#semi official gg

[koushirouizumi]

{from here!}

[crqstalite]

oh nooooo talis got the dearest email lol

[lesbiangiratina]

are there canon reasons for why Testament stayed under Justice’s control post-sealing even though they were resistant? Or for why Testament (post-first-death) is able to apparently just. Come back to life after dying.?

(or if no canon reasons—any theories?)

Most gears just went dormant after justice was sealed away since they cant function At All without commands. This doesnt apply to testament since theyre a semi-independent gear, so i guess they were left sort of acting on their own, but justice’s general influence still kinda Lingered until her death…? Thats how i feel about it with the info we have at least, i dont believe its ever especially touched on beyond just saying they didnt “regain their true self” until After her death.

And well as for the second death thing i hope youll be cheesed to know the only official explanation is they were revived “for reasons unknown”. Direct gg world quote. I think thats so awesome. Who even cares. But anyway Going back to kat’s personal vision i like to believe being converted as a corpse might have something to do with it. They seem particularly unkillable even for a gear. Maybe theyre already kinda dead in a way. They Are the skull. But idk im not daisuke :’)

…Tangent but i think its really funny that the pwab put gear cells in a corpse. Why did they do that. We dont really know that either. We just know they were a subject in experiments involving weapon development. Whether they were the weapon or like a guinea pig isnt like point blank stated but i do feel it leans towards the latter… and see now we circle back to them being seemingly unkillable possibly due to them being dead already thank you Post War Administration Bureau !!! I DONT KNOW ANYTHING !!!!!!! But its fun to think about i like thinking about testament oh god i hope this helped its a lot of speculative rambling. Teehee

[solradguy]

Mr Solguy, can I have a compilation of official(semi-official) artwork where Sol looks absolutely monstrous/exploring his more savage and scary (DI) side? :3c

If there's, ofc, art of it, i think I've seen few. It seems very interesting topic to discuss Dragon Install and... Gear... Stuff... making him extremely violent and dangerous to be around with when it kicks. So I'm wondering if Mr Daisuke thought about it himself n all!

(Or I'm just a sucker for berserk characters and it's really fun for me to imagine Sol go apeshit whoops)

It's absolutely agonizing but there are only a handful of illustrations that show him like that... There is not even ONE official illustration of his install/Gear form for Overture or Xrd/Strive, just concept sketches and collab art. In the older illustrations if he was drawn with all-white eyes then it meant he was installed so I've included those. Here's all I've got. Sources at the bottom:

1-4: Artworks of Guilty Gear X 2000-2007; 5-6: Guilty Gear Begin; 7: GG Rev2 box art.

Some less official stuff from collab events:

1: Elemental Story; 2: Counter:Side; 3: Destiny Child

[thepaintedsable]

Wahg g gg. First digital piece in about a year or so, now? Maybe more than that.

They’re an adopt for the Mochi Raptors species, a semi-open species I help staff! This one is an official closed trait adopt (King Trait, FaceScale; I’m just waiting to get it on the masterlist before I open up for offers!) to push some more adopts into the beginning-of-the-year lineup! :) I just did a raffle on some personal MYOs, so this one will probably be an OTA.

Link to Adopt’s Toyhouse Page: https://toyhou.se/25157238.lemonlime-mochi-kt-adopt

Talking about the Species below the cut!

We’re still in the process of updating the Discord after a hefty site move, but we’d be happy to have you, if anyone is interested in joining the community! Again, the species is Semi-Open, not Closed (We’ve been having some issues with some misinformation popping up, as of recent Im unsure why. There are a total of 7 traits that are closed, and are relatively easy to get! In the past they were somewhat monetary to acquire, but we host events, MYO drops, raffles, and the like nowadays, alongside sales! Adds some excitement to the community.), so as long as you follow the trait rules/lore of a standard Mochi Raptor you’re more than welcome to make one! (And, no, we’re not one of those species that claims to own the concept of a black eyed raptor. Following the trait rules is only about claiming Mochi Raptor on a character, which enables you to interact with the community, lore, and events! :) ) Actually, most of the species is open, barring two sections of traits (6 “King Traits”, and then back wings!), and we have an active staff team that would be more than welcome to answer any questions or concerns you’d have. With some of the things we’re planning behind the scenes and more adopts, events, and raffles to come, I’d like to think we have a good thing going on here!

Link to MochiRaptorsOffical (Our CTC Masterlist): https://toyhou.se/MochiRaptorsOfficial

A link to the official discord should be available on there! Our old stoping grounds, the official Mochi Raptors Amino, is no longer active and has been locked! There are no more official Mochi Raptors communities on Amino, but this one serves as an archive of what was once there!

[gear-project]

I do hope that the topic of "Ancient Martial Arts" is covered in more explicit detail in the GG Library at some point in the future. I faintly recall that the old GGX official website actually give indepth explanations regarding the combat styles of some of the characters.

The earliest it was hinted at was in the Guilty Gear Bible, but it also might be a concept that was retconned (or at least, widely ignored).

It's also semi-connected with the history of the Japanese people and their Spiritual Roots (in connection with the Backyard).

Justice stated at one point that Japanese people are dangerous simply because of their spiritual prowess (proficiency in Ki as a Magic Art), but the Japanese aren't the only practitioners of Ki.

Korean families like the Kum Clan, Tsuyoshi's Ninjutsu (and his students Chipp and Nagoriyuki, as well as Answer), Axl Low's Saitou Old Style, Jam's Kenpou, Testament's fighting style derived from Axl Low's style (mixed with Kliff Undersn's techniques), Gabriel's grappling style, even Slayer's style each have their own roots and history. Johnny's Cloud Fencing School taught by his master Unchou Hirufumi.

Even Venom's mastery of Ki is a derivative of techniques he absorbed from learning from Zato (who probably had several teachers, including Slayer).

Even Baiken, despite her nameless blade, comes from a line of families that have used Martial Arts for generations.

Even someone as mysterious as Raven has picked up fighting techniques that can be traced back to ancient times.

The fundamental concept to understand is that each fighter has their own set of techniques, but some techniques have been passed down for generations, which is why it is called "Ancient" Martial Arts.

Some styles are so revered that the families are heavily restricted and closed-off within themselves, this has been true of Japanese, Korean, and Chinese families and even European Nobility to an extent.

[cai-tan]

fairly certain it's real? and fighting game combos have never really been like what you've said?

In standard combo notation, numbers are used to denote control stick positions (because old arcade fighting games don't have analog control sticks, they're switch-based, meaning they only read semi-cardinal directions), and are based off of a keyboard's number pad: 2 is down, 6 is forward, 4 is back, 3 is both down and forward, etc.

Also button inputs are kind of on a per-game basis, usually going off of whatever official documentation the game has; Guilty Gear has [P]unch, [K]ick, [S]lash, and [H]eavy Slash, as well as [D]ust. Anything that involves putting a number next to a button involves pressing that button while the control stick is in that position (think Smash tilts; 6P is just "forward tilt Punch").

However, special attacks are done with "motions", which is a sequence of control stick positions, otherwise annotated by the motion: quarter-circle back (214), half-circle forward (41236), etc. so 41236S is Zato's Shadow Gallery attack (I think???)

I can't actually tell you what -H- or -D- means off the top of my head since GG isn't my realm (more Street Fighter and Under Night) though I could guess it's a hold-input? (usually in UNI we'd annotate it 5[H] )

There's additional denotations for different versions of an attack that's usually a lowercase letter and a period; j.5H would mean "jumping" neutral Heavy, c.2P would be "close" crouching Punch (sometimes attacks are different depending on how close you are to the opponent), etc.

The IAD part is annotating an Instant Air Dash, a motion used in Guilty Gear to very easily perform an "air dash" while also performing another motion or attack at the same time. FRC is probably referring to a type of cancel, probably Roman Cancel, but again I've never gotten into the GG scene all that much.

inb4 you yell nerd at me YEAH I AM ONE CRY ABOUT IT

i play exclusively zato in every guilty gear game but like dont ask me combo shit. i dont know what most zato players are even doing there.

what is this. you are making shit up thisis not real.

[frailock-a]

wdym im gonna put this blog on hiatus wut

[jess-the-vampire]

soooo what Is the reverse of feathers and mud au? :O

alright, so

Arofam started off as a hero/villian swap au, i made it before s2 officially aired, i had gotten the idea from the promos that they were trying to parallel luz and eda with GG and Belos and going from there i started making an swap au out of it.

it was purely for fun at the time, i was mostly playing around, but i ended up taking it more seriously and added more canon elements.

For example, not only do i keep everyone mostly in character and sorta bend them to making choices that fit their character while also semi following the plot of the series, but i keep some of the backstories and some plot points.

i kinda figured i could never perfectly swap everyone and everything so to some extent this au became canon-divergent, an example of that is i kinda kept the same wittebane bros origin, but with differences that ended up allowing them to fit the roles eda and lilith have in the series.

And some things i change entirely to fit the characters better, such as lilith's situation, which i can tell you without spoilers is very different from caleb in canon.

there's fun details in here, like jean luc is king's personal bodyguard, luz's magic is based on her magic in canon, i really like what i did with amity and willow's swap by keeping their backstory and having hunter and willow's tension come from his friendship with her bully and her real insecurities and stuff, and of course collector gets to have a larger role, ect ect

it would be hard to explain every single thing that happens, but that's a general look at it as the show has def affected things a lot in regards to it.

but i think it's fun to work on, i like giving belos more depth and it's fun to write his drama with his brother, and stuff with hunter, and so on and so forth.

i didn't really wanna make it like any other swap au so i did kinda a bit of my own thing and it seems people have fun with it and i appreciate it.

(Also this au unintentionally predicted stuff that happened in the series and that is also very funny to me, huntlow for example, i was basically the only known swap au to have them and welp)

[sepublic]

Nevareth and the Golden Guard?!?

          …Incredibly cursed thought incoming, but I couldn’t shake the idea out of my head;

          BUT WHAT IF NEVARETH BLADESTRIFE WAS FORESHADOWING FOR THE GOLDEN GUARD?!?!?!

          Think about it! Compare the appearances! Teen princes with golden pauldrons on their right shoulder… The Golden Guard isn’t officially a prince, but he basically is, we all consider him to be Belos’ son, possibly in the literal sense, he’s trusted with the same type of magic as the emperor! Nevareth and the Golden Guard are both edgy bad boys with a widow’s peak, too!?

          Not only that- But to get into some serious speculation about Hunting Palismen, our first line of Nevareth has him gripe about how the ‘Celestial Staff’ should’ve chosen him, and uh…

          Is this foreshadowing to Luz stealing the Golden Guard’s staff??? As well as the cardinal palisman, more on that later; Is the Golden Guard’s staff actually semi-alive, and it ends up ‘choosing’ Luz over its original owner? Not to mention, we see ‘Nevareth’ tempt Luz into accepting Adegast’s fantasy, bringing up that she wouldn’t want to live in a world where nobody likes her.

          I don’t know if that specific detail would apply to the Golden Guard, but that theme of temptation- I’ve speculated that Luz might consider using the Golden Guard’s staff over a Palisman staff… Perhaps not being able to find a Palisman, and not really being able to bond with and ‘choose’ one easily, because it’s likely the Palisman that chooses, leads to her being frustrated?

          It could parallel Adventures in the Elements, in a sense- Where Luz considers using a technological, ‘superior’ form of magic, only to recognize the worth and value of some more traditional, something seen as ‘inferior’. A discarded Palisman, over a powerful staff crafted by Belos himself! Perhaps Luz will legitimately consider wielding the Golden Guard’s staff and he might even try to persuade her, as a means to make her think about joining Belos for ‘real’ magic-

          But very quickly she shuts it down, especially if Luz finds out that the Golden Guard’s magic is powered by Palismen, or something else probably unethical. And/or, the whole ‘Celestial staff choosing Luz over the angsty teenager’ is foreshadowing for the Cardinal palisman…!

          This Palisman is likely a discarded one, it looks damaged and that fits with the likely motifs of Hunting Palismen… What if this Cardinal was once the Golden Guard’s palisman? I know I speculated that the Palisman we see Belos break in the Season 2 trailer belonged to GG, but you never know!

          What if the Golden Guard is kind of a dark Luz parallel too, and he abandoned his Palisman for not being strong enough, got frustrated with it- Maybe even hurt it?

          GG could’ve been careless, and/or when he joined the Emperor’s Coven, he felt like his palisman couldn’t match his standards, wasn’t strong enough- So he replaced the cardinal with his staff from Belos, or got a new Palisman (AKA the one being broken in the trailer), and THEN replaced that with the magitech staff as well!

          Or even- Perhaps Belos MADE the Golden Guard abandon his palisman, as a test of loyalty? And no doubt to sustain himself as well… But like Lilith, GG was left alone, and he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

          He couldn’t bring himself to break his beloved Palisman, so he did that thing where characters tell off their pet and yell at it, make it resentful so it’ll choose to leave the owner of their own volition, something like that- Or GG just outright abandoned his Palisman without warning. Maybe he even tried to destroy the cardinal, hence its missing eye, but he hesitated and let it go, and/or it managed to escape.

          By fate, Luz will encounter this cardinal and adopt it, only for the Golden Guard to recognize his old Palisman! Through the cardinal, Luz will learn about her foe’s backstory and gain a new understanding… And we might get a scene where GG tries to appeal to his old Palisman, offer it go back to him like ‘old times’, only for the cardinal to of course reject him and side with Luz!

          The Golden Guard might accuse Luz of ‘stealing’ his Palisman… But deep down, perhaps he’s saddened and bitter, because what did he expect? He willingly abandoned his cardinal, for its own good, but still… But at the same time, he DID care for his palisman, he made it as a kid- So it hurts to see it choose him, to see it not realize the sacrifice he made. Kind of like Amity and Willow in a way, I guess.

          Palismen are basically representative of staffs as the main source of power, and what makes them special and important to begin with- So the Cardinal might be the ‘Celestial Staff’ that chooses Luz over the teen prince in this parallel! And yes, I know this is an incredibly cursed thought, but the more I think of it…!

          Also, the Golden Guard starting off with a bird palisman would be interesting, given how, y’know… ‘Birds are a Clawthorne motif’, and him having an Owl motif he shares with Eda, when even direct relatives like Lilith or Gwendolyn don’t share the same type of bird!

          And on another note, Nevareth’s heart was ‘consumed with vengeance’ or whatever because his entire village was consumed… Was GG an orphan whose village was wiped out? Possibly by none other than Belos… And with how this dude feeds on bile, did he ‘consume’ the witches of GG’s home?! Or was it wild witches or demons, assuming that wasn’t just a set-up by Belos.

          With the Golden Guard possibly being a parallel to Luz as the young teen apprentice to a powerful witch, maybe it’s GG, not Belos, who found the same decisions offered to him like Luz, and chose the dark path! Maybe it’s GG who played into the idea of fantasy, of getting away from it all- As a witch born without a bile sac, not even belonging with magic-less humans!

          Maybe like Luz he was ostracized, and Belos took him under his wing, recognized his talent and made him feel special; Gave him access to HIS form of magic, because the Golden Guard wasn’t interested in learning glyphs, and may not have ever gotten the chance to do so… He sees them as not being ‘real’ magic after all, so he could’ve been Luz if she made the wrong choice during Adventures in the Elements.

[vyvesvi]

members of the 4th gen gg collab stage that i guessed correctly:

eleven: sakura sullyoon

hype boy: leeseo

fearless: ahnyujin

o.o: gaeul yeseo

wadada: eunchae liz jiwoo

i didnt think they'd have anyone stay in their own song, but if i knew I would've kept wonyoung in eleven, lily in o.o, and chaehyun in wadada so i'm giving myself those points too 😙

this was my full initial prediction:

eleven (6) - sakura chaehyun mashiro youngeun sullyoon minji

hype boy (5) - kazuha leeseo dayeon haewon bae

fearless (5) - wonyoung xiaoting yujin(kepi) jinni hanni

o.o (7) - yunjin rei gaeul hikaru bahiyyih yeseo haerin

wadada (9) - chaewon eunchae yujin(ive) liz lily kyujin jiwoo dani hyein

*i admittedly placed some of the girls i don't know as well randomly, mostly new jeans and nmixx members

and then here's the actual lineup:

eleven: sakura danielle hiyyih xiaoting wonyoung sullyoon

hype boy: chaewon haerin leeseo choiyujin  kyujin

fearless: yunjin bae hyein ahnyujin youngeun

o.o: kazuha lily gaeul yeseo jinni minji dayeon

wadada: eunchae liz mashiro jiwoo rei hanni chaehyun hikaru haewon

now having seen the actual lineup i think it's okay, but overall i like mine better 😅🤭

changing the official lineup (while honoring their intentions) (mostly) i'd do:

eleven: wonyoung, sakura, dani, mashiro, youngeun, sullyoon

hype boy: haerin, kazuha, hikaru, leeseo, kyujin

fearless: chaewon, hanni, xiaoting, ahn yujin, bae

o.o: lily, jinni, yunjin, minji, bahiyyih, yeseo, gaeul

wadada: chaehyun, dayeon, choi yujin, eunchae, hyein, liz, rei, jiwoo, haewon

(pink: changed from the official lineup, blue: crossover between mine and the official)

reasoning:

eleven: wonyoung, sakura, snd sullyoon were pretty obvious. not sure how i feel about dani but i wanted to stick close ish to the official lineup. mashiro & youngeun just make sense to me idk

hype boy: kazuha just makes too much sense there it's just her vibe idk. one of the only choices i'd die on a hill for

fearless: chaewon is one of the centers for this song so having her here makes sense to me. yunjin is also very prominent in this song, but i felt like chaewon has izone cred so she should act as the face for this moment. hanni & xiaoting are just servers idk, any other placement is a waste of their ability imo. i wouldve liked to see yujin-ahn yujin-xiaoting stage though.

o.o: kind of a convenience grouping BUT i do think it'd be nice to see lily-yunjin vocal slayage one day. i honestly didn't know where to put bahiyyih, but i think she does best with a medium sized group (so 7 is perfect). ideally there'd be a bright song here too and i think she'd fit that concept well

wadada: another semi convenience grouping oops. but i put dayeon here bc she has a lot of distinctive parts, choi yujin because if her popularity, and hyein because i needed hanni in fearless (sorry)

i'm not planning to do this (at least not yet) but the other group that's nominated for some rookie awards that's not here is billlie, so it'd be fun to see how adding them would shake things up. off the top of my head, haram could do eleven, and they would need to poach some strong vocals for ring x ring (im pretending they were full covers btw). in an ideal world though they'd choose gingamingayo instead if ring x ring and tsuki would stay as the center. sua would go to o.o & they'd make sheon do wadada to be mean.

[zhansww]

just kind of curious bc i've just gotten in cql. have there been any recent kadians that seem semi plausible?

I assume you mean ggdd-related kadian. If there are, I usually post them. Still, I looked through their oasis and wb posts (only from this year, cuz anything older than six months is privated) just to check. Some of them are likely on purpose but not necessarily connected to each other. I consider most of these to be reaching but anyway, you may take these however you like.

I dunno how exactly posting on oasis works but it could be that gg meant to post at minute 38 in which case 19 38 = still Zhan/Bo

Same thing, had he posted one minute earlier, 18 = Yi Bo

Move the numbers around and you get 328 = Zhan loves Bo or 528 = I love Bo

10 = “only you” or “want you”, 13 = Yi/Zhan

521 = I love you

one minute later woulda been 38 = Zhan/Bo

10 = only you, 16 is dd’s lucky number

20 = love you

8 = Bo. Dd had a (pre-recorded) performance that same day.

18 20 = Yi Bo loves you

19 = still, 1 = you, 3 = z(h)an

I know some cp fans make a huge deal out of ggdd posting on the same day, or their official accounts (gg’s studio and yb official) posting kadian but I don’t consider either to be remotely meaningful so I didn’t look for/include any of that.

If you’re asking this cuz you’re looking for recent “evidence” that ggdd are still together, you don’t actually have to reach for kadian. Just look at dd’s pretty neck and what has constantly been gracing it since last August. Before that, he wore the oxhead necklace for about fourteen months. And also the Gucci lionshead necklace, for a while last Sept/Oct. He doesn’t hide ... his affection.

(©邮吻·王一博)

[athela-3]

mankai company: cyberpunk

I never asked for this. But that’s just how ideas work, ain't it? One minute you’re mindlessly going through the daily grind, and the next moment it hits ya like a sucker punch to the gut. Then your mind’s racing, and you think: Why not? Whaddaya have to lose? You’ve rambled your way through semi-coherent flashes of inspiration before. Why should this one be different?

Note: everyone is aged up, oh, let’s say at least five years. Also, long post is long. I’m not joking. The page break is there for a reason.

Mankai Company is a modest-sized corporation specialising in biotechnology and cybernetics. But operating beneath its public face is a semi-covert band of mercs, private eyes, and fixers called Kaga Solutions, fully-equipped to navigate the mean city streets on command. Their founder and CEO, Yukio Tachibana, has recently disappeared; as per his express wishes, the company leadership is transferred to his estranged daughter, Izumi. 

Izumi Tachibana: the new CEO, more experienced in programming than in biotech, she wants to lead Mankai in a new direction focused on augmented reality and fluid human-machine interfacing, while also investigating her father's disappearance with its covert Kaga operatives.

Isuke Matsukawa: Yukio's—and now Izumi's—personal assistant who also handles most of the day-to-day finances, a seemingly bumbling man with hidden talents. He has more connections than you'd expect, and his loyalty is bone-deep.

Yuzo Kashima: a major shareholder in the company whose investments helped Yukio jump-start his dream into reality. Initially skeptical of Izumi's direction, he slowly grows to believe in her vision, even if he's still brutally honest about many things. He's aware of Kaga and the hidden side of Mankai, and is implied to have once partaken in it more personally.

Tetsuro Iwai: the local hardware genius. If you need something built, he'll figure out how to do it in record time. He's happy to work with the old boss' daughter, even if her ideas can stretch him to his limits sometimes.

Ken Sakoda: nobody's really sure what his official job is. He's just always there, usually appearing out of nowhere to do whatever Sakyo asks him to (there's rumours of a personalised cloaking device). This ranges from coffee runs to, ah, semi-legal inventory procurement.

Kamekichi: a robot parrot Yukio personally built as a pet project. Originally a prototype for robotic therapy animals, his code gave birth to his own emergent sassy personality.

Sakuya Sakuma: head of Engineering, what he lacks in experience he makes up in talent and dedication. Has politely declined playing a more active role in Kaga's assignments, declaring his current job to already be his dream job anyhow.

Masumi Usui: a tech prodigy, a quick learner who's always keen to impress Izumi for reasons which may not be strictly professional. Built his own memory implants from scratch, and is always willing to help with Kaga if ever asked.

Tsuzuru Minagi: the top dog when it comes to programming and software. Tends to overwork himself, especially at crunch time, but he writes top-notch code that leave Mankai's competitors scratching their heads. Also helps oversee and plan Kaga's missions, especially when it comes to concocting cover stories and identities.

Itaru Chigasaki: yet another punch-clock worker whose only skills lie in testing and bugfixing… or so he'd have you believe. In reality, he's one of Kaga's most reliable operatives, using his salaryman persona to relieve suspicion and gain people's trust. By the time his targets notice the "GG EZ" hacked onto every screen, it's too late.

Citron: another Kaga operative, people see him and think he's the expat office worker who struggles to string a coherent sentence together, so they don't always pay attention to what they say around him. Big mistake. If he can't evade you in conversation, then he'll evade you the traditional way and vanish seemingly into thin air.

Chikage Utsuki: formerly Itaru's senior at their old job, who followed him to Mankai for reasons of his own. He does minor coding for them now, but his primary focus is on being a field agent for Kaga, where his charm and covert investigative skills really come into play.

Tenma Sumeragi: a former child actor, now the company's face, appearing in advertisements and endorsements. He's great at both presenting Mankai's personable, human-interest agenda and selling Kaga's sharp professionalism to potential clients.

Yuki Rurikawa: hired fresh out of university, his sharp sense of aesthetics led Izumi to trust him with practically all of their product design. Every concept has to have his seal of approval before moving to the production stage. He also handles disguises for Kaga's operations.

Muku Sakisaka: formerly slated to compete in the Olympics before an accident, he now provides another public face for Mankai alongside Tenma. He writes a good deal of the company's promotional material, and has a strong sense of what would affect their clients.

Misumi Ikaruga: officially, he tests the more physical cybernetics, such as Sakuya's impact-dampeners or Tasuku's mountain-climbing legs; his videos performing literally superhuman parkour feats often end up as promotional material. Under the table, he's Kaga's go-to operative for situations requiring speed and agility.

Kazunari Miyoshi: head of the PR department, in charge of keeping their public image in the positive while also keeping Kaga’s activities mostly out of attention. He keeps everyone in the loop with current affairs, often feeding intel to his old friend Tsuzuru for planning.

Kumon Hyodo: baseball's new rising star, he started doing sponsorship and endorsement deals after Muku and Juza introduced him to Izumi. He's enthusiastic about working with them and often helps coming up with ideas for reaching into the sports demographic.

Banri Settsu: a bio-augmentation enthusiast and grey hat hacker, he once breached Mankai's firewalls basically out of boredom; when Izumi tracked him down, she decided to offer him a job in her cybersecurity division, and he agreed. Of course, as soon as he hears about Kaga, he all but jumps into it headlong.

Juza Hyodo: wanted to be a cop as a kid; that was before the city's corrupt police force disenchanted him of the idea. His cousin Muku convinced him to work for Mankai, so he thought he'd give the corporate samurai gig a chance. His earnest dedication quickly wins him a spot on Kaga, as do his excellent combat skills.

Taichi Nanao: initially a mole from Godza, sent to tear Kaga apart from within, he went turncoat within months and is now their primary source on Godza's methods and internal affairs. He balances quick and dirty combat tactics with his boyish charm and knack at appearing harmless.

Omi Fushimi: former military, honourably discharged after a terrorist attack took out his best friend and left him heavily injured. Now he works for Mankai as head of security, with a bit of unofficial HR thrown in there. Unlike the rest of Akigumi, he isn't part of Kaga, as he believes his focus should be on keeping the company safe and secure.

Sakyo Furuichi: head of Kaga, and its oldest member still on active duty. These days he mostly sticks to mission control, but occasionally lends support on the field if he deems it necessary. His sharp mind and eye for patterns makes him particularly good at planning missions, exit strategies, and backup plans.

Azami Izumida: the son of a yakuza boss who decided to leave the family business behind to strike out on his own, he still keeps a number of his old underworld contacts. Officially an intern, he's also eager to get into fieldwork with Kaga, putting his years of swordsmanship lessons to use.

Tsumugi Tsukioka: head of biotech, his research on how cranial implants can be used to treat sleep disorders turned him—and Mankai—into a household name. He infrequently lends a hand to Kaga by developing and fine-tuning their cybernetics.

Tasuku Takato: a former member of Godza, he quit his job to work for Mankai instead, and is now a valued member of their biotech team. He specialises in developing prosthetics for their more athletic clients, and like Tsumugi, focuses on his R&D most of the time.

Hisoka Mikage: formerly working for a similar fixer/PMC group, a near-fatal neuro-implant malfunction caused him to forget everything that happened since its installation. As Mankai found him, removed the bad implant, and nursed him back to health, he thought it's just apt to repay the debt by working for them. One of Kaga's most well-rounded operatives, he is strongest in stealth and wetwork.

Homare Arisugawa: an eccentric professor to his core; his studies range from urban to agrarian, sprawling across fields and topics, but his passion project lies in developing ocular implants that can read micro-expressions on the fly, allowing its owner to identify and record people's emotional reactions easily.

Azuma Yukishiro: the face of the biotech divison, he works closely with Mankai's clients to help them find the perfect cybernetics for their personal needs. He also often gleans information and gossip from his endless well of unsuspecting acquaintances and old contacts, passing them on to Kaga for their missions.

Guy: a friend of Citron's from his homeland; extensively cybernetically augmented after a major accident years ago, he claims to be more machine than human by this point. Ostensibly Homare's research assistant, he is a field agent for Kaga, equally skilled in hacking as he is in hand-to-hand combat.

[mego42]

gg rewatch // 1x04 discussion questions

made the questionable decision to do the homework while i can’t feel part of my face but oh well i’m sure it’s fine. mind the typos or whatever.

questions are here and shout out to @pynkhues for hosting this party!

1. What was your favourite scene of the episode? Tell us why!

Honestly don’t even know how to answer this???? So many iconic moments???? Ruby and I’m one sorry bitch! Emma (???maybe????) sowing the seeds of Dean’s Rio fixation! Beth being extremely horny for money to the tune of an excellent soundtrack (lol which ep ammirite???)! Eddie! You brought a gun of course you brought a gun! Oh you didn’t hit me up to do brunch??! I cannot choose.

Underrated fav maybe? Annie and Greg revisiting their high school relationship. That hits me right in the soft spot where my love of childhood friends to lovers lives.

2. Was there any scene that missed the mark for you? And if so, how?

Annie and Greg arguing during Ben’s debate speech. I always find myself shushing them but they never listen. Rude!!!!

3. Why (and when) do you think Rio decided to drop Eddie at Beth’s place?

bc he’s extremely uncreative and desperate for semi-plausible excuses to go to beth’s house we covered this already. math tutor, bounce house guy, hapless airbnb cast off he’ll try anything.

4. Ruby has a really distinct arc in this episode! From dealing with the Terrible Youths™ to standing up to a Karen and setting herself up to be fired. How did you feel about it in this episode? And how do you feel about it in the context of her broader character arc across the series?

BE!!!!! NICE!!!!!!!! TO SERVICE!!!!!!!! WORKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! also v about ruby being like you know what fuck this my dignity is worth more bc she is correct!! it is!!! thank god for crime!!!!! 

5. Do you know who else dealt with Terrible Youths™ this episode? Ben! What did you think of his scenes? And how do you feel about Annie using Eddie to defend him?

I mean like okay, in the real world, what Annie did was horrifying, the fact that Ben’s school let a strange man wander into the cafeteria stretches my ability to suspend my disbelief to the breaking point, Eddie took it way too far.

Now that we’re all thoroughly disclaimed I fucking love that scene so much and am incredibly sad that Eddie is no longer with us.

6. This is the first episode where Rio shows up to Beth’s house alone twice. The first time late at night when Beth calls him about Eddie, the second time during Kenny’s birthday party. Why do you think he ditched his boys this time around?

Bc mick would NOT STOP making fun of him and he’s SICK OF IT DAMMIT he has a REP mick needs to FALL!!! IN LINE!!!!!!!! AND LET!!!! HIM LIVE!!!!!!!!!!

7. On a scale of 1 - 10, how much is Dean the absolute worst in this episode (telling Kenny he can have a birthday party and then throwing it on Beth to do something about it! Interrogating his tiny daughter about his soon-to-be-ex-wife maybe boning the bounce house guy! Getting mad at his soon-to-be-ex-wife about maybe boning the bounce house guy after years of affairs himself! Lying about having cancer!)?

Dean is always garbage but this was a spectacularly garbage ep, possibly his lowest point? Idk not prepared to make that call I an official capacity at this point but it very well might be.

8. This is the first of two Dean and Stan scenes we get across the entire series! What do you think their relationship is like?

I think whenever Dean corners Stan, Stan remembers he left the oven on a lot.

9. Who do you think Boomer thinks Rio is?

The key to Turner’s heart.

10. We get TWO Iconic Brio™ scenes in this ep – Kenny’s birthday party and the Cloud 9 scene. Which one do you prefer, and why?

Cloud 9, he’s in a hoodie, he does the iconic lip-first turn, what’s not to love??????

[kebinwooo]

get to know me q&a !!

aaaaaahhhhhhh thank you @theyoungflexer for tagging me! i haven’t been tagged in one of these in ages so this is gonna be fun hehe also this game is gonna make me seem so old bc like.... i became a kpop fan in 2008/2010 sooooooo.... (i’m not even that old! i’m a 99 liner!!!!! but also i’m a jaded fan by now lol) (also i talk a lot but my stories are elaborate so i’m sorry in advance if you read this ahah)

1. What was your first kpop song?

technically my first “kpop” song was super junior m’s chinese version of “U” but if we’re talking first actual kpop song, it would be super junior’s sorry sorry LOL

2. How did you discover kpop?

NOW THIS IS A STORY. so back in 2008, i always watched chinese variety shows on tv bc they were the only channels we got at home. so one day i was watching a show and there was a group of cute boys who appeared and i was like !!! and then i followed them for a bit through these shows but then like i eventually forgot about them. but then in 2010, there were some reruns airing and i found out the group i liked back in 2008 was called super junior m. at the time, i didn’t realize the ‘m’ was important so i just searched up super junior on youtube. and then it was a downward spiral from there and a decade later, i’m still stuck here in this blackhole yep

3. Who was your first female (kpop) bias?

oh god.... do i even remember? i think it was probably victoria from f(x) or something. i honestly don’t remember bc i was anti-gg (LIKE A FOOL) back then so i didn’t really follow girl groups

4. Who was your first male (kpop) bias?

technically hangeng caught my attention first in SJM when i found out about them in 2008 but henry was my first official bias (it’s funny tho, i was literally watching some videos of henry today and telling my friend about how he’ll always hold a special place in my heart)

5. Who was your first favorite kpop group?

surprise surprise, it was super junior LOL 

6. Current favorite boy/girl band?

Monsta X, Seventeen, and U-Kiss hehe

7. Loved them since?

OK STORY TIME 

U-Kiss: i found them through a kpop mashup in like 2010 LMAO and i loved manmanhani and bingeul bingeul and shut up but all separately. i didn’t realize they were even by the same group until later LOL then i forget why but i started following them more closely some time between the 0330 and neverland eras and i’ve been a loyal kissme since hehe they’re my forever ults

Seventeen: i learned about svt during their first showcase in like 2013 ish?? i really liked their concept and since they were close in age to me i was like !!!!!! but their debut kept getting pushed back, and back then it was hard to get videos subbed so i stopped following them. then in like 2015 i heard they were FINALLY debuting and i got excited and got back into them after adore u came out so ye i’ve been following these boys ever since

Monsta X: my most recent ults hehe ^^ so i knew of monsta x bc my friend watched no.mercy (their survival show) but i got secondhand pissed with her bc she said the show was rigged and she wasn’t completely happy with the final lineup. but i also knew of them bc of svt and the boys are friends (WHICH IS GREAT I LOVE IDOL FRIENDSHIPS, ESPECIALLY MONTEEN’S) but i never followed them. then in 2016, after fighter came out, i somewhat got into them bc i liked fighter and i started casually following them and i even watched like episodes of monsta x ray and right now for them but still wasn’t super into them. but then in the fateful summer of 2018, i was super bored bc i had nothing to do and i heard mx ray 3 was coming out so i binge watched literally all of mx ray and mx ray 2, realized I LOVE THESE SEVEN BOYS and then i officially became a monbebe (and also regretted not getting into them sooner)

8. Favorite member of them?

U-Kiss: technically my ult is kevin but i’m starting to realize it’s jun (i will literally do ANYTHING for that boy)

Seventeen: joshua, mingyu, wonwoo (my bias trinity LOL)

Monsta X: CHANGKYUN >:( fun fact: i accidentally became a changkyun stan bc i made a joke that he was my bias and then it came true and i’ve never been the same since. i am on constant fight mode with this boy >:(

9. Favorite song by them?

U-Kiss: OH GOD SO MANY. but 0330, neverland, and someday (which is my all-time favorite song) are some of my faves

Seventeen: this was hard too... but i’m going with pinwheel, pretty u, good to me, and run to you 

Monsta X: QUEEN MOHAE, livin it up, dramarama, destroyer, and lost in the dream

(I HATE THESE QUESTIONS. I CAN’T CHOOSE. THESE AREN’T EVEN ALL MY FAVORITE SONGS)

10. Name some groups you’d like to recommend.

/CLAPS HANDS TOGETHER/ OH BOY. MY 10 YEARS OF KPOP EXPERIENCE COMING THROUGH.

first off, definitely U-Kiss. these boys are so underrated it pains me. i would also like to recommend ONF (who i’m recently getting into and who are KILLING it in road to kingdom) and the others i’m recommending are a mix of semi-popular and nugu groups: Day6, The Rose, ONEUS, Dreamcatcher, Infinite, A.C.E, B.I.G, (and I know these two are “disbanded” bUT STILL) B.A.P and UNB. i also have way more recs but this list would go on forever so i’m cutting it short here.

11. YOUR ult?

i was talking with my friends and tho i love kevin and he will always keep a part of my heart, i’ve grown apart from him and now my ult is u-kiss’s jun bc i will do ANYTHING for him, like watch a survival show or watch every drama he’s starring in. that’s love right there for me

[dukeofriven]

Fun Jade/Rose Facts (Well... facts.)

Note: These facts are divided between “In-Comic” (Everything from Page 1 of Homestuck (A young man stands in his bedroom...) to page 8128 (The End) and “The Credits” (Pages 8129-8130). If I update this after the Epilogue, we’ll... cross that bridge when we get there.

In-Comic Jade/Rose Facts

Jade and Rose have only five conversations in the entire comic.

1 2 3 4 (2 pages) 5 (2 pages)

Conversation #4 is repeated. We see it first from Jade’s POV, then from Rose’s.

The number of conversations goes up to six if you count GrimBark Jade saying “Bark” and “Hey guys long time no see” to the assembled group in Act 6 Intermission 5 - but since Rose says nothing back, I am not counting this as a conversation.

You may do so if you wish.

After removing dialogue tags (like “TT”) and Pesterlog archival data (“ceased pestering” etc), their shortest conversation is their fourth at 80 words long.

Their longest one-on-one conversation is their third at 571 words long.

Their longest conversation is their fifth. It features Doc Scratch, and runs some 1,170 words long.

All told, about 2,711 words are exchanged in one-another’s chat windows. Discounting Doc Scratch’s intrusion into their final conversation, they speak 2324 words to one-another.

If you are counting the Grimbark conversation, add another 7 words.

6 if ‘BARK” is more of a sound.

By contrast, this single one-page Fruity Rumpus Asshole Factory exchange between Dave, John, and Karkat runs some 2188 words - over a thousand words longer than any single Jade/Rose conversation, and only some 136 less than their entire conversation history.

Rose never speaks a single word to Jade aloud.

Rose never uses Jade’s name in conversation with her.

Jade and Rose "share the screen” 15 times during the comic. (I have excluded both Caliborn’s ‘Homosuck’ cutouts and his Plasticine maquette because A) they are facsimiles of an event recited by an even-more unreliable narrator than usual, not the real thing, and B) Seriously: Fuck That Guy)

One of these on-camera appearances was ret-conned out of existence.

In only seven of these appearances are both Jade and Rose conscious.

Here are all their on-camera appearances:

Act 6 Intermission 5

(Don’t think I ever noticed Gamzee hiding in the background before.) Act 6 Act 5

Act 7

(It’s tough to tell but I think the above photo is the closest Rose and Jade ever get in the comic.)

Rose never speaks to Jade again after their fifth conversation in Act 5 Act 2.

Rose and Jade do not converse for the entirety of Act 6.

Rose and Jade do not converse for the entirety of Act 7

Going off “page math” alone. here are some fun facts about Jade and Rose conversations:

5% - or about 1/20th of the comic - passes before Rose and Jade speak.

Rose and Jade spend 39% - 39/100ths - of the comic “in-touch” with one another.    

They spent the remaining 56% of the comic not talking.

Rose and Jade spend approximately 61% of Homestuck not in-contact, not in-touch with one another.

Counting the repeat conversation and a single still panel, there are only 9 pages in Homestuck where Rose and Jade are talking.

0.11072834645669291% of Homestuck - 5,536,417,323/5,000,000,000,000ths - (5.5 milliard billionths of the comic - 5.5 billion trillionths for our American readers. ~11/10000) is devoted to Rose and Jade’s “on-screen” relationship. And that’s counting a repeat conversation and a silent panel.

Rose and Jade “share” the screen - either while message-conversing or literally “in the same shot” in 20 pages of Homestuck.

That’s 0.24606299212598426% of Homestuck. About 24,606,299,213/10,000,000,000,000 (~1/400ths) of the comic.

Homestuck contains about 817,612 words.

Jade-Rose conversations all together comprise some 2779 words, taking into account that the fourth conversation is repeated twice.

Jade-Rose conversations comprise approximately 0.33989227163984875% of Homestuck’s text.

That’s 8497306791/2500000000000ths

Credits Jade/Rose Facts

There is no canonical evidence that Jade attended Rose’s wedding.

Seriously - she’s not there in the pictures. When all the kids are lifting the bride and bride up on chairs as part of the “thing done during the horah that isn’t actually part of the horah guess who just did a deep dive into the history of the horah did you know it’s from Greece via Romania and only dates back to 1930 as a traditional pan-Jewish custom it’s kind of like clan tartans in that it’s a cultural touchstone that feels ancient but isn’t” she’s... absent. Jake is in the picture twice once at the top, once in trickster mode on the bottom. Jade Harley: had better things to do than go to Rose’s wedding?

Jade and Rose are the only two kids to never be shown with Trickster modes.

This following photograph is the only conversation Rose and Jade ever have in-person in all the Homestuck franchise. It is their only moment of contact after Act 5 Act 2. We have no demonstrative way of proving that they ever conversed in-person before John’s 18th birthday party on Earth-C:

This is their only verbal conversation, and their only conversation to go textually unrecorded.

We have no way of proving that this is not Rose and Jade burying the hatchet after a... four year feud after Jade clumsily let Rose know her mother had been brutally murdered. 

This is 1.3297872340425532% of the entire credits video.

That’s 664893617/50000000000ths of the entire credits - because the only good joke is a cumbersome running joke.

BONUS: Snapchat Jade/Rose Facts

Welcome to the land of dubious canonicity. [Update 23/04/19: I’d like to note that I used this phrase before the Epilogues hit. Also, these are now officially outside of even the broader Homestuck meta-canon as far as anyone can tell. Radio silence on this remains aggravating. What were these and what did Andrew Hussie actually want?]

Do you remember the Snapchats? They didn’t stop being a thing or anything.

... well, they did, actually. Who knows if they’re canon any more. [Again: they are not]

That’s why this section is a bonus - its demi-canonical!

Man, remember when we were all excited that the future of Homestuck was going to be snapchats?

We were going to get so many snapped chats.

So many you guys.

Sigh.

Please no walking on the grass. That grass is only semi-canon. We are liable for damages with the rental company.

Jade and Rose appear together in one (1) snapchat photo:

I’m pretty sure this is the only Beta kids group shot in the entirety of Homestuck!

This Jade/Rose interaction comprises 1.5151515151515151% of all the snapchats.

That’s 946969697/62500000000ths.

That’s really all there is to say on the matter.

FAQ Will you cover the Epilogue?

I will, of course, update this most important resource if/when the Epilogue gives us any more Jade/Rose content. Statistically speaking, it won’t take up much space. You missed interaction [X]! Can I tell you about it?

Yes please! Thanks for letting me know, I will add it right away and update my maths.

You missed interaction [Caliborn’s Master Plan]! Can I -? You may not. This seems elaborate and kind of pointless - why would you do this? Because Jade/Rose is a ship and talking about the Jade/Rose friendship is a thing and I... uh... I didn’t get it. But now having done all this work I... ... I still don’t get it. I always questioned Jade/Rose because I said to myself “they don’t really interact much,” and now that I’ve sat down and run the numbers they really don’t interact much. Now if you’re wondering “did you run though every single conversation looking for the times Jade mentioned Rose or Rose mentioned Jade” the answer would be “ha ha ha that would be crazy of course I did.” I am very tired. And... they don’t talk about each-other much. I mean ‘actually’ talk - I’m not counting all the “hey do you know what Rose/Jade is doing” questions asked between the kids or the trolls (though there’s not that many, really) - I’m talking about actual conversations, like when John talks about how he feels about having to marry Rose according to the Shipping Chart or Karkat mutters that Jade maybe kind of meant something to him once. Jade has this to say about Rose - talking to, of all people, Eridan: GG: rose? GG: i do not have a score to settle with rose!!! GG: why would you think that?    CA: oh CA: wwell fuck CA: suppose i wwas guessin it wwas natural to presume somesuch relation like that betwween the twwo a you    GG: i think you are projecting your own attitude on to others GG: just because you tend to hate and/or hit on everyone you meet doesnt mean everyone else is that way GG: rose just sent me a code for a crystal ball, shes my friend and is basically the best!  It’s a very Harleybert sentiment. And sadly it doesn’t add up to anything. At the very least, Rose doesn’t think that much about Jade. Take it from me: a guy who literally went through every conversation Rose and Jade ever had with and about each other: Rose doesn’t think much about Jade. When Jade shows up sleeping at the end of act six lots of people talk about her: Rose’s only comment is to make a crack about Jade ending end-game ships when she wakes up, and also to note that there was Bird Dave and Dog Jade and Cat Rose but No [Animal] Egbert. That’s it. The most Rose ever has to say is the “she has the karma” conversation all the way back in Act 3 - and it’s still really about Dave. When GrimbarkJade shows up on LOLAR... Rose makes no comment whatsoever. Jade does not take the time to go see Rose when she wakes up in the ret-con timeline. Jade discusses Rose with John only in the context of John and his shipping chart destiny. Rose never seems to have anything to say about Jade to Dave or John. If these kids had had a normal sibling existence in the same high school and John had been hit by a car Jade would have remained friends with Dave but she and Rose would be revealed to not be all that close - their common point of friendship is John, not one-another. Rose talks about so much shit - but not about Jade. Jade might say Rose is “the best” but it’s Harley hyperbole more than anything: she didn’t even get Rose a birthday present because she says Rose is hard to shop for! Rose LaLonde is hard to shop for? What?

There. It’s an Emily the Strange t-shirt with Charles Dutton’s head. it took me ten seconds to come up with it you are welcome Jade. You want to ship Rose/Jade? Fuck yeah, man - go for it! You want to write an eighty thousand word fan-fiction on Rose and Jade: BFF Treasure Hunter Essayists? Sounds fucking rad please write that. You want to say that, canonically, Jade and Rose are great friends? I’m going to have to disagree. Homestuck is a story about four friends - it is not a story about four equally friendly friends. Maybe it was meant to be: not going to lie, I like Act 6 and the ending of Homestuck a lot but even I concede that Jade gets shafted in the “having shit to do” department - the fact that she sits out the big Giant Talky Session at the end of the comic? Weird as shit. If she was up and awake and had any kind of conversation with Rose where they seemed friendly and in-touch I would change my opinion in a heartbeat: I’m not some crank who hates Jade and Rose being best of friends because I’m a weirdo. I mean I am a weirdo but for other reasons, not this. No, I just don’t agree with the idea because it’s not supported by the text. Five conversations in seven acts? Less than 3,000 words exchanged in a document running into the hundred of thousands - and some of that repeat, and some of that the words of a giant cueball tool? If Andrew Hussie wanted us to believe that Jade Harley and Rose LaLonde are particularly close friends, he put no sign of that into the text. If I missed something please - tell me. Argue it with me, even, if you disagree with my assessment - or my math.I am not great at math. Regardless - reach out. We should talk about this more. Edit: Updated 10:38 EST April 12, 2019: corrected multiple typos, changed “dismissed” to “questioning,” clarified point about the horah to sound less weird.