#really interesting read. really good insight into the character and her takes on the situation

[stewyhosseini-bf]

[calware]

dear calware, I'm not sure how much you know on the topic of Doc Scratch, but I was wondering, why is the common consensus around him that he's like a creepy pedophile? after rereading his messages with Rose, he seems more tone deaf and weird than a fully on creep. is there something I'm missing?

scratch isn't "literally" a pedophile (or a hebephile, which is the accurate term for this situation) which we know because of this

but at the same time, that is still the Way he's written

(i'm sorry if this following explanation is confusing.... i really do not have the right wording to describe it) it's almost like a metaphorical representation. he's a child predator in every way but the actual sexual attraction. the way he's written references the behavior of actual child predators and is meant to signal to the audience that this is the Kind Of Character he is. it's a literary tool(?)to tell the audience that he is literally taking advantage of characters in various ways (as well as straight up abusing damara) while at the time comparing it to child sexual abuse

but if you do want literal actions on his part, he does Literally groom young girls and they are his targets for manipulation

also, directly from the author commentary (which. is not 100% serious at times. but i do think it sometimes offers some actual insight):

I know I just said a bunch of stuff about [DD] maybe being a creep. But look, this is just my OPINION here. I don't think he's actually being creepy about this. I think he has a genuinely parental attitude toward Aradia and wants to see her succeed in her violent and underhanded schemes. See how he wants them to conduct their business with efficiency? He's way too professional to go Full Doc on these girls.

Another peek at Rose suggests she's still at it with her creepy uncle, Doc Scratch.

Then you have a few beats of conversation which bring Equius to mind, such as the creep-factor

[Dirk and Equius] have this creepy-guy streak running through them, with strange or offputting interests, and seem to get a quiet kick out of making others uncomfortable through demonstrations of these fascinations. [...] I'd say these self-examined qualities are just drawn out, isolated, and inflated both for dramatic effect, and also as critical write-up of those qualities existing within many human beings in general, which I would like to think is grounded in a creative process involving a certain degree of humility about some of this bullshit. I like all these characters here, but that doesn't mean I think their unpleasant qualities are good. It just means I am harnessing and heightening those qualities for creating strong villainous portraits.

We start getting the sense that the entire purpose of this conversation, from Doc's vantage point, is just to passive-aggressively manipulate Rose into peering directly into one of his cursed testicles. Wait, my youth pastor is literally barking like a dog right now for some reason. Probably because I put him on a leash and tied him to a post in the backyard. I guess I fucked up again? I mean one of Doc's seeds.

Maybe it's fair to say I have a higher than average tolerance troubling content. But even I have to admit to shuddering a little when I read Doc's creepy lines toward Rose. I think Doc's creep factor toward girls is most likely channeling part of Caliborn's personality, which almost seems to revolve around his horrid attitude toward women. For Caliborn, this weird combination of wrathful misogyny, yet fixation and obsession with certain girls, is obviously central to the type of real-world profile he's meant to portray. But when his personality is more muted among the collective in Doc's head, those qualities come across as more "restrained," "polite," and "flattering," which arguably just makes it all creepier. The result is a creepy dude profile that also exists in the real world, sort of adjacent to the Full Caliborns out there. There seem to be many stripes of this kind of unfortunate male behavior, which all exists in a broader family of sub-Caliborns. The Docs, the Eridans, the Cronuses… They're all sketchy in different ways.

Doc sitting back just to "watch" is another creepy Equiusism. Remember that was a thing with him.

I wonder what Jade would think if she knew she had in her possession since childhood one of Doc's testicORACLES!!! Oracles. The word I meant to say was oracles, not anything else. Anyway, like I was saying, how would Jade react if she realized every time she played with one of her beloved toys, she was actually fondling this weirdo's plump, juicy oracle. I know you think my youth pastor may have something to do with this peculiar outburst, but you're wrong. I "dismissed" him recently, because he told me with great pride that I learned everything he had to teach me. I don't need anyone to keep me from shoving my foot in my mouth anymore, I'm sure you'll be pleased to know. Now let's watch this grieving teen receive a demonic message from an evil puppet's big fat nut.

bonus commentary from book 6 that has nothing to do with the post:

We're reaching a specific kind of story partition. Not the end of an act, but the end of a year. Also an end of "disc," which is a kind of meta-partitioning I just made up for the purpose of closing the book on two years of content, as well as being a good meta-device for introducing the Doc sequence we're about to get into in the next book.

"next book"...... sad

[narwhalandchill]

how are we feeling about this project amber update

assuming this is in relation to childe bc who the fuck else JWDJWJKDJKW anon im so sorry if not. also so so sorry for how out of hand this got. i am simply unwell about him.

But! Well. there certainly are thoughts

(obviously 4.6 datamine of arle SQ and her voicelines; This Will Not Spoil Anything Abt The Main SQ Plot, i only discuss the relevant parts. also some p Heavy negativity towards fanon ooc at the start youve been warned dont @ me)

(i mean i didnt even read anything of the SQ but The scene w childe so idek the main plot of the quest rly either lmao. tho go at ur own risk if u wanna check the dialogue out; its the 2nd quest log but it does hint at the greater story)

TLDR: how i feel abt his appearance in a vaccuum? quite solid despite the briefness, actually. accounting for the way fanon is 100% likely going to be reading into this and turning it into the Lets Infantilize Ajax Even More 2024 championship? conflicted.

in other words; a certified labyrinth warriors moment - theyve expanded on childes character in a very interesting and quite a compelling way and while i Do like the potential in what im seeing from hoyos end theyve also done it so that its going to be misinterpreted to hell and back by fanon so i kinda have an immediate jaded love-hate moment going on JJWJDKJDKJWJDWKJ

its literally just labyrinth warriors flashbacks - that event has some of my ALL TIME favorite insights into who ajax is and how he views the world and himself but when the event came out all everyone cared abt was to warp it into baby boy stuck in scawwy paper boy dungeon dehumanizes himself by calling himself a weapon and doesnt love himself he is such a sad trauma meowkitten 🥺🥺so yeah

bc like lets look at this properly for a bit; okay he went back to fontaine to look for skirk still somewhat injured and waa waa my 286 month infant baby cannot Make decisions like that!!!!!11! which is to say. i am tired of him getting this shit every time.

is it smart of him to get on the move immediately with just the bare minimum of rest? no. do i like that hes straining himself before proper recovery? not particularly no. do i feel the particular need to psychoanalyze this grown man and feared warrior whos 100% survived Way Worse in Way More Extreme Situations for it? hell fucking no.

while not at all the course of action a medical professional would approve of. from childes POV its perfectly logical hes priorizing going back for skirk when its literally the FIRST TIME shes showed up in like. a Decade. when hes been looking for her all this time are you kidding me 😭😭😭 but fanon must keep fanoning for their widdle baby girl so what does a hater like me know

anyway. seething and venting over im gonna try to avoid bringing up how much i hate this kinda infantilization of ajax now im sorry for bringing it up so much on ur innocent ask anon KJWDJKWKJDJDKWJKD. neutral discussion moment. i Promise

so it seems that theyre going for the pulcinella-is-shady-about-ajax (and prolly his family) angle for good and like. personally for me as long as the only real source of that claim was scara (a cynical edgelord who doesnt believe in non-exploitative human relationships, mind you) i was rather skeptical towards just instantly drawing that conclusion, but well. with the scene in arles AQ it appears to be sth theyre building towards

i actually really fucking loved that scene bc while theres outsider perspectives (scara obvi; and even arles line for him has that vibe. and ppl still take that shit face value 💀💀) and a lot of fandom assuming childes like. completely clueless and naive and ignorant towards the potential risks involved with trusting pulcinella. this is actually a very clever demonstration of quite the opposite? and showcasing how despite his aversion towards schemes and lies hes still intelligent and knows the kind of people hes dealing with when it comes to his fellow harbingers

like. childe has a negative opinion of arle based on what pulcinella has told him about her because at face value many of her deeds are in heavy conflict with his values of loyalty and family. and because he does not have the further context behind her actions and what the HotH under her is really like. Obviously hed hold a very hostile and wary view towards arlecchino

(ESPECIALLY when with all this biased intel hes still going to run into kids from the house!!! and then hes going wtf? these are good kids. what the hell is that knave doing with them??? blink twice if you need help i will start a civil war for yall like thats how he is with kids!!!!)

so YES. pulcinella has given him if not false then at least misleading intel based on the political tension between himself and arlecchino and the wider HotH. and childes taken that at face value! sure! he is close with pulcinella of course he would!

BUT. THEN. he returns to fontaine and seeks arlecchinos help looking for skirk. and observes her behavior and modus operandi for himself as well as the kids. does he go "nah she must be just hiding the crazy evil shit i would never distrust pulcinella" and leave it at that when reality doesnt completely match his expectations?

NO. because when offered the opportunity through the traveler asking about the HotH childe immediately capitalizes on the opportunity to prod for answers and see if pulcinella is lying to him!!!!

and hes so fucking smart with the way he does it too???? i LOVE his intelligence. the entire thing is so simple yet elegant; it Completely relies on his reputation as the kinda gullible harbinger whod Never scheme or hide Anything to indirectly affirm or deny his suspicions. he doesnt Need to Pretend to care about the possibility of arle betraying the kids bc he genuinely does!! and when she pushes back against the accusation he doesnt Need to fake admitting to her that well, actually, its all just rumors so he could be completely wrong. and so on. like he navigates the entire thing so effortlessly. and whats the end result?

childe has Confirmation of pulcinellas possible ulterior motives in action AND that arlecchino is a much more reliable ally than he initially assumed. all the while appearing as just The Straightforward 11th. like obviously id need to hear it voiced first to be sure but in text it v much gives the impression hes almost kinda just. playing up the threats towards arle and being "dumb" on Purpose?? to get the answers he wanted out of arle without appearing like hes fishing for anything particular. and i just hhhhhhhhhhh

i love when he does this so muchhhh!!!!!! 😭😭 he doesnt need to become some machiavellian schemer to be able to strategize !!!!!! he avoids scheming bc he Dislikes it not bc hes incapable of it like this has Always been the case Since Liyue AQ and i love whenever they show that side of himm . my Beloved

so anyway. while i do still think the like "pulcinella is bad and has his family hostage" is still kind of a generic plotline and i hope the writing regarding the whole thing wont ultimately turn out to be sth That simplified and black and white. its p clear theyre doing Something with pulcinellas motivations and as they are. im Really glad theyre letting it show that childes not just some completely passive party being manipulated in this all. he Is thinking abt this stuff and his position among the harbingers. ig we shall see where it goes - not the greatest fan of the concept still, but canon text supports it becoming a thing way more than when it was just scaras word we had for it. hope theyll surprise me positively w how they go about it!

then briefly for the rest uhh

also loved arle and childe just shittalking the rest of the harbingers it was amazing. i wasnt expecting this kinda dynamic between them at all but its great lmao. also i wanna see childe hang out w the HotH kids

as for project stuzha; so we dont really get anything solid on it other than being summoned back to snezhnaya for it is apparently a Big Deal. but still very interested. let my man have his endgame significance Trust

childes appearance was obviously v brief ultimately but that was clear from his leaked linecount to begin with - i am pretty satisfied with what they seem to have done w him. like its not The Best but also i wasnt expecting his lore to get some massive expansion in another harbingers SQ . the worst i feared was that it was just going to be a flashback of arle returning his vision which did Not happen so massive W. i am super hyped to hear this scene voice acted proper and happy to see him again, i really hope he gets to appear at least once more in an interlude or dains quest or something before going on hiatus again but idk if thats too much to ask LKKWJDJWDJWD

also: i am never changing my namecard after this patch drops. oh my godddddddd its So Fucking Beautiful 😭😭😭😭

But. Yeah. lots of good stuff. unfortunately lots of it will get misinterpreted and fanon will get obnoxious about it. but i still love getting to see him again and i am speedrunning that namecard day fucking one mutuals and/or followers in EU please add me (UID 711090267) ill need coop buddies for the world bosses

thank youuuuuuu for the ask i hope this monstrosity of a monologue doesnt scare u off 💀💀💀

[heretichromia]

Have you read Kakania’s side story in r99 yet(or if you plan to). Would be interested in hearing your thoughts!! (Though no pressure of course)

They are addicted to twisting the knife. They can't help themselves.

I'm usually not a fan of the trope of examining a character's psychiatric condition by having a psychiatrist literally just explicitly lay it out. Though it can be used in more elegant and subtle ways, it's usually just a shorthand for letting an omniscient third party just...say what's wrong with a character in an expedient fashion, or summarize what was said more eloquently before in a clinical way less likely to be misunderstood, and that's...boring.

In this case...I still don't like the exact way they did it, but I think the framing device sort of works as a nail in the coffin for Kakania's self-image. Her faith in her psychiatric ability was already in the gutter, since she utterly failed to understand Isolde at all, but now it's completely dust. Her incomplete psychiatric education is now a century outdated, and the theories she clung to as a beacon of a brighter future are now considered defunct. This obviously isn't the only reason, but I'm sure it's a contributing factor for why she doesn't even take up work as a psychiatrist at the Foundation.

I'm...kind of surprised by how little we actually got from it? In many of these stories, we get new insights on the POV characters that we don't really have time for in the plots they come from, insights that occasionally change the way we see them (Isolde comes to mind), but a lot of what was directly spelled out for us here were things we could have already inferred from the MSQ. It didn't give us nothing—we got some more context behind her relationship with her brother, for instance, which makes that scene in the MSQ a little more painful—so I guess my expectations should have been tempered for a personal story about a character who already experienced more or less a full character arc. It's less of a deeper dive into Kakania than it is a necessary point of "closure" for her story, tying up some of the hanging threads to...varying degrees of satisfaction. I did like seeing her express in words that she wished she were more honest about her feelings to the people she cared about—or that she understood herself well enough to know her feelings well enough to put them into words.

I also think parts of it were good for showing how the character development landed. Her decision to join the History...Preservation, I want to say? Division is consistent and a pretty nice ribbon on her growth. The decision to reject joining Vertin's task force is a particularly noteworthy one, to eschew becoming part of a new glamorous and idealistic vanguard searching for a solution to the world's sickness to become instead one of the expendable people in the background putting in necessary lifesaving work. I think that's a nice choice.

I'm not so much of a fan of what they've done with Isolde, but. C'est la vie, I guess. For Kakania to just be able to fix her would have destroyed the whole-ass point of their story, but some of the knife-twisting really feels excessive. I'd have preferred to see them interact instead of Bluepoch concocting some dubious brew to explain how we can never see closure between them because it would annihilate Isolde's mental state, even if this situation ends up being temporary.

It was...fine, I guess. They could have done a lot worse.

[yuseirra]

Heheh. I was contemplating a bit on posting this one, but I have people enjoying my posts and I'm really happy about that///

I take an interest in psychology, right? It's even my major? I mean, that doesn't exactly help directly when it comes to interpreting characters but I can certainly say I really like that field and take an interest in it and I'm pretty keen on it, I'm sure

About that Hikaru guy, I DEFINITELY would not have been confused as much if they just shared us about what exactly the heck is going on in his mind. I'm good with that stuff. They don't till the very end and there's so little to make out from, that's the problem, what's been presented isn't adequate enough to determine of his character. They leave it empty. If only they did, I'd have caught things immediately. Anyhow, there were things I picked up so for those who care for that character, who really think there was more to him than being a psycho murderer cult leader of some sort(oh my god) I hope this will be a fun read. This isn't my work so I can certainly be off.

Here's what I wrote last night making clear of my thoughts:↓

Haha, I feel so silly…;; I write a lot about this manga, don’t I?

It’s really bothering me because it’s so strange. I feel like I need to set aside some time to organize everything I’ve written about Oshi no Ko. I’ve written way too much, and I feel pathetic for it… Am I being a nuisance?

I keep repeating the same things, and it feels like I’m not saying anything particularly insightful.

But these thoughts don’t come up intentionally; they just pop into my mind, like, “Isn’t this not right?” or “Could it really be this?” This manga just keeps nagging at me, and it doesn’t properly explain things. It keeps touching on topics that I find deeply serious, yet it fails to express them well. It’s frustrating.

I’m really serious when I say I think I’m right about this, that this interpretation is correct (it’s about that myth-related hypothesis).

But I am aware that sounds too fantasy… It feels so lonely.(THERE ISN'T ANY OTHER WAY TO MAKE SENSE OF THINGS THOUGH! I'M SURE!!)

It makes me wonder: Am I stupid? Am I misunderstanding something? But no, I see it—this seems right, doesn’t it? I get confused because the story doesn’t fully unravel itself, leaving me in a constant state of chaos.

There are things that seem so clear to me, yet they also feel like a mirage. So I can’t be confident in my thoughts, even though I feel like I’ve found the answer.

It’s just something I naturally feel.

That’s why I keep analyzing it—because I think I’m right.

Why did the creators make this so confusing? What’s the reason?

Is he really a villain? Why are those elements present? He isn’t, is he? Then the story shouldn’t have been written that way.

It’s not like I have no intuition—I mean, when Chapter 154 came out, did many people immediately think, “That situation is a lie. He’s lying, and there must be another explanation”? Because that’s what I thought right away. Something felt off.

Later, the story changed and revealed a completely different context, didn’t it?

I just naturally thought that’s what would happen. I expected a different context because the explanation given earlier didn’t make sense!

The narrative in Chapter 154 was strange. The idea that Ai’s boyfriend’s attempted on scaring her didn’t align with his reactions shown alongside it. Not only did the whole described situation seem strange (like, how didn't he see it coming? That things could end up in disaster), the way he reacts didn't quite match up with his words either. Normally, in such cases, the spoken words are lies, and the emotions or behaviors tend to reflect the truth. That’s why you focus on expressions or demeanor rather than words when that happens.

Take Ryosuke, for example. People like him usually blame others. After stabbing Ai, he justified it by blaming her, saying, “It’s your fault! You’re the problem!” It’s a way to distance themselves from their wrongdoing. It’s petty, but people like that can harm others because they’re in a mindset where they justify causing pain to the other person. It’s also a form of self-preservation—a rationalization to protect themselves from admitting they’re a bad person.

If Kamiki had intended to harm Ai, he wouldn’t focus the blame on himself. Instead, he’d react defensively, saying things like, “She treated me poorly, so I lashed out. How could she do that to me?” That’s a more natural reaction. There should’ve been some defensive attitude. To be fair, he did state that Ai had her cruel sides and he despaired. But other than that, he doesn’t justify himself. Instead, he’s resigned, self-deprecating, going as far to say it was only natural for Ai to leave him. That's the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of the reaction someone can have towards a situation like that, compared to Ryosuke. He's too accepting to the point of being condescending of oneself.

But you know what? That suits his personality. He’s been that way his whole life. There’s even a scene where he blames himself when someone dies. His attitude is consistent and not a façade. This doesn’t align with someone who would harm others for selfish reasons. If he hurt anyone, the type of reasoning he'd have would be that it would only be for Ai’s sake, not his own.

And the songs—oh, the songs. They keep talking about offering something, about doing it for Ai or to see her again. Soo that REALLY is him in those songs. Those display exactly how this guy functions.

In my view, Kamiki is that guy who can't daren't harm Ai, no matter what. Even if he could harm the entire world—even his children(seriously though??)—he wouldn’t hurt Ai. If anything, he’d die before letting her die.

When I first read this manga, I never thought I’d arrive at such an evaluation. I didn’t have any particular thoughts about him back then. When I learned about his past, I just thought, Oh, that’s unfortunate. But why did he do that to Ai? But then his reactions started to seem off. Why would he even hurt Ai? Just why would he? I don't think he'd ever attempt on such a thing. There are too many missing pieces.

And it was right around that time when Fatal dropped too. With that song being there and ch 154 happening at the same time, I just knew.

His reactions wasn’t an act. Why would he be acting there? He was genuinely there to praise the movie one last time and see his kids. He even said he’d go turn himself in after meeting Aqua. Then, after seeing Ai’s video, it seemed like he changed his plans.

Kamiki’s reaction to Ai’s video wasn’t something he could’ve predicted or faked. Before that, he might’ve lied to ease Aqua’s burden, thinking of Aqua as his and Ai’s son and wanting to lessen his guilt. He had already decided to turn himself in because, in his mind, Ai’s death was his fault, regardless of the circumstances. Having his dad going to jail or "paying for his crimes" could affect Aqua, you know? I think he was trying to be considerate(and that IS consistent throughout the different chapters!! He's always had a soft spot for Aqua, we never see him being mean to him when they talk)

When Kamiki and Aqua meet later, Kamiki insists he didn’t do anything and recounts the events surrounding Ai’s death. This happens before Aqua pulls out his knife, before Kamiki realizes why Aqua has come. At that point, Kamiki doesn't know Aqua’s true intentions. Did he know Aqua came to kill him? He didn't, right? He only inquires about that like two chapters later. He even asks if Aqua wants to see Ruby together with him. Ultimately, at the very end, he didn’t want to be misunderstood to his own son, right? Isn't that what's going on? And at that point, he’s watched Ai’s video, so he realizes that she wanted to help him with her children. He probably felt grateful towards Aqua for having shown him the video? Then why would he lie to Aqua in that situation?

How did they end up meeting there in the first place?;; Where are they? What is going on in this manga?? Pretty sure Tsukuyomi told Aqua to go and get the dad or sth and told his whereabouts, she's probably behind it all wanting Kamiki dead bc he's a corrupted god that needs to be eliminated

Honestly, I think Kamiki would pretty much be innocent when it comes to Ai.

After Chapter 154, I started to keep up with the series more intently, and as Chapter 155 came along, I noticed Kamiki’s reactions didn’t fit someone who harmed Ai. If he were guilty, he would’ve shown more denial in that chapter, like, “It wasn’t my fault. It was your fault.” or "There's no way you loved me Ai, this is all a lie!" That’s a natural defense mechanism for someone who’s been kept from the truth for 15 years. If he's the culprit, that'd mean he's the one who brought everything upon himself and he'd want to deny the very fact he's messed everything up and is totally undeserving of Ai's love, right?

(I'm sure I've made some analysis about this when that chapter dropped too but, even Aqua's reactions towards this situation's pretty weird. If Kamiki really were to be the one who'd staged the crime, Aqua should have displayed more anger, called him a murderer, grabbed him by the collar or something because what he's claimed to have done is absolutely unforgivable, but the point Aqua makes is about Kamiki "not understanding Ai", which means, what he's concerned of is about Kamiki never having realized Ai's really loved him all along. If he's the one that's instigated Ai's murder, then he really doesn't deserve that anyway. But Aqua does want to get that across to him and that's what's important. I don't know about Aqua but I would sure fail to keep my cool in a situation like that.)

But instead, he just curled up, placed his hands on Ai's on the screen, and couldn’t say anything. This reaction he had really surprised me when I encountered it at first because it was like the mildest and softest reaction anyone could have at that that kind of situation.

That’s a tough reaction to interpret, but it’s not what you’d expect from someone guilty of hurting Ai. It feels more like he truly realized how much Ai cared for him and couldn’t even get angry—just accepting it and feeling the pain. I'm assuming he was like that to Ai when they were together. Just really lenient, really allowing and pretty much soft and tender when it came to her.

From there, it seemed like he resolved to do something for Ai. What that was remains unclear, but maybe he decided to sacrifice himself or find a way to bring Ai back to life. Perhaps that’s why he thought he couldn’t die yet in Chapter 162.

His initial mindset was, “I’ll gladly accept my punishment since Ai didn’t love me anyway. But I want to see the kids one last time.” But after seeing the video, he couldn’t let go of Ai.

His emotional responses show how much he genuinely loved Ai. Surprisingly, it doesn’t feel like an unhealthy or twisted love. I usually pick up on that kind of thing, but with them, it feels like they truly loved each other.

They probably did their best for one another. There doesn’t seem to be much animosity between them. So did Kamiki really harm Ai? I keep doubting it.

There must be a reason the creators wrote it this way. They aren’t incapable of portraying unhealthy emotions like Ryosuke’s. Kamiki’s feelings seem different—more genuine.

Anyway, this post got ridiculously long again, didn’t it? Whenever I type my thoughts out, they just keep flowing.

And there are just too many parallels to mythology to ignore. Without mythology, the manga’s later developments and certain elements wouldn’t make sense.

It’s not that I actively try to think about these things—I just naturally reach these conclusions. To me, they’re obvious. That’s why I keep questioning if I’ve misunderstood something, and it makes my head hurt. I’m not intentionally thinking about it; the conclusions just come to me, and I immediately write them down.

Because of that, I kept analyzing Kamiki despite the serious accusations against him.

It’s not that I tried to defend or idealize him—I just didn’t think he was guilty from what was shown. I was confident, but it was stressful because the future was uncertain.

You can definitely like and find a character like this fascinating. It’s possible. But for me, from the beginning, my interpretation was based on the premise that there’s something more going on, and I don’t think he did it.

Looking at how things have unfolded, sticking to that perspective wasn’t entirely in vain. If he were the culprit, it would’ve been straightforward to just capture him and define him as Ai's killer, but that’s not what happened. I really don’t think he’s guilty.

As for his reasoning or motives, I’ve explained those in other posts, so I won’t go into them here.

This has been so frustrating. The subject matter is unsettling, and I didn’t want to defend or romanticize him. But I didn’t think he was guilty, and the songs were just too strong. Every time I listen to them, I think, How could I not consider this pairing? The emotions are overwhelming.

It’s such a peculiar manga.

I don’t like being in the minority or having opinions that clash with others, so it’s been quite burdensome. Kamiki’s situation is objectively problematic. It's been so stressful finding and thinking about things that seemingly oppose what the story intially seemed to suggest, it was SUCH a tough road to take,

But what can I do when I see these things? If I’m wrong, then the creators failed to express their intentions. That’s how it feels to me, though I usually wouldn’t say such things.

[vasito-de-leche]

i just realized something from each arcanist's voiceline, im not sure if u are ahead of me in this but anyways...

...their "monologue" segments, each of their monologue segments their most vulnerable they have ever been or the deepest they have ever opened up, at least for the ones that I have read.

for example:

- pavia admitting that every night it feels like he's still in piedmonte (by extension, that boarded up basement)

- blonney thinking why it's impossible for humans and arcanists to get along when they have similar interests like movies

- mesmer jr. screaming to stop being insane and leave her alone (poor girl is traumatized and a big F you to constantine and her family for being persistent in putting her in those situations)

- sotheby in yet another scene about how little she knows about distinguishing human things and arcane things (which is a problem for a young arcanist like her should she be unintentionally blatant about it)

- horropedia being glad that he is still himself despite the foundation's attempt to fit him in a mold

all in all, "monologue" segments are actually sad bits about our faves

A good chunk of the monologues are tragic, yeah - but I think that it's because we have the benefit of the full picture and we each have our own interpretations!

I just don't like to think of monologues as just exclusively sad bits for characters to show how sad they are or used to be in their lives? It takes away the nuance of how the character speaks about these things, if that makes sense!

I'll put the rest of my thoughts and ramblings under the cut so I don't keep clogging the main tag with nonsense <3

For example, Pavia's monologue - a popular interpretation of his character is that he's still traumatized by his past and the time he spent in the basement, therefore his monologue implies that no matter where he goes, he's still alone in that dark basement. From my personal reading on it, Pavia is a character who reclaimed the things that hurt him (the darkness, the isolation) and are now part of him (his wolves and shadow arcanum, his independence).

So to me, that monologue is a threat. I already explained this in detail in my first Pavia posts, so I'll spare y'all from the repetition lolol

Sotheby's monologue - you say that her lack of knowledge when it comes to differentiate human things from arcanist things is a problem. To me, this quote is just a highlight of her curiosity and her sheltered life, because she sounds chipper at the idea of learning new things. And I think it's a monologue meant to focus on her curiosity, because her Insight II is "World on the Other Side" which shows Sotheby inside a glass cage, looking outside to the real world.

The outside world is different from what I imagined. There are more arcane animals than I thought ... Humans are also more interesting!

And one can still continue to look deeper into this monologue and relate it to the full context of her situation to have a different reading!

Maybe someone else thinks this quote is extremely fucking tragic, because we're talking about a rich, privileged and sheltered girl who relied heavily on her caretaker, Mr. Karson, and now that he's gone, she's left to explore the world all on her own! Maybe it's a really lovely and happy quote, because it shows Sotheby's growth, still excited to learn about the outside world! Maybe it's all at once!

And Blonney's monologue, to me that's not a tragic voiceline at all but a rather hopeful moment for Blonney, a moment of thoughtful consideration which contrasts the "Blonde Bimbo" stereotype she's been cast in and shows how observant and attentive to detail she can be.

Is it true that humans and arcanists cannot live in harmony? We have so many things in common to share and enjoy, like the movies. As I learned about humans from the movies, so can humans learn about arcanists ... It's just that no one has made such a movie yet.

From my reading on this monologue, Blonney very clearly believes it's possible for humans and arcanists to live in harmony - it only takes for both sides to consider each other's perspectives. She's lived among humans, she's learned about humans through their movies. But she's ignorant about arcanists because of the way she was raised, because of the lack of exposure she's had to arcanists and their world.

No one has made such a movie, but maybe her, an arcanists that's experienced the duality of everything, a bimbo who is majoring in film, a major that everyone insists is wrong for her because it doesn't fit her image - maybe she can make such movie.

Yes, it's a sad monologue because of the context of subtle oppression towards arcanists, because of what we know about Blonney's life and all. But to me, it doesn't end on a sad note. Especially with how driven and outspoken Blonney is.

It's the same for Horropedia's monologue for me - yes, he's serious when talking about the way the Foundation and the way they continue to cut away all the unwanted parts of the arcanists they take in, but it also ends on a nice note. He's relieved to have survived being true to himself, he's relieved Vertin was able to do the same.

And then there's Mesmer Jr.'s monologue - this one is, without a doubt, an awful moment for her. Given what we know about her background and family, from either the main story or the Three Doors update, we can safely assume this is her having a panic attack of sorts, steming from her trauma and long-term internalized hatred/fear/disgust towards arcanists.

This is the most objectively sad and tragic monologue out of these. But what of the reading?

Is this Mesmer Jr. being comfortable enough around Vertin to let her see such a violent and vulnerable moment? Someone could easily read this as Mesmer Jr. and Vertin's relationship being repaired slowly to allow such display of vulnerability, the same way someone could easily read this as Vertin just stumbling upon Mesmer Jr. having the worst time of her life. Someone might also interpret this as Vertin doing something that caused Mesmer Jr. to react like this!

A few other examples I have at the top of my head that can differ greatly depending on the way you choose to read it...

Bette's monologue, for example!

 I've dreamt forever about my first character, not as a rich young man, a courageous adventurer, a fair or rich lady, but the first character starred by me, Bette with brown hair! I have noted them all in this notebook, which is called "My Script."

Is this voiceline sad? It can be, if you choose to intepret it as Bette's inability to get a starring role, while all of her dreams of being the protagonist are kept in a notebook that no one else will read or notice. It can also be inspiring, if you choose to interpret it as Bette holding on to the belief that she herself - not a character that she plays, but herself as a person - is important, even if no one else notices. Again, it can be this and that or both or none or all at once!

Or Baby Blue's monologue!

People at school once called me... Umm, how do you say that word? Ah... Crazy! Sad? I'm not sad... They told me that the most outstanding people were all crazy...

Yes, this can be sad, because we're talking about a 17 year old girl who was so disillusioned with her real life that she feels more comfortable in a world of illusion, while her real body remains comatose. And yes, this can be happy, because we're talking about a 17 year old girl who found a place that she truly feels alive in, where she finally has peope who understand and care for her.

I think I might've lost the point of the post somewhere through the rambling - but yeah! I don't like to think of these voicelines as just sad bits, especially with how much detail and attention the writing of R1999 has, all the love they put into all characters <3

[frogletscribe]

I finished the main story of A:FoP last night and I have more thoughts but don't want to spoil anything for anyone who is not there yet so im putting them under the cut again lol. Also a lot of this gets into like general Avatar lore things and not always specifically A:FoP. I just have a lot of thoughts and not a lot of people to talk to about it lmao.

Warning: this is very long, i am apologizing now if you choose to read the whole thing.

Spoilers for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora under the cut

TEYLAN oh my god my boy. He scared me so bad when he showed up again but I'm so glad he had a hand in stopping Mercer. It felt like such a moment of growth for him finaly setting himself free of his abuser. Poor guy feels so guilty about everything that happened, and I'm very nervous about whenever Nor comes back in future DLC stuff because he still doesn't know that Teylan 'betrayed' them. Especially after everything with Alma.

Speaking of Alma, I have somewhat mixed feelings about her story? Obviously the Sarentu have every right to be pissed at her, I am pissed at her, she used them (and honestly is still using them) to ease her own guilt. What bothers me is the "You will never be one of us" rhetoric? Mostly because it makes me think of Jake and the Sully kids (Lo'ak and Kiri specifically) who all are/look more like Avatars rather than Na'vi. It makes me wonder how the Sarentu would react to them? The situations are very different, Jake gave up almost everything that made him human to live as a Na'vi where Alma has stayed human, albeit unhealthily attached to her Avatar form. Jake worked to earn his place with the Na'vi where Alma is trying to take it from this group of children she has been lying to from the very start.

But more than that, her still talking as if she was a part of their family at the end made me so mad. I don't think Nor had a good reaction to her by any means, stabbing her was definitely not good, and it leaves all of the other humans scared of him but like,,, i'm on his side tbh. His anger is justified, he's just not coping with it in healthy ways. Like at least the Sarentu did shut her down, Alma is not a part of their family by the end, but giving her the grace they did at the end i think was more than she deserved. Idk, I am glad that they are able to be the bigger persons (pun not intended lol) and move forward, I'm just not a fan of forgiving a person who was partially responsible for the murder of your entire family?

Back to Nor. He is such an interesting character to have next to Ri'nela and So'lek. His anger is palpable and it has nowhere to go. He refuses to connect to Eywa again because he feels he has been poisoned by TAP and humans as a whole and it colors everything he does. He copes with his pain by ignoring it until it becomes too much and he snaps.

And then there is Ri'nela, who is also clearly hurt by everything that comes to light about the Sarentu and TAP, but she is so much more reserved about it. She has a really lovely audio log about how she feels the need to set her own emotions aside so she can take care of others and their emotions. You can really tell how much pressure she puts on herself to be that emotional stability for others. Still she works through it and at the very least tries to talk with the Protag about it in a much more healthy way than Nor does.

Compare that to So'lek, who is similarly reserved in is emotions to Ri'nela, but less to protect others and more to protect himself. Hopefully we will get a little more insight into his character with the comics coming out, but So'lek is i think very similar to Nor in a lot of ways. His clan was wiped out in the Great War, and he was the only survivor to not assimilate into another clan, and we can assume, i think, that those other survivors were most likely children and other non-warriors, either too old or unable to fight for whatever reason. He is entirely alone by choice, and he is angry, but he keeps it together.

So'lek sees the bigger picture, he knows that the resistance is the one other group that's actually fighting back (Besides Jake and the Omatikaya), even if its entirely a group of humans, who we can assume he is not terribly fond of in general. He makes a point of saying the RDA is what needs to be removed from Pandora, not humans. He knows how to separate his allies instead of generalizing 'all humans bad', something Nor is implied to struggle with at least a little. That is especially clear when So'lek calls Nor out after he stabs Alma. But that still doesn't negate how angry So'lek is and is capable of being. He says it after HQ is attacked, he is trying not to follow Nor and his rage. He knows that if he has that conversation with Nor, it will be very easy for him to let his rage consume him as well.

Given that Nor is pretty much gone from the game after he stabs Alma, I'm hoping that in the upcoming DLC we get to find him? Maybe he is being an angry loner out on the woods or if he has found other missing TAP students? There are 4 mentioned in game, either by name (Ri'nela asks where two of them, Telisi and Yefti, are at the very start of the game, and 2 more are mentioned in TAP School Records, Okni and Yuayt) Of course they could all have died while the main four were in cryosleep, 15 years have passed and if they werent with that group when Alma saved them, theres no telling what exactly has happened to them. I just think it could be cool for them to pop up and join back up with the Sarentu.

On, like, an entirely different note, the joy it gives me that there are multiple nonbinary characters! Ahh!!! I think right now the only ones are Tsu'kiri from the Aranahe and Okul from the Kame'tire, at least that I have found, but the way that they are handled, I really really love. They are both just people! Existing in the world! As a nonbinary person myself i also really appreciate the game using they/them for the protagonist and letting you flavor your character however you want so that you aren't locked into male/female like so many games tend to do.

Getting into less A:FoP specific and more general lore territory: Something else I found really interesting while digging around on the wiki is that Mokasa is not the Olo'eyktan? He is listed as Anufi's chief advisor, which made him a sort of stand in Olo'eyktan while she was exiling herself, but he isn't actually the Olo'eyktan the way Ka'nat and Nesim are for their respective clans. Even on the wiki, the Olo'eyktan for the Kame'tire is labeled as Unknown. At most we get Okul being named ? Tsakarem? Thats at least what I took from it. But it makes me curious about the other clans and their leadership (also just very curious about them in general lol). There are 16 clans that we know of (that are all still canon) but we really have only really in depth explored 6 of them in the whole series so far. (Just counting the movies and A:FoP right now because I do not have access to the comics or I think the like one? other games that is still canon) Idk im interested in more Olo'eyktan/Tsahik dynamics beyond just mated pairs like we have seen. Like the Zeswa sisters is really cool to me, or father/daughter dynamic with Ka'nat and Etuwa. Obviously, Jake, and later Tarsem, are not mated to Mo'at but there was the intention of Neytiri eventually taking over as Tsahik before the Sully's left, which would have continued the married couple leaders dynamic that we have been seeing.

We also know that Olo'eyktan don't always have to be men (See Nesim for the Zeswa and Ikneyi from the Tayrangi clan that we see in the first film), so then are there examples of male Tsahik somewhere? Okul being presumably named Tsakarem as a nonbinary/gender non-conforming character would imply that on some level, but im curious if we will ever see examples of it.

And finally, somebody has got to let me smooch the characters in this game PLEASE.

If you actually read all that kudos to you and thank you for indulging my screaming.

[practically-an-x-man]

Happy TST!!! :D

Any insight or tips on making your characters different from each other? Sometimes I feel like I shoehorn my characters into types that are interchangeable.

Thank you so much!!!

(fair warning, this got long)

Talk Shop Tuesday

Hm, that's an interesting question. A lot of it for me comes just from my own interest in telling different stories and exploring different perspectives - both in terms of demographic/culture perspectives, or simply that individual character's traits and view of the world (which is also connected to culture, but isn't a one to one overlap). You know I'm not one to shy away from research, so new characters with different backgrounds are really just excuses for me to learn more about real people in similar situations.

As with any character, there are going to be some attributes that I find myself reflected in, and some attributes that I'm unfamiliar with. I do honestly think that finding a balance between those is a good way to build a character that's both diverse from yourself while not feeling too flat, "textbook", or under-researched. There's a lot about Spider's background and culture that I myself have never experienced, but I can place some of my existing knowledge and passions in his work with foley/film - that blend of existing knowledge (from my own experiences) and new knowledge (from research) then allows me to write Spider as a dimensional, interesting character despite having very different experiences.

Each of my characters, no matter how different they are from myself, has at least one piece of my passions, interests, or past experiences. It doesn't take much, and it doesn't have to be a large trait, and it doesn't have to take exactly the same shape in the character as it does in yourself (I work in SFX makeup, Spider works in foley artistry; I'm an avid reader, Jimmy's an avid reader), but even just having some small piece you can connect with can bring so much life to the character when you put them on the page! It's a bit like making a friend, in that way - you can be vastly different people in every other way, but one common interest can have you bonded for life! All you have to do is find that common interest, and build up your knowledge in the other areas.

The biggest thing, I think, is just curiosity. Find something you're interested in - be it a culture, a time period, or just a hobby you've never tried - do some research on it, look at blogs and interviews and stories from people who've experienced it themselves, build up that knowledge. If you can, find something about it that you can try out yourself (a hobby, a food, a cultural celebration), or talk about it with a friend.

Then, once you've built up some information and interest in the topic, just... start. They don't have to be full-fledged characters at first, but try to get into their heads and tell about their experiences. Write a ficlet about that Maōri agent in the new Spooky Effects chapter, tell us how he feels about his tattoos and how that plays into his identity as a trans person. Take Rose to a Diwali celebration with a friend and tell us about both of their experiences with it - Rose experiencing it possibly for the first time, her friend having more history with it. Hell, even taking custody of a friend's OC can help with that! Maybe you wouldn't be comfortable creating Eris or Quinn or Kestrel from scratch, but you've read enough of my writing for them that you could potentially explore their characters and glean some fresh perspectives from that.

Lastly, just remember: stereotypes are only harmful when a character is reduced to them. Human beings are incredibly varied! There's nothing wrong with writing a bi character who is flirty, a trans character who doesn't physically pass, an Asian character who was a straight-A student, an Arab character who dresses modestly, etc., as long as you don't reduce a character to just that stereotype and nothing else. Also, a lot of stereotypes come from a grain of truth (often there's a cultural component to it that gets missed by onlookers; ex. "many Asian cultures pride achievement and academic progress in the name of filial piety, as well as the impact of many immigrant families who seek high achievement for their kids as a means for providing a stable future for them" gets reduced to "Asians are good at math"), so it's not the matter of ignoring those "stereotypical" traits as much as it is learning to balance them and portray them with respect and understanding.

Really, it's just about taking the leap. It'll take practice, and you'll get some things wrong, but as long as you've put in the effort and respect and are willing to accept when you make mistakes, it'll turn out alright in the end.

[eisenartworks]

I've already told some of these before to @gofancyninjaworld in asks I've sent them, but I'll make a post abt some stuff I noticed

Slight differences in Tatsumaki's past

We all already know on just how different and far more unreasonable and I daresay straight up abusive Tatsumaki is in the webcomic, but tbh back then, I wasn't sure what caused it.

For a Doylist explanation, ONE needs Tatsumaki to not be so fatally flawed, bc to be fair, if we put wc Tatsumaki in manga Tatsumaki's situation, SHE WOULD FUCKING DIE. Wc Tatsumaki got lucky, but if she herself were to face Psykorochi and the eventual enemies, that sort of mentality would not give Tatsumaki the help she eventually needed. And not surprisingly, most of the problems the heroes faced in the wc MA arc can be traced back to ding ding ding! Tatsumaki!

For a Watsonian explanation... It took me a reread.

Webcomic Blast is... questionable, to say it generously. He's certainly no ideal hero manga Blast is, and that I do think would surely explain its bleaker world. But it certainly also explains why Tatsumaki is so cruel. Her meeting with Blast was brief, and harsh. He saved her life, but there's not an ounce of kindness there.

but the manga -

... They all lead up to the same advise, but god, look at the difference. Not only does Blast makes sure to let Tatsumaki out, Blast guessing Tatsumaki's reasons allowed her to open up to him, reminding her that she was wanted and needed by someone, he also made sure to give her kindly advise on top of the iconic one: Protect your family.

And to Tatsumaki, I do think that makes all the difference.

The two Saitama's costumes are extremely likely to not be the same

Yeah, I admit this also took a reread, so when I came upon this panel, you must understand I was pretty boggled. That would certainly explain why it looks... Like that. It's a genuinely a cheap costume. Heck, I have a feeling Saitama actually just buys another identical looking but different colored costume whenever he damages his. Maybe that's why whenever ONE colors wc Saitama, the suit color differs. This chapter I'm pretty sure was posted AFTER the The Road to Hero OVA, so I do think the change is intentional.

Manga Saitama on the other hand, has insistently kept going wearing the same costume and continuously repairs it whenever it got damaged or dirtied. There's just not doubt Saitama greatly values his costume, and takes pride in it bc it means he's a hero. Even tried entering it in a hero costume contest once and got its leather waxed. In fact he values it so much that he does subtly bend reality around it in that despite tanking attacks that would disintegrate its normal cloth (or literally any matter tbh), it still somehow gets away with dirt at best and a few rips at worst. It's also why when he lost utter faith in his own heroism, is when the suit gets genuinely destroyed except for the glove holding the core. Why though?

Probably because to some extent, the OVAs are canon. ONE did write some of them, or at least approved of them. This panel certainly helps reinforce that, considering it didn't happen in the manga, but in the anime:

That explains why manga Saitama's suit is a bit more quality and actually has good colors - it was made by someone who cared and believed in Saitama.

Webcomic Saitama's mysterious past

I really enjoyed reading the sidechapters in the manga, esp in the earlier chapters. They're pretty charming, some of it was actually a little sad. We get to know a whole lot more abt the characters and their different sides, Saitama especially, a bit of worldbuilding and a moral lesson here and there. Even some additional buildup/insight to some friendships/relationships. It's pretty interesting to see Saitama's past and see how it parallels some characters, Garou being the? Closest? Most poignant? ONE did intend that they're the antis of each other.

What I didn't realize until rereading the webcomic a few times is that we don't know anything about Saitama. At all.

the webcomic to me seems to operate strictly on the rule: if you never read it in the webcomic, it never happened in the webcomic. Opm has no shortage of mysterious characters. Drive Knight is def the one I first would think of. Webcomic Saitama isn't one I'd expect despite being. Well, literally obvious. We don't know anything about him. He hasn't said a word about his past. it's unimportant to the overall story I guess, but still. It's weird. We actually know a bit more abt wc Drive Knight's past than we do wc Saitama's. wc Saitama and manga Saitama may not even have the same backstory except for encountering Crablante and becoming a hero. If it isn't the same... That would certainly explain why they seem to have a different characteristic despite the fundamentals being the same. manga Saitama overall seems to be kinder, and more empathetic. Heck he's even pretty soft to kids, and the manga makes sure to show that over and over. Wc Saitama has never shown if he's nice or even likes kids.

Webcomic Sweet mask never met Blast. Manga Sweet Mask did.

Webcomic SM has this to say abt Blast:

... But manga SM has this:

how this changes SM, we are yet to know. I had to point this out bc I haven't seen anyone point this out, so I had to make sure.

Thnx for reading I have no idea where I am going w this

[knightsofeclipse]

I think it is such a mark of good writing how hard it is to pick and keep a favourite character. (It’s Reece, I’ve landed on Reece). That every new episode, ever clip compilation, every quote I see makes me go “ok but are they may favourite now?” Everyone has so much that is compelling and complex about them. And each new interaction draws from every previous one. Nothing is forgotten, everything is taken into account. I’m a writer, I understand how this process works. And I’m still so blown away every time how amazing Charlotte is at executing just everything. She’s so incredibly talented. 10/10, 5 stars, every glowing review in the book.

And I don’t see people talking about just how brilliant the writing is. The moment that just keeps getting me is Char getting Mia fired. I see lots about the Mialotte side of it, but no one’s really talking about everything that had to happen to lead up to it. The establishment of Char’s character as someone who is so trustworthy and honest — she would never do something so underhanded, especially not so openly — and how vocally against what she was doing she was up until that point. Whether or not her plan had been premeditated, all of the pieces were set up so that it could ONLY be Char who could take down Mia. And then Mia’s side of it, that it’s made so clear that Mia can see something is up with Char but she wants to believe Char is nothing like her. That Char wouldn’t manipulate her like that. Mia is blinded by her affections for Char and Char can see that. WE can see that. I feel like I’m not doing the scene justice in trying to impress upon everyone how nuanced and complex that interaction was. I feel like I’m just going to devolve into screaming from the rooftops “this is what good writing looks like!”

The storyline going on right now, everything surrounding Shibby and Roger, as well as what’s I’ve dubbed the “Charlotte Protection Squad” Siobhan showing up for Char alongside Marjorie and Mia — including the revelation that Mia and Shibby had a flirtation, even if it amounted to nothing — I think recontextualizes the conversation Siobhan and Sorscha had about “knowing what you like”. Shibby’s reaction to Sorscha asking “what is it that attracted you to the millionaire sixty year old” felt off at the time. Maybe I’m just too autistic but it felt unnecessarily defensive. Siobhan’s concession that maybe people can know what they like, her almost surprise at Sorscha insisting that clearly she “knows” she likes much older men, it just didn’t sound like someone who was sure. And I’ve seen this kind of situation before, where a scene doesn’t feel right initially but later episodes provide more insight into it. It’s giving foreshadowing — intentional or otherwise, it doesn’t really matter. Part of writing is rolling with things as they develop and then looking back and going “oh hey, I foreshadowed that”.

I could go on about how I felt like I was reading too much into Shibby’s character and her interactions with others and was just waiting to be proven wrong but every further interaction continues to align with how I interpreted her. And by go on I mean GO ON. But we’d be here all day — and probably night — and that’s a lot of quotes to pull…

A brief aside about my autism; storytelling and writing are my core special interests. They inform how I interact with every other special interest I’ve had. And The Nursery Nurse is my current special interest. I’m usually a silent lurker. It just means so much to me to feel safe enough to be able to break my silence and properly engage with a community like this. And although it may take some time to convince myself that anyone actually cares to hear what I have to say, it’s a really big step for me to even say it in the first place. Thank you all for creating a community like this, where everyone feels welcome. I feel like just being here makes me more of a person… if that makes sense.

I’ve changed my mind. I do have one more thing to say about Siobhan. I know why the fandom has latched onto her despite everything she’s said/done. And no, it’s not just because she’s hot — but, like, that helps. It’s because she’s a good villain. She’s a satisfying villain. She says and does horrible things, doesn’t pull her punches — for fear of “going too far” from a writing standpoint — and is always dispatched and put back in her place by the end of the episode. She’s beloved for the same reason Team Rocket is. She’s a fun character to play with and has an easily followed formula on how her interactions are handled. I’m just going to keep screaming it from the rooftops: ITS JUST GOOD WRITING. We like Shibby because she’s the right villain for the right job. Her level of villainy is on par with the rest of the stakes the series provides. And that’s such an overlooked part of creating a villain or any sort of conflict. It has to match with the level of intensity of the rest of the goings on. That is Siobhan’s place in the ecosystem.

And I may or may not be collecting evidence to suggest that Jodie has been the other spy the entire time. Like, from her first appearance the entire time. Totally prepared to be wrong on this, some maths just aren’t mathing for me though.

Anyway, impulsively sharing this right before bed so I can pretend the internet doesn’t exist for the next 8 hours and come back less anxious about the mortifying ordeal of being known™️. That’s being a bit over dramatic… I’ll sleep now…

[andmaybegayer]

Last Monday of the Week 2024-03-25

Can't tell if this is allergies or if I'm sick because spring is in the air

Listening: I have been listening to The Layover podcast, the behind the scenes podcast for Jet Lag The Game. I only got into Jet Lag pretty recently because I had Nebula anyway and saw it come up. Great show, both because the premise is great (carefully designed games incorporating travel on the scale of countries) and because they can actually edit this incredibly difficult pile of footage into something readable.

The Behind The Scenes is an interesting mix of talk about the on-the-ground situation of playing the game and the filmmaking that goes on after the fact, there's some cool insight into how and why they edit the way they do and it shows why it works so well.

I think you have to have Nebula to listen to the podcast? It does just spit out an RSS feed if you ask nicely though. Thank you podcasts.

Watching: Actually watched The Gay And Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo, the video series that launched like two dozen reaction images.

It's funny, it's a well put together indie comedy series. You've probably seen most of the really standout bits already even if you don't know it already but it is worth watching as a time capsule of web comedy, it's less than two hours long all told.

Reading: Started Glory In The Thunder by 0xabad1dea. I don't know what her real name is. I've had GITT in my ebooks library forever, 0xabad1dea is the main reason I got on twitter back in like 2016 (her and a couple other software blogs) and is why my Fediverse feed is still like a quarter security researchers by weight. She's probably one of the most well known static analysis researchers in the world.

Anyway Glory In The Thunder is a gaslamp-ish fantasy, although leaning very fantasy on the gaslamps. Very teenage characters which is whiplash but only because it's been a moment. Lots of very loud characters who announce themselves and their intentions, some fun seven dimensional politics going on, and a lot of jumping back and forth in the histories of the various gods who are constantly hanging around in the plot.

I think @shieldfoss has bugged me to read this before so you'll be glad to know that I am now.

I like this, I'm about halfway through. It's easy to keep track of despite having enough fantasy names to choke a horse, although I should really stop worrying about that, I've read the Shadowdance series you really have to try to beat that one. It's also a free book, you can get it at @gloryinthethunder.

Playing: Got a VR headset. Fidgeting with said headset. Figured out how to do wireless linked VR from Linux and Windows which is good, I should have all the kinks worked out, I'll have to see how I square the onboard capabilities of the Quest 2 with having a PC and fast WiFi.

Making: Finally run through enough smaller prints on the new hotend to feel confident running off the final endcap, so that's done. The parts of the 3D printed NAS case are complete, and I have started my first pass sanding which is going to take a while because PETG is very slippery. Once that's sanded I'll take it in to the shared workshop and run through some primer layers and some paint.

Tools and Equipment: Flat network cable is a godsend if you're running it in open air in a house. Absolutely useless for pulling through walls or running in conduit, and completely bereft of shielding, but having a flat cord that can press up against frames and sideboards really does make it all neater. I ran flat cat6 for all of this.

[fatalism-and-villainy]

In seriousness, I think people sometimes take Chiyoh’s “violence is what you understand” line too much at face value as a reading of Will.

On the one hand, she’s not wrong that Will has a tendency to communicate and understand others through violence, especially wrt his relationship with Hannibal. But she’s also really missing the context that Will actually understands quite a bit about persuasion through means other than violence! So much of his behaviour in the first half of season 2 involves manipulating others through telling them what they want to hear or showing them what they expect to see; in the latter half, he tries to entrap Hannibal via femme-fataling it up and ingratiating himself to Hannibal, pretending to be on board with his murder lifestyle (ostensibly) to get Hannibal to give him some actionable evidence. A consequence of Will’s empathy is that he’s extremely good at reading people and knowing how to appeal to them.

Also… this is a man who is extremely open to being seduced. His response to emotional turmoil has historically been to kiss Alana Bloom and readily crawl into bed with Margot Verger. No, having sex with a woman wouldn’t dissuade him from his violently-oriented obsession with Hannibal, but from Chiyoh’s POV, he was into the kiss! There was no indication he wasn’t responsive to her advances. It seems clear that the kiss was just a distraction and she was always planning to send him careening off that train.

And why shouldn’t she? She’s not a femme fatale, and while she does make some keen insights into Will’s psyche, she’s not really adept at verbal persuasion - he tries to manipulate her during their conversations much more than she tries to manipulate him. Brute force seems to be her MO in most situations - her response to most problems is to point a gun at them. And while she’s not down with capital punishment, she is willing to enforce the most ruthlessly punitive justice imaginable (her prisoner is only allowed the sound of water). I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that violence is (also) what she understands. And she’s just a much more interesting character to me when I interpret her as not being as straightforwardly morally righteous as she wants to think she is, and as using Will’s mindset to explain her methods as a form of deflection.

Also, it’s worth noting - in the next episode, she initially has her gun aimed at Hannibal, before turning it towards Will and shooting him. Who else has no idea what he wants to do with Hannibal until he actually does it, and is continually torn between whether he’s going to kill/capture Hannibal or help him? Will Graham. Bedelia also has the line about Chiyoh possibly being Hannibal’s worst mistake instead of Will - and while sadly not much is made of that, it does further establish a link between the two characters. Will is undoubtedly projecting some of his own stuff onto her, but he’s also not wrong that they have plenty in common, and I think she’s projecting back onto him!

[elliepassmore]

A Drop of Corruption review

5/5 stars Recommended if you like: murder mystery, locked room mystery, greenpunk, fantasy

Tainted Cup review

Big thanks to Del Rey, Netgalley, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book picks up about a year after the events of Tainted Cup. This was a bit confusing for me at first because I thought it was happening soon after but Din kept referencing stuff that had happened that I didn't remember, which led to me realizing there was a decent time jump between the two books. On the one hand, I appreciate this because it meant Din and Ana were more familiar with one another and we get to see them as an established investigative duo. On the other hand, Din in particular seems to have changed a good amount and it was jarring to have had that happen off-page.

Din, I thought, seemed settled in his role as an investigator alongside Ana by the end of Tainted Cup. However, this book opens with him wanting to transfer to a Legions division and to help defend against the leviathans that walk from the sea and wreak havoc every wet season. I was definitely thrown off by this and was kind of turned off by it for a bit as well (why would you want to fight leviathans when you could solve bizarre mysteries?!), but luckily it's not really a big plot point. Overall I felt we got to know more of Din in this one than in the first one. He thinks more about his family, as well as his and Ana's previous mysteries, so we get more insight into who he is as a person.

We also get more insight into Ana, both in terms of who she is as well as what her modifications are. I definitely figured some stuff about Ana out waaaay before Din did, but I also have the advantage of reading what's happening and being able to see the big picture, whereas Din is living it and has so much going on. As before, I liked Ana and thought she brought some nice humor to the book. Her investigative methods are definitely a little odd, but damn if she isn't good at figuring things out. She's a fun character to read, and I liked that she was in this one more than she was in Tainted Cup (or at least it felt like she was in this one more).

The mystery in this book is a locked room murder. A Treasury official disappeared from his hotel room when both the windows and doors were locked, leaving behind only a large bloodstain. From there things only become more complicated as the investigation reveals bigger and more complex mysteries the more it tries to find answers.

The setting was interesting in this one and quite different from what we saw in Tainted Cup. Ana and Din are in a city balancing very carefully between local rule and imperial rule. There are people on both sides who want imperial rule to prevail and also people on both sides who would prefer the empire leave the city well enough alone, despite the empire's reliance on the city's exports. Outside of the city is a dense, deadly jungle rife with smugglers who take aim at both local and imperial goods. The political situation is definitely more tricky than in book 1, but I enjoyed getting a bigger picture of the world and found it interesting to learn about the way augments are processed and created.

I think I figured out the mystery around the 65-75% mark. I did guess the answer in Tainted Cup as well, but there were still parts of it that I didn't know in that book. In this one I had pretty much the entire thing figured out and so was less impressed by the investigative acumen of Din and Ana. I would've preferred it being a little more difficult to figure out so that there would still be some surprises left when things were revealed.

Overall I enjoyed this book and think it's a good addition to the world. Despite solving the mystery with much of the book still left, I still enjoyed following Ana and Din as they tried to tie everything together. I know there's at least a third book, and I'm hoping this gets turned into a longer series with lots of different Ana-Din adventures!

[creacherkeeper]

for scruggs and florence :)) 🎯 🍀🧠💀

ough <333

🎯 - What do they do best?

scruggs: i think he's really good at making people feel safe with him. ironic considering he's a bodyguard and is also great at making people scared shitless. but. i think he's just so warm and attentive that he can break down walls pretty quickly

florence: making big sad puppy eyes? no but seriously i think shes just really really good at reading people. shes very perceptive and she picks up on small things and shes very insightful. she doesnt always know what to do with what she picks up on (frequently doesnt) but she has big puppy eyes and she loves to autism stare with them

🍀 - What originally inspired the OC?

scruggs: very originally, waylon just needed a big strong bodyguard so if yall tried to attack him it would be at least something of a fight. once scruggs actually became a character i was like what is perfect hubband for me and leo. his actual backstory is a mishmash of several things but hes simply a little bit little women coded lmao. little women, anastasia, robin hood, a few slavic fairy tales

florence: since wolf!ama couldnt super intervene on her own behalf and yall handled annalise so handily i knew ama had to send someone to try to stop yall from taking the baby. since its ama, i knew it would have to be a female knight, and i just really liked the name florence for her. but i couldnt just Waste the name florence on a throwaway character and then i listened to high as hope in the shower and came up with all the florence/lizzie stuff and originally she was an only child but then i was like no i have to stop defaulting to only children so then the twins happened and suddenly she was a whole character and i was like. oh boy i have to make her so immediately endearing so shes not in like two sessions lmao. also, ama was going to charm the werewolves and so florence would have to be a devotion paladin for their anticharm but then that was so chewy. so she went from a plot roadblock to my babygorl in like three days

🧠 - What do you like most about the OC?

scruggs: i find weird aging stuff so fun even when it makes things convoluted so like. with him being an orc like. yes he's middle aged but also he's going to act like a 24 year old sometimes because he's only had 24 years of lived experiences. yes he was a teen and then nearly an adult when he was in the gang but also he was barely double digits. yes he was the oldest taking care of all his younger sisters but also he was just a baby. he's the oldest but no lizzie's the oldest so yes he's gonna big brother her sometimes but also sometimes he is a bratty younger brother. i just think finding the balance of like. he's lived through so much and he's mature but also he's so young is like. fun. sometimes it makes him fuck up in fun ways when he just doesnt know how to handle things a middle aged person who was actually older would

florence: kind of similar to scruggs, age/maturity stuff is so interesting to me. like. florence is technically 29 but no shes not because shes an aasimar but also shes in some big ways kind of stuck at 16. never really had proper/kind parenting and then struck out on her own and never really like. got past that age? sure she worked for the church for a long time and shes handled adult situations and she lived on her own for years and shes dated and other things adults do but like. shes also kind of still a scared teenager who needs her parents and never really had them. so now shes coming to lost and her only point of comparison is lizzie who she hasnt seen in 9 years and lizzie has grown and matured so so much and shes going Oh. i dont think i did that. like realizing how much she stagnated and doesnt know what to do about it

💀 - Does your OC have any phobias?

scruggs: okay silly answer? i think he hates bugs. most bugs. lizzie is walking to waylons and scruggs is sitting outside on the porch and shes like why are you outside its so hot out rn and hes like i saw a spider :((( and shes like jesus christ

florence - i think she used to be very scared of the dark and didnt get over it until she was in her early 20s and can still occasionally get a little freaked out about it. and i think shes very nervous about thunderstorms and bad weather

[neerons]

Omg I just read read your analysis of the 3s friendship to whom Kei is close to, and you have captured it so beautifully. You are extremely observant and have a knack for reading between the lines. The entire read was so good. Keep it up. I hope you write more about MK in the future. If u don't mind me asking I would love to know what you personally thought of kazuomi season 4 ofcourse when you have time (saw a lot of negative reviews and people saying that mc character was destroyed) what do u think about that? Anyway. Take care, and have a great day:)❤️

Now that's the kind of message that makes me very happy to receive 😭💖

Thank you so much for your words. Really. It makes me extremely happy whenever people send me asks, and it's even better if it benefits others when I answer to help or give more insight to the stories. I really like studying the psychology or philosophy of characters I love, so I'm glad I get to do that through these stories ❤

My thoughts on Kazuomi's Season 4

And of course I don't mind you asking that! About Kazuomi's S4, I replied to a similar question HERE if you're interested. Now that some time passed, I have forgotten a few things about what happens in this season but mostly, Kazuomi's S4 seemed to be used to take a "step back" in Kazu and MC's relationship. Possibly because a bigger plot twist concerning Kazuomi's past might happen later on, which will make him change his mind again about his relationship. That's what I originally thought after reading it.

At that stage in the route, Kazuomi and MC were very close. MC was in a new situation professionally and had to make her talents shine. MC trusted Kazuomi a lot, as he had once said he wouldn't do anything she'd dislike. She had also witnessed many times that despite appearances, he was always good and saved situations. However they went back to their "roots", if I could say, when Kazuomi actually tested her and their relationship when he got involved in a drug cartel.

I don't understand why people would say that about the MC being "destroyed" in this season, as the situation she faced was a test for her own character development from my understanding. What I mean here is that originally, the MC is a very ethical person. She's a literal moral compass. That's why she's often described as a saint in Kei's route, and why Yuzuru relies on and trusts her so much as well in his. But she knows that where there is light, there is also darkness. She's not unaware of it and states it in the first prologue of MK herself:

"Light and dark don’t exist in separate worlds. They live on the same street and breathe the same air. And each one of us is one slip-up away from falling into the dark."

Despite that, due to her job, she has a hard time accepting and seeing the benefit of the darker aspects of the world. In this season, Kazuomi showed her that what she was fighting against isn't completely and utterly bad for the people she wants to protect. He showed her that the world isn't just black and white. That there's a grey area to it, and that innocent people she wants to protect sometimes benefit from that grey area.

Kazuomi who has experienced living in poverty knows what it's like to have everything and suddenly be left with nothing. Due to this, he knew that people who did well with the money they got from the drug cartel would become poor after the EAC takes the cartel down.

I would describe this season as being a philosophical conflict between Kazuomi and MC. Their worldview and beliefs were opposed, which was bound to happen at some point in Kazu's route. Due to their positions in society (MC being an agent dedicated to protect the ordinary life of innocent people, and Kazu being a man with so much power he is often involved in suspicious dealings) it's only natural that they couldn't act as if nothing is happening and had to wonder if they should stop their relationship.

I didn't dislike that season personally. From my memories, their problem was that their relationship, as it had developed, didn't suit them and their lifestyle much. Kazuomi likes that MC doesn't trust him completely, because she then chases him, which is what he likes. That's what spices his life up.

Their relationship relies on the thrill of it, not knowing if the other is an enemy or not. Therefore, them completely trusting each other when a situation makes them enemies doesn't work for them. They had to put distance to make that dynamic work. Also, there's the fact that Kazuomi is at a stage where he doesn't believe in "forever". He even thinks MC won't be forever by his side as well, and he believes he's irrational for actually wanting her to always be next to him (that's because he loves her so much hehehehehe).

In a sense, while it's sad that this decision results in them not being 24/7 together and banter as much as before, I think this type of plot twist will be the key of them realizing that their love is even stronger than they had anticipated. And maybe, and I hope, that Kazu will change his view when it comes to "forever", and will understand that he just can't live without her. Their relationship seems stuck right now when it comes to them having only that kind of "enemies and lovers" dynamic, but for now that's what they desire. Maybe in the future season, they'll meet another target and situation that will make them want to actually live a more "stable" couple life where they still allow trust to be part of their relationship.

The ideal thing would be for them to trust each other and still have a thrilling relationship, but it would be hard to make that happen. I'm so curious to know if that's something that could even be possible, and what will happen in the future stories. How else would I be able to see what their kids look like if they don't settle down anyway?! I want to see if their canon daughter looks like the one I made up. Is that too much to ask for 😭

Jokes aside, I really love them and their dynamic. Despite what they decided, they still are very close physically (and emotionally of course). They already can't live without each other even now. They're down deep. They fell, and they fell so hard they made one with the floor. They're depicted as soulmates whose paths are intertwined. It's only natural that they will end up as a power couple who can't get their hands off each other

Thank you for the ask, and have a great day as well!

[lavenderjewels]

JJK chapter 246 thoughts below

Because the official chapter’s translations last week were disappointing in a couple of ways, I read the fan translation. Keeping all my thoughts here until the official one drops!

I loved this chapter a lot! :’)

MEGUMI.

I have been SO confident that yuuji is trying to save megumi since he was taken over that I am unbelievably satisfied, especially after seeing way too many posts that megumi is 100% dead or has no chance. I’ve been slightly bitter at seeing so many theories about Gojo coming back that don’t make sense when it would be a crime if he came back but not Megumi (or Nobara). The only question is whether or not Yuuji will actually be able to save Megumi or if either will die in the process—for my own sake, I’m believing in the power of friendship. Also, I wish there were date/time stamps for the flashbacks, since it’s hard to remember when in the time skip it is.

And LOVE that Yuuji was the one that came up with that plan. Nothing will ever be easy and there’s no way this plan can go right without more death, but that little sliver of hope is fantastic. I can always rely on Yuuji being the “humanity” of the team. Thinking back to when Hana and him off-handedly wondered if Gojo forgot about Megumi during the fight. It’s nice having two people who are invested in saving Megumi when the situation is dire.

Did Choso getting punched x2 straight through the chest and stomach worry me? Yes, but he’s not dead and Yuuji didn’t look devastated, so I’m taking this as a positive that he’s out of the fight for now. If he wasn’t a half curse and it wasn’t so casual, I’d be concerned. Sukuna does NOT like either of the siblings since he’s met both. Very sweet that Yuuji caught him the second Sukuna threw him aside.

The color page (which looks incredible) is fueling my belief that Maki is with Yuuta as help with Kenjaku. That, or the current team is the first round of fighters and they’ll need her soul sword for something last-minute sukuna related, but I just wouldn’t be surprised if the jujutsu high second years stuck together.

Higuuuuuuuurumaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa <3

I love him. “Sukuna found himself completely enthralled—“ same

No really, I’ve adored his character since chapter 159 released and I’m so happy that one of my favorite characters is getting all this. I already have other posts lined up for when the official chapter drops, but I love him.

His conversation with Yuuji was dark, but I love these quiet moments of insight. Such a good chapter for all these tiny character moments with interesting implications.

Despite my disappointment at the trial ending so soon, I like this fight and I think Sukuna does too (for Higuruma). The end pages about Higuruma’s quick learning and adaption to sorcery is exactly what I wanted to see!

(Continuing) Higuruma is essentially a tired lawyer new to sorcery and is not nearly as overpoweringly strong as Gojo, yet the manga states he rivals Gojo in raw talent and adaptability. Realistically, he doesn’t and can’t have that overpowered strength to the degree of Gojo, but I love how that doesn’t diminish the skills he does have and shows how valuable these characters can be (and it’s not JUST talent, but how their mindset around life and sorcery too). They don’t have to be overpowered to have a profound impact and be smart in their fighting.

(Continuing) I remember seeing comments after Gojo died that there was no use because there can’t be a way for the protagonists to defeat Sukuna without a deus ex machina, plot armor, etc. But I hoped the story would lean into the characters’ strengths and have them work together to find a smart way with combined effort to take down Sukuna, rather than Gojo be the magical solution to killing Sukuna and Kenjaku. So this chapter worked in a lot of ways for me.

(Continuing) It’s the same reason why Yuuji turning his role put on him (by others and himself) as a cage/tool into something significant in this fight is very compelling. At a surface level, these characters are much weaker than Sukuna, but I think they genuinely have a chance. Plus, it’s more entertaining to have a team fight in jjk and, despite still heavily incorporating the power system, I find this fight to already be more emotional and investing than the Gojo Sukuna one. Not to be overly negative on that last fight (there’s good moments in it and the fighting itself is fun), but this is what I wanted from JJK!

More people will die at some point. Better not be Choso (Yuki died for him so that had better not go to waste immediately), but could honestly be anyone. I do think there’s going to be a moment where things do end up going right for the protagonist team, but that could be a long time from now. Kusakabe being surprised at himself for his willingness to die to protect Higuruma was??? Adorable??? A duo I never considered, but I need them to survive (unlikely) and interact more now that I’m thinking of how well they’d get along.

Another long review of a jjk chapter, but had a great time with this one! At this point, I mention it weekly, but Sukuna in his original form is beautiful every time I see him and im very happy to have him in that form for this fight.