzy (xe/xer) – A reclusive tailor, printer, hairstylist, and artist responsible for a lot of the group's clothing, especially the quality stuff like Alana's outfits and Bell's lab coat. Capable of restoring physical media like books, as well as giving tattoos.

The Keeper (she/her) – The sole occupant of the lighthouse at the edge of town. A little cagey, but ventures into town now and again. Farms her own food, and trades with the rest of the cast on occasion.

[shinjukuspiritcommittee]

Hakkenshi Flower Crowns 2023

Hey so it’s been a while since I’ve done a proper headcanon style post like this. I hope I didn’t disappoint in my hiatus, but with Valentine’s Day and the new Valentine’s event so close I couldn’t help but want to make a new proper post with a bit of a blog tradition Hakkenshi Flower Crowns~! Since we’ve had some time with the newer dog warriors I’m feeling a bit more confident in these takes on them, and also I rewrote one for Yasuyori simply because I feel the boyo deserves better from me. Hope you all enjoy~

Tanetomo

~Tanetomo enjoys making things much more beautiful so the task of making flower crowns comes naturally to him. When choosing the flowers he tends to favor pink and white flowers for their more pristine reputation. He wants to appear as pure and delicate as possible since that is what is typically seen as beautiful. He also makes the best flower crowns of the dog warriors and they tend to last the longest.

~When making one for you Tanetomo will lean more so to white flowers. He sees you as somewhat naive, much like a certain other warrior he knows. Because of that he wants to convey and preserve that innocence in a crown most fitting to your nature. White flowers can also help convey a blank canvas and fresh slate since Tanetomo can see there's plenty of options you have in your life, unlike himself.

~At the end of the day Tanetomo strives to make beautiful flower crowns you both can proudly wear and show off.

Masanori

~Much like Tanetomo, Masanori also enjoys the art of making flower crowns. However rather than simply choosing flowers based on color he chooses flowers based on their general meanings. For instance he will decorate his own crown with daffodils since they're a flower that ties to rebirth and creativity. He is quite a stickler for the symbolic significance in his creations- a curtain can't just be blue!

~When making a crown for you he insists on decorating your crown with lilies. Much like Tanetomo he views you as a symbol of innocence and naivete. You're the reason he strives for a change in the system- so those similar to you can live in a world with simple strife and the freedom to express themselves without oppression. While you appreciate the poetic symbolism you aren't ashamed to admit it goes over your head at times. But you still accept the crown because it's very cute and it's coming from Masanori.

Yoshito

~Yoshito only remembers doing this activity one other time with Moritaka back when they were both young children. Since it's been so long since he's made something like this you help him through the process of making one step by step. As you're helping him though he can't help but be reminded of that time he and Moritaka made crowns together and it both makes him glad and disheartened. Glad since he can now share something like this with someone, but disheartened since he can never be with Moritaka as he is now.

~Even though he has Moritaka on his mind a lot, Yoshito definitely thinks about you and what you'd look nice with. Someone who makes him smile like you should wear flowers that make everyone smile, and after consulting with Masanori he'd decide to make you a crown with lots of yellow flowers since they symbolize joy and happiness. However Yoshito doesn't just pick one flower, he collects a bunch of different yellow ones from tulips to sunflowers.

~When he eventually presents it to you it's a bit of a messy crown that you can see being held together with some sort of thread or twine that he obviously needed to hold all the flowers in place. But given the earnest nature of his gift you place it on your head with pride and you suggest to make one for Moritaka. Though he's hesitant at first since he doesn't have the courage to gift something like that to the fellow dog warrior, he becomes enamored with the idea when you offer to gift it in his place.

Yasuyori (again because i feel the last time didn't capture his essence)

~Yasuyori is a bit of a dense man in his own eyes. He doesn't quite view himself capable of something so dexterous as flower crown making. However when you assure him that it's not so much about the quality, but the thought behind it Yasuyori agrees to give it his best shot. With trembling hands he weaves his first one fairly decent. Only ripping or tearing it a few times out of nervousness, but when you guide his hands through the motions those nerves relaxed and he was able to complete the process just fine.

~He isn't quite as astute and informed as Masanori nor is he as analytical and insightful as Tanetomo so when he decides on a flower it's through pure instinct of what generally feels right for you. So naturally Yasuyori defaults to using roses which he prunes the thorns off of and puts into said crown. When he finally gifts it to you he insists on putting it on your head for you and seeing how you look in it.

~You offer to do the same and you both stare at each other with the crowns on. The sight of Yasuyori with a full head of flowers brings a hearty chuckle to you and Yasuyori is absolutely smitten with your look that he can't help but hug you in joy.

[scuba-divers]

Grave Brigade: The Great Info Dump Thus Far.

Okay, so Grave Brigade- What, exactly, is it, and what am I planning to do with it?

You may have heard of Grave Brigade if you lurk around my page. It's usually in the tags of art posts I make related to Terraria [typically Terraria's enemies] or it's mentioned in the text I put in a post. Well, here's what it is, summed up and compacted into a rather large nutshell.

Grave Brigade, nutshelled. [A tl;dr]

Basically, Grave Brigade is an Alternative/Alternate Universe, or AU for short, of Terraria. Now I expect that if you've seen this post, it's likely because you're following me, so I'm going to assume you know at least a bit about Terraria. Now, why on earth do I call this an 'AU' and not just 'my interpertation of the Terraria lore' if Terraria's lore is so open? Well, you see, that's the neat thing, it isn't focused around lore change or anything. It's focused around enemies, but not just any old enemies.

Now, I know what you're probably thinking: "How can you make an AU based off of enemies??" Well, it focuses around the unique enemies, specifically the main three linked below:

Of course, there are other unique enemies that'll likely be included [Eyezor, Nymth, Tim, Rune Wizard, ect.] but these three are the main cast. Why? Well, it's just because they're my favorite enemies in the game.

My project plan for GB

So, what, exactly, am I even doing with this AU of mine? Well, it could just float around in my mind and sort of exist, but no, I'm taking it a bit further. I'm not making a comic or a written story, however; I'm planning on making this thing into a series. An animated one, to be exact. I've been building up characterization for the three I mentioned earlier for months, and since little is actually known about these guys, they're basically blank slates for headcanon characterization. Using Blender for effects, IBISpaintX for sprites backgrounds, Google Docs for scripting, Ableton Live 11 Intro [along with my mediocre composing skills] for a soundtrack, the possible help of some others and more, I'm going to attept to make a cartoon series about my versions of these wacky undead people that I'm obsessed with, infused with the worst possible mixture of headcanons, headcanon personalities and awful animation because almost everything I know about Blender was found out by fucking around while making VRchat avatars.

What's up with this series?

Grave Brigade [The Series] follows the wacky and sometimes [usually] dangerous adventures, situations and shenanigans that a trio of zombies get themselves into, and that's basiaclly all.

Who are the characters, and what are they like?

Well, putting it simply, the characters are my versions/characterized versions of the unique enemies from Terraria.

The Main Cast

The main cast is composed of my characterized versions of the three I mentioned before:

Doctor Bones, or, as everyone just calls him, Bones, an undead archeologist who unfortunatley lost all of his memories from when he was a human. The only thing that remains of his past self is his obsession with anything regarding nature, archaeology and/or history. Outgoing, energetic, uncannily physically strong and lacking common sense, this guy can easily unintentionally [or intentionally] cause trouble wherever he goes. [Yeah, I'm aware that in the canon game he's supposed to be a reference to Indiana Jones but I have always and will always disregard that fact because he's at very least 20x cooler than the original source.]

Victor [A.K.A. The Groom], an awkard guy who doesn't like talking to people he doesn't know [or even being around people he doesn't know for that matter] and would much rather wander around pouting about his afterlife choices than go on a rampage for human flesh. Obviously the husband of Angela.

Angela [A.K.A. The Bride, A.K.A. Angie]. She gets bursts of rage and pissed-offness every now and then, but she's usually pretty chill. She's always the first one to choose violence in any situation, because despite the fact that she's typically pretty chill, she always thinks it's the easiest and fastest answer [She isn't always wrong with this view, but but I'm gonna say that ~65% of the time, she is]. Obviously the wife of Victor.

Why am I putting actual effort into characterization and a series?

I just felt like I had so many ideas and concepts for these undead dorks, and I wanted to do something with them. Not a lot of people in the Terraria fandom/community even aknowledge these guy's existances, so I thought that since I'm the one big fan of these guys, I need to make something! And boom, Grave Brigade was born.

Conclusion

So basically, this freakishly long post is just to provide information on my Terraria AU. That pretty much draws a conclusion to my current plans for it, so I'm done writing.

[daeva-agas]

Ayakashi Koi Meguri/Ayakashi Romance Reborn production behind the scenes (part 1 & 2)

ARR Japanese app is releasing some character design/production behind the scenes. Apparently these were materials that were shown during some live events in the past, but they’re now distributing it in the app.

Tag for Behind the Scenes posts

Yakumo and MC - Writing staff comments

Part 1: “Marionette event”

This is an event currently running at the time of this writing. It’s a Yakumo route pre-release, where you get early access up to 10 chapters of the Yakumo route from the event. 

Staff abstained from commenting about Yakumo route itself because spoilers, but said that the SSR card story has content that is relevant to the route. (also the event cover art has Yakumo in vampire form dancing with a life-sized Futaba puppet, it’s HECKING CREEPY)

The SR card is Kagemaru with Zantetsu and Oboro plushies. Staff said they imagined it to be made by Futaba/MC at first, but then they remembered that she is not that good at needlework, so... there goes that line of thought.

Part 2: About Yakumo

Since he is a Real Person his route will involve a few characters also based on real people associated with the real life Yakumo. There will also be some references to Yakumo/Lafcadio’s real-life writings.

While they’re not necessarily relevant to the route, this writing staff says that Lafcadio Hearn’s books are interesting, and are enjoyable reads. (for what it’s worth, his youkai books and other Japanese culture stuff is often highly recommended in the English-speaking world too)

Part 3: MC/Futaba

Reader preference of otome MCs vary. Some people prefer blank slates, but ARR/Ayakoi’s MC is intended to be a character with distinct personality. The reason is so that the bond and relationship between the love interest and the MC can be more strongly defined. 

Futaba is created with the image of someone who is excited/looking forward towards modernization. She prefers learning foreign languages rather than home-making in school and helps her father with his job. 

Yakumo and MC - Artist comments

Staff remarks on the creepy as heck Yakumo + doll CG art. Goes all “Yes we know this is weird, wait for the explanation in route~ *wink wink*”

Part 1: MC character design

She is shown dressed in hakama and a kimono with vibrant designs to reflect her personality as someone who is interested in modernization and Western things. She has lace in her obi, and she wears boots instead of sandals.

Detail: She has a bracelet on her right hand in the shape of a leaf sprout. This is based on her default name Futaba (literally means sprout)

Part 2: Yakumo design

Yakumo’s left eye being blind is true. Lafcadio Hearn did injure his left eye in school, and it was untreatable and became blind. Also his costume being a mix of Western and Japanese style clothing is based on “true story” too. (Not sure if he actually wears stuff like that in real life; it’s not shown in his photos at least)

They said his “battle attire” is spoilers (IT’S OBVIOUSLY A VAMPIRE THO), so they can’t talk about it yet. Just more of the *wink wink* “look forward to his route” comments. 

[mmikmmik2]

If you were to sort the Infinity Train cast(s) into the Major Arcana a la the Persona games, which Arcana would you give everyone?

anon I had SOOOOO much fun thinking about this, thank you so much for sending me this. I sorted all the major characters, plus a few other entries, based on a mix of Arcana symbolism, Persona series character archetypes, and general vibes. I came up with answers I feel pretty good about for all but four of the Arcana. (Was really tempted to say Strength is every human character who doesn't board the train because they can handle their problems on their own lol.) This is going to be a long-winded post, so I thought I’d post just the list as an image (which hopefully won’t be too blurry!) rather than wrestle with Tumblr formatting trying to make a short list, and put a big text wall under the readmore talking more about my picks.

If this list does end up illegible, the same info is under the readmore as text! Plus some characters for Magician, Strength, Justice, and Death that I didn’t want to add to the “official” list because they’re more based on headcanon. (Although my reasoning for some of the “official” picks is pretty weak lol.)

One-One as 0. The Fool

Oh my gosh, what am I?

IT is great at fleshing out character backstories and families, so One-One at the beginning of S1 is one of the few characters who really feels like a blank slate. He's got a lot of his baggage back by the end of the season, and I think One and One-One are more similar than they seem at first glance, but S1 does seem to have been very formative for One-One and how he thinks about what he's supposed to be doing and how he relates to other people. So it does kind of feel like his fool's journey.

Alrick Timmens as I. The Magician

The magician begins the journey... by beefing it on a dirt bike, dying, and sending his wife flying off the deep end. Rip.

Alrick was an engineer like Amelia, so I could see him suiting some of the themes of the Magician, like conscious thought and manifesting ideas. His apparent playfulness and insecurity are similar to the Magician characters in Persona.

Kez as II. The High Priestess

“We can’t make this decision for you, Kez.” “You know what to do.”

I thought really hard about making Kez the Magician because just like every Magician since Persona 3, she's dumb, horny, and insecure dlkjasfdkl

(and also her showing up at the start of the story arc and being helpful but also super needy is very Magician)

But the idea of "intuition" really does suit Kez. Sometimes her intuition is as bad as her conscious reasoning, but I think that's a lot because she's so confused about what happened with Jeremy, and Morgan making Kez feel like she did a bad thing by helping him.

Tuba as III. The Empress

She made me feel like I was warm all the time.

Tuba's a mom. Sorry, this one's not that deep, haha.

Simon Laurent as IV. The Emperor

Highest number! I'm the leader now.

Simon has a lot of issues, but the one that felt the most prominent to me was his unhealthy relationship with power, authority, dominance, and rules. Another quote I considered using here was what he said in Grace's memory of meeting Amelia: "I never thought I'd get to see the Conductor with my own eyes. He's perfect! Everything finally makes sense again." In his emotional crisis, he thought everything could be fixed just by the existence of a huge, scary, powerful, male authority figure, even if they weren't doing anything helpful or informative.

Atticus as V. The Hierophant

I like to think that our stones are sturdy and handsome, like the Corgis that crafted them.

Atticus is a figure of traditional authority who deeply loves the history, society, and culture of his people. He often provides spiritual wisdom and encourages Tulip to get out of her own head and engage with the world around her. Also in Persona, Hiero is the Dad Arcana so it's very funny to me (a) to make the little dog be Hiero and (b) that the little dog really does have the strongest Wholesome Dad Energy of the whole cast.

Jesse Cosay as VI. The Lovers

Don't tell me what to do. I'm not going to be a part of anything like this, on or off the train.

This was my first and easiest pick lol, Jesse is sooooo Lovers. Like, the focus on choice and personal values and relationships? Yep, that's Jesse. It works on an "actual meaning of the Arcana" level and a "vibes with the Persona characters" level lol... popular, upbeat, and having such an identity crisis.

Lake as VII. The Chariot

I'm my own person, who is getting off this train!

I don't know if Chariot captures all the ways Lake grew over the course of S2, but I feel like they had the most externally focused conflict of all the IT characters, which suits Chariot. They've been fighting to stake out their personhood from start to finish, and they took action and used their willpower to achieve that goal. Also they have at least a little jock energy which is a prereq for Chariot tbh.

Frank as VIII. Strength

I dunno, I kinda imagine him as a simple man and easily underestimated, but with a lot of heart. The Cat may say they're keeping things casual but I don't think she'd take him with her on her private vacation unless he had some kind of inner toughness that would let him stand toe-to-toe with her.

Morgan as IX. The Hermit

I need to be alone right now. Kez... maybe... we can talk later.

I like that Morgan embodies toxic self-isolation and stonewalling and rejection, but that she seems to be moving towards the positive aspects of Hermit and taking some time to calm down and process and think. I like it when characters can embody the best and worst of their Arcana.

Tulip Olsen as X. The Wheel of Fortune

We have to adapt to the changes in our lives. It's the only way things can get better.

Tulip has a lot of themes and conflicts, but this one is a clear standout as the most important. I also like it for Tulip because, while she has to handle a lot of difficult and even traumatic situations, some of the change that challenges her isn't as unambiguously bad as e.g. the death of a loved one. It really is just change itself she's struggling with, and that's Fortune babey. Also, from the perspective of the train itself and lots of other characters, by reversing Amelia and One-One's positions again and changing how One-One administrates the train, Tulip is the one giving the wheel a spin. That's fun.

Lucy as XI. Justice

One of my friends once described the Justice characters in Persona as "the ones the player character is ultimately accountable towards", and I like to think of Lucy as kind of being that for Grace (...since Hazel has excused herself). Lucy is the Apex kid we see Grace interact with the most, the first Apex kid Grace admitted to herself that she had harmed (see Grace very briefly showing distress and then regret when Jesse points the harpoons at his face and she stops him), and the first person to confront Grace when she came home in The New Apex.

Min-Gi Park as XII. The Hanged Man

I don't know if we'll sell a single album, but we'll figure that out as we go.

Min-Gi sacrifices his "realistic", "sensible" goals for a more personally (spiritually, even?) enriching life that's beyond his control and outside of the expected norm. Like the Hanged Man, who dangles foolishly upside-down, but as a deliberate choice and in a state of serenity and enlightenment. I also think this arcana suits a reading of Min-Gi's character development as starting off going slower as a way to stall and live in denial, but then going slower with deliberation. Compare his arrogant insistence on refusing to act in The Astro Queue Car to his patience and care in The Castle Car and The Train to Nowhere.

Jeremy as XIII. Death

This isn't about the death of his family - I'm thinking of his reluctance to admit his number was going down. He cared about Morgan and Kez, and it's possible both that he may have really wanted to stay with them despite his exit and that that might even have been a healthy choice - they're real ass people with feelings and everything, not holodeck characters. But I also think Jeremy was using his life with them to avoid moving on out of that fog (because it was hard and it hurt and he didn't want to think about what that would mean for him and Morgan) and Morgan was enabling him.

Ryan Akagi as XIV. Temperance

Maybe the experience is the point. I wasn't just rushing you. I was rushing myself.

I think this one speaks for itself. Also, the other quote I considered putting here, from The Art Gallery Car: "You told me I can't appreciate the song without taking in the rest of the album. I need the whole package."

The Cat as XV. The Devil

I always do the right thing.

Honestly, this is one I really wasn't sure about. The Cat isn't a great pick for a lot of the meanings of Devil. She is definitely consumed by material comforts, and the short-term rewards of ignoring her issues at a long-term cost, though. This is more of a "vibes with Persona characters with this arcana" pick... Devil characters tend to start off being somewhat exploitative or even antagonistic towards the player character, and gradually showing a more conflicted and genuine side.

Amelia Hughes as XVI. The Tower

There's a hole in the universe where Alrick used to be.

Amelia's life is defined by catastrophe and upheaval - both those she's suffered and those she's inflicted on others.

Hazel as XVII. The Star

I'm going to keep loving you like you're still here.

When I think of "The Star" as a small but inextinguishable light in the darkness, Hazel seems like the obvious choice. Although we left her deeply wounded, I think she still has a flicker of her hope, faith, and purpose.

Grace Monroe as XVIII. The Moon

But it's unfair for me to tell you how to understand yourself. I mean, I don't even fully understand me.

Grace is probably the most complex and dynamic character on the show and hence one of the most difficult to place. I considered Empress, Strength, Devil, and Judgement for her... I think ultimately, lies and illusions are the most unifying theme of her character arc. Also, from a Persona angle, her pursuit of status out of a lack of true self-worth reminds me of Ai and Mishima.

Alan Dracula as XIX. The Sun

Brought together by the majesty of a superpowered deer!

I'm sorry dkjasfklads this is largely because I thought it was funny to have this completely inexpressive dead-eyed deer as Sun akfk but also... like... it kind of works okay!!! Think about the genuine joy and comfort and positivity he brings to Lake and Jesse (and me)!

The New Apex as XX. Judgement

"Then what are we gonna be?" "Guess we'll have to figure it out?"

This is kind of a Persona mythology gag again because of Judgement being a group social link near the end of the narratives of P3 and P4, when the protagonists have pierced through the lies and actually figured out who the villain of their game is and are ready to really start making progress.

0 as XI. The World

Ah, train does it again!

It's an ending and the completion of a journey, but also the beginning of a new one. And the world is literally what the passengers receive at the end of their train journey. Welcome home.

[celestialsblues]

okay so @radiosandrecordings said I should make this post so here I am. I wanna talk about the tma fandom’s treatment of jon as a character. while I’m not super active in the fandom I thought I needed to share my two cents.

I think the tma fandom has an issue with treating jon as if he’s an oc and not an entire, very well written character. while projection can be fun and all, as oran said, he definitely is being transformed into a Relatable OC. rather than being a very realistic flawed character people reduce a lot of that to tropes and easily relatable hcs. many headcannons are completely out of character for him, making him seem like a blank slate when he’s not.

there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, people can have fun however they want. however I think it misses a lot of the points of having such realistic and interesting characters. I’m not saying that everything has to have a huge purpose and everything has to be like an english class, I’m just saying that taking more time to think about your consumption of media would be really helpful for everyone in the long run and could foster a lot of interesting conversations.

many people see this very flawed man, rife with trauma and struggling with addiction, and turn him into the next #Relatable Character. and I feel like that does a disservice to jonny and his writing. this is not to say that everything has to be serious, however I think more people should put thought into what they choose to consider “canon” or what they force onto jon as a character. jon is a very interesting character and to see him reduced down to essentially just tropes and stereotypes is honestly sad. while I’ve seen people talking about people doing this to characters like tim I haven’t seen anyone talk about how similar it seems to be with jon.

people will take simple aspects of his character and blow them out of proportion while also completely ignoring some of the key aspects of his development and growth over the show.

this reduction of his character is something I see a lot with fandoms, where instead of thinking critically or introspectively, people just do what they want with absolutely no consequences. I think the fandom would genuinely benefit from more people offering up their opinions on jon as a character rather than turning him into a blank slate that anyone can just force their hcs on. I feel that that would make some really interesting conversations! as well as interesting art/fanfics/etc.

some of my favorite works in this fandom have been ones that analyze these characters and use them in super interesting ways. and I don’t mean that you can’t do that while also writing fun fluffy fanfics! trust me, you can do both! I’ve seen it before. it doesn’t have to be super Deep and Interesting either, there just needs to be a little bit more thought put into it.

obviously fandom doesn’t need to be super serious and whatnot but I think a little more introspection on these characters would bring a lot of interesting things to the table. and again, this is not me saying that you all have to stop having fun and write an essay, this is just me saying to look more closely at the media you’re consuming

[frozenartscapes]

does dragongard have a crest stone?

So, I think this would be a good time to talk about how I’m approaching Crest stones and Relics in this AU (partially because this is a good question and partially because I’m not sure if it will ever come up organically in the story and I hate writing exposition dumps within a story)

Short answer: yes, technically she does have a Crest stone

Long answer: I’ve always interpreted original Crest stones as being the hearts of dragons. The stones in all the Relics, and the one grafted onto Byleth’s heart, were all once the organic, beating hearts of living people. However, when those people died, the magic contained in their bodies rushed into their hearts and the whole organ calcified, trapping the magic within.

So this would have happened to all the Nabateans who became the Relics (we don’t know their names because the weapons crafted from their bones and hearts are named after the humans who possessed the weapons, not the Nabatean themselves). And any Nabatean Rhea was able to lay to rest in the Holy Tomb, assuming their bodies were intact.

We know that TWSITD are able to eventually manufacture artificial Crest stones (and Relics, from the look of it). But they still needed Nabatean blood (it’s implied they only get this technology once they get their hands on Flayn’s blood). So this is partially why, in this AU, they go for turning Edelgard into a Nabatean over just giving her two Crests. It would be far easier if they had a more reliable blood source - since it would seem that they had to figure out how to artificially manufacture blood, too. Finite resources, and such.

So, going back to the question: yes, Edelgard technically has a Crest stone, because her heart is her Crest stone. It won’t look like a traditional stone unless she dies, but it functions very similarly. It grants her additional strength, boosts magical abilities, and allows her to access Nabatean-specific skill sets like turning into a dragon or healing sleep cycles. There is the complication that she is still technically human, so as a result things like age-based immortality have been significantly affected. (As in: she’ll live a long time, far longer than most humans, but not to the extent that someone like Rhea has.) This is also how I interpret the other living Nabateans, like Rhea, Seteth, Flayn, and the other saints. They all have “Crest stones” but until they die the stones are in reality their hearts, their source of life and power.

Ok, now I’m just going to ramble about the Relics for a sec, but I’ll put it under a cut because this post is becoming long

So: the Relics. Imma be real with you guys for a moment: I grew up Catholic, and I minored in Art History (with a heavy lean to Medieval and Renaissance history). So these Relics... Ok, here we go.

Relics in Christianity, and specifically Catholicism, are things not many people know of if they aren’t part of the religion. If you are they are something so weirdly normalized half the time you don’t even think about it. But many things about Catholicism are. (Like Transubstantiation. That is such a fun thing trying to explain and not sound like a lunatic.) But we’re talking about relics, here, because the creative choice to call them Relics in the game was fucking phenomenal.

Catholic relics are basically dead people. There are some that aren’t - the True Cross and the Crown of Thorns are notable, non-dead people relics. But for most relics boasted about by various churches, they are either part of or a whole person. Whether or not that person is the saint they are claimed to be can get rather dubious, but yeah... Dead people. Often displayed in gilded boxes or holders, covered in gold or jewels, surrounded by paintings done up by famous artists. (Also note, too: If they aren’t a person-based relic they still have some morbid connection to how the saint they are connected to died, like, for example the True Cross - an execution device, or St. Paul’s Chains - chains that bound him before his martyrdom). It’s all very morbid and a little creepy but what’s more creepy is how normal it is to walk up to a box with a perfectly preserved saint just eternally sleeping away inside before asking her to shoot you a little prayer before your big test. But I digress.

In Three Houses, the Relics are also dead people. Dead dragons, to be more specific, but the Nabateans were both dragon and human so my statement still stands. The Relics themselves are bones (which are common for a church to hold as a relic of a saint). And in order for a Relic to function properly, it also needs the Crest stone (heart) of the dragon the bones came from. 

We also have seen that the Relics are highly unstable. If someone were to wield a Relic without possessing the Crest that matches it, the weapon can turn them into a Demonic Beast. And even having the Crest might not save you, as we see with Maurice, it’s possible to still be turned into a Demonic Beast through the power of the Relic/stone combination anyway.

So here’s my take on this: In Christianity, relics are meant to be a strong link between the physical world and the saint being represented by the relic. Praying with St. George’s arm present provides a better link to the saint than just praying to him normally. Sort of like, calling his office via an extension rather than using the main office line. The spirit of the Saints are closely linked to their relics, which is partially why they’re venerated so much.*

*I should note, however, that many of these relics are listed as the “real” relic, but in reality are more like a piece of wood or random body part discovered on a Crusade and brought back as a “treasure” from wars that ravaged many parts of the Middle East. They might hold spiritual significance, but just remember that the acquisition of many of these relics was certainly not the Divine miracle people claim - which also conveniently relates back to Three Houses when you realize what the Relics truly are and how they were obtained

So in Three Houses, every Nabatean crafted into a Relic still has their spirit present within the bones and Crest stone. They can’t really interact with anything outside of the Relic, but there is a strong connection between their spirits and their heart/bone/blood. This is why only someone possessing a particular Crest can wield the corresponding Relic. A Crest (the blood) ignites the power in the stone (the heart), which then prompts the body to come alive (the bones of the Relic itself). If any one of those things is missing or incorrect, the spirit behind the weapon will do one of two things: nothing, or react to the error. The angrier the spirit, the more violent the reaction. And I don’t know about you, but if I was ever murdered so my body could be twisted into a grotesque weapon to then be used to kill more of my family, I’d be pretty pissed about it.

If the bodies of the Nabateans are not laid to rest, they cannot be at peace. And the anger they feel about what happened to them and their brethren will continue to burn and fester. For some Nabateans, their anger was stronger than others. Whoever Maurice killed to get his Relic was so furious that it didn’t matter Maurice also had their blood - that rage still turned him into a Beast anyway. (But at the same time, Maurice was also the asshole who did the deed. Marianne, however, is a kind, gentle soul who does not enjoy raising her hand against any living creature. That would be something the spirit of the Nabatean could sense, and it would reflect how they respond to the user of the Relic.)

This is also why, in the canon game, characters with weapons made from artificial stones/bones did not face any issues. It’s implied that Aymr, for example, was created specifically for Edelgard. Despite holding the Crest stone of Maurice, she has no issue using it, because they reconfigured the stone to be attuned to the Crest of Seiros. (It’s also entirely possible that they just created this stone, and the Crest of the Beast was carved on it for ??? But this would effectively make the stone a blank slate to pair with any Crest that was available.) So these artificial weapons would not have a spirit of a Nabatean connected directly to them, and would be safer to use as a result.

(In terms of Crest stones being able to turn people into Demonic Beasts, even without the Relic, I see that more like handling something like a radioactive substance. The sheer amount of raw draconic power contained in a Crest stone would be enough to transform a human into a monster, just through contact alone. Even the artificially created ones still stem from that same magic, so holding one of those without any sort of protection would result in the same thing. That's why I'm starting to headcanon that, rather than just her two Crests activating at the same time, Edelgard just ripped the Crest stone out of Aymr when she turned into the Hegemon. Real or not, holding a Crest stone in your bare hand is a lot like that scene from Chernobyl when a firefighter unknowingly picks up a chunk of the exploded reactor core with his bare hand: You're dead before you even realize what you're holding.)

[mercury-retrograde-concept]

BTS and the Grammys: Quick tarot reading

“Quick” I say... Even though I’ve written up this post twice and lost it because of how tumblr erases everything if you minimize the screen too much. Anyway, hopefully the third time’s the charm, because this topic is very interesting to me. I’ve held off on doing this reading until today because there are so many factors at play in an awards show. It was also too far in the future, and I didn’t think the energies surrounding the situation would have coalesced yet. The eve of the show seems like as good a time as any to do it, though. All the voting has finished, the set list has been determined, etc etc. Now the only thing left to determine is how all the different entities involved feel about the situation, and what sort of energies they’re brining in to tomorrow.

Note: This is very much about the business side of things. Talking about companies bargaining behind the scenes doesn’t mean I think a song doesn’t deserve to win. It definitely doesn’t mean I think a song is bad. That sort of thing is entirely subjective and tarot isn’t geared towards that sort of question at all. 

Disclaimer: This tarot reading is for entertainment purposes only. All speculation comes from my interpretation only.

Theme of reading: Three of Pentacles BTS's motivations: Nine of Cups (Reversed), Queen of Wands (Reversed)

Clarifier: The Star (Reversed)

Big Hit's Motivations: The Hermit, King of Wands The Grammy Academy's motivations: Ten of Swords (Reversed), Four of Cups (Reversed)

Clarifier: Ace of Pentacles

It’s unsurprising that a pentacles card is the theme of this reading. That’s the minor arcana associated with money and financial resources, after all, and I’m approaching these linked questions from the business side of things. What is surprising to me is that there were no other pentacles present in this reading until I felt compelled to pull a clarifier card at one point. This indicates to me that all parties involved are actually pre-occupied with intangible things (such as power, control, and reputation) rather than trying to just increase their money. It’s an awkward fit and, consequently, I’m not surprised everyone involved appears to be feeling unsettled. In addition, everyone involved feels like the tomorrow’s results will decide the next phase of their career/business. However, each group has a very different opinion on what that might look like.

BTS appearing to be having trouble mustering excitement for the Grammys. This is mostly because they’re feeling burned out and disappointed about their careers right now. I think some of this is due to the impact of COVID on the performing arts in general. Right now they’re feeling as though they’ve been dealing with all the negative aspects of fame without any of the emotional release they might get through performing to a crowd. There might also be some imposter syndrome going on. Intellectually, they know they’re successful, but it’s hard to internalize that in isolation.  While winning at the Grammys would be nice for them, they’re more excited about the chance to be in the spotlight again. They’re also hopeful about networking and how it might lead to collaborations that will allow them to flex their creativity again. I think they’re also overwhelmingly worried their goals are not in alignment with Big Hit’s goals. Their biggest concern right now is feeling creatively stifled. It’s all over these cards. They’re a little worried that Big Hit will expect them to re-make Dynamite over and over again if they win a Grammy for that song. They’re grateful to that song, but they also value variety. 

Big Hit Entertainment, meanwhile, is valuing success for its own sake. They have done everything they can, meanwhile, to ensure a Grammy. They did the initial “for your consideration” type pushes. They networked, and promoted, and did everything under the sun. They’ve learned a lot in the process, too. At first it was awkward and they felt a little like they didn’t know what they were doing. They’ve since learned a lot. If BTS don’t win this time around, there will likely be other nominations in future years. They’re holding themselves aloof from the BTS members, though, and not really communicating with them lately. This appears to be due to a total mismatch in value systems. Big Hit upper managements wants to be known for being creative and visionary leaders and are inclined to see their groups as blank slates that lead them the company’s success. They’re more interested in creativity as a means to an end, rather than creativity for creativity’s sake. It appears as though BTS has definitely been expressing their fears about their career growing stale to management. However the powers-that-be fundamentally do not understand this type of worry. From BHE’s perspective they’ve done everything they can for BTS and are mystified by BTS’s concerns.

The Grammy Academy voters are probably in the weakest position here. They’ve been getting bad press for years, and this cycle of the Grammys is no different. Case in point: The anger over the Weeknd being shut-out, the increase of famous artists’ boycotting and criticizing them, etc. They feel like they’re hanging on by a thread. A lot of voters do feel like changes are necessary, a lot of them don’t know where to start. Some voters want the press that would come with rewarding BTS, though, and that energy is coming through in the cards I pulled. A BTS win would generate good buzz, and some voters are very aware of this. Whether this translates to votes is another thing entirely, though. Their motivations (plus the Ace of Pentacles card) makes me inclined to think there will be a lot of votes for BTS, however.

Side note: There isn’t anything in the cards about this, but I do think it’s funny that Big Hit might want that Grammy but also possibly wants to play it safe with BTS’s creative output (when BTS doesn’t necessarily want that.) I say this because awards tends to give artists in all industries a lot more bargaining power. BTS performing on their own - instead of a collab stage like in previous years - will also give them a lot of attention. I kind of want to do a simple past/present/near future reading for BTS soon because now I’m desperately curious about what their next few comebacks will look like!

[gryphsdeadbones]

hey from one nd person to another the comic where fm gordon says a slur seems kind of in poor taste. ik ur not intentionally making light of it and tht occurring in fm should be criticized but while you dont make it out to be a good thing making jokes about it and calling him a "slurboy" is kind of questionable? it makes it seem more like a plotpoint and angst rather than the creator of fm genuinely fucking up in the past (and having moved on from it)! i think exploring fm coming to terms with being nd is a good idea but this isnt the best way to do it. if you want me to explain my point more lmk if/when u post this and i will! someone already made a post abt it but it was kinda strongly worded and i wanted to approach you more calmly because i genuinely dont want to call you out or start drama or anything ;-;

first off thank you for being civil and patient with me i appreciate this ask a lot- also this got long- im not in a flying rage or anything when i bold or emphasis text, i just needed it also for my own readability and since im not the best at wording- hopefully this hellsite works and my response is under the cut

i would like to know how is it in poor taste when freemind explicitly gets clocked at the very end for saying it. the entire point of the comic was to show that saying the r slur has existed in his source and is bad

im not sure how much more direct i can get, with the disclaimer/warning list growing longer and longer and out there for a huge sign that says “this au can get dark as fuck and these subject matters are treated seriously/not something to mess around with.” Like yes, there are some jokes in the asks and other comics, but that specific comic is not supposed to be “haha thats funny”. it has a serious tone using a rough sketch style bc i was super tired and wanted to vent

was it just the direct reference to it that just made people uncomfortable? because thats 100% understandable, and i made sure i tagged it appropriately (although admittedly, a little bit late since i thought the filter would catch at least the main thing)

i think what some people somehow got from it is “exploring sensitive content = endorsing said content” which! that is not the intent! i absolutely do not want people saying that word! I don’t want people thinking that is any way okay for this character to say

its more of a damned if i do address it, damned if i dont.

if it never comes up, people are gonna assume that ‘oh this character says slurs and is shit, surely the creator or fan-creator MUST be okay with it and woobifies freemind and absolves him of any mistakes’ or something like that. no. this asshole has an arc and i want to do it right. its serious and i think it shouldn’t be shoved under the rug

and people just. dont want to read for context for whatever reason. theyll start watching it and get taken aback by the slur and start blaming me ‘hey you never warned for this’ when very early on i keep mentioning over and over ‘you dont have to watch it if you dont want to! This has slurs and 2000s internet brand humor/style’ You really dont, I’m not forcing you to watch it- Literally all you need to know is either canon half life or hl/vrai. thats it. fm mostly follows hl1 with very slight changes.

so i had to make something that:

1. warns people who arent aware and dont want to go through my asks or about/warning pages (for whatever reason) and just want to see the art

2. also NOT downplay freemind’s canon assholery. listen, i kinda despise writing mean and cruel characters, theyre hard to do, and a lot of people get shit for doing it wrong or people going “character = author”

i’ve also considered leaving the bubbles blank, but then people could fill it with whatever they want, then blame me for being vague. or they’d fill it in with a different kind of slur that freemind has never used, even if he MIGHT be the type to do that. I needed to explicitly mention that it is ableist slur. There are shitty racist and other problematic jokes, but never those kinds of extreme racial slurs to my knowledge.

Although I do see your point that maybe joking about it outside of the serious stuff might not be the best route. The slurboy jokes are getting stale, and I will try a better way to remind people.

The thing that gets to me is that it feels people are more than ready to defend either Ross Scott or Gordon Freeman the fictonal character himself. I don’t??? really care for Ross Scott, so I don’t know if he’s ever brought it up specifically. I’m not really calling him out or cancelling him. Idc for some white man’s feelings, im only bringing the timeframe of That era and reworking it to fit in This current era.

And I hate to break it to people: Gordon Freeman is a blank slate character, you can project whatever the hell you want on him as long as it’s not freakshit illegal garbage. The machinimas (fm, hl/vrai) do have SOME characterization that I want to nail down. It fucking sucks when characters are ooc, and I’m trying not to do that, even if it means sacrificing some comfort. But still mostly staying in my comfort zone if that makes sense

Now about the callout that I do not want to engage with the op directly:

Honestly im very surprised the comic was called out when i just. thought my stuff is relatively tame on exploring the bad shit canon freemind does. ive seen him in fancontent where they really dont hold back and its still played off as ‘kinda funny’ tone.

I really don’t know if people just want any reason to hate me for whatever reason. That’s fine I guess, I can’t please everyone and they dont have to like me.

But like. isn’t it so much easier for the op of that to block me and the post and move on. Why kick up such a fuss. I can see that thinly veiled death threat of a vague. That’s pretty fucked up- Like holy fucking god, you do not have to like my stuff. I’m not holding you at knifepoint to like my stuff. I’ve specifically made two different tags (one general au, one specific au) if anyone wants to blacklist it for their own reasons I do not need to know. I don’t want to know.

You’re allowed to be uncomfortable. You’re allowed to unfollow/blacklist/block.

However you just don’t go ranting about it for something you horribly misinterpreted. If it bothers you so badly, literally just. drop me a message to clarify. thats it. or save yourself the time and block me.

I’ve blocked the op for both our sakes, but if anyone wants to send this post to them, then thats fine. I don’t want anything to do with them.

I don’t want to link the post and blow it up. I just want shit clarified, dropped and we can move the fuck on with our lives. 

If you’re reading this and don’t know what the post is, please don’t bother. I do not want people going after the op with threats, please keep it civil, I’d prefer if you don’t engage with the post at all on my behalf.

Despite this huge wall of text, I do not want this to be a big deal, so please don’t ask me about the details.

_

As for anon, feel free to dm me either on here or. Maybe on discord if you’d still like to suggest or have something more cleared up. I’m still willing to hear any kind of feedback, and i want to thank you again for being reasonable about this

[xae-in-a-coat]

Various doodles to fight the insufferable art block

Concept design/reference sheet for Xaje’s Lesser Nobodies(Bards):

Xaje’s joke weapons(the Pointless Quill & Eraser-less Pencil):

A newly recompleted Jae & tiny protagonist:

‘Shoo! Get away you bothersome creature of light! This here is my bread! Mine! Not yours!-’ :

Battle description + doodle:

As previously stated during my first rendition of Organization members I, II, & III, yours truly is currently(& quite unfortunately)caught within the throes of an art block. &, as painstakingly desperate as I am to get the progress moving along, that bloody motivation sucking monster simply won’t allow me to do so without a fight. So, here I am now, chipping away at smaller, more manageable, subject matters(including that of a soon-to-be-posted comic). Hopefully you’ll all still be patiently waiting till then. Here, take two of my latest unanimated cutscenes:

*Standing atop the balcony of an undisclosed building, our hero & villain find themselves eyeing an obliviously lovestruck duo strolling dreamily below. Protagonist, with admiration, & Xaje… Not so much.*

Protagonist: Aww, they’re together! Isn’t that just the most romantic thing!

Xaje: Ugh, romance this & romance that, don’t you light dwellers ever grow tired of the sappy genre?

Protagonist: Well it isn’t my favorite thing of course, but still- There’s just something magical about seeing… You know… That.

*The camera pans down onto the couple once more, now revealing that they’ve embraced each other in a sense(much to Xaje’s disgust).*

Xaje: Oh the things love will make people do, such foolishness simply cannot be handled without at least the slightest whim of violence. Here, allow me to demonstrate.

*He snaps his fingers, swift & sudden, summoning a manageable, but nonetheless shocking, amount of his Bards. Watching with malevolent satisfaction as they interrupted the lovers in their moment.*

Protagonist: XAJE NO!-

*In a haste to halt the unnecessary attack, our Protagonist summons their Keyblade & rushed to jump down towards the scene, would Xaje have not removed the creatures himself. Which, luckily, he had. Using his free hand, he grabbed their arm in a vice grip seconds before they could leap.*

Xaje: Tch, save the heroics for a better time P/N, that was simply a brief demonstration of my words, remember? Besides, these two can handle themselves.

*Nodding towards the sweethearts, who were now in a state of utter shock rather than dreaminess, he scowled.*

Protagonist: YOU SCARED THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUTTA THEM YOU SOULLESS RAT!

Xaje: ‘Soulless Rat?’ Heh, well that’s new.

Protagonist: & DON’T FORGET DARKNESS DRUNKEN, PEN COLLECTING, ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS OBSESSED, ANGSTY FANFIC WRITER!-

Xaje: Wow, I’m impressed. How long did it take you to come up with all that?

Protagonist: A lil while I guess, I’m not exactly sure what goes on in that misshapen brain of mine when I’m all fired up, you know?

Xaje: I’d understand that more than anyone P/N.

*They stood in silence for a short moment. Xaje’s hand still closed tightly around Protagonist’s arm. His grip steadily increasing as the seconds ticked by.*

Protagonist: Hey uh- Xaje, my arm-

Xaje: Oh- M-My apologies, I forgot.

*In an attempt to hide his embarrassment, he released them, dusting his hands off as he did.*

Protagonist: It’s fine. Just- Maybe don’t send a mob of Nobodies after innocent bystanders next time.

Xaje: Tch, I’ll send a mob of Nobodies after anyone I please, they do belong to me after all. It’s only right that I use them to fulfill my duty.

Protagonist: & your ‘duty’ is to harm innocent people who’re just trying to be happy? Xaje… You know that’s not-

HEY ARE YOU TWO OKAY UP THERE?!

*Suddenly interrupted by one of the partners’ concerned voice, Protagonist made to reassure them. Xaje however, had other plans in mind.*

Protagonist: YEAH! WE’RE- I MEAN, I’M FINE! THANKS! SORRY ABOUT THOSE NOBOD-

*Heckled once more, Protagonist abruptly felt themself getting pulled back, now unable to complete their intended statements.*

Xaje: Silence yourself fool! These are mere commoners! We can’t risk being seen-

Protagonist: NO! YOU CAN’T RISK BEING SEEN! YOU’RE ALWAYS RUNNING AWAY & HIDING SOMEWHERE IN THE DARK REALM! ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE ME DO THAT TOO?!

*Knowing that it wasn’t a good time to argue, let alone fight, Xaje promptly awakened his shadow & ordered it to keep our struggling Protagonist subdued before summoning a portal which lead back to the Castle That Never Was.*

Xaje: Come along now P/N, we’ll settle this elsewhere.

*In they went, a Nobody, his shadow, & a captured Hero reduced to nothing.*

-𝙵𝚒𝚗

*Upon their arrival at the castle, & specifically the more so secluded half of it, Xaje unlocked one of the many corridors before him, revealing a vast expanse of ivory emptiness. Regal white walls coated in ebony shadow. Carelessly releasing our Protagonist into the lovely abyss.*

Xaje: Stay here, It’s not like I’ll be allowing you an easy escape anytime soon. Not until I get what I want that is…

Protagonist: Xaje, what do you want?

*The question caught him off guard, leaving the Nobody with a blank slate rather than a witty comeback.*

Xaje: I… I don’t know…

Protagonist: Well… Whatever it is, I’m sure you’ll be able to find it if you’d just choose to accept the light for once-

Xaje: NO! IT MAY NOT COME AS OBVIOUS TO A DIMWIT LIKE YOU, BUT THE SECOND I LEAVE THIS STATE OF NONEXISTENCE I’LL REVERT BACK INTO THAT USELESS BOY WHO COULDN’T DO ANYTHING BUT CRY OVER ALL OF HIS IRREPARABLE FLAWS! HAVE YOU NOT A MIND TO UNDERSTAND HOW HARROWING THAT WOULD SEEM?! HOW AGONIZING IT WOULD FEEL?!

Protagonist: But just for once you’d be real! You’d be YOU!

Xaje: WHAT IF I DON’T LIKE ME!?-

*For a moment, he could almost feel the ever so familiar trickle of teardrops making their escape from the prison of his eyes. A distant memory he longed to forget. One that belonged to a heart whom he wished to permanently discard. A feeling that was far too tired of being caged. But still, he refused to let it out, not here, not now, & especially not in front of this overtly gifted hero. Thus, he silenced himself, just as he had done countless times before, he denied his being of a true release, masking the pain with a false sense of anger & cruel empowerment instead. Destroying the bud of a newly sprouted heart.*

Xaje: I- … Look… My motivations may not be the clearest, but I know there’s one thing I’ll definitely need in order to get to them: Power, & you along with your little companions can provide me with just that. So, till the time comes, you’ll stay put & do as I say, you’re the bait in this operation of mine, is that clear?

Protagonist: Xaje please-

Xaje: Is. That. Clear?

Protagonist: … Yes…

Xaje: Good.

*Upon successfully implementing the forced agreement, Xaje swiftly turned to leave the otherwise vacant quarters, intending to keep the Keyblade Wielder locked up until they would become of further use.*

Protagonist: Wait!-

*Reluctantly, he stopped in his tracks to look back at them, a distinct scowl evident in his gaze.*

Xaje: Ugh, what could you possibly need now fool?

Protagonist: Promise me something, please-

Xaje: Tch- & just what might that be?

Protagonist: Do whatever it is that you must, destroy me if you have to, but please, don’t hurt my friends! They may seem a little hardheaded at times but that’s only because they never knew you like I did!… They never knew how different you used to be… How kind you once were…

*The everlasting gratitude could be felt in their words, still gentle & so very patient despite their captor’s deeply contrasting demeanor. I suppose you’d expect no less from a hero.*

Xaje: Fine… Though I’d prefer not to keep any promises, I’ll do my best to uphold your wishes this one time. But be warned, don’t allow yourself to become too expectant now P/N. When the time comes for me to fight, I’ve nothing left but to do so. Understand?

Protagonist: Yes, I understand…

Xaje: Very well then, I believe now would be a good time for me to leave?

Protagonist: O-Of course…

*Resisting the urge to roll his tired eyes, he advanced towards the threshold. Nearly making his escape when a certain naively gracious voice called out to him from behind… Again.*

Protagonist: Hey- Uh Xaje?- Just one last thi-

Xaje: WHAT IN THE NAME OF KINGDOM HEARTS COULD YOU POSSIBLY HAVE LEFT TO SAY?!

Protagonist: T-THANK YOU!- I really mean it by the way…

Xaje: … Whatever… Your cheapened gratifications mean nothing to me either way. In fact, I’d appreciate it so much more if you’d just learn to quiet that insufferable voice of yours. Hmm? What do you say?

*Shrugging in a rather sarcastic manner, he left. For real this time. Listening with his eyes closed as the door shut behind him, sending a melancholic echo all throughout the elegant palace of sorrowful souls. Leaving his prisoner to wallow in their accepted despair.*

-𝙵𝚒𝚗

Progress shots:

[tabby-shieldmaiden]

I remember one long tumblr post explaining that the reason underwritten female character don't get the same treatment as underwritten male character is because those female characters aren't "blank slates" like then male ones but rather offensively badly-written and filled with loathsome clichés. I don't agree with that view but it seems to be agreed upon

Mm... I remember that post. And honestly, I have to say, I think that if loads of people agreed with that post, then the person who wrote that meta probably spoke to experiences that a lot of people went through. And in that sense, I can’t really say that what they wrote is all bad. If people were helped by their meta, then good for all of them.

That being said... I don’t think I really liked that post much when I first encountered it. Mostly, it had to do with how I tend to approach writing female characters. And well....

Alright, to give you an idea about where I stand, I actually spent a good amount of my fannish life writing fanfiction starring female characters in important roles. For a while, the main thing I wrote for was a video game targeted towards boys. The female cast of Skylanders were generally better written and designed than most things targeted towards young boys with the intention of selling them more merchandise (not that it’s a particularly high bar*), but most of them were kind of blank slates if you didn’t read their backstories or read the tie-in books and comics. So, already, for a lot of my fannish life I already spent that time developing female characters.

It’s a skill that carries over I guess, finding things to write about for female characters. Even if she’s written as a one-dimensional sexist caricature, I just take that as a challenge to see if I can still craft an interesting story around her. It’s really fun too! It’s cool seeing comments from people saying that they like what you did with her and where you took her character. Plus, I think I’ve grown to like writing as a way of doing thought experiments. Especially if it’s a challenge to write a female character a certain way, and make it if not good, then at least interesting.

So, I guess that’s why that piece of meta never really resonated with me. Because developing female characters and playing around with them and the tropes they tend to play into... is kind of my thing. And I know I can do the same to blank slate male characters. But honestly... to me, a lot of blank slate male characters aren’t really as fun to subject to thought experiments to as sexist stereotype female characters are. Because while there is something to play with for the female character, even if it’s something uncomfortable because of sexism. I can figure out a way to turn that into art and challenge myself in the process. Whereas the male character who’s a blank slate is honestly... Just Some Guy. And it’s just not as fun to subject Just Some Guys to thought experiments.

*Nevertheless, I still like a lot of female characters in things targeted towards young boys with the intention of selling them more merchandise. Or at least, I’m very determined to like them, and I’m usually successful in finding something to like. I have story lines I would like to explore with them. But I feel like it would involve some rewatches/rereads first.

[generallypo]

“I heard your voice, so I came... Aoba-san.”

Hooo-boy, if that doesn’t get me emotional every single time. Call it my bias for eccentric bundles of sunshine and softness, or my crippling weakness for the secretly-handsome-and-devastatingly-earnest type, but you can’t change my mind: Clear is, hands down, DMMD’s best love interest. Character development-wise, thematically, romantically, he nails every trial thrown at him, gets his man,  and proceeds to break your heart in the tenderest, sincerest way possible. I am hopping with Huge Fan Energy, so this post is gonna be unapologetically long and self-indulgent and grossly enthusiastic. Yeeeee.

———— 

Look, DMMD meta analysis has been done to death, I get it. This game is old. But I think it stands as testament to its excellent production that it’s still a game worth revisiting years later — especially during these times when social contact is so hard pressed to come by and we all rabidly devour digital media like a horde of screeching feral gremlins. (Have you seen Netflix’s stock value now? The exploding MMO server populations? Astonishing.) It’s pure, simple human nature to want to connect, to cling to members of our network out of biological imperative and our psychological dependency on each other. As cold and primitive at that sounds, social contact also fulfills us on a higher level: the community is always stronger than the individual; genuine trust begets a mutually supportive relationship of exchange and evolution. People learn from each other, and grow into stronger, wiser, better versions of themselves.

Yeah, I’m being deliberately obtuse about this. Of course I’m talking about Clear. Clear, who is a robot. Clear, who is nearly childlike in his insatiable curiosity regarding the human condition.

And it’s a classic literary tactic, using non-human entities to question the intangible constructs of a concept like ‘humanity’ — think Frankenstein, or Tokyo Ghoul, or Detroit: Become Human, among so, so many works in various media — all tackling that question from countless angles, all with varying measures of success. What does it mean to be human? To be good? Who are we, and where do we stand in the grand scheme of things? Is there even a scheme to follow? … Wait, what?

Jokes aside, there are so many ways that the whole approaching-human-yet-not-quite-there schtick can be abused into edgy, joyless existential griping. Nothing wrong with that if it’s what you’re looking for, except that we’re talking about a boys’ love game here. But DMMD neatly, sweetly side steps that particular wrinkle, giving us a wonderfully grounded character to work with as a result. 

Character Design — a see-through secret

Let’s start small: Clear’s design and premise. Unlike so many other lost, clueless robo-lambs across media, Clear does have a small guiding presence early on in his life. It takes the form of his grandfather, who teaches Clear about the world while also sheltering him from his origins. It means he learns enough to blend sufficiently into society; it also means that Clear has even more questions that sprout from his limited understanding of the world.

Told that he must never remove his mask lest he expose his identity as a non-human, Clear’s perpetual fear of rejection for what he is drives much of his eccentricity and challenges him throughout much of his route. As for the player, the mystery of what lies underneath his mask is a carrot that the writers get to dangle until the peak moment of emotional payoff. Even if it’s not hard to guess that there’s probably a hottie of legendary proportions stuck under there, there’s still significance in waiting for that good moment to happen. And when it does, it feels great.

His upbringing contextualizes and affirms his odd choice of fashion: deliberately generic, bashfully covered from the public eye, and colored nearly in pure white - the quintessential signal of a blank slate, of innocence. Contrasted with the rest of DMMD’s flashy, colorful crew, Clear is probably the most difficult to read on a superficial scale, not falling into the fiery, bare-chest sex appeal of a womanizer, or the techno-nerd rebel aesthetic that Noiz somehow rocks. Goofy weirdo? Possibly a serial killer? Honestly, both seem plausible at the start.

And that’s the funny thing, because as damn hard as he tries to physically cover himself up from society, Clear is irrepressibly true to his name: transparent to a fault. He’s a walking, talking contradiction, and it’s not hard to realize that this mysterious, masked stranger… is really just an open book. By far the most effusive and straightforward of the entire cast, his actions are wildly unconventional and sometimes wholly inexplicable. But given time to explain himself, he is always, always sincere in his intentions — and unlike the rest of the love interests, naturally inclined to offer bits of himself to Aoba. It doesn’t take the entire character arc to figure out his big, bad secret — our main character gets an inkling about halfway through his route — and what’s even better is that he embraces it, understanding that his abilities also allow him to protect what he cherishes: Aoba. 

So what if he doesn’t fit into an easily recognizable box of daydream boyfriend material? He’s contradictory, and contradiction is interesting. Dons a gas mask, but isn’t an edgelord. Blandly dressed, but ridiculously charming. Unreadable and modestly intimidating — until he opens his mouth. Even without the benefit of traversing his route, there’s already so much good stuff to work with, and sure as hell, you’re kept guessing all the way to the end.

Character Development — from reckless devotion into complaisant subservience, complaisant subservience into mutual understanding. And then, of course: free will, and true love. 

At its core, DMMD is about a dude with magic mind-melding powers and his merry band of attractive men with — surprise! — crippling emotional baggage. Each route follows the same pattern, simply remixing the individual character interactions and the pace of the program: Aoba finds himself isolated with the love interest, faces various communication issues varying on the scale of frustrating to downright dangerous, wanders into a sketchy section of Platinum Jail, bonds with the love interest over shared duress, breaks into the Oval Tower, faces mental assault by the big bad — and finally, finally, destroys those internal demons plaguing the love interest, releasing the couple onto the path of a real heart-to-heart conversation. And then, you know, the lovey-dovey stuff. 

Here’s the thing: as far as romantic progression goes, it’s really not a bad structure. There’s room to bump heads, but also to bond. The Scrap scene is a thematically cohesive and clever way to squeeze in the full breadth of character backstory while simultaneously advancing the plot. In this part, Aoba must become the hero to each of his love interests and save them from themselves. Having become privy to each other’s deepest thoughts and reaching a mutual understanding of each other, their feelings afterwards slide much more naturally into romantic territory. They break free of Oval Tower, make their way home, and have hot, emotionally fulfilling sex or otherwise some variation on the last few steps. The end. 

That is, except for Clear. 

Clear’s route is refreshing in that he needs none of these things — the climax of his emotional arc actually comes a little after the halfway point of his route. When Clear’s true origins are revealed, he comes entirely clean to Aoba, fighting against his fear of rejection but also trusting that Aoba will listen. It’s a quiet, vulnerable moment, rather than the action-packed tension we normally experience during a Scrap scene. 

That doesn’t mean it’s prematurely written in — it simply means that he reaches his potential faster than the other characters. Because of that, he’s free to pursue the next level of his route’s development much, much sooner in the timeline: he overcomes his fears of his appearance, he confesses his love to Aoba, he leaves the confines of a largely dubious master-servant relationship and allows himself to be Aoba’s equal. Clear’s sprite art mirrors his emotional transformation all the way through, exposing him to the literal bone — and Aoba’s affection for him doesn’t change a single bit. Beautiful.

The whammy of incredible moments doesn’t just stop there, though. I don’t exactly recall the order the routes DMMD is ideally meant to be played in, but I believe Clear’s is meant to be last. And if you do, I can guarantee that it becomes a hugely delightful gameplay experience — in order to achieve his good ending, you must do absolutely nothing with Scrap. It doesn’t just subvert our player expectations of proactively clicking and interacting with our love interests; it grabs the story by its thematic reins and yanks it all back to the forefront of our scene. 

In every route besides Clear’s, Scrap is a tool used to insert Aoba’s influence into and interfere with his target’s mind. Using his powers of destruction, Aoba is able to prune whatever maligned thoughts are harming his target; in any conventional situation, using Scrap is the right choice. 

But one of the central problems in Clear’s route is his conflict between the impulses of his conditioning and his desire to live freely as a human would. Breaking free of Toue’s programming is what initially made him unique; growing beyond the rules imposed by his grandfather is what makes him human. In the final conflict scene, Clear’s decision to destroy his key-lock is an action of true autonomy, made with perfect understanding of the consequences and a sincere, selflessly selfish desire to protect someone he loves. In order to receive his good end, you have to respect his decision. It doesn’t matter which option you pick — by using Scrap, Aoba turns his back on every positive choice he made with Clear and attempts to exert his authority over him. This is Aoba becoming Toue; this is Aoba trying to reinstate himself as ‘Master’ right as he approved Clear as his equal. That’s blatant hypocrisy, and it doesn’t matter if Aoba is trying to do it for Clear’s ‘own good’ — that’s not Aoba’s call to make. If you truly wish to respect Clear’s free will, you will stand by. This is the truth of the moment: Clear has no emotional blockages that Aoba needs to fix. Believe in him, just as he believed in you.

The path to his heart is, and always has been, clear. Scrap was never needed from the start.

While Aoba might be the main character, Clear is undeniably a hero in his own route just as much. Tirelessly earnest and always curious, he leaps headlong into the unknown and emerges with his newfound enlightenment. He’s unafraid of weathering trials, even to the point of accepting death, and returns anew from oblivion to a sweet, cathartic ending. That’s about as textbook hero’s journey as it gets — if that doesn’t make him unquestionably, certifiably, unconditionally human, then I will scream.

And only finally… there is the free end. The final CG is like a throwback to our first impression of him: indistinct, purposefully obscured from proper view. But this time, we know better — and so does Aoba. Looks were never what mattered in Clear’s route. If you were patient, and you were open-minded, and you listened… well, what we realize now is that Clear was doing the exact same thing for you, too.

From a carefree, aimless robot-man with only the gimmick of “eccentric ditz” to carry him forward, we get a supremely more interesting character by the end: a man who has graduated from the well-intentioned but claustrophobic conditioning of his childhood; a weapon who has defied the imperatives placed on him by his creator’s programming; a wanderer who has, through unconditional patience and empathy, discovered love, and striven to become a better person for it. Who was it that ever doubted Clear’s character? He’s the goddamn goodest boy that ever wanted to be a real boy. Of course Clear is human. And in fact, he does it better than every single one of the actually human love interests. You can’t change my mind.

The Romance — kindness is really fucking attractive, okay.

Like I’ve said earlier, I have my Big Fan Blinds stuck on pretty tight. I might be conjuring sparks from thin air. But I think every choice was a deliberate creative decision on the writers’ part, and they deserve all the kudos for it — I’m just the lucky player who gets to enjoy it. But aside from Noiz (who I also think is a perfect darling as well — I could go on and on about him), Clear’s route is a model example for consent and healthy relationships in VN storytelling. This is reciprocated on both sides: never does Aoba infringe on Clear’s boundaries, and neither does Clear. They’re sensitive to each other’s needs and concerns; they ask for permission and stop when it isn’t granted (and when it is, boy do they get frisky — I’m not complaining!) I don’t need to say much more, because I think that consent is both fantastic and yes, incredibly hot (the scene in DMMD is tons more sad, go play Re:connect!). Good writing shows off the massive erotic potential enthusiastic consent puts into intimacy, and Aoba’s and Clear’s relationship is honestly a dream playground. The point is, I think Aoba and Clear genuinely do find equal balance in their relationship by the end of his route (and certainly through Re:connect). If you follow through Re:connect’s storyline, there’s even more thematic richness that comes through in the form of Clear’s greatest asset: communication. The couple get to discuss the long-term implications of them being together; they both offer concerns, points, and assurances to the other, and it’s just a soft, honest moment not so unlike the worries of a real relationship. Hearing is kind of Clear’s motif sense, but it’s really great to see that Aoba also subtly picks it up, really flexes his own communication skills to better engage with Clear. 

Point is, Clear’s route spoke to me on a lot of little levels. Design-wise, he’s already got a ton going for him, and his story builds upon it rather than against it, enriching his development and grounding him a little more solidly in the DMMD universe (and in my heart). His route, aside from being emotionally ruinous, carries a pretty solid chunk of world-building (only beaten out by Mink’s and Ren’s, probably), and the romance feels organic, healthy, and realistic. He’s not the only one with an excellent route, but he’s my favorite. If you read through all of this, you’re a real trooper and I’m extremely impressed. Thanks for tuning in. Peace.