#s: t2

[tyrannuspitch]

i realised recently that i should probably clarify this, since not everyone has been reading my blog like the morning paper for two years, so:

when i compare loki to a jester, clown, or similar, it's not an insult, not even an affectionate one. i'm not calling him stupid, ridiculous, bumbling, inept, or anything along those lines; and it's not in reference to the post-TDW characterisation people often describe very unaffectionately in those terms. i'm actually saying he IS clever, calculating, and extremely deliberate in his self-presentation, because i'm calling him a performer.

this comparison originally grew out of the idea that, in less acute crisis situations, pre-canon loki might have been a kind of "class clown" to his peer group. and what i mean by class clown, specifically, is: an outsider and misfit who tries to disguise and compensate for their poor social standing by entertaining others, whether through humour or other attention-seeking stunts/performances.

there are two major pieces of evidence for this being true of loki.

the first is in T1, on the bifrost, before jotunheim. this is a brief moment, but it's still a significant one. for the first time, we see loki stepping to the front of a group, smiling, preening, and asking for attention. he practically says, "watch this."

the second is in TDW, after thor springs loki from jail. this one is emotionally messy, because (IMO) loki is not just trying to get thor's attention or approval, he's probing him, trying to work out what he's feeling - but there is still a very needy undertone to it. loki's been alone for so long and he doesn't know if he has any relationship with thor to salvage; he needs to make thor laugh or smile or even roll his eyes affectionately just to know that he still can. and so, again, he is suddenly and surprisingly taking centre stage - literally walking backwards in front of thor to make himself impossible to ignore.

between these two moments, we see loki trying to soothe his insecurity through many kinds of performance - humour and magic and even deliberate displays of manipulation/deceit. i think it makes a lot of sense for his character if you assume this is a long-standing habit.

for one thing, the mind games we see from him are often just an inversion of this - acting deliberately sinister or dangerous in order to elicit a particular negative response in his audience. for another, it really resonates with the double meaning of "tricks" - loki is not just disparaged for "tricking people", as in dishonour and deceit, but for "doing tricks", like a travelling entertainer - like someone of much lower status than a prince.

(and then we get into the servant side of the jester comparison, which is very much its own can of worms.)

[tyrannuspitch]

i might be being overly generous to asgard here, but personally, i've always thought the dungeons seem like liminal spaces. not in the memey way, but in the literal sense. like... to me, these look like holding cells, not prison cells. somwhere you'd be tossed for a few hours, a few days if you're unlucky, until asgard decides what to do with you. i know aos (which is imo only semi-canon) says that asgard has at least one more long-term prisoner, but from what we see in tdw, it doesn't really *look* like there are many others, if any. the prisoners are stripped of their weapons but not their armour, and thrown into unfurnished cells in apparently random groups. there are no rags or shackles, but there aren't any more sterile signs of long-term imprisonment either - no uniform, no numbers, no specific roles or places to be. hardly any of them have even *sat down* by the time the fighting starts.

and based on that, i think it's honestly very plausible that asgard just... doesn't have a (local) prison system, and the prisoners they take to the palace are *normally* executed, or used as hostages, or passed on to be punished somewhere else, somewhere where their blood won't dirty asgard's golden walls.

and maybe it's a stretch, but the way odin lays out loki's sentence and the way loki reacts, not just hurt but shocked and still somehow betrayed... it definitely doesn't *contradict* the idea that lifelong imprisonment is a foreign concept to asgard, uniquely tailored to loki.

also, it's not entirely clear, but it seems like the process of loki's sentencing might have been artificially stretched out - the conversation between him and odin is not *immediately* post-battle-of-NY, because loki's hair has grown, and he refers to "our little talks", as if there's already been at least one more.

so maybe loki's real sentence is just... trapping him in that torturous in-between stage permanently. it would be quite an effective bit of psychological warfare - you're not even worth punishing properly, just being left to rot. you're too far beneath us to be a true enemy - neither honourable enough for death in battle, nor dangerous enough for a dishonourable death, nor even significant enough to send away.

and it would also reflect the moral handwringing i think is going on in odin's head whenever he does something like this - as long as i'm not actually killing my children, i'm being merciful. they're not gone. i'm just showing them the consequences of their disobedience. there's still a chance, no matter how remote, that they could repent and come back to me.

and of course - if these are holding cells, they're *storage*. the sterility of them is dehumanising, but so is just... leaving loki there, in suspense. as if time doesn't pass there. as if he's a toy that stops moving the moment you put it down. as if, if you leave him in the vault for long enough, he'll reset to his true loyal, dutiful, subservient nature, and you can come back as soon as you find a use for him.

[eightiesfan]

[tofuthebold]

"i'm finally gonna learn how to draw kazuya" i said and then this happened somehow… they're about to start some shit

the tk2 p2 outfits are spicier than i remember lol

bonus collection of doodles/studies that are never getting finished/colored that aren't anything to get a whole post over on their own over the past year that i still like under the cut:

For a long while now i've been unmotivated to draw, so when i do it's mostly just to work out faces outside of my mind because i don't much like the art direction the series has been moving in instead of anything substantial sorry

[linagram]

[ 𝚈𝚊𝚗𝚘 𝙰𝚜𝚊𝚑𝚒'𝚜 𝚃𝟹 𝚅𝙳 ] 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚃���𝚜𝚝𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝙰𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝

THE BOY!!! i wonder if he'll be able to get a full inno combo..

Warnings for Asahi's VD: toxic family dynamics, Asahi also gets to act a little homophobic, but it's played for laughs.

Warnings for Asahi's MV: the aforementioned toxic family dynamics and despite the song's title, there's not any insect/bug motifs, not counting the ending.

(sounds of footsteps)

Hinode: So.. It's time to interrogate your brother, huh?

Hinode: Are you sure you can do this? You can just let me and Eiji-san-

Miki: You don't have to worry about me. I'm fine.

Miki: Why do I even have to worry about anything? I already know I will forgive Marito. 

Miki: .. And you and Eiji-san will forgive him too, right?

Hinode: .. Y-you really love him, haha..

Miki: I've said this before: I can understand Eiji-san's case, but you, Hinode-san..

Miki: You really were okay with punishing your own brother.

Miki: And when he tried to kill himself, the one who saved him was Miyagawa-san and not you.

Miki: You weren't even that worried about him!

Hinode: ...

Miki: I can handle this. I'm still not the best older sister, but at least I actually care about my brother unlike you.

(the door opens)

Asahi: Ah, Miki-nee!

(sounds of Asahi running up to her)

Asahi: I missed you so much! 

Miki:"He's so cute.."

Miki: I'm pretty sure we have talked earlier today though..

Asahi: I don't care. I like you, Miki-nee, so of course I'd want to spend as much time with you as I can.

Hinode: Haha, you really do like her, don't you? I've never seen you act so nice to someone before-

Asahi: .. Miki-nee, do you want me to kill this guy for you?

Miki: Huh?!

Hinode: K-kill?..

Asahi: I don't know, Miki-nee, he's kind of a weirdo.. He looks like the kind of guy who claims he doesn't know anything and then he reveals that he actually knew the whole lore right when we're all about to die.

Asahi: Also he looks gay, honestly.

Miki: ...

Hinode: ...

Hinode: Heh. Miki-san, your br-

Hinode: Uh.. Ahem, I wanted to say that Asahi-san is kinda funny actually.

Asahi: Oh, so you're okay with me calling you a-

Miki: Now, now, how about we start the interrogation?

Asahi: .. Ah. Right. 

Asahi: I forgot that you didn't come here just to.. hang out.

(sound of a screen turning on)

Eiji: Okay, so are you all ready to begin? 

Miki: ".. Why is Eiji-san so.. calm?"

Miki: "He doesn't really talk to me anymore, but he doesn't seem mad about Kei-san's second trial verdict.."

Asahi: Ugh, you're here too..

Eiji: I'm glad to see you again too, Asahi.

Asahi: How can you even see us right now? Aren't all the cameras-

Asahi: !

Miki: ...

Hinode: ...

Asahi: N-never mind-

Eiji: Oh, but I do mind. Asahi, how did you know what happened to the cameras?

Eiji: And to answer your question: I can only see things from the screens in everyone's cells. I can't see anything from the other cameras.

Eiji: "Guess he wasn't able to break into everyone's cells and use the spray paint on the screens too.."

Miki: "So he DID see Yoshioka-san when we were interrogating her."

Asahi: U-uh..

Asahi: H-hey, Miki-nee said to start the interrogation! So stop asking questions that aren't related to my crime!

Asahi: Eiji-nii is such a meanie..

Miki: ...

Miki: "I want to know more about his relationship with Kei-san and possibly Himura-san, but..  Now is not the time."

Miki: Okay, Asahi-san. We know pretty much everything about how your crime went, but there's still one very important thing we have to discuss.

Asahi: .. What is it?

Hinode and Eiji: She's talking about your-

Asahi: I am not going to talk to anyone here except Miki-nee.

Eiji: What? That's just stupid, you have three guards here and you're only going to talk to-

Asahi: Eiji-nii, why don't you go and shove all your bandages in your mouth and choke on them?

Eiji: ...

Miki: .. Why did you kill that woman?

Asahi: ...

Miki: We know how she died, we know about your relationship with her, but why did you kill her?

Miki: You told us that you had to do it to her. I just want to know why.

Asahi: .. I..

Asahi: .. I-It was self-defense.

Eiji: Oh really? You know it can be counted as self-defense only if you were in immediate danger, right?

Eiji: So like.. It can be counted as self-defense only if she tried to attack you or something.

Asahi: .. She didn't attack me, but I'm sure I would've died if I didn't kill her.

Miki: Was she really that dangerous?..

Asahi: .. You know, I don't really believe in God or magic or miracles, or.. anything like that.

Asahi: Like.. Come on. That just sounds dumb.

Asahi: But.. Sometimes I can't help but feel like her not being able to have kids of her own was..

Asahi: .. Maybe her becoming a mother really wasn't meant to happen. And like, for a good reason.

Asahi: She never took me seriously. It's like, she just liked the concept of having children. She didn't actually like having a kid.

Asahi: It's like I was just this cute toy that was supposed to make her go "Awww! Look at you!" and not an actual human being.

Asahi: Yes, she bought me everything I asked for. But when it came to actually spending time with me.. 

Asahi: Seriously, she avoided me like I was the fucking plague.

Asahi: Every time I asked her to go somewhere together, she just went "Oh, sorry, mommy is feeling a little sick".

Hinode: ...

Miki: But.. If she wanted a kid so badly, why couldn't she spend at least some time with you? 

Asahi: .. No idea. Every single time I rebelled against her, every time I showed that I have emotions and I can disagree with her and even hate her, it's like..

Asahi: Her brain just turned off.

Asahi: She just stared at me. And said nothing.

Asahi: It's like she was a spoiled rich girl who said she wanted a pet and when her parents got her one, she just took some pictures with it, played with it a little bit, but when it came to actually taking care of it, she made others do all the work.

Asahi: .. Except in my case, I was alone almost the whole time.

Asahi: Like think about it. She didn't even actually adopt me, she just found me and took me in and made everyone believe it was a kid she adopted because she's so nice.

Eiji: Okay, but.. Why did you think she was going to kill you?

Asahi: I said I'm not going to talk to anyone except Miki-nee-

Eiji: You have already answered my question earlier. Why can't you do it this time too?

Asahi: ...

Hinode: Oh, right, when Eiji-san mentioned the immediate danger part-

Asahi: Fine, fine! You are so annoying..

Asahi: Um.. 

Asahi: .. I got really mad at her and she started saying shit like "Oh, I knew I will never be a good mother"  or "I can't give you what you need".

Asahi: And after that, something.. changed. 

Asahi: It's like she didn't know how to play with her cute little toy anymore.

Asahi: We haven't talked that much after that. She couldn't look me in the eyes.

Asahi: And I think the last straw was me hearing her say to her husband..

Asahi: "You were right. Adopting him was a bad idea".

Miki: ...

Hinode: .. Oh.

Asahi: Haha.. If you were me, what would you think she was going to do to you?

Miki: I-I.. I'd think she didn't actually mean it-

Eiji: I'd think she wants to get rid of me.

Asahi: .. Wow, Eiji-nii, can't believe you actually have a brain in that head of yours.

Miki: Did you think she was going to kill you?!

Asahi: Kind of. She was too weak to attack me, I knew that for sure.

Hinode:.. You thought she was going to kick you out of her house, right?

Asahi: .. Yeah.

Hinode: And for someone like you, with nowhere to go, it would be..

Hinode: Not that different from being killed.

Asahi: .. *nods*

Asahi: .. I was scared.

Miki: E-every child would be, Asahi-san, there's nothing to be ashamed of.

Eiji: Still, your whole plan doesn't make any sense.

Eiji: Like sure, you'd kill her, but what were you going to do after that? I doubt her husband was happy to see her corpse. 

Eiji: And I doubt he wanted to do anything with you after that.

Asahi: .. Eiji-nii.

Asahi: I WAS LITERALLY 11 YEARS OLD WHEN I KILLED HER!

Asahi: I HAD ZERO EXPERIENCE! I HAD NO IDEA WHAT I WAS DOING! I JUST KNEW THAT I HAVE TO STOP HER! IT WAS EITHER ME OR HER!

Eiji: OR YOU COULD HAVE JUST ASKED HER WHAT WAS GOING ON!

Asahi: ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO CALL OUT A CHILD FOR NOT BEING GOOD AT KILLING PEOPLE?!

Eiji: GUESS WHAT, SHE'S DEAD, SO YOU'RE ACTUALLY GOOD AT IT, YOU JUST DIDN'T THINK IT THROUGH!

Asahi: FUCK YOU!

(bell rings, machinery sounds)

Asahi: .. It was him who kicked me out. Her husband.

Asahi: Haha.. He really was not happy about her murder..

Hinode: It sounds like he really loved her, but.. You can't just do something so cruel to a child.

Asahi: .. Are you going to vote me guilty this time? Because it wasn't actually self-defense and it was just me being an idiot?

Miki: I don't know about these two, but..

Miki: Please know that I forgive you, Marito.

Eiji and Hinode: Huh?..

Asahi: .. What did you just call me, Miki-nee?

Miki: O-oh, I-

Miki: .. Whatever. You have to know the truth.

Miki: The third trial is getting closer to its end and we don't have much time, so..

Miki:  Asahi-san. I know you don't remember your past that well.

Miki: You're so young, but you have already lost so many of your memories because they were too scary.

Miki: I know how much you want to see your.. "Real mother" again. 

Miki: But I..  I can't promise you that. I-in fact.. I don't think you're ever going to see her.

Miki: B-but, um.. A-at least you have me.

Miki: Asahi-san, do you remember your family well? You know, the people who you were living with before you met that woman?

Asahi: ...

Miki: You don't have to answer. From what I saw in your second video, I can tell that you do remember them, you just don't want to think about it. And that's okay.

Miki: Just.. Please know that I'm your older sister.

Miki: And the name you had before you met that woman was Andou Marito. 

Asahi: ...

Miki: S-sorry. I wish I could've revealed it in.. a different way and not like this.

Asahi: .. It's fine.

Asahi: I.. I think I actually kinda knew that you're my real family.

Miki: ...

Miki: *sobs*

Eiji: Hey, I know, this scene is supposed to be very touching, but can we extract his video already? We have three more prisoners to interrogate.

Eiji: And all of them cause way too much trouble.

Miki: A-ah, right, right.

Miki: Prisoner 007, Asa-

Asahi: Y-you can call me by my real name. It's fine.

Miki: .. Okay.

Miki: Prisoner 007, Marito, sing your sins!

42% ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░░░░ 100%

[ Asahi Marito's Trial 3 MV: Caterpillar's Cries ]

The video starts with showing us a dark forest. Marito comes out of it and he's not looking good: his hair is messy, his clothes are dirty and he overall looks like he's going to die very soon. He falls on the ground, not having any energy left to walk, and looks up. We see his adoptive mother, Satsuki, and her husband. 

"Hello, who are you? Ah, I see, you're my mother number two

At least that's what you claim to be

But I'm not so sure, I find it hard to believe

My mother would look at me like I was her child and not just a cute new toy"

Satsuki smiles warmly at Marito and holds out her hand to him while her husband turns away. It takes him a moment, but Marito takes her hand.

"But fine, I'll accept your help 

I'll accept your love and affection

Even if I'm not sure if that's what I need

A kid like me doesn't have much of a choice here"

We see Satsuki, her husband and Marito walking into a house that looks really fancy and it really looks like a place where a rich couple would live, but also, their house has a really dark color palette which makes the whole place look intimidating and creepy in some way. Marito looks scared and he walks over to a table. He sees a piece of cake, but just as he's about to take it, someone slaps his hand away and Marito drops the plate on the floor. 

"Hello, who are you? You're not someone I should've become

Does this happen to those who get carried away?

Or does this happen to those who got everything they wanted?

Could it be that you're just like me, except you're completely satisfied?"

The person who slapped his hand away turns out to be Marito himself, but that version of him looks different. This version wears better clothes and simply looks like what you'd expect a rich couple's kid to look like, but his eyes also look.. weird. They look too swirly and colorful. You could say that this version of him is not Andou Marito. It's Yano Asahi.

""Stop, that's enough!" But it will never be enough

Sweet or sour, I don't care, I want everything I could never have

Even if it's rotten, even if it's broken, I just want to have something

Do you understand now? I live like I can die at any moment"

Asahi makes Marito fall on the ground and Marito starts to cry because of how scared he is and because he expects Asahi to hurt him. Suddenly, Asahi stops and looks at Marito. Something about the boy's reaction makes him change his mind and he helps him get up. 

"I don't understand, why do you understand me so well?

It's like you're me, it's like we really are family

Please, please, help me stop feeling so empty

Fill this void, say I'm not alone, say I can have everything, say I can have more"

The boys are walking somewhere now. Marito starts to notice that there's a lot of food, toys and other things lying on the floor as they walk. He starts picking those things up meanwhile Asahi doesn't seem to care about this stuff at all. Marito starts seeing weird ghost-like visions of Satsuki and his other self. They all show Satsuki giving him the exact things that are lying on the floor right now. At first Asahi looks genuinely happy to receive them and thanks her. But as those visions continue to show up, Marito notices that Asahi starts to look more and more disappointed with each new gift, until eventually he rejects one of them, making Satsuki look at him with a confused expression. We don't get to see what this gift looks like exactly and it looks blurry. Marito wonders why this happened and he looks at all the things he picked up. Asahi looks at him and simply shakes his head and sighs. 

"Why would you do this? Are you this ungrateful?

Don't you remember what we had to go through?

Do you really need more? Do I really need more?

Do I need at least something? Or do I need everything?"

Finally, they walk into a room that seems to belong to Asahi. This room has so many toys everywhere that you can't even see the floor. Marito looks at all the toys and his eyes start to sparkle, but then he sees a small table in the middle of the room and three chairs. It looks like Asahi has decided to hold a tea party. 

Now we see Marito, Asahi and a plushie having a tea party together. Marito looks happy, but Asahi looks like he's thinking deeply about something. Marito notices it and takes one of the plushies and makes it kiss Asahi on the cheek and smiles. 

"Why are you so nice? It's like we really are family

Maybe kindness really was what I needed from the start

I just wanted someone to hug me and say that they love me

I was tired from all the gifts that had no love inside"

Asahi blushes and tries to act serious, but it also looks like he's.. sad for some reason. Marito continues to drink his tea..

Until he suddenly drops his cup. It looks like he's in pain. 

""Stop, that's enough!" But it will never be enough

No matter how hard anyone tries, I will never be satisfied

It's time for me to admit that I will never be truly happy

Do you understand now? Maybe death was what I wanted from the start"

Marito falls on the floor while Asahi watches him and when Marito looks at him, he sees that he's.. crying. Asahi walks over to him with that plushie in his hands and he gives it to him. Marito takes the plushie and hugs it. He closes his eyes. 

"It's fine, it's okay, as long as you love me and I love you

Maybe your love will satisfy the hunger I've felt since the day I was born

Or maybe it will do nothing but make the void consume me

Honestly, I just want to be loved, who cares about the consequences?"

He opens his eyes again. They are as weird as Asahi's. He's wearing the exact same clothes as him. Satsuki walks into his room. She's holding the same toy Asahi rejected in one of the visions.

"Please, say that I am a good kid

Say that you will take care of me, say that one day your house will feel like home

Please don't throw me away

Don't punish me for my greed, forgive me again and again and again"

It's a caterpillar plushie.

The video ends. 

[magnusthemes]

honey wake up new magnusthemes layout just dropped

New MagnusThemes layout

That's right y'all, after like 5+++ years of using the previous theme haha. Honestly, the old one was lovely and I really liked it, but after 5 years of Tumblr changes, it just wasn't keeping up with the times anymore. Therefore, I decided to make this new one while pretending that midterms and research responsibilities don't exist bc priorities  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The new layout also uses zero jQuery throughout the entire blog (yes, I redid the Isotope filtering to get rid of it too!) in an effort to reduce loading times.

Let me know if there are any bugs please!

[officialrailscales]

FDE Friday Setup

QTR™ Stop | Terra Bronze

Karve® Hand Stop | Terra Bronze

TerraCore™ G10 1.5-Slot Solo’s™ | Matrix Texture

TerraCore™ G10 3-Slot RailScales® | Matrix Texture

TerraCore™ G10 4-Slot RailScales® | Matrix Texture

- RS

[deus-ex-mona]

l e t m e i n ! ! !

[duranduratulsa]

Up next on my 90's Fest Movie 🎬 🎞 🎥 🎦 📽 marathon...Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) on glorious vintage VHS 📼! #Movie #movies #scifi #actionadventure #terminator #terminator2 #T2 #Terminator2JudgmentDay #JamesCameron #arnoldschwarzenegger #LindaHamilton #EdwardFurlong #RobertPatrick #earlboen #JoeMorton #dannycooksey #SEpathaMerkerson #JenetteGoldstein #XanderBerkeley #LeslieHamilton #robertwinley #riprobertwinley #vintage #VHS #90s #90sfest #durandurantulsas4thannual90sfest

[afro-bot]

Kotetsu no Daibouken (1996) by T2.

[tyrannuspitch]

thinking about that scene where thor covers loki's mouth again... like on one level. it looks like a kidnapping. because it is a kidnapping. loki agreed to go, but he's still a prisoner. going willingly is not the same thing as being freed.

but on another level... it's so childish. almost innocent, almost playful. as a form of violence, it can have sinister connotations, but it can also stand alongside hair-pulling and play-fighting, and there's such a heartbreaking and specifically siblinglike intimacy in that kind of subtle regression: we were children together, and deep down, no matter how dark things get, we will always be children together.

but also, only half the reason that it seems childish is because children themselves lack awareness of personal space - and the other half is because adults don't respect children's space, or boundaries, or autonomy as a whole. because it's something adults do to children, often struggling, screaming children, so that sometimes you can't even tell if those children have been kidnapped ("stolen"), or are actually "rightfully" "theirs".

so on one level, the brothers are children together again; on another, thor casts himself as an adult authority and patriarch, and loki as a child under his control. (a child of "his"; a possession.)

age is power, and age is rank, and loki, as younger brother to the crown prince, can never grow old enough to escape the subordination of youth. in a way, he actually loses power as he grows up, because thor grows too and the imbalance between them grows greater - his elder brother will become the allfather, and become, in a way, his father.

and the thing is... loki has been kidnapped by a "father" before, but he didn't know it. and the hand over the mouth is an image associated with screaming children, but loki doesn't scream, or struggle, or even flinch. it doesn't shock him; it just frightens him enough that he falls silent and complies... and his mind is clear as he does so. he already knows how he is expected to react. when he does speak, all he says in response is "what?", as if this is just another form of communication, and the only thing he can question is why now.

this is normal to loki. and it's normal to thor. and there's a kind of childish intimacy in it, and even a gentleness in how thor holds loki's neck to stop him hitting his head. and yet. it is so clearly violent. and neither of them will be able to acknowledge that until it's escalated so much further, after loki has already been tied up and pushed around and hit and given multiple threats to his life, when everything culminates in thor grabbing loki by the throat and barely stopping himself from punching him in the face, while loki, still unresisting, just stares hopelessly back at him.

and even then, when they're both shaken and disturbed by it and they both know this can't go on, neither of them will manage to call it what it is out loud.

[kazamajun]

friends and foes and those of undetermined relations, I bring you...... her

[ivebeentotheforest]

Terminator 2: Judgment Day - 1991 - Dir. James Cameron

Japanese B2 Poster

[linagram]

[ meet the prisoners! (t2 edition) ] prisoner 002: hanasaki aimi

it's the second prisoner's turn! thankfully, she's doing much better now.. though it's hard to explain what's going on with her personality.

(Warnings: Akio's injuries and overall condition is mentioned again and it's also implied that whatever Riku does to make people pay attention to him is most likely painful and harmful)

General info.

T1 Verdict: Aimi was voted innocent, so now she's doing better than she was before arriving here. She has a different hairstyle now, her cuts, scratches and bruises have healed, so she doesn't need any bandages or bandaids anymore. Her outfit is still the same though, since it's impossible to see it under her prison uniform, so she thought it would be weird to ask for something new. She's wearing a different hairclip now, an ice cream-shaped one instead of the candy-shaped one. She has more freedom now and she mainly uses it to request things for Akio. She says that she doesn't need much, but he does. 

T2 Personality: Aimi is still a ray of sunshine in this prison, but she's definitely more quiet now and not as talkative and sociable. She actually prefers to avoid most prisoners now and whenever they ask if she wants to spend some time with them, she just smiles and says she's a bit too busy for that at the moment. She doesn't really try to make friends in this place anymore and she doesn't talk to anyone except Akio and talks to others only if she needs their help to take care of him. She's still very nice to Miki though and openly says she likes her and wants to become closer with her. Some prisoners say that they can't help but feel like Aimi is looking down on them and not because of her verdict, but because of something else. The way she talks sounds more cold and sarcastic sometimes, especially when she's around Eiji or prisoners like Asahi or Riku. But again, if she still likes someone, she will show her usual soft and caring side to them. The guards feel like she's acting like that because she wanted to be voted guilty, but they're not so sure about it. Or maybe this is actually her real personality or at least, Aimi is slowly starting to act like her real self. Is this what she's like when she's not being bullied by everyone around her? But again, she's still (mostly) nice, so.. It's hard to say anything bad about the way she acts. Though Eiji is sure that she's just using Akio to feel better about herself and she refuses to talk to the other prisoners because they're not giving her as much attention as she expected from them.

T2 Relationship dynamics:

Aimi and Akio are very close now. It looks like she cares about him a lot and she was genuinely worried about him when she saw him trying to commit suicide or at least injure himself. Aimi makes sure he gets enough rest, but sadly, no matter how much time she spends with him, she can't be there for Akio when he feels like he's getting choked by that mysterious person he sees in his cell when he's trying to fall asleep. Other prisoners have mixed feelings about Aimi and Akio becoming so friendly and some of them (like Asahi and Yurika) think Eiji is right and she's just using him, meanwhile others are happy for them (like Naomi and Reina). Eiko often teases Aimi about making Akio fall in love with her, but she finds those jokes annoying and says that they're just friends and they don't need more than that. Eiko swears there was a time when Aimi looked right at her and said "Hey, Yoshioka-san, maybe you should shut up and stop assuming that literally everyone is just as obsessed with romance as you?" before smiling and leaving.

Naomi is one of the prisoners Aimi still kind of talks to, though she mostly just asks her for help with taking care of Akio and some other things. It's nice to have an older prisoner to rely on and Aimi can also feel that she's most likely Naomi's favorite kid here. Haha, that's understandable, she never causes any problems after all. Naomi also doesn't judge her for spending less time with other prisoners and says that she understands why Aimi is acting like that, but refuses to talk about it because she knows Aimi wouldn't be comfortable with it.

Aimi and Riku don't have the best relationship right now. Riku has tried to talk to her multiple times, but she just either ignored him or even told him to leave her alone every time. Riku thinks she avoids him because he reminds her of her bullies, though there's actually more to that. Aimi has also said that "he never actually enjoyed hanging out with her, so why is he so worried about her not being friends with him now?". She also finds him trying to make other prisoners look at him and give him more attention embarrassing and annoying. Of course, she doesn't want anything bad to happen to him. But also can he come up with something else already? She thinks that trying to make others feel sorry for you is pathetic actually. 

Aimi is grateful to Eiji for forgiving him, but she also knows that if it wasn't for Miki, he would have definitely voted her guilty. So she is still nice to him, but she also keeps saying things that are a little bit rude about him. She keeps pointing out how weak he actually is and Eiji thinks she's trying to make him mad on purpose. She also likes to make fun of how bad his anger issues are (while still sounding polite) and whenever Eiji calls her out for it, she just says that it's his fault for being so emotional. How can he act like this if he's the guard? A person like him won't be able to judge them properly. 

On the other hand, she really likes Miki and makes sure to say hi to her every time she sees her. She has even asked Miki to wear that candy-shaped hairclip she gave her last time, even if it doesn't really fit the whole "guard vibe". She often thanks Miki for her kindness and says how much she likes her and how much she wants to be friends with her. It's weird for someone who "probably wanted to be voted guilty" to like Miki so much.. unless she acts like this because she wants Miki to forgive Akio this time? Or maybe she actually does like Miki. Who knows.

Music info.

Milgram cover: Well. We all knew this is going to happen sooner or later. Yes, she's the one who gets After Pain this time! I actually like how she gets this song only now, because it feels like she's finally admitting that she was a victim of bullying and that her classmates never were her friends. I feel like her cover would sound really soft at first, but then it would start sounding more and more angry (which basically turns into screaming closer to the end) because this girl has so much anger and pain inside, it's not even funny. I also like the idea of, like, T1 Kei and T2 Aimi singing it together as a mash-up, because these two are more similar than they seem, though they never really interact.

DECO*27 cover: Nani Nani, it sounds like a very soft and cute song, but the lyrics are so sad and they fit Aimi so well! ("People's fake smiles are so good", "My delusions speed up and reality runs late", "It's something you want to hide so much it hurts", "Difficult days will continue, but I hope that things will go well this time" in particular)

Different Vocaloid Producer cover: Failure Girl by Kairiki Bear. All Aimi's "themes" are there, the lyrics describe her past well and I think her cover would sound great :] And again, I like how she's getting a song that describes her problems better this time, it's like she's finally ready to talk about it.

Her T2 Trailer Voicelines:

"Oh? Guard 001-san and Guard 002-san? Are you checking up on us? How kind of you.. Ah, by the way, I know I've already said this before, but I'm just so happy.. Thank you for forgiving me. Thank you for accepting me. You two, yes, even you, Guard 001-san, you two really are.. like best friends to me. Hehe, well, this is just what you've expected to hear from me, right?"

".. Did they.. really deserve to die?.. T-their blood is on my hands now.. Ahaha.. AND IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!"

Her T2 Song Trailer Voiceline:

"It's only natural for me to avoid them, right?"

Trivia:

Hm? Does she want to be voted innocent or guilty this time? Well, again, she doesn't care about her verdict that much, but she is sure worried about Akio. She doesn't want to lose him right after they have finally became friends.

Miki was the one who braided her hair for her and that made Aimi like her even more. Eiji got mad at Miki for spending time with the prisoner like this, but Miki said that it was Aimi's request and Miki couldn't say no to that. (It actually wasn't her request at all and Miki just wanted to braid her hair)

A light shade of blue was chosen as her second image color because of her eyes. And again, it's kinda like a hint to her being connected to Kei because of his image color also being a shade of blue, but a darker one.

She has even more similarities with Yuno now because of her album cover and Yuno's T1 MV. Aimi's T2 MV will show a lot of balloons too and they will also play an important role there. 

She's not as clumsy as she was and she's trying to be more careful now. If she gets hurt, who will take care of Akio then? 

[whelpimnauthuman]

Me: Okay, my lead is getting older and my Pack is getting full, I need to start clearing out to get ready for my new lead and updating my lore

Me the moment my friends offer to gimme their wolves:

[themoon82]

Trevor Something - Garbage Bonus Track ft Hell's Club by AMD Films